A/N: This may come as a shock to you guys, but this fic's almost over... O.o I don't know what's wrong with me, but it seems as though when I realized how close I was to finishing this, I went crazy...Anyway...

Disclaimer: Nope, have no idea what you're talking about...

oOo

Chapter 10: Dying Twice Over

"AIKA!" Hiromi cried, trying vainly to reach her child. She knew, however, that she could not, no matter how hard she wished she could. Aika was now trapped in the world that caused so much suffering to its victims - enshrouded by darkness and slowly drowning in nothingness were trademarks of this attack.

The vortex swirled, never changing its size nor shape, yet the five friends knew all too well what went on within the parallel universe created inside its sinister form.

In the blink of an eye, the horrific maelstrom created from the absence of light dissolved, returning to whatever dimension it had been summoned from. In doing so, it revealed Aika's limp form, who fell with a thud onto the platform, and lay still, as her father had, all those years ago.

From somewhere in the stands, the chairman of the now-gone Beyblade Battle Association watched on in horror. Chairman Daitouji clenched his walking stick so hard that his arms seemed to quiver with the pressure, as he contemplated this terrible question: Was this match going to be a replay of that fatal day?

00000000000000000000000000

Slowly, Aika opened her eyes, blinking them once, twice, as her surroundings registered. It took quicker than usual because...there was nothing to take in. Only darkness. A darkness so tangible, so frighteningly real that it was nearly suffocating.

And then, suddenly, she felt her chest constricting, her breathing slow and labored.

Papa...is this...why you died, later on? she thought, fighting to remain calm despite the fear that now enveloped her, adding to the shadow's deadly presence. How did you...fight it? How...did you escape, if you did at all?

Within seconds, her vision became blurry, and she was gasping for breath now. How much longer...can I last? she wondered. Perhaps it wouldn't be much longer before she succumbed and -

"Aika."

Shocked, the ruby-eyed girl turned around (how could she move when there was no ground to stand on? she wondered vaguely) and spotted the familiar figure. The intimidating silhouette one could easily recognize...gentle amethyst gaze only a special few could see...slate-gray hair that mimicked her own...

"Dad?" she breathed, not quite believing it.

Hiwatari Kai smiled, reassuring her, willing her to gather her strength. "Yes, Aika...it's me."

"Why can I see you now?" Aika wanted to know. She was more frightened now; her father was supposed to be dead! Did that mean she was dead as well?
Kai came a few steps closer. "I'm only here to help..." he reached out a hand, conveying his message with his gaze. "You still need to fight, but I felt that you needed to know I was here, too..."

Thankfully, Aika seemed to understand in an instant. She quickly reached out to take her father's hand in hers. When their fingers touched, it seemed that the surrounding darkness imploded upon itself, pressured from the outside with majestic, white light.

00000000000000000000000000

"Is this battle over?" Jazzman wondered out loud, eyeing the stadium. "Aika's Dranzer is still spinning, but Aika herself is still down..."

"You bet its over!" Shinji exclaimed. Upon hearing its master's voice, the dark purple blade zoomed toward its opponent. In a moment, both blades had collided and were pushing against each other, each determined to knock the other out or stop it from spinning. How is she doing this? the dark-haired preteen thought, frowning in consternation. How is it that her blade is still fighting, when she is already unconscious?

"I don't think this match is as easy you think, Shinji," a voice interrupted the boy's thoughts; he glanced up and gasped. Across from him, Aika was shakily getting to her feet.

"You...you escaped so quickly?" Shinji was aghast. "No way!"

"Surprised?" the ruby-eyed teen smirked. "Well, you have every right to be, 'cause now...I know how to beat you!"

00000000000000000000000000

"She's...she's all right!" Hiromi heaved a heavy sigh of relief and dropped back into her chair. "Thank kami..."

"Looks like they have the medical team ready..." Kyouju commented, noting the presence of several white-clad figures near the competitors' entrance.

"I guess Balkov wants to prevent deaths from happening in his company's tournaments..." Max said, settling back into his seat, glad that his friend's child was going to be okay. At least, he hoped she was going to be okay...

00000000000000000000000000

"Dranzer! Turbo Gigs Flame, now!"

At its master's command, the indigo blade began to rain feather-like flames on its opponent; some were meant to hit the target, but their main function was to trap the opposing blade in one spot while Dranzer attacked from above, hopefully sending Zeus out of the stadium with this one attack.

The dark blue blade came shrieking down towards its target, engulfed with a roiling fire. There was a loud crashing sound as the two blades clashed, and Shinji's was pushed almost to the edge before it rallied back, parrying with its own attacks. It had to be said that both players were injured slightly whenever an attack managed to connect, a good justification for having the medical team readily on hand instead of standing by in the back room.

"Zeus! Finish this!" Shinji commanded, looking more than a bit riled up. The deep violet blade began to zoom around the dark blue one, crashing into it violently at the peak of its attack.

Aika resisted the urge to cry out in pain, counterattacking in an instant, landing blow after hammering blow on the violet blade.

Soon, both bladers were on their knees, gasping.

"C'mon, Shinji!" Brooklyn, from up in the stands, called towards his offspring. "Finish her off!"

The raven-haired boy glanced up at his father, giving a small smirk in reply. He then got up and turned back round to face Aika. "My father was right..." he said, just loud enough for his opponent to hear. "You have the same playing style as your dad. You fought a good battle," he continued, his smirk growing wider, "but you're spent now, tired, as is your bit beast. Zeus tells me so..."

Ruby orbs widened, and then narrowed, incensed. "Are you saying I don't have the skills to pull off a win?" Aika fairly yelled. A strong gale began to blow in Shinji's direction, pushing both boy and blade backwards a fair distance. "If so...then you imply that my father was the same...and that is most certainly not true!"

As if on cue, flames surrounded the preteen, enclosing her in something akin to a protective circle that was not there to protect. "Dranzer! Final Attack!"

Shinji looked amused. "Are you trying to prove something with one futile attack?" Aqua orbs narrowed. "Very well...it's your choice...Zeus! Rolling Hell's Flame!"

"VOLCANIC STORM EXPLOSION!"

00000000000000000000000000

"Hiromi! Where are you going?" Takao stood up when he saw the auburn-haired woman get up suddenly and make her way towards the stairs.

"I'm going down there," Hiromi glanced over her shoulder at her friend, determination shining in her ruby eyes, "And putting a stop to this ridiculous match before anyone gets hurt any further."

"What?" Takao looked taken aback for a second, before realizing what Aika's mother had just said. "Hey! Blading is not ridiculous! You - whoa! Wait! Hiromi, wait up!" Hiromi had begun to walk off as the stormy-eyed man kept on talking, and he only noticed when she was halfway to the stairs. He hurried after her, with Max, Rei, and Kyouju close behind him.

The group reached the ground floor of the battle dome just in time to see the stadium erupt into a fantastic column of flame and smoke, sinister purple in color. Hiromi stopped short, then called out fearfully.

"AIKA!"

"SHINJI!"

At almost the same time, across from Team BBA, stood Brooklyn Kingston. Male and female locked gazes, shocked at first, then understanding blossomed across their features: neither had wanted this to happen.

The smoke cleared and, miraculously, both Aika and Shinji were still standing. Apparently, the sinister purple color of the flame-and-smoke column had been a manifestation of the collision of both powers - red for flame, dark purple for darkness.

The stands were silent; both blades were still spinning. It seemed as though time stood still, moving agonizingly slow as each one awaited the outcome of the spectacular - and highly dangerous - battle. Finally, after what seemed like hours, only one blade was left spinning as the other ground to a halt.

"And we have our champion, ladies and gentlemen!" DJ Jazzman exclaimed, taking advantage of the initial shock of the audience. "In the end, it came down to endurance, folks, and the best man has indeed won! Or, in this case, the best girl!"

Takao and his friends burst into ecstatic whoops and cheers upon hearing that Aika had won. Hiromi, delighted at the news and relieved that her treasure was to be all right, ran up to the platform and mounted the steps. In front of the dish, Aika had retrieved her blade and had sank into a sitting position, overwhelmed at the fact that she had pulled through, had become the first official Champion of the Japanese Blading Tournament since her birth.

"Aika!"

The slate-haired girl turned around at the sound of her name. Her face lit up like Christmas morning when she saw it was her mother that had called her.

"Mom!" she got up and fairly threw herself at her relative. "Mom, I won! I won!"

"Yes, yes, I know, baby, I know." Hiromi gave a small sob as she gathered the girl in a hug. It was a bittersweet moment for her and her friends: her child, her Aika, had won the tournament and come out alive, but the one other person that mattered the most in her life - and her daughter's father - wasn't there to see it.

Aika seemed to read Hiromi's thoughts and tugged on her sleeve. "I saw him, Mom," she said suddenly, excitement causing her voice to sound more childish than usual.

Hiromi glanced at the girl in confusion. "Saw who, Aika-chan?"

"Papa." Aika replied, ruby eyes shining with happiness. "He helped me escape that...that dark place, the one you said Dad had been trapped in before."

Hiromi looked shocked, and then gathered Aika in another embrace, unsure of what to say. Aika, though, babbled on.

"He was every bit as good-looking as in the photo, Mom! And his voice...it was so...so awesome when he spoke, but I knew...I could feel that he...he...was there...g-guiding me..."

The medic team had split into two groups - one to tend to each of the two finalists - but Hiromi took no notice of this; she was only concerned because Aika had stopped talking. She broke off the hug - and gasped. "AIKA!"

At the horror in their friend's voice, Team BBA came rushing over, surrounding her.

"Hiromi, what's wrong?"

"What happened?"

"Hey, what's with Aika?"

The ruby-eyed preteen had her eyes closed, and was slumped against her mother. One could have said that she was only sleeping, for indeed, her face was the image of slumber - happy and content. There was no sign of pain or any indication of suffering in her features, but the very peaceful quality of her face was a cause for concern.

The medics moved in, laying her onto a portable stretcher. One white-clad person, knelt down and felt for a pulse. No sooner had he grasped the small wrist then he let go, apalled.

"What?" Hiromi asked, her voice panicked, her brow furrowed, her eyes welling up with tears of worry. "What is it?"

The medic shook his head. "It's...no use, ma'am. Even if we brought her in, there's nothing the best doctors can do. From what she's endured, I'd say it was internal bleeding, or some other injury irreparable at this point. I'm...I'm sorry..."

Across the stadium, Brooklyn stood still, frozen with shock at the revelation of his - and his son's - bit beast's capability. Shinji, too, was transfixed with terror and shame at what he had willed the creature of darkness to inflict upon another being his age.

Takao, Max, Rei, and Kyouju. Their faces all wore the same mask of horror at the events playing before them; it was as though their captain had died twice over.

For Hiromi, nothing much mattered any more. She collapsed over Aika's prone figure, sobbing loudly, any words she might have said muffled by her cries of anguish and pain. Finally, unable to hold herself back any longer, she lifted her face towards the heavens, tears streaking down her now-pale cheeks, her eyes almost shut tight with the intensity of emotion welling inside her, and cried out, one long, last shout of pain that only a mother was capable of feeling at that moment.

"NOOOOOOOOO!"

oOo

A/N: I've no idea what's wrong with me...Maybe I just like making Hiromi suffer... XP Nah, that's not it, although whatever it is makes for better fics, eh? But that's just me... ;

R&R, if you would be so kind...Dewa mata! Peace out and God bless!