(Y/n) (l/n) ~

I can't believe I actually lost to Shu.

Defeated in the battle, eliminated from the tournament and in the end, nothing is left in my hands. All my efforts went to waste. Maybe I actually underestimated Shu while he was stronger than I thought.

But nevermind. We still got the Regionals, huh? There will be four winners in total; one from each block, so my chances of reaching the Nationals will be four times more. Now let's just hope that I get an invitation.

I walked into the bladers' waiting room where I'm supposed to meet the others. Wait, why am I here again?

Oh yeah, because Valt told me to "Watch the battle because it would be awesomeee!!" and he wouldn't leave me alone until I agreed.

I had fifty-three missed calls from Aoi, before I finally accepted it and told him that 'I'll think about it.' Then Valt spammed my phone with weird, countless messages and pictures. One photo was of a cow eating its food. One was of acacia trees and alfalfa grass. Another one was of seahorses (they were cute, just like Valt). One picture was even of cockroaches, and Valt typed with it, 'Aren't they cute?'

Oh, and the messages. They were completely weird and random. Let me see...

VICTORY VALT

(Y/nnnnnn) pls come to watch my battle
I promise I'll give you a new band to pay for the one I lost that day

Pleeeeaaaaseeeee–

♤♡◇♧
What are these symbols btw? I found them in my phone

Vwiwkdnwsqnbdeyghjs??

I'll reward you with a beybread!!!!

Ok, a big beybread–
Please?

Ya like the smell of olives?

Fine, a mega beybread

Mega big beybread?

$%^#₩&=/_÷¥×+£♡€%{■°☆¤¤>!

Anything else you want?

Show some mercy!
My fingers are aching from typing so much–

---------------

Yes, these kind of messages. And these weren't just it. There were two hundred forty-seven of them. When I opened my phone, the first thing I felt was confusion. I actually thought Valt was having panic attacks and now he can't stop typing. Can you believe him?

That's Valt Aoi for ya.

"HEY, (Y/N)! YOU ACTUALLY CAME!!" Valt screamed as soon as I got inside.

"I'm only here to kill you," I replied honestly. His smile vanished.

"What did you do this time?" Shu asked Valt.

"Uhh, I may or may not have spammed her phone with phone calls and, um, messages," Valt said innocently then gave him a grin.

"So...how're you doing, (Y/n)?" Rantaro asked sheepishly.

I waved my hand indifferently. "Go die."

"So much for being nice," he muttered.

"What was that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"N-Nothing! Nothing at all."

"That's what I thought," I crossed my arms. "I see some of your acquaintances are missing."

"Yeah," Valt replied. "Daigo, Ken and the twins. They'll be coming any moment now."

"Valt Aoi and Shu Kurenai," a man who suspiciously looked like the incharge, popped up next to us and said. What's up with the incharge always popping randomly? "Your battle is about to begin within half an hour. Sit in the waiting rooms quietly and wait. Meeting time is over, your friends should go out."

I didn't wait for Rantaro and I definitely didn't need to be told twice. When it comes to getting away from people, I'm the fastest. Without a second thought, I turned around and started walking away. After seven seconds or so, Rantaro joined me from behind.

"One important lesson," he told me. "You always wait for your friends."

"Not my habit."

"Another thing. At least you should've said 'good luck for your battle' or 'do your best' or something like that."

"What happens when you say that?" I asked, my eyes wide with curiosity.

"Oh, I don't know? They feel better and determined to do their best," Rantaro replied with a grin.

I gave him a tch before going to the opposite direction than the audience area. Rantaro tried to ask me where I was headed to, but I shut him up with a glare. Honestly, I need some free space after Rantaro's 'lessons' (as he calls them). Though it wasn't much; he spoke only three sentences at most, but the burden of being nice to someone was on my head like a trillion pounds.

On my way out of the arena, I ran straight into a wall. The impact was enough to make me groan and clasp my face with my left hand. No, not in pain. I was kinda annoyed by it. Who the heck put a wall in the middle of the path?

Then I heard a loud laugh, which was suspiciously coming from the wall I bumped into. I looked up to see a scarlet-headed person standing there. He was quite big and had his arms crossed, looking down at me.

"Usually when people bump into me, they fall down from the impact," he paused to laugh again. I just stared weirdly. "You look kinda tough."

I kept staring at his face. I think I've seen him somewhere before.

When I didn't say anything (which was quite normal if you ask me), he laughed again. Man, this humanoid wall has laughing issues.

"People are usually scared of me, but don't get intimidated by my height. Speak up, kid. Don't be shy!"

Did this person just call me a kid?

I opened my mouth to throw some curses, but stopped myself abruptly. That would be kinda rude. As much as this humanoid wall looked unfriendly, I didn't want to be rude to a stranger.

I chose to do what I'm best at; that is, stay silent until the other person gets annoyed and leaves me alone.

"Hey, maybe I know you," he said, sounding a little unsure himself.

"Who, me?" I asked weirdly, looking around to see if someone else was standing there. Am I so famous that a laughing wall knows me?

"The Golden Blader? I think I forgot the name though," he scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. Realization hit me. Is it about time I run?

"And you must be...Alexander?" I asked, finally remembering the blader as a member of the Supreme Four, Alexander Shakadera. His bey Xeno Xcalius, I think that's what it's called.

He laughed yet again. "Yes, yes, that's my full name though people around here know me as Xander."

I tilted my head. "So, Alexander it is?"

"Either way," he laughed again.

Okay, now this is annoying me. Why doesn't he go hide in a room and laugh as much as he wants? Then he can simply come out later when he's done with it.

I thought about sharing my opinion with him, but eventually decided against it. I've exchanged enough statements with him already. Why bother talking to a stranger on purpose when you can simply walk away?

So I just decided to turn around like a nice person and go join the others. Shu and Valt's battle would be beginning soon and when I made so much effort to walk upto here, I might as well watch the battle before I miss it otherwise my struggles will go to waste.

Still, while walking to the audience area, it took all of my willpower to not to turn around and run away. Watching battles wasn't my thing from the beginning. Overmore, I couldn't stop myself from thinking that I should be up there instead of Shu.

Why did I have to lose? Where was I mistaken? What did I do wrong? I trained so hard and strategized so perfectly, yet I lost in the end. Why? What did I miss out?

There just wasn't a fair answer to this.

The arena was filled more than normal. It's the finals, afterall. I shouldn't be surprised that another member of the Supreme Four is here. I also spotted Principal Shinoda and some other students of our school. Everyone, near or far, was here to watch the big battle.

I pushed through the crowd cruelly. I punched a little kid, slapped a fangirl, walked straight through a group of friends, and even pushed a boy onto a girl. In the process, the innocent boy must have touched the girl inappropriately, and the girl ended up slapping and screaming at him. Poor thing.

In between the crowds, I also saw Toko and Nika floating in the air. My jaw almost dropped. What the heck?

On looking properly, I noticed that they were sitting on someone's shoulders. It was the humanoid wall boy, Alexander from earlier. Some questions rose in my mind. Do they know each other? How do they know each other? Where did they get to know each other? For how long have they known each other?

"Hey," Daigo said with a smile when I reached them. I tilted my head, wondering how to respond and what to reply.

"Who's that guy?" Ken (Besu) asked, looking behind me. I turned around to see Toko, Nika and the humanoid wall coming towards us. I shrugged at Ken, gesturing I don't know.

Now if I had said that I know him, it meant explaining to the others and that involved a lot of speaking with them. I simply couldn't risk it, could I?

"Look, Honcho. Someone's taking your place!" Ken (Keru) taunted.

Rantaro frowned at the puppets. "So what? I'm still the twins' favourite!"

When the three of them reached us, Alexander bent down in order to let the twins step down from his shoulders. I looked away in distaste.

Such a nice person! I was already getting jealous by how easily he can act kind and how happy the twins were with him. Those kids were cute, I also wanted them to like me.

"Hey!" Toko and Nika said cheerfully. I looked down at them.

"That was Xander," Nika told about him. The others just watched as he walked away.

"Valt and him are childhood friends. They were in the same school during kindergarten," Toko explained.

"And Shu too!" Nika chimed in just as Hanami announced something to grab our attention.

(A/n: Skipping the battle as usual 'cuz y'all have seen it in the anime.)

Two strong beys like Valtryek and Spryzen. Two new moves like Upper Launch and Ultra Flash Rush Launch. And two hot bladers like Valt and Shu. So, saying that the battle was fierce, would be an understatement.

Upper Launch simply got my brain malfunctioned, while Ultra Flash Rush Launch lit up the stadium with power. As much as I hate to admit it, I was kinds jealous of Valt and Shu. Especially Shu. I couldn't stop thinking that I should've been there.

Since my feelings have only recently started to awaken, it was quite weird for me. It's true that the battle was awesome and both of them fought bravely, but if I think about complimenting them on it, the sane and conscious part of my brain immediately starts screaming.

No, nah, nope, don't, never, not gonna happen.

Yup. I nodded and got agreed to it. It would be so embarrassing to compliment someone just because they battled so bravely. It was never my thing, anyway.

"You there?" Daigo asked.

"I don't know," Ken (Besu) said.

Is he talking to me?

Maybe I zoned out.

"No," I replied sarcastically, but a certain blue-haired kid took it seriously.

"Guys, how do we get her back to her senses?" Valt asked in concern. The others sweatdropped and Shu smiled, while I stared at the red markings under Valt's left eye, wondering how to hit him for being so stupid.

A slap? A smack? A kick?

Eventually, I settled for a slap on his left cheek. Now not only his tattoo, but his whole cheek was red. He should be thankful to me for giving him a bigger mark.

Nika winced and smiled at the same time while Toko hid his face behind his iPad, smiling a little too.

"Hey! What was that for?!" He asked, holding his face where I slapped him.

"To bring you back to your senses."

He pouted. "But we were talking about bringing you back to senses."

The others laughed uncontrollably. Valt rubbed his cheek once more before removing his hand. A nice, red, hand-shaped mark was stamped on it. Since I was initially thinking about the red markings under his eye, I found the slap mark hilarious.

By now, the others had calmed down from their laughing but then I chuckled lightly. This caused all of them to snap up their heads and stare at me wide-eyed. Only Rantaro dared to speak. "Considering we don't see you laughing very often, I assume the joke must be really funny. What's it?"

"Just thinking about slapping you too."

He twitched his right eye. "Not the kind of funny I wanted."

"Deal with it."

--------------

After some 'You're not being nice' arguments with Rantaro and Ken, Shu and Daigo smiling and pointing out Valt's stupidities, and me trying to not to scare off the twins due to my behaviour; we all went home.

I took a bath and washed my hair. Then I dried my hair and dressed back in my usual clothes. The whole time I was thinking that the finals were over and Shu was the winner; the one to advance to the Nationals. My hopes are upon the Regionals now.

As if things couldn't get any worse, my phone started ringing, showing that I have a call. When I looked at the caller ID, I cursed my life even more. This person calls me now when my temper is already high. I don't know if it's just my luck or he always knows beforehand that I'm angry. I can almost picture him saying to himself: Oh, let's call (Y/n) now! She must be in a really bad mood!

I accepted the call and put the phone to my ears, but didn't say anything. I am not speaking first. If Ashtem wants to talk, he should learn to greet.

"(Y/n), I didn't actually think you'll answer my call," he said honestly. "You never fail to surprise me."

"And you never fail to annoy me. Just say what you want and don't waste my time."

"I have many things to say—" Theodore started but I cut him off.

"Really?" I asked in surprise. Not even being sarcastic. I was really surprised. "It's been barely four weeks since I left America and you're already getting restless? Let me remind you that I'll return only when the Nationals are over. How do I expect you to survive all this time?"

I could practically hear the smirk on his face. "Of course I feel your absence, (Y/n). You're the strongest blader in the Raging Bulls and also in the—"

"Snake Pit," I growled. "Don't even get me started on that topic!"

"Then let's talk about something else."

I couldn't believe that these words came out of Theodore's mouth. This person—who always talked to me about the Snake Pit, just to make me hate him even more—is speaking of talking about something else. I decided to play with him.

"How about we talk about why you're annoying me?" I suggested.

"Look, child—"

"I'm not a child," I stated. I don't understand how he always manages to piss me off so much. It's either in his voice, or in his way of talking, or I simply hate him to death.

"Okay, then (Y/n)," he corrected himself. "I know you want to take revenge from Lui and stuff, so that's why you went Japan to take part in the Nationals there; but I think you're not doing well enough. You've gotta get better if you really are to destroy him."

"Get better? Get better?!" I asked incredulously. "I did my best, Ashtem. Even I don't know what did I miss. I don't understand where I was wrong!"

"I didn't watch any of the Districts' matches. I watched only the finals. And you know why?" He asked rhetorically. "It was because I believed in you. I was sure that you'll reach the finals and actually win. But when I opened the battle that was going on, I was disappointed. I almost regretted believing you too much. Should've watched the semifinals, huh?"

My mind started flooding with emotions. I was feeling bad because Theo had hope. I remembered the time when I had asked him if I could go to Japan and take a break from the Raging Bulls and Snake Pit things. Silver eye and Gold eye had been in disagreement the whole time (their opinion was irrelevant anyway) but it was Ashtem who said that I should go and actually follow my own dreams.

Don't get me wrong. I still hate him. No matter how nice he acts, I'll always hate him, but still...

I thought about the time when I joined the Raging Bulls, and then the Snake Pit. I still couldn't decide if it was the best day or the worst day of my life. Theo helped me control the dark when I was going insane and didn't have any hold over myself. His ways may be wrong. The bladers are treated like crap in the Snake Pit, but that was what made me get stronger. The hard training pushed me harder and harder each time, until I surpassed myself. It was him who made me into what I am today.

I hate it, but it was him.

"I don't care if you're disappointed," I replied normally, not letting my emotions affect me. "If I'd won, only I had won. I lost, only I lost. What is it to you?"

"Just thinking about the person who was strong enough to beat you," he said evilly. "An interesting blader, isn't him? Shu Kurenai."

A chill ran down my spine and I exactly knew where this conversation was going. I wanted to scream at Theodore: Back off. I'll kill you if you go near Shu. Don't even think about trapping him in your dirty causes.

Instead, I said, "He's weaker than me. And you know it."

"Exactly!" He said enthusiastically, startling me a bit. "Why did you lose on purpose?"

"I didn't do it on purpose! Why would I?!" I said, unsure of even myself. "I was just holding back."

"You used your move Axe Counter. You also could've used Flux Boost, but why didn't you use Destructive Crush? It would've been perfect. You would've definitely won," he said, making me widen my eyes. I sat on the edge of my bed, staring out of the window.

"You know I couldn't've used Destructive Crush," I reasoned with him. "And I know you're just messing with me, so quit dreaming if you think you can manipulate—"

"C'mon, kid. No one has ever escaped that move. No one has won against it. I don't understand why you were not displaying your full power in the Districts. You could've won so easily," he said. As if he knows everything.

I screamed right back, "You know that move destroys beys on strike. You know what would've happened to Spryzen?!"

At this point, I was THIS close to throwing away my phone at the desk. If it was possible, Ashtem's words were making me hate him even more and more.

"Who do you think you are?" I continued. "You don't tell me what to do. I do whatever the heck I want. I'm the ruler of my own sins."

"Now I understand..." Theo mused. "That red-eyed blader, Shu Kurenai; he's your friend, right?"

Well, crap.

I can't let him know he's my friend. Ashtem will definitely come after him. Shu is a great blader, but getting involved with the Raging Bulls or Snake Pit is the last thing I want him to do.

"Theo, you know me better than anyone else in this world. Maybe Lui, but you do know me nicely," I said calmly. "What I'm saying is, that I'm not the kind of person to make friends. And you know it."

"But just so you know, (Y/n). I'm quite interested in Shu Kurenai. He managed to defeat you, and you're my strongest blader. Wouldn't it be good to have him on our team?"

Shu managed to defeat me. I personally hated that statement. No one around here questions my power. I'm the strongest blader and Theo had the guts to insult me that way. The nerve of that old man...

"Shu managed to defeat me once," I clarified. "Don't make a big deal out of it. Wait until he experiences my full power. I bet I can put him in his place in the blink of an eye."

"You've always been so full of yourself," he sighed happily. "Oh, how much I missed your ego. Thanks for refreshing my memories."

I swear if I could've, I would've punched him through phone.

"I hate you," I told him.

"I hate you more," he shot back.

I wanted continue that chain. But my biggest concern at the moment was that Theo was interested in Shu. "Look, Ashtem. Raging Bulls is an international team. So for recruiting Shu, he must be high in the ranks. And I'm pretty sure he's not."

"So what? He'll definitely enter the ranks after this year's Japanese National Tournament. I'll just wait till then," he replied carelessly.

I swear if I could've, I would've kicked him through the phone. Maybe killed, I don't know.

I opened my mouth to say something but Ashtem interrupted me. "Okay, (Y/n), good chatting you. I've work to do now, talk to you later."

"Uh, err—"

"Don't push yourself too hard. I know you can't say goodbye," he laughed and I gritted my teeth in embarrassment.

"Why would I even try to say goodbye to you?" I asked cockily. "I don't greet my enemies."

"Sure..." he said and hung up.

The last thing on my mind that day was that Theodore has an eye on Shu. I don't know what will I do when the National Tournaments will be over.

And one more thing I couldn't quite interpret was, why do I exactly care about what happens to that kid? Maybe I just hate Theodore so much that I wouldn't let him ever do what he wants.

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In 3732 words.

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