Beyblade Fan Fiction ❯ Silent Tears ❯ First Duel ( Chapter 4 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: DarkFangs 
Anime/Manga: Beyblade Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 12.15.2007 | Pages: 6 | Words: 6.9K | Visits: 191 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Beyblade Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Drama | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 12.15.2007 | Pages: 6 | Words: 6.9K | Visits: 191 | Status: Completed
Summary/Disclaimer: check the prologue, I don't repeat myself.
“...” speaking
`Italics' thoughts
:: … :: bit beast talking
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Chapter 3... First Duel
“C'mon, guys, time to train!” the girl motioned them to follow her, "We could run a bit till the City Park. It's not far from here.” The BladeBreakers were just outside the hotel, after having eaten a good breakfast.
“Fine by me.”
“I have to stay here to finish updating some files with Dizzy. Sorry guys.” Kenny adjusted his glasses, grinning nervously, “Good luck for practise though!” He entered the hotel again, sighing for having escaped a running session.
“Ooooooooookay!” Max replied happily. He was a bit sugar-high, from all the pastries he ate at breakfast.
“Nooo, we just ate! That isn't healthy!!” Tyson tried to find a reason for not having to run, but to no avail.
“Then it will be your entire fault if you get sick, because you ate too much. Now move!”
They began jogging along the side of the river that passed along the city, Iris on the lead, once in a while showing them a few things that passed by. It was quite nice, as the sun was slowly rising; the temperature wasn't too hot or too cold. And as they breathed, they could smell the slight salty-tasting air, which meant they were close to the mouth of the river.
“Heeeeeeeey, Iris, is that your country's flag or something?”
“Which one?”
“The red, green and yellow one. The others I've seen before, but that one I didn't.”
“Yeah, it's that one. The red represents all the Portuguese blood that was spilled for us to have the country we now have; that's the reason why it's larger than the green. The green part represents all our hope. The yellow circle is the planet; if you look closely, it's in the form of a globe and its meridians. The shield in its middle has five little castles: the national coat of arms of Portugal.”
“Oh, right. And the white and blue one?”
“Huh? What white and blue- Oh, that one? It's from the football team of the city. The dragon in the middle is their mascot.” Iris came to a stop finally, “We're here.”
The rest of the teens looked around the place. Trees all around, sandy paths to walk without stepping on the poor grass, kids running happily after their parents... Peaceful and quiet enough.
“Actually, here isn't a good place, but in a more concealed part of the park, we won't put our strategies at risk for the other teams to know it. Not to mention that your fans won't be screaming for you, huh?” she chuckled as the boys visibly paled.
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“To the left, to the left! LEFT you idiot! Urrgh, stop!”
“What now!” Tyson, for once, was looking quite angry at his supposed `trainer'. Tired of having orders shouted at him and hearing he wasn't doing anything right, the boy was annoyed, “What did I do? I turned left like you wanted!”
“I wasn't referring to your direction, I meant your attack!”
“Why the heck would I want to attack to my left, if Lugiohan was right in front of me?”
“Man, you're stupid, right? Didn't you learn to anticipate your opponent's moves? I thought it was quite obvious that I'd turn to my right, which is your left. Duh, if you keep attacking me like that, I'll easily dodge you.”
As Tyson frowned at her and picked up Dragoon once more, the others were watching, amused. It wasn't everyday that someone put the World Champion training quite like that. And certainly not for TWO hours non-stop. They had taken a break for some minutes, as Kenny arrived. He had brought food and drinks for everyone and was now doing an update to their profiles.
Lugiohan returned to her mistress's out stretched hand, who was drinking from a bottle of water. Muttering a few things in her language and glaring at Tyson, the others quirked an eyebrow. What she said wasn't nice for the looks that a couple walking nearby sent her. “Anyway, let me see your launch.”
“My.. Launch?”
“Yes, launch the cruddy beyblade! Let me see the way you do it!”
“Oh, that.” The navy haired boy stepped into position, launching the top and looking up at her.
Iris sighed, a hand over her eyes, “I should've known... You call that a launch?”
“What about it?” he crossed his arms over his chest defensively, “It was quite good, by the way!”
Ray and Max snickered quietly. “In that stance and with those replies, Tyson seems just like Kai..”
“Yup, I was thinking the same. It's almost scary...”
The girl went behind him, crouching down, “Don't move.” She placed a hand over the back of his knee, pressing, making him bend it a bit more.
“Hey, that way I'll-”
“Save it, just remember this pose. I know what I'm doing.” She did the same to the other knee. “Now, never bend your elbow like that, try to stretch your arm. You'll make a longer launch that way, without putting poor Kenny over there not sleeping to get you a better launcher for that same purpose.”
“Hmm...” Tyson quirked an eyebrow at her, but did as he was told, “Like so?”
“That's good enough, yes. But don't force your arm if it hurts; I don't want you with a lesion or anything. I've got my own to care about as it is.”
“Ah, I'm too important for you to lose, eh?”
“Nah, but we do need five active members. We'll be disqualified if we don't.”
He sweat-dropped, “Sheesh, thanks for the confidence.”
“Anytime, T. Now come on, I don't have all day.”
“Hang on, you said you had your own lesion to- You're injured?!” Chief looked at her, a worried look upon his features.
The Lusitanian bit her lip, “It's nothing, really. Just a stupid thing that happened a couple of months ago. The first three weeks were the worse, but now I'm okay.”
“What happened?”
Unintentionally, she glared at the blond for that, “It's none of your business. It was something that wasn't in my plans and shouldn't have happened. Because of that, my right shoulder was busted. No big deal.” Almost everyone flinched at the coldness of her voice, “Tyson, will you launch that already?”
Said boy nodded and pulled the rip cord. Accordingly to what Iris had said, Dragoon spun slightly quicker, and the launch was longer.
“Again.” The beyblade was launched again.
“Again.” Once more.
The black haired girl grinned, “Oh yeah, you're soooo going to thank me for this...”
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The last day of training was finally over for a very exhausted team as they dragged their feet up to their bedroom, where they asked for room service, too tired to even go to the canteen. Not even half an hour after having dinner, they were asleep, except for Chief, who managed to update their beyblade's before he too went to bed.
In the middle of the night, too early to get up but too late to have a good night's sleep, Iris sat up right on her bed, gasping for air, her eyes haunted, scared, unfocused, staring listlessly to the wall in front of her.
It's easier to run...
Replacing this pain with something numb,
It's so much easier to go..
Than face all this pain here all alone!
««Flashback»» ;
“You are mine, do you hear? Mine..” his mocking voice whispered to her ear in the silence of the early dawn.
“Never!” she hissed between small gasps of air, trying to catch her breath after the abuse she just suffered. The five lettered word repeated over and over again in her head, long after he exited her small room. Hurt, humiliated, alone and cold, silent tears ran down her cheeks as her arms wrapped around her knees.
««End Flashback»»
Something has been taken
From deep inside of me,
A secret I've kept locked away
No one can ever see..
Wounds so deep they never show,
They never go away...
Like moving pictures in my head,
For years and years they've played.
Silver scared eyes closed at the memory. As she slowly calmed down and caught her breath, she glanced at both Kai and Ray, each on either side of her, unaware of her sudden terror. She pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them tight, feeling the cold sweat cooling down her heated skin. One hand reached up, clutching her necklace, the chip of her blade shinning in a comforting way.
:: It was only a nightmare, Mistress. They will not hurt you. Do not be afraid. Go back to sleep, little one; it was only a memory. :: concern and calm that were not her own washed over her mind at hearing the voice of her bit beast.
If I could change I would,
Take back the pain I would,
Retrace every wrong move that I made I would,
If I could...
Stand up and take the blame I would,
If I could take all the shame to the grave I would
`They are starting to appear more frequently now, Lugiohan... I do try to relax around them, but it's not my fault, is it?'
:: Of course not. ::
It's easier to run...
Replacing this pain with something numb,
It's so much easier to go..
Than face all this pain here all alone!
Only a nightmare, huh? She was dreaming of one of the first nights she passed at the Abbey, the way Boris came to her bedroom, tossing her beyblade aside as she was trying to fix it after it was almost demolished by one of the older and more experienced bladers. He had stripped off hers and his clothes, put her on her hands and knees and raped her as he kept telling her that it was her fault, all her fault why Lugiohan was almost destroyed. All her fault that she was raped. And that she was his. His. Because she deserved that. She deserved being a whore.
Sometimes I remember
The darkness of my past.
Bringing back these memories
I wish I didn't have...
Sometimes I think of letting go,
And never looking back..
And never moving forwards, so
There would never be a past!
:: Lies. Those were all lies, youngling. You know that now. Nothing is going to happen... You are safe now. :: A deep voice sounded in her head, one she did not know. :: I am Lord Dranzer, Iris Blanchett. Concentrate on your sleep and not on your past. You will be alright. ::
“You should be asleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day. You need a good rest.”
If I could change I would,
Take back the pain I would,
Retrace every wrong move that I made I would,
If I could...
Stand up and take the blame I would,
If I could take all the shame to the grave I would
Her eyes snapped to her right, locking with reddish brown ones, which did not show her anything at all, no emotion, none of his past. She wished she could do that all the time. Not always was she able to do so. “I-I know.” Especially now. She turned away from him, afraid he'd be able to see what happened. She was fragile, she knew. Her past was her weakness. Like a piece of glass, everyone could easily break her.
“You ok?” But he didn't want to break her.
Just washing it aside..
All of the helplessness inside!
Pretending I don't feel misplaced!
Is so much simpler than change...
“Just shaken. Had a bad dream..” she threw the pillow to the floor, glaring at it, just wishing it was Boris. With the sheet, she wiped the sweat off her skin.
“A nightmare, you mean. You sure you're alright?”
It's easier to run...
Replacing this pain with something numb,
It's so much easier to go..
Than face all this pain here all alone!
“Yeah, yeah... fine. Just fine...” those mystic eyes of hers drifted close, as she pulled the covers up to her chin, turning her back to him. She did not want to speak with anyone at the moment. Not after what she just revived.
The tousling of covers met her ears. `He must've fallen asleep once more. Good. No need for him to know about this.' Through the rest of the night, she didn't slept much more, but she didn't have any nightmares.
It's easier to run...
If I could change I would,
Take back the pain I would,
Retrace every wrong move that I made.
It's easier to go...
If I could change I would,
Take back the pain I would,
Retrace every wrong move that I made I would,
If I could...
Stand up and take the blame I would,
I would take all my shame to the grave.
Little did she know she was wrong, for once. Not because he didn't try, but Kai couldn't fall asleep. What could have made her eyes look so scared?
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At 6.30am the phone rang, as the receptionist woke them with two rings at their order. Ray was the first to use the bathroom this time, reaching there first.
Iris managed to wake up Tyson by knocking him off his bed with the couch's slightly heavy pillow and with a piece of toast underneath his nose she got from the room-service meal.
“So, we're the guests of honour, huh? Who are we against?” Ray asked as Kenny told them the news of the e-mail he just received from Mr. Dickenson.
“They're called the Magicians. This team has bit beasts. But no big deal, I guess. You guys trained enough, by my calculations.”
Tyson snorted lightly between bites, “Oh yeah, with a name like that, they really must be strong...”
“Never underestimate your opponent.” Kai rolled his eyes, glaring at the younger boy, “That's a serious mistake you unfortunately do a lot.” Most of them were ready to go, but their female member was still on the bathroom.
“Urrgh, I always say, a woman in a bathroom is bad!”
“I heard that, Tyson!” said woman stepped out of the bathroom. Black pants hugged her long legs; an unfastened zipper glinted since right below her knee, till the edge of the pants, which were boot cut. A black belt supported quite a few silver chains dangling here and there, adorning her shapely hips.
She was wearing her black and white boots, where they could be seen through the unzipped part of her trousers, black fingerless gloves adorning her slender arms. A silver sleeveless crop top clung to her chest, ending a few inches below her breasts, showing a bit of her cleavage at the top, as it wrapped around her neck, her six packs and navel. Two silver sticks put her still wet hair into a messy but gracious bun at the crown of her head. Menacing, four triangles were on her cheeks, the two upper ones black, the lower and smaller ones red, in the same place where Kai's were. Oh yes, she looked dangerous. “Like the new look, guys?”
“Wow!” Tyson whistled softly, “You look great!! Real dangerous, eh?”
“I guess.” a playful smirk was on her shinning lips. Obviously swept over by clear lip-gloss.
“You beybattle like that?” Ray grinned at her, “Wicked!”
“I totally agree!!” Max toddled the chains over his fingers, a smile on his face.
“You rock, girl!!” Tyson's part.
Iris's cheeks were turning a bit pink, “Okay, okay, I get it! Now, let's go before we arrive late.” Her eyes locked with Kai's for a moment. He nodded in approval, smirking a bit. She smirked back as she exited the room.
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The bus Mr. Dickenson had for them was already there, as usual. A short trip, 15 minutes, and they arrived to a big dome-like monument, people everywhere in sight.
They soon were on their designed room. “Okay...” Chief took off his glasses, sweeping his blue eyes over his friends; Tyson, Max and Ray on top of the table, he himself on a chair near said table, his team captain in his usual stance, arms folded, one ankle over the other, eyes closed, and leaning against a wall. Iris was beside him, hands behind her back, her gaze unfocused, giving a sign of no-disturbance by her furrowed eyebrows and eyes changing between light blue and blood red, “This is our first combat, we gotta make a good impression about us, do not forget we are world champions and we ought to defend that title.” the young genius put his glasses back on, “I made some changes on your beyblade's, as you know. I modified every weight disks, after Max's mom sent me a new kind of material, lighter but more resistant. The ones I changed the attack rings a bit are Kai's and Tyson's. Nothing new, though.” Kenny gave them all back their blades; Dranzer and Dragoon looked the same, but both bladers noticed the slight change in the style of the ring, the tips sharper, giving them better balance and speed.
The entertaining music finally stopped and they heard DJ Jazzman starting to speak, “AAAAAAAANND WELCOME TO THIS TOURNAMENT IN THIS BEAUUUUUTIIFUL COUNTRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE FIRST COMBAT IS GOING TO START SOON!”
“That's our cue! C'mon guys!!” Tyson beckoned them with his arm, his face with the usual thrill to battle, always with that confident smile dancing on his lips. The team soon followed his lead towards the end of the hall, the brightness and cheers starting to grow in volume.
As soon as Tyson, who was the first, stepped into the field of vision of the fans, they went mad, starting to cheer even louder.
DJ Jazzman was trying to speak over all the noise, “AND OUR JAPANESE WORLD CHAMP, TYSON GRANGER, ALWAYS THE HAPPY-GO-LUCKY!!! NEXT WE HAVE THE MOST CHEERFUL AMERICAN YOU'LL EVER SEE, MAX TATE!! RIGHT BEHIND HIM, THERE'S OUR FAVOURITE CHINESE TEEN, RAYMOND KON!! THE GENIUS OF THE TEAM, KENNY, ALSO KNOWN AS CHIEF!! AND TO FINISH THE BLADEBREAKERS WE ALL KNOW AND LOVE, THERE'S THE COLD AND STOIC RUSSIAN TEAM CAPTAIN, KAI HIWATARI!!!” over Kai and Ray, the girls went even crazier, “BUUUUUTT, BOYS OUT THERE, NEVER FEAR, 'CAUSE BEAUTY IS HERE!! I PRESENT YOU ALL, THE NEW TEAM MEMBER OF THE WORLD CHAMPIONS, THEIR ONLY LADY... IRIS C. BLANCHETT, HALF-PORTUGUESE, HALF-FRENCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Kai was trying to keep his anger at bay by the comments he picked up from the male part of the audience.
“Wow, girl, you're beautiful!”
“Tsk, tsk, what the hell are you doing there? Come in a date with me!!” a loud whistle at that.
“Those clothes look nice on you, but I'd rather see you without them!”
:: Kai, relax... No need to make a fool out of yourself; you have a reputation to keep. :: Dranzer was trying to calm him, but still it was almost too much. If Iris answered one of them, he'd kill the guy for sure, not because of the things the poor kid said, but because he felt he should protect her. And if he was honest with himself, he'd admitted he had never felt such possessiveness towards anything else but Dranzer.
Iris herself was walking steadily with an emotionless expression upon her features, but her insides were itching to kill those guys, `Why don't they just shut the fuck up and keep the cruddy comments to themselves? If I catch them outside, they won't live through the experience to warn the others not to do that!'
:: Yes, Mistress. And make sure Kai doesn't tackle any of the males doing that either... He seems ready to murder somebody as well. :: In her mind, Iris felt the amusement in the phoenix's soothing voice.
:: You do not know his character... He is biting his tongue, hard. :: Dranzer's presence joined her bit beast's, with a hint of a chuckle.
Finally the BladeBreakers arrived to their bench. Right in front of them, there was their opponents, the Magicians. There were five of them, three girls and two boys. All of them seemed brothers and sisters; they all had black spiked hair and indigo blue eyes. The tallest of them all, one of the boys, had a sulky expression and seemed bored out of his mind, leaning against the post of the bench, much like how Kai was doing at the moment; he also seemed the captain. The other one was very cheerful and was smiling from ear-to-ear and waving to the audience, pacing around. The three girls were all sited at the bench, one looking very shy, and the other two very determinate, looking at them.
The enormous screen was showing what-blader-was-against-who and their respective bit-beasts, except Lugiohan, which no one knew how she looked like yet.
“The first two rounds of battles of the competition will be five combats with three rounds each and all singles! And now onto the profiles of the BladeBreakers!” AJ commented, “Now, the first to battle is their new member, Iris!! We dunno much about this exotic lady, except she never EVER lost once, but we do know that she has one beautiful phoenix to count on as her partner!! By what I was told, she's merciless on the battle field! Hmm, that makes me remember the second to combat, right Brad? The captain, Kai!”
“Yeah, it sure does, AJ.” Brad kept going, "The young Hiwatari is one cold-hearted blader, but a complete hottie, as I hear some girls shout out there, but deep inside, I'm sure he has a soft side, as we saw on the World Championship, when he lost his mate, Dranzer! Dranzer is a magnificent fire phoenix, who obeys to no one but Kai. He's very strong and this spectacular duet always ends the game quickly. Watch out for him 'cause he's the bad and silent boy type, but very vicious!”
“Next we have Tyson!! I really dunno why I am going to explain his style, as you already know, but I will anyway... Tyson gives you a completely different concept of free-style beyblading and being happy-go-lucky, he's imperceptible; you never know what he's going to do in his next attack. He counts with the help of a blue dragon, named Dragoon that, as he gladly likes to tell anyone who is able to hear him, is in his family for generations.”
“And then, we have the Chinese boy, Ray! He's quite the cutie, as some girls like to say, and he has Drigger, the white tiger; but be careful, he's no kitty! His attack, Tiger Claw, can really cut you in half, and his style is more on the defensive but to the predatory style too. Very nice to talk to, but in the battle field he's a wild opponent!”
“And last but definitely not least, we have Maxie! He's the innocent one, but don't judge a book by his cover, for looks can deceive! He keeps perfecting his defence but, as he showed us on the American Championship, he really can kick butt!! With Draciel as his partner, he's a hard nut to crack. One way or another, he always made his way to the finish-line till now!”
“And now, we pass onto the Magician team. We present you, the captain, Mike, competing with Iris. He's a complete mystery to us, but know this, lunatics of beyblade, he never lost either. His bit-beast, Vlamoth, is a vicious viper whose element is fire. He's quite strong.”
“His brother, Tony, is the exact replica of Max! Always happy, and never backing down from a challenge. His bit beast is an eagle, Flaremoth, and has the element of earth, managing to manipulate earthquakes, which is very impressive. He's going to face Tyson as you know. Let's see how they behave; after all, both of them have free-style techniques.”
“And now we pass onto the ladies, all sisters. The shy one is Katie, holder of Neokinmoth, a beautiful sphinx, and has the power of heat. She's going to battle Max. Her style is unknown; she never battled in an official battle. The one in the middle is Soraya, who keeps the Levmoth bit beast, a sea serpent, her element is water. She's in the same situation as her sis, we know nothing about her, only that she's quite strong and that she never lost before; going against Ray. The last one is the Quiet One of the team, nick-named Iz, from her original name Isabel. She bears Skyleanmoth, a really angry tigress and controls ice. Watch out for the fangs, Kai, she's one harsh blader!!”
“THANK YOU, AJ TOPPER AND BRAD BEST FOR LETTING US KNOW OR REMEMBER ABOUT THESE TWO TEAMS!! FIRST COMBAT, BEST OF THREE IS READY TO BEGIN! BEYBLADERS PLEASE WALK FORWARD!”
“Good luck, Iris!” Tyson patted her on the back.
“No worries! She's gonna win, no doubt!!”
“Yeah! Don't forget not to be too harsh on them...” Max winked.
“Don't let them know all your strength; the element of surprise may be good for us in the second part of the tournament. Go slow and use only the necessary amount of power, there's no need to waste it.” Kenny advised her.
“Okay. This guy may seem tough, but let's see how tough he really is on the battle field.” Iris smirked at the slightly frowning boy, still looking bored, waiting for her in front of the dish.
“Hide your technique; it's better. Now go and don't underestimate him. You don't know what he's up to. I trust you won't need any help or advice.” Kai glanced at her sideways, still not moving from his former position.
“Do I really have to answer that, captain?” in her eyes there was arrogance, “Forget every little thing you saw me do for as long as you know me, darlin'. That is not my technique.” She fully ignored his questioning gaze and with a last mysterious smile, stepped out to the bey-dish.
`Lugiohan, ready to kick Vlamoth's ass?' Cracking her knuckles, Iris climbed the steps confidently.
:: I'm always ready to have some fun, Mistress... :: came the slightly amused reply.
`We shall show the world our power...' her smirk grew to an evil little grin, `We are to be feared, my friend, never challenged...' a sudden reddish flare on her clear light blue eyes made Mike take a more closer look at the girl in front of him. Her black and red launcher, held by the soft sway of her wrist, was menacing-looking, the bit chip of her blade shinning with a promise of an excellent but risky battle. Oh yeah, she was dangerous.
“So, you think you're a bad-boy and that I'm not good enough for you? Let's see what you've got, then...” her silky drawl brought the captain's attention to her red glinting lips. Her words seemed to refer to other things other than beyblading.
“I will, little vixen, don't worry 'bout that. Look out for the viper. It's going to get ya." He too had an accented voice, more than hers. He readied his green launcher and blade and positioned himself, getting into a more serious pose.
“Look out from above then, little snake...” she chuckled slyly.
“ANNNND 3.......... 2.................. 1!............... LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETT IT RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIPPPPPPP P!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” DJ Jazzman shouted, beginning the battle.
The green top landed in the middle of the stadium, spinning swiftly, but the black one swept over one side, leaving a big deep welt and letting a screeching metal sound come out, making the audience bring their hands to their ears. Lugiohan was circling Vlamoth; in each lap, she shrunk the circle a bit. Soon, sparkles were flying from the metal contact of both weight disks.
“You're not going to defeat me that easily. I'm no amateur...” Mike pointed a finger at her, a snarl on his lips.
“Neither am I. So, show me what you got...” again that silky drawl.
`That's her trick? Mimicking a temptress? Or is it something more?' Mike quirked an eyebrow.
Kai's eyes observed Iris's every move. `It's so simple that is almost unpredictable... When she understands that the blader can be fooled, she plays with his mind, in this case flirting, much to my displeasure, and in a blink of an eye, she'll attack, leaving the guy clueless. Cunning little temptress she is...' The captain smirked in satisfaction.
“I'm tired of this game! Vlamoth!!”
Iris smirked, `Why, oh why are they so damn stupid? Well, I really don't care; it's faster this way and certainly not my business either. Stand by, Lugiohan, you know what to do.'
:: Do not worry, young Mistress... :: Her grin was more pleasant after hearing her bit beast. Her beyblade stopped circling the other, just spinning calmly, as if taunting him to attack her.
“Hn, getting scared now? What's the matter? Are we afraid now? Come on, I'm sure you're more of a challenge than that.” the boy in front of her mocked, as Vlamoth spun faster, starting to advance on Lugiohan.
“If you wanna play rough, I'll show you rough...” she frowned lightly, “You shouldn't have underestimated me.. You're gonna pay for that."
“And what can a little girl do?” That was the last straw.
:: Hn, something tells me that that was a BIG mistake... Poor kid. She doesn't seem to like being compared to males by the flashing red of her eyes... :: an amused Fire Phoenix commented in his young master's mind, :: She's pretty strong, I like her style. Manoeuvres Lugiohan like a charm. ::
`I agree, Dranzer. Although, I can't shake the feeling that I saw that style, her posing, her technique, somewhere else. But I can't really say where.' Eyebrows knitted together, the slate-haired teen showed a thoughtful expression.
:: Yes.. In some ways. The question remains unanswered though... Where? ::
Her eyes took a fiery red colour, the only silver being just on the irises' edges. “You reeeeeeeaally shouldn't have said that...”
Lugiohan mimicked her feelings, powered by her anger, starting to clash against Vlamoth, almost sending the other blade out of the dish with only two collisions.
“Show him what you can do, Lugiohan!” `Careful, use just enough energy to send him off the bey-dish. No need to waste energy for a pointless cause.' Iris glared at her opponent and raised one arm above her head; in response, her bit chip started glowing a pure white light, too bright to anyone see any form from it. On a big flash and after the sound of metal grinding, the light suddenly disappeared.
In the end, when everyone took their arms covering their watery eyes from the abuse of bright light, they could see a black and red beyblade spinning with vehemence, while a green one was found at the feet of one bewildered Mike, still smoking, and almost completely shattered. “Next time, you'll know better than to insult any female in my presence. Got it?” she growled at him, turning around on her heels and returning to the rest of her gaping team mates, except for Kai, who had a not very surprised expression on his face, a smirk still gracing his fine lips, eyes glinting in amusement at her anger.
She shrugged, grinning sheepishly at them, “Sorry... Guess I went a bit out of control, huh?”
“A-A bit, you say?”
“FIRST ROUND GOES TO THE BLADEBREAKERS!! LET'S SEE HOW THIS FIERY GIRL MAKES HER MOVE ON THE NEXT TWO! WE CAN SEE THAT SHE'S VERY COMPETITIVE! CAN MIKE CHANGE THE RESULT? LET'S SEE!! MIKE, YOU HAVE 15 MINUTES TO GET YOUR BEYBLADE READY AND SPINNIN'!!" DJ Jazzman commented, as the result board changed to put the World Champions in the lead.
“Ummm, Iris, you should control yourself, don't you think?” Kenny sweat-dropped, glancing up at her warily.
“Meh! Not my fault!! That Mike guy insulted me! You heard him! He had no fu-freaking right to do that.” She bit her tongue as not to swear after the look her captain threw at her quickly. The frown deepened as she crossed her arms in a huff, closing her eyes. Through the next two rounds, the same thing happened. Her style... Quick, harsh and fast, there was no denying it. Not far from Kai's.
The girl in question returned to the bench after the last one in a completely rotten mood, which made Tyson and Max think twice about complementing her in the first place. Everyone decided to let her be, as she muttered to herself in what they supposed was her native tongue. By the nastiness that some words seemed to have, they were almost completely sure that she was swearing loud and clear.
Iz was tough, but in the end, Kai managed to finish her off with almost no problem. Tyson wan the three rounds with Tony, much to his team-mates' surprise and his coach's satisfaction.
For having lost already 3 combats, the Magicians were out, and no need for more combats, as it would only be a simple formality. As they were leaving the dome, another familiar team made their way towards the exit, since there was a corridor all around the monument for the four different stadiums. Max and the rest of the BladeBreakers (minus Iris) recognized the team immediately. “Heeeeeeeeeyyyyy!! It's the Majestic's!!!”
“It's who?” the girl asked to no one in particular, still in the dark.
“We battled them last time we came to Europe!” Tyson smiled at her, a gleam of challenge on his midnight-blue eyes, obviously not minding another battle.
“Why, if it isn't the BladeBreakers...” the purple haired boy, Robert, stopped walking and talking to his friends to look at them; that air of superiority still on his features, “I though that, to attend to this sort of tournament you had to have five active members. Last time I checked, you had four. Got a new one, by any chance?”
The only girl between the four European boys stepped forward, allowing them the first good look at her. Her eyes were lavender; her fiery red hair pulled back in a neat ponytail that reached her shoulder blades. She had mid-shin black boots, white knee-length skirt with some silver writings, a silky looking black short-sleeved tight shirt and white fingerless gloves which reached her wrists. In her left wrist she had a lavender scarf wrapped around it. Although, contrary to her seemingly relative, she did not wear the scowl, the look of pure boredom or the sneer upon her lips.
“I present you my sister, Rosemary McGregor. Rosemary, these are the BladeBreakers we told you about, the magnificent World Champions. The blond is Max, the one with the laptop is Kenny, the colourful one is Tyson, the Chinese is Ray and the sourpuss is Kai.” The other team didn't fail to hear the sarcasm the redhead put on the word 'magnificent'.
“Save the sarcasm to someone who appreciates it, smart-ass.” A female voice sounded from above the tension, as Iris stepped in front of the BladeBreakers, much like the fashion Rosemary was doing with her own team.
“Hey, hey, HEY! We didn't come here to discuss! C'mon! And who might this charming pretty lady be?” Enrique wiggled his eyebrows in her direction. Iris sweat-dropped.
“Let me guess, a typical playboy who is nothing but a failure?”
“Got that right on your first shot!! Well done!”
“Thank you, Ray.”
“She's our new team-mate, Iris Blanchett!" Tyson said proudly. Nevertheless, who saw the slate-haired captain and the lavender-eyed boy of the other team, would notice that their tension and rivalry still didn't leave their minds, even if the others were friends.
“Blanchett? You mean, Iris Catherine Blanchett?" Oliver looked at her, not bothering to disguise his French accent on one name of his homeland.
“Umm, yeah... Err; do I know you, by the way?” Iris raised her eyebrows.
“Oh no, not personally, but your family knows mine. Or, in better words, knew. My most sincere apologies to what happened to them. And knowing your temper, I know you will say I don't know anything about it, but my word is honest.” He bowed a bit, his face now sober. He shook his hand with hers once, nodding. She found herself nodding back.
“Really? You lost your family? God, that really must be awful... Come here now, I'll keep you safe..” Enrique grinned, starting to walk towards her, his arms wide open. She stepped back though, not having enough trust on these guys.
Kai's arm rose, creating a barrier between the girl and the Italian, who looked at him questioningly. “What?”
“We should be going.” was the only reply he got. Iris would only get a few embarrassing moments if they kept chattering, from Enrique's part.
“In that you're right, Kai. We won this first round, so look out for us. Until next time.." Robert nodded at them, smiling softly, as his team walked away. They still had a good laugh after Enrique tried to unsuccessfully put his arm around Rosemary's waist, and went face-first on the ground by her own arms shoving him away.
“Bye!!”
The BladeBreakers started walking back to their hotel after the Majestic's went away on their limo. Kai noticed the slight tension on the smaller girl's shoulders in front of him. She had been tenser than she wanted them to believe. She really needed protection.
:: Relax, Mistress. You have friends to help you now. They won't let anything or anyone hurt you. :: The smooth voice of the Thunder Phoenix invaded her thoughts.
`I just hope you're right, Lugiohan...' her lips curled back from her teeth in a silent snarl, `I hate feeling this way. Hopeless. I know they couldn't hurt me back there, yet I was afraid. Feelings... They are just a bunch of confusing little things. We'd be better off without them.'
A sigh was heard, :: I wish you would stop saying that, young one... ::
TBC...
“...” speaking
`Italics' thoughts
:: … :: bit beast talking
+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+* +* +*+*
Chapter 3... First Duel
“C'mon, guys, time to train!” the girl motioned them to follow her, "We could run a bit till the City Park. It's not far from here.” The BladeBreakers were just outside the hotel, after having eaten a good breakfast.
“Fine by me.”
“I have to stay here to finish updating some files with Dizzy. Sorry guys.” Kenny adjusted his glasses, grinning nervously, “Good luck for practise though!” He entered the hotel again, sighing for having escaped a running session.
“Ooooooooookay!” Max replied happily. He was a bit sugar-high, from all the pastries he ate at breakfast.
“Nooo, we just ate! That isn't healthy!!” Tyson tried to find a reason for not having to run, but to no avail.
“Then it will be your entire fault if you get sick, because you ate too much. Now move!”
They began jogging along the side of the river that passed along the city, Iris on the lead, once in a while showing them a few things that passed by. It was quite nice, as the sun was slowly rising; the temperature wasn't too hot or too cold. And as they breathed, they could smell the slight salty-tasting air, which meant they were close to the mouth of the river.
“Heeeeeeeey, Iris, is that your country's flag or something?”
“Which one?”
“The red, green and yellow one. The others I've seen before, but that one I didn't.”
“Yeah, it's that one. The red represents all the Portuguese blood that was spilled for us to have the country we now have; that's the reason why it's larger than the green. The green part represents all our hope. The yellow circle is the planet; if you look closely, it's in the form of a globe and its meridians. The shield in its middle has five little castles: the national coat of arms of Portugal.”
“Oh, right. And the white and blue one?”
“Huh? What white and blue- Oh, that one? It's from the football team of the city. The dragon in the middle is their mascot.” Iris came to a stop finally, “We're here.”
The rest of the teens looked around the place. Trees all around, sandy paths to walk without stepping on the poor grass, kids running happily after their parents... Peaceful and quiet enough.
“Actually, here isn't a good place, but in a more concealed part of the park, we won't put our strategies at risk for the other teams to know it. Not to mention that your fans won't be screaming for you, huh?” she chuckled as the boys visibly paled.
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“To the left, to the left! LEFT you idiot! Urrgh, stop!”
“What now!” Tyson, for once, was looking quite angry at his supposed `trainer'. Tired of having orders shouted at him and hearing he wasn't doing anything right, the boy was annoyed, “What did I do? I turned left like you wanted!”
“I wasn't referring to your direction, I meant your attack!”
“Why the heck would I want to attack to my left, if Lugiohan was right in front of me?”
“Man, you're stupid, right? Didn't you learn to anticipate your opponent's moves? I thought it was quite obvious that I'd turn to my right, which is your left. Duh, if you keep attacking me like that, I'll easily dodge you.”
As Tyson frowned at her and picked up Dragoon once more, the others were watching, amused. It wasn't everyday that someone put the World Champion training quite like that. And certainly not for TWO hours non-stop. They had taken a break for some minutes, as Kenny arrived. He had brought food and drinks for everyone and was now doing an update to their profiles.
Lugiohan returned to her mistress's out stretched hand, who was drinking from a bottle of water. Muttering a few things in her language and glaring at Tyson, the others quirked an eyebrow. What she said wasn't nice for the looks that a couple walking nearby sent her. “Anyway, let me see your launch.”
“My.. Launch?”
“Yes, launch the cruddy beyblade! Let me see the way you do it!”
“Oh, that.” The navy haired boy stepped into position, launching the top and looking up at her.
Iris sighed, a hand over her eyes, “I should've known... You call that a launch?”
“What about it?” he crossed his arms over his chest defensively, “It was quite good, by the way!”
Ray and Max snickered quietly. “In that stance and with those replies, Tyson seems just like Kai..”
“Yup, I was thinking the same. It's almost scary...”
The girl went behind him, crouching down, “Don't move.” She placed a hand over the back of his knee, pressing, making him bend it a bit more.
“Hey, that way I'll-”
“Save it, just remember this pose. I know what I'm doing.” She did the same to the other knee. “Now, never bend your elbow like that, try to stretch your arm. You'll make a longer launch that way, without putting poor Kenny over there not sleeping to get you a better launcher for that same purpose.”
“Hmm...” Tyson quirked an eyebrow at her, but did as he was told, “Like so?”
“That's good enough, yes. But don't force your arm if it hurts; I don't want you with a lesion or anything. I've got my own to care about as it is.”
“Ah, I'm too important for you to lose, eh?”
“Nah, but we do need five active members. We'll be disqualified if we don't.”
He sweat-dropped, “Sheesh, thanks for the confidence.”
“Anytime, T. Now come on, I don't have all day.”
“Hang on, you said you had your own lesion to- You're injured?!” Chief looked at her, a worried look upon his features.
The Lusitanian bit her lip, “It's nothing, really. Just a stupid thing that happened a couple of months ago. The first three weeks were the worse, but now I'm okay.”
“What happened?”
Unintentionally, she glared at the blond for that, “It's none of your business. It was something that wasn't in my plans and shouldn't have happened. Because of that, my right shoulder was busted. No big deal.” Almost everyone flinched at the coldness of her voice, “Tyson, will you launch that already?”
Said boy nodded and pulled the rip cord. Accordingly to what Iris had said, Dragoon spun slightly quicker, and the launch was longer.
“Again.” The beyblade was launched again.
“Again.” Once more.
The black haired girl grinned, “Oh yeah, you're soooo going to thank me for this...”
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The last day of training was finally over for a very exhausted team as they dragged their feet up to their bedroom, where they asked for room service, too tired to even go to the canteen. Not even half an hour after having dinner, they were asleep, except for Chief, who managed to update their beyblade's before he too went to bed.
In the middle of the night, too early to get up but too late to have a good night's sleep, Iris sat up right on her bed, gasping for air, her eyes haunted, scared, unfocused, staring listlessly to the wall in front of her.
It's easier to run...
Replacing this pain with something numb,
It's so much easier to go..
Than face all this pain here all alone!
««Flashback»» ;
“You are mine, do you hear? Mine..” his mocking voice whispered to her ear in the silence of the early dawn.
“Never!” she hissed between small gasps of air, trying to catch her breath after the abuse she just suffered. The five lettered word repeated over and over again in her head, long after he exited her small room. Hurt, humiliated, alone and cold, silent tears ran down her cheeks as her arms wrapped around her knees.
««End Flashback»»
Something has been taken
From deep inside of me,
A secret I've kept locked away
No one can ever see..
Wounds so deep they never show,
They never go away...
Like moving pictures in my head,
For years and years they've played.
Silver scared eyes closed at the memory. As she slowly calmed down and caught her breath, she glanced at both Kai and Ray, each on either side of her, unaware of her sudden terror. She pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them tight, feeling the cold sweat cooling down her heated skin. One hand reached up, clutching her necklace, the chip of her blade shinning in a comforting way.
:: It was only a nightmare, Mistress. They will not hurt you. Do not be afraid. Go back to sleep, little one; it was only a memory. :: concern and calm that were not her own washed over her mind at hearing the voice of her bit beast.
If I could change I would,
Take back the pain I would,
Retrace every wrong move that I made I would,
If I could...
Stand up and take the blame I would,
If I could take all the shame to the grave I would
`They are starting to appear more frequently now, Lugiohan... I do try to relax around them, but it's not my fault, is it?'
:: Of course not. ::
It's easier to run...
Replacing this pain with something numb,
It's so much easier to go..
Than face all this pain here all alone!
Only a nightmare, huh? She was dreaming of one of the first nights she passed at the Abbey, the way Boris came to her bedroom, tossing her beyblade aside as she was trying to fix it after it was almost demolished by one of the older and more experienced bladers. He had stripped off hers and his clothes, put her on her hands and knees and raped her as he kept telling her that it was her fault, all her fault why Lugiohan was almost destroyed. All her fault that she was raped. And that she was his. His. Because she deserved that. She deserved being a whore.
Sometimes I remember
The darkness of my past.
Bringing back these memories
I wish I didn't have...
Sometimes I think of letting go,
And never looking back..
And never moving forwards, so
There would never be a past!
:: Lies. Those were all lies, youngling. You know that now. Nothing is going to happen... You are safe now. :: A deep voice sounded in her head, one she did not know. :: I am Lord Dranzer, Iris Blanchett. Concentrate on your sleep and not on your past. You will be alright. ::
“You should be asleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day. You need a good rest.”
If I could change I would,
Take back the pain I would,
Retrace every wrong move that I made I would,
If I could...
Stand up and take the blame I would,
If I could take all the shame to the grave I would
Her eyes snapped to her right, locking with reddish brown ones, which did not show her anything at all, no emotion, none of his past. She wished she could do that all the time. Not always was she able to do so. “I-I know.” Especially now. She turned away from him, afraid he'd be able to see what happened. She was fragile, she knew. Her past was her weakness. Like a piece of glass, everyone could easily break her.
“You ok?” But he didn't want to break her.
Just washing it aside..
All of the helplessness inside!
Pretending I don't feel misplaced!
Is so much simpler than change...
“Just shaken. Had a bad dream..” she threw the pillow to the floor, glaring at it, just wishing it was Boris. With the sheet, she wiped the sweat off her skin.
“A nightmare, you mean. You sure you're alright?”
It's easier to run...
Replacing this pain with something numb,
It's so much easier to go..
Than face all this pain here all alone!
“Yeah, yeah... fine. Just fine...” those mystic eyes of hers drifted close, as she pulled the covers up to her chin, turning her back to him. She did not want to speak with anyone at the moment. Not after what she just revived.
The tousling of covers met her ears. `He must've fallen asleep once more. Good. No need for him to know about this.' Through the rest of the night, she didn't slept much more, but she didn't have any nightmares.
It's easier to run...
If I could change I would,
Take back the pain I would,
Retrace every wrong move that I made.
It's easier to go...
If I could change I would,
Take back the pain I would,
Retrace every wrong move that I made I would,
If I could...
Stand up and take the blame I would,
I would take all my shame to the grave.
Little did she know she was wrong, for once. Not because he didn't try, but Kai couldn't fall asleep. What could have made her eyes look so scared?
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At 6.30am the phone rang, as the receptionist woke them with two rings at their order. Ray was the first to use the bathroom this time, reaching there first.
Iris managed to wake up Tyson by knocking him off his bed with the couch's slightly heavy pillow and with a piece of toast underneath his nose she got from the room-service meal.
“So, we're the guests of honour, huh? Who are we against?” Ray asked as Kenny told them the news of the e-mail he just received from Mr. Dickenson.
“They're called the Magicians. This team has bit beasts. But no big deal, I guess. You guys trained enough, by my calculations.”
Tyson snorted lightly between bites, “Oh yeah, with a name like that, they really must be strong...”
“Never underestimate your opponent.” Kai rolled his eyes, glaring at the younger boy, “That's a serious mistake you unfortunately do a lot.” Most of them were ready to go, but their female member was still on the bathroom.
“Urrgh, I always say, a woman in a bathroom is bad!”
“I heard that, Tyson!” said woman stepped out of the bathroom. Black pants hugged her long legs; an unfastened zipper glinted since right below her knee, till the edge of the pants, which were boot cut. A black belt supported quite a few silver chains dangling here and there, adorning her shapely hips.
She was wearing her black and white boots, where they could be seen through the unzipped part of her trousers, black fingerless gloves adorning her slender arms. A silver sleeveless crop top clung to her chest, ending a few inches below her breasts, showing a bit of her cleavage at the top, as it wrapped around her neck, her six packs and navel. Two silver sticks put her still wet hair into a messy but gracious bun at the crown of her head. Menacing, four triangles were on her cheeks, the two upper ones black, the lower and smaller ones red, in the same place where Kai's were. Oh yes, she looked dangerous. “Like the new look, guys?”
“Wow!” Tyson whistled softly, “You look great!! Real dangerous, eh?”
“I guess.” a playful smirk was on her shinning lips. Obviously swept over by clear lip-gloss.
“You beybattle like that?” Ray grinned at her, “Wicked!”
“I totally agree!!” Max toddled the chains over his fingers, a smile on his face.
“You rock, girl!!” Tyson's part.
Iris's cheeks were turning a bit pink, “Okay, okay, I get it! Now, let's go before we arrive late.” Her eyes locked with Kai's for a moment. He nodded in approval, smirking a bit. She smirked back as she exited the room.
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The bus Mr. Dickenson had for them was already there, as usual. A short trip, 15 minutes, and they arrived to a big dome-like monument, people everywhere in sight.
They soon were on their designed room. “Okay...” Chief took off his glasses, sweeping his blue eyes over his friends; Tyson, Max and Ray on top of the table, he himself on a chair near said table, his team captain in his usual stance, arms folded, one ankle over the other, eyes closed, and leaning against a wall. Iris was beside him, hands behind her back, her gaze unfocused, giving a sign of no-disturbance by her furrowed eyebrows and eyes changing between light blue and blood red, “This is our first combat, we gotta make a good impression about us, do not forget we are world champions and we ought to defend that title.” the young genius put his glasses back on, “I made some changes on your beyblade's, as you know. I modified every weight disks, after Max's mom sent me a new kind of material, lighter but more resistant. The ones I changed the attack rings a bit are Kai's and Tyson's. Nothing new, though.” Kenny gave them all back their blades; Dranzer and Dragoon looked the same, but both bladers noticed the slight change in the style of the ring, the tips sharper, giving them better balance and speed.
The entertaining music finally stopped and they heard DJ Jazzman starting to speak, “AAAAAAAANND WELCOME TO THIS TOURNAMENT IN THIS BEAUUUUUTIIFUL COUNTRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE FIRST COMBAT IS GOING TO START SOON!”
“That's our cue! C'mon guys!!” Tyson beckoned them with his arm, his face with the usual thrill to battle, always with that confident smile dancing on his lips. The team soon followed his lead towards the end of the hall, the brightness and cheers starting to grow in volume.
As soon as Tyson, who was the first, stepped into the field of vision of the fans, they went mad, starting to cheer even louder.
DJ Jazzman was trying to speak over all the noise, “AND OUR JAPANESE WORLD CHAMP, TYSON GRANGER, ALWAYS THE HAPPY-GO-LUCKY!!! NEXT WE HAVE THE MOST CHEERFUL AMERICAN YOU'LL EVER SEE, MAX TATE!! RIGHT BEHIND HIM, THERE'S OUR FAVOURITE CHINESE TEEN, RAYMOND KON!! THE GENIUS OF THE TEAM, KENNY, ALSO KNOWN AS CHIEF!! AND TO FINISH THE BLADEBREAKERS WE ALL KNOW AND LOVE, THERE'S THE COLD AND STOIC RUSSIAN TEAM CAPTAIN, KAI HIWATARI!!!” over Kai and Ray, the girls went even crazier, “BUUUUUTT, BOYS OUT THERE, NEVER FEAR, 'CAUSE BEAUTY IS HERE!! I PRESENT YOU ALL, THE NEW TEAM MEMBER OF THE WORLD CHAMPIONS, THEIR ONLY LADY... IRIS C. BLANCHETT, HALF-PORTUGUESE, HALF-FRENCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Kai was trying to keep his anger at bay by the comments he picked up from the male part of the audience.
“Wow, girl, you're beautiful!”
“Tsk, tsk, what the hell are you doing there? Come in a date with me!!” a loud whistle at that.
“Those clothes look nice on you, but I'd rather see you without them!”
:: Kai, relax... No need to make a fool out of yourself; you have a reputation to keep. :: Dranzer was trying to calm him, but still it was almost too much. If Iris answered one of them, he'd kill the guy for sure, not because of the things the poor kid said, but because he felt he should protect her. And if he was honest with himself, he'd admitted he had never felt such possessiveness towards anything else but Dranzer.
Iris herself was walking steadily with an emotionless expression upon her features, but her insides were itching to kill those guys, `Why don't they just shut the fuck up and keep the cruddy comments to themselves? If I catch them outside, they won't live through the experience to warn the others not to do that!'
:: Yes, Mistress. And make sure Kai doesn't tackle any of the males doing that either... He seems ready to murder somebody as well. :: In her mind, Iris felt the amusement in the phoenix's soothing voice.
:: You do not know his character... He is biting his tongue, hard. :: Dranzer's presence joined her bit beast's, with a hint of a chuckle.
Finally the BladeBreakers arrived to their bench. Right in front of them, there was their opponents, the Magicians. There were five of them, three girls and two boys. All of them seemed brothers and sisters; they all had black spiked hair and indigo blue eyes. The tallest of them all, one of the boys, had a sulky expression and seemed bored out of his mind, leaning against the post of the bench, much like how Kai was doing at the moment; he also seemed the captain. The other one was very cheerful and was smiling from ear-to-ear and waving to the audience, pacing around. The three girls were all sited at the bench, one looking very shy, and the other two very determinate, looking at them.
The enormous screen was showing what-blader-was-against-who and their respective bit-beasts, except Lugiohan, which no one knew how she looked like yet.
“The first two rounds of battles of the competition will be five combats with three rounds each and all singles! And now onto the profiles of the BladeBreakers!” AJ commented, “Now, the first to battle is their new member, Iris!! We dunno much about this exotic lady, except she never EVER lost once, but we do know that she has one beautiful phoenix to count on as her partner!! By what I was told, she's merciless on the battle field! Hmm, that makes me remember the second to combat, right Brad? The captain, Kai!”
“Yeah, it sure does, AJ.” Brad kept going, "The young Hiwatari is one cold-hearted blader, but a complete hottie, as I hear some girls shout out there, but deep inside, I'm sure he has a soft side, as we saw on the World Championship, when he lost his mate, Dranzer! Dranzer is a magnificent fire phoenix, who obeys to no one but Kai. He's very strong and this spectacular duet always ends the game quickly. Watch out for him 'cause he's the bad and silent boy type, but very vicious!”
“Next we have Tyson!! I really dunno why I am going to explain his style, as you already know, but I will anyway... Tyson gives you a completely different concept of free-style beyblading and being happy-go-lucky, he's imperceptible; you never know what he's going to do in his next attack. He counts with the help of a blue dragon, named Dragoon that, as he gladly likes to tell anyone who is able to hear him, is in his family for generations.”
“And then, we have the Chinese boy, Ray! He's quite the cutie, as some girls like to say, and he has Drigger, the white tiger; but be careful, he's no kitty! His attack, Tiger Claw, can really cut you in half, and his style is more on the defensive but to the predatory style too. Very nice to talk to, but in the battle field he's a wild opponent!”
“And last but definitely not least, we have Maxie! He's the innocent one, but don't judge a book by his cover, for looks can deceive! He keeps perfecting his defence but, as he showed us on the American Championship, he really can kick butt!! With Draciel as his partner, he's a hard nut to crack. One way or another, he always made his way to the finish-line till now!”
“And now, we pass onto the Magician team. We present you, the captain, Mike, competing with Iris. He's a complete mystery to us, but know this, lunatics of beyblade, he never lost either. His bit-beast, Vlamoth, is a vicious viper whose element is fire. He's quite strong.”
“His brother, Tony, is the exact replica of Max! Always happy, and never backing down from a challenge. His bit beast is an eagle, Flaremoth, and has the element of earth, managing to manipulate earthquakes, which is very impressive. He's going to face Tyson as you know. Let's see how they behave; after all, both of them have free-style techniques.”
“And now we pass onto the ladies, all sisters. The shy one is Katie, holder of Neokinmoth, a beautiful sphinx, and has the power of heat. She's going to battle Max. Her style is unknown; she never battled in an official battle. The one in the middle is Soraya, who keeps the Levmoth bit beast, a sea serpent, her element is water. She's in the same situation as her sis, we know nothing about her, only that she's quite strong and that she never lost before; going against Ray. The last one is the Quiet One of the team, nick-named Iz, from her original name Isabel. She bears Skyleanmoth, a really angry tigress and controls ice. Watch out for the fangs, Kai, she's one harsh blader!!”
“THANK YOU, AJ TOPPER AND BRAD BEST FOR LETTING US KNOW OR REMEMBER ABOUT THESE TWO TEAMS!! FIRST COMBAT, BEST OF THREE IS READY TO BEGIN! BEYBLADERS PLEASE WALK FORWARD!”
“Good luck, Iris!” Tyson patted her on the back.
“No worries! She's gonna win, no doubt!!”
“Yeah! Don't forget not to be too harsh on them...” Max winked.
“Don't let them know all your strength; the element of surprise may be good for us in the second part of the tournament. Go slow and use only the necessary amount of power, there's no need to waste it.” Kenny advised her.
“Okay. This guy may seem tough, but let's see how tough he really is on the battle field.” Iris smirked at the slightly frowning boy, still looking bored, waiting for her in front of the dish.
“Hide your technique; it's better. Now go and don't underestimate him. You don't know what he's up to. I trust you won't need any help or advice.” Kai glanced at her sideways, still not moving from his former position.
“Do I really have to answer that, captain?” in her eyes there was arrogance, “Forget every little thing you saw me do for as long as you know me, darlin'. That is not my technique.” She fully ignored his questioning gaze and with a last mysterious smile, stepped out to the bey-dish.
`Lugiohan, ready to kick Vlamoth's ass?' Cracking her knuckles, Iris climbed the steps confidently.
:: I'm always ready to have some fun, Mistress... :: came the slightly amused reply.
`We shall show the world our power...' her smirk grew to an evil little grin, `We are to be feared, my friend, never challenged...' a sudden reddish flare on her clear light blue eyes made Mike take a more closer look at the girl in front of him. Her black and red launcher, held by the soft sway of her wrist, was menacing-looking, the bit chip of her blade shinning with a promise of an excellent but risky battle. Oh yeah, she was dangerous.
“So, you think you're a bad-boy and that I'm not good enough for you? Let's see what you've got, then...” her silky drawl brought the captain's attention to her red glinting lips. Her words seemed to refer to other things other than beyblading.
“I will, little vixen, don't worry 'bout that. Look out for the viper. It's going to get ya." He too had an accented voice, more than hers. He readied his green launcher and blade and positioned himself, getting into a more serious pose.
“Look out from above then, little snake...” she chuckled slyly.
“ANNNND 3.......... 2.................. 1!............... LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETT IT RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIPPPPPPP P!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” DJ Jazzman shouted, beginning the battle.
The green top landed in the middle of the stadium, spinning swiftly, but the black one swept over one side, leaving a big deep welt and letting a screeching metal sound come out, making the audience bring their hands to their ears. Lugiohan was circling Vlamoth; in each lap, she shrunk the circle a bit. Soon, sparkles were flying from the metal contact of both weight disks.
“You're not going to defeat me that easily. I'm no amateur...” Mike pointed a finger at her, a snarl on his lips.
“Neither am I. So, show me what you got...” again that silky drawl.
`That's her trick? Mimicking a temptress? Or is it something more?' Mike quirked an eyebrow.
Kai's eyes observed Iris's every move. `It's so simple that is almost unpredictable... When she understands that the blader can be fooled, she plays with his mind, in this case flirting, much to my displeasure, and in a blink of an eye, she'll attack, leaving the guy clueless. Cunning little temptress she is...' The captain smirked in satisfaction.
“I'm tired of this game! Vlamoth!!”
Iris smirked, `Why, oh why are they so damn stupid? Well, I really don't care; it's faster this way and certainly not my business either. Stand by, Lugiohan, you know what to do.'
:: Do not worry, young Mistress... :: Her grin was more pleasant after hearing her bit beast. Her beyblade stopped circling the other, just spinning calmly, as if taunting him to attack her.
“Hn, getting scared now? What's the matter? Are we afraid now? Come on, I'm sure you're more of a challenge than that.” the boy in front of her mocked, as Vlamoth spun faster, starting to advance on Lugiohan.
“If you wanna play rough, I'll show you rough...” she frowned lightly, “You shouldn't have underestimated me.. You're gonna pay for that."
“And what can a little girl do?” That was the last straw.
:: Hn, something tells me that that was a BIG mistake... Poor kid. She doesn't seem to like being compared to males by the flashing red of her eyes... :: an amused Fire Phoenix commented in his young master's mind, :: She's pretty strong, I like her style. Manoeuvres Lugiohan like a charm. ::
`I agree, Dranzer. Although, I can't shake the feeling that I saw that style, her posing, her technique, somewhere else. But I can't really say where.' Eyebrows knitted together, the slate-haired teen showed a thoughtful expression.
:: Yes.. In some ways. The question remains unanswered though... Where? ::
Her eyes took a fiery red colour, the only silver being just on the irises' edges. “You reeeeeeeaally shouldn't have said that...”
Lugiohan mimicked her feelings, powered by her anger, starting to clash against Vlamoth, almost sending the other blade out of the dish with only two collisions.
“Show him what you can do, Lugiohan!” `Careful, use just enough energy to send him off the bey-dish. No need to waste energy for a pointless cause.' Iris glared at her opponent and raised one arm above her head; in response, her bit chip started glowing a pure white light, too bright to anyone see any form from it. On a big flash and after the sound of metal grinding, the light suddenly disappeared.
In the end, when everyone took their arms covering their watery eyes from the abuse of bright light, they could see a black and red beyblade spinning with vehemence, while a green one was found at the feet of one bewildered Mike, still smoking, and almost completely shattered. “Next time, you'll know better than to insult any female in my presence. Got it?” she growled at him, turning around on her heels and returning to the rest of her gaping team mates, except for Kai, who had a not very surprised expression on his face, a smirk still gracing his fine lips, eyes glinting in amusement at her anger.
She shrugged, grinning sheepishly at them, “Sorry... Guess I went a bit out of control, huh?”
“A-A bit, you say?”
“FIRST ROUND GOES TO THE BLADEBREAKERS!! LET'S SEE HOW THIS FIERY GIRL MAKES HER MOVE ON THE NEXT TWO! WE CAN SEE THAT SHE'S VERY COMPETITIVE! CAN MIKE CHANGE THE RESULT? LET'S SEE!! MIKE, YOU HAVE 15 MINUTES TO GET YOUR BEYBLADE READY AND SPINNIN'!!" DJ Jazzman commented, as the result board changed to put the World Champions in the lead.
“Ummm, Iris, you should control yourself, don't you think?” Kenny sweat-dropped, glancing up at her warily.
“Meh! Not my fault!! That Mike guy insulted me! You heard him! He had no fu-freaking right to do that.” She bit her tongue as not to swear after the look her captain threw at her quickly. The frown deepened as she crossed her arms in a huff, closing her eyes. Through the next two rounds, the same thing happened. Her style... Quick, harsh and fast, there was no denying it. Not far from Kai's.
The girl in question returned to the bench after the last one in a completely rotten mood, which made Tyson and Max think twice about complementing her in the first place. Everyone decided to let her be, as she muttered to herself in what they supposed was her native tongue. By the nastiness that some words seemed to have, they were almost completely sure that she was swearing loud and clear.
Iz was tough, but in the end, Kai managed to finish her off with almost no problem. Tyson wan the three rounds with Tony, much to his team-mates' surprise and his coach's satisfaction.
For having lost already 3 combats, the Magicians were out, and no need for more combats, as it would only be a simple formality. As they were leaving the dome, another familiar team made their way towards the exit, since there was a corridor all around the monument for the four different stadiums. Max and the rest of the BladeBreakers (minus Iris) recognized the team immediately. “Heeeeeeeeeyyyyy!! It's the Majestic's!!!”
“It's who?” the girl asked to no one in particular, still in the dark.
“We battled them last time we came to Europe!” Tyson smiled at her, a gleam of challenge on his midnight-blue eyes, obviously not minding another battle.
“Why, if it isn't the BladeBreakers...” the purple haired boy, Robert, stopped walking and talking to his friends to look at them; that air of superiority still on his features, “I though that, to attend to this sort of tournament you had to have five active members. Last time I checked, you had four. Got a new one, by any chance?”
The only girl between the four European boys stepped forward, allowing them the first good look at her. Her eyes were lavender; her fiery red hair pulled back in a neat ponytail that reached her shoulder blades. She had mid-shin black boots, white knee-length skirt with some silver writings, a silky looking black short-sleeved tight shirt and white fingerless gloves which reached her wrists. In her left wrist she had a lavender scarf wrapped around it. Although, contrary to her seemingly relative, she did not wear the scowl, the look of pure boredom or the sneer upon her lips.
“I present you my sister, Rosemary McGregor. Rosemary, these are the BladeBreakers we told you about, the magnificent World Champions. The blond is Max, the one with the laptop is Kenny, the colourful one is Tyson, the Chinese is Ray and the sourpuss is Kai.” The other team didn't fail to hear the sarcasm the redhead put on the word 'magnificent'.
“Save the sarcasm to someone who appreciates it, smart-ass.” A female voice sounded from above the tension, as Iris stepped in front of the BladeBreakers, much like the fashion Rosemary was doing with her own team.
“Hey, hey, HEY! We didn't come here to discuss! C'mon! And who might this charming pretty lady be?” Enrique wiggled his eyebrows in her direction. Iris sweat-dropped.
“Let me guess, a typical playboy who is nothing but a failure?”
“Got that right on your first shot!! Well done!”
“Thank you, Ray.”
“She's our new team-mate, Iris Blanchett!" Tyson said proudly. Nevertheless, who saw the slate-haired captain and the lavender-eyed boy of the other team, would notice that their tension and rivalry still didn't leave their minds, even if the others were friends.
“Blanchett? You mean, Iris Catherine Blanchett?" Oliver looked at her, not bothering to disguise his French accent on one name of his homeland.
“Umm, yeah... Err; do I know you, by the way?” Iris raised her eyebrows.
“Oh no, not personally, but your family knows mine. Or, in better words, knew. My most sincere apologies to what happened to them. And knowing your temper, I know you will say I don't know anything about it, but my word is honest.” He bowed a bit, his face now sober. He shook his hand with hers once, nodding. She found herself nodding back.
“Really? You lost your family? God, that really must be awful... Come here now, I'll keep you safe..” Enrique grinned, starting to walk towards her, his arms wide open. She stepped back though, not having enough trust on these guys.
Kai's arm rose, creating a barrier between the girl and the Italian, who looked at him questioningly. “What?”
“We should be going.” was the only reply he got. Iris would only get a few embarrassing moments if they kept chattering, from Enrique's part.
“In that you're right, Kai. We won this first round, so look out for us. Until next time.." Robert nodded at them, smiling softly, as his team walked away. They still had a good laugh after Enrique tried to unsuccessfully put his arm around Rosemary's waist, and went face-first on the ground by her own arms shoving him away.
“Bye!!”
The BladeBreakers started walking back to their hotel after the Majestic's went away on their limo. Kai noticed the slight tension on the smaller girl's shoulders in front of him. She had been tenser than she wanted them to believe. She really needed protection.
:: Relax, Mistress. You have friends to help you now. They won't let anything or anyone hurt you. :: The smooth voice of the Thunder Phoenix invaded her thoughts.
`I just hope you're right, Lugiohan...' her lips curled back from her teeth in a silent snarl, `I hate feeling this way. Hopeless. I know they couldn't hurt me back there, yet I was afraid. Feelings... They are just a bunch of confusing little things. We'd be better off without them.'
A sigh was heard, :: I wish you would stop saying that, young one... ::
TBC...