Day 10
Letters Home
(Hikaru/?)
Dear Mum,
I miss you a lot. It took a lot longer to get here than I thought, and now I'm here it's not as great as I thought it would be. I had some rookie bladers come up to me outside the town and try to get me to pay some kind of toll to get past. Aquario did its thing, though, and they let me past pretty quick!
I've met a lot of strong bladers already, though I haven't battled them.
One of the bladers I met has helped me out a lot, which is nice considering that he seems to be the gang leader around here. He's helped me find a place to stay and no, it's not with him. I know how to be safe.
Anyway, it's late.
Love you, Mum,
Hikaru.
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Dear Mum,
Sorry I haven't written for a while. It got a bit hectic around here. Turns out there's a lot of very good bladers here who are eager to battle with me and each other. One guy tried to pretend to be the strongest one because apparently this other one – Gingka Hagane, his name is – was sick, but it was painfully obvious that he wasn't as strong as he said he was. And then he turned up again and demanded another battle and he beat me!
Turns out he went into a crazy training regime to develop a special move that he used against me. He hadn't had it when we first fought. Don't know what he was thinking, trying to defeat me without a special move when I've got Infinite Assault.
But never mind. I'm going to become the strongest blader in the country no matter how long it takes me. If I lose, I'll just get up again. I can't give up. That's what you said.
Lots of love,
Hikaru
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Dear Mum,
Things are quiet around here. Gingka and most of the strong bladers have disappeared. Remember the guy I told you about? The one who found me a place to stay? Well, he's gone too. Not sure where. The last time I saw him, he muttered something about a dark nebula, but I did astronomy and you can't have a dark nebula. Nebulas have to be visible, and a dark one wouldn't be.
He's been helping me a lot. I told him he didn't have to, but he did anyway. I think you'd like him. Most people think he's really scary and nasty, but he's actually really nice once you get past all the shouting. But he doesn't shout at me, just in case you were worried. Just at his opponents. I'll battle him one day, but I haven't yet. I'm looking forwards to it.
Love,
Hikaru.
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Dear Mum,
I miss you more than ever. I wish you were here so that I could talk to you instead of just writing these letters that you'll never get. I've got so many questions for you. When did you know you were in love with Dad? Because you know my helpful guy? I... I think I might have a crush on him. I was really happy when I saw him again the other day, walking down the streets of Bey City like he owned the place. I figured that was normal, but then I realised that I hadn't even noticed that the rest of his friends were with him.
How do you tell if you really have a crush on someone or if you're just good friends?
It's scary, not knowing anything. I don't really have any female friends I can ask either. There's almost no female bladers, even here in the heart of Bey City. There's Gingka's mechanic friend, but she's younger than me and I don't know her that well.
I miss you, Mum,
Lots of love,
Hikaru.
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Dear Mum,
Is it alright if I borrow an idea from you and Dad? I remembered that Dad showed me a notebook he'd filled with letters to you before you started courting, but he didn't send any of them until he reached the end of the book. That way he knew that it wasn't just a short-lived crush between you and him. I thought I'd do something similar, but my guy isn't really the letter-receiving type. So I figured I'd write to you about him. If, by the time that I fill up this notebook with letters to you, I still think I'm in love with him, I'll ask him what he thinks of me.
I'm scared, Mum. I've never felt like this before.
Love,
Hikaru.
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Dear Mum,
He's kind. He's sweet when he wants to be. He's ferocious in battle. He couldn't care if I was a boy or a girl, as long as I'm a good blader. But he seems pretty happy that there's girls out there who want to battle on the same stage as the boys. I'll definitely beat him soon.
If that intimidates him, though, then he's not the one for me. I don't want a boy who's scared of a girl just because she can beat his beyblade three ways to Tuesday.
Love you,
Hikaru
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Dear Mum,
I've enrolled in a massive tournament called the Survival Battle. It's on a deserted island somewhere off the coast. I'm not sure exactly what it entails, but it seems like everyone's taking part! Yes, him too. I'll use it to face off with him, and I'll beat him because I'm definitely going to win.
I learnt something new about him today. He's got a softer side. Pretty much no-one else knows. He tries to bluster and bluff that he's big and strong and aggressive, but really he's got a heart of gold.
So far, I still think I like him. But I still want to be sure.
Lots of love,
Hikaru
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Dear Mum,
There's going to be a big battle tournament in this town soon, but in order to enter you have to have 50,000 beypoints! I'm determined to get in, though, because Gingka and his friends are trying to get into it as well.
The Survival Battle was a bit of a disaster. I did fight him, but other bladers got involved and it got messy. I didn't even get to the top six, though I managed the top eight.
The kid who won, a little boy called Yuu, was the one who wanted Battle Bladers set up. That's what this big contest is called.
Got to go – we're all meeting at the abandoned Colosseum outside the town for one last battle before we go our separate ways. He'll be there, so at least I can say goodbye before he becomes my rival.
Love,
Hikaru.
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Dear Mum,
Sorry I haven't written for a while. I've been busy gathering points all around the country. So's he; we've been running into each other at a number of tournaments, but neither of us have got enough yet.
I'm more certain now that I like him. I always start scanning the crowds at battles to see if he's there, and when he is I can't help smiling and going over to say hello. Even if I'm having a bad day, seeing him cheers me up.
I've got another four thousand three hundred points to go, and then I'll be in Battle Bladers. Even in the situation where I don't win (which won't happen, I promise) I'll still be one of the best bladers in Japan.
Miss you lots,
Hikaru.
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Dear Mum,
I've made it in! I'm in Battle Bladers, along with the best bladers in the country! I'm going to win it and then no-one will be able to say that girls can't beyblade.
He's made it in too, not that anyone was surprised. He's a really good blader, though his style is pretty different to mine. There's only sixteen people who actually made it, which is pretty convenient as can you imagine the chaos if there were seventeen? The first-round battles would be terrible to organise!
The only bad thing is that the tournament is being run by the Dark Nebula. Remember I told you about them ages ago? I thought they were just going to be sponsoring it, but no. They're actually running the whole show, and a lot of their top bladers got into the competition. There's one guy called Ryuga that everyone is frightened of. He's got a bey that uses reverse-rotation, and he's incredibly strong. Gingka said that he's trying to win so that he can take over the world, but I think that's a bit of a stretch. Just one bey can't take over the world. You'd need the strength of hundreds of beys to do that.
At the moment, I'm up against him in the first round. Let's see if he can reverse his way through the Infinite Assault! I've got to beat him or I'll never reach the top.
Lots of love,
Hikaru
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Dear Mum,
I'm really sorry that I haven't written in a while.
It's been a long week, and I've been -
It's been a long week, and -
I fought against -
I don't know how to write this letter. I'm sorry. I'll write later.
Hikaru
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Dear Mum,
Sorry about that last letter.
I have to tell you. I didn't win Battle Bladers. I lost to Ryuga. I can only just about write his name. I don't know how Gingka beat him, but he was terrifying. I was defeated so badly that I don't think I ever want to pick up Aquario again just in case I have a flashback to that battle. I ended up in hospital because of it, and I still have nightmares about it almost every night.
On the other hand, I'm now more certain than ever that I'm in love. Not fluffy, helpless, girly love. Properly in love, like you and Dad were. I hate that something so bad had to happen for something good to come out of it, but that was how it happened.
He came and sat next to my bed in the hospital, though he wasn't in great shape himself. I didn't want to talk about the battle and it seemed like he didn't either, so I just sat there and watched him. He didn't seem to mind. Eventually, he started telling me about how he started blading, about his gang the Face Hunters, about how much had changed since Gingka arrived in town, about all these things I never knew.
So I told him about you. He said he was sorry, and all the usual things people say when they hear about you being gone, but I think he actually meant it. It was nice, just being able to talk for once. It was really quiet in the hospital. We'd all gone outside just after Gingka beat Ryuga, but the hospital staff wanted us all back inside for some tests. Apparently I have to take it easy for a few days, but otherwise I'm okay.
I was scared when I woke up in the hospital. The last time I woke up in a hospital it was next to you and you were gone. But I didn't mind going back so much, because he came too.
He's gentle and caring, and he would fight to the death for his friends. And I love him.
I love you too. I missed you so much today. It was nice to talk about you with him, though.
All my love,
Hikaru.
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Dear Mum,
I've filled up my notebook with letters to you, and my feelings haven't changed. I'm going to ask him. I'm a bit scared, but I thought about what you'd say. I think you'd tell me that you believe in me, just like you did when I said I wanted to be the best blader in the world.
I love you, Mum,
Hikaru
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Dear Mum,
He said yes,
Hikaru
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Dear Mum,
He said yes, he said yes. I know I've said that already. But he said yes. He looked quite surprised when I asked. Apparently he thought I was interested in his friend, not him. His friend is good-looking and all, but he's one of the bad-boys that you told me to be careful of. He's just not as nice as Benkei.
That's his name. Benkei. I think I forgot to tell you at the beginning. Sorry about that. But I love him, and he loves me, and – no, I'm not going to write that. That's way too cliché.
So I might not be the best blader in Japan yet, but I want you to know that I'm happy. I've been given a whole group of new friends, who are incredibly strong bladers. I've met Madoka, who's an amazing blade mechanic, and Tsubasa and Yuu who proved that just because you're on the wrong side doesn't mean you're bad.
I've learnt so much from all of them. But most of all from Benkei. He taught me to have hope again.
You would like him, Mum. He wants to come and say hello to you when we're next in the area. I'd like to introduce him.
See you soon,
All my love,
Hikaru