Commence weekly updates!

...Is what I'd like to say, but honestly I don't know. However, I do have a few chapters done, so updates should be pretty regular for a while. This chapter came out completely different than I ever expected, but I hope you enjoy! I'm in a bit of a rush, but expect an update next week! Thank you to Purpleprincess1147 for your review!

I don't own Metal Fight Beyblade.

Hikaru watched in shock as Chao Xin disappeared behind the door. She heard the front door open, then slam back shut quickly.

The other boys watched on, apparently as confused as she was.

Madoka regained her senses first. "C'mon, guys! Mei Mei could be in trouble!" She followed Chao Xin's lead, ignoring the protests as she ran through the boy's half of the condo.

Sophie picked up right behind her. Before Hikaru had a clear idea of what was happening, she was alone with Ryuga. He raised an eyebrow. She felt stuck, lost as to what to do. This couldn't possibly be a good idea for all of them to go running out there in the midst of a storm…

"Aren't you going with them?"

"I-Of course!" Hikaru felt her face grow warm as her thoughts were interrupted, although she couldn't imagine why. Looking pointedly away from him, she stepped into the room, making her way to the front half of the door before it closed behind Masamune. She grabbed it, then stepped back into the rain.

As she walked down the stairs, carefully, so as not to slip on the water-drenched steps, the storm began to pick up. The wind whipped furiously around her, tousling her hair wildly. She was thankful it was short, not bothering to push much of it out of her face. Salt water blew into her face, sticking there uncomfortably. She blinked, desperately trying to clear up her vision. Somehow Ryuga had already managed to get ahead of her and was waiting.

"Didn't she know it was going to rain?" Ryuga muttered. Hikaru felt pressured to defend her friend, but didn't bother wasting the time. No matter what she said, it wouldn't change what he was thinking at this point. All she could do was try to find Mei Mei.

The rain pounded against them. She could barely see five feet in front of her.

Where had the others gone? They hardly had much of a start on her; maybe they had gone a different direction?

A strong hand grabbed her arm. Instinctively, she started to pull away.

"Calm down. It's just me."

She relaxed slightly, tensing once more as his grip slipped down to take her hand. In a way, she was almost thankful for the rain, feeling her face burn up. If nothing else, she wouldn't get lost and if she did, she wouldn't be alone.

Keeping pace with him, the two of them ran through the rain. She hoped he could see better than her; she certainly wasn't going to get them anywhere at this rate. She didn't even know where she was. They'd taken off toward the water once they'd made their way down the steps and that was the last she knew in terms of her location.

Masamune had disappeared with the rest of the group up ahead. Wherever they had gone, they'd done so quickly. It'd taken seconds to lose them. Or maybe she'd just been too slow. Hikaru felt guilty almost immediately. If she hadn't been so slow to react, she could've been more help. Instead, she'd questioned their actions, thinking it better to try and figure out another way to help. That had been a waste of time. The only way to help Mei Mei was to find her now, not wait out the storm.

Chao Xin had had the right idea.

"Look out!"

She barely had time to react as Ryuga jumped on top of her, the two of them falling into the sand with a soft thud. A few feet next to them, a large tree branch crashed to the ground. If he hadn't pushed her aside, it would have directly hit her, probably on the head.

That had been way too close.

Fully aware of their close proximity, Hikaru crawled out from under Ryuga and stood back up, not saying anything. She glanced down at the fallen branch.

"Are you ready to go?" Ryuga didn't give her a chance to respond. He took her hand again and they were off.

Thankful for the distraction, she wiped her face off with her free hand. Sand was stuck to her face now, and the salty sea spray had made her hair stiff. The wind was relentless.

Refusing to be done in, they made it closer to the ocean. Something was out in the water, but it was impossible to tell what. Thunder cracked loudly, reverberating across the beach. Hikaru moved closer to Ryuga.

"Do you see that?" She called, hoping he could hear her against the howling of the wind.

"What are you talking about?" She barely heard his response.

"There's something out there! I can't quite tell what it is, but-"

"Shit." His tone of voice made her blood run cold. "That's Chao Xin. What the hell is he doing out there?"

Ryuga loosened his grip on her hand and waded out slowly into the water. He dove deep into the water, emerging a few seconds later, his head barely visible above the surface.

The waves slapped violently. Hikaru, standing alone on the beach now, felt as they hit against her legs. It couldn't be pleasant out there. What had Ryuga been thinking, diving into the water like that without thinking?

"Ryuga!" She called. A large wave appeared from nowhere, inches in front of him. "Ryuga!"

Hikaru watched in complete horror as the wave descended upon him. It crashed down, forcing him far below the surface.

She stood still, looking around impatiently. There was no sign of anyone else on the beach with them, no sign of anyone else available to help them. Chao Xin had vanished practically the moment Ryuga had followed after him.

Hikaru craned her neck anxiously, waiting for Ryuga to reappear above the surface.

He never did.

"Ryuga! RYUGA!" Her voice was raw from yelling, raw from the wind working against it. There was no sign of him anywhere.

Refusing to let her panic weigh her down like before, she took a few steps into the water. A forceful spray hit her full in the face. She spit out seawater, her vision now altered again by salt water stinging her eyes.

She called time and time again, not getting an answer. Time was starting to grow short. He'd gone under a few minutes ago, and there had been no sign of him. Had he drifted downward? Was he nearby? Had he even come back up at all, or was he fighting against the current, unable-

Hikaru forced herself to stop. Imagining all the scenarios wasn't going to help her. She needed to focus on the moment, nothing more.

Swimming further out, she looked around. The waves pushed against her powerfully, persistent. Her feet barely touched the ground; she didn't dare go out much farther. To do so would put herself in an even worse situation, one she couldn't risk at all.

He wasn't there.

Ryuga was gone.

She screamed with what was left of her voice, not caring what happened. The storm didn't look like it was going to stop anytime. There was nobody to save her or anybody else. Her friends were all gone.

Her fear took over completely. She spun around, unable to find the shore in the mess the storm had created. She started walking in what she assumed was the right direction, sobs wracking her body. They'd really done it this time.

Behind her, an enormous wave knocked her off her feet, sending her flying in the air. Lightning flashed. She screamed, inhaling a mouthful of water as she fell back down, beneath the water.

Underwater, she opened her eyes, not caring as the sea stung them. She flailed wildly, working her way back toward the surface.

She broke free seconds later, her bearings completely gone.

The sea carried her away, thunder and lightning taking their respective turns. Hidden within the clouds, the moon shone brightly, providing her with little light. The water sloshed around her, preventing Hikaru from reaching the bottom. She'd been dragged out farther than she'd expected.

The seawater filled her mouth time and time again. Reality sunk in, terror evident in her widening eyes. She was drowning. She never should have gone in the water after Ryuga.

Choking, she spit out what water she could before crying for help again, knowing it was a lost cause. The rain from above pelted her head, not helping her at all.

"Help! Somebody!" In that instant, she could have sworn she heard an answering reply, but she didn't dare get her hopes up. The only one she could rely on at this point was herself, and she was slowly fading away. Her energy was almost completely sapped, while the ocean and storm showed no intent of slowing. If anything, they were becoming more voracious in nature.

Hikaru allowed herself to be pushed along by the waves, no longer able to fight back. The strain she'd experienced in those minutes had been too much for her. Her vision grew spotty.

Her foot brushed up against something foreign, but she thought nothing of it. Her mind had already slipped away, shutting down and she couldn't see anything anymore. Her head dipped under, bobbing up a moment later, but she didn't notice.

She felt it again, alerting her weary mind, but for the life of her, she couldn't figure out what it was. A log? Maybe, but wouldn't that be waterlogged from being under? Whatever she had hit was pretty strong. Probably a rock or something… She felt spacey once more.

Something brushed against her arms and this time Hikaru fought back a scream. Something was in the water with her. Some sort of creature.

With what was left of her, she cried out, screaming, crying. There were sharks in the water, there had to be. Or some other sea monster. She'd drifted out far from the beach and now she was at nature's mercy. Whatever she'd encountered, it wasn't going to be pretty. Hikaru thrashed, but it was pointless, her body having reached its limit.

The monster wrapped around her.

Hikaru blinked. It couldn't have been a shark- a shark would have torn her apart by this point, assuming it was a dangerous one.

Daring to learn the truth, she turned, praying she wasn't wrong.

Ryuga was floating next to her. She couldn't tell what he looked like entirely, but he seemed just as sapped of energy as her.

"Hold on." She barely heard him say the words. "Just hold on. We'll be okay."

Glad to not be alone, she found her footing. The seafloor was high enough for her to stand on her toes to reach, but not very well. Lightning lit up the sky, and through the rain she could see what looked to be the beach. Gathering her strength, she started that way.

"Wait!" Ryuga's voice was ragged. "There's a riptide."

Hikaru's sudden elation faded away. "Wha- How do we-" She couldn't even get the sentence out.

"Swim. Parallel." She kept hold of him, following his lead. A large wave crashed between them, separating the two. Hikaru cried out, going under once more.

It was useless. Absolutely, completely, utterly useless.

She let the waves sweep her away. She was done. She didn't have it in her to swim parallel to the beach or even try to fight the riptide head on, not that that had ever been a possibility to begin with.

"What are you doing?!" Ryuga shouted. He hadn't been pushed away as far as she thought. "Are you just giving up?!"

Hikaru's response was shut out by another mouthful of seawater. She tried to stand, working her way toward him. Ryuga took her by the arm, pulling her with him. She needed to be strong.

The riptide was stronger that she'd thought. Ignoring the wind and rain as it hit her, she tried to focus on the ultimate goal. Finally, she felt the current grow weaker. They were so close. She tried to look at Ryuga, but couldn't make out his face.

The sand felt better than she'd ever imagined. As soon as they made it out of the water, she had stumbled, falling face first. It was a welcome change from the nightmarish sea, determined to tear her apart.

"Where are we?" She whispered, not expecting an answer. She crawled forward, picking herself up and kept walking, farther away from the sea. The water had risen drastically, farther up the beach than she had ever seen it before.

Ryuga pointed in the distance. "Those rocks. Once we make it there, we'll be safe." Hikaru wanted to protest, but she didn't have it in her.

The rocks were a seemingly endless distance away. They formed a treacherous pile, but were higher than the current sea level. Her legs were heavy, the water slapped against her ankles. Somehow, she managed to keep going, holding tight to Ryuga.

Once they were at the rocks, she collapsed on top of one. The water battered the rocks over and over, but didn't break much on top of the pile. For now, it seemed she was finally safe. She was asleep seconds later as she laid down to rest.

The sun beat down heavily on her. Hikaru opened her eyes, yawning. Last night's events were still taking a toll on her. She looked over next to her, at Ryuga. He looked exhausted, watching her. As their eyes connected, she'd realized something.

He'd stayed up all night making sure they were safe.