The remaining of the group members, who hadn't leapt into the Lake Arian, accompanied with Daichi who had climbed back up the hill, sulking and had joined in making the shelter. Out of the entire team, perhaps he was the only one who didn't know this was going to happen. The gang had put their bikes and skates aside and started to prepare the tent for the rest. Kai took the grass as his resting place. Kenny and Hilary were going on and on about the food supplies. Ray seated himself into the tent, motioning Katyusha to join him. She obliged.

Daichi had changed from sulking to fierce competitive nature, persuading her as much as he could to battle him. It was all going in vain. She wasn't going to compete for anyone when all she wanted out of today was laziness.

"I forgot the Beyblade at home, Daichi." She excused

"That's a terrible excuse. You never leave your blade at home." Ray called out

"huuuuhhhh!" exclaimed Daichi, holding on her wrist tightly. His bare skin cut right into her skin. She dimly noted how rough his palm was in comparison to hers.

"Leave my hand, Daichi," Katyusha shrieked freeing it out of his grip.

"I am not going to leave you until you take up the dare."

"why? Rest for a while, now there!" she whined right back.

She was trying her best to find comfort inside the tent, but her claustrophobia kicked right in. Ray was sitting across her, seeming relaxed. At least someone was enjoying themselves.

"Let me give you a bit of advice, go with him," Ray said.

She regarded Ray with a look of disbelief. He shrugged. " you can end it fast if you wish to."

Katyusha shook her head, "Do you think he is going to leave me anytime sooner? With his monstrous pride, he is going to make marmalade out of my Drowena until his satisfaction ends."

"Kenny is good at treating marmalades though," Ray said, dodging Katyusha's upcoming punch.

"I am going to win against her, Ray, no matter what the world says" Daichi snapped.

"He refers to you as his world. How sweet!" Katyusha added cheerfully. Now it was Ray's turn to give her a face.

"Daichi, the person who is sitting under the shade is never wrong. Katyusha is three years continues world champ. She might have won the first championship with her brother. That doesn't overlook the fact that she was the champion for like three years straight after she left Kai's grandfather's camp." Ray explained

"Now, now ray you are bragging." Katyusha pointed out

"It's a fact!" he said in a matter-of-fact tone. Katyusha couldn't even oppose what he said. She had won three consecutive championships before she met the blade breakers. She was going to quit beyblading for a year until Mr D had approached her with the update for an exceptionally talented group.

"Come on then! Let see who is right and who is wrong" he said, giving ray dark glares which were returned with a grin.

She sighed. "No point denying Daichi."

Before she could continue, she turned back to Ray, smiling at him. "You can't measure the capacity of a person's ability due to wins and loses but rather to their wills and courage. I might have won for years but it was barely out of Mr Dickenson's nagging me for years, did I give myself a name. You guys have the spirits much better because you always want to learn more. That's something I lagged back then."

Ray returned her smile.

Daichi and Katyusha came face to face. She couldn't deny the fact that Daichi was among one of the best bladers whatsoever. He shouldn't be underestimated as he won against one of the hardest bladders in the world championship alongside Tyson. He won't be easy to win nor easy to lose. And she had her pride through her head for now.

Hilary took up the title DJ Hilary for a while. All the eyes were on them for now. Kenny had also dropped her fuss about missing plates and cups. Even Kai rolled onto his back in the field beyond, glimpsed at them.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let me now pronounce the start of the league between this year world champion Daichi against three years world champion Katyusha," Hilary declared, as she slapped her hand on her forehead. Daichi habitually was protesting against Hilary for the statement to have a correction.

"Can we start or not?" Katyusha asked looking from Hilary to Daichi

"We may!" Hilary said poking out her tongue to Daichi

"…. countdown begins!"

"Three" "Two," she said

"One! Go!" everyone hooted in unison as the blades soared and tackle each other without a second delay.

Daichi yelled, "GO STRATA DRAGOON!", releasing his bit beast minutes into the game. Whereas, she had other plans for her bit beast.

Her Drowena started to circle strata dragoon, stripping off all the energy she could improvise later on. She could strip away the fire breathing in the bit-beast of her opponent blade.

And she had an upper hand here as Daichi has never properly seen her blade whereas she had noted down most of his power and techniques beforehand during the previous competitions. Even during the break-in middle, they never really competed against each other much since Daichi usually annoyed Tyson with such suggestions.

His blade was trying hard against the ice-bound hurricane developing around his blade, but couldn't master it very well. She let her emotions sweep into her bit beast, leaving it attacking Strata Dragoon with every corner. Neither of them backed off one bit. With every spin, a new formation and attacked found its way into Katyusha's blade. She waited for the information. It was all she could do for now.

Just when she thought she had the upper control, the Dragoon took a big swing using her energy against herself. She tried to gain balance but couldn't. The path made by her blade was slippery and to Daichi's much delight, irresistibly risky even for an ice-based bit beast.

"Great Cutter, NOW!" Daichi yelled, taking care of the crowd.

The only option left for her to show her phoenix's magic.

"Drowena!" she screamed, releasing her bit beast. The ice phoenix busted into life in front of the crowd. Even though the sacred four-bit beast was one of the oldest forms of bit beats, her counter-apart phoenix had no less of a beauty. It was out of her wits, how the already sunlit environment could glow brighter.

As it rounded against strata Dragoon, one could notice the mist left behind. If not the mist, then the smell of metals overlapping the bladers. If not the smell, then the aura shown by the ice phoenix. While Daichi's bit beast was busy fighting against the mist enveloping the blades blocking the view, Katyusha saw her time.

"release engine gear!" she exclaimed as she heard everyone around her draw their breath.

Max and Tyson had also come up to the hill where the fight was on. Kai also seemed to be interested in the match. Kenny, Hilary and Ray didn't even seem to blink their eyes. She very well knew the reason. She rarely ever used her engine gears.

Greatest of the time, she wouldn't even need the use of drawing out her bit-best. But not today. She wanted to depict the power of the bit beats. She was craving and greedy for a good show. She wanted to show the development to the person she knew was attentively watching every step of hers. She could feel his eyes lingering on her body, on her moves. She felt at ease under his eyesight. She wanted it to be like that. She wanted to be noticed and seen by Kai Hiwatari.

Impulsively, her eyes dragged to his maroon eyes. They held the stare, not missing anything. With a snap of fingers without breaking eye contact, she flipped the game in her direction.

Drowena clashed hard against Daichi's Strata Dragoon, finishing the game there and then as Strata Dragoon went flying above her head. She caught Drowena as it came souring towards her. Daichi was gaping at his blade in astonishment. She couldn't blame him for that.

"So what about letting me rest in peace?" Katyusha asked but didn't get a response. When no response found, she stalked towards Ray who was smirking. She smiled as she took a seat next to him.

"Well, we couldn't even take our eyes away from the match. Thanks for the entertainment" ray said giving Max a nod as they dived back into the ocean body.

"Thank Daichi for it. It was a good practising... it's long since I bladed last which was fairly a tough match." She said, looking at Kai.

"you're right." He said looking from him to her and then pulled another smug card out of his sleeves.

"I think so you should confess it to him." He said simply

"Right...Confess. CONFESS? Confess to hi-what?! Confess it to him? Who him? What to confess? What are you talking about?" she asked with wide eyes.

"You very well know whom I'm talking about. The person who you have known for years now. The person who knows you better than himself."

"It weird when you phrase it like that. It's giving me chills. ughhh" She stated, shuddering

He said, smiling "the only person blind to your feelings is probably he." he leaned closer "because if you can't tell the truth to the person you care about the most now, eventually you stop telling the truth to yourself."

This caught her attention the most. She wasn't numb to facts. But she knew she was powerless in this condition. Their friendship was at risk.

Internally she knew, friendship might only be an excuse to disregard such feeling but they both knew, Katyusha's journey wasn't that of the ordinary. Only if she could live a normal life, with simple feelings...

If he is going to play with facts, let's have them reflected in his mind too.

"And who is telling me this. Don't think I can't see the way you and Mariah look at each other. it was seen In your eyes, what you feel for her. So you should better tell it to her." She pointed out which was rewarded with a red-faced Ray. She grinned.

Hilary came rushing towards me. "WHERE YOU BROTHER?"

"Get the sentence right at least, Hil," Kenny called.

Katyusha instinctively backed off, "Woah, hold up. Jake left long ago. He just came to drop us off. What happened now?" she asked, trying to figure out the 'under the breath' versus Hilary was repeating over and over again.

"Who had the barbeque items?"

"Oh." She stood up and bowed apologetically. "Sorry from my brother's side. He has a memory span of a goldfish."

"Its genetic thing, I guess," Hilary stated. She didn't even seem like she realized she said it. Katyusha let her slide.

"He might have left it at the cycle stand on the outer side. I will just check it and come. And I wanna have a quick walk away too. My socializing energy has drained out."

With her hands in her pocket, her blades in her hand, she walked off to the forested track.

His eyes followed Katyusha unconsciously. She crossed to the other side of the ground. Her hair was left wide open. Her purple highlights popping out in the sunlight. It was a beautiful sight. Things have been very different between them since she left the dojo. Unknowingly they are growing deeper in their friendship. Is it friendship or something else? He felt his heart contracting at the thought.

As if sensing him seeing her, she turned around as their eyes met. After a few minutes of processing, she looked away. He exhaled, unaware that he was holding his breath. People change with time changing.

Things have changed between them also but the souls that reside within them will always stay same no matter what time costs, they would forever remember how they stood by each other even in the hardest time of life. How they stood as an inspiration for each other. He felt himself smile as she started to walk again. He closed his eyes and let himself in.

A helicopter rounded right above them, disturbing the silence. He groaned before the something cut through the air, zipping towards him. His body took action before his head. He leapt out, missing an arrow. Which era are they even living in either way? Of course, the stone age era.

He had disregarded the arrow.

But this wasn't a game. His eyes caught the reason. Carved on the wood, a name flashed before his eyes.

Katyusha

That eight-letter word sent like a shock wave through him. He leapt from his place and ran after her. If someone is in trouble, it's her.

"Katyusha!" he called out after her. She came to a halt and frowned, just then a massive wall-like structure came between them, acting as a wall. It was directly over her's head. Now her expression shifted from horrified to confusion and then to shock. She looked straight at kai without any hint of fear.

To his surprise, she hurried towards him as he leapt at her. He pulled her by one arm and tried to stop the impact happening on her with another hand.

Due to the force, they rolled down on the uneven land away from the invisible wall, which now trapped them from all the sides. They came to a stop.

Katyusha remained cocooned between Kai's arms. He didn't let go of her. Her arms were around his neck, gripping his scarf. Her hairs were losing covering some part of his face. For a person who stood with such dominance and alertness, she had practically curled into his embrace, impulsively or not. He tried providing her with grip, which went useless. They knew they were losing themselves into each other. His skin prickled where her skin met his. Comparted to his cold skin, she was burning.

"Wha-" she asked hesitated. Katyusha rarely ever hesitates. It's not in her nature. Her eyes wide, searching for her answer in the wilderness surrounding them.

"it was an arrow with your name," he said.

"And you jumped?" she looked more maddened with seconds passing.

Kai didn't back down. "Like I wouldn't have."

He felt her sigh beneath him. They were close enough to breathe the same air. He knew from the look on her face that things won't be the same between them, not for her. All doubts fogging his decision was now crystal clear. Every breath he took spoke for itself. He had lost himself for this girl. And damn, did he regret it. Until then he hadn't realized the ferocity of his feelings. His heart started to throb harder. He pulled out his hand, trying to cover the discomfort.

Slowly but steadily, she pulled away from her body from his. She got up, nodding at him. Every ounce of Katyusha glowed with an unnatural fluidity. Even with the awkwardness, she regained her composure with such precision and grace. That hurt his heart. They both stood quietly.

Aggressive could be used to describe her. She took around the wall surrounding them. He had been so absorbed in keeping an eye on Katyusha, he had lost the motive behind this situation.

The wall standing between the bladebreakers and them was as tall as the mountains they scaled. The wall was thick enough to ground itself into the ground without any support. There was no sign of the helicopter in the surrounding. It had vanished in thin air. The wall was barely visible due to the transparent colour.,

The rest of their gang had started to gather around the wall, trying to get inside. It was of no use. This wasn't an everyday task to deal with. This much level of protection is rare. It was someone with power in society. Till where his eyesight provided, there was no escape. The wall was surrounding them. The jungle was marked outside their reach too.

"Are you okay?" Katyusha whispered, breaking his observation.

"I ought to ask you the same if not wrong" was all his response.

"no worries you didn't let any harm come in my way," she said. She had wandered off to examine the barrier.

"Any luck?" he inquired. He got the answer with a swift shaking.

"did you see the person who sends the arrow?" she added, looking sideways at him for a moment.

"Helicopter." He said. "They seemed to know-"

"-that you will come to after me" she finished and looked away. This was going even weirder than Kai had anticipated.

"But this doesn't answer all of the questions. There is no helicopter standing pad anywhere nearby as much as I am informed."

Katyusha continued without a break suggesting her discomfort.

"Well! Well! You ask many questions, don't you" spoke a voice. He's turned over the place this voice was coming from. It was coming from the trees. On top of them was a boy standing looking at them. He was wearing a very familiar outfit. He was wearing the same outfit worn by the team pyskicks.

This is going hell. They all are very prone to surprises, most of them included giving, minor heart attacks. The same very psykick who had once mentally taken most of their friend's life with their mastermind Dr Zagart. They were defeated four years ago by them, bladebreakers itself. Come back was a long process which is practically next to impossible in only four years.

Katyusha didn't even glance at Kai. She pulled a full 'dissolving in her mind. Don't disturb' card and had gone stoic faced. Talk about characteristic switching. She was never surprised. With a weak heart as her's, he was surprised how she didn't panic at every sound but seems like she is a step ahead when expecting something.

Even in the tension, she cracked a smile, "It's a wonderful thing, you see. When you expect the worst, even bad doesn't stand a chance in surprising you. I might have been a bit disappointed if you haven't come up with such a funky wall to catch us. Now it's much better of a match than before."

She pulled her blades out. She read and reacted to the surrounding. Now she will decide the end of this. This is the girl the world was supposed to know. Kai never felt this respectful towards a blader before. Neither had he ever experienced his heart before this date.

This girl had given this both to him. And he was down for this right he had been granted.