thanks for 1k <3

Your POV 

The next few minutes nobody talked as they consumed the many piles of food. All that could be heard was the clinking of utensils and people chewing. Several cuisines were present, ranging from Japanese to Spanish to American. Valt, of course, was stuffing his face. I don't blame him. This was basically an all-you-can-eat-buffet, and who would pass that opportunity up?

My mouth watered as I heaped Shu's spaghetti carbonara unto my plate. It made me realize just how long I had gone without it. When Shu returned to normal, I left before he could make this dish. The last time I had this when we were dating.

Wow. 

Without any hesitation, I ate mouthfuls of the Italian food. Burst of nostalgia hit me, and I silently urged myself not to have any flashbacks. Not now. I can't always be reminiscing about the past. 

While eating, I coincidentally made eye contact with the person who cooked the dish. My cheeks heated up as scarlet flickered onto me before moving away. I felt a slight nudge in my ribcage, and glanced up to see a sly Xander. "So, (y/n). You still interested in dating or-"

"Seriously, cousin," I face palmed myself. "I go away for a couple of years and that's what you ask me?"

"We're all intrigued, (y/n)," Valt chimed in between mouthful of gulps. "Shu's single, by the way."

"I know that," my cheeks heated up even more as I got the subtle hints they were making. I silently thanked God that Shu was seated at the opposite side of the table. 

"Oh, already made your move?" winked Xander. 

"I-It wasn't like that!" I stuttered. Xander's like an older brother to me, but older brothers enjoy teasing their young siblings about love. "B-Be quiet!"

"Ok, ok," Valt laughed. "So defensive. Well, are you going to answer the question or not?"

"I have no right to," I crossed my arms. When they gave me pleading looks, I gave in. "Fine. I'm not that interested in dating anymore. I honestly want to concentrate on beyblade. But-"

"There's a 'but'!" squealed Valt, clapping his hands. He silenced when I sent him a glare. "Oh, quiet. Forgot about that."

"But if I do develop feelings for someone," I continued. "Like, actual deep, real feelings, I'll probably date him while being a blader. Keeping that in mind, you two, I don't like like anyone right now. Moving on, hurry up and eat before Cuza or Honcho finish the food."

"Right!"

As we were eating, the conversation of the table of course turned to beyblade. 

"In two days (y/n) and Shu will challenge Valt separately for the title," Chris saying my name caught my attention. "If you're not too tired, (y/n)."

"Nope!" I said excitedly. "Never too tired for a battle! Say, you're the director of the WBBA now? Congratulations!"

"Thank you," smiled Chris. I looked at everyone on the table, who were either too full or saving room for dessert, listening in to the conversation. "Oh, (y/n), you probably want to know what's going on in the beyblade world, right?"

"Yeah," I admitted. "Shu told me a bit, like some rankings, new bladers, who quit and whatnot. But Lui, how could you lose to a novice?"

The tension in the atmosphere increased at this question. I felt like everyone was on edge, blader or not, of how good this blader could be. Everyone wanted to know that latest information about Aiga so that they could crush him before he got too high up the ranks. Everyone except for probably Valt. 

"Believe me, (y/n), I've been asking myself that too," Lui rolled his eyes. Years ago I used to hate him bitterly, but now since we've matured, we've all calmed down. Yeah, I might not like him a lot, but at least I don't want to kill him anymore. "Aiga Akabane is so clueless, it's a wonder he managed to beat me. Heck, he reminds me of Valt."

"I'm not that clueless anymore!"

"True, but anyways," Lui continued on. "It wasn't a fluke. Aiga is somehow better than me. But how, I don't know why. Nobody can beat me that easily."

The conversation fell into silence (besides Hanami talking on the beyblade channel) as everyone pondered just how Aiga could defeat Lui in such a short amount of time since he started blading. Crazy good skills. And an excellent resonance with his bey. Shu asked, "Is there anything about him or his bey that singles them out from the others?"

Lui frowned in concentration. "Well, he's determined, like Valt. I would say his motivation to become the best blader in the world is what drives him to work so hard. Aiga connects to Z Achilles incredibly well. He also is able to copy the opponent's strategy or move and use it against them."

I also frowned, taking in all this information. Having the ability to turn the opponent's advantage against them is extremely handy. No originality involved though. Maybe I'm just salty. Still, I'll have to watch out for this. 

I slightly jumped when Lui punched the table. He glowered at Chris, anger and determinedness radiating from him. "Christina! You're the director of the WBBA! Arrange an official battle or a tournament in which I can crush Aiga once and for all!"

"Lui," Chris said calmly, not batting an eyelid at Lui's aggressiveness. Points to her. "Aiga Akabane is currently participating in a tournament that goes on for approximately one month. Until that is finished, or he is eliminated, you cannot engage in any official battle with him since you are not part of the tournament."

"Uh, stupid rules," groaned Lui, calming down. "One month is so long. I have to suffer through so much humiliation."

"Tournament?" the mention of a new tournament intrigued me. Nationals for this year already passed. "A new tournament? What is it?"

"The Battleship Cruise," answered Fubuki. "Nine bladers from the Turbo generation are chosen to battle between each other on a cruise ship for a chance to battle Valt in a title match. Since the bladers selected are from my generation, Turbo, all of you aren't able to participate."

"Fubuki, who exactly is in this tournament?" I questioned. 

The blonde began listing the names. "Aiga, me, Phi, Xavier and Suoh are probably the names you've heard of. Phi, Xavier and this other contestant called Laban are all part of the Turbo 4. Which is kinda like the Supreme 4 of our generation."

"But of course, the Supreme 4 will always remain superior," smirked Zac, throwing some glitter out to poor Silas who was sitting besides him. "Not to mention, more handsome."

"Watch where you're throwing that colorful vomit!"

"You have no taste!"

The table laughed at the two's exchange of words. I grinned happily. Everything felt so perfect. All the people I was friends with, just sitting and talking and laughing. Hours passed with everyone talking and laughing. What felt like six minutes turned out to be six hours. Soon enough the stars were beginning to show and everyone was leaving. 

"Bye!" I waved the member of BC Sol off. They all waved back, grinning happily as they sped off together. I would in two days, after the match with Valt and Shu that took place in New York. Now it just Fubuki, Shu and me at the Raging Bulls. I started walking back inside, beckoning for the two red-eyed people to join me. "Let's go."

We trudged up the stairs in silence, not wanting to disturb any other bladers. Most of them were at dinner, but there was a few that was sleeping. Fubuki, Shu and I had all agreed to skip dinner tonight considering the amount of food we ate. Plus the dessert and afternoon tea cooked by Chiharu and Ange. Oh, that was luxurious. 

"Thanks Shu," I said softly, looking at the albino. "Hanami told me you arranged everything. I had loads of fun. I appreciate that."

"No problem," smiled Shu gently. "Anything for you."

I looked away to conceal my blush, and thanked the Lord that it was dark. Fubuki butted in, not wanting to be in between any lovey dovey stuff, "I have the Battleship Cruise in eleven days. I was wondering if you could-"

"Sure," Shu agreed instantly. "I'll train you personally."

"Ooh, count me in!" I exclaimed excitedly, ruffling Fubuki's hair. "I wanna see your progress!"

The blonde scowled at the fact that I messed up his hair. I frowned slightly as I recalled something Fubuki said. "So that Suoh person that's your best friend is going to be there, huh?"

Fubuki nodded, "He's not my friend anymore. I don't know what came over him, but he's changed."

"I heard," I said gently. I squeezed his shoulders. "But you don't need backstabbing friends like him. So what if he hurt you? All the more reason to kick his ass into tomorrow, that little bit-"

"(y/n)," Shu gave me a warning look. "Not in front of Fubuki."

"Yeah, yeah."

"You guys act like I'm a kid," Fubuki rolled his eyes. "I'm only two years younger than you."

"You're still like my younger brother," I teased, grinning. "So, training tomorrow. I'm warning you, I won't be easy. We start off with working out at the gym." I felt my excitement growing and I started bouncing up the steps. "Then a good old battle to see where you're at. Then rock climbing. We improve then on your weakness. More battles. And more. Then some more working out. Brainstorming for strategies. More battles. And then-"

Darkness. 

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

Shu's POV 

I chuckled to myself as (y/n) fell asleep on the stairs, seconds after she was getting hyped up about the training tomorrow. Fubuki and I paused, wondering what to do with the human sleeping on the stairs. 

"I'll carry her to her room," I offered. The last time I carried her, (y/n) was quite light, so I'm hoping she's still around that weight, otherwise it would be exhausting for me. 

"You sure you can manage her?" Fubuki asked, but I could sense him hoping to go straight up to his room and probably train."

"I'm sure. You go train."

Fubuki left instantly, leaving me alone with (y/n) asleep at my feet. Sighing, I wrapped my arms around her torso and began to carry her bridal style. I blushed a little and thanked the heavens that most of the people at the Raging Bulls were eating dinner. 

The lift was currently broken because Xander somehow managed to destroy all of the inner wiring, which meant I had to carry (y/n) all the way to her room. Which is on the highest floor. Internally groaning, I began my climb up the stairs.

Unsurprisingly, (y/n) was still quite light. Years of eating salad, fruit and bread only must've enabled her to keep her frame even going through puberty. 

A warm glow was radiating from her body, but not like a feverish one. It felt nice and made me go all weird inside. 

Huh. 

"Shu?" (y/n) suddenly murmured sleepily. Her hand reached out and grabbed one of mine gently. I felt my face flush, no doubt scarlet by now. "I'm so lucky to have you. I missed you so much."

"I missed you too," I breathed back. She closed her eyes and went back to sleep again, a bright smile lighting up her face. My insides tingled. Again. Strange. 

I'm not in love with her. Am I? No, that was a thing of the past. 

(y/n)'s only my best friend. I wouldn't consider her to be my sister, considering we do have a history, but's she certainly not anything more than a friend. We agreed that our relationship had to stay like that. Otherwise, it would cause too much trouble. For our relationship and our career. 

I'm only glad nobody saw that exchange between (y/n) and I. They would probably start shipping it endlessly-

"Aww, Shu! I saw that!"

Shoot. 

Spoke too soon.

I watched in dread as the pop-star blonde made his way towards me. Zac was the only person from Japan staying over at the Raging Bulls. He and Joshua were working on a movie together, despite their rivalry in the entertainment industry. 

I stopped as Zac draped an arm around me, a smug grin on his face. "Oo la la, even after years you two still like each other?"

"Yeah," I replied. "As friends."

"Sure," said Zac, winking at me. "Don't forget that (y/n) always comes to me for relationship advice. I know everything about you two. Don't lie, I know that you love her-"

"I don't," I answered. "Even if I do, keep quiet! The readers aren't supposed to know that! Author-chan will be angry at you for ruining her story!"

"Okay, okay," Zac said hastily. "Gosh, this is my second time breaking the fourth wall, isn't it?"

"Soon to be third!"

"Continuing on," Zac dramatically flipped his hair. "That conversation between you two just now was super cute, even if it was short. And carrying her in bridal style? Oh, romance overload!"

"I'm only carrying her because she's asleep," I said, feeling slightly awkward. "And friends do miss each other." 

"I'll save my teasing till you two figure out your feelings," Zac started sashaying away, unwrapping his hand and raising up merely has a goodbye. "Ciao!"

The singer left me alone in the stairwell with (y/n) in my hands and my face colour even redder than my eye colour. 

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

Your POV

"In the blue corner, the reigning champion, Valt Aoi!"

Wild screams and claps escalated as Hanami introduced Valt. I could picture him smiling widely, ready to battle me. I wonder if he still has stage fright. I hope he managed to get over that fear. But another, smaller part of me secretly hoped that Valt wouldn't change at all.

Clutching Xcalius in my hand, I urged myself to calm down. Usually I was quite good with handling crowds, but this time...I don't know. I felt different.

Nervous. 

It's my first match back, and it's a freaking title match. I don't even know what Valt's new bey looks like. But that's not what's making me nervous. 

That image of Xcalius in fiery chains, it haunts me. Even though it was a dream, I can't help but think it's reality. Xcalius is my partner. Without it, I crumble. 

The bey I was thinking about glowed white, as if reassuring me. I took a shaky breath, and kept my chin held high. I was about the be introduced any second. I had to focus on winning this title match and regaining the throne that I left. All I can do is hope...that Xcalius will be alright. 

"And in the red corner, it's the beyblade empress herself that's sure to make an epic comeback, (y/n) (l/n)!"

The metal doors slid back to reveal me. The beyblade fans of New York cheered and clapped, but my heart sank a little when I heard it. It was nothing like what they used to do. It wasn't that they changed their style of cheering. It's just that...they forgot who I was. 

Swallowing, I forced myself to keep my confident act up. Besides, I'm happy that I finally get to battle my childhood friend. The smoke began to clear as I began walking down the aisle, stopping when I reached the stadium. 

Brown orbs met (e/c) ones. 

Let's win this. 

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

as you can tell, this chapter was a struggle

REMEMBER...VOTE...COMMENT...SHARE!!!

Word count: 2590