Chapter 6

"Hmm…"

A simple noise was heard, one that somehow felt way more intimidating than it should've. "That French boy," a deep somber voice sighed aloud in a disappointed tone.

Not a single sound was made soon after. In this spacious dim room, knelt Jeen. Her head bowed, irises shrunk in silent rage. She did not dare raise her head until spoken to as a young woman danced, twirling around the room before stopping beside a man who sat in the darkness in front of the girl. One of his hands was above the other, softly wiping the big ring that adorned one of his fingers. The unknown woman whispered something into the silent man's ear – the long five minutes weighed on Jeen's neck.

Finally, the stern grizzled voice spoke anew. "You brought him over here after putting high hopes and I come to find, he's been nothing but a brash animal, fighting to his own beating heart. And you let that animal go to disrupt our business? I was told he's still been causing trouble." Jeen could only imagine what the man's eyes would look like at that moment, nothing but rage and disappointment mixing in them. "But that will be a discussion for another time. I've sent men to capture him before he ends in the hands of the BABA. As for you… Jeaine. You have a different task to deal with."

A small breath left the girl's lips yet she still didn't dare to look up. The atmosphere around her felt tight, packed with anticipation.

"The organization of Foshra, spoke to me about a highly anticipated artifact making its way to this city of ours. Right in our territory. It's a shame someone beat us to relocating it. Someone infiltrated our own area and actually got that from the BABA- and whoever it is, is striking again. Jeaine, it's close to unfathomable as my daughter you haven't proven yourself after all this time. When someone like you brother and his men have…"

And that was only the beginning, she thought.

"At this rate, you'll be nothing like your mother."

Of course he'd bring her up. So typical.

"And she was a failure to die giving birth to such a weak little thing like you." Tell me something new, she told herself.

"Even Sosuke's mother lived to produce a decent offspring."

Now there was a new insult.

"To think such a strong woman like your mother could crumble after conceiving you..." And it was my fault, always will be.

"I'm ashamed."

"Hesitate to bring me that artifact, and you will be put in confinement for a week. I need not say what that means."

Those words reached her clearly as she remained knelt in the only source of light in the entire space. A fountain decorated with the small statue of an angelic infant continued to spill water that dripped into the stream that circled around the platform she was on. "Yes… father," were the only words that managed to leave her trembling lips.

"These artifacts are called the Key-blades, said to wash out only from the sea when needed. That is how ancient folklore goes, but folklore isn't just fairytales when they've been made for a reason. They're relics of the past that must be acquired."

"My sources told me, there are two others aside from the one that was stolen by that mysterious thief. Interestingly enough, that French boy you took in has one."

Jeen's eyes widened as she nearly glanced up to her father but stopped herself from acting brash as her eyes downcast back to her reflection on the clean waxed floor. Her father stopped cleaning his ring, reaching for a short staff he folded between his strong hold.

"And you managed to let that slip by you, Jeaine."

Taking her lower lip between her teeth softly, she started to think back on everything she knew so far as his words managed to finally break through her façade though she wouldn't let it show. She was as surprised as he was angry, that she knew for sure.

"It was a shock to me to find that the French Mob is after that boy. You sheltered him from that, so they are now at odds with us requesting he be given back. I'm going to excuse you this single occasion. Hanayama will go after the boy to take the blade and throw him back to those rotten dogs. Our business cannot be disrupted."

A sense of frustration washed over her as he kept on talking, a feeling she was already too used to. There was nothing that mattered to him other than business.

"For you – you will find the thief. I want them extinguished and squashed with no excuses. That Key-blade must be acquired before the BABA can get it back," he spoke with such authority and Jeen couldn't help but wonder what kind of terrible fate would be in place for the culprit this time around. "It's surely been figured out by their organization, the importance of that object during these times. That does not mean to act rash just because it's urgent, but instead to acquire it the smart way. Go interrogate the local kids, Latifa will keep an eye on you. If you so much as glance at her, you will be punished."

The young woman sitting beside this man smiled in glee, eyes wide open as if she was eating Jeen up just with her stare. The girl could feel her gaze on her, sending a shiver down her spine. It made her completely quiver in place though she was beyond grateful that looking back at her was prohibited. The woman's devious haunting pixie laugh reached her, shaking her very soul into utter fury that Jeen snuffed out by saying a simple, "Yes, father."

"Now, rid yourself of my presence."

With that, Jeen found herself being taken out through a long dark crimson path only seconds after the audience was done. The walls looked scaly as though they were made from snake skin, something that made the whole place look ten times worse; if she had been in the mood for a joke, she would've thought her father had absolutely no taste for interior decoration. She herself never knew where she was being taken to as she kept her sight straight into the darkness she was led through. As she passed by the various cell doors on the way, she heard whipping coming from someplace nearby despite there being silence. When she neared close, she saw something she was all to familiar with and in disgust, she continued her walk until she was told to stop, at which point a black sash was placed over her eyes and she was led to a car.

When she was eventually allowed to lower the sash after the vehicle had finally stopped, she found she was taken back to the car repair graveyard's front gate.

"A Key-blade?" she asked nobody in particular, as her father's words echoed inside her head as she assimilated what her mission was now. Letting out a long sigh, Jeen let the cool breeze hug her form as she started making her way out of the place.

Clouds continued to roll by in the blue night sky, gently and unbothered.

That same night as the moonlight bathed all it could touch, Seita and Simon found themselves in a BABA officer car, being led to a museum that had been hit mere hours ago. Both boys were impatient and squirming around on the backseat, seemingly unable to remain still when faced with the idea of helping in such a way. "Are you sure it's a right idea to bring these kids?"

"Office Morie, there's nothing to worry about. These kids are actually really good," detective Koh reassured his partner, though the moment the car stopped both Simon and Seita took off out of the car leaving Gronk and Mimi in shock, while racing past a barricade some officers were forming at the front gate of the museum. None of the officers were able to see them coming as they'd both jumped over with ease.

"Hey, stop there!" shouted a guard, but as he was about to give chase he was forced to stop by a hand being placed on his shoulder.

It felt too dangerous, especially if they were kids recklessly running in. "Call an ambulance instead, prepare the squad and prepare to move around from the entire vicinity," said another.

Inside, Seita and Simon kept running side by side until they reached the top of the stairs leading to the museum's doors that remained open, slowing their pace so they could look at the place. The first floor in the building seemed fine; the chandeliers weren't broken, none of the displays were either. That was until they heard glass shattering from the second floor. Both boys looked at each other and took off up the stairs.

As soon as they reached the top, they spotted something straight ahead. The first layer of thick glass had been shattered through… by a beyblade. The fractures continued to expand upon the glass that was still shaking. In front of this, was a short cloaked form standing on a pole in front of the most important exhibit. The one that'd newly been installed. The thief heard the hastened steps the boys made when they approached their spot and glanced back. From within the hood, Seita could see pink hair and faded soft eyes.

"A girl?!"

His voice seemed to set off all the stranger's aleits and, whoever it was, turned back around and raised a large robotic launcher that was aimed at the same glass position. The mechanism fired another beyblade that shattered through the second glass, the artifact on the display stand now within full reach distance. The entire foundation around the small case broke apart, glass raining down as though diamonds were pouring everywhere.

Simon raised his launcher, shooting his beyblade towards the cloaked being. "GRIFFITH!" Though the boy shouted, the thief jumped right over the beyblade with a flexibility that made Seita feel amazed, although he knew it was a threat. The small figure made quick work of using her cloak to cover herself as she propelled herself though the raining glass, taking a side step to a large globe and jumping sideways on it only to manage a perfect landing at the center of the display case on all fours, just as if she were a feline.

Her sight went to the hostile Simon who went out to shout, "DAZZ HOUND, SHOULDER BUMP!" Giiffith scooped back down to distract the girl, being blasted aside by a large growling cat as Dazz Hound tried to tackle the enemy but found the shadows masked the tiger-like bit-beast as the mysterious thief shouted, "TIZARA!" Her cry caused the black spots on the bit-beast to glow a bright pink as it glowed in the dark and blasted Dazz Hound towards Simon, who managed to avoid the attack. Seita bolted over to him, teaching to equip Squishy on the way.

With his bit-beast prepared for battle, he shot straight for the girl who then grabbed a hold of the beyblade at the center of the display and swung her right arm towards the two; her sleeve lifted, it became obvious to the boys that she had a giant metallic gauntlet wrapped around her entire forearm. That shocked Seita as two Beyblades shot for him but Simon shouted on the nick of time, "DAZZ HOUND, INTERCEPT!" Dazz Hound then shook itself off, howling as the two beyblades were shot sideways and Squishy's blade landed beside Dazz Hound's.

At that moment, the hood fell off and the boys finally saw a short girl, about their age that looked at them with an evil smile.

"TIZARA!" the girl called out. She had the rare beyblade in her free hand, clutching it protectively.

The beyblades clashed up against each other as she caught the one she'd briefly thrown, and in a moment of heat Seita's was hit with such force it was thrown away from the fight and onto some crates that were placed close to the entrance of the room. "SQUISHY!" the owner shouted as he rushed to its side, only to see the concealed starfish come out.

"You're still hanging on, come on buddy!" The starfish seemed determined for some reason and Seita could see it in its eyes, though he didn't think about questioning it. "That's weird… It feels sort of like Squishy wants to fight much more than usual."

Just as if it could understand him, the starfish went back to battle, ready to turn into its Starboy form or mermaid boy form – however, no matter how much it tried and gave it its all, nothing happened. It couldn't turn into either. Desperation started to take hold of the two boys as they found themselves in a tricky situation, the girl letting out a loud laugh full of malice from the other side of the museum. "Your Poseidon Key-blade will be mine," she promised as Seita felt the pressure swing Squishy to the side once more.

The blades briefly clashed in front of them, and then the girl took the chance of the distinction to make a quick escape; turning around and running to the nearest window, the boys watched in defeat as she jumped out followed by her Beyblades, which she caught midair by the time landed on firm ground. The ruckus was heard by a guard who flashed a light over to her and tried getting in her way but she shot one of her weapons at his face, successfully making him fall back as the Beyblade jumped over the man; she caught it as she dashed away into the city, disappearing among the unsuspecting crowd.

Simon ran to the window and the crazy idea of jumping out after her crossed his mind, and before he could even think twice his body acted upon it. Thankfully, his landing was harmless. Seita attempted to follow Simon's moves but fell over due to his foot getting caught up in rope as he jumped out of the window, his clumsiness completely surprising Simon who let out a small laugh at the sight of his friend dangling from the rope with his foot stuck. "Two more kids now? God, they don't pay me enough for this," they heard a voice say; when they turned around, they saw a guide dusting off his clothes with a disgruntled expression.

They went around the building and found Simon's father, who was watching the main door with a worried expression. He ran to them as soon as they entered his field of vision, giving a quick hug to his son before both boys started explaining what happened at the same time. "Now, boys, one at a time or else I won't understand a thing," he calmly said, and after Seita told him everything that had unfolded inside the detective stated that the officers would take the description the boys gave and find the girl before something worse could happen.

As Seita was being driven back home with Gronk and Mimi, he thought of the girl and how similar she seemed to the bit-masters. Her speed and movements were incredible but the most notorious thing he could remember was a prominent mark on her cheek. For some reason, that's when Seita recalled his fall; looking at Simon next to him, he apologized for getting stuck on the rope since that led to her escaping. With a sympathetic look Simon told him "It's fine, there's still more she wants so we'll run into her- and from what she wants, it seems she wanted you Seita."

"You're right…" Seita thought. Questioning how she knew Squishy's name if he himself just recently learned it, Seita reiterated to himself for a while.

He got home, already expecting a flurry of questions from his sister, and Hilaiy was surprised to see the police car at first. Her face couldn't hide it at all. "Seita, just what did you get into now? What kind of trouble did you cause with the cops?" As her brother gets out of the car with flaring cheeks, Simon laughed and noted that the parents of the other kids questioned the same thing. He briefly explained what happened as best he could before his dad announces from the car they have to go, saying their respective goodbyes before starting the car and driving down the street.

"I… don't think I understood a single thing that kid said," she muttered as she turned to Seita, who only grabbed her hand and dragged her inside ready to explain with more details of that day and the night's events.

Once everything was settled and Hilary had enough time to both praise him for being strong and scold him for putting himself in danger, there was something that was still bugging him deep inside his mind. He decided there was still danger all around him, especially now that he learned the mysterious girl knew who he was. He remained awake in his room, thinking about leaving his house late at night since he couldn't really sleep while suspecting that someone may be after his beyblade, essentially endangering his sisters.

A strange noise coming from somewhere in his room alerted him and he sat up immediately only to see a familiar face looking up at him from the ground. "Squishy? How did you even get out of the beyblade?" he asked, the starfish looking up at him with icy eyes. "Ah, it's no use. You better get back inside before we leave."

"And where exactly are you planning on going to?"

The voice made Seita freeze in place, slowly turning back to look at the bit-beast who was now sporting a sly smile. Saying nothing, the two looked at each other for a while before Squishy spoke up again.

"I see – you have absolutely no plans."

"You can talk!? No, that shouldn't be possible," the boy said before reaching ovei and pinching his right arm a few times only to discover that he wasn't, in fact, waking up from a nightmare. "Oh my, you can actually talk… wait, why haven't you done this before then?"

Seita was sure that, if the starfish had noticeable shoulders, it would've been shrugging at that point. "I can only do it in this form. I guess I figured it would be better to act all cute and stuff," it said with an entertained tone. "You can become rather intense with some things so I figured I would save both you and myself that as well." Its owner could only nod as it spoke, deciding that it was definitely the weirdest night he had had in his short life. "Anyways, I wanted to talk to you about what happened back at the museum. When we fought that beast… well, there's no easy way to put it, but I think I'm connected to it somehow. I also noticed it was being controlled by more than just the girl, but I couldn't say exactly what was going on. This is more than a coincidence-"

The boy started thinking about what the starfish was saying and couldn't find a single thing that would question its logic – the speed, the ability, the way she fought… it all seemed too good. but before he could reply, steps were heard from outside on the hallway, prompting him to lay down as quickly as he could and for Squishy to return to his beyblade. The door opened and Hilary's head peeked in for a few seconds, checking her brother was already asleep before leaving. "No mom- he's been a good boy the whole day at home" Seita heard her voice disappear. Seita waited another moment to sit up again, and his companion appeared after him.

"We need to find her," was the first thing that left his lips. He only received a disapproving look from the starfish. "Look, it's not because of me, but I can't have my sisters be in danger as well; she knows about me, she could literally be here at any minute now."

"So what, a kid like you will go out and find someone who's more likely to beat you to the ground than say 'hello'? You can't always play the hero," its words were doing more harm to Seita than he had felt that whole night, but it all turned to anger very quickly. "You're not even through puberty yet. Are you going to become a stalker by following her around? Did you fall in love for that feline?!"

Letting out a silent laugh, the boy sharply replied, "You can't even stay as a mermaid boy! You just go back to being a starfish, and you're calling me out for puberty? Besides, how do you even know what being a stalker means?"

"You left me on the living room one too many times with that sister of yours, I had enough time to watch soap operas when the TV was on," the bit-beast explained slowly. Seita only let out a sigh before getting up and gathering his stuff, but the starfish seemed set on not letting him leave.

"Hold it partner- You're just going to put yourself at risk again!" it said but now its voice was louder, as if it wanted to be heard.

After he finished putting everything in his backpack, Seita looked back at it for a moment before reaching down to get the beyblade. "You know what?" he asked with a small smile on his lips, "I think it'd be better if you stay at home tonight," and before the beast could imply he threw it on a pile of clothes that was in his closet, closing the door so that no one would be able to hear it.

He breathed in and out as if that were to calm his fast heartbeat, but he soon found that there would be nothing that could actually help in that situation. "Roaming late night… but I've gotta deal with that and keep them all safe" Decided yet fearful, he walked over to his window and opened it, carefully going out and closing it after.

Unbeknownst to him, standing on top of a house across the street was someone watching him with eagle eyes, someone who had followed the car back to Seita's home; meshing well with the darkness of the night, the figure only smiled. Golden eyes staring at an open window of the home.