(Y/n) (L/n) ~

Most things don't have drastic effects on me. But there was something special about that day.

Well, technically, it was the first day of the team tournament, of course it was special! But it wasn't because of that.

I had to deal with a lot of insanely unexpected stuff, and well, one person alone can't be prepared for every possible scenario.

And so... mistakes were made.

Valt miserably lost his first battle, giving Ice Blades the lead. Quon Limon was his opponent, and even though Valt had been singing praises about Quon since the day he met him, I was totally unimpressed with the boy before their match even began.

Quon was egoistic. Careless. And above all that, extremely disrespectful towards Valt. As far as I knew, Valtryek was going against Quetziko for the first time ever. There's no way Quon had any idea about Valt's moves, strategies, launches or the style of his play in general. What the hell was that bastard even so overconfident about?

Valt was an extremely talented blader. His bey had unreal potential and he hadn't unlocked even thirty percent of it yet. Moreover, his launch might have messed up, but that was only because Valtryek's in between the process of another awakening. The tip of his bey wasn't in its best form of alignment yet. Valtyek needed more time.

Despite all that, the winged snake Quetziko wasn't half bad either. It just had a ridiculous blader. Quon Limon would never be able to make use of his bey's true power as long as he doesn't change his perspective about others, and I could see that.

Sin: pride, he was.

"Two points to Ice Blades," the referee announced. "Quill Quetziko wins with a burst finish."

Quon absolutely destroyed Valt, both in spirit and in battle. All of his hopes shattered down and his self-confidence fell apart. To be defeated like that in the first match of the tournament? Valt took it pretty hard.

Rantaro and Shu tried to console him, but Wakiya only made things worse with his words. He called Valt a 'drag down' for the team and decided by himself that he was going to battle next. Shu didn't have any problem with being last, so there wasn't any stopping him.

I suppose if I wasn't Valt's friend for such a long time and hadn't taken a liking to him, maybe I would've said some hurtful things too. I'm no better than Wakiya in this aspect.

Although, I know the worth of my teammates better than he does.

"Wild Wyvron gets two points with a burst finish," the referee announced. Wakiya had flawlessly won his battle, crushing his opponent on the first strike. Nice.

"And The Beigoma Academy Beyclub has evened the score!" Hanami screamed.

Seeing us win two points, Valt finally stopped sulking and jumped at Wakiya with teary eyes in an attempt to hug him.

"Gross! Get down! I've got limits. Boundaries! Don't you know what's personal space?!" Wakiya tried his best to push him away, but Valt continued to sob and ugly cry near Wakiya's face for several minutes. It was a mess.

"Will the last bladers please come forward?"

Valt's spirits had improved a bit since Wakiya's victory but he was still down. Rantaro tried his best to cheer him up while Shu went up for his match. Despite my belief that there's nothing ever one hundred percent sure in a beybattle, Shu Kurenai was an undefeated prodigy in himself and perhaps for the first time in my career, I didn't feel the need to anticipate the outcome. His probability of losing was zero.

Having me believing in him like that, Shu was certainly no ordinary guy.

"Storm Spryzen with a ringout finish," the referee said. "The Beigoma Academy Beyclub wins by a score of three to two!"

Spryzen's Upper Launch had no obvious weaknesses. Shu threw his opponent's bey out of the stadium on the first strike. His prowess was beyond impressive — an epitome of genius that was only his forte. How can someone look so graceful while being destructive?

"The Beigoma Academy Beyclub moves on to the second round!" Hanami announced and everyone cheered happily.

------------

"Good work, boys," Quon told us when our teams met each other in the back hall. I decided to peacefully ignore the fact that he said 'boys' as if I wasn't there at all. I hated him anyway, so there was no point trying to correct him. My team recognising my efforts was enough for me.

"Make us proud in the second round," he added.

At least he's talking nicely now. The idiot finally realizes his place.

"We'll try," Valt said happily. "Count on it!"

"Our captain seems to think that trying is more important than getting results," Wakiya said rudely. Valt's shoulders immediately slumped down and he wilted like a dry flower.

"Wakiya," Rantaro said angrily.

"Shu and I actually won our matches," Wakiya continued to degrade Valt. "Well, didn't you see?"

Shu had to hold back a very raging Rantaro from strangling Wakiya to death.

"Hey, we won as a team," Shu reasoned.

"Yeah, sure," Wakiya said sarcastically. "Even if one of us contributed nothing."

"Watch yourself!" Rantaro warned, but everyone knew that Wakiya was necessarily a brat by birth and always spoiled as a kid. There's no way he would listen to anyone.

Just then, I made a quick decision.

I turned around and forcefully kicked Wakiya in the chest, making him fall on his back (hopefully breaking at least five of his ribs in the process).

"Should I sew your mouth or cut off your tongue?" I asked seriously, keeping my foot slightly raised and ready to strike just in case he got up again.

Wakiya groaned painfully, unable to speak.

"Good boy. Now stay quiet like that," I said in a soothing voice. "See? It wasn't that hard, right?

"M-My back..." he muttered. I ignored him.

"Can't believe we lost to a team like this," Quon pretended to say to his teammates, purposefully making us hear him. "Zero teamwork. Empty bonds. No leadership from the captain. A total disappointment..."

I snapped my head in his direction with a frown.

Now this guy was really about to get it from me. Can't he see I'm already frustrated with Wakiya's behaviour, and he has the nerve to blabber nonsense right when I've kicked my own teammate without a second thought? What makes him think he isn't next?

I pushed Valt behind me and stepped forward.

"Quon Limon, your team lost so miserably to ours that it made me laugh sitting in the back seat. So before talking back to somebody else, take a sad moment to consider your own pathetic performance. At least that'll stop you from embarrassing yourself in front of your teammates."

Quon angrily moved towards me, but stopped himself midway. Probably wanting to punch me but hesitating. Or just trying to get a better view of the angered look on my face.

Both possibilities were equally sweet.

"What are you — ?! Winning doesn't give you the right to humiliate us!" He desperately screamed, clutching his skateboard harder. "Hasn't anyone taught you guys about good sportsmanship?!"

"Oh, definitely," I looked down at him. "We're also taught not to take shit from unworthy bladers, you prideful bastard — "

"That's ENOUGH, (Y/n)!" Shu screamed in an alarming tone. Daigo came forward to pull me back, which was an understandable decision because I was ready to headbutt Quon at any given time.

"I'll settle this in the solo tournament," he fiercely challenged one last time and then walked away with his team, leaving us to make sense of whatever just happened.

Naturally, Valt took Quon's harsh words to the heart. He was hopelessly silent the whole time we were walking to the training facility. The structure was basically a huge hall with about thirty stadiums placed around for bladers to practice during their stay in the building.

Wakiya was struggling with his back, so he excused himself to pay a visit to the doctor hired for bladers in case of emergencies.

"You sure you can go alone?" Shu questioned like any other normal teammate would.

"I'm sure," Wakiya said with gritted teeth, angrily glaring at me. "And of course you won't lecture her about behaving like a team and being nice to each other!"

"You're the one who was disrespecting our leader," I rolled my eyes. "You got what you deserved."

"UGH! (Y/n), you — " Wakiya attempted to come at me but his injured back didn't cooperate. He stumbled down and fell to his knees right in front of me.

"It's good that you know your place," I looked down at him, not even attempting to help.

Taking Daigo's support, Wakiya forced himself to stand up again and then angrily stomped towards the other corridor after pointing an accusing finger at me. Ungrateful brat.

The rest of the Beyclub instantly began their lecture about how I shouldn't go around carelessly hurting my own teammates because 'what if his injury makes it difficult to launch his bey during battle?'

I suppose that was an understandable reason but it still doesn't overlook the fact that Wakiya was being an arrogant prick to our leader. How could we expect the whole team to stick together if our captain lost all his hope and confidence?

While getting brutally lectured by the Beyclub, my eyes randomly wandered to the scattered crowd in the training hall. Different bladers were launching their beys, some were just standing and talking, others were busy analysing their battles... and suddenly, my throat went dry when I saw Gabe Brunai leaning against the wall, staring straight at me.

Our eyes met each other and that couldn't have been a coincidence... twice.

------------

We ended up having a little reunion kind of meet-up kind of thing with Ken Midori, the puppet guy who used to be a member of our club back in the day. Well, to be accurate, not 'we' because honestly, I wasn't interested in Ken at all and had even forgotten him by now.

On the other hand, Daigo, Valt and Rantaro were extremely happy to see him again. Shu didn't speak much, although he smiled at Ken.

Apparently, Ken had went up and joined The Beasts from the school he was transferred to. His team captain Ben Azuki appeared out of nowhere and jumped at Valt while growling like a literal beast. I had to step in and push him away in order to protect our leader, because what the actual hell?

Ben bared his teeth at me and dragged Ken away from our group as if we were a predatory threat.

Such a weirdo.

Wakiya regrouped with us after his check up because the next scheduled match was about to begin. It was important for us to watch and analyse every battle because who knows which blader from what team we'll face next? Any amount of watching the matches won't be near enough to collect important data.

The Beasts won their match, advancing to the second round, although we didn't get a chance to see their captain Ben Azuki in action. Getting some information on him would've helped a lot.

Next were The Sword Flames, who also won their match, moving forward to the second round. Specifically, Xeno Xcalius' Saber Strike was a terribly powerful move to witness. I might've defeated Xander once before, but bladers train themselves and get better over time. I'll certainly need to watch out for that fiery member of the Supreme Four.

Other than that, Rideout moved to the second round as well. Lui never showed up for their match, which was understandable because he was a timid dumb loser anyway. Gabe Brunai put on a splendid captain-worthy performance, making his opponent fall to his knees. Literally.

"Next!" Hanami announced. "And this is a big one — the moment you've all been waiting for!" An intense beat played on the speaker and Hanami stood up, pointing straight at the camera. "Just kidding! It's time for lunch."

I rolled my eyes. Why so dramatic about lunch?

The lower terrace of the building was a relaxing break facility. There were multiple table-chair sets arranged in a beautiful pattern across the whole rooftop. For protection from sun or rain, each table had a coloured patio umbrella attached to it. The whole setup almost looked like a picnic spot.

Wakiya being Wakiya, even after being kicked and injured, he was bickering with Rantaro about who got points for the team and who was completely useless. By the way, I was supporting Rantaro on that one.

Valt being Valt, got stressed and sad all over again, then quickly recovered too, and then stuffed everyone's share of beybreads in his mouth and ran away saying, "Gotta train harder to win!"

I sadly looked at the empty tray in front of me.

I was gonna... eat that, Valt.

"Hey, you guys! Excited for the next match at all?! We're all qualified for the second round. Sweet victory, right?" Xander came up to us with Yugo and Ukyo following close behind. "Eh! Where's Valt?"

Shu stood up to greet his old friend and they began to talk about different things. Rantaro and Wakiya kept silent just like me, although it didn't matter for long because the blue boy Ukyo Ibuki had to ruin my mood like the invasive spirit he was!

"So, the Beigoma Beyclub went ahead and associated themselves with you?" Ukyo smirked and pushed back his bangs. "Valt Aoi was probably out of options."

"Ukyo, I'm really getting myself into fights today and have already kicked my own teammate," I took another bite of my sandwich. "You wanna try again?"

Before Ukyo could say anything, Xander's loud laugh interrupted our conversation. "You guys should consider being nice to each other. Good sportsmanship!"

I continued to eat my lunch without replying.

"Let's not get carried away," Shu playfully smiled at Xander. "We're opponents now."

Xander laughed. "You got that right, Shu!"

"Do we have a Supreme Four reunion to ourselves, eh?!" Zac the Sunrise purposefully slid across the smooth floor and came to a stop between Shu and Xander. "It's so nice to see you guys together, Shu Kurenai, Xander!"

I started to stuff food in my mouth faster.

"And (Y/n) (L/n)? The Golden Blader! It's truly a reunion of the elites!"

"Don't try to put me in the same category as yourself," I put a whole sandwich in my mouth, then grabbed the last two in each hand and quickly ran off towards the exit. The longer I stay around Zac, the more my chances of getting a headache.

"H-Hey, where are you — ? (Y-Y/n)! (Y/N)..! She's gone — uhh hehe, I must be too charming!" I heard his senseless words slowly fade into the background.

I slid past the glass door, walked across a long corridor and found my way to the elevator. My brilliant plan was to claim a seat before the rest of the Beyclub, then peacefully wait for them to arrive. What else I'd do in the remaining time, anyway?

I also made sure to search every hall I passed on my way, in order to relocate Valt. An innocent soul like him can't be left alone for too long. His chances of getting bullied by some mean blader: 300.

The elevator stopped on the fifth floor, which wasn't where I needed to go. I prepared myself to patiently wait for other people to get out or come in. But when the door opened, my heartbeat almost stopped when I saw Gabe Brunai standing there with the rest of his team.

The last remaining sandwich in my hand started to feel exceptionally heavy as I stared at him, not sure what to expect next.

One of his teammates started to step in, but Gabe caught his arm. "We'll go in the next one."

"But why? There's only three people in there! What if the next one is full?"

"Then we'll take the stairs," Gabe said strictly, then walked away after giving me a cold look. The rest of his teammates groaned in frustration but didn't have any choice but to follow him.

The doors closed again and the elevator began to drop down towards my destination.

-----------

The Superstars versus Team Purple.

Honestly, before both teams were even revealed to the audience, I'd already guessed Zac would do something very flashy and cringe-worthy upon being called.

He definitely didn't disappoint.

Hanami barely began saying his introduction of The Superstars before all the lights turned off, leaving everyone in the dark. Zac's fake-sweet voice came from the background, "Starlights, please!" and the whole arena lit up with tiny dots of light scattered randomly like millions of stars in the night sky.

I exhaled loudly.

I still wasn't over with whatever happened in the elevator with Rideout, and this person pops up with his ridiculous show right after my mind's overwhelmed with all kinds of terrible possibilities about Lui and Gabe. So unworthy!

"The twinkling of the starry sky is but a short-lived dream before the break of dawn," he spoke in a dazzling voice. A spotlight cut through the dark and pointed straight at him. Zac beamed proudly, flashing an artistic pose. "Until the sun rises!"

As if things couldn't get worse, suddenly all of the remaining lights turned on, almost blinding me in the process because I ended up smacking Valt's shoulder by accident.

"I'm here for you!" Zac continued his idiotic speech. "I applaud your strength. I know it's hard to live without my brilliance!"

How delusional one can be?

"Just as the sun is surrounded by other stars, so do I have my own team," he kept a hand on his chest and bowed. "But these aren't just any regular bladers, boys and girls. I give you... The Superstars!"

How the hell did Zac even come up with such an extraordinarily ridiculous introduction for his team? I'm hundred percent sure half of his mates were embarrassed because of his nasty performa —

WHEN DID OROCHI JOIN THEM?

My eyes widened when I saw Orochi Ginba, my last opponent from the Regionals — standing there in all his glory, proudly representing The Superstars.

I gripped my own hands to console myself as the devastating memories of that last battle began to resurface in my mind. All those things I'd tried to erase and forget...

I saw Orochi fall to his knees on the other side of the stadium, his bey crushed to pieces, a look of absolute hatred and hurt all over his face. I could clearly feel his emotions. What did Orochi want?

He wanted... revenge? No, that's not it.

What did Orochi really want?

The conversation between us was a blur.

I crossed my arms and laughed at him, calling him a pathetic failure. He was distressed, unable to stand up again, his palms still pressed to the floor. I forcefully stepped on his hand and... Yes, I tried to crush his fingers. I wanted to make him scream out of misery. And after that, I proudly walked away with my sweet victory.

I did that to him?

That... That never happened.

Then what am I looking at? Who is...

I saw myself in Orochi's place.

That's me? How did I end up in that situation? Who was my opponent that day...?

I'm trying hard to remember. I'm trying my best to forget...

Who was with me? Who's stepping on my hand?

I looked up to see Lui.

"Guys, I think I..." I whispered without knowing. My breathing was unusually sharp. Valt and Daigo turned to me with a questionable look, followed by Shu. It was the second round of the battle and Zac's team was already ahead by two points. Did I miss all that?

"... I think I have a fever. I'm not sure... I'll go get a quick temperature check," I patted Daigo's shoulder, nodded at Shu and ruffled Valt's hair while standing up to go. My hands were shaking uncontrollably.

Valt's face looked so innocent when he glanced up at me with his beautiful eyes. "Take care and quickly come back to us!"

I tried to give him a smile, but it wasn't easy with the way my throat was dry, heartbeat racing and my head spinning after that intense flashback of memories out of nowhere.

I'd never thought about it till now but... Orochi Ginba, what did I make you feel that day?

-----------

I frantically dashed through multiple corridors, checking several halls, breaking open many doors in the process, going from second to seventh floor more than three times in those twenty minutes but couldn't find the person I was looking for.

I thought it was just a petty trick to stir my anger. But my mind doesn't lie. I can't with the random signs and eye signals anymore. Just come out and face me already!

"Running like that and having no sense of direction," the voice exactly belonged to the person I was trying to find. If there was anger in his words, I was too agitated to notice. About damn time he stopped running away from me!

I sharply turned around and watched his tall figure walk closer. Naturally, his face was fixed in an intense stare and if I wasn't terribly overwhelmed right now, I probably would've been afraid of the guy. We were completely alone in an endless corridor, and silver metal walls were all I could see. I calculated my chances of escaping or receiving any kind of help from my teammates if such a situation arises, but the probability was zero.

"You're desperate," he concluded, stopping at a small distance in front of me.

"Gabe, you..." I tried to remain calm, but my confidence had totally crumbled in front of this guy. He knew everything. Everything about me. "How did you know I was — "

"That you were gonna follow me? Or try to talk to me?" He finished my statement and his every word was right. "You're predictable."

"Easy to guess because you know you've been watching me from afar this whole time," I came straight to the point. "What's your deal? Did Lui say something about me?!"

"He's interested in you."

"Tell me the truth."

"It's up to you to believe it or not," Gabe replied smoothly. "Deep down, you know what's between you two."

There was a small silence, during which I kept staring at his face to locate any trace of deceit, but to no avail. He kept staring down at me with the same energy, clearly not afraid of having his intentions revealed through his eyes.

Whatever was my business with Lui, it was entirely personal. This guy had no right to interfere. Why did Lui even have to go ahead and share everything with Gabe? To mock me? To make me look like a fool?!

"Quit this absurdity and reason with yourself. You're missing out on everything else you could achieve if you just stop chasing Lui," he eventually explained himself.

"Yes, and who are you to decide that for me?" I moved threateningly closer to him, but he didn't show any sign of hesitation. He neither feared, nor hated me. There was practically no way to win over a guy like him who was so secure in himself.

"What's with all the mixed signals and eye contacts?! Can't you stop interfering with my life and simply pretend you don't know me? Is that too hard?" I asked with disbelief.

"Yes, it's hard," he stated boldly. "You followed Lui. All the way to Japan. All the way to the tournament. Even going as far as participating in the Team Battles? What will you preserve now? I doubt you have any sense of self-respect left."

"I don't need your irrelevant opinion about my self-respect," I was furious, but Gabe wasn't the person to take it out on. "Oh, just get to the point already. Enough with the meaningless riddles. What do you want from me? Or everything you're doing is just to provoke me?"

"I'm not trying to be provocative at all. You're talented. I respect talent," he said without pausing. "But Lui doesn't care about all that. He often talks about you, laughs at you, keeps mocking you for wanting to take revenge. I think he's looking forward to it, but I'm not sure. Lui says he'll absolutely crush you under his feet and I suppose he's right about that."

I swallowed nervously. The kind of attitude he's talking about definitely belongs to Lui. In fact, the confidence in Lui's statement made me doubt myself all over again. When everything comes down do it, will all that training be enough?

I tightened my jaw to maintain a straight expression. Fear doesn't suit my face.

"So why do you care so much?" I crossed my arms, matching his posture. "What do you have to do with all that's going on between us?"

"You wouldn't understand..." he replied, "...things so complicated."

"I see," I scoffed and looked away. "It has something to do with Lui, doesn't it? You can't tell me everything but expect me to — "

"(Y/n), I suppose the past will be past, but one side can't solve all the story," he said in a softer tone. "Lui told me that the best memo — "

"(Y/N), THERE YOU ARE!"

I almost jumped out of my skin when I heard Valt and Rantaro scream from somewhere behind me. I didn't need to hear lots of footsteps to figure out that the whole Beyclub was on a quest to find me, and they had finally succeeded in it.

"Go away," I muttered to Gabe before turning around. The whole group caught up to us and they were NOT happy about seeing Gabe with me.

"Who's this big goon?" Rantaro angrily punched his palm. "Is he bothering you, (Y/n)?!"

I sighed and put a hand over my face. Now would be a good time for Gabe to walk away, but of course he kept standing there like a big statue, that idiot!

"Hey, what's your business with our (Y/n)?!" Valt wasn't impressed with Gabe at all. He made this cute grumpy face, clearly trying his best to look intimidating and leader-like.

Lord of Cuteness, alright.

"Captain of the Rideout," Shu Kurenai didn't disappoint. "What's he doing here, (Y/n)?"

"Do you know him or not?" Daigo asked reasonably. I sighed again.

Gabe, please move now. Otherwise I'll be forced to come up with an extremely horrible excuse that you wouldn't like at all.

I counted three seconds in my head, but he'd made his intentions clear. He was going to stay a proper statue now.

I took a deep breath, preparing to get into the act.

"I really don't know what's with him," I hugged my arms and looked at Gabe over my shoulder, pretending to be uncomfortable. "I forgot my way back to the stadium then somehow ended up here and he saw me walking alone and asked for my name and... a creep, he is."

Gabe frowned confusingly.

"Oh, boy," Rantaro pushed aside Valt and stepped towards Gabe. "NOW YOU GOTTA GO."

I quickly planned to run away if a fight happens.

"Hold on, Honcho, not so quick," Daigo dragged him back. "Do you see his size compared to yourself?"

"Behind me, (Y/n)," Shu ordered protectively and came forward as if he would do any good against Gabe. Regardless, I obeyed Shu and went behind him. If we were in a real situation, I'd never swallow my pride and accept Shu's help, but difficult times call for a complete change in personality. At least my secrets are safe.

"I think we should go now," Daigo said bravely.

One last time, Shu suspiciously eyed Gabe from head to toe before our group walked away in the opposite direction.

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In 4705 words.

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Oh my god, Lui will show up in the next chapter! I'm honestly so excited even though I already know what will happen!!