Chapter 2 - Illness
In need for a bit of celebration, Zyro and the others - except Takanosuke and and Sakyo - had gone over to Bull Bull Burger where Benkei was happily obliging to celebrate with them.
Maru had happily come along with them, bringing her laptop along with her as she still wished to gather even more information on Samurai Ifraid granted with the amount that she already had from Zyro, but she was a proud Data Collector and a limit to knowledge wasn't going to stop her.
"Who do you thinks gonna be the next to battle?" Ren asked to them all, though she looked over at Shinobu so that it didn't seem that she was talking to no one.
"I think I heard the Director say that it might be you against Genjuro!" Maru stated cutely, "But then again, I'm probably wrong. I'll have to ask Chief about it." Ren took a sip of her soda before setting it down.
"Well if I have to face Genjuro again, then I'll sure as hell beat him." The blond said with a solid statement in her voice.
"And we'll be cheering you on from the sidelines!" Zyro said with a dorky smile that Ren took one glance at, and immediately looked away from, pulling the collar of her jacket up more to hide the light pink tinge that covered her cheeks.
"Well, I can't wait!" Said Benkei, "And when ya win, the meal will be on me!" Maru sweat-dropped at Benkei, her lavender eyes giving him a weird look. "No offense, Manager.." She began, "But I do doubt that you would actually do that, considering the business you get."
"I have to agree with the kid on this one." Kite said as he sipped his soda, while Benkei had anime tears streaming down his face simply because he knew they were right.
"Well if not, then I hope I didn't arrive to the party late." The familiar voice drew everyone's attention towards the door, where there stood a familiar redhead with a headband that kept his bangs up and out of his face, and a scarf with shredded ends that had been engraved there by time.
"Gingka!" Zyro exclaimed out of happiness, a smile gracing his face. The redhead simply smiled back.
"Did you see my battle earlier today?" Zyro asked eagerly.
"Who wouldn't of seen it, Zyro?" Gingka asked with a smile as he went to sit beside him at the counter.
"Well, you weren't with Chief, the Director, and Manager earlier.." Maru pointed out.
"Yeah, where were ya?" Benkei asked, curious as well.
"I lost track of time.." Gingka explained with an apologetic look, "But I'm pretty sure that they show it all across Metal Bey City, so you can be sure I didn't miss it." Zyro gave the redhead an appreciated smile, before taking another gulp of his soda down.
"Well, I can only guess what you want, Gingka." Benkei said with a grin as he looked at his old friend. And to his great surprise, the Pegasus Blader simply shook his head. "Nah, I'm not hungry.." The redhead spoke.
For many moments did Benkei stare at his old friend, earning weird looks from the younger bladers at the counter.
"Well, I never thought I'd live to hear that one, B-bull!" Gingka simply sweat-dropped. Yes, Benkei was exactly the way he remembered him to be, only now he wasn't following Kyoya around frequently. "Well, I'm glad you saw it, Gingka!" Zyro said happily at the redhead beside him, who simply smiled back.
"How would I miss it?" The Pegasus Blader questioned playfully, "They only show it everywhere."
"He does have a point.." Eight pointed out thoughtfully, nomming down on one of his french fries. "Well, Metal Bey City is especially dedicated to it after all." Maru said with pride in her voice, "Granted the rest of the world is as well, Metal Bey City is the center of the Beyblade era!" Gingka smiled down at the pinkette on the other side of Zyro.
"And I'm not surprised it hasn't changed in the 5 years I've been gone.." Said the redhead. "Speaking of which, Gingka.." Benkei said as he looked at the Pegasus Blader, "Where did ya go for the past 5 years, b-bull?"
"You know," The redhead started off with a shrug, "I trained, went to Europe, saw the Eiffel Tower - always wanted to see it -, found some strong Bladers to train with, went to Africa to see the pyramids.. Did a lot more training, snapped a few necks in Saudi Arabia-" Shinobu nearly choked on his soda when the redhead said that, who faltered to think for a moment.
"You did what?.." Ren asked in utter shock and confusion as they all stared at the redhead who looked like he was on the verge of rolling on the floor laughing.
"I'm kidding.." He said with laughter in his voice, which was followed by an awkward silence before chuckles turned into giggles, which turned into everyone at the counter struggling to stay on their chairs.
Gingka was probably the one who looked the most ridiculous, putting a hand over his mouth as he suppressed laughter. At least, they knew it to merely be laughter.. "The less they suspect.. The better.." It was a good thing they were laughing now..
Soon, they wouldn't have anything to be laughing about...
Laughing
Eyes of red stared at the screen, that sickening yet oh so delightful sound filling his ears delicately.
The expression he made was half a smirk and half a sneer, his gaze focused mainly on one individual who's behavior - though his friends failed to notice - was a bit off. Of course, this is exactly what he had been hoping for, and he took the sickest of joys from seeing the pain and suffering of him.. Of course, that was a given despite the faint ache in his blackened heart...
It was a slow process, and above all it was painful; yes it would be take awhile for him to fall, but he had patience.
Laughing
That sound.
That was the sound he would he longer make, that would soon distort and be choked away by pain and agony that he may or may not be able to handle. Honestly, he didn't care.
Laughing
It was the sound of happiness that would soon be cut off, distancing him from his friends both emotionally and psychically, creating a side to him that had never existed before. But it was side that was soon to be created, and was already now in the making; or perhaps it was something that had indeed always been there.
Laughing
How it sickened him. But it amused him so, watching that smiling face that would soon be wiped from existence, and then victory would be all his.
Laughing
Yes, it would take awhile, and it would be a slow and painful process before he finally fell, before he could finally get what he wanted. Yet it would a process that he would sickeningly enjoy with every fiber of his being, and perhaps hate in a part that he himself hated.
It would not be quick, it would take time for it to finally work, for him to fall to its abilities and be out of the way, but that didn't matter; he had all the time in the world...
"You actually stayed with monks?" Kite asked out of astonishment at the Legendary Blader. "Yeah," Gingka said with a smile, "I guess those years when my dad taught me how to speak Greek actually did pay off for something."
"What did they train you in?" Ren asked from curiosity, fully indulged in their conversation. "Well, I don't entirely know myself.." Gingka said with a dorky expression, "Really, all they did was meditate and worship the Greek gods.. And believe me, meditating takes a lot of practice to actually do."
Eight's green eyes shone with admiration wards the older blader. "Is it true that monks actually mendibated-"
"Meditated.." Kite corrected. "-Uh, right that! Is it true they used to do it with dragons?" Gingka smiled in a dorky way at the young bluenette, and scratched his cheek slightly.
"Now that's a question I'd want the answer to too.." The redhead admitted, "If I ever see them again, I'll definitely have to ask them.. Only they aren't really ones for talking.. And not to offend them or anything, but they might as well be old enough to be dragons themselves."
Once more did the entire counter break out in laughs, Benkei laughing along with them behind the counter in glee.
Gingka laughed as well, only for it to abruptly halting as a fit of coughing overcame him, putting a hand to his mouth as he coughed violently into it; needless to say it stopped the laughter.
"Are you okay, Gingka?" Zyro asked in concern. The redhead was unable to answer as he coughed violently, his eyes clenched shut and his other hand gripping the counter as his coughs wracked his body.
Slowly did his fit die down, a few surfacing one last time before it finally ended. The redhead opened his golden-brown eyes, which had tears that were barely visible from coughing so hard; undoubtedly it had hurt.
"Are you okay, Gingka?" Zyro asked once again once the Legendary's Bladers coughing had died down, concerning lacing his voice.
It took a moment for the Pegasus Blader to answer, but after a grunt or two, he finally responded.
"Y-yeah.." He said, his voice strained slightly from the intensity of his coughing, "I-I'm okay... I've just had.. A sore throat lately, its n-nothing."
Zyro still looked at him in concern as the older blader stood up from his seat, clearing his throat a few times before looking at Benkei with an apologetic light in his eyes.
"I'm gonna go rest up for a bit.." He said before turning away and heading for the door.
"Uh, okay.." Benkei said awkwardly, all eyes set on the Pegasus Blader as he walked out the door and disappeared from their sight.
Even with the redhead's reassuring words that he just had a sore throat, there was something that just made them worry perhaps a bit more than they should have.
"Well, I hope he doesn't get sick, again.." Benkei said while he crossed his arms, "The last time I saw him sick he acted like he didn't want to get better, b-bull!" Maru looked back in curiosity, her lavender eyes wide with wonder.
"Well, hopefully he does, Manager." She said, "After all, he is the Gingka Hagane." Zyro looked down at the pinkette for a moment before once more drinking from his soda, his eyes looking down absently in thought.
He knew he should've asked the redhead what he had meant earlier, but he felt that the matter should be discussed more privately.
The ginger-ravenette didn't know a lot about Gingka, not personally anyway, but he felt that he may indeed not want anyone else around when discussing it. Hopefully he would get to ask the redhead sooner rather than later...
Both Madoka and Maru had returned to the B-Pit after awhile, where several kids had been waiting eagerly for them to fix their Beys. Maru was of course happy to oblige to their wishes and had gotten to it right away.
Madoka, meanwhile, was organizing things from behind the counter, sitting on her knees as she fixed things up in the cupboard.
She was still wondering where Gingka may be, as she was concerned why he hadn't shown up to watch Zyro's battle against Yoshio; she knew Gingka just as well as anyone, and she knew he never missed a good Bey Battle if he could help it.
The ringing of the bell at the door drew her attention, causing the brunette to draw the flat of her head up into the corner and causing a stinging pain. "Just a moment!" She insisted, rubbing her head and standing up from behind the counter.
"How can I-" Her sentence stopped almost immediately, her mouth left open stupidly as she gazed at the redhead at the door.
"Oh, Gingka." She said softly, a smile then crossing her face and forgetting entirely about the pain in her head.
"Hey, Madoka.." Gingka greeted in return with one of his winning smiles at the mechanic.
"What are you doing here?" Madoka asked out of curiosity in her blue eyes. The redhead just shrugged. "I'm just not feeling too well.." He said reassuringly, "Don't worry about it." Madoka crossed her arms.
"Well, you better not get me to take care of you again, mister." She said with furrowed brows, "Because that's definitely not something I wanna go through again.." The redhead smiled slightly and sweat-dropped, putting his hands in front of him.
"No, no, I'm just not feeling to well, that's all.." Gingka said in a dorky tone that made Madoka smile at him, "I was just coming to rest for a bit, if that's fine with you."
"Yeah, go ahead." She said, rubbing the back of her head; it wasn't from embarrassment, but just the pain that resurfaced on it.
"Thanks.." Gingka said gratefully, "And make sure to put some ice on that, okay?" Madoka looked at him in wonder before he headed up the stairs and away from her sight. Before she knew it, her cheeks felt warm and a light blush was placed on her face; Gingka really did never change. Hopefully he would feel better soon enough for the next upcoming battle.
Maybe she should've asked him why he hadn't been there, but she could do that later; she wouldn't want to disturb him while he was resting...
Maru hadn't noticed Gingka come up the stairs as she worked on the Beys in front of her, her goggles over her eyes as she looked carefully upon a Bey called Stone Leviathan.
Gingka stopped at the top of the stairs, watching the pinkette as she worked intently on fixing the Beys at hand; she really reminded him of Madoka when she fixed their friend's beys all the time.
It was undeniable that she would probably fix Zyro's Bey, as well as the others', just like Madoka used to do for him and their friends.
"Looks like you've got your hands full.." The redhead said softly, causing the pinkette to jump lightly in her seat and turn around.
"Oh!" Maru exclaimed which was followed by a smile, "Hello, Mister Gingka!" Gingka gave Maru one of his warming smiles, which the pinkette gladly smiled back too.
"Please, its just Gingka." He insisted.
"What are you doing here?" The Data Collector asked out of curiosity. "I just came to get some rest, that's all." The redhead answered.
"Oh right!" Maru exclaimed with a smile, turning her chair to face him, "I forgot you weren't feeling well. Chief once told me she had to take care of you when you sick once. She also said she would never wanna do that again."
"Well, I don't blame her!" Gingka exclaimed softly with a laugh, "I was a pain back then... Now there's something I never thought I'd admit."
This earned a small giggle from the pinkette. An idea then came to her mind, her lavender eyes lighting up.
"Hey Gingka, do you know anything about Bey Mechanics?" Maru asked in interest, "Chief said you always stuck around when she was fixing Beys back then."
Gingka gave the girl a dorky smile and scratched his head with a light blush of embarrassment. "Well, I wish I could say that I did.." He began, "But I would always end up passed out on the couch whenever I tried to pay attention."
Another giggle come from Maru.
"Well, I wouldn't blame you!" She exclaimed happily, "Every time I try to explain it to Zyro, he always seems like he's about to fall asleep where he's standing."
It was Gingka's turn to chuckle softly, preventing himself from laughing so that he didn't break out in another painful fit of coughing.
"I guess he's kind of like me, in that way..." The redhead reflected, a thoughtful look on his face.
"Well, I don't know much about you.." Maru began, "But I don't doubt that you and Zyro could be really good friends if you plan on staying in the city." Gingka's thoughtful look disappeared was replaced with a grave one, unintentionally worrying the young girl that she had said something wrong.
"Um, Gingka?.." She asked nervously, hoping that she hadn't upset him with anything that had come out of her mouth, "Are you okay?.. It wasn't something I said, was it?"
Realizing he had worried the girl, Gingka gave Maru a gentle smile with soft eyes. "Sorry.." He apologized, "I-it wasn't anything you said, don't worry." Gingka was relieved when he saw Maru's shoulders relax.
"I'm gonna go get some rest, if that's fine with you." He said kindly.
"Oh!" Maru realized, "Sorry, I didn't mean to keep away from sleeping. I'll see you later, then." With a nod from the redhead, Maru watched from the corner of her eye as he walked away and up the stairs to the living quarters of the B-Pit.
Faintly did she hear him cough once more, a feeling of uneasiness at that sound emerging in the pit of her stomach when she remembered what happened earlier. Maru never did know Gingka the way Madoka, Benkei, and Tsubasa had all those years ago, but even she had to feel worry about the Legendary Blader. Hopefully he'd be better by the next battle, which they all knew was coming up soon. Hopefully that cough died down as well.
Though - unlike her - Gingka knew better than that.
Even as he walked towards his room, clearing his throat every few seconds as if he had a cold. His throat felt unnaturally dry, stinging every time he swallowed; he knew better than the naive little minds of the younger Bladers, only Zyro's mind would soon not be as naive as it currently was.
The redhead leaned against the door once he closed it, coughing into his hand almost as violently as he had done before.
"I shouldn't..." He began to himself as his coughing died down once more, "Have been so.. Careless... I can't, let them..."
Another hard cough wracked his body, stopping his silent conversation with himself. As much as he wanted help, Gingka knew that he could tell no one about what was happening and what had happened.
It was too risky, and he knew that perfectly well; he had to keep it a secret as long as he could, hide it well enough so that suspicions wouldn't rise to high - but that wasn't one of his strengths..
Even as he gazed upon his palm and witnessed the smallest drops of scarlet that made him want to run to the bathroom and vomit into the toilet, Gingka couldn't tell anyone; but maybe one day, when he had long since left them to other waters, they might be able to forgive him for his lies...
"Everything is in preparation, Director." Said a female worker of the WBBA from the screen that Tsubasa faced, "Everything will be ready by mid-afternoon tomorrow."
"Thanks Hikaru." Tsubasa said in gratitude toward the female bluenette, "I'll get back to you if I need anything else."
Hikaru only nodded and disappeared from the screen, leaving Tsubasa in silent solitude once more for the time being. Hikaru had been one of the few of their friends that had remained in Metal Bey City, excluding Madoka, Benkei, and himself.
Kenta had been around for awhile before they parted ways as well, the same went for Yu - who had still been his ice-cream loving self when he left Metal Bey.
He had seen Kyoya's signal somewhere in Northern Africa, and Masamune had left back for America years ago, even before Gingka had ever departed overseas.
Needless to say, Tsubasa's bonds with Benkei, Hikaru, and Madoka had grown even from what they had been. They had had some great times in their era of Beyblade, and hopefully those years would continue on peacefully and full of life.
"Tsubasa!" A voice from behind him spoke, causing Tsubasa to turn around swiftly from surprise; if his hair had still been long as it was years ago it would have swished around him gracefully - he was never embarrassed by the the fact that it used to.
Upon the screen did he see Madoka, a smile on her face and light in her turquoise eyes. "Sorry for startling you." Madoka apologized with a smile, "How's everything coming along?"
"I just finished talking with Hikaru." The silverette explained, "She said everything will be ready by mid-noon tomorrow." Madoka sighed in relief.
"That's good.." She claimed, "I still always wonder how they fix the stadium so fast, but I guess they've been doing it for years."
Tsubasa simply nodded in thought, a hand on his chin for a moment before he remembered. "Oh yeah," He muttered and his golden-brown eyes went back to the brunette. "Have you seen Gingka at all?"
A smile once more crossed Madoka's face.
"Oh, yeah!" She exclaimed in happiness, "Maru said he showed up at Benkei's earlier. Then he left and came here. He said he wasn't feeling so well, so I let him go upstairs to rest." This time it was Tsubasa's turn to sigh in relief.
"That's good.. I don't doubt he caught Zyro's battle, huh?" "You know him, Tsubasa.." Madoka sweat-dropped, "He would never miss a Bey Battle even his life depended on it. And besides, it is shown everyone around the city, so I don't really think anyone would've missed it." Tsubasa produced a warm smile.
"Yeah, its been like that for decades, as well as I know..." He reflected.
"Also, Tsubasa." Said Madoka, "You do the Bladers of a upcoming duel, right?" "Of course." Tsubasa answered, "It'll be Xiao and Kite, and after their battle will be Genjuro against Rin. I don't doubt that they'll all put up a good fight."
Madoka smiled with a small chuckle. "That's for sure!" She exclaimed happily, "Especially after their last battles.. It'll definitely be one worth watching. Hopefully Gingka's better by tomorrow... You know how he gets when he gets sick."
Tsubasa chuckled from the memory, well remembering Gingka's complaining about having to take medicine at all, and whining that he couldn't go out and have Bey Battles with any of his friends.
But he was just a child back then around the ages of 12-13, all of them were; that had been long before their battle with Nemesis all those years ago. "Well, hopefully it isn't too severe." Tsubasa said, opening his golden-brown eyes once more to look at the brunette on the screen.
"Lord knows it would kill him to stay indoors when he could be watching the battle in person." Madoka laughed from her heart, a smile that evidently screamed happiness on her face.
"Well.." She said as she collected herself once more, "I'll see you later. I have some kids who are coming by for their Beys soon."
"Alright." With that, Madoka's face left the screen, once more leaving it blank to Tsubasa's eyes. With a heavy sigh did the silverette turn around in his chair and look at the papers in front of him, while he had already finished most of them he kept trying to settle his tired mind over all of them.
He would never say that being the President of the WBBA was an easy job, but there was no gain without pain, so he endured it through the day; he still wondered where exactly Ryo had gone after Tsubasa took over his position, though maybe he had gone back to Koma Village with Hyoma, if he was still there. But the best thing to focus on at the moment was his work and making sure that everything for the next battle would be ready.
And hopefully Gingka would get better in time for it...
Zyro walked with his friends down the sidewalk through Metal Bey City, talking cheerfully as they wandered down the street.
"I can't wait for the battle tomorrow!" Zyro exclaimed cheerfully, "I wonder who its gonna be, though.." Ren smiled wryly for some reason.
"Well, I kind of eavesdropped a bit-" Ren received dumbfounded looks from her friends, "-but I think Kite's going against someone.. I don't think I got who though."
"Well, big bro can beat anyone he comes across!" Eight said proudly from beside his older brother, "He'll beat whoever it is, I know it!" With a warming smile did Kite glance down at his brother, his glasses flashing in the sun and pushing them up on his long nose to make sure they didn't do so - not that he ever really complained about it.
"Well, whoever we're gonna face, we're gonna give it our all!" Zyro said optimistically, pumping his fist in the air. Shinobu shook his head at Zyro's naivety, sometimes forgetting how innocent the ginger-ravenette actually was.
"Hey, maybe we should go to the Bey Park!" Ren suggested in delight, "That way, we can be ready for tomorrow!"
"Yeah, let's go!" Eight agreed happily, and if Eight wanted to go than Kite would always oblige to go with him.
"Yeah, I'm totally up for some Bey Battling!" Zyro exclaimed in excitement, earning the lightest of pink hues upon Ren's face, pulling her collar up a bit both in an attempt to hide it and to occupy herself so that she didn't have to continue looking at Zyro's adorableness that she loved so much.
"Come on, big bro!" Eight said in excitement, grabbing Kite's hand and pulling him along down the sidewalk; the brunette didn't struggle, and all he said was, "Okay, okay!"
Only out of surprise did Shinobu and Ren run after them.
"Hey, wait up!" Shinobu yelled after them, hurrying after the Unabara brothers. Zyro began to hurry after them as well, before the frantic flashing of the large television attached to the blimp that flew above the city caught his blue eyes for some unknown reason.
But whatever it was, it hypnotized the Fire Blader to stop in his tracks from chasing after his friends, his eyes wandering up in a trance towards the screen that flew above Metal Bey. The screen turned white, a faint static lining the outside of it as if it had malfunctioned for some unknown reason.
Black, bold words then made their way across the screen, blue eyes widening without recognition as every fiber in his body seemed to die at that moment and leave him cold and alone in a freezing tundra of nothingness.
"What?... No.." Zyro's thoughts formed like mist in a bog, dark and silent like the shadows in the night.
No, that couldn't be for him.
No.
He could see the darkness.
No.
It was coming for him. Run, dammit!
No.
His vision blurring sharply, yet those words painted clear in front of his eyes.
He hated the dark, and it was broad daylight.
It couldn't be possible, it wasn't!
No.
Why did he have to be claustrophobic?.. A weakness he hated, it couldn't be like this!
Stop it.
Stop it...
..No...
"Hey, Zyro!" Everything came back to reality, the darkness fading as quickly as it had come, the screens returning to normal with their meaningless advertisements that were meant to annoy. What had happened.
"Zyro?" A silent gasped escaped his mouth, his eyes immediately heading towards whoever had spoken to him. There he saw the blond he knew too well, a concerned look in her brown eyes; the Unabara brothers and Shinobu waiting a little ways behind her, all of them having their eyes upon the Fire Blader.
"Are you coming?" Ren asked in curiosity, looking at Zyro intently.
"Oh, yeah!" Zyro said cheerfully, shaking the feeling off like a stray hair, "Sorry, I dozed off for a minute.." Ren simply smiled before pulling the ginger-ravenette along, hurrying to their friends to head towards the Bey Park.
As much as he tried to deny it, Zyro couldn't shake off that feeling that he had gotten when he had seen those words.
But like the world that had previously surrounded him, they couldn't of been real. But they echoed in his mind and stayed plastered in front of his eyes like tape.
They had chilled him to the core unlike anything else ever had, and even though he didn't entirely believe they had been meant for him, he was unable to rip apart that feeling that someone was near.
With eyes that were everywhere.
Why did it have to make him feel so closed in.
Don't give into weakness..
Don't fall to your knees in defeat..
You're not weak, you're strong..
Aren't you?..
And even at that moment, golden-brown eyes simultaneously looked up to the sky in horror, a feeling pooling in the pit of his stomach that made him beyond uncomfortable.
He already knew. No one was safe..
He had to depend on him..
Don't give in...
But those words made him want to..
I'M WATCHING YOU...
Just a quick note here at the end of this chapter: Zyro's claustrophobia (and slight fear of the dark) is my own headcanon that I decided to put in here. I can't remember ever seeing anything that would prove it wrong in the anime, so I'm just going with it. It will have a bit of significance later on as well.
Thanks! X3