*sneaks in and places new chapter beside you*

*grins that you can no longer see the last date of my update*

*runs out before you can start throwing things*

Things have changed a bit since you last read this chapter in my one- shot series, nothing to huge, but a few things here and there. Oh, and let's pretend that your family is sitting in a different area than to where Valt's friends are.

ALSO! I just watched Alex Strangelove last night, has anyone else seen it??

It's MA15+, but I'd definatley recommend watching it, it is a beautiful movie about this boy Alex who is in a rush to lose his virginity to his girlfriend Claire, but then he meets this adorable, gay highschool graduate Elliot and things get complicated.

Anyways yeah, Claire is an angel, Dell is hilarious, Alex is an awkward smol and Elliot is an adorable bean.

"Come on Valt, you can do this!" You screamed madly from your spot in the bleachers, alongside your family.

It had been about four months since you had last set foot in Japan, the last time being to celebrate the Christmas season, and even only that had lasted a total of six days. Ordinarily you wouldn't have taken an impromptu vacation, but a set of special circumstances had arisen.

Valt, your precious little brother, had actually made it into the International Finals. Ever since your own victory five years ago, each title had been snatched up by a vicious new Blader by the name of Lui Shirasagi, who was commonly referred to as being at the top of the food chain.

You had not heard a great deal of good things about the fearsome Blader, and could clearly remember an incident a few years ago, where Lui had injured Shu. When Valt had called to tell you what had happened, you had flown into a blind rage, and very nearly booked a flight home. It had taken quite alot of convincing and soothing for you to calm down, but even so, merely recalling the event caused you to grit your teeth.

However, it was a much more recent occurrence that had angered you the most. Lui had insulted Valt, and his integrity as a Blader. He was blatantly disrespectful to all with the exception of a select few. And, not even a week earlier, Lui had committed an act that something you had previously thought unthinkable. He had shattered Storm Spryzen. Not just a burst, not even a chip or a scratch. He had shattered the Bey into pieces, and laughed in amusement as he did so.

Even the thought of shattering a Bey subconciously made you reach for Astra Vortex in sympathy. You would admit, albiet reluctantly, that Lui was a skilled Blader. But no matter how good he was in the stadium, he was nothing more than a bully.

Still, despite how talented Lui was famed to be, Valt and Valtryek seemed to be winning. The final round had already begun, with one of the very best launches you had seen from Valt yet. From what you could see, Luinor was losing its speed, while Valtryek, still going strong and powering towards it.

"Come on Valt!" You shrieked. "Win this thing!"

Your excitement disolved into horror as Luinor hit a crack in the stadium, made by Valtryek at the beginning of the battle. With a burst of speed, Luinor collided with Valtryek head on.

Already you knew what was going to happen, but even so, you couldn't help but wince and fall silent as Valtryek burst.

"Luinor wins with a burst finish," the referee announced. "The match goes to Lui Shirasagi with a final score of four to two."

You heart strings tugged painfully as it was made official, and other members of the audience cheered for Lui. But, to your great shock, Lui approached Valt with Luinor held out in front of him, demanding a rematch.

"I won't let my victory hinge on some freak accident," he declared with a growl.

You were shocked even further as your little brother turned down Lui's demand.

"What the actual hell Valt?" You muttered under your breath. "He literally just handed you a golden opportunity."

Even so, you were proud of Valt, and had to admire his friendly show of sportsmanship.

You turned and ran from the audience, easily navigating through the once familiar halls of the arena.

You burst into the waiting rooms and grinned as you caught Valt emerging.

"Y/N!" He yelled excitedly upon catching sight of you in person for the first time in months. "What are you doing here?!"

You laughed as your little brother tackled you in a fierce hug, a sense of déjà vu washing over you.

"I couldn't exactly miss watching you Blade in the Finals, now could I?" You chuckled at his blatant enthusiasm, squeezing him tightly. It felt amazing to be able to actually hug your brother after so long, it felt easy and familiar. "I spoke to the owner of my team, and she agreed to let me take the fortnight off ."

"Two whole weeks?!" Valt exclaimed, hardly daring to believe it.

You nodded happily. "Fourteen days."

"This is amazing!"

The door you had just came through reopened, and a small group of boys flooded inside. They paused upon seeing you, never having met you before, not entirely sure of who you were or why you were there with Valt. One of them however, was familiar.

"Shu!" You snagged him by the wrist, and pulled your honorary brother into a tight hug. "I haven't seen you in ages, how've you been?"

The others, with the exception of Valt, watched on in confusion, wide eyed at your actions. They were even more suprised when Shu returned the hug, and buried his head in the crook of your neck.

"I've been better," he admitted softly, and you gave him a small squeeze.

"Guys, you'll never guess who this is!" Valt grinned at them.

The group of males had fairly given up on making sense of the situation. They had come, prepared to be confronted with a downhearted Valt. Instead, their short friend didn't seem to care that he had just lost the his match, and rather he seemed more excited by the presence of the female beside him.

"Didn't you win the Japanese Internationals a few years ago?"  A boy in a green jacket with a puppet adorning each hand asked. From the regular updates Valt normally gave you on most evenings, you were fairly certain that his name was Ken.

"She did!" Valt confirmed, fairly bouncing up and down where he stood. "And she's my big sister!"

You shook your head fondly at his antics, and slung your other arm around his shoulders. "I was your age at the time." You added.

"So how long are you back for?" Shu asked conversationally.

"Two weeks," you informed him, delighting in the smile that graced his features at this small piece of information.

"What do you mean by 'back?'" A blonde in a purple outfit wondered, Wakyia his name was.

"I was scouted after my finals for one of the national teams," you explained. "You're looking at the second in command for the one and only BC Sol."

"Aren't they the best in the Legue?" A boy about Valt's height, Daigo you assumed, asked.

"You know it."

"Oh big deal," a new voice interupted. "No one cares."

You bristled at the statement. It always annoyed you when some new, up and coming Blader acted like you were no big deal.

No, you weren't full of yourself, not by any means. But it had taken a colossal effort to get to where you now were in the Beyblading world. Blood, sweat and tears gone into shaping you into the best duo that you and Astra Vortex could be. It didn't matter who was the next hot thing, no matter how skilled they were; they needed to respect the achievements of those before them, otherwise there was only so far that they would be able to go.

Valt sensed your ire and tightened his hold on your shirt. It seemed that your time spent in Spain had done nothing to tarnish your close bond, and he could still sense your emotions as clearly as day.

Slowly, you turned to face whoever had spoken, and were suprised to be faces with the same boy that Valt had just lost to.

Though he was short, you guessed him to be about your own age. His teeth were pointed like a shark's, and his violet eyes glinted cruelly.

Shu tensed beside you. You slipped your hand into his own and squeezed it reassuringly, not taking your eyes from Lui. When he, Xander and Valt had been younger, and gotten themselves into trouble, it was usually you who got them out of it. The message was comforting and familiar.

'It's okay, I can handle this.'

"Can I help you?" You asked politely, trying to at least start things off nicely on your part.

Lui sneered. "You can get out of my way."

He shoved past you roughly, and in that split second moment where his skin made contact with your person, you knew you were in the clear. You snatched his shirt and fisted the material in your grasp. You pulled him back and glared down at him.

"Drop the attitude, Shirasagi." Your lips curling as you spoke. "Those achievements no one cares about a pretty damn big, and I've won double the amount of battles that you have."

He shrugged insolently. "That doesn't make you better than I am."

Your nostrils flared ever so slightly, and you gave a sharp exhale. While both you and Valt shared the same fierce temper, unlike your brother, who was usually all over the place in his rage, your anger was pointed and sharp. When someone angered you, an admittedly difficult thing to, they quickly learnt not to do so again.

"You wanna bet?" You challenged him lowly.

Lui faltered, almost imperceptibly so, and you nearly missed it.

He was worried, or cautious at the very least, you were sure. For all his talk, Lui must have overheard at least part of your conversation. Even from hearing a fragment of talk, he would have had to know, or at least suspect, how accomplished you were. He was perfectly aware that there was a likely chance that he was outmatched.  You were apart of one of the most widely recognized teams in the National League, and despite his five consecutive international victories, he had not yet been scouted. As it was, he couldn’t turn down what was clearly a blatant invitation, especially not after all his talk, otherwise he would risk looking weak.

"Is that a challenge?" Lui growled out.

A smirk tugged briefly at the corner of your mouth, before you managed to school your features. "I thought you only battled those you deemed worthy?"

Lui snarled. "Now! Let's battle!"

"If I win, you stay away from my brother and his friends."

Lui nodded sharply.

"Let's do this then."

The Beyclub, Lui and yourself made your way to one of the training rooms in the Arena that housed a stadium. Daigo stepped up as the unspoken referee as you and Lui approached the stadium. The rest of the Beyclub stood back, watching on in apprehension.

Both Valt and Shu knew you were good, they watched every one of your matches on TV, whenever you were battling. While they had full faith in your abilities, they couldn't help but to worry. To be fair, you yourself were also slightly concerned, nervous to see whether or not your injured shoulder would out, however you were confident you would be fine for one match with the flame haired male.

Lui planted his feet a little over a shoulder width apart, the light grip in which he held his ripcord told you that he was intending to use his Nightmare launch,  the exact same launch he had used in his earlier match against Valt.

In a bold and unusual move, you stood side on to the stadium, your right foot closer and planted firmly. You had Astra Vortex all ready and raring to go in your launcher.

"Uh, Y/N?" Valt wondered uncertainly. "You're meant to face the stadium."

"I know that Valt," you smiled, not changing your stance.

"The first Blader to get to two points will be the winner," Daigo declared. "Survivor and Ring Out finishes are worth one point, and a Burst is worth two points."

Lui scoffed at you from across the stadium, you attempted to ignore him, but you couldn't help but to grit your teeth in response.

"3!"

You honestly didn't know why Lui bothered.

"2!"

Injured or not, you had this in the bag.

"1!"

This was it, Lui finished the rotation

"Let it, rip!"

You spun on your right foot, kicking your left up behind you and leaning forward ever so slightly as you tilted your launcher forward and pulled out your cord.

Luinor and Astra both launched furiously into the stadium. Both the Beys ignored the centre and instead rushed around the edge.

"Go Astra, chase it!" You roared. "Don't let Luinor escape!"

Lui laughed harshly. "Pathetic, just like your brother."

"Hey!" Valt shouted, but his voice was lost amongst the raging fury roaring in your ears.

"What did you say about my  brother?!" You demanded.

"Pathetic," Lui said deliberately. "The both of you are pathetic. BC Sol must be desperate if they scouted a loser like you."

Everything in your vision was bathed in a crimson glow and you screamed at him to shut up.

"What?" He taunted. "Does the truth hurt?"

"I'll show you!" You roared. "Solar Boost!"

The light in the room seemed to be drawn to your Bey, and swirled around it as Astra Vortex began to emit a gentle glow.

"Is that really the best you can do?" Lui taunte. "Hit it!"

"Get out of there," you countered, and to Lui's ire, your Bey swerved out of the way with ease.

"How?"

You ignored his question and gave another command. This was a move you were planning to use in the coming year's nationals, but you saw no reason why you couldn't take this opportunity to get in a little extra practice. "Go! Super Starburst!"

It was a move similar to Star Strike, however it was much stronger in power and differed in a few small ways. Essentially, it was an upgraded version of one of your original attacks.

Astra weaved about the stadium, leaving a silvery trail in its wake, and yourself and your Bey began to emit twin auras of dark blue.

The light earler absorbed only added to Astra's speed as it spun about the stadium, shooting bright bursts of powerful light at Luinor. Its constant movement made it difficult to dodge, and almost impossible for Luinor to attack.

Luinor began to slow, as did Astra's attacks. Lui sensed an opening in which he assumed Astra would need to recover as it's attack finally ceased. "Luinor, Lost Spiral!"

Luinor picked up speed and hurtled towards Astra. The image of a hulking dragon charged your Bey head on, and a female titaness emerged from the blue haze, her star spangled skin twinkling brightly as it met the dragon.

As the Beys drew closer, the titaness twirled her staff, and plunged it toward the dragon's chest, piercing its armoured chest plates. The titaness' eyes sparked and the battlefield was enveloped in a bright haze. Everyone sheilded their eyes, everyone except for you, only you could stare directly at your Bey when it was at the peak of it's power.

You heard the unmistakable sound of a Bey bursting, and when the light cleared, only Astra was let spinning, with the three pieces of Luinor scattered around it.

"Astra Vortex with a Burst finish," Daigo announced, raising his left hand to you. "Y/N wins with a score of two to nothing."

"What?! How?!"

Calmly, you raised your hand, and Astra flew back into your awaiting palm. You spun Astra around, allowing the bolt to face Lui. His eyes widened, as he realised just who he had battled. "Recognize me now, do you?"

Lui blinked, the fact that he had just battled with the Blader who, before him, had been the best in the country.

"That's the difference between the two of us." You spoke, your voice dangerously calm. "Unlike you, I don’t need to use cruel and petty words to belittle my opponent to the point where they experience a mental break down."

You rolled your eyes at him as he wordlessly picked up Luinor.

"And that's the kicker right there," you continued. "You enjoy that, you delight in the pain you cause. Before you go around calling other people pathetic you need to take a long hard look at yourself. You may be the best in Japan, but you're nothing but a cruel bully and a sadist."

You had already clipped your launcher to you waist, so you slipped Astra into your jacket pocket and looped your thumbs through the loops of your jeans.

"You have no idea of the pain you cause other people. Words like that tip people over the edge. You crush their hopes and dreams, and that drives people to the breaking point." You huffed as you turned on you heel and went to leave before throwing a final glance at the defeated Lui. "I can't believe you're proud of that, you disgust me."

You marched from the room with your head held high, the members of the Beyclub trailing behind you.

"That. Was. Amazing!" Valt exclaimed enthusiastically. "Astra was all like woosh, then it was all like swoosh, then it went all pew pew pew! There wss this huge beam of light and-"

"I remember Valt," you gave him a tight smile. "I was there,  remember?"

"Oh yeah, right." He said sheepishly. "But that was so cool! You're so strong sis!"

"Thanks kiddo," you reached out and ruffled Valt's spikey blue hair playfully.

"I've never seen you battle like that before!" He continued unfazed. "How did you even do that?"

You drew in on yourself ever so slightly.

"Y/N?" Shu called your name, concerned. "You okay?"

"Fine guys."

Valt frowned, deciding to press the matter. Daigo seemed to notice, and gave Valt a warning look. You saw all of this, and attempted a smile that came out as more of a grimace.

"It's okay guys, really. I just don't like battling like that is all."

"Why not?" Valt wondered. "That battle was awesome."

"Beybattles can be used in so many different ways," you said, trying to explain as best as you knew how. "They can be fuelled by joy, determination and rivalry. They can also be fueled by anger. And honestly? That's not what Beybattles are about, it taints them, to use a Bey with such a destructive emotion, it makes them pointless to me."

The Beyclub joined Valt and Shu in their looks of worry.

"I'm fine, really guys." You did your best to reassure them. "I have exactly fourteen days until I have to go back to Spain. Let's not spend it worrying about nothing."

They seemed to accept this, and the boys started to chatter amongst themselves happily. None of them noticed as you lost yourself to your swirling thoughts.

"What the hell was that?" You berated yourself internally. "I work so hard to be the best Blader I can be. Why couldn't I control myself? Why did I let myself fall for his teasing? No one gets me all fired up like that."

Admittedly this could use editing. It might not have made sense here and there, but that's probably because it's just a part of a bigger story. Hope you enjoyed 😁

That little part where it says, '...in that split second moment where his skin made contact with your person, you knew you were in the clear.'

No, that isn't any romance or anything. Legally if the main had just grabbed Lui, even if he had been extremely rude beforehand, that would be classed as assult and it is the main that would be in the wrong. I had Lui be a jerk like that to give her that excuse to grab him and have that confrontation.

~Avanni Cinders xx