[ Beyblade ] Fresh Start Chapter Two

[sunrises]

Title: Bakuten! Shoot Beyblade Fresh Start [F-Start]
Summary: "This isn't my world. Never was... and probably never will be."
Disclaimer: Okay: Takao, Kouijou (sp), Hiromi, and a lot of the canons aren't mine. But Takeshi, Noru (doi), Shinnen, Renjiro, Koutan, and a bunch of others *are* mine.
Note: I wrote BSB F-Start from Takeshi's POV. This means that while I'm not forcing you to read all the chapters since some don't deal with Noru at all, there will be some stuff that Noru may not play a major role in. Basically, this chapter deals partly with Noru; I skipped the first chapter because I don't think anyone wants to see a Noru-less story. Oh, and yes - I wrote it from a POV most of you Kokoro people'd probably appreciate, so it does give a little info on the sport (or what little I remember of it). Free Beyblading 101, given by yours truly~

Today was the date of the tournament.

Takeshi leaned against one of the columns near the entrance. His eyes glanced over at the brunet as he walked in, as if to say, 'Well?'

The brunet gave a thumbs-up. "I signed you up. I still have to ask why you still haven't bothered with--"

"I want to do this on my own," Takeshi interjected, sighing. "I mean... Dad's a big beyblade fan. And you know Uncle Hitoshi is the freaking head of the BBA. So, I guess I want to prove myself a little."

His friend tilted his head to the side. "Was it also the terms of the dare?"

"No," He admitted. "But... if I told everyone I was entering this because of a dare, it.. wouldn't help my reputation at the arena. I don't want people to judge me on the reason why I'm here."

Was... his friend laughing? "You know, Takeshi... you say something smart every now and then..."

"Koutan!" Takeshi whimpered. "That was mean, yo."

Koutan simply pushed his glasses further up his nose; he shook his head lightly.

"Let's go, Takeshi," The brunet said somewhat cheerfully. "I want to check out the other players."

Takeshi rolled his eyes. Personally, he saw nothing interesting in watching the sport. It was a bunch of people shooting spinning tops... how it had gotten world popularity, he would never know.

It was just some stupid spinning tops. There had to be something special about this sport, though, or... it wouldn't be popular, right? Takeshi knew that no one in their right mind would watch normal spinning tops beat each other up.

He finally followed Koutan to the stadium. The corridor was rather dark, though, for a stadium.

...Was there someone else? Squinting, Takeshi could feel something brushing against his own shoulder.

As the lights were slowly turning on, he blew back strands of blue hair in his face... The figure took him by the shoulders.

His eyes glared; his hands let go as suddenly as they had latched onto him.

Looking away, the figure continued on his way to the other side, hands in his pockets.

Takeshi glanced over behind his shoulder at the figure. Crossing his arms, he blinked. "What the heck was that all about?"

Koutan shrugged. "Who knows? We'll probably see him again, though..."

Probably? Even if Koutan was trying to be general about it, Takeshi really didn't like the sound of that. Shuddering slightly as he followed his friend to the stadium, he blinked.

....The stadium was a pretty decent size, and it was packed; people were squirming for seats.

All these kids for a regional Beyblade tournament? All of these eyes would be on him when he battled.... would they all laugh when he would lose miserably?

No. He wouldn't lose. Not this early on in the game.

He could feel Koutan standing next to him. Koutan... really loved this game. Ever since Takeshi had met him, beyblading was something he was passionate about.

"Come on! You can do it!"

Takeshi's eyes widened. "Koutan..."

"Takeshi...?"

He shook his head, smiling. "It's nothing... Heh. Let's get our seats and watch."

"That's a good idea, since you aren't playing today," Koutan said, nodding in agreement. "We're not going to get anything too nice, though, since we came late. It'd probably be best to watch with your uncle---"

"No. Koutan, I'm serious when I mean that Uncle Hitoshi mustn't know anything about this." Takeshi looked away; he placed a hand in his jeans pocket. "I have to do this on my own... I really do."

"There's just one problem with all of this..."

"What...?"

"Takeshi, your name'll be announced tomorrow when you compete. Surely your uncle'll hear that?"

Koutan winced as he heard a 'THUD'. Extending a hand, he sighed slightly. "Didn't think that far ahead...?"

"It'll.... be fine!"

Koutan stared at Takeshi. "And how will it be?"

"I'll just get sis to keep him busy tomorrow," Takeshi happily answered. "Since sis never asks Uncle Hitoshi to come with her - he can't say no. Even if it's on the day of a beyblade tournament!"

"I somehow doubt the validness of the idea..."

"Aw, Koutan!"

"Sssh. The match is starting, Takeshi," Koutan silenced him by placing a finger to his lips.

Takeshi pouted again, but followed his friend to their seats. When they sat down (surrounded by complete strangers, too), the blue-haired kid almost wished that he could have told his uncle that he was watching, if only so that they could get better seats.

"Our first match is Mizuhara Minoru versus Hoshikawa Mika. Ready?"

As the competitors walked up to the (small) arena, Takeshi stuck his neck out to get a better look at the two. It was an age-old idea, putting up a boy against a girl - but this was beyblading. Surely it was chosen randomly, right?

The boy to the left looked a little familiar, yet.. not so. His hair was blond (that wasn't normal for a Japanese kid. Was he American or European, perhaps?), but his eyes were this pale green. His stance wasn't confident or cocky; it was the kind that said, "I'm gonna have fun, win or lose!" He.. generally was a happy kid.

Takeshi liked that in a person, he really did. (To be honest, though, the boy usually got along with everyone and their dog)

Then... he looked to the right. Hoshikawa? Surely he had heard that name before - maybe it was the name of the rival dojo? It wasn't a friendly connotation, he was sure. Yet, as he looked over at the girl, watching her brush back her maroon hair, he could tell that she wanted to win. Her eyes said so; her stance, confident as she placed her hand on her hip, said it all.

...It was then he noticed the size of the arena.

"...People pay to get far away seats... to see an arena this small...?" He tilted his head to the side. "You know, that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever."

Koutan laughed. "Maybe so, but I think the people get seats because they want to feel the atmosphere more than anything. Sure, if you stay back and watch it on TV, you'll get a better view of it all. But! You won't get the feel."

The feel of it all? Takeshi didn't look like the idea really hit home with him.

"Three! Two! One!"

Woah, were they starting already? Takeshi blinked, returning his focus to the stadium - yep, they were. The two were already loading their launchers.

"Go shoot!"

"Let it rip!"

As the two (Mika and Minoru respectively) let their blades fly, Takeshi.. only saw two blades hitting the arena. Where was the excitement? Where was the feel?

...Where was that sense that he had to have in order to watch this game properly?

Slumping as he watched everyone else cheer them on, he sighed. This is why I'm a kendo player, not a beyblader, He added to himself. Because I really don't get why these games are so popular. I know he loves them... and I respect that. I don't mind watching next to him... it's just that... they're... spinning tops...

Somehow, something was telling him to watch the blond. His focus was different - while she was pounding away at him with her blade, the kid just held his ground and kept his defense high.

It was different.

"Hey, Koutan?"

"Yeah?"

Takeshi pointed in the direction of Minoru. "I'm confused. Aren't all of the tops supposed to be attacking each other?"

Koutan shook his head. "Nope. That's a common misconception. In beyblading, you can have a offensive or defensive style; apparently, Mizuhara-san's going with the defensive. I don't blame him, seeing as it probably will get him pretty far. Not many these days bother to keep their defense high - they just go for the attacks."

"Hrm," Takeshi crossed his arms. "In that case... I'm rooting for him."

"Huh?"

It was a little amusing, getting his best friend confused like that (for once!) Smiling, he gestured towards Noru again. "He's different, and I like that. Besides... it looks like he's losing. Come on, Koutan, let's give him our support!"

"Okay!"

The two then cupped their hands over their mouths, shouting, "GO MIZUHARA-SAN!"

Was the boy's head turning to acknowledge them? Smiling in their direction, he returned his focus to the battle.

Takeshi wasn't too sure how the battle was going now. The girl was pounding away at Minoru's blade, yet he kept rock solid... and steady. How much longer could he keep it up?

Then, a flash. Noru let his blade attack - the girl never saw it coming.

"Hey, watch this! Rising Blast!"

Did they have to use cheesy names? Yet.. it was pretty cool. The blade darted under the other; it struck. hard. The other was thrown to the right... and the first, green blade didn't stop.

It struck again from underneath - the other blade was thrown out of the ring.

"Mizuhara wins this round!"

Wait.. it was two out of three? Takeshi grumbled. "This is gonna take forever."

"What are you talking about? This round was only eight minutes," Koutan replied, blinking. "Don't tell me you're getting impatient again."

"I'm... I'm not!" He retorted. "I was just wishing it would be over sooner."

His companion laughed. "Patience is a great virtue to have," He commented. "You seem to have more than enough of it at kendo matches, so I think it all works out."

You think? Takeshi almost glared at his friend for that. So what if he wanted things to go more quickly? It wasn't like it was a crime now, was it?

The next round started off almost exactly the same as the first.

Mika was actually always appearing to be winning... but the underdog, Noru, wasn't going to give up without a fight. Takeshi knew it.

It was kind of funny, the way beyblading resembled kendo once he stripped the sport down to its bare roots. If you want to win, you have to be driven - you have to have a bond with your weapon.

He felt bare without his sword - yet, in order to compete, he had had to leave it behind at home. Not many places let him bring a wooden sword inside, especially once they found out about Takeshi's status in the kendo arena.

Sighing, the blue-haired kid returned his focus to the match.

....Mika was losing, wasn't she? Noru was driving her blade back.

Oh, there went her blade. Now she had the upperhand.

Come on, Mizuhara-san! You can pull it off! Just like last time!

"Takeshi? You're actually getting into this..."

Huh? That wasn't just a thought? Takeshi looked over at Koutan, blinking.

Koutan laughed again, covering his mouth with his hand. "See? I knew it. If you really want to, you can get into this sport."

"It's just the heat of the moment!" He retorted. "The heat got to me!"

"Mizuhara wins again!"

Both boys pulled their eyes off each other to see the arena. So, Noru had won the second match already? That was actually pretty quick.

The blond had already taken his beyblade back; instead of leaving, he hung around to give Mika her blade back. Smiling, he extended it out to her.

She too smiled, taking it back. They shook hands, then left.

"Wow... guess you'd expect good sportsmanship from the kid of Mizuhara Max, huh?"

Mizuhara Max... for some reason, Takeshi knew he'd heard that name before. But where? Placing a hand on his cheek, the blue-haired teen frowned slightly. "More familiar names," He murmured.

...Hoshikawa? Wait, he knew where he'd heard that name before!

"Koutan," Takeshi said more loudly this time to attract his friend's attention. "Isn't the Hoshikawa family the one responsible for--"

"The frisbee tournaments? Yeah, definitely. Our families know each other well because of that," Koutan replied, smiling. "But as for Mizuhara... I'd say that you've heard it from your dad. Remember how he's a big beyblade fan and all?"

Takeshi shrugged. "Probably. In any case, let's congratulate him!"

As the boy ran off, he could barely hear his companion say, "Wait a sec! You don't even know what this kid's like--!"

Too late; Takeshi had already run off in the winner's direction. As the boy stopped in front of Minoru, Takeshi offered a smile.

"Hey. I saw your match," Takeshi began, smiling. "It was pretty sweet."

The other laughed. "Really? I am happy because you liked it. So... um, are all the people in Japan this nice?"

"Oh, you're new here?"

He nodded. "Yeah.. I came to spend the summer with my grandparents. It is a good way to pass the time, right?"

His Japanese was slightly awkward; Takeshi couldn't blame him. Heavens knows how good his own English really was...

Nodding, Takeshi grinned. "Definitely. Say, Mizuhara-san.."

"Minoru," He interjected. "You Japanese people are really formal, you know that?"

Takeshi laughed. "Fine... Minoru. So, you want to come by my place? My family would love to have you over for dinner!"

"Really? That'd be great. You are..?"

"Kinomiya. Kinomiya Takeshi! My family owns the kendo dojo about five blocks away from here, if you've seen that before?"

Minoru's eyes lit up. "Yeah, definitely heard of it. I always have wanted to see kendo! It is really cool."

Laughter escaped Takeshi's lips. "Great! I'll see you tonight or tomorrow night?"

"I am free tonight," Minoru said. "So I'd love to come over... 7:30 PM-ish?"

He nodded. "That'd be great. See you!"

As Minoru walked off and Koutan walked up, Takeshi couldn't help smiling. He'd made a new friend... and it was going to be great.

"You wanna watch the rest of the tournament?" Koutan asked, crossing his arms.

Takeshi shook his head. "That match was enough for me. Hey, Koutan, tell me how it was tomorrow, okay?"

As the blue-haired teen walked off, he could have sworn he had heard a "heh" from Koutan. Yet, when he looked back, his friend was nowhere in sight..