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Miki replied “Yes, I do hope you like it though. I don’t see anything that I could make that can last. So I decided to combine the potato croquettes with some ham bits and cheese. I hope it tastes good for you, Oniichan.” she sheepishly smiled.

Deciding that Miki wouldn't move until he did, Kai reached for the serving utensils and transferred a bit of the salad and a few croquettes to his plate. He did the same for Miki - it was only fair that he did his bit in helping serve the food - and then picked up a fork and dug in.

Well, not quite. 'Digging in' would be a term to describe Takao's way of beginning a meal; Kai speared a croquette near its end with his fork, and after cutting off the long part, popped that end into his mouth. Swallowing that, he moved on to the salad, folding and spearing a smallish leaf of lettuce before popping that into his mouth.

"...pretty good," the slate-haired teen said finally, after swallowing the second bit of salad he'd taken in.

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Diana looked from her dish to Houka, and smirked “Whoop-dee-doo I feel really honored,” she said in a teasing voice. But it was true she thought. But it was sort of embarrassing, since a lot of girls usually cook for a guy. Deciding just now that she was really hungry, she continued her eating in silence.

Houka rolled her eyes at the brunette's teasing, and took another bite of her chop suey. If this was what staying with Diana was going to be like, well... she had mixed feelings about this.

Oh, well. Take what you can get.

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"...so, yeah, that's what happened."

"...and you were in?" Ruri asked, her calamari rings all but forgotten.

The amethyst-eyed teen nodded slowly. "Yeah. I guess I passed, or something like that. But enough about me and my blading career," she added. "What about you guys? What did you do or where did you go after I went home?"

"After what happened to you?" Hiromi interjected. "Kei, do you think any of us would have still been in the mood to go out or something?"

The brunette smiled sheepishly. "Hey, I was just asking, and that's the first thing that popped into my mind." She poked at her baked salmon and mixed veggies before taking a bite of both. For a buffet place, the restaurant had some pretty good dishes.

"In any case, are any of you free tomorrow? Kai-san said that we wouldn't have training; he had previous commitments, or something like that..."

Miki pouted while chewing on the croquette she had on her mouth. She decided not to get angry, since it didn’t make a difference. But her annoyance showed because of the way she jammed the fork on the half of her croquette and how noisily she ate the lettuce. Lettuce was suppose to be crunchy, but by how she chewed…it looks like her teeth were also being mashed.

Kai stopped ruffling Miki's hair; he knew when to quit, even if doing that amused him. He didn't show it, instead getting back to dinner. Soon, only a bit of salad was left on his plate, and he decided to get a second helping; it was a healthy dish, anyway, so he had no problems with seconds of that.

"Oh, yeah..." he muttered after a few minutes, getting up soon after and going to the fridge. "Miki, would you prefer apple or orange juice? Or do you want something else?"

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Diana nodded and took a carton of juice and poured Houka a glass. She decided to have some juice as well and poured some on her glass and drank it. Placing her dish and glass on the sink, she started to wash them while waiting for the time to past. She didn’t have anything to do anyway.

Houka merely nodded her thanks when Diana had finished pouring her juice. While the brunette was washing her dishes, the auburn-haired blader cleaned off her plate. It wasn't surprising, seeing as neither were talking; also, although she was capable of cooking, it had actually been some time since Houka had eaten anything homecooked, so polishing off an entire plateful of rice and chop suey was all right as well, to some extent.

"Murphy, you nearly done there?" she asked, getting up from the table. She wanted to wash her own dishes as well, rather than leave them there for her roommate to wash.

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"...a 'B'? Wow..." Kei looked incredulous. Nia had just tried out the new game the arcade had installed, and they were all viewing the results of what, for them, was one of the harder songs on the machine so far. "...although you could have gotten better, you know..." she added teasingly upon seeing her friend's semi-pleased face.

"All right, then, let's see you try!" The brown-haired teen returned, playing along. She handed the sacred soul-bearer the drum sticks that came with the game and vacated the seat supplied by the arcade management.

"Ohh boy..." Ruri sighed mockingly, while beside her, Hiromi chuckled. "Here we go again..."

It must be said that among the four, Kei and Nia were the most competitive, especially with each other; one could always issue a challenge of sorts to the other, for acceptance of that challenge was almost always guaranteed. That said, Kei took her friend's place on the seat and slid a one-yen coin in, then hit the start button. Soon, her own game was underway...

Miki was still chewing the lettuce until her brother’s voice rang through her ears and looked at him from the back of her eye. “Apple juice please” she said finally, almost forgetting her annoyance. Key word. Almost

She let herself have another helping of salad like her brother and got another piece of a croquette. She decided to put some more dressing on her salad and a bit on her croquette. Miki continued to eat her meal until she finally decided to ask her brother a question “Oniichan, no one still knows I am your sister right? What if everyone thinks I am just one of your fan girls who want to battle you and get to know you in person?

Kai returned to the table, bottle of apple juice in hand, and began pouring some into Miki's glass. In reply to her question, he said "...only Murphy, Hiyomura, and that Sayka know, but I'm sure they'll set anyone else straight..." Okay, the slate-haired teen wasn't that sure; in any case, suspicious - and probably jealous - fangirls would be the least of their problems once the tournament commenced.

After pouring himself a glass of apple juice, Kai set the bottle on the table, in case either of them wanted a refill, and went back to the meal.

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Diana muttered a “yeah” and placed the dish and glass on the rack and stepped out of the way for Houka to wash her own dish. Stretching her arm, she rubbed her eye and said “I think I’ll go and take a shower or something. Feel kinda sleepy even if it’s still early”. And with that she went to bathroom and closed the door.

Once the brunette stepped away from the sink, Houka went towards it, muttering a "Thank you," before proceeding to rinse off her glass.

"And go ahead," the sea green-eyed teen added without looking at Diana. "Its not like I'm stopping you or anything..." Moments later, the faint sound of a door swinging shut reached her ears, and she knew she was alone. In the kitchen, at least.

The dishes were done soon, and Houka placed these in the dish dryer before going back to the bedroom. She hunted down her casual - rather, indoor clothing (a pair of dark blue long shorts and an oversize men's shirt in white), hanging them from the back of the nearest chair when she found them. Afterwards, she lay once more on the bed and closed her eyes, listening to the rhythmic sounds of the city outside. Strange how it was actually kind of relaxing when she knew it was pretty much chaotic out there...

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"Thanks for the night out, guys. I had fun." Kei said, one hand on the strap of her bag, ready to hitch it up in case it started sliding down again - which it had been doing for the better part of the past half hour the group had spent at the arcade.

"Easy for you to say," Nia grumbled, but her eyes were sparkling. "You kept getting the highest scores on all the games we played..."

The amethyst-eyed teen stuck out her tongue teasingly. "Not my fault you're easily distracted or lose focus and forget stuff..."

This statement made Hiromi chuckle, and Ruri grinned. The most memorable part of their arcade trip was, perhaps, when they played "House of the Dead IV". Ruri had waved the gun in front of Nia's face; surprisingly, the brown-haired girl had turned and tried to fire at Ruri in retaliation, for some reason forgetting that their weapons contained no actual bullets, even to the point of exclaiming "Stupid gun! Why don't you fire?!" At that point, one of the personnel had approached them and said "Excuse me, miss, why don't you try pointing it at the screen?"

"...don't remind me..." Nia was saying now, a half-pout on her face. "That was sooo embarassing..."

Kei laughed again, then gave her friend a quick hug. "Don't worry; I'm sure they'll all forget soon enough. In any case, I think its time we all went home; I still have something of a curfew, and your parents wouldn't like it if we all stayed out late..."

"Yeah..." auburn-haired Hiromi added, giving a slight nod. "Okaasan can go a little batty worrying after me, so I'd better go before she flies the coop..."

"Okay," Ruri agreed. "But let's meet up again tomorrow, since Kei doesn't have training. Anyone up for rollerblading?"

"Sure!" Kei said immediately. "Just don't drag me down when you trip and fall, all right?"

In the few moments it took for the blonde to get her statement, Kei had turned and run off, laughing. Cries of "Kei, you get back here!", "Gyaah! Don't do that, baka!", and "Hey, you two, wait up!" resounded above the usual crowd chatter as Ruri, and then Hiromi and Nia gave chase.

Miki finished around after Kai announced his response and did the same. She stood up and took her plate, fork and knife. She went to where her brother sat and took his as well. “I’ll wash the dishes Oniichan. You can go and rest if you wish” Miki reassured Kai, flashing him another of her smiles.

Taking off towards the sink, she put on the yellow apron once again and started to work. After what her older brother did for her, doing the chores was something she wanted to do to repay him.

Kai also stood up, uttering a not-so-audible "Thank you," - he was fairly certain Miki'd heard it - then headed for the living room. After collecting the blanket Miki had used, he went towards the bedroom. The slate-haired teen figured it was never to early to straighten up the beds or whatever - not because he or Miki were going to bed. It just looked neater - and to some extent, more relaxing - when it was made properly. At the moment, it wasn't, as he'd pretty much torn off the comforter getting the blanket for his twin.

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Diana muttered a “yeah” and continued to dry her hair. She was responded with a soft click of the door closing on her. Laying on the bed and throwing the towel on top of the lamp table in between the two beds, she laid her head down on her hands and closed her eyes to meditate for a few minutes.

Houka reached for her towel, wrapping it around her still-wet hair. She'd just finished shampooing it, and she didn't like it getting in her way when she moved on the rest of her body. Besides, wrapping it in something absorbent would help it dry quicker.

Now that she thought about it, it felt strange being back in Tokyo after living for several odd years bouncing from one place ot another - all quite far from the general Tokyo area - whenever there was any sign that Balkov had tracked her down. Even stranger to the auburn-haired teen was that she was sharing the place with someone; she'd gotten used to living alone.

Well, may as well get used to it, Kurozuki; you're not sure what you're doing after the tournament, anyway, so you may be staying here longer than you planned...

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Kei turned up the volume of her personal sound stystem, then popped in one of her CDs and pressed 'play'. Then she stepped into her bathroom and shut the door. As soon as she ran the bath, the introduction to Minagawa Junko's "Cruel" reached her ears.

It didn't take long - just that one song - for the tub to fill, and soon the brunette was leaning back against the porcelain, her hair up in a high ponytail so it wouldn't get wet, and humming along to "Sign", still by Minagawa.

It must be said that soaking in the tub was one of the amethyst-eyed blader's indulgences, because it afforded her some meditating, or contemplating time - or both, if it came to that, something she couldn't do properly when outside of the house and dealing with events as they came, which meant she couldn't think things through as thoroughly when compared to thinking them over at home, particular in the bath.

For now, though, the foremost question in her mind had nothing to do with Beyblading or the upcoming tournament - which had occupied her ever since the announcement had been aired on television. Rather, it had more to do with the scheduled outing for the next day than anything else - what else she and her three companions would do besides rollerblading. Her experiences so far as an actual member of a championship team - particularly those involving Kai - were there, as well, but Kei chose not to dwell on them too much.

Miki nodded and proceeded towards the cabinet as instructed. Opening one door, she took out a large white towel and a medium sized one. She then came to her bags and rummaged through the contents, her hand digging for a specific type of clothing. Finally pulling one out, she took out a pair of black shorts and a deep blue t-shirt and went inside the bathroom and closed the door.

Kai, meanwhile, went back out to the living room. He stood at the large-panelled windows, gazing out at the thronged streets, filled with vehicles and people rushing here and there. It was already quite dark outside, and the slate-haired teen had noticed it just then, with all the flashing signs. Little noise reached that floor, but Kai knew it was getting to be a bit loud down at the street level. He heard the bathroom door shut, but didn't bother to look; he already knew who'd gone inside.

He found it a bit...strange how he'd adjusted easily to having someone in the apartment with him. Of course, it could have been because he and Miki were related and practically grew up together (discounting their separation years) and therefore were familiar with each other. It would probably have been quite a different story if it was not Miki who was sharing the apartment.

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Using her elbow - which was a little awkward - Houka jiggled the doorknob, then nudged the door open; her hands were busy hanging on to her soiled clothes and keeping the towel on her head from flopping forward and falling to the floor. The larger of her two towels - the one she'd used to dry herself off - the auburn-haired teen hung on the armchair in the living room, leaving it to air and dry out.

Upon reaching the bedroom, the slightly tanned blader tossed her used clothes on top of her satchel, pleased when they landed more or less neatly where she wanted them to. And then, after drying her hair a bit more - it would have to stay a bit damp the rest of the night - Houka hung the towel on the back of the same chair where she'd placed her clothes while waiting for Diana to finish earlier.

Speakin' of Diana...Oh. The sea green-eyed girl turned to find the brunette already lying down, most likely asleep. She shrugged, then lay down herself. "Might as well..." she murmured, closing her eyes and tucking her hands behind her head, as she had earlier. "So bored anyway, I'm bound to fall asleep sooner or later..."

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"Haruka todoku kimi ni chikatta kotoba ga itsumademo kagayaite boku no mune no naka ni..."

Kei re-entered her room singing along to 'Chikai' - still by Minagawa Junko - quite possibly her favorite song by that particular seiyuu. Just for fun, she sat on her bed, several feet away from her open hamper, and began tossing her clothes in.

Yes! she thought, ecstatic, when all five items of clothing landed in the large woven basket - her best record so far. Maybe its the accuracy training from Beyblading... the amethyst-eyed teen thought, a small smile on her face, heading for her towel rack to - what else? - hang up her towel. Afterwards, she went to her desk and brought out her sketchpad. She was pretty much relaxed now, and as such was in the mood to draw.

The question was: what did she want to draw? She sat there, tapping her chin with her drawing pencil until, a minute or so later, it came to her, whereupon she laid the drawing pad down, leaned over slightly, and began to sketch, the scratch of graphite on paper backdropped by Minagawa's slightly rock-ish song.

Miki blushed softly. Her brother still remembered her childhood fears. Even now, she still was used to sleeping with Kai being there by her side. Lowering the wet towel to her lap, she raised her head with her slight blushing cheeks visible and gave a soft smile “Well…I didn’t want to disturb you Oniichan. But I am rather tired from what happened today.”

Miki couldn’t really say anything actually. She was rather embarrassed, how couldn’t you if you are 17 and still needed someone to at least be with you while you sleep? Pathetic. She felt really ashamed asking her older brother such a thing. But she was rather used to sleeping alone anyway but, she still felt insecure if she didn’t know the presence of her brother was there.

He had guessed correctly; Miki's face - flushed cheeks and whatnot - and her hesitant tone said it all. "I get it," he said reassuringly, gesturing towards the bedroom; He'd stay with her until she fell asleep. A bath could wait. Besides, though he'd never admit it, he'd feel more at ease if he made sure Miki was safely asleep in the bedroom than if he'd let her alone, and then be uncertain as to her whereabouts later on.

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"Bye bye mama no kawari nara hoka no dareka atatte yo..."

Kei stretched. She'd been bent over for the past fifteen minutes - evidenced by the change in song artist from Minagawa to Nanase Aikawa - and she was starting to feel the strain.

But at least I got something done... she thought, glancing at her sketchpad. Placed roughly in the center of the page, was a phoenix that looked like it was rising up out of somewhere to catch a fox, who seemed to be about to pounce on the phoenix.

A bit self-centered, subliminally, but the brunette liked to think of it as another interpretation of the taijitu - or the symbolic 'yin and yang'. The tiger and dragon had already been used before, and she doubted her ability to draw a chimera, let alone a tortoise entwined with a snake, in order for the concept of opposites to work. It looked all right, in her opinion; however, even if she wanted to finish it, she was feeling a bit tired, and perhaps that was enough drawing for the day.

Time seem to have passed by quickly when you suddenly hear the soft chirps and songs of morning birds. Diana felt this when the light of dawn touched her eyelids. Blinking softly and focusing her gaze upon the window, a smile forming on her lips.

Tugging out of her blanket, she took out a brush to take out some tangles and such out of her hair. Once done, she took off her clothes and changed into a long sleeved black shirt with gray lines along the sleeves and black jogging pants.

Putting on a pair of rubber shoes, she took out her katana and proceeded to write a small note for Houka to know her whereabouts. She decided the best way was outside the window. Standing in front of the glass pane, slid it open and jumped down. She landed on the pole and then on the awning, then the ground. Simple as that. And she was walking along the empty, silent streets of the soon to be awakened city.

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Miki, who was also brightened by the light of dawn, opened her eyes and blinked them several times. Wiping some sleep off her eyelids, she rummaged through her bag to get a pair of clothes and went inside the bathroom to change. She came out, all dressed in a pair of dark jeans, a long sleeved navy blue shirt and some sneakers. She decided to head to kitchen and make some breakfast for Kai for a change.

Setting to work, she whipped up some eggs, a few strips of bacon and toast. Nothing too special since she will eat with Kai anyway. She looked high and low and finally found some juice and made a small pitcher full of the orange liquid and set the table with the plates and glasses.

Warm.

Comfortably warm fingers of sun carressed his cheek, causing Kai to blink several times before sitting up, fully awake. The first thing he did, aside from brush back the bangs that hung in his eyes, was look as the bed...and find Miki gone.

Sounds from outside the bedroom, however, alerted the slate-haired teen to where his sister was, reassuring him that all was well. He stood up and went out, making his way to the kitchen, where the sounds were originating. Sure enough, there was Miki, bustling about like last night, only she was preparing breakfast - bacon, eggs, toast, and orange juice. "Well, someone's a busy bee..." the crimson-eyed blader said, by way of greeting.