Shu's POV 

I approached the stadium by the pillars, hoping against hope that she would be there. 

It's been two days since Hyde triumphed against (y/n). Two days since she lost her crown. Two days since she ran away. 

When she fled after seeing me, I know that I should've gone after her. I didn't know what the  situation would become. I should've gone after her. I should've. I just wanted her so badly to do something for me; I wanted her to apologize and talk to me on her own, not because I forced her to. Now I only cursed myself for not forcing myself to talk to her.

I emerged at the clearing that was steadily becoming sickenly familiar. And, like the past few days, she wasn't there.

She was missing. She wasn't in her dorm, or in this clearing or any part of the woods, BC Sol, or even Spain. Valt and the others became extremely panicked, calling the police and anyone they knew if they had even glimpsed (y/n). 

At first everyone thought she had gone back to Antarctica, to that underground bunker. But the Spain airport confirmed with us that nobody in the past week had flown there. That only made everyone panic more. Even Free was worried, and that's saying something.

I know where (y/n) is, though. She's not in Antarctica, or in some remote location or in Spain. She's in Beigoma, Japan.

She didn't actually tell me, but I know she thinks of her days in Beigoma as her best days. The days where we had minor problems and the whole bey club was together. Not to mention that that's her home. So if she's feeling down, of course she'll go back to the place where she feels safest. 

Then why am I here if I know where she is? If I possibly have the power to stop her hurting? In the past, I would've. But now, I know better. There's a reason why she didn't tell anyone her whereabouts, why she probably avoided the center of Beigoma where people like Ken and the Aoi family lived. She wants to get through this herself.

She always imagined that she had a crown. I wonder that if lately she started imagining herself as one of those lonely princesses who was chained up in a tower, waiting for someone to rescue her. 

I'm probably that 'someone', aren't I? Even if I'm not a handsome, dashing prince and she's not a dainty, pretty princess. But I don't want to save her. I think this is a self growth thing. Robbing her of that chance to grow is selfish.

Because I've learned something from this whole darkness fiasco. (y/n) is more than capable of doing this herself. She's not a princess who waits for someone to rescue her. She rescues herself, and that's what makes her a queen. My role is just to bring her back to the rest of the kingdom, our friends, the world. 

But jumping out of the tower is still a hardship. But I believe she can do it. 

She just needs to believe in herself.

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Your POV

This room reminded me of hopelessness. 

The empty drawers and cupboards, the floor that was tinged gray with dust, the walls that were starting to crack, the dank air. Not even a crack of the golden afternoon light was in here. Just darkness. All of it reminded me of hopelessness. My hopelessness.

I ran my hand through the pale bed that hadn't been touched in years, and remembered the late nights tainted with frustration. Frustration at myself for falling behind and letting Lui break the first Xcalius like that. 

And then I looked a creaky chair next to a desk and remembered the times after those nights, where I would just sit there and stare, wishing that I was strong without doing anything. Staring at nothing, lost in my desperation to be the best. 

I was so hopeless.

And I still I am.

I didn't want that reminder.

I didn't want that reminder, so I backed away from my bedroom and slammed the door. I contemplated walking around the rest of my house, but I could hardly remember any of it. Any memory of this house had been drowned out by the sound of my hopelessness. 

Instead, walked down the familiar, rocky path to the Shakadera dojo. It was completely empty. As usual, both my parents and Xanders' were busy overseas, leaving the area vacant. The rest of the dojo, lead by Ukyo, Quon and Yugo were practicing at the National Arena. 

I sat down on the tatami besides the Shakadera special and brushed my hands over it. Memories came to life. The dojo accepting me in, the dojo helping me train, the dojo disheartened after Xcalius broke, the dojo battling with me against the Bey Club, the dojo angry at Daigo for cheating and the dojo even more angry at me for leaving them. No, not angry. More like...disappointed.

Life with the dojo felt like lifetimes away. Did I really practice here every day of my life? Were my teammates really Yugo, Quon, Ukyo and Xander? Did Ukyo and I really date? And...did I really try to convince myself that I loved Ukyo?

I almost laughed thinking about how futile that attempt was, when all I did was turn into a blushing mess around Shu. I caught myself when I realized what a bad girlfriend I was. How much Ukyo was disappointed in me. 

Restlessly, I got up and walked outside, climbing further and further until I reached the top of the mountain. I remember when Gingka Hagane used to sit on a bamboo chair underneath a lush tree and just watch the city of Beigoma move, sighing contentedly with his life. 

The tree that used to be so green was bare now. Robbed of its beauty, its brittle, thin branches on display for the world to see. It swayed so easily in the warm wind, but any stronger the wind was, it would break.

The chair, surprisingly, was still there. It was unmoved, untouched. The same. I found one thing I liked that had stayed the same within this past few years. That comforted me. Anchored me. I sat on my piece of solace and stared out at Beigoma.

No, Beigoma had changed too much. Too much unfamiliar buildings and disappearances of familiar ones. I hated it. I stared away, but I could only see change everywhere. I hated change.

When I was younger, Someone once told me that life is about learning how to ride the wave. I told them that even so, life didn't have to have so many unexpected dangerous currents. That person only chuckled and told me I should embrace change.

I didn't embrace change. I still hated it.

It was everywhere, though, in the new flowers that sprouted up next to the chair, in the warmer weather, in the tree.

So I closed my eyes and sat there in silence. 

"I see you still hate change."

That voice.

No way.

It was old and slightly hoarse, but it was somehow clear and bright at the same time. I recognized it in an instant, the only voice that made me feel like a child who was loved and protected by their parents.

No way. 

I stood up abruptly and launched myself at the man who considered me as a granddaughter. "Ojii-san!"

Usually I don't speak without any honorifics and my speaking style is heavily influenced by Western Countries. But he was just so old and traditional, it seemed out of place to not used honorifics and just call him, "grandfather".

He laughed as the force from the hug nearly launched him backwards. "Be careful, mago-musume. You nearly killed me with that hug!"

(a/n mago-musume means granddaughter in Japanese. i'm not sure whether or not that that's the correct term given that i barely know any Japanese, so feel free to correct me)

"Sorry," I said, rubbing the back of my hand sheepishly. I did a quick glance over him. His fiery hair was reduced to a bland grey, and his posture was terrible. His skin was lined with wrinkles and his veins looked more prominent than ever. But his eyes were still bright with fire, fire that burned with the urge to conquer and win. 

He was still taller than me though, and that reflected when he patted my head. "My, you've grown taller. I'd say you're taller than Kenta now!"

Even in his old age he was still so close with all of his friends. I hoped my friendships would end up like that.

I gestured for him to sit on the chair. "Ojii-san, sit, and then we'll catchup."

"Why, thank you, mago-musume," he smiled, and with a gentle thud he was on the chair. I smiled back, forcing for it to be genuine, and sat down on the grass besides the chair. He frowned and said, "(y/n), you've never been a good liar. C'mon, what's bugging ya?"

"I don't know where to start," I said softly. 

He patted my head again. "The beginning would be a good place."

And so, I slowly told my story to Gingka Hagane.

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By the time I had finished, the sky was lit up in one if it's beyond beautiful Beigoma sunsets. The ones in Spain were nothing compared to this. Hues of purple, pink, blue and golden mixed together to create one perfect mash up. Whenever this happened, I used to whip my phone out and take as many photos as I can. But I know by now that technology could never capture the true beauty of this sunset, much less the feeling that came with it.

After I finished trying to paint an eternal picture in my mind, I closed my eyes and let the feeling of utter awe wash over me. Besides me, Gingka did the same. We sat in beautiful silence until he spoke up. "You've been through a lot. Tell me, mago-musume, why you came to Japan since it was certainly not to see me."

I opened my eyes to see him looking expectantly at me. "I was cowardly. I couldn't apologize to Shu. So I ran away."

My voice cracked at the end and I turned away in shame. Gingka replied, "No, I think you did the right thing. You need time to heal, and so does that boy. You two need to learn self-growth and self-love before you can even think about getting together again."

"But after all of this..." I trailed off, looking down. My vision blurred. "Does he even love me?"

"Mago-musume, you're being dumb," Gingka said impatiently, as if he was the smartest person in the world. "Of course he loves you, he's just struggling with his emotions like you. If he didn't love you, then he wouldn't have been so hurt when you pushed him away. You two probably have one of the greatest love that I've ever encountered. It would be a real shame if you two let it die just because you have..."

He loves you.

Gingka continue to ramble on and on about our love, but I didn't hear any of it. I was focused on one part that he had said.

He loves me.

He loves me.

Euphoria like I had never experience before filled my chest. It blew me away, a thousand times more than the sunset did.

And then suddenly my face had small rivers, and I was crying so hard and freely because the happiness was just too overwhelming. But I liked that. I liked having happiness like that. 

"Ehh?" Gingka blinked. "Don't cry, don't cry! Jeez, you really didn't know?"

Looking back, I guess it was probably obvious that he loves me. I was just too caught up in my own crown, my own feelings, myself to notice him. How could I? How dare I ignore such beauty in my life? 

I wanted to hate myself again, but then I recalled what Gingka said about loving myself in order to love Shu. And then I cried more because he was right. We both stood up and he opened his arms, welcoming a hug. Without hesitating, I hugged him so tightly I thought his bones would break.

But he only patted my head lovingly, and, if possible, I cried even more because Gingka had always been there for me. Gingka was like the parent I never had. I hiccupped, "I-I'm sorry I'm getting s-snot and t-tears all over y-you."

I expected him to respond with laughter and a teasing remark, maybe more head pats. I expected him to respond with a warm voice and a blinding smile. 

I did not expect him to respond in a different voice.

"You should be. I hiked all the way up this mountain, and you greet me with snot and tears."

This was a different voice. One without laughter and a teasing remark, absolutely no had pats. One without a warm voice and a blinding smile.

This voice was calculative, cunning and sharp. It held no humor or joy, devoid of any emotion except for maybe disgust. 

This voice was all too familiar.

I turned my attention to the direction of the voice, fear accelerating my pulse. 

There, a lean female my age leaned against the tree. Her long, silky purple hair had been cut into a short, precise style up to the shoulders, not one strand of hair out of place even though she had just hiked up an entire mountain. Her amber eyes were as sharp as ever, and I thought about all the times where those eyes were ready to drown me in her selfish schemes.

Mei Hagane.

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