Sorry. School has me swamped and I'm getting more in my fancomic over on DeviantArt. Anyways, reviews and then the actual story!

OlympianAngel: I... don't know who Yuri Plisetsky is, but... yay? Wait. Is that a Yuri on Ice reference? And thank you! I hope it only gets better as time goes on!

Eternal Nexus Warrior: Only half right indeed, hehe... Well, there won't be much for Tyler and Masamune yet for a while. Don't worry! I'll make up for it.

Llampaca Eating Guppy: Yep. My next break wass Thanksgiving.

Did I hear a request for more sassy Bao? Your wish is my command!

Poor Damian indeed. The question is, does it get better or worse? Hehe...

You think indeed.

KurooBaSF: I'm glad this story is one you're enjoying! I hope you'll like the rest of it!


"What in God's name do you think you are doing?"

Chris yelped in surprise, and whipped around to see Kuro Blackheart standing behind him. She had her arms crossed and eyes narrowed.

Chris put his good arm behind him, "Um... it's not what it looks like?"

"That looked like a magnetic one hand launcher with Phantom Orion poised to be launched," Kuro said, flatly.

"... Okay, so it is what it looked like,"

Kuro sighed, "Chris, you still have a few weeks left before your arm is completely healed. Even then, I doubt you'll be able to blade for a few more weeks after that."

"And a lot can happen in that time," Chris grumbled, dropping his arm to his side. "I'm not letting anyone else get hurt or threatened if I can help it."

"You are in no condition to be trying to-"

"I'm in better condition than Christina is!"

Kuro stopped dead, and her eyes narrowed more, "Christopher."

"Dammit, I knew I should have gone off grid when I took on this case," Chris turned around, eyes on the target set some ten yards away from him. "I try to keep my work separated from my home life, and, as always, people get hurt when they cross over."

"Chris,"

"I mean, we were just getting into a routine here! I have a job I actually like, I'm on top of my game! Christina is in school, she's applied for a few colleges, she's looking at a career in Beyblade or animal science-"

"Chris,"

"It just sucks! I thought I could put my past behind me, but apparently not!"

"Chris!" Kuro reached out and smacked the blonde upside the head.

"Ow! Hey! What was that for!"

"You weren't listening to me, so I had to do something," Kuro replied. She yanked the launcher out of Chris' grip, and laid her hand on his shoulder, gripping it hard enough that he was forced to sit down on the ground. She sat down across from him, "I want to tell you something, Chris."

"What?" The blonde near pouted.

Kuro scowled, "Don't interrupt me, got it?"

Chris grumbled under his breath, "Yeah, yeah, I got it. Now what do you want?"

"When you and Bao started talking, after you met, what did he tell you about me?"

Chris blinked, frowning, "That was a long time ago, Kuro. I'm not sure I remember-"

"Yes, you do, Chris," Kuro said, firmly. "I know you do, because you became a Blader for Hire the same reason that I left the Beylin Fist."

Chris looked away, bangs shadowing his eyes.

"You did it to protect someone you loved," Chris murmured.

"Loved?" Kuro raised an eyebrow.

"Love," Chris corrected. "You... you did it for Bao. And Aguma."

"Mmhm, the same way you did what you did for Christina. You wanted to provide a better life than what you had for her-"

"And look where that landed me. Right in-"

"The WBBA's lap," Kuro finished.

"... I was going to say 'into the life of a criminal'," Chris scowled.

"Join the club,"

"Right. What the hell did you do? Did you let people, real criminals, hire you to hurt honest, innocent people?" Chris demanded, heatedly, "I tore families apart, stole from people who didn't deserve it! I-"

"I killed people, Chris," Kuro said, softly.

Chris froze, "... what?"

"I have blood on my hands, Christopher. Adults, teenagers, even a kid or two," Kuro shook her head. "I left Beylin Fist so Bao could have a better life... so he didn't get bullied and ridiculed by the older kids and the elders of our people. It... in the Beylin Fist, it was frowned upon for a girl to battle, let alone be number one in the ranks. So I struck a deal with the elders... if they left Bao and Aguma alone, let them prove themselves, I'd leave... they agreed, so I left. For a while I just traveled from village to village, town to town, stealing and being a general street rat. Eventually... I stole from the wrong person, and got involved in gang activity."

Chris swallowed, "Like me."

"In more ways than one," Kuro said, seriously. "Want to know why I'm here, Chris?"

"I thought you said you were here as a WBBA agent?"

"You must have missed the part where I said 'only partially'," Kuro smirked, voice bitter. Her look faded, overtaken by something dark, "I was the main hitman for the Mambas, Chris."

Wait.

"When Christina called Bao, I jumped on the chance to get my own revenge,"

Kuro worked for the Mambas too?

"Like you, I'm looking to bury part of my own past,"

"... When we were recovering, in Japan... you were in WBBA's main headquarters when we returned to Metal City," Chris whispered. "I... I remember, hearing in the underground, that the Mambas had a hit staged in Tokyo..."

"I detoured," Kuro shrugged, loosely. "Told the big bossman off and booked it to Metal City."

"How the hell did you nab a spot as a WBBA agent then? No, better yet, how the hell did you get away from the Mambas without getting a target on your back-" Chris cut himself off, remembering something. He sweatdropped, "Wait a second... that hotel we were staying in... the one that got breached and everyone just assumed were some of Rago's henchmen trying to finish the job..."

Kuro chuckled, "I was surprised you didn't figure it out then. I told Ryo the whole truth, and he enrolled me into the WBBA agent academy. Once I got through with the passing scores, I transfered over to China and got my assignment to stay with Beylin Temple. It all worked out in the end for me, just like it did you too."

Chris found himself utterly speechless, barely able to process the information given to him.

"Holy shit," he finally breathed. "Holy. Shit."

"Mmhm..." Kuro mused, "Now that you know why I'm here... I need to ask you a question, Chris." She stood up, dusting her dark jeans off, and handing him his launcher back, "Why are you here?"


"I knew it! I knew that little bitch would show back up! Oh, and she's working with Cadelle, this is just too good! I can have both of their heads mounted on my wall at the same time-"

"Mrow, I wouldn't do that if I were you!"

A dark redhaired man paused in his rant, turning his head to look Johannes in the eye, "And why not?"

"Hmph... Kuro Blackheart and Chris Cadelle are surrounded by some of the best Bladers known in the industry. Not only would you not get close enough to even spit in their direction, but you'll find yourself in bars before the sun even sets!"

"Yeah, boss, don't forget, Ziggurat has us on another assignment right now, too! He wants Team Starbreaker!" Behind the redhead, a young brunette spoke up, "And Damian back, too... the thing is, we need to take this one thing at a time! We can't just rush into this headfirst! Not to mention, because they have Damian, they have inside information now, and because Kuro and Chris worked for you, too! They're basically three steps ahead of us!"

"Ryan," the redhead clicked his tongue. "Do you really think so little of me?"

"I..." Ryan stepped back, swallowing, "N- no, sir. I- I just..."

"I won't have such displays of doubt in my ranks," the redhead snapped his fingers, and before Ryan could blink, a knife flashed across his throat. Choking and gurgling on his own blood, the brunette fell to the ground, the light dying from his eyes.

"Cold," Johannes commented, stepping back as his partner laughed. The redhead stood up from his chair, as a tall figure stepped through the doorway and over the now deceased Ryan.

"Ah, Blackout, it has been quite a long time," the redhead grinned, sinisterly. "I'm glad to see you haven't lost your touch! How long has it been?"

"Almost ten years, Mason," the man flicked his head, twitching his bangs out of green eyes. "And how many times do I have to tell you to call me by name."

"Old habits die hard when you were in the military, you know that... Tyler," Mason smirked. "So, tell me... Are you ready for your first mission in almost ten years?"

Tyler Blackout stared the head of the Mamba gang down, forcing back the swell of fury rising up in him. His hand twitched around the handle of the blood covered knife in his hand, and he flipped it into the air, catching it and sheathing it back into it's leather grip. He answered Mason's own smirk with a shark-like grin of his own, placing his hands on hips.

"Give me the details, boss... I'm all ears,"


... how many plot twists did I put in here? I lost count. Oh well.

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