I decided to get this one finished up and posted. Hope you enjoy, and (for those of you who live in the US like I do) Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy the story!

-Madoka's POV-

Neo Battle Bladers was raging before her eyes. One by one, the remaining eight bladers were being eliminated, one by one. Iwayama had already been defeated by Sakyo, and Kaito had been defeated by Kira. Sakyo was battling now, against yet another DNA blader. Zero was waiting for his battle. Every time she saw the young blader, he reminded her of Gingka. After all, he was the heir to the Legend Blader's legacy. Gingka had given him his bey, Samurai Ifraid W145CF, only a year after Nemesis, and only a year before… but now was not the time to think about that.

-two hours later-

Madoka was still tired. Sakyo's battle had ended, and he had allowed her to repair the damage done to his bey. Kaito was not very happy about his defeat at the hands of Kira, and was off training somewhere. Luckily, his bey had been an easy fix, and she could now focus on fixing Dark Knight Dragoon. Zero and the others had gone to Bull Burger to celebrate Zero's win in the preliminary rounds of Neo Battle Bladers. Neo Battle Bladers… take off the "Neo", and you had the name of the tournament that had started it all. The original Battle Bladers tournament had been stressful for them all at the time, with Ryuga and Reiji beating up bladers left and right. Gingka had stopped them both, gaining his first official title of Japan's Ace and saving the world for the first time. The second major battle had been even more stressful, as they battled through the world championships, coming out on top in the end, but then having to stop HD Academy.

That second year she had known him, his second major title of #1 in the world, (although Masamune claimed the title and Gingka never boasted about it) as well as his second time saving the world. The third time: no major tournaments for official titles, but that had been the worst. They had scoured the world, racing against time to stop Nemesis, almost failing in the process. But Gingka had again defied the odds, and had come out on top. That had been seven years ago, and in the first year after Nemesis, Gingka had joked around, still messing about with his bey, still being the crazy blader he had always been. Then, she and Tsubasa had completed the Synchrom system. Seemingly at the same time, shortly after his fifteenth birthday, Gingka had suddenly matured.

He still joked around with Masamune over Skype, but one night, he suddenly asked her out. After going over the basics of "the art of avoiding news reporters", they had gone to a nice restaurant, then a movie. When they had gotten back, Kyoya had teased Gingka who had challenged him to a battle, which, as usual, ended in a tie. The next year had been one of the happiest years in Madoka's life.

But, on one fateful night, it had all ended. They had argued, long and loud, after a disagreement over a small issue, small now that Madoka thought about it, but it had seemed big at the time. Hurtful words were said on both sides, and Gingka had stormed out, leaving for the WBBA. About a week later, Madoka called the WBBA to apologize, only to have Ryo tell her that Gingka was gone. He had left the night of their argument, and had given no indication of where he was going. Madoka had called Hyoma to see if he was there, but with no results.

And now, she needed him. Needed him to come and save the world again from the DNA, which had shown its true colors after the preliminaries. Needed him to assure everyone that nothing would happen. But most of all, she needed him to be there for her, as a shoulder to cry on, arms to hide in, and the reassuring voice telling her that he loved her. But did he still love her after what had happened? Madoka glanced outside to see that it was dark and raining. She put on her raincoat and went outside anyway, not really caring where she was going in her grief. Nobody, not even Tsubasa, knew just how much she thought about Gingka, she had gotten skilled at putting on the mask that said everything was alright.

Suddenly, she found herself surrounded. She tried to cry out for help, but a strong hand was clamped over her mouth and someone hit her on the back of the head.

-two days earlier, Gingka's POV-

It had been five years. Five years since he had seen her. Now, and even only a couple weeks after he left, he was questioning his actions. He was lying on the ground, watching the sky, thinking about the argument.

"man, that was really stupid of me" he thought. "how could I have ever said those things to her! That was really rude… I don't even remember what we were arguing over, yet am I still holding a grudge against her? I should go back and say I'm sorry… but that would be so awkward! Just walking up to a girl you haven't seen in five years, assuming she doesn't instantly walk away, and say 'I'm sorry for what I did'? but, if it means I get back that relationship… I guess I have to do it, otherwise, what will happen? I cant exactly expect her to come here and say she's sorry, she doesn't even know where I am anyway… that's it, I'm going back, quit procrastinating Gingka, you can do this!" with that thought, the red-headed, 21-year-old man got up and prepared to leave right away. He had been traveling all over, training with Pegasus, but never once forgetting about Madoka. As he walked out of Tokyo, he looked back, then continued.

"no further procrastination, I have waited for too long to go back. Its time to face what I did, and admit to it."

-back in the present-

"just leave her here, we can come back in the helicopter to check later" Madoka heard a voice say. She tried to move, but froze. She could feel her hands, tied behind her back to some sort of post. Her blue eyes flickered wildly around, frightened. She could barely see anything, but could tell that she was in a warehouse, probably one of the ones in Metal Bey City where the Face Hunters had formerly met. Another fact about them: it was where, before they all left, the Legendary Bladers had met in secret to avoid the media. She distinctly remembered the details of the warehouse Gingka had usually slept in. looking around, she figured out where she was. She knew that there should be a crate of knives around here somewhere… she froze as a light shone on her. Iwayama stood behind it, grinning.

"You?" Madoka thought, panicking. "the DNA is more ruthless than I thought!"

"she's awake" Iwayama said. Kira stepped into view. "we have to leave her here, the helicopter cant get through in this rain, we will return in the morning to make sure the job is done."

After the two DNA bladers left, Madoka looked around frantically, trying to find a way to escape. She could still hear them talking outside. Suddenly, something crashed against the warehouse. Madoka heard splintering, and saw part of the roof start to cave in.

"that should do it! I can see the headlines now: 'B-Pit mechanic found dead under collapsed warehouse'" she heard Kira sneer.

Madoka's eyes widened and she struggled even more to escape. The roof came nearer and nearer, and she could hear Kira and Iwayama's footsteps, running away. The gag around her throat loosened and she screamed as the roof came crashing down towards her. Just before she fainted, she felt the ropes binding her to the post loosen, and something jerk her away. Her subconscious mind told her that it was probably the pole, giving way under the weight of the tree that had crashed down on the roof. After that, everything went completely blank.

After what seemed like only a few moments, Madoka regained consciousness. Slowly, she opened her eyes, squinting at the bright sunlight shining on her face.

"im not dead? Or is this what it feels like…" she thought, alarmed at first, but slowly realizing that she was not alone. She could hear heavy breathing and wood cracking.

"aww come on! This thing has got to have a weak spot somewhere!" a deep voice exclaimed in frustration.

Madoka moaned as she sat up, too quickly, causing her head to throb. She reached for the back of her head, carefully feeling the back of it. A large lump had formed where Iwayama had hit her the night before. She stood carefully, dizzy, and closed her eyes. She swayed, losing balance, and began to fall. suddenly, she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist, stopping her fall.

"careful there, Madoka!" the voice she had heard from before said, as the pair of arms helped her sit down. One moved up to her shoulders. "just lean back and relax. You have a nasty lump on the back of your head"

Madoka obeyed, her eyes slowly fluttering open. She gasped. "you!"

Gingka grinned. "what, surprised? Good thing I decided to come back!"

"well, yeah, but-"

"I came back to apologize. I should not have said the things I did, I should not have left afterwards either without giving it a chance"

"I should not have said what I did either, you stole the words right out of my mouth"

"well, now that we got that done…" Gingka's other hand reached up to brush the hair out of her face. He carefully helped her sit up on her own, then helped her up, taking her arm and putting it around his own shoulders to support her weight, just as she had after HD Academy, insisting that he lean on her, which he had refused to do. Now the roles were reversed, and she did not hesitate to lean on him. Helping her the whole way, Gingka slowly managed to climb out of the wreckage of the collapsed warehouse, then pulled her up after him.

"ok, I forgot the layout of the city. What's closer, the B-Pit or the WBBA?" he asked, looking around.

"I think the WBBA is closer"

"then we will go there, we should probably get that lump on the back of your head checked, just to be safe"

Madoka smiled at this. "he sure has changed" she thought.

"ok, so here's the plan. Are you still dizzy?"

"no, I don't think so"

"then we better not risk it. Here, sit down for a second." Gingka helped her sit down, then jumped off the debris to the ground outside. "ok, now jump, I'll catch you!" he called up.

Madoka hesitated for a second. It looked like a very long jump, but there he was, waiting for her at the end of it. She leapt, and seconds later, she was again in his arms. He carried her bridal-style for several feet to get out of the rest of the debris, then carefully set her down. With her arm once again around his shoulders and his arm around her waist, supporting her, the two set off once again for the WBBA, taking backstreets for obvious reasons, not wanting to attract any attention.

Meanwhile, at the WBBA, Tsubasa, Benkei, Zero, Shinobu, Maru, Kaito, Eito, Ren, Takanosuke, and Sakyo were getting worried. Madoka had said she would be there two and a half hours ago, and she was never late. A call to the B-Pit had proved that she was not there, and Maru had said that she had gone for a walk the night before and had not returned.

Suddenly, Tsubasa's computer informed him that the DNA was calling… again.

"cant those fools just cut it out already?" Tsubasa muttered, answering. Everyone quieted as the Garcias came up onscreen.

"what do you guys have to say now?" Benkei yelled.

"something very important, where is Madoka Amano? She probably needs to hear this too" Argo replied with a smirk.

"none of your business!" Tsubasa said.

"oh wait, didn't we send someone last night to preoccupy her?" Ian asked, turning to Selen, who smirked.

"I believe we did, brother! Now, who was it and what were their orders…" Selen replied.

"WHAT? What did you do to Madoka?" Benkei yelled.

"merely had Kira and Iwayama collapse a warehouse on top of her, nothing complicated" Enzo said.

Tsubasa was stunned. "but, that means…"

"of course it does! We needed her out of the way, so-" Argo suddenly froze, mid-sentence.

Enzo took a step back. Ian and Selen's mouths dropped open.

Tsubasa raised an eyebrow, confused.

"YOU!" Argo finally found his voice. "just how many times do you have to butt in and ruin everything!"

"I don't know, how many times have you tried to take over the world?" a voice from behind them said sarcastically.

Tsubasa froze. "I know that voice! But, it can't be…" he turned, slowly, something everyone else was not bold enough to do.

Gingka was standing behind him, Madoka, safe, at his side, a huge grin across his face as he looked Argo right in the eye.

Tsubasa chuckled. "great timing!"

Everyone else turned around at this.

"Tsubasa may have been the one who defeated you in the world championships, Argo, but don't forget, if I had been paying attention to you, I would not have been knocked out by your tactics. don't you ever dare forget that Gan Gan Galaxy defeated you, ever!" his eyes were blazing as he continued. "you guys just never seem to figure out that no matter how many times you try, you cant defeat the bladers whose hearts are truly on fire, the ones who will stand for the light, no matter what! Plus, you just made a HUGE mistake in going after Madoka, for obvious reasons." he looked at Madoka and winked.

Madoka felt her face instantly turn a deep red. She quickly put a hand up to hide it. Gingka chuckled.

"too late." he pulled her into a hug as Argo and the Garcias cut off communication. Madoka closed her eyes and buried her head into his arms.

"did we miss something here?" Zero whispered to Shinobu.

"I guess so" Shinobu replied, watching the two lovebirds.

Gingka pulled away from Madoka. "ok, now I need an update. Just what exactly are the Garcias up to, anyway? He and Madoka sat on the couch, Tsubasa and Benkei doing the same across from them. The younger bladers all remained standing.

"what, am I scary or something?" Gingka chuckled. "you guys can sit down, I wont bite"

The seven young bladers, plus Maru, sat down on the other two couches as Tsubasa began explaining.

-a couple of hours later-

After the WBBA nurse had looked at the lump on Madoka's head, Gingka walked back to the B-Pit with her.

"want to go do something tonight?" he asked.

Madoka glanced at him in surprise. "sure! But what?"

"I don't know, maybe dinner and a movie like before?"

"sounds good to me. Fancy or casual and what time?"

"eh, semi-fancy around five?"

"sure, I'll be ready"

"alright. I guess we'll just figure out what to do until then!"

By this time they were at the B-Pit.

"want me to fix Pegasus?" Madoka asked.

"sure, are you up to it at the moment?"

"of course! Just hand it over and I'll get started!"

"aright, alright, here you go." Gingka said, pulling his bey out of the case still at his side and handing it over.

-three hours later-

Madoka finished styling her hair and looked herself over in the mirror. She was wearing a light pink dress with rhinestones on the straps, and black high heels. Her short hair was pulled back, leaving a few strands in the front, which were curled.

"Madoka, im here! Ready to go when you are!" Gingka's voice called from upstairs.

"alright, im coming!" Madoka called back, grabbing her purse and rushing upstairs.

She walked up behind Gingka, who was examining the display cases. He turned as she tapped him lightly on the shoulder, then froze.

"you… you look stunning" he said, offering her an arm.

"thanks Gingka" Madoka replied, slipping her arm into his. Together, they walked out the door and down to the restaurant. Once they were seated and had ordered their food, conversation started. After a while, once their food came, Madoka was pleasantly surprised to see that Gingka's manners had improved greatly, obviously from effort. After dessert, they sat and chatted for a while.

"yeah, so- hey, is that Tsubasa over there?" Gingka asked, pointing.

Madoka turned to look, and when she turned back, Gingka had gotten out of his seat and was down on one knee next to her.

"psyche!" he chuckled, holding up a ring box. "Madoka, will you marry me?" he opened it to reveal a sparkling pink opal.

"yes! A million times I would!" Madoka exclaimed, allowing him to slip it on her finger.

"then I guess our little argument has been solved. Want to go stargazing?"

"sure! Down by the river where we first met?"

"sounds good to me!"

With that, they paid their bill and left.

XD romance isn't exactly something I am great at writing, at least in my opinion, but I had fun writing this story! As usual, review and tell me if you liked it!