DISCLAIMER:

I don't own Metal Fight Beyblade in any way whatsoever.

I'm posting Chapter 2 and 3 because they're the starter ones, and I already wrote them.

Kyoya's already-sore arms struggled to keep his end of the heavy crate aloft. Sweat made his jade-green bangs stick to his face, blocking part of his vision. Even with Benkei Hanawa's help, each has had their own share of exhausting battle training earlier in the day, which made Kyoya's job of carrying cargo around the harbor more difficult than it already was without school and—ugh—books.

The two teenagers shuffled towards the docks in an unsteady pace.

Kyoya signaled for Benkei to stop, then grunted and shifted his sweating hands on the underside of the crate for a better grip. At Benkei's questioning glance, he nodded. The pair moved on—gradually getting closer to the about-to-depart ship, which was still several yards away.

Benkei was one of Kyoya's close companions—few of which he had. The two of them have been working together at the harbor for three years, graduating from janitors, to errand boys, and eventually to people who carry heavy stuff around—Kyoya didn't know what that was called.

They understood each other quite well, although Benkei usually did most of the talking. Of course, they helped each other out in dire situations and often provided when the other was in need of something, so debts were always repaid—no matter how much Benkei insisted that Kyoya never had any debts to pay because they were friends, Kyoya still thought of help as such.

He would rather step on hot coals than admit it, but Benkei was his friend—if all the things he did counted as deeds that a friend would commit.

Kyoya caught a bright glimmer of something just ahead of them, and an all-too-familiar stench invaded his sense of smell. He still couldn't put a finger on what the object was, since he was too busy trying not to drop the box. He shook his head, green hair moving aside to improve his vision.

He could barely register the oncoming hazard, since he was quite busy focusing on the burning pain in his arms and his need to drop the damned crate to rest.

"Benkei," Kyoya said. "There's—"

A loud yelp interrupted his sentence, and the next thing he knew, his companion disappeared into an awful-smelling mound of an assortment of fish.

Benkei's end of the crate crashed to the ground.

Kyoya's fingers slipped.

Kyoya scrambled to regain his grasp on the splintery wood.

The edge of the box landed squarely on Kyoya's bare feet, and he let out a howl of pain.

To make things worse, there was a sound like breaking glass from inside the crate. Kyoya winced and hoped that their boss would just blame the merchants.

Benkei's head resurfaced from beneath the sea creatures—the forked tail of a pink fish sticking out of his mouth, still jerking its spine frantically as it tried to escape. He spit the fish out and it flopped around helplessly on the stone ground. It was an amusing surprise that it was still alive.

"You could've warned me sooner, Kyoya!" Benkei huffed. "Now I stink like... fish. I STINK LIKE FISH!"

The older teenager sat down on the ground with a grimace, rubbing his throbbing feet. "Why don't you try doing a hundred push-ups in front of the whole class? Then we'll see."

Kyoya picked up the fish by the tail and tossed it back into the pile carelessly, flashing a worried glance at the crate that most likely contained expensive, delicate items—which they broke.

"That's because I didn't splash Gingka!" Benkei said in a matter-of-fact voice.

"He started it," Kyoya grumbled, tucking his brown cloak behind him as he stood up and put his fingers on the edge of the crate. The sun was already setting—seemingly drowning in the watery horizon and painting the sky pink, orange, and purple. "C'mon—let's get this on board before Doji throws a fit."

And indeed, Doji did throw a rather scary fit. Apparently, falling into a pile of fresh fish and dropping a box of expensive porcelain vases—breaking several of them, mind you—was not part of their job description. Kyoya didn't know what the big deal was—it wasn't like it was the first time he and Benkei messed up. And he didn't hesitate telling Doji that.

But they were fired, anyways.

Because in addition for damaging the cargo, keeping secrets about messing up on the job was also a big no-no.

So much for blaming the merchants.

Then Doji screamed at them to get out of his office before he called the authorities on them—which was a kind act on his part. They had no choice but to—and quote Doji—"SCRAM!"

Kyoya really wanted to get his last paycheck, but now they owed the company over ten-thousand copper pieces, and their salary barely covered that. Doji was nice enough to pay for the damage himself.

As they were walking back to the dormitories, Benkei whined nonstop about how he couldn't buy the extra food he always purchased from his favorite shop, and other stuff he would "never be able to live without."

Mostly about his food, though.

Personally, Kyoya thought that Benkei should have saved up his money instead of wasting it on food, when the school already provided them with their basic needs... for free.

But he wasn't about to mention that he had a few hundred copper pieces in a box under his bed—no need for Benkei to snuff it out and spend the money on stuffing his mouth.

"Kyoya," Benkei said, interrupting the other's train of thought. "Dolor."

Dolor was Ensis' black market located inside a large, abandoned building—a place for illegal trade. The people there either sold items against the law, and set up shops that didn't have permission to be set up. The authorities usually ignored the place because they were told that it was occupied. It was under the protection of some of the higher-class people of Ensis, who often bought goods from Dolor, since most of the items sold there were unavailable at other stores.

The two friends had gotten used to going through the trading center on their way home from work—from when Kyoya was nine and Benkei was eight. Gone was their fear of it. They had proven that they weren't afraid, that they could fight if they had to. Through this, they gained friends. Not the nicest friends, but friends, all the same.

In a way, the black market was like a second home. They practically grew up in it.

Kyoya and Benkei arrived at the Sodo food stand. The twins—Dan and Reiki Sodo—barely glanced at them. They usually had mischievous smirks on their faces, but that day was different. They looked upset. It was then that Kyoya noticed that their mother—the owner of the shop—and her boyfriend Yondin wasn't at the counter where they usually were.

"Where's your mom and Yondin?" Benkei asked, sitting on the bench that lined the front of the stand. Kyoya sat down as well, and noticed that the candle that usually illuminated the shop wasn't lit.

Reiki was the first to look up. "The police caught them."

Dan spoke up next. "We told them not to go—"

"—but they tried to steal some money from Horiku, anyway," Reiki finished.

"What do you think happened to them?" Kyoya blurted out.

Dan and Reiki exchanged worried glances. "Yondin was hanged this afternoon," Dan said. "His body's still dangling from the gallows."

"He told everyone who was watching that he was the one who made her go," Reiki added. "Even though it was our mother's idea."

Yondin was a fairly decent guy. He was born a noble from a long line of snobby rich people who led snobby rich lives as business owners. But he loved Mrs. Sodo—despite her being a peasant from a black market—and love made people horribly stupid.

Although Yondin's lie was a courageous act, Kyoya couldn't say that he felt like mourning for him.

What do you guys think?