You stood in front of the open gates that led up to BC Sol in apprehension.

"It's still not too late," your father said gently. "No one will think less of you."

"I can do this," you told him stubbornly. "I want to do this."

He gave you a gentle look, happiness shining in his eyes. "I am so proud of you."

"Thanks dad," you smiled. You stood on tip toe as your dad bent down, and wrapped your arms around his neck. "Promise to call me when you land?"

"I promise," he agreed.

You held on a little bit longer. It was always hard to say good bye, but it felt even harder now that you didn't have the rest of your family with you.

This was your adventure.

Reluctantly, your dad pulled away. "I have to go now."

"I know," you nodded sadly. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Champion."

"Is that a thing now?" You couldn't help but snicker.

He nodded seriously. "It's not every day a man's child becomes the best in the country for something, I have every right to be proud."

With an affectionate eyeroll, you pecked your father on the cheek and pushed him toward the taxi the two of you had taken.

"Go," you ordered. "I don't want you to be late."

"Yes ma'am," he chuckled with a mock salute. "I love you."

"Love you too dad."

You watched as your father got into the taxi, and gave you a smile through the window as the car did a U-turn and headed back down the hill. Waiting until the car was out of sight, you took a deep breath and approached the two burly looking security guards who stood in front of the entrance to the grounds that housed your future team.

“Can we help you miss?” One of the two asked.

“Yeah thanks,” you smiled nervously. “I’m (Y/N) Aoi, I’ve been scouted by Jinbei Kuroda to join the team.”

He bowed his head politely. “Of course Miss, if you’d like to wait for a moment, I can call for someone to come down and show you around.”

You did as he asked, and waited, fidgeting with the hem of your shirt. You didn’t have to wait long, in a few short minutes, a young girl about your age appeared.

“Hi, I’m Kristina,” she introduced, giving you a friendly smile. You noticed she bore a slight resemblence to Jinbei, and reasoned they must be related in some way. “You can call me Kris.”

“(Y/N),” you replied. “Are you here to show me around the place?”

“Yep, come on. My grandfather’s waiting for us.”

Without hesitation, Kris reached out and took one of your suitcases, despite your protests, assuring you it was fine. The two of you chatted as you walked, and you found that talking to the friendly pink haired girl came quite easily. You hoped that during your stay, you might become friends.

“Those are the dorm rooms,” Kris told you, pointing out a tall brick building. “That’s where you’ll be staying.”

You went to say something, but instead you jumped as a sleepy looking boy appeared out of nowhere.

“Hey Kris, I was wondering if-” he stopped upon catching sight of you. “Who’s this?”

“This is (Y/N),” Kris said for you, while you tried to calm your racing heart beat. “She’s our new scout. (Y/N), this is Free. He’s on the team too.”

You managed to glare at him, although there was no real heat in your gaze. “Do not sneak up on me like that.”

Kris laughed. “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it.” She turned to give Free a stern look. “Shouldn’t you be at practice?”

Free shrugged. “It got cancelled. I came to see if you wanted to battle.”

“I’ve got to show (Y/N) around, but maybe later.”

“It’s okay,” you assured them hurriedly. “Just tell me where to go and I’ll be fine, I don’t want to be trouble.”

“It’s fine, really.” Kris said. “I don’t mind at all. But maybe the two of you could battle later?”

“Yeah, maybe.” Free said non committedly.

You bit back a scowl at his nonchalant attitude toward you, and forced down the sharp retort on your lips, not wanting to make an enemy on your first day. To your suprise, it was Kris who came to your defense.

“Don’t brush her off, Free.” She scolded lightly. “She’s here for a reason.”

“Really now?” Free asked, and gave you a questioning look.

“First in Japan,” you supplied.

“Huh.” He said, and walked off.

“Sorry about him,” Kris apologized for her friend.

“Is he always so standoffish?” You wondered, genuinely curious.

“Like I said, you get used to it after a while.” Kris told you. “Anyway, let’s go.”

Without anymore interruptions, the trip to Kris’ grandfather’s office was a fairly short one. Kris knocked twice on the door, and waited for a response before leading you inside.

“(Y/N) Aoi,” a man who you recognized to be Jinbei greeted you jovially, standing up upon your arrival and moving to shake your hand. “It’s great to finally meet you in person. No brothers this time, I see?”

You laughed nervously. “No sir, both brothers are back in Japan.”

“What did I tell you about calling me sir?” he frowned good naturedly. “It’s Jinbei to you young lady.”

“Sorry sir, I mean, Jinbei.” You hastily corrected.

“Give her a break grandfather,” Kris told him. “It’s her first day.”

Jinbei chuckled at his granddaughter’s chiding. “She knows I’m only having her on, right (Y/N)?”

You nodded, a sheepish smile on your features.

“Well,” Jinbei continued. “It’s great to finally have you here, I trust you had a good flight?”

“I did,” you assured him. “My dad is a very skilled pilot.”

Jinbei seemed to find this comment funny, and you realised he seemed to constantly have a friendly twinkle in his eye, much like Kris. “I’m glad. And Kris showed you the dormitories?”

“She did.”

“Very good,” Jinbei said. “Go get settled in, and take a look around. Training starts first thing after breakfast.”

Recognising the dismissal, Kris and yourself bid Jinbei fairwell and exited his office. As the door closed behind you, Kris let out a sigh.

“I’m sorry about my grandfather,” she said. “He forgets that newcomers aren’t always used to his eccentric attitude.”

“It’s fine,” you assured her as you made your way over to the dormitories. “Really. You don’t have to apologize for your friends and family, it’s like you said, I’ll get used to it.”

Kris gave a relieved sort of laugh, and stopped in front of one of the many oaken doors that lined the hallway in which you now stood.

“This is your room,” she explained, opening the door. You stepped inside to see a sparse yet tastefully decorated bedroom with a double bed. “The boy to girl ratio here’s pretty uneven, so you get a room to yourself.”

“This is awesome,” you grinned. “Way bigger than my bedroom back home. Are you sure that’s a double sized bed?” It was a rather abrupt topic change, but you were right. The bed was pretty big, and the second you noticed it the question had just fallen out of your mouth.

“It's a queen,” Kris admitted. “So a little bit bigger. Are you sure everything is okay with your room?”

“Let me get a few photos up and it’ll be perfect.”

“Can I help?” She asked you.

You shook your head. “I've got this, thanks though. You can go battle with your friend, if you want.”

Kris wrinkled her nose. “I love Free, but I’m not too good at battling. He’s way better than I am, so I don’t really see the point.”

“You just need practice,” you said. “I could help if you want?”

“I’d like that,” Kris smiled. “I don’t really have any female friends to hang out with around here.”

“We could be friends?” You offered.

“Really?” Kris asked, slightly disbelievingly. “I’d love that.”

“Why do you sound so shocked?” You frowned.

A blush stained Kris's cheeks and she looked away shyly. “Most girls my age don’t like me very much, I’m a little bossy.”

“Well so am I,” you said cheerfully, not ashamed of the fact. “We’ll get along great.”

Kris laughed, and sat down on your bed as you began to unpack and put away your things.

“What’s this?” She asked, picking up a thick book with a hard blue cover.

“Hm? Oh, it’s a photo album.” You supplied absentmindedly. “You can have a look if you’d like.”

Kris thanked you and flipped open the book. She immediately began cooing, and you couldn’t blame her. The first few pages had your baby photos, and honestly, you were an adorable baby.

Laughter bubbled up behind you, and you put down a t-shirt and sat beside Kris to see what was so funny. Upon catching sight of the photo in question, you couldn’t help but join in with a laugh of your own.

“Oh geez,” you giggled. “I’d forgotten that was in there, I haven’t looked through this thing in ages.”

The photo in question was of when you were about three years old, and only a few days after you had gotten Astra Vortex. For what ever reason that had seemed perfectly logical to your toddler mind at the time, you had decided that Astra looked as though it would make a particularly tasty snack, and the photo was of you gnawing at your Bey in determination.

“Let’s see what else is in here,” Kris grinned, and you temporarily abandoned your unpacking to join her in viewing the album.

At first, it wasn’t too much. Just a few photos of tiny you waddling around and getting into stuff. Next came your first few days of primary school, and you with your father, and mother who’s stomach was swollen with fetus Valt at the time.

“Is this your brother?” Chris asked, referring to the blue haired tot you were carefully holding in one of the pictures.

“One of them, yeah.” You said. “That’s Valt, he’s about to turn six, actually. Right little monster he is.”

Kris snickered and turned the page. The next few were mainly of you and Valt, not to brag or anything, but you were a damn good big sister. Pretty soon, two other boys in particular began to pop up.

“Who are they?” Kris wondered.

You smiled fondly. “The bigger one’s name is Xander, and the white haired one is Shu. They’re Valt’s best friends, and my other little brothers, aside from my real second brother.”

“Are you guys close?” Chris asked.

“We are,” you nodded. “Although I am closer to Shu than Xander.”

“How come?”

A scowl suddenly twisted your features. “Shu’s parents aren’t exactly that attentive. They always work, and he spends more time at our house than anything. He’s the sweetest kid, I adore him to pieces. He and Xander are just as much of my family as Valt and the twins.”

Kris smiled in understanding, but then focused on something else you had said. “Twins?”

Your eyes brightened. “Yep, twins.” You flipped forwards to some of the more recent pages, until you came to the tiny babies in question. “That’s Toko and Nika,” you informed her, pointing out each of them respectively. “They’ve just turned one not too long ago, and I’m fairly confident Nika’s first word will be Beyblade.”

Kris laughed. “I’m sorry, what?”

You grinned in what could only be described as maniacal determination. “I’ve been working on her for weeks now, finally she’s getting some of the sounds down.”

Kris just shook her head at you antics, and for the second time that day, you were cut off by Free’s appearance, except this time, he wasn’t looking for Kris.

“Hey, new girl, wanna battle?”

This time, you didn’t bite back your scowl. “I have a name.”

Free shrugged. “Is that a yes, or a no?”

You stood up from the bed. “It’s a yes.”

_______________________________________

Free and Kris took you to a run down stadium in the forest. It was old and covered in moss and vines, but one look told you that it was frequently used. It had been a few days since you had last battled, and you were admittedly antsy to get back into it.

You and Free took up your places on either side of the stadium, while Kris acted as your referee.

“Whoever gets the first point wins,” she decided. “A survivor finish or a stadium out is worth one point, and a burst is worth two points. Bladers, please step forward.”

Internally, you smiled at your new friend’s enthusiasm. She was either really excited to watch the two of you, or she had a real knack for refereeing.

The two of you got into your starting positions and held your launchers out above the stadium.

“Three!”

“Two!”

“One!”

“Let it, rip!”

Both you and Free ripped out your ripcords and sent your Bey into the stadium. Free’s Bey immeadiently took the centre, and by the way it moved, you assumed it to be a stamina type.

“Let’s light it up Astra,” you said. “Go for it!”

Astra spun toward Free’s Bey, which you noticed was looking a little unsteady. But, as Astra attacked, it seemed to spin up.

“What the...” you muttered.

“Drain Frafnir,” Free supplied, and your eyes widened with the knowledge you had been given. The Bey was pretty rare and it was super strong. It also sped up when hit by an opponent that rotated clockwise.

“Get away from it!” You cried. Obediently, Astra Vortex moved away from it’s opponent and resumed circling the stadium, but the damage had been done. It had lost some of it’s speed to Frafnir leeching it away.

If you hadn’t realised sooner, Astra would have easily stopped by now, giving Free a Survivor finish; and by the looks of things, it still might. Astra continued to slow, and with your Bey being an Attack type, you knew it couldn’t keep this up for much longer. You had to finish this, while you still could.

“Okay Astra, it’s time to turn up the heat!” You told your Bey. “Moonblast!”

The two of you began to glow your signature radiant dark blue, and the titaness that was Astra Vortex appeared from the haze. She pointed her staff at Frafnir and a bolt of white light shot toward it.

The blast slammed into Frafrir, knocking it off balance and sapping some of it’s strength. Simultaneously, the two Beys began to lose speed and you held your breath to see which Bey would hold out.

“Hold it Frafnir!” Free shouted as they began to wobble unsteadily.

It was close, oh so painstakingly close, but ultimately it was Astra Vortex that gave first and stopped spinning.

“Frafnir wins with a Survivor finish!” Kris declared. “Meaning the victory goes to Free with a score of one to zero!”

Holding back a sigh, you lifted your palm, closing your hand over your Bey. It almost seemed to radiate a sorrow to match your own, and you could practically feel your Bey’s remorse.

“We did our best,” you mumbled to Astra. “We’ll get em’ next time.”

“Not bad, (Y/N).” Free said, and you snapped your head up to see a lazy smile on his lips. “That was close, you almost had me there.”

“Next time it’ll be different,” you swore.

“Can’t wait.”

And this time, he actually seemed genuine.

_______________________________________

The sun was setting, and you had finally finished unpacking, when a persistent beeping from your laptop began sound. Free and Kris, who had been sitting on your bed talking to you, turned and gave the device a curious look.

“How is it ringing?” Chris asked.

“Messenger,” you explained, snatching up your laptop and lifting the screen. “Cool app that lets me text and call as long as I have data or Wi- Fi.”

“Who’s calling?” Free wondered, peering over your shoulder curiously as you joined them on your bed.

You smiled when you saw the caller ID. “You guys wanna meet my family?”

Without waiting for a response, you clicked on answer and the faces of two little boys in particular filled the screen.

“(Y/N)!” Valt exclaimed.

“Hey guys,” you smiled. “Shu, what are you still doing there?”

“I’m having a sleepover,” he said quietly, and you masked your frown with a mischievous grin.

“Remember what we talked about? Why don’t the two of you sleep in my room?” You suggested, delighting in the way the two boy’s eyes lit up. “My bed is pretty big, I bet you could make an amazing blanket fort or something.”

“Yeah, alright!” Valt exclaimed.

“Valt?” Came your mother’s voice from another room. “Who are you talking to?”

“Uh, nobody mum!” He called back.

“Porcupine?” You said warningly. “Does mum know you’re calling me?”

“Yeeeees.” He drew out, and you sighed in defeat as Kris and Free chuckled beside you.

“No, I didn’t.” You mum said, her face appearing on screen.

“It was Shu’s idea!” Valt exclaimed.

“Hey!”

Your mum shook her head, and you bit back a laugh as her gaze flickered pleadingly toward the ceiling. “I told you two, we’d call later. Toko and Nika are napping, and I’m sure they wanted to say hello too.”

“How are they?” You asked her.

“Pretty good, I think Toko had noticed you’re gone though. He keeps looking around for something.”

You frowned. “Give them both a hug for me alright? Maybe a tickle for Valt if he keeps misbehaving.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she muttered, and Valt scrambled behind Shu. You mother gazed back toward you and gave you a fond smile. “It looks like you’ve already made some friends, I’m glad. Have fun and be safe sweetie, I’ve got to go, I have some things in the oven. Love you.”

“Love you too, mum.”

She left, leaving the IPad on the coffee table, and if was just Shu and Valt once more.

“So are you being good?”

Shu nodded, and you shook your head. “Not you sweetheart, I know you’re fine. I was talking about the porcupine.”

Valt scowled playfully at you, and you couldn’t help but grin. “What’s rule number four?”

“If I get up to trouble, don’t get caught.” Valt replied obediently, and you gave him a proud nod.

“Who are they?” Shu asked, referring to Kris and Free.

“These are my new friends,” you told them. “This is Kris, and the sleepy one’s Free.”

As if on cue, Free let out a long yawn, that in turn, made you and Kris yawn as well.

“Are you guys Bladers too?” Valt demanded.

Free nodded. “I am, Kris, not so much.”

“So what have you two terrors been up too?”

“Nothing.”

“We raided your room.” Shu suplied truthfully.

Kris and Free laughed as your jaw dropped in shock. “Okay, what the hell you two?! I haven’t even been gone for a day! What, did you get right in there as soon as you got back from the airstrip?!”

Shu nodded while Valt furiously shook his head. You knew which one to believe. “Why?”

“We wanted a hoodie,” Valt said in frustration.

“I’m sorry?”

“They’re big and warm and they smell good.” Came his response.

“Uh- huh,” you said. “You do realise that because I’m in Spain, you two are the ones who’ll be cleaning that mess up, right?”

They let out groans of dismay, but you had to smile at their adorablness.
“I think I have two or three in the very back of my wardrobe that don’t fit me anymore. Keep them.”

“You’re the best (Y/N)!”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.”

Free yawned again, and this time, Kris did to without prompting. You glanced out the window to see that the sun had already set.

“Sorry guys, but I’m going to have to cut this short.”

“What, why?”

“It's getting late,” you informed them regretfully. “I need to get lots of sleep for my first day tomorrow.”

They sighed, but let you say your good byes. Before you could end the call, Valt decided to add one last thing.

“You two better take care of my big sister,” he told Kris and Free, an adorable pout in his face. “You’re lucky we’re letting you have her.”

Kris nodded indulgently. “Of course we will.”

With a final good bye and a lot of kisses blown toward the screen, you sighed as you hung up on your two brothers.

“Geez, what time is it?”

“Time to get a watch.”

You scowled at Free and looked to Kris for a serious response.

“Just gone half eight.”

“Thank you Kris,” you gave Free a pointed look, only to have him shrug listlessly in response.

Realising the two were practically falling asleep, a brilliant idea sprung forth.

“Hey, why don’t you guys sleep in here tonight?” You suggested eagerly.

Kris tilted her head in confusion.

“You know, a sleepover.” You grinned.

“Never had one before.”

You recoiled in faux horror befre laughing. “Well, technically a proper sleepover involves alot more talking and  not much sleeping. So we’ll have on of those another time. Why don’t the two of you just stay here tonight? He’s practically asleep already.” You gestured to Free, who was already dozing off.

“Yeah, alright.” Kris nodded. “Just let me go get changed first.”

“Don’t worry,” you said, grabbing a spare pair of pyjamas from your draw and tossing them to her, before pointing to the paper partion you had set up to dress behind.

That night, as the three of you lay all bundled up and bathed in the glow of the moon, you couldn’t help but smile. Your family might be half way around the world, sure. But you’d made some great friends and you had your one solid companion with you.

You could sense that these were your first steps, headed toward something great.

Okay people! My best friend wanted to see what I've been writing so you guys have her to thank for this update!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

~xx Avanni Cinders