have a very kyoya centric chapter.
"Kyoya? What are you still doing up?"
Kyoya jumped, startled, and whipped around. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw it was just Kakeru, stepping through the glass doors and out on to the balcony of their apartment. The younger was rubbing at his eyes, wrapped up in a blanket in the cool spring night air.
"Couldn't sleep. Too much paperwork and I'm still thinking about it," Kyoya answered, turning back to lean against the railing, eyes to the night sky. Stars shined overhead, barely visible through the night lights of Metal City, "What are you doing up?"
"… Nightmares," Kakeru said, quietly, and Kyoya glanced over as Kakeru sidled up next to him, drawing the blanket tighter over his shoulders.
"Want to talk about it?" Kyoya asked.
"If it's not about mom, it's about Doji or Nemesis," Kakeru muttered. "So what's the point?"
"Have you talked to your therapist about it?" Kyoya sighed.
"Have you?"
"I asked you first,"
"You're older,"
"What's that got to do with anything?"
"It affects you more,"
"Oh, hey, look a shooting star!" Kakeru abruptly changed the subject, eyes wide as he pointed up at the sky.
Kyoya tilted his head back, and, sure enough, a shooting star was flying through the sky. He grinned, and ruffled Kakeru's hair, "Good eye. Make a wish."
"Woah… it's a meteor shower!" Kakeru breathed, as multiple shooting stars flew through the air.
Kyoya froze, jaw dropping a little as he watched the scene. Quickly, he tried to recall what day it was. Was it already the night of the Perseids shower? Dammit, when was the scheduled peak for this thing? Should Kyoya call someone? Who should he call? Yuki was probably his best bet…
Before Kyoya could turn to go find his phone, a bright light caught his attention. His head snapped up, eyes locking on to a comet directly overhead whose light trail glowed brighter than the others, and in a color that wasn't like that of the others. It was golden-brown, the shade familiar to Kyoya but from where, he couldn't remember…
The show lasted a few more minutes, both brothers transfixed on the scene. There was a few beats of silence before Kyoya shook himself out of it, "Talk about perfect timing, huh?"
"I guess so," Kakeru laughed, turning back to Kyoya with a small smile. "You going to stay up any longer?"
"… No," Kyoya decided, with great reluctance. If anything, he was more wired now, adrenaline and excitement pumping through him. Still, he could play up exhaustion and convince Kakeru to go back to bed himself before he had his crisis.
And that's exactly what he did. Kakeru got a glass of water and bid Kyoya goodnight. Kyoya gathered the files and papers that were gathered up on the glass coffee table, before he disappeared into his own room. He threw the papers on his desk and took a deep breath, fighting his rising anxiety.
This is real, this is coming, this is happening, fuck it all- Kyoya began to pace, running his hand through his hair. Another world ending event. Another world championships. All of this is building up to be a mix of both Ziggurat's plans and Rago's!
Kyoya swiped his phone up off his bedside table, sitting down on the edge of his bed and pulling open the group chat he had been forced into.
Yo-Yo: Yuki, you up?
The reply came within seconds.
Starman: I am Mister Kyoya. I am assuming, since you're still awake and are asking for me, you saw the meteor shower as well?
Yo-Yo: Yeah. You saw the comet that stood out too?
Starman: Miss Madoka and I are already working on tracking it's trajectory. Dynamis said it would fall over the chosen warrior, so we are hoping we can narrow the suspects down by doing so.
Yo-Yo: Let's hope. Let me know what comes up.
Starman: Of course! Get some sleep Mister Kyoya. We'll probably have a meeting first thing in the morning.
Kyoya snorted as he shut his phone off. While he didn't deny the meeting part of Yuki's statement, he could say with certainty that he would not be getting any sleep for a while.
It was a weird day, Kyoya reflected, when we walked into the WBBA offices and learned that Ryuga was undergoing training to be an agent seven months ago. The Leone Blader had thought for sure that the idea to train Ryuga would go up in flames faster than Gingka could eat a five course meal, but he'd been surprised to hear how much progress Ryuga made. He beat and then set the best records when it came to his physical and psychological evaluations, just ahead of Tsubasa and Kyoya himself.
It had been an ever weirder day when Ryuto Katashi stormed the building- literally and figuratively, a thunderstorm announcing his arrival and the famous Katashi temper roaring- and demanded he talked to his brother. 'Talking' ended up being a two hour screaming match that no one was willing to try and break up with a ten foot pole. Eventually, Ryo and Gingka of all people had stepped in and put an end to it before it could get even worse. Whatever it was that had set the two Katashi's off had been resolved in a matter of minutes. No one decided to question it.
Weirder still though, was when Ryuga started office work. Kyoya half expected him to set fire to the paperwork and demand to be put in the field. He was stupefied when that didn't happen. Instead, Ryuga took to the schedule and the job like a duck to water. Just a few months after Ryuga's hiring, the board had decided he was qualified for field work, and yet again, Ryuga set a record for fastest promotion.
But what put the icing on the proverbial cake, in Kyoya's opinion, was how easily Ryuga adjusted to domestic life. He didn't scream at those who annoyed him- not like he would have two years ago- or belittle them- actually, he did, but only to those who really deserved it. Kyoya liked to sit back and watch it happen when it did- and when Ryuga was assigned as a member of Kyoya and Tsubasa's group, Tsubasa had laid the ground rules.
"If you two have a problem with each other, get it out of your systems now. I'm not willing to jeopardize assignments and work because you two can't work your shit out," Was Tsubasa's exact words.
Kyoya just raised an eyebrow, "So, Doji, huh?"
Ryuga snorted, replying in a voice full of sarcasm, "So, brothers, huh?"
And that had been that. Now, almost five months later, the trio worked together like a well oiled machine, working as one of the best teams the Japanese WBBA branch had ever seen. Still, there were some moments…
"… There was full pot of coffee in here forty five minutes ago,"
Kyoya didn't bother to deign Ryuga's comment with a response. He sipped at his third full to-go cup of coffee and raised an eyebrow. By now, he was used to Ryuga's snips about his coffee intake, and frankly, he couldn't give a damn.
Slowly, Ryuga turned his head to look at Kyoya, just staring at him. Kyoya met his gaze and silently dared him to say something.
"How do you drink so much?" Ryuga finally asked, sounding as baffled as Ryuga could get before nine in the morning on a Wednesday. He set to work on brewing a new pot of coffee.
"Helps that I didn't sleep at all last night," Kyoya said.
"If that's the case, with how much coffee you go through, you must never sleep,"
"Not all of us can just pass out at the drop of a hat, your majesty,"
"Well, excuse me, your highness, for needing my beauty sleep,"
"Are you two ready to get to work?" Tsubasa poked his head into the break room, and he looked as tired as Kyoya felt.
"Son of a bitch, are all my coworkers insomniacs?!" Ryuga exclaimed, taking note of the bags under Tsubasa's eyes.
"No," Tsubasa sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he walked in. "A series of unfortunate circumstances have allowed Yuu in on the secret of the Elemental Seven and he interrogated me until one o clock this morning about if and when I was going to tell him about it."
"Ouch," Ryuga commented, deadpan. Unlike the other two, he didn't live with a young charge who could pester him, living by himself just a few blocks away.
"… Which means that Kenta will know before the day's up, since they go to the same school," Tsubasa pointed out, and the horror that flooded Ryuga's expression was glorious…
Until Kyoya remembered that Kakeru also went to the same school and he knew he'd be getting a phone call about lunch time.
Kyoya groaned, already feeling a headache forming.
"A shared sentiment," Tsubasa sighed. "Come on. Let's get to work. Maybe we can ignore our impending doom if we get distracted enough by paperwork."
Kyoya's phone dinged at 11:31, just six minutes after the man knew Kakeru's lunch break started. He ignored it. It went off again at 11:37, then another at 11:42, and catching both Tsubasa and Ryuga's attention and forcing their stares on him.
Finally, at 11:45, AC/DC's For Those About To Rock, split through the air, and Kyoya admitted defeat with a half sigh, half groan.
"Good luck," Tsubasa said, dryly, as Ryuga snapped a sarcastic salute.
With another sigh, Kyoya picked up his phone and coffee, and decided to clock out for lunch as he answered, "Yes, I knew, and yes, I was going to tell you."
"Bitch," Kakeru was fuming, and Kyoya could just imagine the steam coming off his brother's head. "Why didn't you just tell me the day you found out instead of keeping it from me?!"
"Because, I wanted to get all my facts straight before I said anything," Kyoya groaned, as he waited on the elevator. "People are still reeling from Nemesis, what are they gonna do when they find out another monster of mass destruction wants to take over the world?"
There was a beat of silence. The elevator doors opened and workers poured out, and Kyoya filed in, thankfully alone.
"Kakeru?" Kyoya asked as the doors slid shut.
"Uh, what are you talking about?" Kakeru finally spoke.
"I'm talking about Nyx, what are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about the World Championships, so where the hell are you getting another world ending disaster to happen?!"
… Fuck.
"Uh…"
"Kyoya?!"
Kyoya hung up and put his brother on mute. He took several deep breaths and forced himself to walk when the elevator opened on the ground floor. Then, he called Tsubasa.
"That was fast," Tsubasa commented, when he picked up. "What did he say?"
"He was talking about the World Championships and I was spilling about Nyx," Kyoya said, after a moment. "I'm taking the rest of day off and sleeping so I can prepare for Kakeru's inevitable blow up when he gets home."
"Oh Kyoya," Tsubasa sighed. "Fine. Ryuga and I will keep you updated on the situation otherwise."
Distantly, Kyoya heard, "What did the hair brained bastard do now?"
For once, Kyoya decided not to argue Ryuga's insult.
Ryo called a meeting not too long after lunch. The people gathered were the same as the ones who were there when Dynamis first arrived in Japan just a few days earlier.
"Where's Kyoya?" Akira asked, swiping his bangs out of his eyes.
"Preparing for war," Ryuga replied, putting an extra foot between him and the teen. It wasn't that Ryuga didn't trust him… He was just wary of the kid, considering who his dad was
Akira didn't seem to take offense, only raising an eyebrow, "Say again?"
"Kakeru found out about the World Championships from Yuu, but Kyoya thought he was talking about Nyx, and then confusion happened and now Kyoya is probably at home cat napping his way out of this meeting so he can brace himself for Kakeru's interrogation," Tsubasa sighed.
"Ah, that makes more sense," Akira nodded. "Wait… how did Yuu find out? You said you weren't gonna say anything about Nyx until after the Championships were announced?"
"I… believe that is my fault," Dynamis cleared his throat, looking sheepish. "I was with Tsubasa last night, and we were discussing both subjects, when we thought that Yuu and Tithi were asleep."
"They were not," Tsubasa muttered, darkly. He sighed and shook his head, "Director? What have you called us in for?"
"Ah, yes!" Ryo perked up, "We've finally managed to get reports on all the meteors we needed to know about." He turned and clicked a button on his keyboard, and several video calls opened up on the big screen, a few more than last time, "Aleksi, do you want to do the honors?"
Aleksi, Team Lovushka's leader, nodded, "Thank you, director. Since Madoka contacted us, we at the Russian Space Program have been waiting for the Perseids shower to pass over Earth. As Dynamis said, there were a total of eight that stood out, and a few that veered off course from the projected trajectory of the shower itself. Here are some pictures."
As images began to show up on screen, Aleksi continued to speak.
"Metal City, Japan," A golden-brown comet appeared on the screen.
"We had one pass over Moscow, Russia," A purple colored comet blazed through the sky.
"One passed over both Beylin Temple and Yumen, China," A comet, silver in color, glowed brightly.
"Dwarka, India," A comet, nearly identical to the one over China, showed up, but this one was much lighter and whiter in color.
"One over Cairo, Egypt," One that was similar to the one from Japan showed up, except it was much more of a golden color.
"Venice, Italy," A red meteor showed up.
"London, England," A royal blue streak of fire and rock.
"And finally, New York, USA," The final comet, green in color, showed up on screen.
"So now that we know the locations, how do we find them?" Wales Reynolds, of Team Excalibur, was the first to speak up. Next to him, a younger look alike sat, icy eyes piercing even through the computer screens.
"Who knows? Dynamis said there wasn't a guarantee of any Bey evolutions, not like with the Legendary Bladers," Madoka commented, and the groups all dissolved into theories and conversation from there.
Eventually, Ryo managed to quiet everyone, bringing their attention back to him, "Well, I guess there's only one way to find these Elemental Seven."
Practically everyone held their breath, as Ryo grinned broadly.
"Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines! It's time for a new World Championships!"
Kyoya woke up to the sound of someone in the kitchen, and the smell of katsudon cooking. It took a moment to realize he had slept through his alarm and that the sun was setting outside. Cursing, he launched to his feet, ignoring the crick in his neck that had come from passing out on the couch.
At the same time, Kakeru poked his head out into the living room. The two stared each other down.
"Dinner's ready," Kakeru finally said, voice quiet, and ducked back into the kitchen. "Hope you're hungry! I'm guessing you skipped lunch."
Kyoya's stomach growled at him, and Kyoya sighed in defeat, and trudged to the kitchen. Kakeru set a bowl of katsudon on the kitchen island, right at Kyoya's normal seat, before turning back to put a bowl together for himself.
They were silent, as they picked at their food. Eventually…
"So what about-"
"I'm sorry I didn't-"
They both started at the same time, before cutting off and staring at each other again. Kakeru gestured with his chopsticks, "You first."
Kyoya sighed, "I should have waited to see what you were talking about before spilling my guts this afternoon."
Kakeru nodded and just watched him.
"You were talking about something else other than what I was told you would know about," Kyoya continued. "I… was planning on telling you about both things."
"So, here we are, a few hours later, and I'm still confused," Kakeru said. "Mind clearing everything up for me?"
So, Kyoya did. Over dinner, and as the two worked together to clean and put away the dishes.
"So… last night's meteor shower?" Kakeru asked, once Kyoya finished explaining everything.
Kyoya nodded, pouring up a cup of tea for himself, "Yeah. Someone in Metal City."
"And you're hoping… the World Championships will draw all of the Elemental Seven out?"
"Yeah. I haven't checked my messages yet, but I'm sure there was some meeting about the location of the other Seven… plus the bearer of Nyx," Kyoya sighed.
"Only message I saw was from an unknown number," Kakeru mumbled and when Kyoya glanced at him, he went red. "I, uh, sorta turned your alarm off when I got home and saw you passed out. Figured you needed the sleep more than a confrontation with me. I got my homework done and cooked dinner, and it helped me cool my own head, so, uh, yeah…"
When did my little brother grow up? Kyoya thought, shaking his head.
"Good on you, then," He said. "Anything else either of us need to tell the other?"
"Mm… not on my end, but uh…" Kakeru shifted on his feet, looking nervous, "Can… I ask a favor of you?"
"Depends…" Kyoya drawled, "What is it?"
"Will you help me train for the Championships?" Kakeru blurted out, then hastily continued, "I mean, I know you're busy with work and all, and you don't get home until after I do. I just… I thought, I mean-"
"Slow down and breathe," Kyoya rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'll help you. I got some vacation time saved up, I can take a few days off. But!" He interrupted whatever Kakeru was about to say, "Only if you do your homework in class or as soon as you get home. I expect your grades to stay up, otherwise, I'm not even letting you compete, understand?"
Kakeru nodded, bouncing on his feet, "Yep, yes, understood, you got it boss."
"And don't call me that," Kyoya swatted Kakeru upside the head.
Kakeru grinned, "You got it. Hey, do you mind if I go down to the Bey park for a bit?"
"You said your homework's done? You don't have any tests or quizzes to study for?"
"Yep, and nope,"
"In that case, be back before eight," Kyoya said, and Kakeru grinned, hugged him, and was flying out the door in less than a minute. Affectionately, Kyoya muttered, "Brat."
With the dinner put away and dishes done, Kyoya picked up his tea and walked into the living room, falling heavily on to the couch with a sigh. He flipped the tv on, finding an old rerun of Battle Bladers, and let it play while he picked his phone up. He had a few new messages.
Tsubasa
We know the general location of the rest of the Elementals. Ryuga and I'll fill you in tomorrow.
1:29 PM
Kyoya fired off an affirmative text, and went to the other unread messages, all of them from the same person.
Unknown
Heyyy, Kyoya. Listen I've got a question for you.
3:27 PM
Unknown
Oh, shit, you don't know who I am
It's uh, Ryuto.
Ryuga's brother?
Anyways, text me back when you get this, it's important…
3:35 PM
Kyoya took a fortifying sip of his tea, changed Ryuto's contact name, and answered.
Kyoya
How did you get my number?
6:26 PM
Ryuto
Oh good you didn't block me
Also don't ask questions you don't want the answer to
6:30 PM
Kyoya
Does Ryuga know you break the law, then?
6:31 PM
Ryuto
No, and let me keep it that way. Bad enough I'm a treasure hunter and not an actual Blader.
6:33 PM
Kyoya
I'm barely paid enough to deal with your brother, don't add family issues to it. What do you want?
6:35 PM
Ryuto
Right
Uh, how did you tell Kakeru you were a Legendary Blader and needed to go off and save the world? I have a hunch on a member of the Seven, but they have an older sibling who's a bit… over protective.
6:39 PM
Kyoya
I didn't. I ended up getting chewed out by him when we got back to Japan and he didn't talk to me for a week afterwards. It upset him a lot and I think I'm still paying for it.
6:41 PM
Ryuto
Oh.
6:45 PM
Kyoya took another sip of his tea, and glanced up at the tv screen. He winced. Of all the battles, it was his and Ryuga's playing. He turned his attention back to his phone, and stared for a second, before deciding, screw it, and hit the call button. Ryuto picked up after five rings.
"Wha-"
"I'd say go ahead and get it over with," Kyoya cradled the phone between his ear and shoulder, as he picked up the remote to change the channel. "Ryuga will have more time to get over you being a member of the next world saving group the sooner you get it over with."
Silence met his statement, "How…"
"I have a brother your age. I'm fluent in the language of 'I have a friend'," Kyoya deadpanned. "How did you figure it out?"
"… I'm honestly not completely sure I am one," Ryuto sighed, sounding tired. Kyoya empathized, "Just… when the comet passed over India, Dragonis started glowing, like it did in the final battle with Nemesis and I thought 'there's no way this can be coincidental', so I decided I'd ask."
"Did you mention the glowing Bey thing in today's meeting?"
"No…" Ryuto trailed off, "And neither did anyone else, so I… Kyoya, I don't know. I just… I figured I'd ask you on the off chance. You were the only one I could think of to ask."
"Okay, point there," Kyoya sighed. "Have you noticed any changes in Dragonis since last night?"
"No. No evolutions, no sudden power surges… I know this isn't a whole 'star fragment' deal, but could Dragonis just be reacting to another end of the world thing?"
"Could be," Kyoya shrugged. "But Leone didn't glow and I carry him everywhere with me." Kyoya paused on an old movie, the first Fast and Furious, and left it on, "Dragonis… what's her element?"
"Uh… lightning? Inclement weather?"
"Doesn't sound like any of the elements we're looking for. Honestly, I think you're in the clear. Could have just been a fluke of some sort. Maybe your Blader's spirit subconsciously got fired up, since the World Championships are coming up. Ryuga said he mentioned it to you," Kyoya mused. "You gonna try for it?"
"I don't know… I'm not Ryuga…"
"And Kakeru isn't me, but he's already training for it,"
Ryuto was silent for a moment.
"I'm from Japan originally, so I guess I'd have to come and try to qualify for the Japanese team, huh?"
"I'm from Japan and yet I got on the African team. Don't you have enough contacts you can get some stuff changed around? It's actually a pretty simple process,"
"Are… are you saying I should lie on government forms about my origins?"
At that, Kyoya grinned.
"You were the one who said you already break some laws. What's a few more?"
It was another week before the announcement everyone was waiting on was made.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the Beyblade world! Hold on to your hats because I've got an announcement that just might blow them away! As you know, it's been almost a year since the last major tournament in any country! Well, that's all about to change because I'm here to tell you now, the WBBA has just confirmed that there will be another World Championships! And even better, it's to start in just a few weeks' time, with the first of the qualifiers being in USA starting on May twenty-fifth! So, get ready Bladers, because it's time to go global!"
whew! this one took a bit, not gonna lie. so, anyone got guesses on who's getting what element now that we know what countries they know where to look?
hope you enjoyed and will be kind enough to leave a review!