BUCKLE UP, Y'ALL.
A revealing chapter coming up ahead!
Don't forget to take notes, YOU'RE GONNA LOVE THIS ONE.

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(Y/n) (L/n) ~

An unplanned family reveal was the least I expected this beautiful Tuesday.

Yes, many other bad, infuriating, unexpected and uninvited things happened as well. But that was the worst.

Maybe the hour simply doesn't suit me.

But I'm pretty sure there exist a bunch of people that are happy by these unnecessary revelations. Like, Valt and Daigo? They're on the top of that list.

Oh, from where should I start narrating this sad story?

Keeping the upcoming Nationals in mind, I was peacefully practicing at my home when the doorbell rang. In a country like Japan, where basically no one exists that would bother to visit me, it wasn't very hard to guess who would be at the door. Someone like Valt, Daigo or Rantaro would be totally natural.

Now, I'm not usually excited about having people from the Beyclub (or people in general) come over at my place, but due to some highly tragic recent happenings, I've unfortunately (very) become a member to the same Beyclub I used to protect my sanity from. And considering that, I decided I should answer the door.

Lesson learnt: I should've not.

It was just nine in the morning, my day hadn't even started properly and the person visiting me was self-centered, delusional and prideful enough to surpass Zac the Sunrise; and that was a thing in itself.

I was training on the upper floor, so the lower area was exceptionally dark, but as soon as I opened the door, the warm sunlight of mid-June carelessly found its way inside the doorway, softly illuminating the wooden interior of my home. The rainy reason was close with its arrival and low clouds could be seen floating around eagerly. My small two-sectioned front garden was vibrant with life. Watering was done earlier in the morning, and tiny droplets left on the leaves and flowers reflected enough sunlight to make it look like diamonds scattered in nature. If it weren't for the person standing in front of me ruining the perfect morning picture, I would've set out to take my time admiring the details of such natural perfection.

"Have you lost your way, Wakiya Ego-saki?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

Wakiya smirked and stroked his braid with one hand. "Fashionably, no, (Y/n) Stupid-(L/n)."

"Wow, you really think you did something with that lame excuse of a comeback, huh?" I blinked, genuinely surprised that he did nothing but copy my line. Uncreative idiot.

Wakiya made an unsuccessful attempt at concealing his humiliated expression with another egotistic smirk, but it didn't hide the fact that he was melting with embarrassment inside.

I rolled my eyes in annoyance. What did I do to deserve this moron here instead of some great people like Toko or Daigo?

Wakiya cleared his throat and crossed his arms with a quick, stern expression. "Quickly get ready for a three-day trip and meet us at the station."

A three-day what now?

And who does he even think he is? Ordering me with such confidence as if I'll actually obey? Moreover, why is it that whenever somebody from the Beyclub plans a trip, they think it's necessary to invite me?

I had a sudden imagination of my fist hitting Wakiya's jaw. "As I've said to Valt before, you guys can go to hell or trip or wherever you want. I'm not interested."

Wakiya made a mocking face that made me really want to make my previous imagination come true. "I figured you would disagree, (Y/n). That's why I personally came to invite you. It seems like you haven't received the update, but I'm your new club captain. You'll have to agree to my plans without question."

There was silence.

I wasn't sure I'd heard him correctly.

"You're what...?"

"Your team captain," he repeated gleefully, stroking the end of his braid again.

I had no idea what he meant by those words. I didn't know if he was being truthful, I didn't know how or why it happened, I didn't know why the other members allowed it. But I was sure that whatever he said right now, it really was a good joke.

Thus, I couldn't control myself and burst into laughter. A full-hearted actual laugh. "I'll assume you don't know the meaning of that word, Wakiya," I said, holding my stomach. "But nice try at being funny."

Wakiya looked like he wanted to fight me. I, on the other hand, was being completely genuine about the fact that he was kidding about being the leader.

"LISTEN, (Y/N)!" He suddenly screamed, making me realize the seriousness of the situation and the fact that he, indeed, was speaking the truth about being captain. I steadied myself and every trace of laughter vanished from my features, the level of anger already rising due to the tone he used towards me.

"If you aren't capable of becoming the leader, doesn't mean everyone isn't!" he said. "You better become serious about the tournament, otherwise you're already of no use to us!"

"You're so full of yourself, aren't you?" I gritted my teeth at his little attitude towards me. "Firstly, you show some nerve coming here with that worthless presence of yours. Then, you scream at me like I have some obligation even listening to your crap?!"

"I don't care whatever is going through your stupid head right now," he continued arguing. "Gods forbid, why did I even care trying to involve you into this like the team we're supposed to be?! You don't even have the experience playing in a team, much less listening to what the leader has to say!"

Leader, UGH. I hate how he's associating that word with himself. All of us could've talked about it and had collectively come to a conclusion. Why did this bastard have to go ahead and take that decision all by himself like we're some sort of fools? I bet he didn't even involve Valt or Shu or anyone else in this.

"I don't take orders from anyone, Wakiya. Especially not from someone who's way below my league," I targeted him, getting more and more furious by the second. "The club belongs to Valt Aoi and it'll be better if you let it stay so! You didn't think about anything in the long run, did you? Like some reckless loser, you got lost in what the present had to offer, even going as far as dragging the rest of the members in your unnecessary plans!"

I paused to calm myself, the rage inside clear through my words, his fearful eyes searching mine for the hesitation I didn't have. "Wakiya Murasaki, I'd rather fight you for it. But I will not accept you my leader. I didn't join the club for this."

By the time I was finished unleashing the cause of my anger, my index finger was pointed at his chest, my glare directing pure venom towards him. The terrified expression on his face told me that he saw one of the worst sides of me in those few minutes. And I felt oddly satisfied that I succeeded in explaining both my message and intention to him. By far, this was probably the first time I'd genuinely felt so evil after coming back to Japan, but it was purely his fault that he pushed too many buttons and didn't take the hint sooner. He should've understood what I meant when I first said no, but of course he's too dumb for it.

Wakiya took long to recover from my harsh words, and when he did, his forehead was beaded with droplets of sweat, although his glare was still as intense as before. "Why do you have to interfere with something I'm doing? What the hell is your problem with me?!"

"I could ask you the same thing, Wakiya!" I yelled back. "Why don't you stop interfering in this and let things happen the right way?"

"I'm not here to satisfy your demands, (Y/n). It's not like you'll just reject me as your leader and your opinion would matter to me!" he explained aggressively. "If you've decided to be stubborn about this situation, then I'm not responsible for it."

His words weren't helping my temper one bit. Does he really think I don't matter as a member of the club? Forget the club, why does he suddenly feel he's capable enough to disregard my rejection about him being the leader?

Has he forgotten his place?

That little bastard.

I had so many bad ideas flooding my mind at that moment, all of them the result of my uncontrollable anger towards him. I wanted to say so many hateful things to him, but the fury was too overwhelming for me to be able to do anything other than burn from the inside.

And in the heat of that rage, I stepped back, slammed the door close and forcefully leaned against it, not even trusting myself to have the patience of moving from there. I did all of it so fast that I didn't have time to register Wakiya's reaction on it. What would he do now? It's not like I expect him to be bold enough to take this further.

My question was answered when a single strong bang on the door made my whole body jerk forward a little. I gritted my teeth and repositioned myself against the door, planting my feet onto the floor firmly so that if he were to throw his fist once more, I wouldn't waver again.

"Yeah, close the door and turn down any chance of solving this with communication!"

His sudden change of approach surprised me more than the fact he was still there, willing to make amends with me. I guess he knows very well that being a leader requires having an agreement with each member, including myself.

"I don't care what you—"

"Shut up! I know you don't care about anything. But suddenly you care about who's the club leader?" His voice was muffled and low due to the door being closed, but I could make out every single word he said.

Even so, I was surprised at myself that it actually mattered to me who takes the responsibility of being the club captain. Why can't I just accept him as it is? Hell, why did I have to involve myself with the team battles?! Even from so many miles away, Ashtem can make me take decisions against myself. It was either returning to America and getting tortured, or taking part in the team battles and getting tortured. I had no other choice at that time.

Now my past and present with the Raging Bulls is affecting me so much that I can't seem to accept the fact that Wakiya is my leader. I don't know if I'm being unreasonable about it. I don't know if it's fair to argue with him upon it. It appears as if what I'm doing is actually the right thing to do, but it's making me go insane with an endless replay of memories and I just feel like stepping back.

Often, the person who doesn't even know the meaning of pouring their blood, sweat and tears in achieving something, takes away the prize for somebody else's hardwork. The undeserving enjoys the yield, and the one who actually suffered to earn it, gets nothing.

For so long. I've been the core of Raging Bulls and the Snake Pit for so long; always working for and with Ashtem, holding both the organizations together for him. It might be unusual, but I'm not a normal player under the name of my team. Funny, I don't even play in team battles, so why would an organization keep a blader who can't take part in team tournaments? I'm surprised most people don't notice this abnormal detail, otherwise they would know the truth.

As bizarre as it seems, the reality is, I work for Ashtem and share all the responsibilities with him, and in return, he lets me enjoy all the power he has.

Even worse, that's not the whole story. The agreement between us is much more complicated than it seems to be. By choosing to make me the alternate ruler of his twisted legacy, he makes sure that I stay trapped in his hold, because losing me is something even he can't afford. And I, despite knowing about this, daily choose to stay with him, just to keep an eye on his wicked plans and for that one golden chance where I would conquer him forever, freeing the Beyblade community from his evil existence.

Strange, he knows I want to take over him, yet he risked giving me powers equal to his own. And I know he wants to use and control me, yet I risk staying close to him. We both want to overpower each other, in fact, we work together to do so.

No matter how much Theodore pretends I'm unimportant to him, deep down he knows my worth much more than anyone else does. How else can a single person manage two big organizations, that too, located so far apart? But him, the face of it all, and I, never given enough credit, as if working from the shadows. As much as I can't do anything about it, I'm tired of him owning what I earn with my hardwork.

Most people know him and I as the owners of the team. Just the owners. Everything else that matters, gets hidden behind that big title. Despite being his 'equal' partner like in that stupid pretentious contract, I'm so many other things not given credit for at all!

Leading the team, training the players, supervising activities, organizing schedules, holding meetings, checking applications; the list of my contributions doesn't end. And on top of all that, I have to look out as a blader for my team and ready to represent the Raging Bulls whenever required. Him, on the other hand, that old dumb Theodore with the fashion sense of racoon doesn't even measure to half of what I do.

Barely three months have passed since I came to Japan, and he's already called me plenty of times, even going as far as telling me to come back. As if I'm stupid enough to obey. He thinks he's so unmatchable in efficiency, but as wicked as he is, even he can't be in two places at the same time.

I know very well Wakiya's intention isn't any close to Theodore's in this matter. He's annoying, but he isn't evil. But it all starts from something small. I might not care about most of the things related to the Beyclub, but because of my own similar situation, I do care about the fact that the club rightfully belongs to Valt and no one else should be allowed to take it away from him.

I hate to be involved, but I can't watch something like this take place. It happened to me, it will keep happening to me, but I won't watch it happen with somebody else right before my eyes. Not with Valt. Not with anyone. I can bring both Wakiya and Valt back to their senses if I just do something about it.

I can't let him leave. I need to go with him.

Before I could have any second thoughts, I had already screamed, "Wakiya, wait!" without even fully opening the door.

For reasons only he knows, Wakiya was still standing there with his arms crossed and a disappointed expression on his face, even though five or six minutes had passed since I closed the door on him.

I immediately regretted my recent actions.

He raised an eyebrow questionably. "Yes?"

I quickly calculated my chances of escaping interrogation, because desperately calling out 'Wakiya, wait!' doesn't leave much room for excuses.

I made an unsuccessful attempt at smiling, just to signal that I'm totally not embarrassed, which, by the way, didn't look believable at all. Plus, my smile wasn't exactly very... smile-ish.

I'm so not cool sometimes.

"After thinking hard," I cleared my throat and said slowly. "I've come to the conclusion that I really don't accept you as the leader, of course, just because I hate your useless existence and that's why I feel it's my duty to come along with you guys on your trip to hell—"

"It's not trip to hell!"

"—and heroically save the rest of the Beyclub from an evil wannabe captain—"

"Who you calling evil?!"

"—that would lead us so bad we'd probably be the first team to be eliminated."

"I hate you!"

"Yeah, get in line."

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"(Y/n), I didn't think you'd show up!" Valt cheered. "Man, you're so awesome! Thanks for joining us."

"Hah!" I gave him a smug look. "Couldn't leave you guys alone with that trashy Murasaki. Y'all are too innocent."

"I HEARD THAT, (Y/N)!" Wakiya screamed from the back.

"OBVIOUSLY WAS MEANT FOR YOU TO HEAR," I screamed back with the same energy.

Rantaro looked satisfied. Daigo rolled his eyes. Valt gave me a side eye. Shu just sighed. And Toko and Nika cheered me with admiration. Such cute kids!

Hoji stared with absolute shock, probably wondering what the hell was going on with Wakiya and his attitude.

At least, I hoped he was judging Wakiya's attitude, not mine.

We were currently sitting inside a train, heading towards wherever Wakiya was taking us. Apparently, it was some special 'training camp' as Valt mentioned. To be honest, I didn't even want to know what were his plans on giving us training. I already had an instinct they would be super bad just like him.

I was (not by choice) seated beside Valt. Toko and Nika were in front of me, their seat facing us. Wakiya and Hoji had their seat behind the twins. Rantaro, Shu and Daigo were in the other row, beside us.

"(Y/n), we were doing just fine without you," Daigo said with a bored expression, trying to dismiss me, of course. No doubt he's a true friend.

"Yes, yes," I nodded sarcastically. "That's why you let Wakiya become the club leader."

"He just came there and announced himself captain!" Toko shrieked. "We couldn't do anything about it."

"Not even protest?" I raised an eyebrow at Toko, then shifted my gaze at the person who hated Wakiya the most. "Didn't expect this from you, Rantaro."

"I did protest!" He tried to defend himself. "But Valt said it was fine."

"I mean, uh... I don't know," Valt murmured, like the pathetic idiot he is, not realising the greatness of the matter, not realising the deeper impact this could have on him, not even realising his own feelings about not wanting to give the club away.

I was absolutely right about it. Valt can't stand up for himself, he's too innocent for it. I'll have to do something myself or both Valt and Wakiya would suffer without knowing the reason.

"And Shu, what about you?" I targeted him.

Shu just shrugged (which annoyed me very much, by the way). "I don't honestly mind who's the leader."

"Great," I gritted my teeth. Why are my teammates like this?! One doesn't know what to do, one can't protest properly for hell, one doesn't care, one isn't even involved, and one can't do nothing except bossing around.

What a group of absolute misfits! Choosing a team leader is supposed to be a crucial part, but nobody is ready to understand that. They don't even know the meaning of a team, much less how a team works. Would it come to a point where I would be required to take care of everything here as well? For once, I thought I wouldn't have to be the one to do everything for the team. But things don't seem to be going too well without my involvement.

I looked out of the window in frustration and found myself face to face with high mountains, silver with snow and golden with sunlight, creating an impossible mix of such opposite colours that only nature could pull off. Beneath the bridge, the river water was so clear and blue that staring at it made me calmer and I seemed to forget all of my worries for a moment. However, I wasn't able to remain content for long.

"Guys, I don't know if this could get better!" Valt cheered with excitement, pulling my attention away from the peace outside. "We're gonna be battling all day. All beyblade, all the time. No bedtime, no lights out! I feel a song coming on~"

"So hey," Toko whispered to Nika. "You think Wakiya's cabin has electricity?"

"Yup, knowing him," Nika replied.

"What was I thinking?" Wakiya groaned to himself. "I should've gotten the earlier train to have my own room. This seat is so uncomfortable."

The twins climbed up on their seats to peep at Wakiya sitting behind them. It was pretty cute, in my opinion.

"I don't know," Nika told him. "It seems like a pretty smooth ride to me."

"Yeah, to you, it might. But check this out," Wakiya shuffled and showed them something on his phone that was out of my sight. "This is the way to travel," he stood up to explain the twins better. It was a picture of him laying on his side in an expensive train cabin. "Why sit when you can lie down? You people have no idea how rough my life could be—"

The train rattled and Wakiya fell down on his seat. Everyone laughed at him, Rantaro the loudest.

"Yeah," Wakiya blushed. "So not funny!"

And the ride went on just like that. For the second time, I wondered where could Wakiya be taking us to. Mountains, river, and we're crossing over rice fields now? It almost looked like we were going out of the town itself, but that didn't make a lot of sense to me because the area we were approaching had nothing but forests. Just where is his training camp?

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I received my answer when I found myself staring up at a small-sized mansion in a patch of woods.

Realizing the real reason here, I was quick to be sure that Wakiya's parents owned a decent business under their name and he's naturally a spoiled kid. If nothing else, at least it explained his arrogance and bad attitude.

For some reason, the others decided to freeze right outside the mansion and refused to move any further. My legs were already aching from sitting so long in the train, and the rest of the club made it worse by gaping at the building in front of us like it was something straight out of a supernatural manga.

"A-Are we in the right place...?" Rantaro asked with amazement.

"It's huuuuuuge," Toko commented.

"You call this," Daigo questioned with an open mouth. "A cabin?"

Jeez Daigo, let him call it whatever he wants to, that's not anyone else's problem.

The Beyclub's unnecessary reactions worked like petrol in fueling Wakiya's arrogance. I bet he thinks of himself even greater and more amazing now.

Wakiya showed off an egoistic smirk (I controlled the urge to slap his face) and walked forward with Hoji following close behind. Of course, those two are best friends, so Hoji perfectly knew the state of his family. The Beyclub, on the other hand, were acting like being rich is heavenly or abnormal or something like that. I refused to believe these embarrassing people were related to me.

Since none of us wanted to get lost here within our first two seconds of arrival, we quietly followed Wakiya and Hoji through the entrance. As expected, a butler was waiting for us inside the main hall.

"Good journey, I trust," he bowed formally. "We are happy to have you."

He was an old man, all hair white, face and hands wrinkled. Judging by his age, he looked like a trusted worker and easily experienced at the job he was handling. He was dressed in a suit, naturally, the usual uniform for most butlers.

"It's so nice to finally meet the friends Master Wakiya's always talking about," he said happily. "He's been telling me about all the beyblade battles you've been having."

Wakiya cringed at his own butler's statement. "Let's not waste time—"

"Wow, you talk about us?" I said, without missing the chance to embarrass him. "I'm surprised you actually did so, considering the amount of ego you carry."

Before Wakiya could say anything and I could be satisfied about humiliating him in his own house, the butler suddenly interrupted our conversation, confusing all of us in the process.

"Wait, Miss (L/n)?!" He shrieked loudly. "I almost didn't recognise you. Good evening!"

Who? Me? What the hell?

My eyes widened and I unconsciously stepped back, only for Daigo to place his hand on my lower back to stop me from stepping on his foot.

I didn't mind the contact, although, if it was anyone else, this would've been their last day on Earth.

Teach your butler manners, damn you Wakiya. What if this person actually recognizes me?! Please don't say—

"You know her?" Wakiya turned towards the old man with big eyes. I had the same question, even though I already dreaded the answer.

"Yes, yes. Back in the day, I used to travel with Wakiya's father a lot and accompanied him in his deals," he stated. "There was this one businessman he visited very frequently, say, your father's name is Katashi (L/n), right?"

I visibily paled at the detail. Oh, no, no, this can't be happening. I shouldn't have come here at all.

DAD, I DON'T RECALL YOU HAVING BUSINESS DEALS WITH WAKIYA'S FATHER.

"I remember that little girl with white hair and red eyes, who once walked in on our meeting and refused to leave her dad's side the whole time," he smiled with nostalgia. "You were only two at that time, Miss (L/n)."

Now that he mentions it, I faintly remember, yes, a very mean looking businessman and his mid-aged butler...

"YOU'RE TSUJIHARA," I suddenly screamed and pointed at the old man. Damn, that's really him!

He bowed again. "A very honour to be recognised by you, Miss (L/n)."

"ONLY TEN YEARS HAVE PASSED," I shrieked with surprise. "AND NOW YOU HAVE WRINKLES ON YOUR SKIN MORE THAN HAIR ON YOUR HEAD?!"

He looked at me with disbelief, but decided to ignore my little statement about his appearance. Then he put a finger to his chin and looked up at the ceiling with a smile, as if recalling a very sweet memory.

"Mr. (L/n) was a great businessman, incredibly brilliant and successful in our days, until he shifted to America, and eventually to Russia..." his smile faltered just a little. "I wonder if he's still the same now, if you don't mind me asking, Miss (L/n)?"

I cursed my stupid luck.

Why?

Why, of all the people, today I had to meet the person who knows about my background?

So much for leading a peaceful life, away from all the unnecessary high-profile family complications and the captivity that comes with it. This wasn't why I had left America. This wasn't why I tried so hard not to be recognised as a rich father's only daughter, having all but nothing at the same time.

I didn't want to be known like that.

I didn't...

"Um, yes, he's still the same," I said in a distracted tone, planning about escaping somewhere better and feeling frustrated about everything at the same time.

"How come you never told us about this?" Shu said, first from the group.

I caught his red eyes with mine, silently warning him not to interfere with something that doesn't concern him. In between all this, I was very aware of Rantaro and Wakiya's disbelief, Daigo's expression of understanding, Hoji's state of dilemma and Valt's unsurety. I couldn't control their reactions, but I still wished it hadn't happened.

Wakiya opened his mouth with difficulty to ask another question, like he already hadn't made my life miserable enough by asking one. "How rich of a man is her father, anyway?"

"Easily three or four times richer than Mr. Murasaki is," Tsujihara told him without wasting a second.

Obviously, I knew that.

But the others didn't.

And it raised another set of expressions like 'WHAT!' and 'REALLY?!' and 'NO WAY!' from the Beyclub. The room was getting more and more suffocating with every word Tsujihara said, and I only wished to be alone right now, away from all this toxicity.

I didn't hate the place, I didn't hate the people in this room, I didn't hate my parents, I just hated the fact that they found out. It isn't my fault that my parents are rich and famous. So much that it's impossible for me to hold my individual identity anywhere.

I thought I freed myself from all those things. But somehow, it's still holding me.

The fear of being recognised had come true. My life was testing me again.

And to think this was supposed to be a simple training camp...

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In 4919 words.

Btw, do y'all think the quality of my writing has deteriorated and I'm not able to write as good as before?? I wonder–

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