//Pre "The First Noel"
//I still do not own Beyblade.
"Do you still hate me?"
Kai's question has his former teammates looking at him quizzically. The five are standing on a hill overlooking Moscow. To the left of the brilliantly lit city, they can see the Abbey in flames.
Spencer is the first to answer. "No." Everyone looks at him with some measure of surprise, but he says nothing more and instead looks at the city below.
"I guess not," Ian says after a lengthy pause. He shifts his grip on his rifle and glances over at Kai. "No real reason to."
Kai nods at him before looking out across the snowy landscape. Bryan sighs and pats down his jacket for the flask of vodka he knows he has. After taking a swig despite his captain's annoyed look, he answers the question with, "The reason I had for hating you wasn't even a good one anyway," and this is as close as Bryan will get to apologizing for anything he's ever done.
"Yes." Tala's current teammates all stare at him in mild surprise, even though they should have expected this, and he stares right back. "Kai left us twice before, and once in the middle of a tournament. I don't forgive him for that."
The blue haired boy looks down, not even pretending that the words did not sting. Below, he can almost hear the people counting down the seconds until they can start over with a new year. Tala snags the flask Bryan had been passing around and takes a drink before handing it back to Ian and looking at the sky. A shooting star flies over them, in such away that it seems to be leaving the Abbey. "But," the redhead finally adds as the city below bursts into cheers and fireworks and more alcohol than is recommended for such celebrations, looking at his old friend, "I think it's time to let it go."
//End