Thank you kindly for the reviews! They motivate me greatly!


Inside his private living room, surrounded by colorful bookshelves and expensive tapestry, a man in his sixties comfortably seated in the old armchair had his full attention on a beybattle rerun, whose recorded video he cordially requested from BBA to save in his already rich collection.

"So, what are your thoughts on this tournament, Mr. Gio?" accomodated in the other armchair, Mr. Dickenson gazed softly at the elegant man, one of BBA's key investors and a dear personal friend of his. "I personally think it's a success myself. I'm glad we decided to do this experiment."

"Indeed," Gio answered without taking his eyes off the TV. "Just the revenue gathered so far will aid us greatly in expanding Beyblade to the most peripheral areas. Eden would be the happiest boy in the world if he could see how we are succeeding in bringing more people into the sport and giving space to the most vulnerable."

Upon hearing the name of Gio's deceased son, Dickenson discreetly moved his compassionate gaze to the old photograph in a well polished frame hanging silently on the wall. Eden's forever motionless face was completely filled with a kind, pure smile that could probably tame the fiercest of beasts. The chairman couldn't help but smile, thinking how much of an amazing man that virtuous boy would have become.

"He was a precious boy," Gio muttered with a mild smile upon noticing Dickenson's aloof gaze to the picture. "He loved beyblade with all his soul and would have become the most powerful blader in this world. As long as I live, I will keep doing my best to honor his memory and help improve this sport he cherished so much. And these children remind me so much of him… Whenever I see them, it's like traveling back in time and watching my own son in action."

To Dickenson's disappointment, his phone vibrated. He saw the name of one of his technical coordinators on the screen.

"My apologies, Mr. Gio. If you excuse me," The business man nodded and Dickenson stood up, going to the window for privacy while bringing the phone to his ear. "Yes? ...What!? How did that happen?! ...Oh no, what troublesome news! We can't let anyone other than the security and data teams know about any of this, understood? I'm on my way!" He hung up, suddenly filled with hurry and severity, his light forehead sparkling with sweat. "I'm very sorry Mr. Gio, but I have to go. I'm needed at the headquarters."

"I see," he said comprehensively, opting for not putting more pressure on the man with questions and simply dismissing him with a pacifing hand gesture. "Good luck and call me if I can be of any help."

Dickenson thanked him and then rushed to the doors while requesting a cab.

Meanwhile, fire shone within the eyes of the shadowy figure lurking behind the other door. He clenched his fists, giving in to the boiling mass of anger consuming his soul.

"Keep your mind trapped forever in these old, useless memories, father. Soon, you'll have one more reason to regret."

"Tyson?" Hilary knocked gently at the door. Upon receiving no answer, she entered the bedroom to find the blue-haired lad still spread on his bed like a seastar. She smiled and went to the bedside table to recompose the alarm that he surely smashed when it dared to ring. "Wakey wakey Mr. Sleepyhead, it's past nine and you have some work to do. "

"Huh? Yawn, good morning Hil," he woke up and greeted her with that slow morning voice. He sat on the bed, scratching his heavy eyes while his soul slowly readjusted within his body. "Oh yeah, I promised grandpa I would fix that roof today."

"You bet. I saved you some cheese pudding for breakfast."

"Yay! Cheese pudding!" He celebrated.

Hilary smiled at his reaction and, having fixed his friend's biggest nemesis, she returned to the door. Tyson watched his friend intently, noticing a strange oddness in her behavior, some gray cloud hovering her complexion.

"Hey Hil, are you okay?"

"Yeah Tyson, why do you ask?" She stopped at the door to look at him with a curious face.

"It's just that whenever I have to fix something you usually make fun of me because of the first time I handled a hammer," he answered with a pout, remembering the ghastly scene.

"Oh yeah, things got messy that day." She giggled and then gazed at him softly. "But it's all part of the game, isn't it? You've gotten pretty good at doing basic repairs since then."

"Thanks." He smiled gladly at the compliment, although that was not exactly the answer he was waiting for. He watched her proceed to leave the bedroom with a most serene expression on her face. "Hilary has been acting strange since yesterday. Maybe she's still worried about him supposedly having a girl?"

He also couldn't help having that tiny feeling of jealousy poking his heart. They have been friends for quite some years now, and Dragoon's wielder hoped that time would eventually make Kai open up to him more and maybe share more of his feelings and plans. That's what friends do, right? They support each other, fight each other, fight for each other and tell their stuff to each other.

He leapt out of the bed, put on his clothes and made his way to the kitchen to meet that promising cheese pudding. However, as he crossed the open passageways, his eyes stumbled upon the image of the gray-haired blader lying at his favorite spot inside Tyson's house: the soft grass below one of the tall trees inside the garden, guarded from the morning sun by a pleasant shadow. Resting his head on his arms crossed behind his neck, Kai had his eyes shut. But the phone lying at his side and playing some audio news reported that he was wide awake.

"I know! I'm gonna use my *astonishing charisma* and ~perfect speech skills~ to make him spill out the beans," the boy decreed confidently, clenching one fist like a hero. "No one can resist me when I put on my champion face!"

He cleaned his throat, slapped both sides of his own face in order to raise attention, and then casually approached Dranzer's guardian.

"Good morning Kai!" He greeted him with an energetic smile while sitting by his side.

"Hey." A subtle smirk curved his lips. "Fell out of bed?"

"Very funny," he grumbled. "So, what's your plans for today?"

"I'm going to meet Tala at BBA in an hour. Will stay there for the day," was all that he shared.

"Hey, Kai?" The dragon finally put his skills to the test. "I'm very happy that you decided to spend these days here with us in our house. You know… You are like a brother to me." Upon noticing that those words actually made an effect and Kai turned his face a little to gaze at him, inspiration filled the blue haired boy and things soon escalated quickly. "Yes, we are family! We are soulmates, two parts of a whole, like the sky and the sun, mattress and pillow, pizza and soda. You are the guy I will always depend on. We will grow up together, win tournaments together, go to college together, our children will play and beyblade together, we will be geezers playing chess together. I would totally present my girlfriend to you, you know."

"You have a girlfriend?" He raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Well, no," he crossed his arms and pouted. "But I would totally present her to you, if I had one."

"... I see."

"Of course, that won't be anytime soon. Because, you know, the World Championship and all. I can't afford to be distracted, considering all the expectations and all the trust everyone always places in me. No no. That would be way irresponsible of me. I would let my fans, my friends and my teammates down! Yes, that would be horrible indeed," he fired all the hints he'd managed to muster.

"You are daydreaming again, Tyson. And there is no point in choosing one thing over another only because people expect you to do it. Just live the way you see fit."

"Yeah, I'll do that. Thanks, man… Wait! This is not what I wanted to say!"

"I'm leaving." But he didn't take the bait and soon Kai stood up, cleaned his clothes, recovered his phone and then proceeded through the stone path toward the front doors.

"Kai, wait!" Tyson called but to no avail, Kai simply answered him with a goodbye gesture with his closed fist and then disappeared in the street. "That slippy bastard!"

"I can't believe I let Tyson convince me to do this!" Kenny complained angrily to himself as he walked down the crowded commercial avenue, trying his best to evade other walkers and to politely refuse all the sellers trying to call his attention at any cost. He felt extremely uncomfortable in his own skin having to snoop on someone else's private matters. "But if I don't do it, he will just keep nagging and nagging and won't let me work."

Minutes later, he glimpsed the large square that housed BBA's building. Luckily, he found Kai still making his way through the green path towards the headquarters.

"Well, Tyson may have failed, but maybe I can work my way with him..." The little researcher thought to himself. Since he couldn't go back anymore and he had already promised Tyson that he would try to help, he embraced the challenge and quickly catched up to the fire blader. "Hey Kai! Good morning."

"Kenny," Kai stopped walking and turned to face his colleague.

"Kai, please, can you help me? I'm in terrible need of some beyblade parts! Do you know anyone inside BBA that maybe could help me?" He couldn't help sweating and swallowing dry, knowing that he was terrible at lying and Kai was amazingly good at reading people.

"I don't."

"Hm! Maybe someone from the Technical Department could help me find a proper licensed store. Don't you have any contacts there?"

"I'm pretty sure you passed a Beyblade Shop on your way from Tyson's house to here."

Touché!

"Did I? Hahaha, well..."

"What's taking you so long, Kai? I thought you said you wanted to train." Tala's voice suddenly erupted from behind and the duo turned to face Wolborg's blader approaching them with Bryan, Spencer and Ian at his back - that old russian gang that Kenny found particularly intimidating. The redhead noticed the researcher and directed his attention to him. "Hello, Kenny. Free from Tyson's leash today?"

"That's not funny!" He growled to the russian's amusement. "I'm sorry Tala, Kai, I'm a little bit late. See you!"

Chief turned on his heels and rushed back to the avenue like a lightning bolt, leaving five Russian lads staring at him with question marks on their heads.

"Hilary, the onions!" Daichi shouted.

"O-oops! Sorry!"

It was a busy day at the Granger's house. Hilary and Daichi were preparing lunch while Tyson took care of the troublesome hole on the roof and Ryu finished cleaning the storage. Daichi frowned at the girl as she, visibly with her head hovering in the clouds ever since they put their feet on the kitchen, almost let the boiling vegetables burn twice.

"Are you sure you know how to cook? If you are gonna daydream like that the whole day, better let me take care of it," the little redhead complained.

"Back off, Daichi! It won't happen again, okay?"

"It better not! Humpf! I don't want to eat charred salad!"

Hilary snarled, but slowly regained her composure. Daichi was right after all, she was the one being careless. She closed her eyes while stirring the pan, trying to focus while at the same time soothing that inconvenient headache that she conquered after an almost sleepless night.

"Why am I so upset with it?" She sighed. "It would have happened eventually and it's none of my business. He's my friend, he's a fair guy and I should be supporting him! It's not like he is gonna leave us or disappear… right?"

The sound of the wooden door sliding open called their attention. Tyson and Kenny entered the kitchen, crawled their way to the table and let their weights fall on the chairs at the same time, exhaustion visibly torturing both of them.

"Oh man, I'm so tired…" The scientist mumbled, his small body having run more than eight kilometers in order to catch up to Kai and then flee from him.

"I knew I should have put on some sunscreen, my shoulders are killing me." The world champion let his head fall flat on the table, the sunburns shining and screaming in his shoulders.

"Let me check." The brunette left the pans under Daichi's care for a moment in order to analyze Tyson's burns. They were all around his shoulders and back. "Yep, it's pretty sore. We will have to put some medicine in there or you might have a fever."

"Great," he rolled his eyes and sank his face on the table.

"So guys, any luck with Kai?" Daichi asked, knowing of their attempts to make the gray haired blader spill out his dirty little secret.

They grew grumpier with the question and shook their heads.

"The guy is as slippery as a fish," Tyson growled.

"He evaded all my questions and then the Blitzkrieg Boys showed up. I couldn't keep asking in front of them, so I left." Kenny sighed.

"He and Tala have gotten pretty close after BEGA and all. Maybe he knows something," Hilary suggested with the tip of her finger on her chin.

"Children, you have a visitor!" Ryu announced while entering the kitchen. He took a step aside in order to reveal a smiling Stanley Dickenson behind him.

"Mr. Dickenson!" They greeted him, both surprised and happy with his visit.

"A girl with light brown braided hair and big glasses?" Dickenson kept pulling his mustache, a gesture that always helped him to think better. He was comfortably seated in the chair in the living room, resting after having enjoyed a delicious lunch to which he had been invited. He smiled when he finally pictured the lass in his mind. "Oh, you must be talking about the newest member of the Engineering team. Truly a very hard working girl. I was somewhat surprised when Kai referred her to me for a job. But why do you ask? Did she or any other employee cause you any trouble?"

"The Chad has been really trying my patience these days..." Tyson was about to file a formal complaint when he finished processing the information. "Wait, Kai recommended her?"

"Why yes. I owe him so much and he never asked me for anything before, so I couldn't refuse this simple request."

"So they indeed share a past…" Hilary talked mostly to herself, resting her chin on her hand while her mind wandered far away. "I wonder how long he's been hiding her from us..."

"Hiding? What do you mean?" Dickenson asked with confusion and curiosity.

"Ah, no no, nothing!" She laughed nervously, not wanting to involve the chairman in Kai's private affairs, which were already compromised enough.

"Well, if you guys are curious, you should go talk to her. She's been in Bey City for a few months only. She could use some friends."

The group looked at each other for a moment, assimilating the tip. They quickly looked away from each other after reaching the same conclusion about Kai's reaction: death and gore.

"Now, listen closely. I have to warn you about something, which is why I came here in the first place."

The chairman's suddenly serious face and words immediately caught their attention and the discussion about the employee was no more. He rested his hands on top of the cane knob and closed his eyes, thinking for a moment, selecting the right words and the right dose of objectivity to say them.

"There has been a massive breach into our databases." The group widened their eyes at the revelation. Stanley frowned and continued. "Our cybersecurity team already took care of the vulnerability in our systems, but we couldn't track down the hacker nor block his or her access to the data that he or she had already stolen. However… We managed to establish a pattern. Whoever invaded our database seemed especially interested in both personal data from the beybladers and also detailed info on their bit beasts." The chairman's eyes went directly into Tyson's, staring at him with clear worry and severity, making the boy shiver. "Tyson, Dragoon, Kai and Dranzer were the main targets."

"You mean," Tyson blinked twice, confused, trying to assimilate the gravity of the situation as a boy fairly ignorant about technology, "we are being stalked?"

"That's what it seems," he bitterly confirmed. "Even though I knew the risks of compromising my reputation and that of BBA by sharing this information with you and that you might not trust me anymore, I felt the urge to come and let you guys know for your own safety. Perhaps the hacker is just an irresponsible fan trying to get information about his idols, but we can't know for sure. Therefore, stay safe and be cautious for the next few days."

"Roger," Tyson answered."Thank you for warning us, Mr. Dickenson."

"Please, tell Kai when you see him. And don't share this information with anyone else. I fear for BBA's reputation…"

"Don't worry. We know how much effort you put into this company every day and we owe BBA a big deal." Tyson smiled reassuringly.

"Thank you Tyson." Feeling his heart a little lighter, the chairman stood up, retrieved his cane and returned the hat to his head. "I'm leaving now. Thank you for the delicious meal. And please take care!"

"So, do you guys think this is serious?" Hilary asked worriedly after the team escorted Stanley to the cab waiting outside and then returned to the yard. "What should we do?"

"It is obvious, Hil. We do what we must to help Mr. Dickenson and BBA, always." The determined words immediately left Tyson's lips without hesitation. He turned to the others to show his clenched fist and the fierce glow in his eyes - the very same that always emerged whenever something threatened something he wanted to protect. "When the time comes, we will find this nosy twerp and teach him a good lesson."

Sky blue eyes pierced the glass window surrounding the Technical Department's front office, staring intently at the back of the girl distracted at the computer desk, the stoic expression frozen in his handsome face shielding and hiding his thoughts. He took a small step to the side as she swiveled her chair around to take something from the drawer, hiding himself behind a pillar, then returning to his original position when her eyes returned to the screen.

He had been there for quite a while, silent and mysterious as a ghost, watching the girl as one watches a solitary fish inside an aquarium without allowing himself to be seen. Expensive white clothes embraced his body from chest to toe, his hands resting elegantly behind his back in an upright posture.

When it became quite clear that the lad didn't have any actual business with the Technical Department nor intended to address the employee in any fashion, a second shadow approached him, this one bringing a warm haze in his wake.

"Lost something in there, pal?" Kai's voice startled the stalker.

"Haha, my apologies. I was looking for someone who could answer me some questions," he answered and laughed shily while scratching the back of his head.

"Then go to the reception. This department takes care of beyblades and bladers, not lost people."

A dangerous silence took place after the icy ultimatum. The blonde lad stared at him for a while, gently and indecipherably, yet resisting to leave.

"Well, you certainly must be Kai," he said with a smile. "I'm Elijah. Nice to meet you."

No words came from the famous gray-haired blader, who watched the stubborn young man peacefully approaching him instead of the exit.

"Actually, this is a fortunate encounter. I was planning to arrange a meeting with you anyway so I could make you an offer." Following the words, Elijah sank his hand inside his pocket and retrieved a small memory card along with a fancily designed paper card from it. "I'm looking for a skilled veteran beyblader to join a private project of mine. Of course, you would be rewarded handsomely. These are the project's details along with my contact, should you eventually find yourself interested."

He kindly offered the items to the blader, who picked them up obediently at first, then suddenly proceeded to throw them to the side without a second thought. The memory card crashed violently against the wall, dirtying the ground with its tiny broken pieces.

"Leave," the purple eyed blader warned for the last time. "There's nothing for you to do here."

"On the contrary. I'm about to inherit a large fraction of this company." As his true colors finally surfaced, Elijah's smile became even more soft, completely filled with an aristocratic arrogance that made liquid fire run like lava through Kai's veins. He walked past the blader, muttering to his ear in the process. "There's a lot for me to do here."

"You will find the outside world harder to control than the toys that your parents gave you, little prince." The quiet blader thought to himself as he stared at the doors until they stopped moving, making sure that the stalker had gone for good. However, he couldn't avoid worrying about that information. The lad was probably the son of one of BBA's main investors. Although Stanley did his best to keep the company on its track, it was them who held the last word for the most important decisions regarding the company.

When his sense of danger silenced, he entered the Technical Department to double check on the girl, finding her still focused on the computer's screen. The horrible mood revealed by the pout on her face didn't explain the presence of an "admirer" at all.

"Good evening," she snarled like a snoring beast.

"Did that guy bother you?"

"Who?"

"Forget it." Of course she didn't see nor hear anything, that light-headed workaholic girl. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "Why the angry face?"

"Some blader I was rooting for has been defeated."

"Try again."

"...It's childish really." The girl blushed, seemingly embarrassed at his abrupt answer and already out of excuses. She pushed the keyboard a little, decided to take a break and finally focus on the visitor. "There's this open air cinema taking place at the square this weekend. I asked the girls to go with me today, but one of the assistants has gotten sick and I am replacing him for the night shift. I thought they would postpone it for tomorrow so I could go with them, but they just left me behind without a note and went nonetheless." Then she mumbled mostly to herself, like a loud thought, her eyes lost somewhere beyond the window. "I really wanted to see that movie…"

Kai listened to her quietly, remembering seeing that large contraption somewhere out in the streets and immediately ignoring it as movies and television were items placed far down below in his list of interests. But then, there was her low and disappointed voice, that crystal clear feeling of loneliness that wounded her as deeply as it suited him. The idea poked his mind…

"You will make more friends soon enough."

"Yes."

Silence. It poked again. It wouldn't hurt him that much to invite her just this once, would it? He scowled and closed his eyes, trying to find the words, the gap in his agenda, the wall he was leaning on suddenly feeling like jelly. He pressed his lips and started to open them…

The sound of the speakers carrying the secretary's voice echoed through the entire headquarters, announcing closing-time. The boy clenched his fists.

"We are closing for today," she checked on her clock, seemingly brighter. "Have you finished using the training room?"

"Take care," he turned to the exit after completely forgetting about her defective eyes and throwing the keys for her.

"Kai?" She managed to catch them midair before they hit her forehead and noticed the bad mood that suddenly took over the boy's features, but paid little mind to it - it was just as normal as the ice was cold. He froze in place upon hearing his own name and she smiled shyly, facing the ground while pressing the keys between her fingers. "Will you… walk me home today?"

And just like that his frustration has been dissolved. Like a sand castle carried away by a wave.

"If you hurry," he recommended while turning around and leaning on the door's frame to wait for her to pack up her stuff. An almost invisible smile emerged between the gray pointy bangs when he heard her jumping from the chair.

"Okay!"

"Oh no," she whined at the front door after realizing that she had swapped the keys by accident and brought the keys to the training room instead. Dranzer's bearer swallowed a snarl before stepping out of the sidewalk and proceeding to pick the lock - if he even remembered how to do that. Some neighbors passing by eyed them suspiciously and the girl tried to diverge them with a friendly wave.

"Keeping keys and paperwork - is that what you are doing now?" Contempt dripped from his words when he suddenly asked, moved by the sight of the keys. "I thought you would stick with the Engineering team and continue your research."

"I'm exploring the opportunities and doing a little bit of everything," a distant smile accompanied her explanation.

He glanced at her with the corner of his eyes, but said nothing, soon returning his attention to the lock. It was none of his business how she would handle her experience at BBA, after all.

The sound of a car approaching and covering them with its headlights made Kai shiver and stare over his shoulder at the vehicle with a deadly glow in his purple eye, like a cornered animal. Fortunately, it wasn't the police. Unfortunately, it was another individual he definitely didn't want to meet there.

"Good evening," the golden haired lad lowered the sports car's window by the driver's seat and put his arm outside. A small and shining metallic object hanged from fingers. "I've found this lying on the ground inside BBA and Mr. Dickenson has told me that it belongs to you."

"My keys!" The girl went to him happily and retrieved the object. "Thank you! You are a lifesaver."

"No problem~"

The gray-haired blader grimaced as he silently watched the two introduce themselves to each other and then plunge into a quick conversation. Eventually Elijah looked at him, offering him a simple smile that Kai didn't know was either victorious or polite. The blonde waved at him only to be ignored.

When the intruder finally left, the girl returned to him with the stupidest delighted smile one could ever display.

"Keys!" She showed them to him like he was some blind fool.

"Do you know that guy?" He cut her off.

"I do now."

"Have you seen him before at BBA?"

"No," she answered after some seconds thinking.

"You approached his car way too fast," the sports car's lights finally disappeared at the end of the street and he turned his disapproving gaze to her.

"That's because he had my keys," she explained with an embarrassed smile, finally perceiving the scold, "and he mentioned Mr. Dickenson…"

"The headquarters was closing when we left. Mr. Dickenson had already left by the morning. How did the guy know your address?"

"Maybe he saw it in the files?"

"How does he have access to the private files?"

She finally seemed to get his point, or gave up responding in face of his unyielding temper, and dropped her gaze to the floor in silence.

"You are too naive!" She flinched and he immediately regretted letting his voice raise. He closed his eyes and turned around, and one second later his cold and calm tone had returned. "You have to be more careful. This district isn't exactly safe and even you know that you shouldn't approach a stranger's vehicle in the middle of the night."

"I know. You're right. I'm sorry."

"Go. It's late."

"Kai," she called ten seconds later and he turned to look at her, finding her at the doorstep and gazing lovingly at him behind those huge glasses. "Thank you. For everything."

He neither said or did anything, motionless as a statue in the lawn, letting the cold breeze push his gray bangs to the front of his eyes while she closed the door. Apparently, she had a pretty selective memory.

"Kai!" Hilary jumped from the short staircase when Dranzer's blader finally appeared at the door, covered by drizzle droplets and seemingly exhausted. She unlocked and pulled the gates for him. "Finally! It's past midnight! We were so worried about you!"

"Don't mention," he muttered grumpily while slowly joining her in the yard, eyes closed and head down. "Where is Tyson?"

"Sleeping like a baby. He had to take some painkillers for sunburn." Kai glanced at her, intrigued at that information, but she waved at him casually to indicate that there was nothing to worry about. "What happened to you?"

"Got some complications on my way here." He evaded the question just as she expected and Hilary sighed, following him inside the house. "I'm going to bed."

"I've saved you dinner. It might already be cold though," she said with an understanding smile, arms crossed behind her back as she, knowing that the chat was probably over, began her steps towards her own bedroom.

"Thanks Hilary," he said a moment later, after finally relaxing his mind and realizing the girl's efforts. When everyone else had already called it a day, she probably stayed at the staircase outside the entire night, worrying and waiting for him. Saving dinner was an especially hard deed when one had Tyson and Daichi as the main villains.

She froze in place, surprised at that soft tone, that sudden, unexpected and most welcome acknowledgement. But when she turned around to face him, he had already gone.

"You're welcome…" she muttered with a gentle smile on her face and her heart warm.


I am committed to finishing each chapter with Hilary smiling.