You took a deep breath and sat on the wooden bench, waiting for your name to be called.

This was it.

Everything had finally paid off, everything had led to this moment. You could scarcely believe that you were really here.

The Finals for the Japanese Internationals.

Jesus Christ you were only eleven.

So many other people had been competing. Children ages ten to eighteen. And yet here you sat, a small girl of only eleven years, waiting to compete for the top spot in Japan.

You looked down at your Bey in your hand.

Astra Vortex.

The bolt was midnight blue with a white cursive A etched onto it. The attack ring was the prettiest shade of ultramarine and the weight disk was silver. The spin gear and performance tip matched the ultramarine.

You may have been bias, but Astra Vortex was the best looking Bey you had seen. Not to over the top, but not too simple. Elegant, gorgeous but still understated.

Not to mention the fact that it was a powerhouse.

The two of you had an unbreakable bond formed over years of companionship.

Your parents had purchased it for you at the age of three, and you had been Blading for as long as you could remember.

While it felt unbelievable that an ordinary girl such as yourself had made it so far, at the same time, with Astra at your side, you were sure you could win.

"(Y/N) Aoi to East Entrance," a voice directed you over the speaker system.

You took several deep breaths and made your way to the east enterance where you would shortly emerge.

And when you did? You would take out Astra Vortex and battle your heart out.

This was it, and you wanted to win this with every fibre of your being.

A auburn haired woman with an earpice and a clipboard bustled over and bent down to check up on you.

"Are you ready sweetie?" The red head smiled brightly.

You nodded.

"Nervous?"

Another nod.

"Don't be," she encouraged. "Get out there and do your best."

"I will," you promised.

"That's great," the red head said. "Because you're on now."

She chuckled as your eyes comically widened.

With another good luck, she hurried off.

Moments later, the doors open and smoke billowed around your form as you stepped out.

"She's sweet, she's strong, here she is folks in all her sass and sparkle, it's  (Y/N) Aoi!"

People screamed as you stepped into view.

The second your foot hit that stage, all of your nerves seemed to diminish as though they had never been there in the first place, just like they always did.

The butterflies that had been doing gymnastics routines in your stomach had turned into bright fireworks of excitement.

All your hours of training, every single seconds worth had all led up to this, all of it had finally paid off.

And here you were.

Your opponent was already waiting for you.

A big, strong, teenaged seventeen year old boy with a closely cropped black buzz cut and fierce orange eyes.

"No hard feelings when I win kid?" He grinned, baring his crooked teeth.

You sniffed ever so slightly at the bad oral hygiene on display.

"As long as you don't cry when I beat you," you retorted. "I don't like dramatics."

That was a lie, you loved drama. But they two lines sounded good together, and with a little teamwork and good attitude, you could pull this off.

"Three!"

You squatted low to the stadium and extended your left leg. Nothing too fancy, simple, but effective.

"Two!"

You could hear your family cheering from the stands.

"One!"

You couldn't let them down.

"Let it, rip!"

You pulled hard on the ripcord and sent Astra Vortex into the stadium.

Your opponent's Bey took the centre.

'It's a stamina type, custom built' you remembered from your research. 'Pretty commonplace, but that puts Astra Vortex at a disadvantage. He's only won so far by waiting out his matches and getting a survivor finish.'

You smiled to yourself.

You were only eleven but you knew a hell of a lot about Beyblades, plus, you were pretty smart.

For instance, you knew that using the same strategy over and over made you predictable. And if your opponent could predict your moves, it would be over.

This guy lacked imagination, he lacked originality.

Both were traits you had in spades.

You were something of a wildcard. Always changing up how you attacked, your battle style was impulsive and basically consisted of you thinking on your feet.

Sure, you researched and made sure you were prepared. But research would only get you so far. The rest was down to you and Astra Vortex.

"Attack it Astra!" You shouted. "Go, go, go!"

Your blur of blue and silver rushed the orange Bey and struck it multiple times.

It wavered and dipped from the centre ever so slightly, but overall your attacks didn't seem to faze it.

He laughed at you. "Look little girl, in case you didn't realize, my Bey is a Stanina Type. This means I'm stronger than you. Your weak attacks won't do anything, I'm suprised you made it this far. "

You sneered at him. "First of all, your an idiot. Second of all, your Bey's Type may give you an advantage but thag doesn't mean your stronger. Do you know anything about Beyblade? With an attitude like that, I'm suprised you made it past the first rounds."

"Why you little-"

"I wasn't done speaking, didn't your mother teach you any manners? Look little boy, in case you didn't realize, it's rude to interupt while people are talking." You paused as though remembering something. "Oh and by the way, that was just a test."

"A test?" He asked, confused at your statement. "For what?"

"This," your grin practically promised trouble. You flicked your wrist. "Go, Astra Vortex! Solar Boost!"

The lights seemed to dim, drifting toward and enveloping your Bey.

Astra Vortex absorbed the lights, and began to glow with a brilliant white as it sped up.

It hurtled straight into the stadium wall and rebounded towards the centre.

Astra Vortex hit the orange Bey. The added speed gave greater force to your attack, and when it hit your opponent's Bey, it hit hard.

Again and again Astra Vortex powered into the stadium sides before  rebounding and hitting its target.

A final hit, and the orange Bey was sent flying off somewhere behind its orange eyed owner.

"And there you have it folks, (Y/N) Aoi gets the first point of the match with a survivor finish!"

This announcement was met by cheers and you thrust a fist into the air.

The first point was all yours! It was a great start and meant you were merely a third of the way to victory.

You were more confident than ever that you could win this match.

Your opponent scooped up his Bey and spun to face you, fury evident upon his face.

"Don't you know who your facing?" He demanded. "This is Shere Khan! A Prince!"

You resisted the urge to roll your eyes. Did he seriously name his Bey after the tiger if the Jungle Book?

"You call your Bey a Prince," you smirked. "But I am a Queen."

Using the same stance as before, you crouched and extended your leg, holding your launcher over the stadium.

"Three!"

This wasn't just about the match anymore.

"Two!"

It was about pride.

"One!"

It was about not losing to a seventeen year old who named his Beyblade after a Disney character.

"Let it, rip!"

You yanked out the ripcord, and a blue and silver slight emitted from your launcher as Astra Vortex was sent into the stadium once more.

Like before, Shere Khan took the centre while Astra Vortex swirled around the stadium.

A flick of your wrist and Astra Vortex smashed into Shere Khan, like earlier, barely moving it.

"That won't work a second time!" He called triumphantly. "Thrill of the Hunt!"

A faint clunk sounded, and you noticed Shere Khan bob as though it were weighed down. You also noticed that it seemed to slow.

"Thrill of the Hunt weighs down Shere Khan," he explained smugly. "Knocking it around won't be so easy now."

You scoffed at him. "Solar Boost!"

Astra Vortex absorbed the light and began to glow again as it rushed around the stadium, leaving a white trail in its wake.

"Didn't you hear me?"

This time you did not resist the urge to roll your eyes. Craziness you could most likley deal with, stupidity really was just unbearable.

"Solar Boost is only an attack when I use it like one," you explained. "I can use it for other things."

Astra Vortex was glowing brightly, almost like its own mini star. Which was just what you were waiting for.

"Star Strike!" A blue and silver aura surrounded you, and mingled with the glow around your Bey.

It swirled together and the gigantic form of a woman with midnight blue skin littered with thousands of stars,  adorned in white robes emerged from the haze.

Astra Vortex swirled her staff and banged it hard into the stadium surface.

From where the point made contact thousands of tiny streams of light, almost like shooting stars, burned into existence and hurtled for Shere Khan.

The lights converged and flung the Bey from the stadium, leaing it in three seperate pieces at its owner's feet.

"Astra Vortex wins with a burst finish, leaving the score at 3-0."

You lazily lifted your palm, and Astra Vortex flew gracefully to you. A showy little trick that took you a while to master.

Bey in hand, you thrust you fist victoriously into the air as the announcers voice echoed.

"There you have it folks! (Y/N) Aoi, only eleven years old, has just claimed the top spot as the best Blader in Japan! She may be small, but she is fierce, and not even gravity can bring this girl down!"

You went over to buzz cut and offered him your hand.

He looked at you in confusion, but took your small hand in his larger one and shook it firmly.

"You're strong kid, stronger than I am. It's been great losing to you."

You smiled at his display of good sportsmanship. Maybe he wasn't such an idiot after all. His Bey's name was still a little ridiculous though.

Turning and waving at the crowd for a  final time, you left through the stage door you had entered and went back to the waiting  room.

Not even thirty seconds later and the door was flung open and an energetic blue blur flung itself at you, followed shortly by a red blur.

"(Y/N), (Y/N)!" Their squeaky child voices chorused. "That was great!"

You laughed and somehow managed to balance one kid on each hip like the over grown toddlers they still thought they were.

"Thank you Valt, thank you Xander," you smiled at the two boys. "Where's Shu?"

"He's walking with mum and dad," Valt explained before clamping a hand over his mouth. "Oops," he mumbled.

The door opened and your mum walked in, pushing a double pram in front of her that contained the two small bundles that were your one year old twin siblings.

A small white haired boy walked at her side, but it was the man that followed that caught your attention.

Wisely, Valt and Xander distangled themselves from you and ran over to join Shu.

"Dad!" You squealed, launching yourself into your father's arms.

The dark blue haired man, still in his piolet's uniform, laughed and picked you up with ease.

"There's my little Champion," he grinned as he held you tightly. "You did great."

"I know!" You smiled as he put you down. "That was so awesome, I still can't believe I won!"

"You better believe it," your mum laughed.

You ran over and peered at the wide eyed forms of Toko and Nikka.

"Did you watch that?" You asked the two babies, despite knowing they couldn't answer you just yet. "What did you two think?"

They gurgled their nonsense baby noises, still not having spoken yet despite just turning one.

"Say Beyblade," you cajoled. "Come on, you can do it."

"Bah blah," Nikka tried. "Bah, bah, bah."

"Close enough," you shrugged and poked them both gently in the stomachs.

Turning to the three boys, you squatted down and spoke directly to Shu.

"What about you little man, what did you think?"

"Don't call him that, (Y/N)." Your mother chided. "He'll develop a complex."

"A five year old can't develop a complex mum, I looked it up after the first time you said it." You grinned cheekily at the white haired boy who was practically another brother to you. "Can you say com- plex?"

Shu rolled his eyes as you sounded out the word for him. "I'm five, not one."

You laughed at his attitude.

"Let's get outta here."

The three boys stuck close with you, Xander holding one hand, Shu holding the other, while Valt clung to your back, wanting to be taller than Xander.

He was only five but you knew Xander would be tall. You guessed that by eleven at the latest he would tower over you.

A mass of people stood waiting for you in the stadium lobby. Mostly kids, but there were some older looking people there too.

Some of the smaller one wanted photos and autographs. All the attention made you feel like some sort of superstar.

It was one boy with bright blue eyes and blond hair with red bangs that caught your eye.

He was from Valt's school. They weren't friends or anything. Zac was a few years older than Valt, one of the popular kids despite only being seven. Even so, he always seemed to be down to Earth and a pretty cool kid.

Zac stood there, somewhat shyly, grasping a pen and a picture.

Even with the three kids hanging off you, you managed to bend down to his height.

"Hey, Zac, right?"

His eyes sparkled. "You know my name?"

"Yeah," you nodded. "I've seen you at Beigoma Accademy before, the doofus on my back is my little brother and he goes there too."

"Hey!"

You smiled, but focused on the small blond boy.

"Is that a picture of me?"

He nodded shyly.

"Do you want me to sign it?"

Zac gave you a bright grin which you took as a yes.

"One day I'm going to be a great Blader, and I'm going to be famous just like you!" Zac babbled.

"Really now?" You asked, debating on what to write.

"I wanna be an idol!"

"Seriously? I'll make sure I come to a concert some time." The perfect idea sprang forth. "Every idol needs a name though."

Zac's face fell as you scribbled on the picture. "I don't have one."

You smiled at Zac and handed back the now autographed photo. "I wouldn't worry about that too much if I were you."

You booped him on the nose and straightened, some how managing not to drop or lose any of the three limpets you were struggling along with.

While Valt clung determinedly to your back, you hefted up Xander and Shu onto a side each and jogged to catch up to your parents who were waiting patiently by the doors.

Zac, slightly puzzled by your words, gazed down at the picture he had earlier brought of you pulling out your ripcord.

'Zac the Sunrise,

It's okay to fall on your way to the top, but when you get back up, make sure you rise as bright as the sun.

~(Y/N) Aoi

Ps. One day I'll be your fan too.'

Note:

So this is it guys! That was chapter one! It took me a few hours but I think it's pretty good.

No Lui yet sadly, it'll be another few chapters before we see our favorite salty flame headed blueberry shark. (Trademark people, I came up with that😂).

Btw, me describing Lui is literally:

Um... he's like this Salty Flame Headed Blue Berry Shark with major anger issues????

So yes!

That move in your first battle is what inspired Valt's Rush Launch. 

Xander and Shu are like additional little brothers.

You inspired Zac to become Zac the Sunrise.

Omg I totally just realized you are no officially connected to all of the Top Four.😂
That was totally unintentional, I just thought of that Zac fluff and thought it'd be cute to add in.

Please vote and comment, I'd love to hear the feedback!

~Avanni Cinders xx