Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade.

A/N: Please review!

Answering

"Leone has been by my side for as long as I can remember. Ever since I was a baby and my early stages of childhood, but I can't remember much after that…"

"Go on." He told me, listening closely. I don't even know why I was talking to him, but I continued with my story.

"I was taught Beyblade from a woman. Yes, a woman. But not just any woman: my mother. I can't remember her name. She wasn't around for too much longer. She taught me when I was very small; as soon as I was old enough to understand. But she wasn't a blader herself. She only taught me because… Well… I found the Beyblade, and she believed I could become a great blader someday.

"But whenever I practiced on my own, my father would catch me. He said I always wrecked the place whenever I did it. I remember him yelling at me, and I would just stare at him with big soulful blues. But for some reason, that just made him furious. I get my anger from him, but his malice was all his own. I didn't know why he hated me so much. It was probably because he never wanted me, and my mother refused to abort.

"Whatever I broke, he would beat me and make me clean it up. Eventually, I got used to it. I wasn't happy about it, but I stopped being so surprised. I would've found a different place to practice where I would be alone, but then he'd beat me twice as hard for leaving his sight."

I stopped talking. Just remembering it was hard enough. Talking about it was a different story. "Don't worry." He said. "You're in a safe place. He won't hurt you now."

I took a breath before continuing.

"One day… I was practicing… No, I was training by then. I knew what I needed to know about Beyblade, so I continued to build my strength. Anyway, I was training hard in my special area, not caring how hard my dad would destroy me. But when it started getting dark, he found me.

"He yelled 'What are you doing?'

"I said 'I'm not doing anything.' I made sure he couldn't see Leone.

"He grabbed my wrist as tight as he could and dragged me home. We lived in isolation in the middle of the forest. We weren't too far from the rest of the world, but we were far enough so that no one could hear our screams. No matter how loud I was, no one came to the rescue. Not even my mother.

"When we got inside, my father finally dropped me on the ground and kicked my back. 'I told you to stay in my sight. Now, get up!'

"I whimpered a little as I did so. After all, I was about six or seven.

"He told me 'You were supposed to get firewood. What the hell have you been doing this whole time?'

"'Nothing.' I said.

"He slapped me and grabbed the collar of my shirt. 'I'm not going to ask again. What the hell were you doing?!'

"I started crying instead of answering.

"'Because of you,' he said, 'your mother is sick.'

"'She is?' I asked. I was going to go to her room to see her, but he got in the way again.

"I remember him saying 'You need to learn to be responsible for your own actions. Now go back out there and find some wood!' He threw me back on the ground and literally kicked me out.

"I ran out and did what I was told. I did everything my father told me, even if it meant going out in the dark in the forest at the age of six. And when I came back with the wood, my father had already left somewhere. He never really tells us where he goes."

I took a pause to collect my thoughts.

"If you want, Kyoya, we could stop." He said.

"No, you have to know this." I said. So I continued.

"When I went back inside, I put the wood in and started a fire. But my mother wasn't cold. That's not how she got sick. But I didn't know that. When I went into her room, Mom was…lying down. Her face was sunken as she curled up in bed. Nothing accompanied her except for the darkness. When I walked in, I didn't say anything to her. I crawled in next to her and closed my eyes. She moved her fingers into my hair…" I took a breath and shifted in my seat.

"My mother was very aware of everything that was going on. She knew about my father and what he was doing. She didn't like it, but she couldn't stand up to him. I couldn't exactly say why."

"Was it the same reason you didn't stand up to him?" He asked.

I scoffed. "No, I couldn't because I was too young."

"So what happened next?"

"Well…" I thought for a second. "I just remember falling asleep until my father returned and ripped me out of bed. I can't remember much until a few days later. I continued to train just to prove to my mom that I will be a great blader. My dad continued to beat me. And my mother was still sick. I remember the day clearly, but not one hundred percent."

I stopped. It wasn't easy talking this much about something so personal. And he was just sitting there, waiting for me to continue.

"I was returning back from my training…and…I heard a noise coming from my mom's room. It was pretty loud, but I can't remember what it sounded like. My father was out, so I knew he didn't do anything. Anyway, I cautiously went to the room, and…there she was."

I raked a hand through my hair and gripped the other into a fist. "My mother…she was lying there… Her eyes were closed, her dark green hair was flowing freely… She usually has it in one big braid that went down her back. My mother was lying on the ground and…she wasn't getting back up. I tried shaking her, I tried making noise, I tried everything. She wasn't getting up. Eventually, I gave up and lied down next to her just like before. I began to cry when I didn't feel her fingers in my hair. And…that was it…"

I stopped again, trying to keep my composure. "Do you need a moment?" He asked. "We can continue tomorrow…"

"No." I said. "I just want to get it over with."

He nodded. "Go ahead."

I nodded. "I cried myself to sleep, and I didn't wake up until I heard my father slam the door, barking something.

"He came in, looked down at me, and asked 'Wha… What did you do, boy?'

"I got up and said 'Nothing. I found her like this.'

"My father dropped to his knees. His face fell to the ground as he held her close. 'What have you done?' He asked me again. 'This is all your fault!'

"If there's anything I remember most from my father, it's him saying just that. And for a while, I believed he was right. He had me believe that because I didn't have the firewood, she got sick. But that wasn't the case. My mother had a different illness: depression. She would lie in bed and never come out, and it wasn't my fault. She just couldn't stand how my father was treating me or how he treated her. So she decided to heal herself the only way she knew how. But once she was gone, everything changed.

"He stopped feeding me, he never took care of me when I was sick – he just gave me more work, and he never cared where I went. Once Mom was gone, there was no reason to give me any attention. After all, he never wanted me around.

"So I tried running away, but every single time, he would find me. It took me so long, too long, to find my special power. I wanted to find something that will make him fear me. For years, I've been looking to the wrong thing. I figured that since I had a Rock Leone that I would control the ground. I seriously believed that I could shake the earth…" I laughed at the thought.

"But eventually, I found that my place wasn't in the ground, it was in the sky. It was in the wind, which, with enough power, can also shake the ground. And eventually, I created my special move: the Lion Gale Force Wall. The day I used it… It was…three years ago today."

"You've been homeless for three years?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Well…yes…but…I found a home later on."

"But what happened three years ago today?"

"He caught me… My father caught me training again. He got so mad that he grabbed me by the collar. This was back before my clothes were ripped. I remembered him yelling 'I called you an hour ago! You have work to do! Now get in the house and…'"

"'No.' I told him.

"He slapped me across the face, leaving a mark from his ring. 'Do as I say, boy.'

"I said 'I don't have to do anything you say.' I launched Leone and called out 'Lion Gale Force Wall!' It was huge! My father was blown away, literally. And I felt secure. It was as if Leone shrouded me in all of the protection I needed then and for the years before. I was amazed, but my father… He was terrified.

"Once Leone stopped and I called him back, he stood up and said…he said… He said 'You're…a monster.'" I felt like vomiting just repeating it. I raked a shaky hand through my hair, pushing it out to fix my mane.

"Do you need a break?"

I looked at him. Instead of answering, I continued. "He grabbed my wrist and said 'I know just what to do with monsters.' I was afraid, but I couldn't break free. I tried to get my launcher again, but I couldn't launch with one hand, and when I tried, I dropped it. I still had Leone with me as my father dragged me to the tool shed.

"'What are you going to do?' I was stupid to ask.

"'I'm gonna take care of you.' I was waiting forever for him to say that. I didn't care how he said it. He pulled out his hunting knife and held me still. I couldn't get out even if I tried, and believe me, I tried. I managed to wriggle out of his grasp and began to run, but he grabbed the back of my shirt and held me by the neck. If I had my launcher, I would be free.

"He held me down onto his work table. I remembered facing the bright lamp, barely able to breathe because his hand was clasping my neck and jaw. He said that I was unclean or something. I tried getting out again, but with two quick motions, he sliced into my face right under my eyes. I couldn't tell if he was trying to stab my eyes out or not. To this day, I believe he was. I began screaming and whipping my head around.

"'Hold still!' He yelled at me, slicing again. This one went straight across my face. He would've gone back in, but there was the sound of thunder and the light flickered. While he was distracted, I grabbed the first thing I could, in this case it was a hammer, and smacked him with it. He went down quickly and I ran out. I was free.

"It was hard to find my launcher because the rain started to fall hard and block my vision. But once I found it, I ran and never looked back."

"And that's when you came to the warehouse." He anticipated.

I nodded. "I ran in just to find shelter and to hide. I'm pretty sure my father wasn't chasing me, but I didn't want to take chances."

"And what about your clothes? Didn't you say they weren't ripped up before you left?"

I nodded again. "I used half of my shirt to stop the bleeding and my sleeves to clean my Beyblade. I cleaned it whenever I felt like I needed to or when I needed to calm myself down. And I was able to stay there in peace…until…The Face Hunters arrived.

"They came in, one big guy in front with the rest behind him, thrashing about and being loud. I told them to knock it off, but the big one got angry. He told me that I had a ten seconds to leave or he'll mess me up." I scoffed. "I just sat there as he counted down. By the time he got to one, he was fuming!

"'That's it, pal!' He said. 'You asked for it!'

"The others were saying a bunch of stuff about bey battling. They said I was going to get it. But the battling was more like practice. Benkei challenged several times before I got bored of beating him. I called it quits and gained dominance of the gang."

"The gang that was disbanded later?"

"Yes, exactly." I said. "So now, you're all caught up."

"I see…" He said. "And why did you want to tell me all of this?"

"Because…" I thought for a second. "I wanted you to know because…I wanted you to understand. I wanted you to understand why I am the way I am. Why I act how I act, why I do what I do. But since I've been doing all of this talking, it seems like you already understand, Gingka."

He nodded. "That's why you're so fixated on beating your strongest opponent. It's almost like beating your father all over again."

I nodded. "And I still plan on being the best!"

"Of course, I won't give up that easily!" He said. "And you'll have a new best friend in the process." We bumped knuckles and stood up.

We were heading out the door when I finally remembered to tell him something. "Oh, yeah. If you tell anyone anything without my consent, you're dead."

A/N: At first, I wrote this story not knowing who "He" was exactly. So I kept in mind the candidates to be Benkei, Nile, Gingka, and, to a lesser extent, Tithi. What do you think about it? Did you expect someone else? Would you like to see an alternate ending with another character? Leave me a review and tell me!