I’m using
the Japanese-version names.
Takao
Kinomiya = Tyson Granger
Kyouju =
Kenny/Chief
Rei Kon =
Ray
Max
Mizuhara = Max Tate
Rai = Lee
Mao =
Mariah
Gao =
Kiki =
Kevin
Ralf = Robert
Giancarlo = Enrique
Yuri = Tala
Ivan = Ian
Sergey =
Spencer
Boris =
Disclaimer: I don’t own Beyblade and X. Miaka, Alexei and Shinobu are mine.<…> means that someone is speaking in Japanese.
Kai’s Birthday: Chapter 21
Shinobu Yuuki a.k.a. Shin-chan wasn’t exactly happy about having moved. She quite liked her home and district. It was there where she had her friends and where she went to the dojo. Now she had to change that.
While finding a new dojo was no problem – there was one near, run by a man named Kinomiya. However, finding new friends could prove trickier.
Shin-chan took a bandana and tied it around
her head. It was white with the symbol of the rising sun, like that on the old
flag of
No, she wasn’t pretty. She was tall and thin, with a triangle shaped face. Her chin was pointy and she had high cheekbones. All in all Shin-chan bore a striking resemblance to a scarecrow. A scarecrow dressed in nice shorts, but a scarecrow nonetheless. The said shorts were knee-length. She also had a belt with a chain attached to it and a blue t-shirt with a picture of an ugly black-haired chibi with thick eyebrows, making a Hawaii-dance pose. The final touch was a pair of small round pink sunglasses.
Her nickname was the result of her affinity for an anime where the ugly chibi was the main hero. And he was called Shin-chan or Shinosuke. The little detail of that fictitious Shin-chan being a boy didn’t bother her friends in the least.
She decided to check this Kinomiya-dojo that day. After putting a pair of red snickers on, she jogged out, instinctively grabbing her bokken. It took her only a few minutes to reach the dojo. There was a big group of kids in the garden. She blinked.
It seemed the people in there were very famous beybladers: the Bladebreakers, White Tigers, All Starz, Majestics and Demolition Boys. And there was also a black-haired burikko bouncing about, mostly quite near the Russian captain.
Shin-chan wasn’t a blader. She was always interested in kendo, so she only knew what some friends told her. And than, she wasn’t very careful when listening to them.
- Huh? – the blue-haired boy in a baseball cap – Takao Kinomiya, she guessed – spotted her - <Are you here to train kendo?>
- Hai.
- <Come in.> - he grinned friendly at her and smacked his head suddenly. – I have to train too! Sorry!
- Can we watch? – asked a blond boy in orange dungarees.
- Sure, Max. – Takao stopped in mid-run. - <My grandpa’s there.> - he waved his hand left and dashed to his room yelling: - <I’ve got to change!>
- What’s goin’ on? – a tall black boy asked bewildered.
- We’ll watch Takao train kendo. – Max answered with a grin.
They observed the two opponents with interest. One was Takao, the other the unknown thin girl. They stood in front of each other, clad in the special armour the people, who train kendo wear. The girl was a good deal taller than Takao – she was around Michael’s height.
- I’m Yuuki Shinobu. – she said in English with a very strong Japanese accent, while bowing. The boy mimicked her move.
They changed their position and started circling, their knees slightly flexed, wielding their swords in stretched arms. Suddenly both began an assault of slashes, each supported with a scream. The sound created when the swords clashed resembled that of a savage tribes war drums. Then at one different sound they stopped, a fellow trainee raised his flag pointing at Shinobu, as she had gained one point for a head hit.
- Why were they screaming? – wondered Michael.
- It’s part of the philosophy of kendo. – answered Kai. – You have to tell, which part of the body you hit.
- Why?
Kai pretended not to here the second question. He turned back to the training. Both seemed good, but in the end Shinobu won 2:1. She took off the mask and shook her head.
- <You’re good.> – said Takao.
- <Well, I train very much.> – the girl answered with a grin.
- Ey, dragon-boy, come here! – suddenly Ivan piped up.
- Huh? – the blue-haired Japanese gave the Russian a surprised look, but came nonetheless.
- It’d be nice to have someone around, who looks as ‘pretty’ as I do.
- You’re telling me, I should ask her to come with us.
- Yep, Einstein. Did you find it out alone or somebody helped you?
- You’re annoying, you know?
- I do my best.
Takao turned around and grinned.
- Say Shinobu, wouldn’t you like to go somewhere with us?
- Hai.
- You know, who’s who?
- Hai. – she said and started pointing. – You’re Takao Kinomiya, this is Max Mizuhara, Kai Hiwatari, Rei Kon Kyouju, Rai, Mao, Gao, Kiki, Maikeru…
- It’s Michael!
- Shut up. Not all Japanese can pronounce English properly. – hissed Kai.
- Maikeru, Emiri, Eddi, Stib, Oribie, Rarfu, Johnny, Giancar… sorry, can’t say it. Yuriy…
- I’m from Moskva! – Screamed the red-head.
- Sergey, Borisu, Iban.
- I never knew, you could make our names sound so weird. – Emily whispered to Max.
- You haven’t heard the best. Try explaining the difference in pronunciation between erection and election to a Japanese.
Shinobu announced that she had to take something from her home. Of course the beybladers wanted to follow her – it’s not every day you someone so similar to a scarecrow. The girl took out a pair of keys from her pocket. There was a small locket with a picture of a vulture attached to them. It looked very much like a bit chip.
- <Can I take a look?> - asked Kyouju.
- Huh? – Shinobu gave him a surprised look. - <This? I bought it on holidays abroad.>
She gave him the locket. The boy in the glasses regarded it carefully, than opened his laptop. Finally, he jerked his head up.
- It’s a bit beast!
- You can keep it. – the girl smiled. – I don’t need it.
The boy smiled contently. He would build the Ultimate Beyblade of Doom, after all. And the bitbeast was dark, dangerous and… What was its name? That he didn’t know.
The girl meanwhile run into her house and grabbed a backpack, a wallet and a sheath for her bokken.
- Where are we going? – asked Michael.
- I want to go shopping! – announced Mao.
And then, there was silence.
Translations:
Hai(Japanese) – Yes.
Bokken(Japanese) – the bamboo sword used in kendo
A/N
Firstly, I’d like to thank my brother for writing the kendo-training scene (or more exactly the duel).
Shin-chan’s nickname was taken from an anime you might know as ‘Crayon Shin-chan’, while her sunglasses are tribute to ‘General Daimos’ – where one fellow (Koushiro – or something like that, watched it long ago) wore such glasses… and a katana on his back.