Kenta
The hazy morning was what I remembered most because of the beautiful sunrise. Except it wasn't morning, it was probably the evening. The sun was right in my face and it was seven o'clock. It could've been either. Anyway, that was the time I set off on my journey.
I sat at the train station with a huge bottle of – let's call it "apple juice" – and waited. I didn't know why I need it then, but I eventually came to the realization that it was the only thing that kept me sane.
I felt hopeless in this world. Beyblading use to be fun, but now…
"Give me your ticket!" One guy yelled behind me. He had his launcher out and was ready to battle a woman.
She flipped her hair behind her and said "Not a chance in Hell!" She got out her launcher and prepared to defend.
On the other side, a cop was about to come break it up, but I did instead. With another swig of my "juice" I threw the bottle away and stood in between them, making a triangular formation. "Hey, leave her alone!" I said with a raspy voice.
"Stay out of this." The guy said.
"Battle me instead." I took out my launcher and got ready. "Three…two…"
"One…! Let it rip!"
All I remembered was clashing head on. I woke up in a jail cell that next day…or night. My head was pounding and I had the constant urge to vomit. Apparently I did because it was all over me.
"Kenta Yumiya." One man said.
"Yes, officer?" I stumbled onto my feet.
He took a step back. "Man, you reek! Let's get you cleaned up before we let you go."
"Thank you…"
Eventually, I tried the train again. There were so many people sitting cautiously, staying close to their loved ones. I sank into my seat. Never had I needed a drink so badly that I started fidgeting in my seat. My foot tapped and I could feel everything slowing down. The six hour train ride took a week. At the next stop, I immediately got off and headed straight to the bar.
I sat down at the nearest stool. The bartender came to me with a big smile and asked "are you a blader?"
I nodded. "How can you tell?"
He looked down at my pants. "Either that's a launcher or you're very happy to see me."
My launcher was actually sticking weirdly out of my pants. I still don't know how that got there. "Yeah…" I pulled it out and attempted to hide it better.
"Follow me." He stepped from behind the counter and escorted me to a wall. It had a few pictures on it of very happy drunk men and half naked women. He knocked on it twice, paused, knocked three times, paused, and knocked once more. A slip under the women picture opened and a pair of eyes looked out at us. "We have a blader here."
Suddenly, the wall opened up and a guy stepped aside. "Come on in." He said. I looked at the bartender who shoved me in.
There was a crowd of people inside all huddled around something. The area had dim lighting and bar stools everywhere. I could swear I heard the sounds of a bey battle, but I couldn't make it out because it was drowned out by the hooting and hollering from the drunks.
"Guys! Check this out!" The guy called. "We have Kenta! A Legendary Blader!"
Everyone stopped. "Kenta!" They cheered, clinking their drinks and pumping their fists.
Another bartender came up to me. "Kenta, what would you have? It's on the house!"
I smiled. "In that case, I'll have the most expensive thing you got!" I joked. "But seriously, I'll just have whatever you recommend."
"Kenta, battle me!" One blader said.
"No, me!"
"Battle me first!"
"I call next!"
And in that instant, I was a celebrity. There wasn't Gingka's shadow; I wasn't Ryuga's. I was just celebrated for being me. "Let's go!" I gulped down my drink and slammed it on the table. Everyone shouted and got out their launchers.
"Let it rip!" We shouted. The Beyblades clashed head on and span violently.
"Go, Sagittario!" I called. Everyone urged me to use my special move, but I didn't pay attention at first. I didn't need to either. After one good hit, I was victorious. "Another round!"
"Yeah!"
Several battles later, I was drunkity drunk drunk. "One more round!" I remembered saying.
"Kenta, I think you had enough." The bartender said.
"Naw, I'm good! See?"
He shook his head.
"Hey, Kenta, what are you going to do with this war going on?" One guy said. "Are you going to fix it or something?"
I didn't reply at first. I wouldn't know how to. That is until I let my mind wander off… "I'm a Legendary Blader…I know how to defeat enemies… But you know who can defeat them faster and better?" Everyone was silent. "Ryuga."
They gasped.
"I'll find him and then…I'm gonna… I'm gonna…brink him back…back! I'll bring him back…" They cheered. "Now, I'm going to go now, but I want a drink for the road."
I couldn't remember what happened, but I woke up at a volcano. The heat woke me up and the ash choked me. That's when I found the Beyblade Meteo L-Drago LW105LF. "It can't be…" I said.
"Hello." A girl smiled at me. I couldn't tell if her hair was naturally white or if it was the ash. She wore white dress that went down to her knees with a red band across the middle that had black stones on it. She accompanied this with a black shrug and boots that were as dark as charcoal.
I barely got myself up when she got out her launcher.
"Three…two…"
"Wait!" I said, getting mine out.
"One! Let it rip!" She launched L-Drago.
"Rip!" I couldn't tell if it was because I was hungover or because she had L-Drago, but she wiped me out instantly. "I lost? To a little girl?"
She laughed.
"I need to get out of here. Where's the nearest city?"
"Chill out." She said. "It's just like a while east from here where you stumbled from."
"Good." I said. "Thanks."
She stopped me to get a good look. "Aren't you one of those…Legendary Bladers? Kenta?" I nodded. "Cool! I'm Chikara: the Dragon Empress. I'll go to war with you."
I gasped. "You're telling me… You're… Who's your father?"
She raised an eyebrow. "You're telling me that you've never heard of the Dragon Emperor Ryuga?"
My face instantly grew white. "I do…er…did. I used to travel with him." I said. "You're his daughter? Does that mean he's actually alive? Will you help me find him?"
"No, he's dead."
"But…"
"You don't need him. You have me!" Chikara hopped down from the rock she was standing on and stood in front of me.
"But how can you be here? Your father…"
"Don't we have a war to fight in?" She asked. "Let's go."
"War?" It was the instant when I forgotten about it. Too bad it only lasted a second. "I need a drink…"
We checked in a motel to spend the night. I had me a few bottles which would last me until I returned home. I opened one and started chugging down. I drank a lot at a time because the alcohol nowadays is very weak. Getting the good alcohol from the early 2000's was so expensive.
"So, what are we going to do once tomorrow comes?" Chikara asked. "Battle bad guys? Steal money for food? Or are we going to train some more?"
I shook my head. "First we're going to the B-pit to get Sagittario fixed. Then, we're going to see if any other Legendary Bladers need training partners."
"Yuck! Training partners?" She smacked her lips. "I prefer to train independently. Other people weigh me down."
That sounded so familiar. I drank another bottle. "Yeah! That's it!" I said when it first started to kick in. "We'll discuss this later. Let's just watch TV."
"Whatever." She sat back. "So, are you going to drink all of those bottles?"
"It's only six. And yes."
"Can I have some?"
I frowned. "No way." I took another gulp. "Get some sleep… We'll leave in the morning."
I had no choice but to take her with me. Purposely, I avoided going to see Madoka because I didn't gain any strength. Since then, the bottles help mask my failures. Maybe "mask" is a strong word. It's more like they water them down.
"Kenta Yumiya! Wake up!"
"I'm up!" I cried louder.
She barged into the room and sat on my bed immediately. She wasn't excited or happy. For once, she looked upset. "I don't feel good. I don't think I should go." And from there, I finally saw Chikara's true age: fourteen.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"I just don't. Okay?" She crossed her arms, her thick white hair bouncing with it.
"There's nothing to be afraid of."
"I'm not."
"Madoka's just going to make your bey fresh and new." I finished.
She didn't say anything.
"Come on. We shouldn't waste anymore time."
The B-Pit was just as I remembered it. Chikara was next to me, fiddling with her fingers. "Don't be nervous." I told her.
"Who's nervous?" She asked, straightening up immediately.
I smiled. "That's the spirit!" Finally, I opened the doors, about to introduce myself, but there was already a batch of familiar faces. "Well, if it isn't Gan Gan Galaxy?!"
They all turned around and greeted "Kenta!"
"Guys, I have some news." I started. Chikara had her eyes on someone when I looked down. I couldn't tell who though.
"You found Ryuga." Masamune joked.
I shook my head. "His daughter." I said. "This is Chikara."
The girl didn't wave or smile. She just stood with her eyes on someone. Who?
"How is that possible?" Gingka asked. "We saw him go with our own eyes."
I shrugged. "I just found her and she told me she was his daughter for sure. I mean, they even look the same."
Chikara stayed quiet, staring.
"Kenta," Gingka said, "let me introduce you to Kyoya's son, Msaka."
I looked down at the child who closely resembled his father. "Hi, Msaka." I greeted, but he just scoffed. That's definitely his son. . "Where's Kyoya?" I asked. They all shrugged and shook their heads. I should've seen it coming. No one ever knows. He's never around when you need him.
"Also," Tsubasa said, "this is my son, Mamoru."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir." He greeted and shook my hand.
"The pleasure is all mine!" I said. Then I told Tsubasa "You raised him well."
Tsubasa nodded. "Well, I can't take all the credit. Mamoru practically raised himself." He ruffled his son's hair a bit. But instead of a blushing and/or smiling son, the boy looked very alert. "What is it?"
Suddenly, Msaka and Chikara had the same look. The three immediately took out their launchers. "Get down!" Mamoru commanded.
All the adults fell to the ground instantly as something blew up the south wall. "Let it rip!" They howled, launching their beyblades. It was magnificent; the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. The beys whizzed to the source in blinding lights. They clashed with two other beys that were familiar to me.
"Who is that?" Gingka asked, getting back up.
It was a man. Actually, it was two men. One was a young man that looked a little like Msaka but with brighter skin. The other was another familiar face, but I couldn't put my finger on it. "Leave that one to me." The first one said, pointing to Msaka. "He's my brother."
"Ryooshi, stop!" Msaka shouted. "What are you doing?"
"And what are you doing with that guy?" Gingka asked. "Who is that guy?"
"You must not recognize him." The man (Ryooshi) went up to the other and pulled a bit of hair on both sides to his face. It looked kind of like...
"N...Nile?" I asked. "It's Nile!"
