I sat on a bench outside, letting my chin fall in the crevice of my folded arms. The sun was dying behind me, my shadow stark against the cobblestones of the floor. 

Footsteps echoed, but I didn't pull my gaze from the ground instead letting it continue it's wandering adventure across the dents and cracks in the stone. 

"Who is it?"

Instead of a response, something metal was thrown into my lap. Glancing down at it, surprised, I lifted one finger to touch the energy ring of my Eagle. 

"It's yours, if you didn't realize."

It would be stupid of me not to recognize Kyoya's borderline of a growl, but I glanced up to confirm it anyway. He held his arm in a way that made worry twist in my stomach. 

"A-Are you supposed to be out of the hospital?"

He scoffed in response, turning away from me. I found my eyes tracing along his jawline. It took a moment for me to snap away, a rock lodged in my throat and embarrassment laughing in my ear. As my mind flew back to what happened about an hour earlier, the air seemed to warm. 

"Probably."

"Get back in there, Kyoya!"

Another crack in my voice. The glint of the sun in Kyoya's eyes hid his expression, the only way I could really see him. Instead, he lifted one finger to point at Eagle in my lap.

"... You dropped him, by the way. Way back... there."

I clasped Eagle in my hands, noticing the scratch that made it's way around the wheel. "Sorry," the murmured apology escaped my lips without me really realizing it, and I found myself running my thumb across it. 

"You don't really care about Eagle, do you?"

"I do!"

The air turned sharp. Tangy. Pungent, as if something sour had been sprayed into it. Narrowed eyes stared at me, challenging and defiant.

"Oh, really?" Kyoya mocked. "You left him with me! Hell, he doesn't even obey you! What kind of blader are you?"

"I am one, I promise! I just- he's not-"

The moment we had in the hospital was gone- at the time he was more confused than ever, but the lion was there, it was here now. It bared it's fangs at me in form of words, mane proud and glorious.

"Excuses. If you're ever going to be a blader, you have to learn," there was a sting to his words. I was standing now, staring up at him. "Clearly you haven't yet. You're too soft, dammit, Tess! How the hell are you supposed to survive in the wild like that!"

"Then teach me how to!"

The words flew through the air before I could catch them, before I could tug on the reins. I bit my tongue. 

Idiot, idiot, idiot! Dammit!

"If you're just going to- stand there and just- I dunno, whatever the hell you're doing- then why don't you help me?! I don't know where I'm going from here, I don't know what's going on, I don't even know what's going on inside my head! I just- ever since- the thing with the Dark Nebula-"

I was shaking.

It was obvious. By the way the world shook, by the way it felt like my body was crumbling.

I hated it.

I hated feeling weak, I hated the shame that rocked every corner of my heart when everything started to go dark again. Cold swept at my body, nipped my arms and legs, my face. 

Breaths caught in my throat and suddenly I can't breathe and my palms hurt and everything hurt and terror took root in my chest I'm going to die I'm going crazy

Everything was loud in my ears. My heartbeat increased every second, crazy, unrelenting, wild, and god, I'm going to die

"Look at me."

Despite being whispered, I could hear the words loud and clear. They were magnified due to whatever was going on with me. 

I tried to lock my jaw, my teeth clicking together, and brought my eyes to his face again. Even through the trembling of my world, Kyoya's eyes remained steely and still, unblinking. 

The calm of his eyes almost seemed to seep into my body. The quaking stopped, or it seemed to stop. 

"What the hell i-is wrong with m-me?"

My fingernails dug into my hair and I'm scratching, scratching, scratching. Something stings. My fingers become slippery with some kind of liquid, and it stings. It stings, it stings, it stin-

Kyoya caught my wrist and pulled it away from my skull.

"What am I going to do with you?" He sighed. "I can't baby you, goddammit..." 

I didn't respond, instead staring at my hands where my fingers twitched.

"There's going to be another tournament later, you know."

"I-I don't want another tournament," my voice cracked. "Af- After what happened last time..."

A disproving scowl tugged at his lips. "And you're gonna let that knock you down and blow you over like you're just some leaf to be stepped on?"

I swallowed. My throat was dry, but it felt like I was sweaty, the palms of my hand clammy. "I won't... I..."

"You are."

I swallowed again, tucking my arms under one another as I crossed them. 

"I don't want to, b-but..."

Kyoya stared at me again, jaw ground and lips peeled back in a frown. A frown that told of his disappointment. 

"You're pathetic," he said at last, tilting his head and moving to turn away from me.

"Wait-!"

A pause. 

Time seemed to freeze, hovering in the air, locked, unmoving. 

"What?" The words were snapped, lashing like a whip through the air. 

"Train me. Train me, up to this tournament. I don't know what this tournament is about, I don't even know if I'm going to participate, but if you agree, I'll... I'll try to get up to your level. I'll keep winning up until I face you, then I'll give you everything I've got."

Kyoya's attention sharpened. He shifted his gaze again. 

"What do I get from it?"

I fell silent, the gears in my head turning and clicking. "I... I dunno..."

"The Worldwide Beyblade tournament isn't like Battle Bladers," he clicked his tongue. "It's bladers from all around the world- do you think that you can beat some of them- even one?"

"I can. I will."

The corner of his lip quirked into a smile. "'m not gonna go easy on you, you realize that?"

I nodded firmly, keeping my arms crossed over my chest and my gaze steady on his. "I won't give up just because of your training."

"And you're going to use Eagle?"

"Yeah. Eagle's- he's been acting up, if you didn't notice." I squared my shoulders, locking my jaw. "I'll- I need to rekindle my friendship with him. Or establish that trust again. I don't know what happened. But I want to get stronger. I want to get stronger, stronger than you, like I promised back at that tournament a long time ago. When does this tournament start?"

The Leone user shrugged. "Dunno. In a month, maybe. But you can bet that I'm going to exhaust you constantly until then. Show me that you're not some weakling, Tess Rixen."

"Deal."