Hey guys, here's a chapter! Just wanted to point out that since chapter 4, basically all the new stuff from this year, the majority of this story has been written while listening to Paramore's album Riot! so if you're someone who likes to listen to music while you read, I recommend that as the soundtrack to this story. Anyway, thanks to Purpleprincess1147 and Rokushimo for reviewing and to everyone who's read/favorited/followed the story!

I don't own Metal Fight Beyblade.

"Where the hell did they go?" Sophie was impatient.

"Relax," Kyoya yawned from his spot on the couch. "They'll be fine."

Sophie rolled her eyes. That was easy for him to say. Sure, three of his friends were out there, too, but he didn't seem all that concerned. Sophie, on the other hand, was a nervous wreck. She definitely had faith in her friends, but that didn't stop her from worrying. All three of her best friends were out there now. Madoka would definitely be back, she'd only left a little while ago, but couldn't she at least have left a note or something? It was driving her crazy! And there was still no sign of Mei Mei or Hikaru-and the boys practically had her on lockdown, not even letting her go over to her own half of the duplex! What was she supposed to do? They certainly weren't putting forth any effort.

She groaned. This could not possibly get any worse. She noticed Wales looking over at her sympathetically, but she turned away. Unless he was going to let her walk out of the condo at that moment she didn't care one bit. She began to pace anxiously through the rooms.

Something flew through the air, hitting her smack in the middle of the face. She blinked, regaining her composure, then looked down at the object in question.

It was a bag of potato chips.

Annoyed, it took her seconds to determine the culprit.

"Masamune," her voice held an edge. "Do I even want to know what that was for?"

He shifted guiltily. "I dunno, you seemed kind of tense. I thought some food might help you relax."

"Well, I can assure you it didn't," she snarled threateningly. "Just be glad the bag wasn't open and you don't have a mess to clean up." She threw the bag back at him. He narrowly dodged it.

"This isn't even your condo, who cares if I would've had to clean it?"

"You're right, this isn't my condo, but that doesn't mean it needs to be a mess."

"I don't get why you're so on edge," Kyoya commented.

She turned on him. "How can you even say that? Our friends are out there, they could be in danger! Madoka and Gingka just left without saying anything, who knows what they're doing! They could've found the others, but they might need help, there's no telling what shape everyone is in! And we're just sitting around, doing absolutely-"

Wales cut her off, placing a laptop in front of her. "That's why we aren't doing anything."

On the weather radar, there was another enormous storm rolling in. She groaned inwardly. It wasn't even the right time of year for all these storms! What was going on?

"As you can see, it's moving at a pretty fast clip," Wales pointed out.

"As much as we want to go looking for the others, we can't," Masamune explained. "It's too dangerous and we might get caught up in it again."

"But those are our friends."

"You saw how bad it was last night," Wales continued. As he spoke, rain droplets began to fall from the sky outside the window, as if on cue.

Sophie looked back and forth between the three boys. They all had circles under their eyes, and looked worn out. She suspected they hadn't gotten much sleep either after making their way back to the condo through the storm the previous night. She realized, with a twinge, that this situation was probably bothering them as much as it bothered her; only they were doing a better job hiding it.

Sophie felt torn. She understood their point, she really did, but she hated the thought of leaving her friends out there alone.

Especially if the boys wanted to go after them, too. But they would never do it, not right now anyway. Their minds were set.

Hesitating for less that a second, she ran outside, amid the boys' loud protests.

She looked out from the front porch, trying to gain an idea of where to go. She could see the dark clouds headed their way from far out in the sea.

She spotted several figures heading in her general direction. Recognizing them, Sophie grinned. Wales opened the door behind her.

Swiftly descending the steps and not paying attention to what he was saying, she ran as fast as she could to meet the people coming toward her.

Madoka, Mei Mei, Gingka, and Ryuga came into view. Ryuga seemed to be carrying someone; he looked like he was struggling. With a jolt, Sophie realized it was Hikaru.

She was immediately engulfed in a hug by her two of her best friends.

"I am so glad to see you guys!" Sophie smiled. "But we have to get back, now. There's another storm coming."

Mei Mei's eyes flickered with fear. "Again? Are you serious?"

Sophie nodded gravely, motioning to the clouds in the distance.

Gingka was trying to convince Ryuga to let him help with carrying Hikaru, but the other boy was insistent, shaking his head without saying a word. Sophie eyed them curiously.

Elated, the group made their way back to the beach house. The three other boys were waiting for them on the porch, unable to conceal their grins.

They went inside, Ryuga placing Hikaru on the couch.

"What happened to you guys?" Masamune stared in disbelief.

"We got stuck in the ocean," Ryuga shrugged. "But everything turned out fine, so it's no big deal."

The others stared at him. "No big deal? How can you say that?" Mei Mei couldn't believe it. "I was out all night in that storm, not even near the ocean, but I can assure you it was definitely not fun."

"How did you end up in the water in the first place?" Kyoya eyed him.

"Chao Xin was out there," Ryuga faced the wall, refusing to look at any of them. "I went out to help him, but he was gone by the time I got there. I don't know why she followed." He jerked his head in Hikaru's direction.

"What happened after that?"

His voice held an annoyed edge to it. "We got separated, but managed to get swept into the same area by the current. There was a riptide and it took a while to get to shore. Once we did, we went over to a pile of rocks that was high enough so the water wouldn't reach."

"That doesn't sound fun at all," Gingka commented.

"It wasn't, but there weren't any other options."

"And Chao Xin was just gone once you got in the water?" Wales asked, concerned.

Ryuga shrugged. "I called his name, but there was no sign of him. My guess is he got out of the water. The current was fast, but I don't think it could have carried him away that quickly."

"Then where's Chao Xin?" Mei Mei's throat felt dry. "Why isn't he back?"

A thick cloud hung over the group. Ryuga went upstairs, apparently bored with the conversation, and the others shifted back and forth, unsure of what to say. Only one person knew the answer to that question, and unless he showed up soon, they weren't going to find out. Nobody dared mention the fear that was preying on their minds, only hoping desperately he'd escaped from the water before anything could happen.

"He probably got out of the water as soon as he could," Sophie said comfortingly. "I'm sure he's fine; he's probably just laying low, waiting out the next storm."

"Okay…" Mei Mei wasn't convinced. Not in the slightest.

"If Ryuga and Hikaru both made it out, then so did he," Masamune punched the air. "He wouldn't just give up like that, no way."

Madoka went over to the adjoining door, trying to force it open. "Gingka, are you sure you lost that key?" She asked irritably, changing the dark turn the conversation had taken.

"Yeah, I have no idea what happened to it!"

"You're sure? You didn't put it down somewhere and forget about it?"

"Positive! I always left it near the fridge so I wouldn't lose it, but one day it was gone!"

Sophie looked out at the rain already drizzling down outside the door. "I'm not going back out there now."

"Your half of the condo is two feet away," Kyoya pointed out.

"I'm still not going out there."

"Looks like you guys are stuck with us for now," Mei Mei sat down on the couch next to Hikaru's sleeping form.

"Where do you get off-"

"If Chao Xin comes back at some point, we should know about it," Sophie pointed out. "It's easier than running back and forth between the two halves."

"That's why we have cell phones," Wales pointed out.

"Yeah, well some of ours were destroyed during yesterday's fun run in the rain."

Masamune laughed. "Why did you have your phone on you during that?"

"It's not like I planned it. It was in the sweatshirt I was wearing so-"

"You didn't even have to run out there in the first place, so don't go-"

"Hey, if anything blame Chao Xin, he's the one who went out first, everyone else just-"

"You do realize what you're saying-"

"Are you really going to go there?"

"Guys…"

"You know, this would be a lot easier if you guys could actually pay attention to your stuff and we still had that key-"

"Why would we-"

"That key should've been ours anyway, you didn't need it-"

"Guys, stop!" Mei Mei cried out over the clamor of everyone's voices, standing up from her seat. "I'm sorry, okay? This is all my fault, I should've gone inside when I realized the storm was coming." Tears were in her eyes.

"Don't blame yourself!" Madoka said quickly. "We were the ones who ran outside. We knew the risks with what we were doing!"

"Don't worry about it," Sophie went over to her friend. "Everyone's okay for the most part. Blaming each other won't do us any good."

"But… Chao Xin," Mei Mei whispered. "This really is my fault. I was going to go inside, but…"

"But it's not your-"

"You're damn right it is." Everyone turned, seeing Ryuga standing at the foot of the stairs.

Sophie looked affronted. "What did you say?"

He ignored her, hopping off the bottom stair and walking toward the group. "What were you doing out there? I'm sure you saw the storm clouds, they were pretty hard to miss. Why would you wait until the last minute to try and get inside? There was already lightning before the wind picked up. You would've known something was coming." He stared hard at Mei Mei.

"I…" Feeling completely out of her element, she ran outside, not bothering to shut the door behind her and over to the girls' half of the duplex.

Madoka and Sophie glared at Ryuga. "That was harsh."

He held their gaze. "You weren't the ones in the waves trying to help your friend."

"That was too far."

The new voice caught everyone's attention, whirling toward the direction it had come from. Ryuga's eyes widened. Hikaru was sitting up on the couch, holding her side, tired but very much awake. Her eyes flashed with anger.

She stood up, walking toward him. "You were the one who dove in the water after him. She had nothing to do with that. That was your choice."

Ryuga crossed his arms defensively. "If she hadn't been out-"

"Does it matter? The point is, it's over. We can't do anything more. So stop blaming Mei Mei. All of you." She gave each of the boys a once over. A few shifted guiltily while the others never broke eye contact. With that, she walked out the door, Madoka and Sophie following close behind.

Mei Mei was sitting on the couch, hugging a pillow to her chest. Madoka and Sophie sat next to her.

"You do know it isn't your fault, right?" Sophie said softly.

Mei Mei nodded, blinking back tears. "I do. I know I'm responsible for some of it, but the way he said it was awful."

"Don't listen to him," Hikaru shook her head. "He's just a jerk. I was there when he jumped in the water. I couldn't have stopped him if I tried."

"She's right," Madoka nodded emphatically. "And Chao Xin will be back soon. If Ryuga didn't find him, it's because he was already out of the water."

Mei Mei gave a wan smile. "I'm going to sleep now; I didn't get much rest last night."

She disappeared upstairs, the other girls shaking their heads. It'd only taken hours for their perfect summer to descend into chaos. Everything had been going so well, but the off-season storms had put an end to that. To top it all off, Chao Xin still wasn't back, adding to the ordeal. He had to be alright.

Madoka stood up, making her way to the kitchen. "I'm- I'm going to make something to eat," she said shakily. "Do you guys want something?" She didn't bother waiting for a response, taking a can out of one of the cabinets.

"I think he blames himself," Hikaru whispered, so quietly Sophie almost couldn't hear.

"What?"

The other girl stared out the window. "He's mad at himself… He went out to find Chao Xin, but he was already gone. He thinks he could've found Chao Xin if he'd acted quicker… And now, not knowing what happened to him… He thinks it's his fault."

"Are you sure about that?"

Hikaru didn't answer, continuing to look into the distance. Sophie didn't notice, but a single tear rolled down her cheek.