Silvan Arrow: Aaaaaahhhh…I can't believe how long it's been since I've updated! I'm so very sorry for taking so long to post this chapter! The last three weeks of this school year were absolutely brutal…

Bryan: Just start the chapter before your readers start a riot.

Silvan Arrow: Well, if you're going to be such a grouch, you can go ahead and do the disclaimer.

Bryan: Sheesh, whatever. Silvan Arrow does not own Beyblade or any of its characters, which means she doesn't own me either thankfully.

Silvan Arrow: Um…yeah… While I think of some witty saying to put here, enjoy this extra-long, action-packed chapter!

Chapter 15: The Eye of the Storm

A gentle breeze fluttered through the vibrant green leaves adorning the sturdy oak trees of an all-too familiar park in Japan, carrying the lazy atmosphere of the waning summer. The sun shone high overhead in the midst of a cloudless blue sky, her tender rays promising warmth and life to anyone they touched…save for one.

No amount of warmth could penetrate the coldness that had settled like an impenetrable fortress around the heart of Eri Kiryakov.

'Three days…'

Some say you never know what you had until it's gone. It had been three days since that fateful battle back in India, and ever since then Pyrix had seemingly vanished without a trace. After the teams had returned to Japan for the semi-finals, Eri had taken to secluding herself in the park, on a deserted grassy hill so she could be alone with her thoughts. So here she was again, lying on the soft grass that swayed and shifted with the ever-changing wind while her empty green orbs numbly watched the few clouds that rolled past her field of vision.

With a soft sigh, Eri reached into her pocket for the millionth time that day and pulled out her still-damaged beyblade. The recoil from her final attack had reduced it to a charred hunk of metal, and the bit chip, though intact, was still empty. Just like her heart.

"…Where are you?" Eri muttered brokenly, desperation obvious in her voice.

A gentle feminine laugh resonated across her senses. I'm right here.

Eri sat bolt upright with a shocked gasp as a familiar presence stirred in her mind. "P-Pyrix?" she asked out loud, not quite trusting her mental pathway.

In her mind's eye, the Russian brunette could see the fire wolf regarding her endearingly. Hello, Eri.

Eri's expression softened and a smile worked its way up her lips as relief and joy flooded her body. 'You're back.'

I never left. I was just waiting for your heart to open up to mine again, Pyrix replied reassuringly. I would never abandon you, Eri. Ever.

Eri drew her knees up to her chest and bowed her head so her hair shadowed her face. "Thank you…for not giving up on me…"

In fact, Eri was so thankful and relieved to have Pyrix back that she never once noticed the pair of ice blue eyes that had been protectively watching over her from a distance. The owner of those eyes smiled softly and silently left the area to give the two some privacy to re-connect. 'She'll be all right now.'

"So let me get this straight. We're facing Omega Platoon in the semi-finals in less than two weeks, our beyblades desperately need repairs, and our captain is still out of commission, right?" Nakia inquired.

"Yep, that pretty much sums it up," Hina replied matter-of-factly.

Nakia placed her palm on her forehead. "We're so screwed."

Sonja, Nakia, and Hina were back in their hotel room, trying to devise some sort of plan to pick themselves back up and prepare for the semi-finals. However, they were feeling pretty lost without their captain. While Nakia and Hina kept lamenting about their situation, Sonja remained silent as she looked down at the beyblade in her hand as if it could give her an answer. She felt a questioning probe from Lunash. 'I'm just worried about Eri. She hasn't been herself since the match in India,' she said, answering the unspoken question.

She is strong. I am confident she will make it through this trial, Lunash replied.

'I've never doubted her strength. It's just…well, I can't even imagine what she must be going through. I for one don't know what I would do if I lost you,' Sonja stated.

I see… For once, Lunash was at a loss for words. All he could offer was his presence and hope that would be enough to comfort his mistress.

All conversation, both mental and spoken, fell silent as the door opened and Eri silently walked into the room. Coming to a stop, she lifted her head to meet the concerned gazes of her teammates. A broad smirk adorned her face as she held out her beyblade, the bit chip once again bearing the proud image of a red and orange wolf. However, the image was different this time. Instead of standing in a defensive, wary crouch, Pyrix was in a battle stance with her head raised to the sky howling. A collective sigh of relief ran through the room until Eri's voice commanded their attention.

"We've got work to do."

"Give it all you got, Pyrix!" Eri shouted.

"Don't give in, Lunash!" Sonja countered. In the outdoor dish behind the hotel, two beyblades tore into each other mercilessly, one red and gold, the other silver and blue. Even though this was a training battle between two best friends, Eri and Sonja were going at it full force. They couldn't afford to go easy on each other during training, not when so much was riding on the line.

At their mistress' commands, Pyrix and Lunash materialized above their beyblades amidst powerful auras before leaping into the fray with tooth and claw. Nakia and Hina felt their adrenaline rise as they watched closely from the sidelines. The power emanating from the two bit beasts was palpable enough to make their skin tingle. Within their minds, Uskadu and Arashi grew restless, itching for some action too.

Sonja grunted as Eri's beyblade circled around the dish to pick up speed and slam into hers. "Nice shot," she remarked with a competitive glint in her eyes.

"Heh…you're not looking too shabby yourself," Eri complimented with a smirk. "Pyrix, retreat!"

"Lunash, retreat!" Both bit beasts dematerialized and returned to their beyblades, which leapt back into their mistress' outstretched hands.

"So…how are the upgrades?" Eri asked.

"They feel great," Sonja replied, glancing down at her newly upgraded beyblade. "Lunash was a lot more responsive."

"That was the whole idea. You should have an easier time controlling your final attack now," Eri explained. She had spent the better part of the previous night upgrading and re-building her team's beyblades, and Eri had to say that it was time well spent considering the battering they had taken throughout the tournament. They would need the extra power if they hoped to stand a chance against Omega Platoon. The Russian captain turned to her other two teammates. "Nakia, Hina, let's see what you got."

"You got it."

'Breathe in…breathe out…in…and out…'

The rhythmic pounding of a set of bare feet against the ocean-washed sand was drowned out by the crashing of waves against the rocks. Raven-black hair with blond highlights trailed in the salty breeze as the runner focused on regulating her breathing. The translucent silhouette of a black panther kept pace beside his mistress, his presence invisible to all except her.

The sun was just starting to dip below the horizon when Nakia finally slowed to a stop. She placed her hands on her head and took several deep breaths to return her heart rate to normal. She tilted her head back contentedly and let the salt spray from the waves cool the deeply tanned skin on her face and neck. Uskadu walked calmly beside her, completely unfazed by the run. "Five kilometers…not a bad workout, eh, Uskadu?"

Indeed…the ocean breeze is most refreshing, Uskadu replied as he paused in his walk to stretch his back, his claws flexing into the sand with a contented growl. Suddenly he froze, and his pointed ears perked up in response to a distant sound. Someone is approaching. However, he relaxed upon identifying the presence. I shall excuse myself. I would hate to be a third wheel.

"Third wheel? What?" But the panther vanished back into his bit chip before Nakia could finish her question.

"Fancy seeing you here."

Nakia whirled around to come face to face with an all-too familiar lilac-haired Russian. "Bryan! W-what are you doing here?" she stammered. 'Of all times for him to show up,' Nakia thought grimly as she glanced down self-consciously at her black athletic shorts and sweaty red t-shirt. 'Maybe the smell will drive him away before I say something to make a fool of myself.' For someone who was normally so bubbly and social, Nakia always found herself rendered speechless around the taller, stoic male.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Bryan turned to face the pounding surf, and his face took on a distant expression as he gazed off into the seemingly infinite horizon. The setting sun painted the ocean in hues of orange, red, and yellow that melded together in a breathtaking display of beauty. "Just getting some air," he replied simply with an indifferent shrug of his shoulders. He glanced sideways at the shorter girl without moving his head. "And you?"

"Uskadu and I were doing some distance running," Nakia replied. "We've got a lot of training ahead of us before the semi-finals."

Bryan smirked slightly. "You've really surprised me, you know?"

Nakia laughed nervously before answering, "Well, the chances of a rookie team like ours getting to the semi-finals were pretty slim…"

"I'm not talking about your team," Bryan cut her off and turned his body so he faced her and looked her straight in the eye. "I'm talking about you, Nakia."

That was the first time Bryan had addressed Nakia by name. The way the Egyptian name rolled off his tongue in his Russian accent actually sent a shiver down her spine. "W-what do you mean?" she asked, completely lost for words.

"When I first met you, I thought you were pretty weak, the way you freaked out over being attacked by those street thugs," Bryan stated. Nakia flinched inwardly. Bryan never was one to sugarcoat words. "But you've proven me wrong over the course of this tournament, the way you've overcome your weaknesses and gotten stronger."

Nakia didn't think it was possible, but Bryan had actually attempted to compliment her. "You know, you're kind of surprising me right now, Bryan," Nakia commented. "Normally you're always so cold and stoic, and I've never seen you show any kind of emotion." She turned to him with a questioning expression. "How come you never open up to people?"

Bryan pinned Nakia with a hard look, and for a second she was afraid she had offended him or asked too personal of a question. However, the look vanished just as quickly as it had come as Bryan directed his gaze out over the ocean. His expression seemed almost…wistful?

"I suppose I never had a reason to open up," Bryan deadpanned, still focused on the hypnotic rising and falling of the waves and the colors that danced and reflected off the water. "My teammates are all I have, and they know me well enough without me having to get all emotional. I guess it just made things…simpler…"

Nakia listened thoughtfully, completely taken aback that Bryan would share something so personal with her. "You know something?" Bryan turned his lilac eyes toward the smaller Egyptian. "What you just told me…I'd say that counts as opening up, even if just a little."

For several long moments, silence prevailed as Bryan and Nakia held eye contact, neither one able to look away. A tendril of a breeze blew past, picking up grains of sand and carrying the salty scent of the ocean. Then Bryan broke the moment with a slight smirk. "Heh…maybe I'm getting soft after all."

"Sometimes the simple way isn't always the most rewarding. I've learned that from experience," Nakia continued. "I'm not saying you have to open up right away, but will you at least think about it?" When Bryan didn't answer right away, she gently laid a hand on his arm, feeling his muscles tense up instinctively as she did so, and added, "Tell you what. You go mull it over and meet me back here in a week to tell me what you've decided."

Bryan was dumbstruck at her proposition. "Wait…what are you…?"

Nakia cut him off, holding up one finger to silence him. "One week. Don't forget, m'kay?" she said with a cheery grin. With that, she turned and started to walk away. She cast a wave back over her shoulder and added in a sing-song tone, "Catch ya later." And then she was gone.

Bryan stared after her retreating form until she walked under a bridge and was hidden from view. What she said replayed over and over in his mind. Somehow she had seen through his steel-clad barriers without even trying, and now she wanted him to open up?

Master Bryan? Falborg inquired.

'Not now, Falborg. I…need to think…'

"Come on! Show me what you got, Arashi!" Hina commanded. Her newly upgraded white and light blue beyblade shot up a tree trunk, leaped from branch to branch, and ricocheted off two more trees before returning to its mistress' outstretched hand. Hina regarded the bit chip with a critical eye. 'Still not good enough… The reaction time is too slow. Arashi and I need to be in total sync for this to work.' She had found a secluded area of the woods earlier this morning to train in private and was getting rather frustrated at her lack of results so far.

Hina felt a feather-soft mental probe from her bit beast. You seem thoughtful, mistress, Arashi observed. Is everything okay?

'Yeah…everything's fine.' However, in her mind's eye, Hina could see the white eagle cock his head to the side and give her an expression that said he didn't believe that for a minute. 'Okay, okay…I guess there's no fooling you. I'm just concerned that I'm not contributing enough to the team.'

Arashi cocked his head to the other side quizzically and ruffled his feathers. What makes you think that, mistress? he asked politely. You've fought well in this tournament.

'It's just…the others have taken their game to the next level. Eri, Sonja, and Nakia have all mastered new special attacks and have overcome many of their weaknesses. Nakia has become less impulsive, Sonja has learned how to control Lunash's unpredictable power, and Eri has overcome her anger. And me? I've…stayed the same.'

You're still dwelling on our loss against Brooklyn, aren't you? Arashi prodded gently. He knew Hina was frustrated that she hadn't had a chance to redeem herself since the Temporal Knights' devastating loss against Justice 5.

Hina nodded, knowing that her thoughts would reach Arashi through their mental link. 'Only three of us can battle in the semi-finals. I'm not going to be the only one benched when we take on Omega Platoon.'

Then what do you suggest we do, mistress? Arashi asked.

'We've got a lot of work ahead of us. Are you up for it?'

Always, mistress. You know you have my full support.

A grateful smile adorned Hina's face as she gazed at the bit chip. "Thanks, Arashi…" she whispered.

Later that evening…

"I say we watch The Holiday," Nakia insisted.

"And I say we watch The Two Towers," Sonja argued, reaching over to grab the remote out of Nakia's hands. Currently the two bladers were sitting on a bed in their hotel room arguing over what movie to watch on Pay-Per-View.

"No way! I'm in no mood to sit through a three-hour action movie!" Nakia protested.

"Yeah, well I'm not exactly thrilled about watching a chick flick!" Sonja exclaimed.

Eri, who had been lying on the other bed listening to some music on her iPod, finally ripped her headphones off and growled, "Either you two pick something that you agree on or I'm chucking that stupid remote out the window."

Sonja and Nakia looked at each other and gulped in fear. "Comedy?" Nakia asked.

"Comedy," Sonja agreed quickly.

However, before they could pick a movie, Hina walked in through the door. "Hey, girl, where have you been? It's after nine," Nakia asked of her best friend.

"Just getting in some extra training," Hina replied. She quickly took stock of the slight remnants of terror in her teammates' eyes and added, "You two look like you just got threatened by Eri."

Sonja and Nakia leveled Hina with a grim stare and replied in unison, "You have no idea…" Eri just laughed.

And so, over the next three days, Hina threw herself headlong into training, pushing herself harder than she had ever done before. In addition to her daily practices with the team, she put in long hours of extra training on her own in the park, often losing track of time. The first night, her teammates merely thought it an anomaly that she returned so late. The following evening, when Nakia pointed out some fresh, deep scratches on Hina's arms, the Japanese girl brushed it off as nothing. By the third night, Eri, Sonja, and Nakia watched worriedly as Hina returned to the hotel after midnight, collapsed on her bed without a word, and immediately fell asleep without bothering to change clothes.

The next evening…

"Hang in there, Arashi!" Hina shouted over the howl of the savage winds generated by her beyblade. The great eagle screeched a war cry and beat his wings harder, creating slicing blades of wind that flew in random directions throughout the clearing that Hina had chosen as a training ground. Deep gashes appeared in the trees as the force of the attack bit off chunks of wood the size of her head, and the swell of power grew so great that Hina crossed her arms defensively in front of her body. 'Come on…just a little more…'

Mistress, if we continue like this, you could get hurt.

'Just keep going! We're almost there!' Hina almost regretted her decision, as the winds grew more intense, nearly pushing her off her feet. She grunted in pain as blades of wind bit into the exposed skin on her arms and warm blood trickled from the deep gashes. "Can't…control it…AAAHHHH!!!!!" The power grew too much to handle, and her concentration shattered as Hina was thrown back and slammed roughly into a tree trunk. All the breath left her lungs in a rush, and she collapsed on the ground gasping for air and shivering as her body caught up with that fact that it was exhausted and wounded.

Hina, are you all right? The normally calm, collected Arashi sounded almost frantic, and his worry overrode his usual penchant for manners.

"I'm…okay…" Hina ground out between gasps, gazing exhaustedly at her beyblade, which was lying motionless on the ground. 'This doesn't make any sense. Why did it go out of control? We're never going to master this new attack if I can't control Arashi's full power.'

The sound of pounding footsteps snapped Hina out of her thoughts. "Hello? Is anyone hurt?" a familiar voice called. Moments later, Spencer came running into the clearing, stopping abruptly in his tracks upon finding Hina in a crumpled heap leaning against a tree. His concern grew even more upon seeing the bleeding gashes on her arms. "Hina, what happened? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine… I was just training and overdid it a little," Hina replied weakly. "What are you doing here?"

"I was on my way to the beyblade shop to pick up some spare parts when I heard an explosion coming from here," Spencer explained. He noted the damage on the trees in the clearing. 'It looks more like she was trying her hand at log chopping.' He stopped in front of her and held out his hand. "Can you stand?"

"Yeah…" Hina took his hand and let him pull her to her feet, but a sudden wave of vertigo caused her to stumble and grab onto Spencer's arm to steady herself.

Out of reflex, Spencer wrapped an arm around Hina's waist to keep her from falling. "Easy…don't try to move too fast." He placed his free hand under her knees and lifted her into his arms almost effortlessly, eliciting a surprised yelp from the younger blader, but he was still careful not to further aggravate her injuries. "Let's get you back to the hotel."

Too exhausted and aching to argue, Hina relaxed in Spencer's arms and let her head drop back against his shoulder. 'He's so strong,' she mused, noting how he carried her as if she weighed nothing. If it were anyone else, Hina would have been intimidated, but for some reason she felt almost protected being cradled in Spencer's muscular arms.

Spencer carried her all the way back to the hotel. People kept giving them weird looks, much to Hina's embarrassment, but their attention didn't faze Spencer in the least. He also paid no heed to the slight trickle of blood that stained his jacket from Hina's still-clotting wounds. He finally set her down outside her team's hotel room so he could knock on the door, but he still kept an arm around her waist just in case she lost her balance.

Eri answered the door moments later, and her confusion quickly morphed to instant concern upon seeing her disheveled, injured teammate. "Hina! What on earth happened to you?"

"A training accident, I presume," Spencer supplied. "I found her like this and thought it best to bring her back here."

Upon hearing their captain's exclamation, Sonja and Nakia rushed to the door and carefully helped Hina into the room and sat her on one of the beds so they could treat her injuries. "It looks like I owe you twice now," Eri said to Spencer.

"Don't mention it," Spencer replied with a half smile. "I'll let you three take it from here."

After closing the door behind Spencer, Eri walked over to the bed where Sonja and Nakia had laid out the first aid kit and were applying antiseptic to Hina's cuts. "A training accident, huh?" Eri questioned, crossing her arms and adopting a stern tone of voice. "You've been pushing yourself too hard these past few days. What were you thinking, putting yourself at risk like that?"

Hina didn't reply. She just looked down at the carpet as if it were the most interesting thing in the word and winced slightly when the antiseptic stung one of her deeper gashes.

"I want you to take it easy for the next couple of days and let yourself heal."

"But…my training…" Hina started to protest.

"No buts about it," Eri interjected, cutting off her younger teammate. "If you keep this up, you'll be a dead weight and an easy target by the time the semi-finals roll around. Got it?"

Hina sighed in defeat. Eri's words stung worse than the antiseptic, but she couldn't deny her captain's logic. "Yeah…I got it."

However, that night Hina had trouble sleeping despite her exhaustion from the day's hard training and the sting of her wounds. She spent most of the night drifting in and out of a light doze; her mind was too wound up to allow her body any rest. Finally, around 4 AM, she slipped quietly out of bed, careful not to wake Nakia, but then she was a heavy sleeper anyway. The hard part, however, would be getting past Eri. She always slept facing the door so she was strategically placed between her teammates and any potential threat, a habit long hard-wired into her from years of experience, plus she was a rather light sleeper.

As Hina tried to sneak past Eri and Sonja's bed, the Russian stirred in her sleep, and Hina froze in place. Arashi, a little help here? Wisps of air swirled around her feet, cushioning her footfalls so they made no noise, and around the doorknob and hinges so that no sound escaped as Hina left the room. Arashi didn't release his power until they were safely down the hall and inside the elevator.

Once she was outside, Hina allowed muscle memory to take her back to her usual training spot in the middle of the woods in the park. She launched her beyblade with practiced ease and watched its movements with a critical eye as it spun in place before her.

'It still doesn't make any sense. What went wrong today?' Hina mused. 'Somehow I'm holding Arashi back from releasing his full power, and I can't even control the power that he does produce.'

Hina, watch out!

Hina received the warning from Arashi seconds before a beyblade whizzed above her head faster than she could blink. It was only thanks to her reflexes, which were honed from training, that she dropped to the ground in time to avoid being slammed in the face. The strange beybade ricocheted off several trees before flying back into the waiting hands of Vala Arnardottir. The petite girl stood in the shadows of two foreboding oak trees on the opposite side of the clearing, regarding Hina with a competitive glint in her eyes.

"Heh, I'm impressed you actually dodged that," Vala stated with a cocky smirk. "I guess you're not as weak as I thought."

Hina leaped to her feet, recalling her blade and loading it into her launcher as she did so. "You'll have to do a lot better than that to take me out, Vala. Now, why are you here?"

"Isn't it obvious? Only three bladers on a team can fight in the semi-finals, and our orders from Xhaiden are to take out all four of you," Vala explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I thought I would take out the weakest link first." Ignoring Hina's answering glare, she casually reattached her beyblade to her launcher and took her time assuming her stance. Obviously she didn't see Hina as much of a threat. "Ready to have your feathers plucked, fledgling?"

"In your dreams," Hina shot back, getting into her own stance.

"LET IT RIP!!!!"

Fafnir and Arashi started out trading blows evenly before Vala decided to heat things up. "Fafnir, kick up the speed!" Her beyblade responded by darting out of reach of Hina's, climbing up the nearest tree, and randomly leaping from branch to branch. In the dim light, Hina had trouble tracking Fafnir's movements. Then, without warning, Vala's beyblade dived from the trees, the wyvern's aura shrouding it, and pile-drived Arashi.

Hina grunted from the force of the brutal impact. "Stand your ground, Arashi! Counterattack!" Her beyblade thankfully managed to regroup and trade blows with Vala's briefly before Fafnir darted out of the way again.

'Dangit…Fafnir is even faster than Arashi. This could end badly…'

Hina was in a rough spot overall. She hadn't been expecting an ambush like this, and her stamina was barely half of what it was normally thanks to her incessant training and lack of sleep over the past few days. She was fighting with a massive handicap.

"Sheesh, this is too easy. I was hoping you would put up a better fight," Vala taunted. She always had a nasty habit of being overconfident in her own abilities. "Fafnir, time to come out and play!" The wyvern bit beast emerged with an ear-splitting shriek and hissed menacingly at Hina, his forked tongue flicking in and out like a predator sizing up his prey.

"Arashi, attack!" The white eagle materialized, echoing a screeching challenge to Fafnir, and hovered protectively over his mistress.

"You've got no chance against me. Fafnir, show no mercy!"

"Arashi!"

The two winged bit beasts emitted their own war cries and charged each other, both fully intent on fighting to the death.

Eri, wake up. Something's not right.

The Russian brunette awoke immediately in response to her bit beast's warning. Without moving or even opening her eyes, she listened for any sound that was out of the ordinary. Only then did she sit up and take stock of her surroundings. What drew her attention was the conspicuously empty spot next to Nakia. Eri's eyes widened in horror and dread. 'No…she wouldn't have…'

I'm afraid it appears to be exactly as you fear, Pyrix stated grimly.

"Sonja! Nakia! Wake up! We've got trouble!"

"Arashi, don't give in! Attack!" Hina commanded.

"Keep up the pressure, Fafnir!" Vala ordered. The two bit beasts were engaged in an aerial dogfight with wing, talon, tooth, and claw, but so far Fafnir was gaining the upper hand. Thanks to Fafnir's superior speed, he was dealing more blows than Arashi while managing to dodge many of Hina's counterattacks. Hina groaned as she shared in Arashi's pain through their link, and it was only by sheer force of will that she was still on her feet. The cuts on her arms that she had sustained earlier were bleeding freely again and had soaked through the bandages, and Vala made sure Fafnir added a few more to her collection.

"I think it's time we wrapped things up, don't you agree?" Vala asked snidely with a smirk. "Flare Zephyr!" Fafnir flew above the trees and tucked his wings to go into a steep dive, spinning as he descended to form a twister. At the same time, fire spewed from his mouth that merged with the winds. Hina recognized that move from when Vala battled Michael from the PPB All-Starz.

"Arashi! Aero Blade!" Arashi beat his wings to form slicing blades of air, but instead of dispelling Fafnir's attack, the flames actually intensified. Hina gasped in horror as she realized that the extra air was actually stoking the fire.

All Hina could do was shield herself with her arms and pray…

BOOM!!!

The remaining Temporal Knights stopped in their tracks and looked around frantically, trying to find the source of that explosion. "Over there!" Sonja called, pointing to a cloud of smoke rising above the trees in the distance.

Eri, I sense Arashi's presence in that direction, Pyrix reported. He seems very weak… For once, there was a hint of fear in the bit beast's voice.

"Hina…" Snapping herself back to reality, Eri locked eyes with her two teammates briefly and broke out into a sprint. "Let's move!"

"Right behind you!" Nakia exclaimed and she and Sonja hurried to catch up. 'Please be okay, Hina… Please…'

The sound of Vala's laughter drifted through the clearing despite the cloud of smoke that blocked out the sunlight and made it almost impossible to breathe. The force of the two bit beasts clashing had leveled an entire section of the woods, leaving behind a tangle of broken branches, burnt leaves, and splintered tree trunks.

However, the faint sound of someone coughing reached Vala's ears, and as the smoke clearing, she saw that, despite all odds, Hina was still standing, as was Arashi. "What?! That's impossible! You shouldn't even be alive after a blow like that!" Vala exclaimed incredulously. All complacency was gone from her eyes. Perhaps she had underestimated this girl after all…

"Don't…count me out…just yet…" Hina gasped between breaths. Her arms and legs were badly burned, her clothes were torn, and fresh cuts were bleeding all over her body.

Vala growled angrily. Hina was really trying her patience, not that she had much to begin with. "Why do you even bother? You're as good as dead, so why even try to fight it? And don't even try to give me that crap about fighting for your teammates, because all they're doing is holding you back."

Hina's head snapped up, and her eyes narrowed dangerously. "You're wrong."

"What?" Vala snapped.

"I said you're wrong!" Hina exclaimed, indignant that Vala would dare say such a thing. "It's only because of my teammates that I've gotten this far!" Drawing on his mistress' emotions, Arashi staggered to his feet and squared off against Fafnir, who was hovering menacingly above Vala. "They're more than just my teammates. They're my best friends. They've been there for me in my best and worst times, and they never let me give up even when I wanted to. Eri, Sonja, and Nakia bring out the best in me, and I'm going to prove that to you by defeating you here and now!"

Hina's emotions and newfound determination flowed to Arashi through their link, giving him a fresh wave of strength. Arashi screeched in defiance to his opponent, and a white aura glowed around her beyblade as Hina felt her bit beast's power flowing through her veins, inundating every fiber of her body and making her skin tingle from the sensation. Realization dawned finally. 'I was holding Arashi back all along. I wasn't letting my emotions, which are the source of my strength, flow freely to him.'

"Oh yeah? We'll see about that! Fafnir! Pyro Whirlwind!" Vala commanded, calling upon her final attack. Fafnir gave an ear-splitting shriek and called up a swirling tornado of fire that rampaged through the clearing and set any trees that were still standing ablaze before directing the attack at Hina and Arashi.

The white aura grew to envelop Hina as she crossed her hands over her chest as if in prayer, and a pair of translucent wings appeared on her back. Arashi hovered over his mistress and beat his wings furiously, forming slides blades of wind even more intense than before that, instead of fanning Fanfir's flames, actually cut through them to damage the wyvern concealed within. "Arashi! Gale Cleaver!" Arashi belted out a screeching battle cry and sent out a massive boomerang-shaped blade of wind the size of his body that dispelled Fafnir's attack and struck him head-on, causing a massive explosion that was drowned out only by the wyvern's scream of pain.

Vala cried out in horror as the force of the attack kicked up another cloud of smoke that blanketed the entire clearing. When the bladers could finally see again, Fafnir had retreated to his motionless beyblade. A deep gash marred the attack ring, barely missing the bit chip. Hina's beyblade still spun strongly at her feet while Arashi hovered protectively above his mistress, casting a shadow over her with his feathered wings.

"This…can't be…happening…" Vala stammered, her pupils tiny pinpoints of black from shock. 'Xhaiden will never forgive me for this…' She stared incredulously at the one who had beaten her. Hina was staring at her defiantly, gasping for breath and struggling to stay upright.

"I told you…I'd beat you…" Hina whispered. Then Arashi collapsed into his bit chip, and Hina's knees buckled as her beyblade stopped spinning. Before she hit the ground, however, a set of arms caught her.

"Easy…I gotcha…" Eri reassured as she looped her teammate's arm across her shoulders to support her weight and picked her beyblade. "Everything is going to be fine."

"Eri…" Hina muttered weakly, lifting her head to regard her captain in gratitude.

Vala took the momentary distraction as an opportunity to grab her beyblade and bolt. "Hey! Come back here!" Nakia shouted and started to chase after her.

"Let her go," Eri ordered.

"But, Eri! She—"

"I said let her go," she repeated, leaving no room to argue. "Right now our teammate needs our help." Nakia sighed in frustration and returned to her teammates, but her disappointment was quickly replaced with worry at seeing her best friend's condition.

"Hina, do you have any idea how reckless that was?" Sonja asked. "You had us worried sick!"

"I'm sorry, guys, I just…" Hina didn't get a chance to finish her sentence. Her teammates' startled cries were the last things she heard before she blacked out.

Two hours later…

Eri paced restlessly back and forth in the waiting room of the hospital, anxiously awaiting news about Hina's condition. After carrying her to the hospital, the rest of the Temporal Knights had stationed themselves as close as possible to the door leading to the intensive care unit and hadn't budged.

"Eri, would you please sit down? You're making me even more nervous than I already am," Sonja snapped. She normally kept a lid on her emotions when faced with a crisis, but worry for her teammate was overriding her usual calm demeanor and fraying her nerves.

Before Eri could pin her teammate with a death glare, the door opened, and a middle-aged doctor came into the room. "You are the friends of Akiyama Hina?" he asked.

"Yes, we are. How is she?" Nakia asked worriedly.

"Her injuries, while serious, aren't life-threatening, and her burns should heal without any permanent scarring," the doctor explained. "However, she's suffering from severe exhaustion and dehydration and will need to stay here for at least a week so we can monitor her condition."

Eri's gaze fell upon hearing that news. She locked eyes with Sonja and Nakia, and they looked just as crestfallen. Hina wouldn't be able to compete in the semi-finals. "Can we see her?" she asked.

"Yes, she is awake."

Eri's heart nearly shattered seeing Hina in such a rough shape. She had never seen her in such a battered condition. Bandages covered her arms, legs, and part of her face, and several needles were hooked to her arm to give her fluids, blood, and pain medications. However, she still managed a weak smile for her teammates as they crowded around her bedside. "How are you feeling?" Nakia asked worriedly.

"Never better," Hina kidded weakly. She turned her head to regard her team captain. "So when do the doctors say I can get out of this place?" Eri looked away for a moment, as if she were afraid to answer. "Eri?"

Said Russian finally turned to face Hina, and her heart fell in her chest at seeing her captain's expression. "Your injuries were pretty serious. They have to keep you here for at least a week."

Hina's eyes widened as she tried to register what she had just been told. "No…then that means…"

"I'm sorry," Eri whispered. Without warning, she turned and left the room, unable to bear the sight of tears welling up in Hina's eyes. Somehow she felt as if she were partly responsible for those tears. Moments later the sound of soft weeping reached Eri's ears. Leaving Sonja and Nakia to comfort their distressed teammate, Eri sagged against the wall in the hallway and slid to the floor, drawing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them, wishing in vain that she could cry out of sympathy for her friend.

End chapter 15

Author's Note: Whew…I hope this long chapter makes up somewhat for my extreme delay in updating! I'm back home working an internship for the summer, so I'll have most of my evenings free to write. Oh, and I have a website now! Yes, my new laptop has a program for designing webpages, so I made one dedicated to my fanfiction. The link is on my fanfiction profile, so please check it out! I'll update it along with my stories so you can keep track of how I'm progressing on my stories and get sneak peeks at any upcoming fics. Please leave a review and tell me what you thought of this chapter! Take care, everyone!