Kei Hiyomura

Megumi Hiyomura, known more by her nickname 'Kei', is a fictional character in the Beyblade franchise, created by Kris (known as darkangel-hikari and flamewingsdawnslight) on deviantArt. As such, she only appears in the background of the series, so to speak, and in various fan works like fanfiction and fanart.

Background
One of the oldest out of four children born to Hiyomura Takeo and Yumi, Kei spent her early childhood years in Moscow, Russia. Her younger twin Katoshi (nicknamed Katou) had poor health and was often easily injured; concern for him urged the young girl to convince her father - then in the employ of Boris Balkov - to put his graduate thesis into practice. This resulted in an early version of the genetic manipulation techniques Biovolt would later use on certain Beybladers. Both eventually underwent the procedure and proved it successful.

The twins were introduced to the sport of Beyblading fairly early, and soon they harbored a desire to become professional bladers. Their grandfather - inexplicably, a friend of Kai's grandfather Voltaire - approved the twins training alongside the bladers at Biovolt, without really knowing what it entailed.

The two met several of the boys who would eventually become Team Borg (the Demolition Boys) - namely Kai Hiwatari, Tala Valkov, Bryan Kuznetsov, and Spencer Petrov (Yuriy Ivanov, Boris, and Sergei respectively). All went well for several months before Kei failed a training exercise, leading to the twins and their father - now one of their trainers - finding out what kind of punishments awaited 'weak' trainees, with Kei bearing the physical scars from the incident.

Disillusioned, Takeo approached Balkov to file his resignation and take his children with him. Tala revealed to the twins that Balkov would never allow such a thing, and the group of six, having bonded in the short time they were together, hatched a plan that would allow the young scientist and his kids to leave without any repercussions.

All told, the same incident involving Black Dranzer that cost Kai his memories of his time in Russia also caused Kei and her brother to go into hiding.

After leaving Moscow – just in time to spend a few more months with her cancer-ridden grandfather – Kei stayed away from Beyblading, at least publicly. Besides training in the forest near her home, she also watched street matches and those broadcast over television. She tried to occupy herself learning various martial arts as a way to keep active, eventually settling on kung fu, tae kwon do, and kendo (one-sword style).

She still held on to her dream of going pro, and this eventually led her to look for ways to achieve it. She soon found herself joining the street Beyblading gang the Blade Sharks (Shell Killers in the Japanese original).

Physical Appearance
Kei stands at 5'5" (5'7" when she wears heeled shoes and boots), with fair skin and a reasonably built frame. She is fit, perhaps more so when compared to female peers, with her arms being particularly toned although not overly muscular.

Her slightly wavy hair is a deep blue-black, worn in a layered cut. Her bangs are parted in two, framing her face. Later on, she wears her bangs parted to the left, and her hair is shorter, falling to the middle of her shoulder blades. Her dark purple eyes are upturned, what some people would describe as sharp.

While she doesn't believe in labels and wears whatever she feels like wearing, she usually ends up in outfits that are a mix of punk, rock, goth, and street. Prevalent colors in her wardrobe are black, red, purple, and dark blue and indigo. Only when she's older does she experiment with a few lighter colors. She wears three earrings in total. In her left earlobe, she has an ankh-shaped one to match the ankh pendant that dangles from her choker. A skull-shaped one dangles from her right earlobe, along with a gold hoop.

Personality
Kei can be at turns affectionate and teasing, gentle and threatening. She is both protective and nurturing while challenging and given to rough-housing once in a while.

Amiable but introverted, Kei is just as comfortable on her own as she is with her friends. It takes her a while to open up, however. Being the eldest of her siblings, she seems naturally inclined to help make people she's just met as comfortable as possible.

She doesn't tend to speak often, and when she does she either gives advice, shoots back a quick quip at her brother's one-liners, or voices her opinion on something after gathering information. There have been times, however, where she is the one to shoot one-liners or else goad someone on - usually while in the dish.

Her perfectionist tendencies, nurtured by her short stay in Balkov Abbey, can make her difficult to deal with when it comes to Beyblading. When training by herself, this bothers no one. But when with her twin or someone else, she struggles not to force her views on her companions, especially when training for tag-team battles.

Bakuten Shoot Beyblade
A member of the Blade Sharks at the start, Kei was there when Kai and Tyson Granger (Takao Kinomiya) first battled at the depot, witnessing the appearance of both Dranzer and Dragoon. Her curiosity about the dragon wielder eventually prompted her to leave the gang, not knowing that Kai had disbanded it. The Blade Shark Trio - Casey, Stuart, and Trevor - however, were intent on keeping the gang together even without Kai, and challenged her to a match; if she lost, she would have no choice but to stay.

She won, and from then on, eased back into legitimate Beyblading circles.

She joined the regional qualifiers, but chose to be eliminated during the early stages. During this tournament, she met Tyson, eventually becoming friends with researcher Kenny (Saien Manabu). Her frequent visits to the BBA's training facilities also led to her befriending certain staff members, as well as the Bladebreakers later on.

Even after the world championships had started, Kei continued competing in small local tournaments whenever they occurred, sometimes entering as a tag-team with Katou.

Beyblade 2002/V-Force
Kei met two other bladers with whom she formed her first team, Schwarze Kreuz. The team didn't last long, though, for various reasons, but she learned more about team dynamics as well as her own abilities. She went back to blading in a tag-team with Katou around this same time.

She also started to help train younger bladers, later presenting several ideas for training programs to Mr. Dickenson (Chairman Daitenji) and helping to develop new Beyblades. Most of the time, though, she assisted the Bladebreakers from the sidelines, getting to know Hilary Tachibana along the way.

Beyblade G-Revolution
When the qualifying tournament for the 3rd world championships occurred, Kei was out of the country for vacation. However, she and her brother traveled to the different countries when they could, to watch the tournament matches in person rather than on a television screen.

After the championships, when Balkov made another appearance, Kei silently sided with the Blitzkrieg Boys when they set out to prove that the Russian hadn't actually reformed. Upon learning about the impending BEGA Justice 5 Tournament, she disguised herself as a guy and joined BEGA, to find out as much as she could that would eventually help Tyson and the others.

She was able to find out the order in which Team BEGA would battle, although the information on each of them was insufficient. She and Katou worked together to help Kenny and Emily make the needed tweaks to the Beyblades Team G-Revolution would eventually use during the matches against BEGA.

Family
Takeo Hiyomura (father) - Kei is quite close to her father, learning most of what she now knows about Beyblades under his guidance. She loves his goofy nature, sometimes approaching him more like a friend than as a daughter. Still, she respects him and knows when to defer to him.

Yumi Hiyomura (mother) - The two don't talk often, showing their closeness through more practical ways. However, Kei immediately turns to her mother when confused about more emotional matters. It is Yumi who first points out that her daughter has feelings for Kai.

Shinjiro Hiyomura (grandfather) - Struck down by cancer before Kei turned 10 years old, Shinjiro can be seen as the reason for Kei's competitiveness. He encouraged the young girl to excel at whatever she chose to do, whether it was martial arts or Beyblading.

Katou Hiyomura (younger twin brother) - Being twins, the two are each other's missing half, to some extent. Though often seen displaying opposite personalities, they work together well, and can communicate without having to speak all the time. Usually, only Katou can help Kei stay calm, and vice versa.

Reiko and Ryuji Hiyomura (younger sister and brother, respectively) - Kei is protective of her younger siblings, and they in turn adore her and Katou. They even follow the twins' lead when it comes to hobbies, if only at first. Rather than go to their parents for advice, Reiko usually goes to Kei; Ryuji, on the other hand, often wants Kei to be the one to tuck him in at night.

Relationships
Kai Hiwatari - The two met at Balkov Abbey while they were still children, eventually becoming close acquaintances. However, due to the incident with Black Dranzer, Kai forgot about them ever meeting, and Kei didn't want to force the issue when she met him again as a young teen. Eventually, certain clues led Dranzer's partner to remember their earlier friendship, and the two slowly grew closer. Their relationship is one where they check and balance the other, bantering, and a certain level of competition. Still, they care for one another and it shows in their protectiveness.

Tyson Granger - Kei met him during a break while competing in the Japanese regional qualifiers, and views him as a younger brother of sorts, even if she doesn't say so out loud. She often likens him to her own twin, quipping how the team can handle only one loudmouth at a time. She is drawn to his pure love of the sport, which she views as a reflection of how she started out as a Beyblader long ago.

Kenny a.k.a the Chief - Katou was the one to introduce Kei to the young researcher, and she sees him as a source of new information she otherwise wouldn't have found out. She likes how dedicated he is to gathering data, and doesn't mind demonstrating different Beybattle maneuvers, if it means helping to grow his database. If she thinks the others didn't understand something Kenny says, she doesn't hesitate to translate or simplify it.

Max Mizuhara - As with Tyson, Kei met the young half-Japanese, half-American blond during a break between matches at the Japanese regional qualifiers. She finds him fun to be around and allows herself to loosen up a little bit more around him. Since defense is her main weakness in the dish, she likes watching his matches so she can pick up some pointers.

Rei Kon - Kei met the Chinese Beyblader only after Team BBA had been formed, making one of her rare jokes upon learning his name. She understands the Chinese Beyblader's balanced approach to life and, because of that, comes to his defense when she feels his teammates are being a bit too hard on him. She likes talking to him about travelling the world, a passion they both share.

Hilary Tachibana - Team BBA's self-proclaimed manager and the only other girl in the group (not counting times when various teams get together). Kei first met her at the beginning of the main tournament in V-Force, after the team's run-in with Team Psykick. She doesn't find the slightly younger girl annoying in any way, and will intervene if Hilary's and Tyson's squabbling goes too far.

Daichi Sumeragi - After the 3rd World Championships concluded and Team BBA defended their title, it was only then that Kei officially met the youngest team member, having watched him only during his matches. She isn't sure what to think of him yet, but she is sure that he's among the few who actually tests her patience.

Tala Valkov - Kei befriended the redheaded Russian during her brief stay at Balkov Abbey as a trainee, and is one of those who knows about his past. She isn't sure if he remembers her, but is content for now just knowing he and the rest of Team Neoborg are moving past their bleak upbringing under Balkov.

[more to be added]

Beyblade
Kei has used a number of Beyblades over the years, all of them from the Gogyou line - balance-type beys that focus on attack and endurance. Her first one, Gogyou S, was designed by her father. She later started taking more of the Beyblade's redesigns into her own hands, resulting in Gogyou F, which she uses at the beginning of the series.

Throughout V-Force, Kei uses only one Beyblade, Gogyou V. This marks the first time she doesn't use ball bearings in her set-up. It isn't seen as much as her other beys, since Kei is more behind-the-scenes than usual in V-Force.

In G-Revolution, Kei starts out using Gogyou G, which is the first of her Beyblades to have truly significant attack power. She later upgrades this to Gogyou MS, to MS II, and then to the MF model - which she is currently using.

Bit Beast
All of Kei's Beyblades receive additional power from Akayu, a 9-tailed fox and spirit reaper who was extracted from one of the Hiyomura family's heirlooms and consequently enhanced in Biovolt's laboratories.

Kei and Akayu's relationship is one of partnership and co-existence, where Kei provides the emotional energy Akayu needs to manifest during battles, and Akayu replenishing Kei's life force in return, since the young Beyblader expressly forbade the reaper from feeding off other souls, in an attempt to protect her fellow Beybladers and their own bit beasts.

Quotes

 * [to Casey, Stuart, and Trevor] "Three against one? You'll need more people."
 * [to Casey, Stuart, and Trevor] "Oh look - I won. Guess that means I can go now."
 * [reassuring Kenny] "Don't worry - you're the brains, it's what you do best."
 * [goading Daichi] "I'll go easy on you, Daichi, if we ever meet in the dish." 
 * [to Tyson] "I'm not going down that easily!" - to Tyson during their first training match
 * [to Foxy] "Another fox bit beast?"
 * "Looks like the better fox won."
 * "Using illusions is cowardice, you say. Well, let me show you how hard this coward can hit!"
 * [summoning bit beast] "Let's do it, Akayu!" - summoning her bit beast 
 * [to Garland] "Don't underestimate me, and I'll do the same."
 * [to Kai] "Did you think I couldn't take the heat? You'll have to do better than that!"
 * [to a semi-conscious Kai] "That's enough - now hold on..."
 * [to her twin Katou] "Light is better seen in the dark, right? If I have to be in darkness to let the fire burn bright, then so be it." 
 * "I need to find the balance, make sure the shadows don't overwhelm me or my bit beast."
 * "Now I know - it doesn't matter if I win or lose, not if I can still be myself."
 * "No way am I throwing in the towel!"

Trivia

 * Kei's earliest design shows her in a red and black turtleneck dress and leggings, similar to Tala's outfit in the first season, and sporting slate-blue hair, indicating she was supposed to be Kai's twin.
 * Kei only found out when she was older that the nickname she'd chosen when she was 3 was actually a typically male reading of the character for her name. Her twin then joked how Kei would either be mistaken for a boy, or will disguise herself as one.
 * This 'joke' was actually true when the twins were younger. Kei is mistaken for a boy when she and Katou first meet Tala and the others at the Abbey. She later disguises herself as a boy when she joins BEGA in order to gather more information.
 * Kei's Japanese voice actress, Chisa Yokoyama, starred alongside Urara Takano (Kai's voice actress) in the well-known video game and TV series Sakura Taisen/Sakura Wars. Their characters, Sakura Shinguji and Maria Tachibana respectively, are usually cast in plays as characters who fall in love with one another.
 * Yokoyama also voices Henry (Hiroshi in the Japanese original) from the Beyblade V-Force movie, mirroring Kei's struggle with Akayu's more powerful half - what Kei calls her 'dark side'.
 * Kei's English voice actress, Laura Bailey, is also the voice of Lucina - another blue-haired female character who is at first mistaken for a boy.

Reference
Kei's Beyblade OC profile

Kei's written profile on deviantArt