Shorter chapter this time, but a lot gets revealed in it! Tell me what you think!

Also, Happy Independence Day!

- Idol

"What...the...flip…" Valt panted as he tried to catch up to Yuya.

The Bladers were doing sprints. They had just completed their fiftieth one thanks to Trad's strictness and the only ones not out of breath were Free and Yuya. Yuya was slightly more tired than Free, but he wasn't in the state that Valt and Kumicho were in.

Yuya looked at them, confused. "You have seriously never done sprints before?"

"Of course not!" Valt finally made it to the end with Kumicho. "All we used to do is Blade, Blade, and Blade!"

"How are you so good at this!?" Kumicho looked at Yuya incredulously as Trad blew his whistle for another round.

Yuya grinned as he started a half-second before Valt and Kumicho. "This was normal for me at my home!"

"What?" Valt and Kumicho were very close to giving up as they made it to the other end.

Trad looked over the tired bunch of Bladers with skepticism. "I don't understand how Kris let you in BC Sol if you all are this unfit. Train harder! Now get some water. We'll start again shortly."

Yuya leaned against the wall as everyone else went to get water. He wiped some sweat off his face as he looked up at the sky, thinking. To be honest, days of training were beginning to get to him. He wanted to get out and do something. He knew that the European League was coming up soon, but he wanted to do something right now.

"Hey," A blue-haired girl approached Yuya, Yuya's water-bottle in hand. Her hair flared out near the bottom, which was at her shoulders. Her eyes were amethyst-colored. She wore a turquoise hoodie with white stripes and a white T-Shirt with a blue star underneath. She wore blue sweatpants and some normal sneakers. Yuya recognized her as Sasha since Kris and Trad called on her whenever Free skipped practice.

She held up the bottle of water. "Aren't you gonna need this?"

Yuya chuckled. "Nah. I'm not thirsty yet."

"Alright then," She took a place beside Yuya. After a few moments, she spoke up again. "I don't get it."

"Huh?"

"You don't have any official battle record except for that one battle at the Nationals, which made Kris so impressed that she scouted you for an international team. Then you give Free a run for his money. I have never seen Free so interested in a new recruit," Sasha sighed, taking a sip out of her water. "How long have you been Blading?"

Yuya was about to answer but Sasha cut him off. "Wait, don't answer that. You've probably been Blading for a while now anyway."

"Actually, it's been six months," Yuya sheepishly grinned.

"Exactly," This made Sasha even more disappointed, but Yuya couldn't figure out why. He didn't have time to ask since Trad decided to blow his whistle just then. Everyone lined up for another fifty sprints.

Shu walked down the hallway, feeling the cold of the metal walls. But inside, Shu couldn't do anything. There was a dark figure in front of him, controlling him, and Shu was chained to the wall of his mind.

His body knocked on a door reading "Ashtem". It invited itself in.

The person there had his back turned towards Shu. He spoke. "What brings you here today?"

"I want more power."

"I gave you power."

"No," Shu's body shook his head. "I want even more."

"Then train hard. Train harder than all the others at the Pit."

"Got it."

And Shu's body walked off. Shu, inside his mind, tried protesting the dark figure's hold, but to no avail, as he was just electrocuted again and knocked unconscious.

Yuya was in the infirmary. While running sprints with everyone else, a vision suddenly appeared in Yuya's mind. It was about Shu again. Though it only lasted a moment, the shock was great enough so that Yuya had tripped and gotten a huge gash in his leg.

The nurse, who happened to be the cook, bandaged it up pretty well, but now Yuya couldn't Beyblade for like 3 days until it scarred over.

Yuya looked at the ceiling, pondering what he had just seen. Shu was still chained to the wall, looking at a screen which showed events from someone's eyes. Everything was tinged a hazy red. He tried to protest against something, but the wires crackled and he was electrocuted. His mouth opened as he screamed and slumped down. That was when the vision ended.

What could it possibly mean? Where was Shu?

The door opened with a slam, startling Yuya. Sasha stormed in the room, panting hard. "I got here as fast as I could. What did you see?"

"Huh?"

"Shut up, dummy, I know you saw something from the way your eyes widened right before you fell."

"I-i swear, I didn't see anything," Yuya chuckled sheepishly, secretly cursing Sasha for being so observant.

Sasha looked like she was about to say something, but another pair of Bladers entered the room just then. Or rather, ran into the room.

"YUYA! ARE YOU OK!?" The blueberry midget ran up to Yuya.

Yuya grinned. "Never better! I'll just have to stay off Blading for a while."

The calmer of the two walked up to Yuya. "Even so, Yuya, you have to be more careful! What if you get seriously hurt, like Shu?"

The mention of Shu's name made me cough as I tried not to gasp, making the three look at me weirdly. I laughed. "I'm fine! Kumicho, you don't have to worry, I can handle myself."

Kumicho muttered something under his breath.

"Anyway, we have to get food. Yuya, you want anything?" Valt asked.

Yuya waved his hand. "No, I ate before. You guys can go enjoy."

"Alright! Food, here I come!" And they ran out of the room.

Sasha looked at me suspiciously. "I have my eye on you, Sakaki." And she walked out, leaving Yuya alone to ponder his vision again.

Elsewhere, Free was training in the woods. He was doing one-arm pushups on the forest floor. He stopped for a break after his 200th one and wiped the sweat off his face.

A pair of caramel eyes peered out from the shrubbery. Free noticed and waved. "Yo."

A deer emerged from the bushes. It was light brown with big eyes. It was very athletic. It cocked its head as it looked at Free.

Free laughed. "You're confused as well?" He laid down on the soft grass. "Sometimes I wonder if he is that person's son..."

The deer took a step closer as Free continued. "I mean, it's possible, right? The way he talks, it reminds me so much of him."

Free shook his head. "Maybe it's just wishful thinking. Maybe he sounds so much like him because I want him to." He got up and shook some dirt out of his fluffy yellow hair. "Anyway, back to training for me."