The group of teenaged girls were fully dressed in their daytime attire, strolled over to their coaches' room, and patiently waited for them to emerge from their hotel room.
"I wonder what today will bring?" Wenling says aloud right before the door eventually swings open to reveal four older women, who pleasantly exchange morning pleasantries, and head out toward their limo.
[Bladebreakers]
"You look…well-restedTakao." Rei deliberately points out to the bluenette with a smirk on his face once their group finally slides inside the back of their limousine.
Takao noticeably chuckles in amusement before he merrily lips, "I had to recharge my batteries."
Blue eyes were physically rolling at his friend's facial expression and comment before teasingly quipping, "More like he was recharging his batteries with Hiromi,"
Kai only sat back and listened to the other three teammates casually chatted with each other before he briefly glanced over at their coach, who sat quietly.
'I wonder what outfit I should wear tonight?' Hiro happily pondered about his date later on today.
[Arena]
The players gradually trickled inside of the assigned room with a medium-sized paper label that read "Players' Only" on the front of the door.
"Looking for someone…" Mariam jokingly teases her captain once she notices Ozuma's sudden change in disposition.
Joesph leisurely leaned against the cool metal wall and hastily chimed in with, "I bet it was a girl named Audrey,"
The short male merely rolls his eyes at his teammates' childish antics although none of them quickly pick up on the simple fact that he did not deny their accusations as to who he searches for.
Tala physically hung his head as he attempted to focus on the battle at hand for the day. Yet, the events from last night often replayed in his head.
The redhead simply adjusted his collar, which blocked a kiss on the cheek from Archimedes. He inwardly curses his choice of attire again until there was a quiet hush that fell over the room.
"Oi…is it me or is everyone looking at us?" Audrey was verbally whispering her question while covering her mouth with her left hand and leaning closer toward the girls.
Lanying merely scanned the area jammed packed with other teams and coaches only to note a few familiar faces directly honed in on their group.
"Oh…" She quietly mutters as she decides to keep silent and discusses it with the other coaches at a later time.
The interns finally arrived and politely greeted them with "Good mornings" and smiles visibly plastered across their faces.
"We will have four matches: one morning, two in the afternoon, and one late afternoon." One of the interns thoroughly explained after they displayed the schedule on the wall.
'We have a late afternoon match.' Meifeng privately thought about their match time before she recalled that Hiro had a date with that shady reporter tonight.
"So we're sitting around all day and watching everyone else battle," Audrey annoyingly grips once she props herself against the wall, "Oh goodie!"
"At least, we get to see everyone else's matches," Hiromi was positively mentioning while flashing the dirty blonde a smile, who was rolling her eyes at the optimism from the brunette.
"Who should we look at?" Wenling inquisitively questioned once the two teams scheduled for the morning match follows behind the interns as they departed from the Players' Only room.
"Blitzkreig Boys and PPB Allstarz," Meifeng ultimately decides after she carefully studies the schedule to determine who they should watch.
"We haven't seen them yet and I want to get data on them so I can forecast properly against them." Lin readily agrees to the idea of those two teams.
"Let's go…" The silver-haired woman was verbally announcing while standing to her feet.
[Blitzkreig Boys]
Boris led his group of boys toward Arena A after they saw one of the interns then physically signals for them to follow them.
Tala vividly recalled how he briefly spared one last glance in the direction of the raven-haired girl, who surprisingly flashed him a smirk on the way out.
"Oh Ian, try not to lose your match." Spencer reminds the short teen about his failure from yesterday, which earns a chuckle from the others.
The purple-haired male physically folds his arms and abruptly blows out a "Shut up," toward his teammate.
[In the stands]
"Lin, did you find enough seats?" Meifeng shouts from behind Akane as Yuan naturally forms a line behind the goldenrod with green tips Amazonian.
Her eyes tediously comb through the crowd until she spots some empty seats that were three rows up from the arena floor, "Follow me,"
Hiromi was repeatedly sensing Audrey's emotions fluctuating more than usual, which was leading her to ask, "Hey Aud, are you alright?"
She only watches as her friend turns her head with watery eyes and shrilly cries out, "I didn't get to wish Ozuma good luck on his match!"
The brunette understood exactly her thought process since she often has similar feelings whenever Takao was supposed to battle so she provided comfort to her.
"Maybe he'll wish you good luck instead," The Japanese teen optimistically presumes as she gently pats her friend's back and flashes a smile.
'So what kind of blading are you going to show me today?' Archimedes curiously wonders once she finds a seat and faces the arena where Blitzkrieg Boys bounds out of the tunnel.
[Bladebreakers]
"Why aren't we in Arena A watching Blitzkrieg Boys and Saint Shields go at it?" Max quizzically questions after they sit in the semi-empty Arena B that airs the match in Arena A.
"I think Hiro's head is in the cloud," Rei says to the blonde while Takao repeatedly waves his hand in front of his face.
The bluenette returned to his seat and confirmed, "Yep…he's totally out of it."
[Barthez Battalion]
"Are you nervous about today?" Mathilda specifically directs to her captain as they currently watch the Blitzkreig Boys and Saint Shields battle each other.
He occasionally squints his eyes at the match on the jumbo screen and honestly admits, "I always get nervous before a match."
"It is our first time battling Yuan." The pink-haired girl pointed out that it was their first go-round at the newest team recently added to the BEA.
"Well, we'll have to just wait and see…" Miguel spoke with his eyes shut, a smile on his face, and lifted his shoulders then hands.
[Yuan]
"I'm going to tell Ozuma a good match." Audrey was verbally whispering to Hiromi while the two teams were bowing at each other at the end of their game.
Hiromi simply nods her head and watches her maneuvers through their row of fans until she finally reaches the top of the steps.
The American teen speedily descends the steps and heads in the direction of the tunnels where teams travel from Arena A to B and vice versa.
On her way there, she notices Michael Summers from PPB Allstarz in the hallway so she decides to temporarily break from her initial plan.
"I know this may sound a bit weird especially coming from me but can I have your autograph please?" She abruptly asks him, which totally shocks the male, as she removes a folded picture from her pocket.
'She's from Yuan.' He inwardly recalled how her brash personality easily stood out amongst the other members on her all-girls squad.
"And who should I sign this to?" The blonde male inquisitively asked since he rarely paid any attention to the other teams, except this one. 'She's kinda cute too.'
"Audrey…Audrey Steele." She unashamedly answers as she watches him sign the picture.
"You guys are all the rage in SoCo!" The dirty blonde purposely mentions as she images the amount of money she'll cash in on his signature back home.
"You're from the States?!" Michael surprisingly quips while she carefully folds the picture into fours and returns it to her pocket.
The teen girl simply nods her head before she proudly proclaims, "I'm from Southern Cali home of the sand and surf."
"Cool. Would it be okay if we swap numbers? There are some cool Beyblade facilities out there." He knowingly expounds as he removes his phone from his back pocket.
"Seriously dude…that's awesome!" The young lady eagerly lips with a wide smile on her face.
Ozuma finally exits from the restroom, rounds a corner, and spots two blondes in the middle of the hallway.
The first voice was a masculine tone while the other was feminine and sounded familiar to him. He ultimately identifies the male as Michael and the female as Audrey.
The Saint Shields' captain eventually notices both of their phones were out.
"That'll be so awesome. I want to keep practicing when I'm at home." The dirty blonde says right before she spots Ozuma and swiftly breaks from him with, "Nice talking to you,"
"Hey, Ozuma…" Audrey openly calls out to him, which prompts him to stop and faces her.
"Uhm…I wanted to tell you good luck earlier but…" She unintentionally stammers through her sentence, which earns an observation, 'She's nervous and her face is red.'
'She wasn't like that earlier.' He inwardly notes the shift in her demeanor when she was with the PPB Allstarz captain to now.
The raven-haired male with red bangs reached out as she slightly bent closer toward him but instead of her head, his hand softly rested against her cheek which left her completely flustered.
A singular thought of 'Cute' passed through his mind at the rare sight in front of him.
"Good luck Aud," He genuinely wished her while he physically separated from the now red-faced girl, who was left completely speechless from his previous gesture.
"Ozuma, where have you been?" Mariam nosily asks once their captain finally enters her field of vision.
He merely spared her a glance when he recalled Audrey's red face and only disclosed, "Restroom,"
[Yuan]
"PPB Allstarz is a pretty well-rounded team," Lin says out loud as she closely watches their match unfold with a strategic eye.
"It looks like they heavily rely on a blend of science and trials to improve their skills." Lanying keenly presumed since she saw one of the bladers point to a laptop screen.
Akane shifts to her left and comments, "Not everything can be measured with science, right Meifeng?"
A "mhm" was verbally uttered yet she seemed lost in her thoughts instead.
"You made it back Aud," Hiromi greets her friend again once she sits down in her seat. "Did you see him?"
The dirty blonde spun so quickly, hastily grabbed her friend's forearms, and nervously stuttered, "He put his hand on my cheek."
The brunette's thoughtful expression shifts to an "oh" once she senses the confusion and panic in Audrey's aura and on her face.
"Or am I reading too much into Hiromi because I'm just a star-struck fan?" She frightfully needled with her eyes wide open.
"Don't sell yourself short Aud." The brunette honestly opines and comforts her friend, "To put it simply, if you worry about that person more than yourself then yeah you have feelings for them."
"Thanks," Audrey audibly whispers once she embraces her friend in a tight hug as she responds, "No problem,"
[Blitzkrieg Boys]
"I'm bored!" Ian proclaimed after he stifled a yawn while his feet were propped up on an empty chair in front of him.
"Oh now that's rich coming for you," Spencer purposely tosses in as Bryan silently sits with his eyes directly on the match.
"Boris said we're going to watch Yuan versus Barthez Battalion," Tala eventually reveals once he receives the message from their head coach as he skillfully conceals his excitement.
Ian drops his feet, sits forward and proclaims, "Finally, something worth watching other than you losers,"
[In the hallway]
"I'm starving!" Takao hungrily exasperates as his stomach frequently grumbles at being empty.
"I want a nap." Max sleepily mentions once they head towards the stands after their match.
Rei shakes his head at the pair before he spots Yuan a little further down the tunnel.
"Good job, fellas!" Audrey breaks her silence first, which causes Max's ears to instantly perk up at the sound of her voice.
"Is that my love bug?!" The blonde teen exclaimed jubilantly as Audrey hastily sidestepped the hug only to have to avoid the other follow-ups.
"He's liver than ever." Wenling says as the blondes continue to playfully interact with each other, "Aw, comes on Aud!"
The raven-haired teen visibly smirks when he jokingly retorts, "He was just the walking dead a few minutes ago."
Yuan coaches watch as six of the teens casually interact with each other while the other two were engaged in an intense staredown.
Meifeng eventually noticed Hiro hung back from the boys so she wanted to remind him about his date being a fraud.
"Let's go ladies or we'll be late." Lin suddenly reminds them, which forces the silver-haired woman to remain affix in her place.
The Bladebreakers cordially wished them a "Good luck" before they disappeared further down the tunnel and toward the arena floor.
[Arena B]
"Finally, it's our turn! Let's go show Yuan, who's the boss!" Miguel cheerfully rallied his team right before they emerged from one end of the tunnel.
Barthez Battalion walks out to a rowdy crowd, who was eager to see the last two teams battle it out to secure a victory to their name.
"There they are," Mathilda was anxiously saying after spotting Yuan exiting from their side of the tunnel and venturing out on the arena floor.
Audrey naturally bounded into action while the two brunettes merely took it in with frequent nods of their heads and the raven-haired teen leisurely followed close behind the pair but a few inches in front of the coaches.
"Thank you for sticking it out with us today for the other matches and hanging around for our last match of the day…Yuan vs. Barthez Battalion!" Blader Ken loudly announces into his headphone microphone once the two teams were at their respective bench.
"Am I starting first today?" Audrey inquisitively asks as she purposely stands closer to their coach with today's roster with an eager expression on her face.
Lin eventually peered down at their lineup card, shook her head, and revealed, "Wenling, you're up first."
The brunette awkwardly turns to face both Lin and Audrey once she hears her name leaves her sensei's lips.
"You're up first." Archimedes repeated the previous message since the teen seemed a bit unfocused while on the bench.
"You got this Wenling!" Hiromi brightly flashes her a smile with two thumbs up before the darker brunette stands to her feet.
"Give 'em hell," The dirty blonde was nosily declaring before Lin was gently smacking her in the back of her head.
An "ouch" slips from her lips as the Amazionan reminds her with "Language" as the teen tenderly rubs the now sore spot at the back of her head.
"So Lin-sensei," She spoke up once the pain eased and coaxingly questioned, "Why's Wenling going first?"
"It'll be a great chance for her to enhance her base-level skill." The older of the two reassuringly comments with a wide grin present on her face.
Her forest green eyes were scrupulously taking in the sights around her while noticing some fans were yelling at the top of their lungs, others were relaxing and others were anxious for them to start.
She was lost in her surroundings that she almost tripped going up the steps that led to the bey-dish.
"Is Wenling alright?" Max tosses out once he sees her unintentionally stumbles forward on the steps.
"Get yourself together." She softly muttered to herself as she peered up at her opponent, who was ready to battle her.
The brunette immediately removes her yellow, green, and dark green blade from her leg pouch and her launcher from her hip holster. She then locks her blade in place, inhales a deep breath, and exhales as she pulls the ripcord at the sound of "Rip" until her blade shoots forward.
"And they're off…their blades are warming up as they are circling around the bey-dish. Who will attack first?!" Blader Ken tensely publicized as the platform moved closer toward the stands.
Wenling strongly wills her blade forward as it sideswipes her opponent's blade, who merely shrugs off the attack as if it was a child's play.
'That's not working…let's try something different.' The Chinese teen inwardly presumes before her blade moves from the outer side of the dish towards the center of the dish.
'Unless you're a Defense blade then you're a sitting duck…what is she planning?' Rei curiously thought since most bladers who were stronger in Defense often relied on being in the center of the dish.
Aaron easily lands two powerful consecutive hits, which pushes her blade closer to the rim of the dish before she evades the last hit and speeds back around the dish.
"Dodge," She commands as her blade moves in a zigzag pattern to avoid the contact only to feel the full force of his attack seems to increase with each connection made.
'Her speed's decreasing…' Aaron mentally notes as his opponent's blade rotation dramatically decreases after the recent blitz, which prompts him to summon, "Rushing Boar,"
Wenling was now face-to-face with a large purple boar with a red mane that reaches from the crown of its head to its tail. Bone plates armor covers its upper legs with yellow protrusions. The boar heavily huffs a puff of air between its yellow tusks while it stares her down with its green eyes.
"She's losing too much speed." Hiromi solemnly pointed out once she observed that Aaron maintained his speed while it took Wenling's longer for her blade to do a full revolution.
"What are you going to do?" Lei wonders aloud since the brunette teen continues to constantly face the brute of Aaron's strength head-on.
'I need more power…' She swiftly deduced since she had yet to learn the name of her bit beast but this was not the first time where the odds were against her.
The rhythmic beating of the drums and melodious notes from a flute softly fades away as the brunette teen was dramatically sticking the ending of a rather complex choreographed piece with relative ease.
Silence briefly settled amongst the small group of musicians and other dancers before her dance instructor surprisingly gave a round of applause with brief words of appreciation for her dedication.
"Be back in ten minutes." The taciturn instructor sternly informed the group of girls, who quickly scattered to seize this rare opportunity of a break.
Wenling respectfully bows then dismisses herself to go out and enjoy the fresh spring air.
As she approaches, the open hallway she suddenly overhears two dances in the middle of their conversation, "She's acting as if she owns the place."
"She makes me sick. I get so tired of sensei saying 'You should work hard like Wenling' or 'Wenling practices in her sleep' yadda yadda yadda..." The other dancer mockingly mimics their sensei's tone before she trails off with a wave of her hand for further emphasis.
"Everyone knows she was given the role because her family would cut ties and shame sensei's legacy if he didn't choose her." The first dancer knowledgeably spieled about the real reason why Wenling assumed the role of principal dancer.
The other dancer suddenly hears a noise nearby before she tensely mutters, "Psst, you don't think she heard us do you?"
Wenling nonchalantly stepped from behind the shoji door, faced her peers head-on before she countered with, "If you have this much free time to gossip then I'm sure you two would've made it to principalship by now."
She did not even bother to wait for their reaction as she strolled past the duo to get a better view of the Sakura tree near their sensei's Zen garden.
'Everyone always assumed that I rode my family's coattails when I actually worked my butt off unlike them.' Her forest green eyes took in the sight before her as she mentally avowed, 'And I continue to work hard and prove everyone else that I am my own person.'
An image of a beautiful petite woman with long blonde hair that was tucked underneath an elaborate golden crown with red, white and golden beads dangled on both sides, black eyes with scarlet red eyeshadow and a powdered face, an elaborate kimono with a bundle of tails at its rear, "I acknowledge your determination child above all things. What is your name child?"
She was narrowing her sights at the spirt in front of her before revealing her name as "Wenling,"
"Wenling," The kitsune spirit properly addresses her by her name before the teen watches as a small green ball of energy releases from her lips after the 'g' sound leaves her mouth.
The brunette gently grasps her slightly throat as the spirit devours the energy ball when she overhears, "You may now call my name…"
"Oh, it looks as if Rushing Boar is going in for the kill," Blader Ken was lively broadcasting as the platform was moving a bit closer towards the dish.
Aaron instantly preps for a final attack completely unaware of the calmness that now settles over his opponent.
Her bangs covered her eyes as she sagely recited, "I am like a lotus that blooms against adversity…Claw Huli jing,"
A medium-size fox with yellow fur, scarlet red eyes, a white braided rope around its neck, a talisman attach to the middle of its forehead, and a bundle of tails sprout from its lower end with blue flames attaches to each one as it suddenly appears in front of the boar and his owner.
'She finally summoned her bit-beast.' A few people shared a similar thought at the sight of the spirit materialized in front of them.
"Vulpine's Mirage," The brunette teen calls out an attack as her blade speedily circles around her foe to create afterimages.
"Spin Charge," The dreadhead male was shouting after building up the necessary power to attack only to see an image disappear before trying to take out the others.
Forest green eyes hone in on the bright blade once he misses the real one again. "Now,"
Her blade speedily swooped in from behind Rushing Boar while he gunned for the other three afterimages when she finally knocked the blade out of the stadium.
"So you pulled through…knew it…" Lei assertively mumbles under his breathe completely unaware that Master Tao overhears, smirks, and keeps his thoughts to himself.
"She was tough…didn't think she would summon her bit-beast at the last minute." Aaron glumly gripes once he approaches the bench and sees two of his teammates attempt to take his mind off of his loss.
Mathilda and Miguel positively cheered him up with a few words of encouragement and patted him on the back, however Claude discernibly scoffed at his teammate's defeat.
"Cheer me on, okay." Their lone female blade promptly suggests as a distraction from his thoughts of defeat. The dreadhead teen simply shook his head while Mathilda speedily took off toward the bey-dish.
"Way to take a beating!" Audrey encouragingly exclaims as she pats the brunette on the shoulder for a job well done once she was within reach.
"Your bit beast was amazing!" Hiromi gushed delightfully once she caught sight of the blonde kitsune with tails.
"Good job!" Archimedes opines while the brunette makes her way to the far end of the bench.
Wenling comfortably settles into her seat and exhales a deep sigh. She then peers down at the bit beast now presently visible on her bit chip.
'Huli jing…huh?' She privately recalled the name of the kitsune as she stared at the image of a fox spirit.
"Who's next Lin?" Lanying curiously poses which earns a glance downward then up to say, "Audrey,"
The dirty blonde instantly perks up at the sound of her name and heads over to the dish.
The crowd erupted into a fit at the sight of the blonde teen, who casually strolled out toward the dish.
"Here's a match between the demure Mathilda vs the rowdy Audrey," Blader Ken proclaims as the platform moves closer toward the teenage girls.
"Your adjectives are always about me either being loud or crazy," Audrey verbally complained after she squared up and lifted a fist toward the male, which earned a sweatdrop.
Michael visibly cracks a smile because he recalls previously that she was the one who asks for his autograph in the hallway.
Max was jovially cackling at the dirty blonde's reaction and facial expressions before honestly lipping, "Classic Aud!"
Ozuma softly chuckles during the incident since he learns that she typically rebels when someone's actions do not suit her taste.
'Why does everyone like to piss me off?' The American teen annoyingly grumbles while she stomps up the steps toward the dish.
Her eyes sharply honed in on her opponent, who was roughly her height, but she seemed quiet almost meek. Nevertheless, she was not about to take her much-experienced opponent lightly.
"Might as well get to it…" Audrey promptly says as she removes her purple, blue, and dark blue beyblade along with her blue launcher while Mathilda mimics her actions.
The crowd immediately launched into the countdown once it was cued on the jumbo screen. "3…2…1…Let it rip!"
Mathilda easily releases while Audrey's ripcord surprisingly jams briefly but manages to fires off her blade with a strong upward tug on the circular ring.
Her face physically scrunched up as she openly exasperated her disappointment about the launch, "Ugh, I still didn't get it right!"
Their blades speedily spun around the dish as a pair of forest green eyes diligently tracked their movements while she inwardly chanted a mantra, "I want to win."
The pink-haired teen felt extremely confident about this match since she knew that this would be a walk in the park for her that is until her opponent's blade tangibly connected with hers.
'What was that?' She inwardly wonders before she unexpectedly stumbles backward to catch her balance once she was hit by a powerful attack.
Her eyes then glanced upward at the boisterous teen when she swore she heard her inner thoughts repeatedly chanted, "I want to win."
The American teen then closes her eyes to solely focus on that one phrase, "I want to win."
"What's this?" Meifeng inquisitively posed once she felt a strong shift in emotional energy from balance to a single solitary sensation for the desire for victory.
Ruby red eyes track her teammate's blade movements as it becomes sharper and intense, which leads her to mentally note, 'Whoa…she's gotten better.'
Even Archimedes was now fully aware of Audrey's sudden shift in her style of play, 'Well someone's been practicing,'
The American teen gradually opens her eyes only to see an expression of shock on her foe's face as a pink blade loudly clangs near Mathilda's feet.
The dirty blonde cordially thanked her opponent for the match as the girl quietly retrieved the blade and headed back.
Mathilda dropped her head as she headed down the steps and towards the bench where her teammates' met up.
She physically collapses to her knees, shakily places her hands on the bench, tries to catch her breath, and focuses her thoughts, 'What was that?'
"How did she do that?" Emily curiously questions as she presses some keys on her keyboard. On the other hand, her teammates were stuck and her coach quickly jotted down some notes on a pad.
Max simply peered over to his left then right only to ask, "Did you feel that?"
'She made that girl collapse…' Ozuma shockingly thought as he was still surprised at the sight before him.
His green eyes narrowed in on the dirty blonde, who casually strolled over to her bench completely unfazed but what just happened with her foe.
"What kind of power do you have?" He was interestedly asking before watching her disappear under her respective bench's roof.
"Are you alright?" Hiromi was probingly enquiring to her friend about how she was feeling at the moment.
Lin comes over to place the back of her hand against Audrey's forehead then the back of her neck to check her body's temperature.
Akane reaches out to grab the inside of her palm for a steady pulse while Meifeng immediately conducts an aura read with her index and middle fingers daintily press against the middle of her forehead.
Lanying came over to check her pupils only to feel a light smack from her hands.
"Have y'all gone bonkers?" She was irritably gripping about their abrupt overcrowding after securing her victory before hastily exasperating, "I'm alright."
The silver-haired woman constantly observes her emotions until it steadily regulates and signals to the other coaches to leave the teen alone. Lin then calls Hiromi's name for the next battle.
The other brunette nodded her head, hopped to her feet, and walked over toward the steps that led to the bey-dish.
'Romi…Claude will be a chance to prove yourself again.' Takao considers since he was well aware of Claude's strength as a blader while he watches the two bladers approach the dish.
