Assuming that you guys already know about my latest announcement, I looked into why this chapter was taken down yesterday. Long story short, I've been forced to rate this story as "mature" because Wattpad is a dumb snowflake. Also, I might need to put warnings before chapters so they don't remove my story in the future. Here goes...

Warning: mild violence; mentions of knife, cutting, decapitation, homicide, murder, suffocation, cannibalism, kidnapping, trauma, bullying, uhhhh IDK I'VE NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE (basically the normal y/n stuff you guys already know)💃🏻💃🏻

Also, if you are able to see this chapter, please tell me in the comment so that I can know it's been published.

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(Y/n) (L/n) ~

"Any news on Valt?" I muttered and waited for Rantaro to say something. When I didn't receive a reply for three seconds, I looked up at him, only to come across an extremely disgusted expression on his face.

"Rantaro," I furrowed my eyebrows, not sure why he was looking at me that way.

"How many times do I need to tell you?!" He screamed out in frustration. "I. DON'T. KNOW."

"You should call him," I shrugged, crossing my legs.

"I already did! And like, five times over! Right here in front of you!"

"Hm... I totally remembered that."

I was distracted with work, so I might've not paid attention to what he was doing. Our whole Beyclub was currently gathered on the school rooftop, waiting for our (as always, late) captain to grace us with his glorious presence and enlighten us with flawless strategic knowledge about beybattles.

Yes, I was being sarcastic. Who the hell is so damn late to important team meetings?!

There weren't many clouds in the sky today. The weather was fairly insensitive, as the sun mercilessly cast its heat upon the world. The monsoon was long gone and the atmosphere lacked any kind of humidity that could provide a bit of comfort. It was scorching hot, and my skin felt like leather even with all the sunscreen.

I was carelessly sprawled across the only bench on the school rooftop, which meant everyone else was forced to stand out under the sun (which they were generally not very happy about), but I absolutely refused to move my legs even a single inch to give any of the boys enough space to sit.

There was a notebook and pencil in my hands. I was using those items to summarise all the attributes of our team: our strengths, weaknesses, specialities, areas of focus, etc. etc. It was an important task, considering our group had successfully made it past the third round and we'd be playing the semi-finals next. It also meant that more analysis and data was required, and I was clearly the best suited for that task.

"Leather skirt?" Daigo asked, as if noticing that just now. His jacket was slid past his shoulder and his arms were exposed. There were streams of sweat trailing down his neck and forehead. "You've never worn something like that before."

"First time for everything, I guess," I muttered half-heartedly, paying more attention to the notebook in front of me than what Daigo had to say about my outfit.

He groaned and wiped the sweat off of his neck. At least I'm lucky to have chosen light and short clothes today. Plus, I'm in the shade!

"Very respectfully, you're looking gorgeous in that skirt," Rantaro raised his eyebrows, looking at my lower body. He was one hell of a guy that never learnt his lesson. "Bonus points for beauty!"

"Way out of your league, Rantaro," I lazily told him, noting down 'dumbass' under the heading of Rantaro's weaknesses. I really wasn't feeling up for a homicide today, so I let him get away with the comment.

Daigo watched me, astonished; that I would really drop the matter without slapping, kicking or bullying Honcho. Why, was it that much of a surprise? I still didn't quite understand why these people thought of me as some sort of criminal.

Like, what did I ever do?

"Hold on now..!" Rantaro suddenly exclaimed, foolishly testing the limits of his luck and my patience. "Is this real? You're not gonna hit me...? You're letting me off with just an insult?! Woah, that's a miracle - !"

I threw my shoe at him. Rantaro dodged. But Wakiya, who was standing behind him, wasn't so lucky. It hit him straight in the chest, making him lurch to the ground in pain.

I wrote down 'easy to hit' under Wakiya's weaknesses.

"(Y/N), WHAT THE HELL?!" Wakiya protested. "FIRST YOU BREAK MY BACK, NOW YOU AIM FOR MY CHEST? DO YOU EVEN WANT ME TO BE ABLE TO LAUNCH PROPERLY?! WHAT IF I HAD DIED JUST NOW??"

His reaction was valid, I suppose.

I wrote down 'broken back, bruised chest' under the heading labelled: Wakiya's potential injuries.

"Rantaro's fault," I yawned and turned another page of my notebook. Hmm, what should I write under Shu's weaknesses?

Now that I think about it, Shu is standing right behind me. I can't look at his face from this angle, but he might be watching my work. Should I write something silly just to annoy him? For the fun of it? He kinda deserves it after he exposed my secrets yesterday. Plus, he didn't exactly behave nicely with me when I went to his apartm -

"RANTARO, I'LL KILL YOU!" Wakiya's voice came from the right. He seemed to have come to the conclusion that Rantaro was, indeed, the culprit here.

"WHAT DID I DO?! THAT WASN'T MY SHOE."

"YOU MADE A MISTAKE SO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY!"

"I DIDN'T EVEN - "

"Heyyyyy, guyssss!!" Valt happily slithered into the crime scene with a notably satisfied expression on his face. Well, at least someone was happy.

"You're early," I slightly turned my head without moving from my lying spot.

"Hehee, thanks!" Valt grinned sheepishly, obviously unable to understand my sarcastic comment and mistaking it for a compliment. "I ran into Ken on the way. Man, it was a bitter-sweet reunion! We did a lot of stuff together! I miss the time when he was a part of our club."

"Ken stopped by? And you didn't call me?!" Rantaro shrieked, massively offended. "In fact, you didn't pick up my calls either!"

"Sorry, he said he just wanted to battle," Valt said plainly. He most definitely didn't sound sorry.

"Yeah, that sounds like him," Daigo confirmed.

I returned to writing my notes again, which were clearly more important at the moment. I already had the practice of summarising this kind of data for my bladers back at the Raging Bulls. As much as I hated the extra responsibilities Theodore burdened me with, I also slightly missed being my team's trainer and leader. I wonder who would be training them while I'm here... probably some paid professional who doesn't know a damn thing about blading.

" - nd that's when I noticed something," these specific words from Valt suddenly caught my attention.

I peeked from the corner of my eye without turning my head. There was no need to be sneaky, obviously, but I didn't want to get involved in their conversation either. I only wanted to confirm my suspicions. Was Valt talking about what I'd noticed with Valtryek earlier? Had he finally realized...?

"Valtryek's changing," he finally said. "It's kinda like a super awakening!"

About damn time he noticed his own bey's potential to improve further. Frankly, I'd started to think this day would never come. It's good that he realized this fact all by himself, though. Having told by someone else would've been just pointless here. These kind of things were better for bladers to discover on their own.

"Why do you think that?" Shu asked.

Not so smart, Shu, I see. Maybe he was too distracted by his injury to have noticed Valtryek's movements that day.

"Remember how Valtryek moved after the first time?" Valt replied. "Well, it's pretty similar."

"Or you might just be imagining things," Wakiya gave his irrelevant opinion. "A super awakening? That's a very rare chance."

Shu sighed and stepped closer to the group. "So that's what's been going on."

"What?" Valt asked. Everyone else looked at Shu except me. He was standing out of my line of sight and I didn't feel like turning back my head.

"Considering how Valtryek battled that day, if Valt's theory is right, then it'll be really powerful," Shu emphasized the word 'really'.

Well, he was not wrong. And he certainly had noticed the same thing I did, despite being injured. I shouldn't have underestimated his analytical abilities earlier.

"And you've been holding that information from me cause why...?" Rantaro softly asked Valt. "My ego is delicate."

"Sorry, Honcho!" Valt happily told him. Once again, he definitely didn't sound sorry. "But come here, check this out!"

He went up to the stadium and launched his bey to show everyone what he was talking about. I returned to writing my notes again. Now that Valt's figured out more stuff about his bey, I'll have to make a few changes here...

I erased 'Valtryek to awaken' from Valt's weaknesses and wrote the same thing in his strengths.

I paused and stared at the words for a few seconds, slowly realising what I just did. It really was crazy how one moment something can be our weakness, and the next moment it becomes our strength. Valt practically proved it just now.

I wondered if I'd ever be able to do the same. I've come so far in my career; can I really improve myself further? Will I be able to turn my weakness into strength and beat Lui? And even before defeating him in battle, I'll need to face my emotions and defeat his memories first. When the time comes, will I be able to put our past behind and fight as enemies?

Do I truly consider him my enemy?

(Y/n)'s weaknesses:

I decided to leave it blank and moved on.

"His name's Ken Midori and he's my friend!" Valt's sharp voice grabbed my attention again.

"Yeah, that totally makes a difference," Wakiya scoffed. The two of them appeared to be having a serious argument of some kind.

How the hell did things escalate that much in such a short time? Oh, right, it's Wakiya: the argument generating machine.

"Ken Midori," I closed my notebook and finally sat up. The mention of his full name made me remember something very important. "Aren't we facing his team next?"

Wakiya seemed extremely happy that I said it. "That's right. So why are you having a meet-up with the enemy?!"

"Enemy..!" Valt displayed a terrified expression, like the face he usually makes when his favourite beybread runs out.

There was silence for a few seconds; such a strong word like 'enemy' Wakiya used for Ken hung in the air like a dark cloud.

"Oh, please. That's a little over the top," Rantaro finally dismissed Wakiya. "You're talking about our former teammate here."

"This isn't a feel-good musical. You either put your friendships first or you win the battle. Take your pick!" Wakiya countered.

Oh, he made a reasonable point. The drama was slowly getting better and I was enjoying every second of it.

"No way we're gonna lose this!" Rantaro said.

"Then it's settled. I won't allow you to compete in the next battle," Wakiya commanded Valt.

Wow, he's ordering the captain now! This is truly some interesting stuff. I really wish I had some popcorn on me.

"Why not?!" Valt grumbled.

"Do I have to spell everything out? It's pretty obvious that the enemy already knows about your super awakening because you couldn't keep your mouth shut in front of Ken," Wakiya explained like a typical Asian mom who's tired of her child being stupid.

"Not the enemy!" Valt insisted.

"So, what else did you spill?" Wakiya demanded. "Come on, spit it out!"

"Uh, well..." Valt started wondering.

At that point, my eyes widened and I was truly concerned. If Valt's really thinking about it, then that means he's told Ken a lot of stuff about us! Valt, how can you be so stupid?

Let's hope it's not some serious infor -

"About Shu launching with his left hand!" He happily announced, making a launching gesture with his hands.

I suddenly felt like slapping our captain. WHY DID HE HAVE TO TELL KEN ABOUT THAT?

"His left hand?!" Wakiya, Daigo and Rantaro screamed with astonishment. All of their heads snapped towards Shu and Valt wasn't the centre of attention anymore. I bet they've already forgotten about how he spilled secrets in front of Ken...

"Well," Shu shrugged in an uninterested tone. "Been practicing."

"He's miserable at it," I added.

"I'm still learning, thank you very much," he narrowed his eyes at me like he couldn't believe I just said that.

"Yes, and don't learn. You're hopeless," I continued to sass him.

Shu sighed. "Such a great teacher you are..."

"Teacher?" Daigo caught onto that piece of information. That's when I realised I totally screwed up. "Have you been helping out Shu with the left handed launch?"

"....what gave you that idea?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Hold on, where were you last night?" He suddenly cornered me with that question. "I texted you to meet up and you said - "

"Yes, I said... uhh, I said I was very busy," I nervously rubbed my cheek. Oh god, please help me. This isn't working out at all. "See? I haven't forgotten..."

"You were training with Shu?"

"Jeez, why would you think that?!" I lied without hesitation.

"Yes, she was with me. I apologise for that, Daigo. I needed a few tips because my shoulder injury is getting worse, and the left - "

"WHY DOES SHU GET LAUNCHING TIPS AND I DON'T? THAT'S SO UNFAIR!" Valt complained and promptly jumped at me. My eyes widened; I shrieked and moved out of the way to avoid collision. Would've crashed and destroyed him on any other normal day, but can't really go for wrestling in a skirt right now.

He fell with his face onto the floor.

"Wait, didn't we agree to discuss about (Y/n)'s connection with Zac's disappearance today?" Wakiya suddenly pointed out. "What happened with that - "

"I NEED YOU TO TRAIN ME!" Valt straightened his head while still lying on the floor. His nose had a big red bruise. "IF SHU GETS TRAINING, SO DO I."

"Valt, no - "

"(Y/N), THAT'S CHEATING!"

"Valt, I don't train him! I just tell him what to do, not how to do it. It's like giving the ingredients but not the recipe - "

"(Y/n), we're still not done here," Daigo warned, referring to our earlier disagreement.

"WILL ANYONE TELL ME WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" Rantaro pulled out his lollipop and screamed at full volume.

I think I'm gonna have a headache... This chaos can't possibly get any worse.

"I'm telling you she's here!" a very panicked unknown voice came from the staircase that was out of our sight. Surely none of us recognised who had said those words but... I'm pretty confident I'm the only female here. Are they talking about me?

Oh god, did we really need any more problems right now?

"What's that voice?" Valt mumbled. I had a similar question, although I was more interested in knowing if I could take this unknown person in a fight or not.

All of us stopped what we were doing and focused our attention to the other end of the rooftop. Our earlier chaos had quickly died down.

"It's someone uh..." Rantaro (the man of the group) was the first one to step forward. He hesitated for a moment, but then the person in question himself came in front of us.

And I was flabbergasted.

To my absolute surprise, it was Zachary! A very not-the-sunrise type of Zachary! His whole appearance was a disgusting mess. Tired face, muddy shoes, hair disheveled, dirt on his knees and elbows; and most importantly, his clothes were extremely untidy. His jacket was gone, leaving only the top behind. Even that white top was dirty like a rug.

Damn, I wonder who did this to him.

Another man in suit was frantically following him with a very horrified expression on his face. One of his assistants, I suppose?

"Master Zac, please refrain from running away like this. Your condition is still delicate!" the assistant-man desperately said.

"I don't care! She's the one who did this to me!" Zachary stopped a few metres away from our group and pointed his shaky finger straight at me. "(Y/n), you can't threaten me in front of all these people. It'll be best for you to confess what you did!"

By 'all these people' does he mean the Beyclub, who will clearly be on my side when the time comes? Pfft idiot.

"Hold on now," I took a small step towards him, my demeanor truly righteous. "Confess... what exactly? I'm so confused, Zac."

The rest of the Beyclub stayed silent, carefully watching the conversation take place. They probably didn't quite understand what was going on, or who to believe, or whether to run away or not.

"Stop feigning innocence!" Zac yelled with a broken voice. I figured he would probably start crying if I pushed him any further. "You took me to the forest that day! And then you... oh, it was horrible. What I saw was horrible. And you left me there, alone with no way back home. I was wandering for a whole day!" He hid his face behind his hands, as if simply recalling the memory made his soul hurt.

For a few seconds, I just stared at him with a plain face. I was genuinely uninterested in his sob story; plus, I had no clue what he was talking about.

"Oh, how tragic," I said seriously.

Behind me, I heard a few of my teammates mumble something that I couldn't hear. Were they criminalizing me or putting their trust in me? Anything was possible with the Beyclub.

"Y-You - of course you're acting like you didn't do anything!" Zac frantically looked around at the Beyclub and ran up to Valt. I followed his movements with a very confused expression on my face, still having no idea what the hell he was talking about.

What is he, on drugs?

"Guys - Twinkle-toes! Everyone! You believe me, right? You must know the reality. She's not human. Sh-She's a cannibal! I saw it with my own eyes!"

The Beyclub had mixed reactions about the new information Zac dropped. Valt and Rantaro confusingly stared at each other, looking a bit sympathetic. Wakiya eyed Zac with a very nasty judgemental expression capable of crushing tons of confidence. Daigo and Shu exchanged a glance that definitely said '(Y/n) did something'.

I didn't even understand why those two kept on suspecting me all the time. What did I do to deserve such friends?

"Uh.. Zac the Sunrise. She's a bit scary... but not cannibal, I'm sure," Valt furrowed his eyebrows, loudly judging Zac's sanity.

"You don't get it! I saw it with my own eyes. Her butler was there, and she... she took a knife... oh my god, I can't say it. It's too horrible!"

"Um, are you sure you weren't dreaming?" I genuinely stepped forward with a helping hand. He flinched away from me.

"Don't play games with me! Why don't you tell your teammates what you did?"

"Zac, this is ridiculous," I sighed and crossed my arms. "Nobody believes your fairytale. What are you trying to imply? Did I attempt to eat you?"

"You ate your butler. I saw it!" he insisted.

"Ah..." my mouth was left open by his words. I couldn't find anything to say. In fact, there wasn't any correct reply to his statement at all. This guy had a really crazy imagination!

"Zac, you... I'm not sure what you've been consuming - "

"Don't act so innocent! His head was on the dinner plate. You took a bite and looked at me and said 'you're next'!"

Everyone else gasped at that information, but clearly, no one thought it to be true. Afterall, how could anyone believe something so ridiculous?

"You also took my jacket. It's the only proof I have! My jacket is missing. You've always liked it, haven't you? And I know you used it to throw the search parties off track! That's why they never found me..."

"Oh really? So where's the jacket now?" I couldn't hold back my smirk. His condition was truly pathetic.

Zac stared at me, dumbfounded. His eyes searched mine for some kind of deceit but he didn't find any. In that moment, I wasn't lying anymore, and Zac had realized that.

"You... You knew about the camera!"

"Damn right, I did," I grabbed his top by the neckline. He struggled under my grasp, making me feel even more powerful than I already was. "You thought you could outplay me with a petty trick like that?"

"Master Zac..." His assistant mumbled with concern. "There wasn't any need for this, just come back home."

"That's right," Zac pulled away from me, almost falling in the process. "This man here saw how you threatened me just now! He could testify for me."

The man in question looked absolutely horrified.

"Hmm," I casually walked away and sat on the bench, signalling that the meeting was over. "You still don't understand, Zac... I'd already calculated my chances. If you use that guy as a witness, there's five more here you'd never be able to afford," I watched as he hopelessly look around at my team.

The Beyclub might not fully understand what was going on, but they were unquestionably on my side for this one. Any sensible person would rather trust their teammate than some self-obsessed popstar with mental issues.

Zac the Sunrise was completely defeated now. He had no choice but to step down and walk away with his poor assistant. Nobody said a single word. I watched as the two of them slowly disappeared towards the staircase.

I suppose it'll be good for him if we don't cross paths in the near future. I might not be satisfied with ruining him yet.

"How did you?" Daigo's voice came right after the silence faded, his question short but absolute, just like his height. He had a stern expression on his face that said no lying anymore. Everyone else was also looking at me curiously, waiting for an explanation.

"Theatrics," I replied truthfully. "I felt Zac was fond of stage shows. So I gave him one worth remembering a lifetime."

"You made him believe you were a cannibal?"

"Zac... has some past trauma that I took advantage of," I chose my words carefully. This was a delicate matter. "He used to see a therapist a few years ago."

"I'm disappointed that you'd go that far," Shu looked at me up and down with disgust.

"Honestly, relatable," I fake yawned just to trigger Shu's anger. "I'm also disappointed in you most of the time. You need to better your left-handed launch, and change your hairstyle for that matter."

Shu groaned and put a hand to his forehead, walking away to stand a few meters further. I suppose that was enough insults he could take in a day.

"Well, that was entertaining!" Wakiya burst into laughter. "To be fair, Zac's face was worth watching. I didn't think I would ever say this but good job, Y/n, as long as you're not caught!"

He gave me a thumbs up while holding his stomach.

"I don't know..." Valt muttered. "I'm still not sure I understand half the story and what is public city anyway? Aren't all cities pub - "

"Valt, please - "

"What did you do with his jacket, though?" Rantaro asked. "He said you liked it? You took it? Xander also said you used it to throw off the search parties? There's honestly so many questions and I'm literally so confu - "

"Rantaro, I thought you stared at my skirt the most?" I gave him a confused look. "It's made of leather, you know?"

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

"Back off," I pushed Valt. "I'm up."

"What's your deal?" Rantaro sounded very disappointed. "Weren't you always the first one to accept our captain's decision? You've never went against Valt before."

Our match against The Beasts was about to begin. The introductions had been made, both teams had arrived, and now was the time for decisions - which three bladers get to battle. I was no fortune teller, but it was pretty clear that Ken and Ben would be two out of the three from their side.

Valt chose Rantaro, Wakiya and himself. I hated being a brat and contradicting the captain's decision, but this was a narrow situation. We couldn't risk sending in a blader whose bey was in an unstable condition. This wasn't how I wanted my team to lose.

My eyes didn't leave Valt's. We stared at each other with unparalleled intensity, refusing to give in. I was pretty surprised by how courageous he was under my gaze. It made me nervous and proud at the same time. I liked being challenged. But I hated not being feared.

Since when did he become so brave?

"Step back or the whole team suffers," every word from my mouth was said with the intention of dominating his mind. "Valtryek is in no condition to battle, don't you see that?"

"I know what's best for Valtryek, not you!" Valt countered my argument with determination. "I'm gonna get out there and win this for the team! We're up against my old friend and I don't wanna miss this chance."

"Stop getting carried away with emotions. This isn't the time to be prioritizing friendships!" I threateningly grabbed his shoulder.

"(Y/n)," he suddenly brought his hands to cup the sides of my face, and pulled me in to look him straight in the eyes. "Just trust me. I know what I'm doing."

I was baffled.

Stunned. Flustered. Mystified. All in one.

Did he just -

Valt smoothly walked past me and scanned his launcher on the scanning machine, leaving no room for further debate. But I didn't really see him do that. I only heard the confirmation beep because I was still frozen in place where he'd left me.

The audacity to touch my face and act all confident...

Still entranced, I hung my head low to hide the flustered expression on my face and quietly walked up to the scanning machine to register myself.

I put down my launcher and that's when -

"I WAS SUPPOSED TO GO!" Wakiya's annoying voice shattered the delicate impression of tranquility that Valt's touch had given me.

His eyes were filled with so much purity...

"Seems like you lost your chance," I crossed my arms and mocked Wakiya. My eyes unintentionally flickered towards Valt, and I saw him communicating with Valtryek.

"And somehow everyone's okay with this when she does it! Now nobody will say 'listen to the captain' because all those lessons were only for me!" Wakiya frustratingly looked around at Shu, Daigo and Rantaro (who all seemed very uninterested in his tantrums, by the way).

"Here's an advice, Wakiya," I sighed at his lack of self-awareness. "You need to be either loved by enough people, or be feared by enough people. Only then you'll be supported by them."

Rantaro had already registered himself for the battle before Valt. All three bladers had been decided. There was no room left for negotiations. Wakiya had lost his chance.

Giving me one last glare, he groaned angrily and stomped away to sit on the bench. After that, he didn't speak again.

Well, at least that should teach him a lesson. He'd realize how it feels to have your chance snatched away by somebody else; how it feels to be helpless in the vicinity of someone stronger than you; and most importantly, how it feels to be not loved and supported by any of your teammates.

I expect him to change, although 'change' isn't the dynamic I'd hope for him to strive for. At his best, he can only grow. He can improve, develop, maximize. But he can never change.

"Okay, it's time to introduce our competitors!" Hanami announced over the microphone. "From The Beigoma Academy Beyclub, it's (Y/n) (L/n)! Rantaro Kiyama! And their captain, Valt Aoi!"

"Now from The Beasts... Ken Midori! Yoga Sakurajima! And look, their captain, Ben Azuki!"

Well, no surprise there. Now let's just hope that I match up with either Ken or Ben. That Sakurajima guy doesn't seem like he'd be able to give me a satisfying victory.

"Okay, what will be our strategy?" Rantaro confidently targeted Valt with a question he should've already known Valt wouldn't be able to answer. "You're the captain, so share with us!"

I doubted he had anything to share in the first place.

"Umm.. err uh, go out and.. d-defeat them!" Valt stuttered with difficulty, earning a judgemental look from Rantaro. Then he suddenly jumped up and showed off a confident smirk. "Yessss~ Get out there and beat em up!"

I tightened my fist and brought back my hand for a long pull and aimed straight at Valt's back. Although, my punch couldn't reach its destination because of Daigo clutching my wrist. I tried to push away Daigo's face in order to free my hand. He bit my finger. I pulled his hair. He swiped at my leg and I fell down, but not before kneeing him in the stomach.

Valt continued to shine like a star and show off his 'go out and defeat them' strategy without knowing what was going on behind his back.

Shu shot me a very unimpressed look.

OKAY, WHAT MAKES HIM THINK HE ISN'T NEXT ON MY PEOPLE-TO-PUNCH LIST?!

"Hey wait! Didn't (Y/n) put together a data analysis yesterday?" Shu suddenly remembered, snapping his finger; the excitement on his face of someone who had won an unexpected trip to Hawaii. "Pull out your notes, (Y/n). Now's the time."

Time to shine? Absolutely!

I didn't need to be told twice. These idiots always need my aid to figure out even the simplest of problems, nothing new there. About damn time they acknowledged my absolute intellectual prowess!

"Here," I proudly handed my notebook to Shu.

Shu seemed very interested while opening the first page. He looked over with a serious expression and then turned another page over. With each turn, his countenance slowly shifted from excited to confused to thoughtful, then horrified, then disgusted... and finally, hopeless.

"What the hell is this?" he glanced at me with genuine confusion, mixed with a hint of expectancy.

"What?" I asked.

"Tell us already. We need some strategy!" Rantaro impatiently snatched the book from Shu and flipped back to the first page. "Here goes! Daigo Kurogami. Abilities: quick decision making, strong willed, unwavering ideals. Intellectual level: medium. Weaknesses: self-doubt, winning pressure... tall opponents?"

"(Y/N), WHAT THE - " Daigo started, but I was quick to react.

"Save it," I dismissed him. "We all know that's true."

"Flip over," Daigo hid his face out of embarrassment. "I'm not battling, so why are you reading mine?"

"Good point," Rantaro turned to the next page. "Rantaro Kiyama. Oh, mine's next! Abilities: high physical strength, absolute mindedness, one way ideals. Intellectual level: low..?! (Y/n), why would you - "

"Keep reading," I dismissed him.

"Erm... weaknesses: quick temper, irrational decision making, unicorns, overconfidence, idiotic dialogues, dumbass... WHY IS MINE SO BAD?!"

"Stop complaining. We all know it's true," I stated. "Maybe change your stupid behaviour."

"Arrrgh! This notebook is trash," he snapped the cover close and frustratingly handed it to Valt. "I'm done here! You can read yours if you want."

"Um, okay," Valt innocently took the notes and flipped some pages, trying to find his name. "Um, where's mine...? Oh look, Shu's here too! I wanna know his first. Let's go - "

"Valt, no!" Shu stepped forward to stop Valt from reading his profile. I made sure to put my leg in his way in order to trip him.

Sadly, I had to retreat my foot at the last moment when I remembered that Shu already had a shoulder injury, plus, we needed him alive to win the tournament. And, he did nothing wrong other than being a total snitch about my secrets, and an absolutely hopeless student in terms of the left handed launch.

No worries, I'll get him next time for sure!

"Shu Kurenai," Valt started. Shu cringed away out of embarrassment. "Abilities: cool headed, accurate strategy making, notices important details, selfless, beautiful, cooks goo - beautiful? Uhh??!" Valt questionably snapped his head in my direction.

I looked back at him with a ten-on-ten creepy smile plastered on my face. "His beauty helps us win the audience. And when we win the audience, they cheer for us. And when they cheer for us, our opponents get nervous. And when our - "

"I think we get it," Shu looked like he wanted to go home and bury his face under the pillow. Good thinking, because that'll be my chance to press the pillow to his face and suffocate him right there.

"Will the first bladers come forward, please?" we heard the referee announce.

"Look, now! We didn't get a chance to actually strategize because you got curious what's written about Shu; and he isn't even battling!" Rantaro grabbed his forehead in frustration. "What do we do now?!"

"That's easy," I snatched my notebook from Valt's hand and smirked at Rantaro, who seemed very uncomfortable under my stare. "We read about you, Rantaro. And you're also battling. Which means... you're up!" I grabbed his arm and turned his body towards the stairs.

"W-What?! But what about strateg - Hold on!"

"There's no strategy," I gave him one final push, making him tumble up a few stairs. Was it just me or did he actually look kinda hot while falling down? "Like our captain said: get out there and beat em up!"

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