Chapter 2: Strength

Sunny skies filled with clouds, birds chirping and most of all, the smell of mom's famous bey bread. What a beautiful start to my day. It's only been a day since my first victory but everyone's been talking about it all day long. I asked my mother where Valt went but she said he left earlier this morning to go exercise and train for the National Tournament. I heard rumors that an International Tournament was going to be real. Nonetheless I ran out of there as fast as I can picking up a couple of Bey bread's along the way. I set out to find Valt and possibly see if he can train with me. I skid into a halt and remembered... I forgot my Bey and launcher!

After collecting it, I sighed as I ran to find Valt again. I spotted Nika in the park along the way and head to ask her what she was doing. When I tried to ask her i immediately saw Daigo Kurogami's brother, Ryota Kurogami with his brother's bey "Dark Deathschyther". Is everyone really borrowing there brother's bey? Oh well, im glad to see Ryota fine and well after being hospitalized for so long. I proceeded to greet them with a smile on my face. "Hey Toko! That was an awesome battle you displayed yesterday. How did you pull of that sick Rush Launch like move? Come on, show us!" Ryota replied. He was really enthusiastic about blading again after being discharged. After that, I took my pose, steadied my launcher and took a deep breath. To do this launch you have to be very precise otherwise It'll just hit the wall and potentially fly off like a miniature helicopter.

"LET IT RIP!' The bey was heading its way to the stadiums rims, as it gets closer and closer it goes into hyper drive. "WOAH! That is sick! How did you even pull that off?" I explained that by hitting the rims I gain momentum. To be honest I don't even know myself how I do that, I just pull the string and launch the bey. After that whole demonstration i prepared to head off and find Valt. I said goodbye to the two and ran off. I figured he'd be at the gym or something but I thought he'll be at the rooftop of Beigoma Academy.

I climbed the stair to the rooftop and checked if Valt was there. And just as I had predicted, he was here with Honcho and Ken. These three never leave each other alone, I swear they're like glued together. I asked if I could train with them. "Sure! The more the merrier!". They gave me pointers on how to defeat Stamina, Attack and Defense type beys. They even arranged a battle training for me. First up was Honcho, his stamina type bey "Rising Ragnaruk" was tough and can last long for sure. The only thing I'm worried about is that bey's power. My bey is a single layer bey while his is a dual layer. Even though its his first bey, I know he specifically chose that to take it easy on me.

"Alright the battle between Toko Aoi and Honcho is about to begin! Honcho's bey is a stamina type and Toko's bey is an attack type. So this should give you an advantage right Toko?" Ken announced. I replied with yeah and tried to act cool, but the thing is even with the speed of my Valkyrie his Ragnaruk is just simply too good of a stamina type for me. I shook it off and focused on the battle and the opponent I'm about to face. This is gonna be one heck of a ride.

"3 2 1! LET IT RIP!"

Honcho immediately took off and guarded the center of the stadium. I didn't go for my Speed Mirage Launch just yet, I need to try my old move with my pal Valkyrie. Valkyrie swoops in for the attack and landed a solid hit. But it still wasn't enough for Ragnaruk to budge. Valkyrie hits it again and again until it transforms the launch i made into a Rush Launch. "Taking a chip out of the old block huh?" Honcho said "I predicted you were going for a Rush Launch, well here's a good deal. How about i use my Ragnaruk Zone?" I knew it! My stamina's not that good but at least my bey hits hard. "Ragnaruk Zone!" My Valkyrie ran out of spin power after it landed a couple of hits on Ragnaruk. I picked up my bey and started to think of a plan, a plan that'll ensure our victory. Valt was looking at me like he was worried, no matter what happens i need to win.

"3 2 1! LET IT RIP!"

My launch wasn't inclined this time, I launched it parallel of the stadium. It was slower than usual but just fast enough to avoid Ragnaruk's zone. "So this is your plan huh? Avoiding Ragnaruk wont help. You'll stamina will just deplete anyway." That's what I hoped what Honcho was thinking! This time It's a disguised Ultra Flash Rush Launch. Valkyrie immediately started to gain speed when hitting stadium's rim. It then proceeded with a Flash Launch and then an Ultra Flash Launch. "Huh, not bad kid. I gotta admit you got style and some kick on your attacks. But you're still not beating me! Go! Ultra Ragnaruk Zone!" I was shocked, there was an Ultra version of that?! Ragnaruk immediately redirected it's angle to stand in the middle of the stadium again. I can feel it's menacing aura, ready to hit me with it's flames anytime. Still I didn't give up and I proceeded with my Speed Mirage Launch. It didn't have any effect... Soon my Valkyrie was already running out of steam. "You understand kid? Attacking isn't everything for an Attack type. You gotta learn how to control the attack and not barrage your opponent with it. Sure it's effective but not as effective as a planned and heavy hitting plan" My bey ran out of steam and Honcho won...

The silent was immediately broken when Valt said "Come on Toko, lemme teach ya how to win!". I was glad my brother was there to help me after that loss. We practiced even more after that match. That night I couldn't stop thinking about what Honcho said. "Control... Attack... Barrage..." I realized that I needed more discipline more control and more strength.