It was a normal Monday in West City. Samuru Shigami; a b-shot of the west, master of rapid-fire shot and the partner of Sonic Dravise, was walking back home from another normal day at school. Dravise, his b-daman who was held in his right hand; was asking the usual question that was a regular conversation between him and his partner.
"How was school" Dravise as he looked up at Samuru who was waiting for the bus to arrive.
"The usual" Samuru answered.
"Don't you have any school activities today?"
"I don't have library or class duty today and there is no group discussion today." Samuru listed.
Dravise asked in curiosity. "So, what are you going to do today?"
Samuru shrugged. "Don't know. If we don't have any meetings at WBMA, I will just study or continue with the current book I'm reading."
Dravise frowned. "Don't you want to do anything else, like hang out with your friends?"
"Who are you talking about" Samuru asked softly.
"I am talking about Riki and the other." Dravise sighed tiredly.
Samuru thinks for a moment as he stares down at the pavement.
"I am sure if you give them a call, I am sure that they especially Riki will be happy to hang out with you" Dravise said again.
"They must be pretty busy with their own life besides I don't want to disturb their time" Samuru murmured.
"I don't think they will mind."
Samuru went silent as he continued to walk. Dravise sighed. Only he has seen this side of his partner; shy, quiet, and reserved. His partner wants to talk to other people, but his social anxiety just makes it difficult to communicate with others due to his fear of being judged because of his low self-esteem. His father has been trying to fix his low self-esteem, but the result is slow.
"If you want, you can ask your father to transfer you to the school that your friends attend. I am sure he is happy to do it for you." Dravise continued.
Before Samuru could answer, he felt a vibration from his pocket. He pulls out his phone and sounds a notification from WBMA. Sighing in relief, he started walking towards the train station.
Dravise notices Samuru's sudden change and asks him. "A message from the WBMA?"
"Yeah. They want everyone to gather at the usual stadium. There are some things they want to discuss with us." Samuru answers as he continues to walk towards his destination.
Location
Stadium A,
WBMA Headquarters,
Centre City,
CFB Dimension.
It takes Samuru half an hour to arrive at the usual meeting place. When he arrived, everyone including B-shot from Crestland had already gathered and were chatting with each other. Kamon Godai: The Grand B-Master and the partner of Garuburn, was chatting with Yuki when he noticed Samuru walking towards them.
"Samuru! Over here!" He yelled as he waved at him to signal his location to his friend.
Samuru noticed Kamon and calmly walked up to them. Novu Moru, the partner of Dragen, looked at him out of curiosity.
"You are late?" He asks.
Samuru looked at him skeptical. "It's that a problem for you?"
"No, just curious" Novu answers as he shakes his head.
Reiji, who just finished talking with Hugo noticed something different with Samuru. He looks closely at him until he finally manages to figure out the differences.
"Hey, Samuru. I never thought you went to RRA." He said as he pointed at Samuru's clothing.
All of them turned to look and noticed the different outfits. From his usual clothing, Samuru currently wearing a white shirt with a dark red tie underneath a dark blue jacket with white lines, dark blue pants and brown shoes. A black bag was held in his left hand.
Bakuga Shira; the B-Master of the West looked confused as the other decided to ask. "What's RRA?"
"Royal Rose Academy." Reiji answer.
"Royal Rose Academy?" Ken said.
"What so special of this Royal what Academy?" Mitsuru asks.
Surprisingly, Hugo was the one who answered Mitsuru's question. "You guys from Crestland might haven't heard it before but Royal Rose Academy is one of the top schools here and the number one elite school in the west city. The school is famous for creating world-class athletics in any kind of sports, actors, actresses and any people in the entertainment industry, people in the music industry and people in the writing industry.
"I never thought you went to that school. I heard entrance exams are hard." Reiji said to Samuru.
"I never take the entrance exam. I was personally scouted by the school because of my writing skills. The principal is an old friend of my father. He once read a short story that I wrote, he immediately asked my father if he could invite me to join the school." Samuru explained.
Basara Kurochi; the partner of Drazeros, spoke up as he started to get interested in the topic. "And you accept?"
"I had no friends at that time and my father was looking for a suitable place for me to study. He originally wanted me to enroll in the same school as my other sibling, but the school doesn't have the course I want, and my father doesn't want to force me to study a subject that he knows I can't take." Samuru explained.
"You are not an only child?" Bakuga asks in surprise. Everyone was not expecting this news.
"I can confirm that he has siblings. His father makes sure all his sibling gets a chance to follow him on his expedition. Just this time it was Samuru's turn. It was supposed to be his other sibling, but he has health issues, so Samuru got a chance to go." Dravise explained. He is not surprised by other's reactions. Samuru never talked about his family with other people except him and Riki; the newest person to know.
As they continued chatting, they heard footsteps towards their way. They look to see Rory heading to them with Sumi beside her.
"Hello everyone" Rory greeted as Sumi waved at them.
"Hello, Miss Rory. Sumi." Yuki greeted back. Yuki looked around and noticed someone missing. "Sumi, Where's Riki?" He asks.
Sumi looked at Yuki before shrugging. "Don't know"
"I thought you and him went to the same school?" Ken asks in confusion.
Sumi looked surprised. "Wait?! He didn't tell you guys about it?"
"About what?" Jenta Kokuji; the north B-Master and Tankshell partner asks.
"He moved back to his old school months ago" She answers.
"What?!" Everyone except for Sumi and Samuru yelled in surprise.
"Do you know why?" Rory asks.
"He originally moved to my school since it is close to his aunt where he currently lives. His father went oversee for a year for some business. His brother was studying abroad, and both of his grandparents were busy, so they asked his aunt to take of him for a year" Sumi explained.
"His mother?" Kaito asks.
"Riki's mother passed away when Riki was four because of cancer."
That made everyone quiet.
Novu noticed Samuru didn't look surprised with the news. "You knew?" He asked.
Samuru nodded. "He once mentioned to me that his father is coming back so he had to quit school. He hasn't decided to transfer back to his old school, transfer to a new one or just home tutor."
Sumi looks shocked. "I thought his transfer back to his old school."
"No. The last time we chatted, he was still at home and hadn't decided." He spoke.
"So, does anyone know where he lives? Maybe we can visit him and ask him about it" Grizz try to change the topic.
Kaito looked at Grizz confused. "Can't we just wait for him to come here? I mean Grandpa Takakura called us here, he will also come, right?"
"The fact is. Riki hasn't come to WBMA for the past months for our usual practice. I don't think he will show up today" Reiji said.
Just then, Mr Takakura appears with Samuru's father and Kamon's family.
"Hello everyone." Mr. Takakura greeted the children in front of him. They greet him back. Mr. Takakura looked around as he asked for everyone to attend. "Is everybody here?"
"Riki is not here." Sumi answer.
"Riki again. Does anyone know where he is?"
"I don't know. I haven't spoken to him since he quit school," Sumi said. Everyone looked at Samuru if he knew anything about it.
Samuru sighs in resignation. "We chatted yesterday, and he said he will be out of town for a few days. His father is back home and there are some family businesses they need to attend."
"Wait?! He quit school!" Roma asks in surprise.
Sumi nodded as she explained what they have been discussed a few minutes ago.
Himiko look at Gennosuke. "Do you know about it, Gen-chan?"
Gennosuke nodded. "Yes, Samuru talked about it during dinner, last night."
Mr. Takakura look at Samuru. "I suppose you can explain today's meeting to him."
Samuru nodded.
"The WBMA have an announcement to make We received an invitation to send our b-shot to participate in a brand-new tournament under the Guardian Association." Mr. Takakura began.
Ken looks confused. "Guardian Association?"
Roma explained. "An interdimensional association that jobs to protect and maintain the balance between universal and dimension. They are also the administer of time and space and had been around for centuries".
The kids look more confused.
Gennosuke sighed. "Have you children heard about Guardian Academy?"
"You mean the elite school? The one where talented and genius people from all around the world go. The famous school that everyone wants to join. That school?" Kaito asked.
Gennosuke nodded. "Yes. That school was one of the five schools that was founded by the associations. The reason they organized this tournament is to recruit future students and observe our dimensions and to record both current and past issues that happened in the past years."
"Each country will send about 25 b-shots per entry. We are going to hold a short tournament and the top 25 will be our representative." Mr. Takakura said.
Himiko continued. "The short tournament will be held next week. While the international tournament will be held two months from now."
"That means the WBMA will have a month or so to get ready for the big tournament," Roma spoke.
"Any questions?" Rory asked.
Kamon spoke up. "What is the name of the tournament? I am curious about it."
"The Cross Fight International Celestia Prix."