Your POV

As Achilles slowly spun around the other bey fell to the ground in three pieces. 

The cheers surrounding me were deafening. While I was silent the whole time, I couldn't blame them. Not only did Dread Phoenix fall, Phi fell too. The darkness fell.

Just like in the God Blader's Cup, the rampage of destruction and hurt ended. Once again, the darkness was banished. Except, this time, I wasn't the one who protected one. I wasn't the one who stopped the destruction. 

It felt kind of weird. I wanted to be the one out there battling, yet I was the one who permitted Aiga to battle instead of me. Am I so selfish that I want to be the one who protects everyone?

But even though I desperately wanted to battle instead, it was the right choice letting Aiga battle instead of me. He brings something to beyblade that I lost a long time ago. 

Up on stage, Aiga himself was drenched in sweat and his hair had puffed up. Swallowing, he flashed a big grin as the final score was announced. Gold confetti bursted from the ceilings.

Naru, with tears of joys forming in the corners of her eyes, screamed out, "Yeah, Aiga!"

Similar compliments and shouts of supports from his friends joined Naru. Usually, I would be on the receiving end of all those praises. Because I was usually the one who bore the pressure and hurt to protect my friends.

Now? Now I was being the one protected. I felt kinda selfish because I like the feeling. I like it even more so when Shu's hand is intertwined with mine.

"He finally found it," Shu remarked.

"Yeah," I smiled. "What blading means to him."

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Phi's POV 

I lost. But why?

I whispered those words aloud, but nobody could hear me over Aiga's shouts and the crowds raucous cheers. 

"Winning was supposed to be my destiny."

I was supposed to be the one standing at the top of the wold instead of (y/n) or Aiga. I was supposed to be the one receiving all of the crowd's praises. I was supposed to be victorious. Darkness was supposed to triumph light.

Yet, I was the person crouching on the stadium floor in shock, ironically. I was the person trembling in shock, disbelief and...disappointment? It was a new experience. I never felt, and I never should've felt disappointment.

"Impossible."

Aiga [the blader that should've been utterly destroyed] shouted some idiotic statement, flashing Achilles [the bey that should've been utterly destroyed] to the crowd while smiling [the smile that should've been utterly destroyed] like an idiot. In response, the crowd screamed even louder and the lights from the camera was blinding.

This wasn't what was supposed to happen. Why were the crowds happy? They were supposed to be in awe and in shock of my and the darkness' supreme power. We were superior to them, and that should've been obvious. 

Everyone else was supposed to be bowing down to me, prepared to support my reign of absolute darkness.

Yet I'm the one groveling on the floor. How ironic. 

Quietly, I forced myself off the floor. Nobody noticed me as I descended down the stairs towards the exit, head held low. 

I heard some footsteps approaching quickly. A fan of Aiga's that wants to mock me? (y/n) who wants to tell me to never come back?

"Phi!"

No, it was the very person who had put me through this mess.

I stopped.

"You forgot this," Aiga said, outstretching Dread Phoenix. It was the bey that was supposed to have made me destroy Aiga, yet lead to Aiga destroying me instead. I hated it. But I still reached out and snatched it away from Aiga, walking away. 

"Wait!"

Ignoring Aiga's calls, I walked further in silence, deeper into the darkness. 

"You know, I had a lot of fun."

I turned around, but Aiga was already running off into the light.

I was standing in complete darkness while Aiga was bathing in light. 

What a coincidence. 

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bang

I slammed Phoenix down on the table, trembling with rage. Then, a familiar yet unwelcome voice spoke up.

"You got what you deserved."

I glimpsed Hyde leaning nonchalantly against the doorway to the room. I straightened my back. "Have you come to mock me?"

Hyde scoffed, "I can't even bring myself to laugh at how pathetic you are."

I turned around angrily. "What was that?"

"Oh please," Hyde rolled his eyes. "You lose and take it out on your bey? Just how petty can you be?"

I fell silent, and Hyde started walking towards me. "Of course, you still don't know why you lost, do you?"

"It has nothing to do with you!" I yelled.

"It has everything to do with me!" shouted Hyde, his voice overtaking mine. I gasped, realizing what he was getting to. "After all, Dread Phoenix contains parts from my Hades!"

"Well, then," I seethed. "Do you know why I was defeated?"

"Ha!" scorned Hyde. His face leered towards mine, a mocking grin on his face. "Why don't you tell me, Your Highness?"

Aiga's words echoed back to me.

You know, I had a lot of fun.

Maybe that was why I lost. And maybe that was why (y/n) chose Aiga to battle instead of herself.

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Your POV 

It was a classic Beigoma sunset.

A plethora of fluffy clouds of pink, orange and yellow amidst the usual swatches of blue took over the sky, few stars peaking out as the sun said goodbye. Seagulls squawked, their wings beating against the sky that looked more like a painting. 

I dug my feet into the soft sand, letting it and the occasional wave bury my feet. The air was crisp and fresh, tangling with my hair that had been let down, and we inhaled the air deeply. 

Along with it being a traditional Beigoma sunset, it also was a sunset that would've brought back memories that I would've reminisced about. I would have buried myself with memories and the past. 

But, strangely, I didn't find myself thinking about the past. I haven't even been thinking about the past, even though I was at the heart of the source of the memories. 

Of course, it was Shu who had made me felt better about the future. I looked to him, sitting besides me, and smiled tenderly. Our hands were still intertwined from the match. These days, I never wanted to let go.

I leant my head against his shoulder (the way it fit perfectly was ridiculous) and enjoyed the sight of seeing a soft smile crack onto his lips. 

Nobody was sitting near us on the beach. Naru and Aiga were on the beach too, but too far way to bother us. The seagulls had silenced and it was completely silence except for the natural sound of the waves crashing onto the shore. 

My smile widened. It was so damn nice. 

"What do you see beyblade as?" Shu suddenly asked.

"Why the sudden question?" I asked back, not really wanting to talk about it.

"I've been thinking about it a lot ever since the God Blader's Cup," Shu replied, eyes facing upwards as the wind swayed his hair lightly. "When you went against me in the finals, even though I was possessed, your expression had changed from what you usually looked. You looked so grown up and different.

"You used to think of beyblade as a simple game to connect with friends, right? It changed that battle. I know it did. Remember earlier in the day, when we agreed Aiga had found his meaning in beyblade? What's your meaning? What do you see beyblade as?"

A warzone. A constant clash of light and darkness in which people get hurt.

My eyes widened as I came to a conclusion. I didn't like it. If I told Shu, he would think that I'm overreacting, he would think I'm crazy. But most of all, if I told him he would blame it all on himself, because it was Red Eye that changed beyblade for me.

But I don't want to cover the truth with pretty words with friendly meanings behind them. I don't want to weave another web of lies that we always seem to be caught up in. 

So I kiss him on the lips and said, "Can we not talk about beyblade right now?"

"Sure," he nodded, but I can tell from his eyes that he's coming to the same conclusion that I did. I don't know how to feel about it. "Hey, I have an idea. Do you have your necklace with you?"

"Always," I said softly, bringing out the necklace with the halves of Xcalius and Spriggan as the pendant. 

Chuckling, Shu brought out his own. "It seems ugly now that I look at it. I can't believe I made that."

Laughing, I gently hit smacked him on the arm. "Don't say that! It's cute. I like it, even though it does seem a little ugly. Anyways, what'd you want with it? Surely you didn't bring it out to say how ugly it was."

"No, no I didn't," Shu said in amusement. "Pass me the necklace, you'll see."

I obliged, handing over the necklace. With mine in his hand, he looked at it fondly and longing before tossing it into the ocean, the necklace dipping into the blue and never resurfacing.

I watched, jaw opened and eyes wide. "Shu!"

"Before you kill me, I'll explain myself," he grinned. "Right now, you're caged in the past and that was the reason why the darkness targeted you. I want us to let go of the past, and look forward to the future. Look, I even got new necklaces. And these ones aren't ugly."

I watched in awe as Shu produced two necklaces with circle pendants, one with (e/c) and one with beautiful crimson. He smiled and kissed me on the head. "Here's to our future."

He handed me the crimson necklace and I ran my hand over it, letting my fingers glide on the smooth silver and crimson. "I-It's beautiful. I love it."

"That's good to know," Shu smiled as I put the necklace on. He handed me his old one. "Now, it's your turn to toss my old one into the ocean."

"A-Are you sure about this? This is our past relationship."

"That doesn't matter," he leaned forward and gave me a quick kiss. "What matters is our relationship right now."

I grinned. "You're right."

Holding the necklace in my hand, I closed my eyes and made a quick wish.

I wish that this relationship is always my future.

Then I opened my hand and lightly tossed the necklace into the ocean's depth, sinking as I watched it for the last time. 

It was a blissful moment, our hands intertwined as we watched the sun go down and our past freed us into the future. 

Then I realized, "Wait! What about the environment? We just tossed plastic into the ocean!"

Shu chuckled lightly, "Don't worry. Beys are made from a biodegradable plastic that are made to dissolve instantly if water covered the whole thing."

a/n i wish that was a real thing 

"Oh," I sighed, watching the waves still. Even if we were to swim to that spot to look for the necklaces, we could never find out because it dissolved. There was nothing left to hold. Our past truly was fading away. "You know, Shu. I wish that this relationship will always be my future."

He squeezed my hand, smiling as he said, "You don't need to wish for that, (y/n). I'll make it happen."

I smiled too, and leant in for another of those kisses I would never get sick of. Until some sand splattered against our faces.

"Oi, you two!" Ranjiro called, huffing as he and Fubuki walked towards us. "Stop with your makeout sesh."

"We weren't making out!" Shu exclaimed.

I sighed. "I wish we were."

Shu turned redder than a tomato and I couldn't help but laugh at that. "Anyways, what'd you want us for?"

"We're going out for dinner," explained Fubuki. "But first, we need to wake Aiga."

The four of us treaded across the beach to where Aiga laid, passed out next to his, uhm, interesting drawing of Achilles.

"Yo, Aiga!" Ranjiro shouted. "Rise and shine! Hey, come on! Wake up!"

Slowly, Aiga's eyes opened and he sat up, groaning. "What is it? I'm trying to take a nap."

"Well, they announced your next match, my dude," grinned Ranjiro.

Aiga gaped. "Already?"

"Yeah," nodded Fubuki. "And it's a world title match."

"Wait," his eyes shone as he came to a realization. He glanced at me. "I'm going up against you?"

"Yup," I smirked.

He stood up, facing the setting sun as he let out a battle roar. "I'm going to win!"

"I wouldn't be so sure on that," I laughed. 

"Just you watch! I'll beat your ass!"

"Correction," I flipped my hair. "I'll beat your ass."

So I continued to taunt Aiga, bickering back and forth even though it was pointless, really, because I already knew who was going to win.

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ya girl finally updated :)

word count: 2185