The classroom period was surprisingly enjoyable. Percia and I sat next to each other and 10 minutes into the lesson, she fell asleep. I was torn between waking her up and letting the teacher handle it. I decided to elbow her gently.

"Let it rip!"

Fortunately, that was enough to wake her up. Unfortunately, she was dreaming about launching her beyblade at the time. I came out of that class with a bruise on my upper lip. I forgave her since I could've just let her sleep, but she thanked me for making sure she didn't miss anything.

We sat together at lunch, which was extended due the District tournament round between Valt and Daigo kept ending in a tie. The match went into its 5th round when people finished their lunches and started battling. I saw that guy again. With the long white hair and stripe markings on his face. He was at a stadium, but he wasn't battling. He was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed as his bey spun in the center of the stadium. It was a white bey that seemed to glitter as it spun.

"Keenan, come check this out!"

I glanced over my shoulder at the white haired blader before following Percia's voice. I joined Percia in a small crowd gathered around a stadium where a firey red bey was struggling against a brown bey.

"C'mon, Firedrake! Knock 'im down!", said one of the bladers. He was a slightly muscular guy with firey red hair and he wore a red vest over a golden yellow shirt. I assumed he was the owner of the red bey he called "Firedrake". He was up against a massive guy who was about as big as Miguel, except he wasn't just muscular, he was also...Umm...he had a large..."midsection". He wore a white shirt and blue overalls and had short yet spiky brown hair. He glared hard at the stadium where the brown bey I assumed was his stayed strong even through constant assault from Firedrake. The battle ended with Firedrake wobbling heavily before bursting.

"Aw, man!" the red haired blader groaned. "I hate that!" The much larger blader picked up the brown bey that seemed tiny in his beefy hands.

"Nice job, Ursinor.", he said to the bey, his glare quickly replaced by a look of fondness and contentment. His voice was deep and gruff, with a slight southern drawl. He then turned from his attention to his opponent. "You did pretty good, too.", he said, putting his hand on the other blader's shoulder.

"Yeah, well next time, you're goin' down!" the Firedrake blader said. The Ursinor blader laughed loudly. "I'm lookin' forward to it!", he said with a genuine smile.

I was legitimately surprised at how friendly he was, despite his expression during the battle. The crowd dissipated as I followed Percia as she walked towards the two bladers.

"That was a pretty awesome battle, I gotta say.", she said sincerely. "You two are pretty solid bladers."

"Aw, shucks.", the Ursinor blader said, rubbing the back of his neck. The Firedrake blader spoke up.

"Hey, you're that girl who totally slammed that Miguel del Toro!" Percia practically glowed with confidence.

"The one and only!", she boasted.

"Percia Sokudo, right? The name's Fieron Kasai.", the Firedrake blader said before showing us his bey. "This is Flash Firedrake!" It was a bright red bey with two pairs of dragon wings and the head of a dragon between each pair.

"Call me Ukuma. Ukuma Kasshoku." the Ursinor blader stated before showing his bey as well. "Meet Ultra Ursinor." Ursinor was a brown bey with black spots similar to the paw pads of a bear. Adding to the bear similarity were the 10 claws it had pointing in the direction of its rotation. Percia shook the bladers' hands as they introduced themselves, when Ukuma noticed me. "Hey there, little fella!", he said, showing his surprisingly sharp teeth in a smile. "Is Percia here a friend o' yours?"

"Uhh….", I, for lack of a better term, said before simply nodding my head.

"That's Keenan Glass.", Percia said as I waved awkwardly. "Hey!", Percia piped up. "You showed us what your beys can do! How about we show you what our beys can do!"

"Alright.", Ukuma said.

"I'm game!", Fieron agreed.

"How about it, Keenan?", Percia asked, giving me an encouraging smile. I took out Kitsune and looked at him. His red eyes seemed to glow. I must have been looking for longer than I thought, because I heard a loud snap.

"You okay, dude?", Fieron asked.

"Uh...yeah!", I assured.

"Cool. So are we doing this, or what?", Percia asked, holding Pegaswift in her hand.

"Let's do it!", I said.

The battle between Valt and Daigo went into its 9th battle as Percia and I took our places at the stadium.

"Ref! Called it!", Fieron yelled as he took the referee's position at the stadium. "Inspect your opponent's beys!"

While I knew those were the rules, I felt slightly uncomfortable having to give up Kitsune, even if it was for a moment. Percia and I swapped beys and I examined Pegaswift. Pegaswift's disc was a Ring disc and her driver was a free rotating tip, similar to Kitsune's, but it was rubber. This driver must have been the key to Pegaswift's speed. We gave each other back our beys and readied our launchers. Since I had a long winder launcher, I had a choice between control with a forehand grip and power with a backhand grip. Since Pegaswift was an attack type, my Stamina type Kitsune was at a disadvantage. I decided to go for a backhand grip to catch her by surprise.

"First battle!", Fieron announced. "Ready...Set!"

"3! 2! 1! Let it...RIP!!!" Kitsune and Pegaswift raced around the edge of the stadium. Pegaswift stayed on an even path while Kitsune slowly but surely spiraled closer to the center.

"Pegaswift, attack!", Percia called out. The two beys met in the center and to my surprise, Pegaswift was the one knocked back!

"Woah! Rejected!", Fieron said, impressed.

"That Kitsune must have one heavy disc!", Ukuma deduced.

"Pegaswift, one more time!", Percia persisted. Pegaswift kept attacking Kitsune, but nothing seemd to move him. If anything, Pegaswift was the one that kept getting sent flying. I couldn't believe it. I might actually win this!

"Keep spinning, Kitsune!", I cheered. As if energized by my words, Kitsune gained a firey orange glow. Pegaswift's attacks seemed to do less damage than ever as Kitsune spun rapidly. Pegaswift finally slowed to a stop.

"Woah.", Percia whispered. "I lost?"

"Kendo Kitsune with a Survivor Finish!", Fieron announced. "Keenan Glass gets one point!" I actually won my first battle!

"I gotta admit…", Percia said. "I did not expect that."

I picked up Kitsune and smiled. "We just need one more point, okay?", I whispered.

"Hey, you talk to your bey, too?", Percia asked from across the stadium.

"Uhh...yeah…", I said. I started blushing.

"Hey, it's okay!", Percia reassured. "I talk to my bey all the time!"

"So do I.", Ukuma added.

"Seriously?! I thought I was the only one!", Fieron exclaimed.

I felt a lot better knowing that about my….friends?

"C'mon! Lets start the 2nd battle!", Fieron urged.

Percia and I went back to our places around the stadium. As we took our positions, I noticed that Percia tilted her launcher the same way she did in her battle with Miguel. If I rmember right, this made her bey loop around the outer area of the stadium. So, I went with a forehand grip for control. If I could land Kitsune smack in the center, Pegaswift would waste energy without landing a single hit!

"2nd battle!", Fieron announced. "Ready? Set!"

"3! 2! 1! Let it….RIP!!!"

As planned, Kitsune made it it the center instantly, while Pegaswift looped around the stadium just like i thought it would. No contact was being made….yet.

"Wait, what?!", Percia shouted.

"Pegaswift's everywhere but where it needs to be.", Ukuma mused.

"Keenan must've predicted where it would go. Cool!", Fieron said. I tried not to blush and focus on the battle.

"C'mon, Pegaswift! Get in there!", Percia said as Pegaswift changed course, or rather veered off course. The blue attack type drifted and zoomed toward Kitsune, only to be knocked sideways and move toward the stadium wall.

"Go for it!", Percia shouted. That's when I remembered….her Flight Launch! In the battle with Miguel Pegaswift bounced off of the wall up into the air. It used gravity and the momentum of the fall to increase its speed and power. Pegaswift bounced off of the wall, but instead of flying straight up into the air, it went toward Kitsune.

"Oh no!", Percia said. At that moment, everything seemed to move in slow motion. I was suddenly overcome with a burst of energy.

"Now!", a familiar growling voice shouted as a gazed at Kitsune.

Out of a rush of pure adrenaline, I thrusted my hand toward the stadium, palm forward.

"NOW!", I shouted. "KITSUNE!!!"

Kitsune spun rapidly, glowing with an even brighter aura than in the first battle, and when Pegaswift collided with it….

CRASH!

Pegaswift was sent flying out of the stadium once again. I couldn't believe it! I won! I looked around at everyone and they were just as shocked as I was.

"No. Way.", Percia uttered, stunned.

Shaking his head, Fieron recovered from the shock as well. "Kendo Kitsune with another Ringout finish!", he announced. "Keenan Glass wins one more point and wins with a score of 2-Zip!"

I picked up Kitsune and looked at...him. I know it's weird to call Kitsune a him, but I swear I heard his voice during the battle, just like I heard his voice in my dream. Once I saw an opportunity to win, I put all my trust in Kitsune, and he came through.

"Victory Valtryek! 2 points with a Burst Finish!"

Ukuma, Fieron, Percia, and I looked up at the monitor to see that Valt won his battle against that Daigo guy.

Soon, tt was almost time to go home. Everyone had gathered around for the closing exhibition match.

"Alright, everyone!", Coach Ryder announced. "Last match of the first day! Let's make it count! Who wants to step up?"

Several hands were raised. "How...about….", Ryder trailed off before pointing to someone. "You! You seem pretty tough!"

Everyone followed Coach's gaze to see an intense-looking white haired blader emerge from the crowd. He was the same blader I saw blading alone at lunch and observing Percia's battle against Miguel with me.

"What's your name, tough guy?", Coach Ryder asked.

"Wenru.", the blader said plainly. "Wenru Sun."

Then, it was Wenru's turn to point to a blader. The blader he pointed at had light blue eyes, orange hair in a short pony tail with white highlights, an orange shirt under a white vest, white pants and white shoes.

"Keenan Glass." Wenru barked. "I challenge you to a battle. Prove yourself!"