Kai was stood against the back wall of the arena. From here he could just about make out the silhouetted shape of his team mates. Two medium height excitable shadows, one in a hat, jumping and cheering. A taller, stationary figure and a seated one - barely visible behind his computer screen.

From his vantage point, Kai couldn't be spotted by his friends, but still had a good view of the main beyblading arena. This was the last of the wildcard elimination matches, and the first to be played in a full sized competitive dish.

He was jerked from his thoughts as a cheer went up all around the arena. As these were only the wildcard entries, no commentary was given. If you wanted the action, you had to see it and not have it dictated. Kai much preferred the natural sounds of a crowd.

The competitors took their places at the dish. They both looked confident, but he knew looks could be deceiving. He noticed Zhaila hadn't used any of her confidence sapping tricks. It was unusual.

Kai couldn't hear the BBA official, but saw his mouth move and knew what he was saying. He watched Zhaila load her blade and prepare the launcher. Almost mechanically.

He felt suddenly concerned. Strict routines could be read, and broken. If her opponent was observant, and had been watching her other matches, he would know what was to come. He hoped she wouldn't go for the swift finish.

But she did.

She went straight for the knockout, the same tactic she had used in all her other matches. But he knew, and he was prepared. At the last moment, his blade shot to the right. Hers almost propelled itself straight out of the ring, but managed to stop and hover on the edge for a minute. The room went silent.

Still she didn't snap out of it. She just stood, almost resigned to defeat, as her blade took hit after hit. She stared blankly at the dish.

Kai was worried. If she lost, he'd never see her again. He would never know if it really was the girl from his childhood.

'Come on, go for it,' He heard himself saying aloud.

A girl stood in front of him also began to cheer, and soon the whole crowd was chanting and calling. The room erupted into noise. Kai watched as Zhaila looked around at the crowd, and thought he saw the spark returning to her eyes.

'You can do this. If you are half the person I think you are, You can do this.'

*****

Zhaila Berlini was rarely shaken. She relied on herself, knowing she was the only person she could trust not to let her down.

But, you're letting yourself down now, she thought.

The thought came without warning, but it was the truth. She had allowed herself to become distracted. Dwelling on the feeling she was being watched. And it had almost cost her the match. She shook her head in an attempt to clear it of these distracting thoughts.

Then she realised the crowd was chanting again. If she was honest, it hadn't registered when they had gone silent. Only now, in the racket around her, did she realised how quiet it had been before.

It made her feel strange. She felt… liked. These people, complete strangers, wanted her to win. They cared whether she won or lost. They cared about her.

She felt invigorated. Who cares if somebody is watching me from the shadows. These people are watching me anyway. And we'll give them a show.

She flexed her shoulders, which felt suddenly stiff, and looked her opponent in the eyes.

'Ready to finish this, boy?'

He narrowed his eyes, but said nothing, focusing his attention on the dish.

'Did you really think you could get the best of us?'

'You aren't going to win with words,' He retorted.

'Well then, we'll just have to beat him the old fashioned way, won't we Yilan.'

Zhaila closed her eyes, and cleared her mind. She stretched her neck and took a slow, deep breath. Her beyblade spun steadily in the centre of the dish, and she locked her piercing green eyes onto her opponents face.

'Show me what you got.'

He tore his eye away from her, and went for the attack once again. This time, she was the one to dodge. But instead of hesitating and allowing him to regain the ground, she attacked.

Lightning fast, her blade shot after his, forcing it over the edge. She caught her blade as it fell through the air.

The boy cried out as he realised he couldn't reach his own blade before it hit the ground and smashed. He closed his eyes, not wanting to watch. Then he felt something touch his shoulder.

'This is yours, I believe.'

Zhaila pressed his beyblade into his hand, and smirked at him.

'Look after it,' she said, 'You did well.'

And then she turned and walked away from the commotion in the arena. Maybe she could get used to attention, but not in one day!