A/N: A second chapter for this surprisingly interesting story has been made at long last. (even though it has been less than 24hrs since the first chapter was released, but hey, now there's more, so enjoy! :D)
Zero had finished introducing himself and sat down for the class to start. The open seat in the classroom happened to be right next to Honoka. Zero made his way over to the open desk and sat down as the teacher began giving instructions to the class for the assignment they were going to work on.
Honoka noticed and looked over at Zero with a smile.
"Hi, Zero! I'm Honoka" The ginger said.
Zero noticed Honoka trying to talk to him, so he turned towards her with a smile and said, "Hey, Honoka! It's nice to meet you!"
"It's nice to meet you, too!" Honoka responded even happier-sounding.
Both Honoka and Zero then turned back toward the teacher.
The teacher then started explaining what to do for the assignment the class was going to work on. As soon as the teacher said that the class could work with partners or groups of 3, Honoka looked at Zero again.
"Hey, Zero, do you want to work on this assignment together?" Honoka asked Zero.
"That sounds great!" Zero cheerfully responded.
The teacher then instructed everyone to get up and get their copies of the worksheet and find a place to sit.
"I'll grab us each a worksheet," Honoka said, starting to get up.
Zero, however, got up and with a smile, he said, "I'll do it."
This surprised Honoka to the core as she watched him go get a couple copies of the assignment.
Zero's such a gentleman, Honoka thought, while still surprised. Zero then returned with two worksheets and asked, "well then, shall we get started?"
"Yes!" Honoka responded with a smile.
During the assignment, Honoka and Zero really hit it off. They laughed and joked while they worked, but deep down, Zero felt emotionally odd.
"So, you're a blader, too, huh?" Honoka asked.
"That's right," Zero responded with a smile.
"That's cool! Are you strong?" Honoka asked
Zero felt a bit nervous that he was getting asked this. So, trying not to brag, he said, "eh, yeah."
An idea at that very moment, came to the ginger's mind.
"Hey, do you want to battle at lunch today?" Honoka asked
"That sounds like a lot of fun," Zero chuckled.
The two then continued to work on their assignment, finishing right on schedule with the rest of the class. By this time, the class itself had just ended and everyone was packing up to go to their next class.
"We have different classes from here on out, so I will see you at lunch, Honoka." Zero said.
"Ok, see ya, Zero!" Honoka responded.
After seeing Zero off, Umi and Kotori approached Honoka. "See you in the third period." The bluenette and ash brunette said in unison. "Okay, girls, see ya!" Honoka responded. "And let's have another good day in the battle club after school today too.The third years will be waiting for us there and we have the Love Live beyblade tournament to look towards." "Agreed!" Kotori responded. "Yes!" Umi said shortly after.
Kotori and Umi then left the room as did Honoka. As Honoka left the room, something dawned on her. She remembered that Zero had said something about signing up for the beyblade research club (aka battle club) upon introducing himself, which meant that Honoka would get to show her new friend, Zero to the third years (Eli, Nozomi and Nico) and the first years (Maki, Rin and Hanayo).
The very thought of this made Honoka even more excited for the Beyblade research club after school, as well as recess after two more classes..
Meanwhile, Zero was headed to his second period and he couldn't put his finger on why he felt more nervous around Honoka than anyone else earlier. Was it because she was the leader of 𝜇's? Or was there something more to his feelings that he was missing?
Zero decided he would look more into this situation another time. Right now, he just focused on getting to his second class.
Skip to Lunch/Recess
A group of girls were battling in a nearby stadium as Honoka, Kotori, Umi and Zero all found a place to sit down for lunch.
"After we finish eating, let's battle." Honoka said to Zero.
"Yeah!" Zero said in agreement as he pulled out his lunch and began eating.
Just then, a group of 3 girls came up to Honoka and greeted her just as they noticed Zero.
"Who is your new friend, Honoka?" one of the brunettes asked.
"Oh, this is Zero." Honoka responded to the Brunette. "He's the new student here!"
"Otonokizaka's first boy!?!?" The same brunette responded in surprise
"Yes, and more boys are coming to school in the next few weeks," Honoka replied.
Zero looked up just as Honoka told the girls who he was. Honoka then looked over at Zero and said, "Oh, Zero, these are my other friends, Mika, Fumiko, and Hideko!"
"Hello, ladies." Zero greeted the trio kindly after finishing his sandwich.
"Hey, Zero." The trio responded in unison.
"Are you three bladers, too?" Zero asked?
"You could say that, but we aren't that strong," Hideko replied, slightly embarrassed.
"It's ok" Zero responded, "We all get better with time."
Honoka had finished her lunch by this point and perked up at the mention of beyblading.
"That reminds me." Honoka started "We never went over what our beyblades are, did we?
Umi, and Honoka pulled out their beys to show Zero, as did Fumiko, Hideko, and Mika.
Zero took a look and was amazed at what all of the girls' beys were. He saw a Samurai Pegasus, an Archer Sagittario, A Ronin Fireblaze, a Berserker Libra, and a Thief Eagle.
"Nice Stuff" Zero said as he stood up.
"Honoka, you said you wanted to battle me, correct?" Zero asked.
"Yes! Let's do it!" Honoka replied, eagerly.
The group of girls from before had finished their battle and had headed somewhere to sit down. This made it the perfect time for Zero to show his skills as a blader. The first and third years watched as well as the second years.
Both Zero and Honoka approached the stadium prepared for battle and decided to get a bit of small talk out of the way before they actually started the battle.
"Are you ready, Honoka?" Zero asked, confident.
"You bet I am, Zero-kun," Honoka responded.
Zero's face lit up and he blushed slightly at the sudden use of honorifics. This was coming from a popular girl towards him no less.
Honoka pulled out her Samurai Pegasus and put it on the launcher.
"Let's have a good battle, Zero-kun." Honoka said
"My thought's exact" Zero responded.
"As Otonokizaka's first boy, it is an honor to battle you, Honoka, the leader of 𝜇's. This being said, I will give it all I have." the raven haired boy added.
Zero pulled out his beyblade and showed it to Honoka from the other side of the stadium.
"Here's to a great battle. This Guardian Dragoon will be your opponent." Zero said boldly yet confidently. He held up a dragon theme beyblade that was as dark a blue in the element wheel and below as his eyes.
Everyone at recess gathered around the stadium as if they could sense a good battle from these two. This included the first years and third years even though the students watching were mainly second years. Eli and Nozomi, watched from the student council room window. Nico watched from the Beyblade research club room.
Both Zero and Honoka loaded their beys onto their launchers and thus, the battle was about to begin. All that was left was the countdown.
"Let's do this!" Zero said.
"Ok" Honoka responded.
"3…" both bladers yelled in unison
"2..!" the spectators joined in
"1.!!" everyone yelled once more
"LET IT RIP!!!!!!!" Both bladers yelled as their beys flew off their launchers and into the stadium, spinning fiercely.
Honoka's Samurai Pegasus hit the stadium floor and flew across the stadium with great speed. As for Dragoon, however, nobody could believe what they were seeing. The second Dragoon hit the stadium floor, it started circling the stadium in the direction opposite of Pegasus, which could only mean one thing….
"Reverse rotation!?" Kotori and Umi said as they instantly stood up in shock.
"Reverse rotation!?" The first and third years yelled in a surprised unison, urging Hanayo to pull out her laptop and get a closer look at Dragoon's whereabouts.
Guardian Dragoon was not just any reverse rotating beyblade either, it was fast. Dragoon circled the stadium and met Pegasus halfway within 3 seconds of the battle starting, triggering an explosion. The two beys were grinding into each other head on, sparks flying everywhere. The beys kept hitting each other again and again.
First Years POV:
"It's fast, too nya." Rin said, dumbfounded
"Hmmm… Guardian Dragoon" Hanayo started looking up info on Dragoon.
"It appears to be an attack type that has a rubber flat performance tip." Hanayo added.
"In addition, the rubber on it's performance tip can allow for very steady attacks even at high speeds." She concluded.
Battle POV:
"Hmm… you're not half bad, Honoka." Zero said, amazed, but still looking down at the clashing beys.
"You're pretty good yourself!" Honoka replied, still looking down as well.
The beys clashed again and again and they eventually pulled away to circle around again.
"Ok, now here's a taste of what I have to offer." Zero said, preparing to attack.
"Kick it into high gear, Dragoon!" the raven-haired boy called to his bey
At this point, Dragoon broke into a full on race across the stadium to clash with pegasus. Honoka caught on and braced herself for the attack.
"Meet it halfway, Pegasus!" Honoka yelled with determination, causing Pegasus to pick up its own speed as well.
The two beys clashed again, triggering yet another explosion… then again.. Then again…. Then again.
Otonokizaka's students that were spectating were all very intrigued by this battle. Everyone watched in even more awe than before as smaller explosions and clashes filled the stadium as often as what felt like every other attack. After a few head on attacks, the two beys broke away, only this time, at a larger distance apart, both bladers planning to build enough momentum to attack again. Sure enough, both bladers got their mutual wish as their beys spun in place in front of them.
Honoka POV:
I'm trying to catch my breath and prepare Pegasus for the next attack. One thing's for sure, Zero is definitely stronger than he first claimed earlier today. Gotta stay sharp!
Zero POV:
Honoka and Pegasus aren't too bad. They have quite the bout of determination and skill. The question is, how are they going to put it to use as the battle goes on?
Battle POV:
Both bladers assessed the situation. Zero looked at Honoka and said, "Sorry about laying low about my strength earlier when you asked about it, I was just trying to avoid talking too much about my own power and I was trying to avoid sounding like a jerk, you know? "
"No worries, I respect that," Honoka said as she looked up and smiled. "Let's keep going!" She added
"Again, my thought's exact!" Zero said.
Just then, simultaneously, both bladers yelled,
"Go,Pegasus!"
"Go, Dragoon!"
Both beys went for the next attack, neither blader backing down an inch. Just before, the attack hit, Zero made a sudden, smug face, eyes narrowed.
Suddenly, a burst of air came from Dragoon's performance tip as it raced to clash with Pegasus and Pegasus raced to clash with Dragoon. Zero's next move caught everyone off guard, including Honoka. This was because this next attack put Honoka in a rather tougher place than before as Dragoon immediately started circling pegasus while delivering a rather brutal looking barrage attack, even at close range.
Out of everybody watching, Hanayo was so surprised by this new attack that Dragoon was delivering, that she looked on her laptop to see what changed about Dragoon that brought on this nasty of an attack.
"Don't give up, Pegasus." Honoka growled.
Dragoon finally plowed into Pegasus for a full force attack and caused a big explosion. Honoka groaned trying to stand her ground against the force of the explosion.
First Years POV:
Rin had just returned from getting an additional snack from the school vending machines and reunited with her childhood friend who was carefully studying Zero and Honoka's battle.
"What's that barrage attack!?" Hanayo asked herself, shocked about Dragoon's movement. Hanayo then pulled out her laptop to look for the cause of Dragoon's barrage attack and was dumbfounded by what her laptop was showing her.
"Damn, that's gnarly!" Hanayo exclaimed without thinking
Maki and Rin both looked at Hanayo surprised that she spoke her mind out of nowhere like that, let alone saying Damn, given how clean-minded Hanayo generally was. Rin just brushed it off and asked, "What did you find, Kayo-chin?"
"Dragoon's performance tip changed modes to a rubber sharp tip" Hanayo responded. "In addition, this makes for sharper movements and unwavering attack power, even at close range." She added. "Furthermore, each of the barrage attacks coming from Dragoon has an equal attack power to that of a bey with a full-power launch! If this isn't the ultimate attack type bey, I don't know what is!" Hanayo concluded.
"In order for Honoka to get out of something like this, she would have to find a split second opening in the attack. Hanayo said.
Honoka heard this just as Hanayo finished
Battle POV:
A split second opening, huh? That sounds just crazy enough to work, Honoka thought. Honoka studied Dragoon's movement carefully between attacks, looking for the right time to get out. She was so used to seeing this barrage attack by now, that the scenario played in slow motion in her head exactly how she saw it in front of her.
Not yet, Honoka thought, aiming for the right time to escape.
"What? Have you given up already, Honoka?" Zero asked. "Ok, I guess it's time I ended this thing." Zero said. Dragoon pulled back and came in for a full- force attack. That was when Zero made his mistake. He broke away and circled in again for another attack, but little did he know that Honoka was waiting for that
"Now, Pegasus!" Honoka shouted at the top of her lungs.
Pegasus raced out of Dragoon's way before the attack could hit and pegasus headed for the edge of the stadium to fly up into the sky.
Dammit! She got out. Zero said to himself. No matter. Even if she uses her special move, Dragoon and I will still win this. Zero reasoned.
"Fly, Pegasus!" Honoka yelled to her bey and fly was what pegasus did. Higher than it's ever gone before. Before the school knew it Pegasus was glistening with blue light up in the sky.
"Let's win this together, Pegasus! Special Move!" Honoka started as Pegasus rocketed back down toward the stadium at a high speed.
"Pegasus starblast attack!" Honoka yelled with all her might, pegasus drawing ever closer to dealing a direct hit on Dragoon.
"YEAH!" Umi and Kotori yelled in unison.
"Do it, Honoka!" Hideko yelled with Fumika and Mika cheering, too.
Some students were even rooting for Zero and got a little worried about him when Honoka used her special move.
Zero still remained calm as Dragoon headed for the center of the stadium to take the direct hit from the star blast attack intentionally, so he could withstand the special move and defeat Honoka right then and there. Little did Honoka know this was Zero's plan.
Sure enough, Pegasus's special move made contact with Dragoon as the whole school cheered the two bladers on.
"Yeah! We did it, Pegasus!" Honoka said celebrating, little did she know was too early.
"Hmph, that's assuming the starblast attack did anything to Dragoon at all." Zero responded smugly. The cheers of the students turned into a dumbfounded kind of confusion as Pegasus's special move was broken.
"Breakthrough, Dragoon." Zero said as Dragoon burst into flames.
Before everyone knew it, the entire stadium erupted in flames, Pegasus's power was snuffed out and a blue explosion filled the school yard. When the smoke cleared, Dragoon was still spinning, but Pegasus stopped, leaving a hopeful Honoka rather disappointed about her defeat. However, she was happy that she got the chance to have such a fun battle.
Dragoon jumped out of the stadium and back to Zero.
"That was fun, Honoka." Zero said. "I hope we can battle each other again." He added. Honoka blushed when she heard this from Zero and contemplated for a second.
Just as Zero turned to walk back into the building for the next class, Honoka stood up. "Wait , Zero." Zero turned back around.
"There's a beyblade competition in Love Live that I am thinking about putting together a team for. How would you like to be in it? Just think, we'll be going up against other schools in Japan, so you'll get to battle other teams alongside me ,Rin, Hanayo, Umi, Kotori, Eli, Nico, Maki, and Nozomi as team Muse. How does that sound?"
Zero's face lit up, more than ever before. "I-I'd love to join you guys in that tournament, Honoka-san!" Zero responded, happily.
"Then come join us for practice after school today," Honoka said.
"Will do, Honoka-san" Zero responded. This battle marked the craziest lunch period Otonokizaka High can remember.
A/N: Hi Guys! I understand this chapter was quite long, but I didn't want to delay the battle scenes by one more chapter. So I crammed an entire chapter's worth of events with the battle. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! :)