Lui had left some time ago, leaving Daigo alone with Shu. Honestly, he was quite alright with that. That boy freaked him out.
But that also meant that Daigo was now alone with a possibly insane person who might try to kill him as soon as he woke up.
Shu shifted in his sleep, and Daigo tensed as his eyes fluttered open, "What the... hell?" The boy muttered, looking around lethargically.
Daigo crept forward, "Who are you?" He asked shakily.
The white haired boy looked at him in confusion, "Daigo? What're you talking about?"
Daigo walked forward, hands held in a defensive position, "Answer the question!"
Shu blinked, "I'm Shu Kurenai. Who else would I be?"
Daigo relaxed, "It's good to have you back, buddy."
Shu rubbed his eyes, "Why? Where did I go?" Then he froze, and horror seeped into his eyes and Daigo could tell that he remembered.
Daigo winced, "Yeah, take your time. I know it's a lot to process."
Shu clenched his fist, "How can you be so calm about this?! I've hurt people! Crushed their dreams! You shouldn't forgive me!"
Daigo raised an eyebrow, "Who said I was?"
Shu rubbed his temples, "Don't go all cryptic on me, Daigo. I just woke up after months, and I am not in a good mood."
Daigo put his hands up, "Sorry. Just, you should take a shower or something. I don't think your demon bey knew or cared much about personal hygiene."
Shu wrinkled his nose, "Yeah. You're right."
Shu slumped over in the shower stall, scalding hot water gushing over him as he looked at his shaking hands.
How could he do this? How could he let it happen!?
He wiped his eyes bitterly, thinking back to Felicity's wide green eyes, as she begged him to not turn to the Snakepit. Why hadn't he listened?!
He should never have listened to Ashtem...
Shu had been in the Raging Bulls for barely three months and had made quite a name for himself there. After he lost in a private battle against Free de La Hoya, who ditched his team like it was nothing, and Theodore Glass pulled him aside to talk with him.
"I suppose you aren't incredibly pleased with the outcome of that match?" He asked, circling Shu like a vulture.
Shu clenched his fists, "Won't happen again. I promise."
"I believe you." Glass reassured him in that oily voice of his, "I just called you here to make you an offer."
Shu raised an eyebrow, "An offer?"
Glass nodded, "There's a new... Training program, I'd like to enroll you in. You will gain incredible power from it. Maybe even unlock your true potential."
Shu's interest peaked, "Tell me more."
Glass grinned like the cat who caught the canary, "It's called the Snakepit..." He started.
Shu bit the inside of his cheek, "I've heard of it."
"Oh?" Glass seemed amused, "Good things, I hope?"
"Quite the opposite." Shu replied curtly.
Glass twisted his mouth into a snarl before schooling it back into indifference, "I suppose you were told this by Felicity Comas?"
Shu's brow wrinkled, "I don't see what that has to do with anything."
Glass shook his head, "It has everything to do with her, dear boy. You see, she had a personal interest in the matter."
Shu blinked in surprise, "She... Did?"
Glass smirked as he pressed a remote, revealing a hidden TV, "See for yourself."
Shu watched in shock as a video of Felicity started up. It looked like an interview of some kind.
"Name?" The interviewer asked
"Jade Eye." She said in a monotone voice.
"Former profession?"
"BeyTrainer." She replied curtly.
"Where do your loyalties lie?"
"The Snakepit." The girl intoned, her eyes dead and uncaring.
"And what is the reason for your loyalty?"
Felicity looked into the camera with complete conviction. The most honest expression Shu had ever seen her make, "The Snakepit has power. Power that no one can even begin to comprehend. I want that."
Shu was shaking as he stared at it, "I-I don't understand. Why did she..."
"Lie?" Ashtem asked, "Isn't it obvious? There are only a set number of slots allowed in my organization. And she was afraid of being replaced by someone much more skilled. Someone better suited."
Shu stared at him, "She... Was?"
Ashtem nodded, smiling silkily, "Maybe she was even threatened by you." He suggested, "And that's why she decided to sabotage you."
Everything hurt so much. It was like the walls were closing. His entire perspective had just shifted so drastically and he couldn't deal. He just couldn't.
Ashtem put a hand on his shoulder, "This program is what led Felicity to greatness. It will lead you to greatness as well."
Shu took a shuddering breath, the pain of betrayal still fresh, before looking up at Ashtem. "Will you take it?" The man asked.
Shu let out a breath, "Yes."
He hadn't known what exactly he was getting himself into at that time. He had felt so hurt. Sure, he didn't know Felicity that well. They were only friends for a couple months. But he felt like he could trust her. Had that been a lie? All of it? He didn't want to think that, but… he had seen her around the others. Knew how good of an actor she could be. There was no doubt in his mind if she wanted to, she could've lied. It was a single spur of the moment decision, that ruined his life.
They gave him a new bey, a temporary one, before he was ready for a better one. The best one. And that's when things started going downhill.
His memory started going fuzzy. He didn't pay it much attention, first, but in hindsight, maybe he should've.
Then he started feeling an inexplicable attachment to the Snakepit. It was odd, because he thought of it at first as only a means to get stronger, a stepping stone to something greater. But then he looked at himself in the mirror, wearing that impersonal mask and found himself thinking, 'I would die for this place.'
That was when he knew he had gone too far.
After that, things got scary. He did things he didn't want to do. Found himself training within an inch of his life, and for the first time, he found himself hating it.
And that was terrifying.
He stared at his reflection in the mirror, and found he could barely remember who he was. He looked at his trembling red eyes, as he gripped the sink. How was he going to face the others, if he could barely face himself? How... Was he going to face Felicity?
Normally, baths tended to clear his head, but now, when he walked out wearing some of Daigo's clothes, he just felt more miserable than before.
In the main room, Daigo was talking to someone on his tablet, "... Yeah, he'll be fine, though. Just, give him some time." Daigo was saying.
Shu felt a prickle of shame when he realized that was Felicity her was talking to.
Maybe Daigo could read minds or something, because he immediately seemed to take note of his discomfort as he turned around, "Hey. There's someone who wants to talk to you." He coaxed, like he was some sort of fragile piece of glass, that made Shu feel every worse. "If you want." Daigo hurriedly tacked on, taking note of Shu's loathing expression.
But it was clear he didn't exactly have a choice. If it wouldn't be Daigo pressuring him to talk to her, it would be his conscious, because out of all of his precious people, she was the last one he wanted to hurt.
After all, she had tried to save him. And she was still trying, even now. He had ignored her attempts, before. He could not ignore them again. No matter how much it hurt. He released a breath, "Alright. I'll talk to her." He decided.
Daigo cast him a wary look, but moved the tablet over to him before tactfully leaving the room.
Shu looked at the screen, where Felicity was looking right back at him.
Her hair was choppy and short, like someone had taken kitchen scissors to them. Her eyes were that glistening shade of green he remembered so well, and she just looked so familiar, and it hurt so much. But she wasn't completely the same. There were subtle differences, like the indentations around her eyes and on her cheeks, as though she had been wearing some sort of hard, solid thing over her face for quite some time.
There was an awkward silence between the two of them, before Felicity broke it, "Hey! How are you feeling?"
Shu looks at her, and doesn't want to lie, "Like trash. Maybe even worse than trash." He found himself mumbling.
Felicity nodded, "Yeah, it makes you feel like that, when you finally come to your senses."
"Did you feel like that too? When you snapped out of it?" Shu found himself blurting out, before catching himself, "Ugh, stupid question. I'm so sorry. That was really insensitive of me. Please forgive me-"
Felicity gave a weak chuckle as she cut through Shu's panicked ramblings, "It's fine, Shu. No harm done. Besides, I'm pretty sure you were the one who just got possessed by an evil beyblade demon."
Shu breathed out a laugh, "That sounds crazy when you say it like that. How is this our life?"
Felicity shrugged, "Guess we're the lucky ones."
"Or the unlucky ones." He glumly added in.
"Or the unlucky ones." Felicity readily agreed. Her willingness to agree to such a depressing thought rather than stubbornly focus on the bright side of things made him feel much better.
"I'm so sorry." He murmured.
Felicity gulped, "What're you sorry for? If anything, this is my fault. If I had told you the truth, you wouldn't have gone at all."
Shu sighed and it was like a dam broke inside of him, "But you tried to warn me! And I didn't listen! This is my fault and you can't just pile guilt on yourself! It's not right! And I'm so so incredibly stupid for not believing in you, and so ridiculously sorry, so please just accept my apology and try not to justify anything I did, because you can't!"
He paused in his tirade, breathing heavily. Felicity nodded, struck silent, "Yeah. Alright. It's okay. You'll be alright." She breathlessly reassured him, "Where are you?"
Shu let out a choked sob, "The Netherlands."
Felicity gave him a watery smile, "I'm in Spain, Barcelona. Meet you at the AS Gallus HQ in Paris?"
Shu held back his tears, "I'd like that." He confessed.
Felicity gave him a sympathic look that he really, really didn't deserve but appreciated anyways, "Good, see you then."
Shu nodded and cut the call before heading back out where Daigo was sitting. The raven haired boy smiled up at him, "Oh, hey there. Did you talk to Felicity?"
Shu nodded slowly, not trusting his voice to be steady.
Daigo didn't seem to mind, as he continued to talk, "Did she say anything important?"
Shu cleared his throat, and after a long time, his eyes held a glimmer of hope, "How soon can we get to Paris?"
Felicity paced on the rooftop of the AS Gallus HQ worriedly. She had made her way to France as quickly as possible when Shu had said to meet her there, making an entire half day trip that very same day. Shu and Daigo had somehow still not showed up, even though they were closer. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Shu hadn't been seen for months and his parents might be getting worried. Maybe there was a problem with his passport. Maybe he decided not to come. Maybe it was too early. Maybe-
"Oi, quit panicking so much, Felicity. I'm getting stressed out just watching you." Clio piped up as he sauntered over to her.
Felicity bit the inside of her cheek, "But you just don't understand!"
Clio nodded sagely, "Course I don't. But that doesn't mean I can just watch as one of the world's most famous bladers just tears herself apart from stress. It's embarrassing for the both of us."
"Make that three." Mirror Eye grumbled in her mind, "But he's right though, Felicity. Calm the hell down before I decide you're not responsible enough to control your body."
"What kind of threat is that?!" She furiously thought back before smoothly responding to Clio, "I'm working on it. It's just hard..."
Clio shrugged, "Don't stress about it. You'll be fine."
He leaned over on the roof's railing to watch as a taxi drove off from the building, "Huh, I guess they're here."
He barely finished making his observation before Felicity was down the steps, running as fast as she could.
Bounding down the stairs, she dashed into the parlor room, where Marie was sitting with the visitors.
She noticed Daigo from the corner of her eyes, but her attention was fixated on Shu.
His hair was properly cut, which was different from the last time they talked, and he was wearing what looked like Daigo's clothes, but she didn't bother looking at all that before she wrapped him up in a desperate hug.
He flinched for a second, before hugging her fiercely back. "It'll be alright." He whispered into her ear.
"I'll make it alright." Mirror Eye promised darkly.
Felicity closed her eyes and committed this moment to memory, "Yeah. It's gonna be alright."
This. This was perfect. She wanted to stay like this forever, except, "Where's Ghost?"
Shu coughed awkwardly as they separated, "She... Didn't like me much. Flew off."
Felicity blinked, eyes downcast, "Oh."
Shu looked her in the eye, "Are you mad?" He asked softly.
Felicity shook her head, "Nah, it's fine. It was her time to go join the wild."
She didn't want to delve in the past anymore. She had cleared out her skeletons, and it was time to store new memories. Happy memories. And they were gonna do just that.
A/N: So that's it! What did you think? I left it open-ended on purpose, so make of it what you will. And I had to add in Ghost! I didn't forget you little buddy!
I'm probably gonna revisit this fic some time later. Make a sequel focussing around Kajuri and the rest of the side characters. What do you think?
I have an account on AO3, where I'm more active, with the same name, and check me out on tumblr!
