Things were hard, trying to get past those memories I obtained in the Dark Nebula.

It wasn't terrible memories- no abuse, no torture, thankfully, but my own mind scared me. Almost everything that happened there that I hated about it was because of my own mind. Doji put me inside a pod and hooked me up to a machine to try and drain my life source, but the nightmares was the worse of it.

The bodies of who I cared the most.

This was part two of my story. Season two, if you will. I'm not gonna do a cliché beginning, but my name is Tess Rixen.

OoO

After my departure, which consisted of nearly four hours of sitting and entertaining myself in a smelly train, my brother, Shaun, and I were dropped off at a remote village called Koma Village.

Shaun had talked about it when I was in the hospital, and this place was supposedly where Beyblade had originated.

That was about four months ago. Ever since, I had been training under the guidance of my brother, the occasional Hyoma who dropped on in every once in a while, and the dog, Hokuto.

Yeah, there was a talking dog. We lived in a world where people decided the fate of the world with plastic and metal tops. What'dya know?

"Tess! Break time's over!"

"Gotcha, Hyoma," I grumbled, standing, setting down the water bottle I had just raised to my mouth.

Hyoma was the one who rescued me from the Dark Nebula- kinda. He found me, but my brother was the one to take me home.

The Aries blader was standing, discarding the turquoise vest he wore on a daily basis to reveal the the purple, orange-lined v-neck beneath.

In his hands, he twirled the launcher, giving me a light, friendly smirk. "Ready?"

"How many battles are we going to have?" I asked, scrubbing one hand across my forehead, the action taking away some sweat. It was late August, and it was still blazing hot outside.

"Not many today, I'm afraid," my brother chimed in from his spot in the shade, polishing his new Beyblade.

During the time before I was in the Dark Nebula, Shaun was taken for some odd reason, a reason that I never really understood. I had found his beyblade, shattered on the steps to Riyui's house (whom I was going undercover for at the time, since her sister was taken just like mine was).

He managed to save himself, but couldn't repair his beyblade, thus ending up in getting his new beyblade, Gravity Aries.

The beyblade was destructive, to say so in the very least, so I tried my best to stray away from battling my brother.

For the time being, anyway.

"Oh, really?" I asked, rolling my eyes. "Eagle's..."

The sentence trailed off.

Eagle... wasn't responding to my commands.

If I said go right to avoid the hit, he would just spin there until the beyblade collided head-on with him.

"Look, can we just skip today?"

Hyoma's eyes darted to me, brow furrowing.

"Sure," he said after a moment, giving a light-hearted shrug in response. "We can wander around the village for a while. Hike up a mountain, maybe. What do you think?"

"No more walking," I groaned. "My legs are still killing me."

Go figure. We were walking from nearly sunrise to sunset yesterday. Frickin' Hyoma, I'm not that athletic.

He smirked, about to turn to my brother and offer something else when there was a rustle in the bushes beside us.

"Hyoma," a gruff voice broke in. "Gingka's coming down soon, alongside with Ryo."

"Hokuto," Shaun greeted.

Yeah, Hokuto was the talking dog. I have no idea how in the world he spoke, and I nearly jumped two hells and back when I heard him speak for the first time. And he had a headband. A dog had a headband and spoke. Gym dog? I dunno.

Hokuto turned his gaze towards us and lowered his head in a respectful nod as Hyoma pocketed his launcher, eyes curious.

"And you're asking what of me?"

"Do the same thing you did when Gingka's group of friends came here earlier."

"So... tease them, lead them around in circles, then challenge them to a battle, and in the end, also challenge Gingka?"

"Don't speak nonsense, Hyoma. Aid to them."

"Very well," Hyoma saluted towards Shaun and I. "I'll see you guys in some shape of time."

Then he was gone, darting through the bushes. Hokuto waved his tail lightly before turning to us.

"You two should leave soon, brother and sister Rixen."

"Huh?" I questioned, tilting my head in response. "Not to sound obnoxious, but why should we? We've been here for like four months, why leave now?"

Shaun let out something like a regretful mumble.

The dog paid no attention to my brother, instead sitting down and sighing. "I suppose you don't happen to have connections here , seeing how little you interact with anyone in Koma Village."

"It's not exactly teeming with people," I replied.

He didn't respond to that. "I believe that- not only the WBBA, but the beyblade organizations all around the world, such as those from Africa or those from America- are holding a World-Wide Beyblade tournament."

Immediately, my hands by my side tightened into fists as I remembered the last tournament- Battle Bladers, which ended up in more of half the bladers injured.

Most of the Dark Nebula bladers, who had served Doji (the person who ran it) in attempt to help Ryuga had their energy drained after their loss.

"Are you sure it's the WBBA?"

Hokuto paused, then nodded. "Most certainly. The tournament is not a single-blader tournament- rather, it's consisted of teams from each country. A team has three regulars, who blade other teams on a regular basis in the tournament.

"They also have a sub, or substitute, which is only in the battle when a regular cannot for several reasons. An optional member is the mechanic, who aids to any injuries of their beyblades. Then it goes like a original tournament."

"Interesting," I mused. "And how do you get into the teams?"

"Qualifying tournaments."

Shaun wiped a cloth he had produced from his pocket across the fusion wheel of his Gravity Aries. "As expected."

I nodded, shifting my weight between both of my feet.

"Do you think I could...?" I ventured.

"No. Not the way Eagle is now."

Wary eyes tracking our movement, Hokuto turned his head towards us. "That's all from me. I'll leave you two to whatever you will," he said gruffly, padding away.

After he left, I started towards the path as well.

"Tess?" Shaun prompted.

"Yeah?"

"Don't do anything dangerous or reckless."

I spun to face him, lifting a hand in a salute. "Yes, sir!"

A smile flitted across his lips as Shaun waved a hand at me, as if to say 'shoo'.

With a bounce in my steps, I stole across the path without a single glance at the surroundings around me. 

Branches swatted at my cheeks and hair, but I allowed the freedom to surge through my blood, not even caring as my hair sometimes snagged on branches, carelessly yanking it free.

Water splashed up around me as I flew into the stream, which had rocks as stepping stones across the river.

My shoes sunk into the shallow shore of the stream, mud lapping at the soles of them as cold wrapped it's unwelcoming arms around it.

"You know Kyoya, right? I remember when we trained next to this stream," Hyoma told me, a twinkle in his eyes.

"Benkei lost his Bull in here for a little while," the Aries blader told me, reaching out to thread his fingers through the running water.

At the name flickering through my head, my hands curled into fists, the freezing water now becoming so much more real.

Benkei.

After some asking, I figured out that Benkei was Kyoya's follower- henchman, if you will. Upon first glance, you would see Kyoya as a rebellious type, but not to the point where he had lead a gang called the Face-Hunters.

He doesn't trust you.

My snapping retort to my own consciousness hurt my heart.

He clearly doesn't. Not even after what we've been through.

The hospital. The capture at Dark Nebula. Our battles. Ryuga's defeat in Kyoya. Kyoya's necklace.

Exactly how much of Kyoya do I know...? And how much of it is hidden?