The sky slowly turns dark, as a certain red-head looked up into the sky. She was haunted by her past. "Cyber Driger." She whispered as the chilly wind blew, causing her to shiver a bit. She reached her destination in no time; the park with the telescope in which you need to put some coins to make it work. Salima sat on the swing nearby and reminisced what happened a few weeks ago.
*Flashback*
"Go Cyber Driger!" Salima shouted as her Beyblade kept on attacking Ray's.
She was really obsessed by the mechanical bit-beast's power. With that perfect speed, perfect attack, everything seems to be okay, no; It was PERFECT. She was now brainwashed by this so-called "perfection" and was no longer blading for fun.
"Hey Salima, get back to your senses! I thought.. I thought you want this to be a fair fight? I thought.. you and Kane were against these mechanical abominations?! Why Salima? Why?!" Ray countered, as he tries to maintain his "composure" and his control over his Driger.
"With this power, why do I need to follow the damn rules?! I ask you Ray, answer me! Or are you just envious of my new power?" She replied and laughed afterwards.
"This.. this is not the Salima that I know!"
"Oh yeah? Face the reality Ray, you don't even stand a chance against us! So surrender your bitbeast, right away! Go Cyber Driger!"
"Augh.. That's it! Driger, attaaaaaaaaaaackkk!"
The two Beyblades clashed with full strength, showing no mercy against each other. Salima called upon her cyber bitbeast. Ray also called his and the two tigers attacked each other relentlessly. Cyber Driger felt the redhead's thirst for power, causing it to "evolve" and have an edge against its original counterpart. Despite being overpowered by his foe, Ray and Driger fought till the very end and they managed to pull out a miraculous victory over Salima and her mechanical beast.
"Hey, Salima. Are you alright?" Ray curiously approached the scarlet-haired lass, offering her a hand but Salima ignored it and walked away from the BladeBreakers with a walk of shame.
* End of Flashback *
The redhead sighed, she can't get over it. The way she acted, she broke her promise with Ray. Salima took her Beyblade and stared at it for a moment. She felt anger and guilt for letting it take control over her. She and Kane were against these mechanical beasts but after giving the blade a try, she felt insurmountable power coursing through her veins. She wished for MORE. She was doing anything to know what this "perfect" Beyblade's capabilities and in her vision, its power is limitless. Salima was drawn by her lust for power, forgetting everything that she knew about the game. What matters to her now is to win with her new newfound strength.
Just as she looked up, the redhead saw a familiar teen standing near the binoculars, leaning his arms on the railing. Salima got intrigued and tried remembering his name.
"Ren, Trent, Mark.. No. It almost sounded like Kane.." She whispered.
"Kai." She finally remembered. The scarlet-haired girl approached the two-toned lad and sparked a conversation with him. "Hello Kai." She started with her usual smile, hiding her doubts and regrets for what happened a few weeks ago.
"Hn." Was his only response. 'What?! Isn't he getting bored with his monosyllabic response?! I mean, everytime people had a chance to him, it was his automatic reply. Jeez, he's cute but he got that stupid habit with him.' Salima thought before letting a defeated sigh. "Well then, I guess you want to be alone, huh?" She uttered, before taking her walk. After a few steps, Salima finally heard the guy called her name.
"What do you want to talk about, Salima?" He called her. That voice, with such tone of authority and coolness drew the redhead back to him.
"I just wanna know how are you guys we're doing." She looked at the Russian lad and gave him a smile.
"Meh, we're just fine. Tyson and Hilary's still bickering about things and stuff like this and like that. Maxie's just the same and Ray's doing fine." He replied, it was Salima's first time to hear the slate-haired teen to speak that took him a minute. She smiled of the thought. "And how are things going with you, if I may ask?"
She was stunned for seconds, thinking of her next move. 'Should I tell him about it? He might call me pathetic if I do." But the redhead just found herself sharing her thoughts with Kai.
"It's about what happened to the Battle Tower a few weeks ago."
"Hn? What about that?"
"It feels uncomfortable. I still remember what happened back there, clear as crystal." Salima shared, and told Kai of what's troubling her mind.
"Oh, that makes sense. So now you're telling me that you can't get over with your thirst for power and feel guilty about it, right?" He asked in a semi-sarcastic tone. He doesn't want to offend her; it's just his usual tone.
"Yes." She nodded in response.
"It's pathe~" He almost stated but when Kai noticed the hint of sadness in Salima's eyes, Kai also felt it; the same guilt that he had after using Black Dranzer and crushed his "friend's" beyblades to achieve this oh-so "perfection" that he was wishing for a long time. "No. It's just normal for us Beybladers to feel the same way, especially when we're faced in tough challenges. We tend to make mistakes, always bear that in mind."
Salima can't take it anymore; she can't control her guilt and let her tears fall to her cheeks. "I.. It's not that easy Kai. F-for me, it's r-really hard to accept w-what happened.. I s-still f-feel guilty about i-it." After that, she looked Kai, who was staring at her, and launched herself towards the two-toned Russian.
He was surprised at first, but he hugged her in response. Salima looked at him, waiting for his response. "I.. I felt the same way before. I even betrayed my friends just to achieve this so-called "perfection". It was good at first, but then I realized that it was all wrong. I'm lucky that Tyson and the gang we're there to save me from my own foolishness." Kai replied, before releasing Salima from his embrace.
"T-thank you Kai, thank you for making me feel better. I never thought that you too have a soft side as well." Salima exclaimed while wiping her tears. She then kissed the Russian's left cheek. "Thank you." She said, with a smile on her lips and a blush on her cheeks.
"Hn." Was his only response, he looked at the vast sea below them to hide the tint of rose on his face. Salima let out a small laugh and looked at the sea as well. A light drizzle fell as the sky can't hold on any longer. The two walked silently, until Kai broke the silence. "Wanna come with me? Tyson and the others would be really happy to see you Salima."
"Yeah, sure." She said, and let out a small smile as they walked together.