Short chapter.
Well, at least by my standards.

Joshua was absolutely amazed that the psychiatrist at the police station had said that he did not, by some miracle, have PTSD. Even after all the terror he'd faced yesterday, apparently Joshua wasn't very much affected by it; the psychiatrist himself was thoroughly surprised. He still was required to have extra security around the clock at the WBBA, though, considering his popularity status, his now nonexistent car, and the still-imminent danger of the ninja cronies lurking around. Agent Ivy seemed to be in charge of that. He hadn't seen her since the incident, probably filing paperwork or something.

Currently, however, he didn't have time to worry about security, because he was enduring something even scarier than nearly being gunned down.

"—and you didn't even THINK to call me back to let me know what happened?! Ay, spare me the pain of having such an ungrateful son! Do you know how much your poor mother suffered because of you, eh, Joshua?!"

Joshua winced and held the phone slightly away from his ear. "Mama, Mama, please—" he began timidly, attempting to appease his mother's wrath.

"And to frighten your poor padre, too! He almost had a heart attack when he heard about it! I told you that you should not have signed up for this movie, I told you it was a bad place, but did you listen? Noooooo! And now you've nearly gotten yourself killed! Aya, you fool, you could've died!"

Karina watched the entire episode unfold from the corner of the couch, where she was casually drinking some coffee that the WBBA had graciously provided. She apparently wasn't too badly traumatized either, which made a teensy bit more sense, considering she wasn't the one chased by a bunch of goons through the city.

"Okay, okay, Ma, I'll be fine, okay? We have plenty of guards around here, yes, the car insurance is sorted out, we're fine right now—nononono it's fine, really, I mean it!" With every word, Joshua looked more and more like a victim of Rapunzel's frying pan. "Okay, okayyyy, can you liek—listen? Well then, why don't you yell at Rina instead—Look, look, I'll call you back—Mama please calm down—liek—okay? Okay? We're fine, you can go talk to Rina now—nevermind then—uh—bye, love yo—"

The phone call abruptly disconnected, and Joshua looked at Karina with a deadpan look on his face. "You got lucky this time," he grumbled.

Karina shook her head, masking her grin behind a cringe. "I still can't take you seriously," she said. "And why haven't you changed out of that costume? It's like I'm stuck in a room with a yellow skunk."

Joshua gestured incredulously. "Really? Rina, I designed part of this! It's magnificent! And how dare you call my hair a skunk!" he declared.

"Honestly, sometimes I wonder how we're related," Karina mumbled under her breath.

Joshua sighed and tossed his phone to the side, sitting on the couch again. His hands gestured wildly as he mimicked his mother in rapid Spanish. "Oh no, Joshua, what did you do? You walked into the line of fire, and you let yourself get chased down the street by a bunch of thugs in the car! We're going right back to Argentina and staying there, whether you like it or not! And you didn't even bother to ask Director Sam if Ed was really trustworthy? I'd never even heard of him before! Well, I'm SO sorry, Mom, he could've just been shy and starting out his career, because people do that, you know! How should I know he was secretly an assassin or something?! Geez!"

Karina slow-clapped. "Congrrrratulations," she said in deadpan. "She'd skin you alive if she heard you saying that. Also, I meant the skunk thing. You need to take a shower."

Joshua pouted on the carpet in childish refusal. "Nyever," he muttered. He ignored the shame he felt rising in his chest from saying it.

Karina helplessly gestured at him and slumped in her seat. "Why did you say that," she groaned.

Joshua still wasn't going to listen, though. Sure, the WBBA had arranged for them to stay during the rest of the week to keep them better guarded, but there was no way he was stepping into one of those crusty shower stalls with all the crusty mildew in the crusty grout.

Also, the spare clothes felt like cardboard. Nothing like the comfortable, classy suits which he always got during shoots. If he couldn't get a proper shower or a proper change, then he would simply not shower at all.

Joshua stretched with a great big yawn, realizing just how little sleep he'd gotten over the past couple of days. The third interview thing was sometime soon; he couldn't bother to remember when, and he certainly wasn't about to prepare for it.

"Hey, Rina, make sure no one comes in here, I gotta take a nap," he ordered, sprawling contentedly on the sofa.

The door handle creaked open. "I'm sorry, sir, there's no time for a nap."

Joshua bellowed like a mad cow and sprang off the sofa to face his assailant. "Back away, intruder! I have the power of Beyblade in my hands!"

The so-called intruder tapped a clipboard uncomfortably. "Mr. Burns, sir, I don't think that launcher by itself will do you any good," the intruder said.

Joshua pensively peeked his eyes open.

Now that Joshua looked closely, the intruder didn't seem like she was going to kill him. All she had was blue hair, a crisp formal outfit, and a clipboard, but no weapons. He awkwardly lowered his launcher. "Um... sorry?" he said lamely. "But there's been a lotta stuff happening lately, so, I mean, I couldn't help it."

The blue-haired woman gave him a closed-eye smile. "Of course, Mr. Burns. I perfectly understand," she said. "My name is Mrs. Hikaru Hasama, private secretary to the WBBA Director in Chief. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The awkwardness of the short silence that followed was like a suffocating, deadly fart.

Then the fart hit both Joshua and Karina in the face.

Hikaru Hasama.

In the flesh.

The famous Bey archival coordinator, who had worked alongside the legendary Hagane and Tategami bladers alike, and who had documented and designed countless models for the new systems that the WBBA put out every now and then. The one who had overseen all championships alongside the retired WBBA president Ryo Hagane as his personal assistant. The one who had released everyone's favorite books, The Beyblade Legends Atlas and A History of Beyblade Systems and Their Influences. (Joshua treasured his copies of those books more than his Free posters, and that was saying something.)

He opened his mouth and found his voice stuck in his throat. "Y—you're—" he squeaked.

"—Hikaru Hasama?" Karina finished, equally speechless.

Mrs. Hasama seemed to not notice their stupor, and she gasped apologetically. "Oh, I'm sorry, Miss Burns! I didn't see you back there. It's a great pleasure to meet you as well," she said.

Karina turned red. "Ehh, it's fine! Same, uh! Nice to meet you too! Yeah!" she spluttered. Abruptly she hid her face in her hands and squeaked like an excited fangirl. (Which is exactly what she was in the moment.)

"No way, you're—you're actually real?" Joshua said in a small voice.

Mrs. Hasama raised an eyebrow. "Ehm, yes, Mr. Burns," she said. "Is something the matter?"

It was then that Joshua realized what he'd said, and he wished he could curl up into a blob on the floor. "Ugggghhhh, sorry, I didn't mean that, my brain is fried," he mumbled under his breath.

Mrs. Hasama raised an eyebrow, although her expression betrayed no malice. "I understand," she said, nodding her head.

Karina took a deep breath and finally found her voice again. "Err, anyway, is there something you—uh, wanted to talk about with us? We're um, just kinda, you know, shocked and we weren't really expecting some—someone so... esteemed to come around here. Yeah."

"Ah, of course," Mrs. Hasama said, smiling brightly again. "I'm simply here to bring you both to a meeting with the Director. We've all been very intrigued at the recent incidents, and before you have your next meeting with our forensics department, we thought it would be best to give you both a brief overview of what we're planning for the next few days."

Joshua raised his head and inhaled deeply. "Ah, yes, finally someone tells us what's going on," he groaned. "Like, see uh, no offense to you, ma'am, I'm a huge fan, but like, can we at least get a schedule or something, you know?"

Karina nodded. "What he said," she added.

"I understand. I always hated being kept in the dark too," Mrs. Hasama said gently. "Now, if you'll come with me, the conference room is downstairs. Although...." She sniffed, then frowned. "Are you sure you don't want to take a shower before meeting the Director, Mr. Burns?"

Ah, of course.

Karina threw her hands up. Told you so, she furiously mouthed behind Joshua.

Joshua winced and squashed the dread in his system. "I guess I don't have a choice, do I?" he grumbled, hoisting himself up and trudging over to where the WBBA cardboard clothes were resting neatly on the coffee table.

Mrs. Hasama tilted her head and glanced at the clock on the wall. "Best you'd hurry," she said. "We don't want to delay too long. We have a rather long conversation ahead of us and it's already almost noon."

With the clean-but-subpar-quality clothes in hand, Joshua embarked on the long walk to the bathroom ten meters down the hall.

<>

Typing.

The sound was almost endless. It seemed that the constant clicking could go on forever.

Skadi hit the <Enter> key one final, extra-emphasized time. "And there we go! Mrs. Hasama should be here any minute," she said, swiping the screen. "Triple security's in place, yep. Satellite signals are miraculously strong today, thankfully. Nothing—and no one—seems to have died yet."

She leaned back for a minute, rubbing her forehead. "Can someone please turn that music off?" she called.

A loud groan came from the corner desk as Hanami stopped the song. "But it's a good song!" the announcer said. "We have to support Zac the Sunshine, he's one of our greatest bladers!"

"Mhm, sure, as if listening to it for an hour straight is the only way to support an artist," Skadi said, wrinkling her nose to Hanami's offended expression. "Please, I'd rather preserve my sanity and my stomach. It's worse than a migraine, and I don't need anything that makes me extra nauseous or I might actually puke right here."

Around the duo, various assistants murmured to themselves in apprehension.

"Hey, can't one cup of coffee help with that?" Hanami asked. He held up a cup in gesture.

"Nice try, Hanami, but you know I can't have coffee," Skadi said with a huff.

Under her desk, a dark snout whined softly.

Skadi rolled her eyes and patted the dog's head. "It's alright, Bakuten, I know. You can get the song later," she said quietly. "But not now, okay? Gosh, you're even worse than Hanami. Now you just sit tight, and then we can play the song when we go out for battling practice, aight? Good boy."

Bakuten, with a rather disappointed-sounding whine, licked Skadi's hand and put his head down on his paws. His tail flicked idly.

Skadi looked back at her screen and began frantically typing again. "Hold still, boy. We just got a call from the archaeology base in Nagoya. Agent Lollipop, come in. How's the excavation coming along?"

"Good midnight, HQ. Mission accomplished, the damage was maximized," reported a tired voice. "Arrow lost track of time and we ended up accidentally torching the surrounding area. Almost looks like a werewolf attacked. Other than that, the thousand-year-old stadiums are perfectly preserved, perfectly intact, and the grounds are ready for research. Over."

"Well, hallelujah, you've done it again," Skadi groaned. "You know what destruction of property means for you, right, kid?"

"Relax, mom, it's still an abandoned building anyway, and Genjuro cleared it all up and none of the actual important stuff was lost," Lollipop said. "Did you know there was a really old dog watching us, though? Looked like that Hokuto dog back in Koma."

"What, could it talk or something?" Skadi said.

"No, we just thought it was interesting," the voice said.

"Hey, look, if you don't keep on task, I can always give you a task that's even more interesting," Skadi snapped, forcefully tapping on the holographic screen. "I know we're not in Japan right now so I can't keep track of you boys all the time, but if Shogun reports any more breakdowns there due to your incompetence, you will sit in the corner and think about your actions. Do you copy that?"

"Copy loud and clear, mother," the voice said, clearly dripping with sarcasm even over the static. "I gotta sleep and then we'll collect samples in the morning. Over and out."

The line disconnected.

Skadi rubbed her forehead. "I really threatened a time-out again, didn't I," she sighed. A couple laughs filtered through the air from the others who had heard her.

Hanami shrugged good-naturedly. "It works," he said. "At least your mood didn't swing the other way and threaten to nuke them in a battle."

Skadi shot him a dirty look. "Why, you wanna see the dark side again?" she nearly growled.

Hanami raised his hands in surrender. "Ehh, no thanks, I'm good," he said.

A soft chuckle broke forth from the window seat. "It's been twenty years and you all still never fail to amuse me," the voice said.

"Glad we can keep you entertained, Director," Skadi muttered. She rubbed her eyes tiredly. "By the way, Agent Tarver and Agent Jones just finished their security reports on the Vergo breach. Tarver suggested they should both be added into the watch rotation for the Burns kids. What's your opinion?"

A hum of approval. "Hm. I'll look over that idea with him when he gets back. Hikaru's right about to arrive, right?"

"Yes, she is, sir," Hanami said. "She should be bringing both Burns siblings here with her, as you expected."

"Good. We'll ask for her input too. Heaven knows she's still wiser than me, even if I'm in charge. Right, Bakuten?"

Upon hearing his name, Bakuten crawled out from underneath Skadi's desk and whined. The window voice chuckled again. "Yep, even you agree," the director said.

Skadi smiled. "She should probably be here within the next few seconds or so, so that's good," she said.

As if on cue, a silhouette appeared near the translucent entrance doors across the room. In the next instant, the red lock light switched to green, and a familiar blue-haired woman entered with two awkward-looking people who were gaping at everything like fish out of water. Bakuten immediately perked up and began to wag his tail.

"... And after that, we may or may not have to talk about better sleeping arrangements, although I'm sure we have plenty of space to spare for the both of you," Hikaru continued to say to the guests. She looked forward and her expression brightened. "Well, good afternoon, Director, everyone," she said.

A bright pair of golden eyes, set into a sharp, aged face, turned to look at Joshua and Karina Burns as they took in the scene with wide eyes. The director smiled. "Looks like you made it back before the afternoon bell, Hikaru."

"You know I like to be early," Hikaru said, chuckling. She turned to the two siblings standing behind her and gestured forward. "Alright, you two," she began, "I'd like you to meet the Director of the WBBA Investigation Service:

"Captain Tsubasa Otori."

Tsubasa smiled and extended his hand.

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Apparently the chapter wasn't as short as I thought it'd be, and now it's roughly normal length.

Welp, at least I have a lot to say.