A week later, the final match of the national tournament was set: Daigo Kurogami vs. Litsuko Saeki. The city of Beigoma was teeming with beyblade fans. Ken was stoked: the pride they felt for both Daigo and Litsuko was immense after training with both of them for quite a while. Both of them had come so far, and they had trained so hard for this moment.

The day of the finals was bright and sunny, not a cloud in sight. Daigo had got up early to train, so it had been left to Ken to bring Ryota, who had somehow convinced his mother to let him go to the arena. It wasn't long before they met up with Valt, Honcho, Shu, and Wakiya in the crowd - Toko and Nika were at school.

"I'm willing to bet Daigo's gonna lose the first battle before he goes hard and demolishes her," Wakiya insisted.

"I'll take that bet," Shu agreed.

"Nice try, Goldilocks," Honcho quipped. "I'm not betting against you: I'm still struggling to find a job."

"Yeah, 'cause you're a stoner," Ken shot back with a grin.

"Isn't that when you do drugs?" Ryota asked with a wide-eyed stare. He still had a parental restriction on his iPad despite insisting that he didn't need one.

"Have you ever seen Daigo on the balcony with bloodshot eyes, holding something that looks like a cigar?" Honcho asked, taunting the younger boy as he leaned down towards him, hands on his hips. "Yeah. That's weed, little dude. Drugs."

Valt burst into a fit of stupid giggles at the horrified look on Ryota's face.

"Don't listen to him," Ken sighed, looking down at him, though they couldn't help but grin along as they struggled to surpress their own laughter. "They're just teasing you."

Suddenly, Valt got a weird look on his face, fright filling his brown eyes. Noticing this, Shu raised an eyebrow.

"What's up with you?" Wakiya asked skeptically.

Valt shakily raised a finger to point ahead.

"B-behind you, Ken," he stuttered.

Ken felt a chill run down their back as they felt a particularly ominous presence behind them, like that feeling one gets where their teacher looms over them when they're late. As soon as they turned around -

"Boo!"

Everyone in the group let out a cry of fear as someone a little older than them with gray hair jumped out at them from the crowd. Ken felt Ryota dart behind them as a bolt of lightning seemed to strike them in the brain. The young man began to laugh maniacally as he took in everyone's reactions.

"Haha, so it seems my charm still has some effect!" he exclaimed in a sinister tone. He had sharp canines, sickly pale skin, and was wearing a luxurious turquoise vest featuring black lace.

"Oh, it's just you," Wakiya uttered with slight contempt.

"Such a relief that you haven't forgotten about me!" the young man squealed. He looked a little familiar, but Ken doubted that they had met him in person before.

"Did ya really have to hit 'em with the dramatic entrance, babe?" another voice piped up.

Everyone looked to the side to see that another young man had appeared. He had black hair and tanned skin, and had a cockatoo perched on his shoulder. Now him, Ken had met before.

"Yo, Cuza!" Valt said with excitement, rushing towards his BC Sol friend. He gave him a quick bro hug and slapped him five.

"Nice to see you again, bro!" Honcho added.

"Likewise!" Cuza Ackermann replied with a big, monkey-like grin. His bird squawked in agreement.

"I see you guys remember Clio." Cuza gestured to his longtime boyfriend, the one who looked like a vampire.

"How could we forget?" Shu sighed. "What're you doing here, though?"

"Obviously we came to support Daigo!" Clio answered. He was practically beaming.

Now Ken remembered: Clio Delon was one of Daigo's close friends from abroad. Due to the significant time difference, Ken had only met him through one or two video chats at the most.

Ken smiled uneasily at this new aquaintance. They heard Ryota cough nervously behind them.

"Hi, I'm - "

"Kensuke Midori!" Clio greeted them. "Such a pleasure it is to finally meet you after all these years!" He grabbed Ken's hand with both of his own and shook it vigorously.

"Glad to see you know about me," Ken chuckled, still a little put off by Clio's appearance. Middle school was long gone, but Ken still kept some of their shy nature.

"Of course!" Clio gushed dramatically. He made hand gestures to emphasize. "Back in our AS Gallus days, not a day would go by when my former captain wouldn't mention his dearest friend!"

Ken felt the heat in their face rise significantly as this information sank in. They were always glad to be held in high regard and talked about with favor, but . . . it was different when it was Daigo who was doing it.

"It's nice to meet you, too," Ken said with a grin, slightly embarrassed.

"I dunno, man, that's a little gay," Honcho remarked.

"Clio's the definition of that word," Wakiya pointed out.

"Oh, and you're not?" Honcho sneered. "Anyway, I meant that that was gay of Daigo - "

Honcho had barely finished his sentence before Ken had elbowed him harshly in the ribs. They heard Valt, Cuza, and Clio giggle together.

"You're not really a vampire, are you?"

Ken had nearly forgotten that Ryota was still hiding behind them. They craned their neck to look down at him.

"Well, hello, little Ryota!" Clio said, bowing slightly. "I've heard so much about you!"

Ryota smiled shyly, a little bit of the fear seeming to fade away despite Clio not having answered the question.

"C'mon, don't tell me you still believe in fairytales," Cuza teased lightly.

"I'm thirteen, asshole!" Ryota snapped with a sudden burst of energy. Everyone laughed.

Suddenly, an announcement boomed over the loudspeakers, letting the crowd know that the final battle was starting in twenty minutes flat. It was time for everyone to find their seats.

"Oh, shit!" Honcho blurted out.

"Catch up with ya later, Cuza!" Valt called out, waving to Cuza and Clio as they disappeared into the shuffling crowd.

Ken took Ryota by the hand and followed the rest of the crew to their seats. Wakiya, as the token rich friend, had secured everyone front row spots so they had the best view. Wakiya's boyfriend, the strong but silent Hoji Konda, was already there waiting for them; Wakiya greeted him with a kiss on the cheek.

"And now, we wait," Shu remarked.

"I hate waitingggg," Valt grumbled.

"Yeah, don't get me started," Ken sighed. Their knee was already bumping.

"Where d'you think Asa and Jin are sitting?" Honcho thought out loud. Asa Umeha and Jin Aizawa were Ken and Daigo's other teammates from the team battle leg of the tournament.

"They're probably somewhere else rooting for Litsuko," Ken reasoned. "After all, Asa and Litsuko are dating and Jin got his heart broken by Daigo back in our senior year."

"Knock it off, dude," Honcho groaned.

Ken giggled. If Jin was still bitter about a relationship that had ended two years ago, then he wouldn't have joined the Black Hole Beyclub in the first place.

"At least Litsuko's parents showed up," Ryota huffed. "Unlike ours."

Ken couldn't help but pity the boy. Daigo and Ryota's mother had never approved of their kids being into beyblade, as she saw it as a useless hobby. Years before, it had taken weeks for Daigo to convince his mother to even be allowed to join France's national bey team, AS Gallus.

"Okay, bladers!" the announcer, Hanami, bellowed over the loudspeakers. "Are you ready for the final match!?"

The entire crowd exploded into cheers, seeming to shake the whole stadium. Ryota, Valt, and Honcho cheered along with them. Ken sat up a little straighter as they let out a, "woooo!"

"In the red corner, we have the underdog of the season, the lover girl: Litsuko Saeki!"

An eighteen-year-old girl came running full force out of the red doors, short ginger curls bouncing as she raced excitedly towards the stadium in the center. She was wearing a pink crop top with long sleeves and baggy jeans. Her smile was radiant even from far away. On the outside, she looked like she was just there to have fun. But Ken knew her well: the bigger the smile, the more serious she was.

"Hey, that's what I used to be called!" Valt reminisced.

"And in the blue corner, the formidable force who draws his strength from the shadows: Daigo Kurogami!"

Ryota stood up in his chair and screamed for joy as Daigo entered the stage.