A/N: Before you get to the chapter I have to mention a few things. 1) I went back and edited all of the previous chapters. Most of it was spell-checking but some of the chapters I changed lines, took out a paragraph, or added a new one. 2) I changed the summary to fit the story better. 3) If, at the end of this chapter, you're confused about something or you just have some lingering questions, don't hesitate to ask. 4) I know a lot of people don't like OCs based on the fact that they're cliche. I hope you see that I did my best to keep Crystal from being cliche or a Mary Sue. If you think she's heading that way, tell me so I can fix it.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. Enjoy the chapter!

~C.M.

Twenty-Two

Kai's sharp eyes shifted as he scanned the group. His stony silence stretched on while he scrutinized us. It was hard reading Kai; he was great at keeping his emotions off of his face, until he blades at least. Especially now, I couldn't figure out for the life of me what he was thinking. Tyson seemed to be holding his breath as we waited for Kai to say something, anything.

Finally Kai's eyes turned back to Tyson. They seemed to be in a staring contest for a bit until Kai's lips parted, "I'm battling next."

Tyson let out the breath he was holding. "What took you so long?"

A shadow of a smile formed on Kai's lips. "I got tied up," he replied simply, loading his beyblade on his launcher once more.

"We're down two losses and a tie," Ray explained. "Crystal was going to go against Garland next."

I tensed when Kai looked over in my direction. "I'm battling next," he repeated. "I'm going to fight Brooklyn."

"But Garland has already been chosen," Mariah spoke up.

"I'm battling Brooklyn," Kai said once more in a firmer tone. Mariah let out a little squeak and jumped. I laughed and she punched me in the arm. I couldn't help it, she could be such a scaredy cat sometimes. Kai wasn't a murder or anything but she was still scared by him.

"Better give him what he wants," Max muttered. "He's not going to back down until he gets his way." He shrugged and then smiled in their captain's direction. "It's good to have you back Kai."

Kai silently loaded his beyblade on his launcher once more. He walked down the small slope and over to where Tyson was standing. He whipped the ends of his scarf behind him and looked us all in the eye. "Enough talk, let's battle."

"Oh, great! I've been waiting for this," Tyson said happily, loading his blade.

"Not you," Kai said, stopping him. He lifted a finger and pointed it in my direction. "You," he clarified.

"Me?" I asked, pointing towards myself. I looked around just to make sure no one was standing behind me. Kai wanted to battle me! I could tell by the look on his face that he was dead serious. I didn't know what to do, I haven't battled Kai before but I've seen his moves but he did have a background with Boris…

I gripped Dricen in my palm, feeling the little edges of my attack ring press into my fingers. I could feel my blade get warm and then return to its normal temperature. I smirked. Dricen was ready to roll. "Let's do this," I said with a nod.

"Are you sure?" Mariah asked, grabbing my arm. "Kai's strong."

"I'm quite aware of that, thanks," I replied, reaching back and making sure my hair was tied back tight.

"Crys, I'm being serious. You weren't around during the first tournament. He was so powerful, he captured our bitbeasts—"

"With Black Dranzer," I interrupted her. "He doesn't have Black Dranzer with him this time, I should be fine as long as I figure out his attacking pattern."

"What if he doesn't have one/"

"Everyone has an attack pattern, 'Riah."

"Are you two going to gossip all night or are we going to blade?" Kai asked in a bored tone while crossing his arms over his chest. He let out a sigh and lifted his head. "You're wasting time."

Kai really knew how to irk me. "Ok, ok." I took a deep breath and slowly rolled my neck, getting myself ready for the battle. I closed my eyes and let out the breath that I had been holding, pushing away every thought that dared to enter my mind except for my strategy and for channeling my energy with Dricen.

Kai watched me as I met him in the middle of the circle that had formed around us. A light breeze made a whistling sound in my ear. I loaded Dricen onto my launcher and waited for Kai to do the same. He kept his eyes on me the entire time, a tiny hint of a smirk sat on his lips. Everyone else was still, as if moving would ruin our concentration.

"Are you two ready?" Tyson asked, looking at us. Kai didn't move but I nodded my head and held Dricen at the ready. "OK!" Tyson lifted his hand. "Battle in three…two…one…"

"Let it rip!"

His dark blue blade and my light blue one immediately smashed against each other once they hit the dish. I forced myself to remain calm, but it was hard. I knew the power that Kai had and I was about as jumpy as a jackrabbit waiting for him to strike or use one of his attacks. Dranzer and Dricen merely spun around each other in the dish.

That's too weird, Kai never holds back. I took a chance and looked up at him. I flinched at the way he was looking at me. He has this cold look in his eyes whenever he looks at anyone but when he looked at me I could feel the chill run through my bones. He didn't look down at the blades at all, no matter how many times Dricen hit Dranzer or how many times the majestic phoenix let out a shrill cry. I gave my head a little shake. He was just trying to freak me out and lose my focus, that's all.

"Dricen, Ice Blades, let's go!" I commanded. Kai wouldn't get the best of me. I watched intently as Dricen came out of my blade with a mighty roar and the wings appeared in his back. With a flap of them ice shards were sent flying to cover the dish. I smirked. Alright, Kai, let's see you get out of this.

"Why isn't Kai attacking?" Lee asked from behind me. "He's just letting himself get hit. He's sure to lose with a strategy like that."

"Don't underestimate him, Lee," Ray told him, "Kai has great power and he knows the best times to use them. He can adapt to different battle styles very easily."

Like I don't already know that, Kon. I fought the urge to roll my eyes. I gritted my teeth at the sight of Dranzer flying away from the barrage. Dricen's attack hardly missed. Which only meant that Kai saw it coming. What kind of game is he playing at? I clenched my hands into fists as the blades continued to spin.

Dricen ran around the dish bashing into Dranzer, every now and then sinking his teeth into the bird's wing but still Kai didn't attack. He stayed on the defensive which wasn't like him at all. It was as if he were copying Max's style.

That's it!

"Heh heh, I gotta say Kai you pulled one over on me for a while," I chuckled while looking up at him. "Using Max's style until I ran out of juice. That's very smart and I commend you for coming up with the idea."

"What?" Ray and Max gasped.

"Well, it's understandable," Kenny explained. "Being on a team you could easily pick up on your teammates blading style, study them, and use their weaknesses and strengths to your advantage to help stack up the odds in a match."

"No way!" Tyson muttered.

"Yes way, Tyson. But the concept of studying must be foreign to you considering you've never opened a book before," Dizzi quipped.

Kai's glare got more intense if that were even possible but I knew what I was doing this time and I could take him now. There was no way I could lose; he was keeping too many spaces open. Then I felt a jolt as it hit me. That's what he wanted me to think, so I'd use up all of my power in one attack and then he could easily knock me out. Geeze, this guy really knew how to twist things around, but I had a plan.

"Alright Drice', Arctic Strike, now!" I commanded. I could feel my adrenaline rushing through my veins. The ice shards struck Dranzer as expected and Dricen took to the air to take down the fire bird.

"Now, Dranzer!" Kai called out. Dranzer braced her talons on the ground and then shot up at Dricen, flames engulfing her body until she was a large fireball, rushing at Dricen.

"Dricen, get out of the way!" I called out, but I knew it was useless. Dricen was fast but not as fast as Dranzer. I squeezed my eyes shut at Dricen's yowl of pain. I stumbled backwards from the force of the attack and heard loud gasps behind me. I managed to catch my balance before I fell to the ground. Dranzer was relentless; she swooped down and continued to strike Dricen before he could move.

"C'mon Dricen, get up!" Hilary called.

"Dranzer, finish this," Kai ordered.

"I won't give up," I hissed. "Not yet. Not until I defeat you!" I promised my mom and dad that I would not give up, even when the odds were against me. So give it your best Kai, I will not lose!

Kai smirked. "Bring it on then."

"Grrr…Dricen, ATTACK!"

"GO DRANZER!"

Our beyblades charged right at each other, one covered in fire and one covered in ice. A bird's cry and a tiger's yowl filled the air before the beyblades smashed against each other. The result was a large explosion that rocked the very ground we were standing on. I strained to see through the bright light. I saw something flying at my face so I reached to grab at it. It smacked against my palm so hard I was thrown off of my feet and onto the ground. As the light died down I lifted the object to my face. I let out a little groan when I saw Dricen's picture looking back at me. "Zhè shì bù kěnéng de," I muttered.

"Are you ok?" Julia asked as she rushed to my side. She grabbed my arm and helped me sit up. "That was some fight."

"You're…you're telling m-me," I panted. I closed my eyes and kissed the bitchip. "Great job, Drice'." I let Julia help me to my feet and dusted off the seat of my pants. I walked towards Kai and held out my hand. "Good battle," I said.

He looked down at my hand and then looked back up at me. I waited with my hand out, not breaking eye contact with him at all. "Aw, Crys, just drop it. He's not going to—" Tyson's words died on his lips when Kai reached out and grasped my hand, giving it a squeeze before letting go. "Has Hell frozen over or something?" He cried out. "I'm so confused."

"We should head back to the dojo," Kenny announced, standing up. "it's getting late and besides, I want to take a look at Kai's blade to make sure everything's working fine and we also need to decide on who's going to battle for the next two rounds should we make it that far."

"Well that's obvious, Kai and Tyson," I replied. Everyone turned to look at me. "What? It's a no-brainer," I said with a shrug.

"Even though, I'd like to discuss it."

"Over dinner I hope," Tyson moaned, holding his stomach. "I could eat a horse."

"I could arrange that for you," I said, throwing a grin in his direction. I shoved Dricen in my pocket and felt my shoulders droop. I was exhausted. I just wanted to take a hot bath and get some sleep. I started to follow the others as they walked up the slow but the look Kai was giving me stopped me.

"Hmm?" Ray looked over his shoulder at us. "You two coming?"

"We'll be there in a sec," I called back. He nodded and walked off with the others.

Kai took a bit to say something but finally he parted his lips and spoke. "How long?" He demanded. His voice was as rough as usual, but it seemed to have a new edge to it.

"How long what?" I asked.

"How long have you been keeping tabs on me?" Kai demanded. He didn't give me a chance to answer. "I'm not using Black Dranzer. That's what this is about, right? I don't have it and I never will. That's the only reason you're sticking around," he accused.

"It was the reason, I'll admit," I replied. "Hell, I wouldn't have bothered with this tournament if I weren't sure that it would eventually lead me to you. You're right, I could have easily left once I realized, in your battle against Tyson, that you were beyblading for a stronger reason. I could've left once I realized I wouldn't even battle in the tournament at all because of Lee and Ray but I didn't. I stuck around for a different reason. I want to beyblade. I don't care about tournaments or fame or glory or anything like that. I want people to know that I'm a force to be reckoned with and I can come out on top no matter what brings me down and, more importantly, I want to solidify the fact that girls can let it rip just as well as boys can." I noticed him tense. I was getting off-track. "And anyway, before you get mad at me you should take it up with the guy who asked me to make sure you stayed away from Black Dranzer."

"And who was that?"

I sighed. "Your father."

Kai let out a gasp which he tried to stifle. I gave him a half smile. "You're lying," he finally managed to spit out.

I shrugged. "Believe me if you want, or don't, that's on you. I wouldn't blame you if you didn't believe me, though." I studied his face. He still hard the hard emotionless shell but there was something different in his eyes. They almost seemed to be softer. "I have a letter…from your father, if you want to see it. It explains everything."

"Get rid of it," he hissed.

"Are you sure?"

Kai didn't respond right away. When he did it was barely a whisper. "Yes." He turned and stalked off, the ends of his scarf billowing behind him.

Why wouldn't he want to know anything about his parents? I gave him the best opportunity, I even flat out told him what I was doing for this father but still, nothing. I would've accepted the letter, if I were in Kai's position….Well; I guess no one would want to be in his position. He knew nothing but isolation, pain, control, and greed.

I jumped when the end of a kendo stick was pointing right in my face, breaking me from my thoughts. Around me the White Tiger team chuckled as Grandpa Granger pulled the stick out of my face. Dinner was long from over but we had stuck around in the kitchen to have some tea while we waited to digest a bit before getting to desert. Tyson and the others were off somewhere, no doubt watching the past battles of the Justice 5 tournament that Kenny had recorded. I was surprised that we hadn't heard an argument between Hilary and Tyson yet, but it was only a matter of time before one spawned out of nowhere.

"Watch where you're pointing that, Grandpa," I grumbled, pushing the stick out of my face. He chuckled and went through a few maneuvers. The bamboo stick sliced through the air with power but with years of control.

"You used to be on top of your game, dawg," Grandpa commented, resting a palm on the end of his stick which he had pointed right at the floor. "Anything on your mind?" I grumbled under my breath. I could feel the others' eyes on me at that question. They tried to hide it by continuing to talk about the village and how everyone else was doing back there.

As if I'd give anything up. "Just this upcoming battle," I replied and then blew on my cup of tea. A strange feeling of guilt settled in the pit of my stomach. I brushed it off.

"You should be worried about those cookies you put in there," Lee said, nodding his head in the direction of the oven.

"My cookies are fine," I growled. Like Ray, cooking is a hobby that I took up when I was younger. I could do breakfast food, things for lunch, and dinner. Desserts were my main problem. I guess I wasn't that careful with desserts than I was with everything else.

"I don't know, Crys, you do have bad luck with desserts," Kevin said with a laugh. "Remember your dessert rice balls?"

"Hey, those were an experiment, OK? And I didn't hear Gary complaining," I said, jerking my thumb in his direction. Then I blinked. Crys? He hasn't called me that in so long….Was I getting too soft? Too close again?

"That's because Gary eats anything he sets his sights on."

"These will be good, I promise." Just then the bell rang. I jumped up and raced over to the oven. I almost had my have shoved into the oven when I remembered I needed a mitt. I quickly put it on and pulled out the cookies.

Mariah leaned over my shoulder and smells them. "They smell great," she said with a smile. "And look, Lee, they're not burnt this time," she added over her shoulder at the skeptical look on Lee's face. Next to him Ray remained silent but a smile was on his face.

"I remember those. They resembled hockey pucks," Kevin laughed, slamming his fist down on the table.

"One more crack out of you, I swear…" I grumbled, placing the hot pan on top of the stove and pulling off the oven mitt.

"They smell alright to me, home girl," Grandpa commented. "But we have to put it to the test."

Just then the sound of pounding footsteps filled the room until Tyson and Daichi burst in through the door. "I smell cookies!" They exclaimed in unison.

"Get out of the way!" Mariah cried while laughing, shoving me out of the way of the two boys who made a beeline for the tray. "Careful, you two, they're hot!" She added as they reached out their hands to grab a cookie.

They made a big show of blowing on them before taking a bite. I bit my lower lip as they took a bite into the cookie. They chewed rapidly but as the seconds passed their chewing slowed down. The next thing I knew they were battling each other to get to the trashcan. "What are you trying to do, poison us?" Daichi demanded.

"Oh come on, they're perfect this time!" I cried out, throwing my arms in the air. Daichi made a show of grabbing his throat and falling to the ground. I resisted the urge to kick the little monkey in the side. My desserts were not that bad!

"If you call 'perfect' using salt," Tyson gagged, wiping at his tongue with the back of his hand.

"What? I did not use salt!" I yelled after Tyson as he and Daichi ran off. Probably to wash out their mouths since they seemed to hate it so much. Sighing, I dumped the cookies into the trashcan.

"Don't fret, dudette, you did me a favor," Grandpa said with a bellowing laugh. "Now Tyson and Daichi won't raid the kitchen at all hours of the day." He slapped my shoulder so hard I almost fell over and he walked out of the kitchen.

"You should leave the cooking to Ray altogether unless you want to kill us all," Lee quipped, a smirk of amusement was on his face.

"Unless that's her diabolical plan," Kevin joked. He shrieked when I grabbed him and held him in a headlock. His hands flew up to my arm while he kicked his legs in the air. His legs kicked faster while I squeezed harder.

"That's it, Monkey! I've had just about enough of you!" I growled, squeezing tighter. He was really freaking out for no reason; I wasn't strong enough to hurt him that much, just freak him out a little. I expected Lee or Ray to stop me but they sat back, laughing all the while Kevin tried to get out of my grasp. Even Mariah, the peacemaker, didn't try to stop me. "Geeze, Kev, I thought you were stronger than this," I taunted him. "And if you think my desserts sucks I'd like to see you try it."

"Oh please, no. He'd put us in an early grave," Lee said, covering his mouth at the thought.

"Hey guys, Kenny wants to talk to us," Max called from the doorway. I let go of Kevin and he dropped to the ground in a heap.

"Man up," I chuckled as he jumped to his feet and raced out of the room as if I were chasing him. "Hey, where's Kai?" I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

"He's not here," Max replied as we gathered in the large meeting room of the dojo.

"So what else is new?" Tyson asked with an eye roll. "The sourpuss probably wants to save face. I don't blame him, deserting us like that."

"Tyson!" Hilary scolded.

"What?" Tyson asked hotly. "He's the one who decided to go against us to join BEGA. He's the one who fell off the face of the earth when he lost and now he thinks I'm going to sympathize? Fat chance."

"Surely you can see why he tried to join BEGA," I commented. "I mean, it's obvious, isn't it? Knowing Kai?"

"Why do you think he tried?" Max asked.

"To get another shot at battling Tyson, of course," I replied. "It's no surprise that Kai has some sort of score to settle with himself that he can only take up with him. Max, you and Ray are the same way. It's why you two went back to your other teams for this pervious tournament, right? To get a shot at Tyson because, with the Bladebreakers or BBA Revolution or whatever, you'd be a World Champion team but Tyson had a good chance of being World Champ again. When the team is apart, you have a better chance of a different member becoming champ instead of Tyson."

Tyson huffed. "You're blaming me for being good."

"She's not sticking the blame on you Tyson, she's merely stating a fact," Mariah said, shooting a soft smile in his direction. "How can the others get a chance with you being as good of a blader as you are. They're not saying that they're jealous or anything, you do have great power, but they all wanted an equal shot. I think what Crystal means is, when Brooklyn beat Kai, he didn't want to come back and face you until his pride didn't get in the way."

"And it took him this long? We could've swept BEGA by now!" Tyson groaned.

"Not necessarily," Kenny said, lifting a finger. "I commend Boris for the bladers he chose for part of his team. They sure aren't the normal recruits we'd expect—"

"Did you expect other people like the Blitzkrieg Boys or something?" Max asked. "I don't know about you guys, but they were scary."

"No, I didn't expect another group of bladders like the Blitzkrieg Boys but I also didn't expect him to bring in people of extremely different paths and talents," Kenny clarified. "Boris knew that they had strengths in different areas than we did and he's confident that they're going to win."

"You got that right," Max grunted. "Boris stopped me before my match and told me to make my battle more interesting because the audience would be bored if they won three battles in a row."

"I wish Boris would put his blade where his mouth is," Lee seethed. "If I could only get him in a dish with Galeon…."

"Calm down Lee," Ray scolded him. "It's not as if Boris would do something himself. He could get someone else to do to the dirty work for him." He sighed. "I feel bad for them, actually."

"Huh? Why's that, Ray?" Hilary asked.

"Because they're essentially a bunch of lab rats," he replied. "Beyblading first and foremost is about fun. Have you seen the way they trained? Where's the fun part of the sport? Tyson, do you blade to win tournaments and get fame?"

"No way, dude," Tyson replied, tugging off his hat and scratching at his head. "Fame's overrated."

"Oh yeah? Mr. Bobblehead?" Hilary asked dryly.

Tyson blushed and shoved his hat back onto his head. "Hey, I didn't ask for them to make those bobbleheads of me, they just did and they just so happened to sell fast."

"You and those bobbleheads have one thing in common."

"What's that?"

"You both have big heads!"

I chuckled as they started yelling at each other. Max groaned and held his face in his hands. Ray merely smiled at the sight. Kenny shrank where he was sitting as they yelled over him. Next to me Mariah was giggling. "They're so cute together," she sighed.

"When they're not being irritating, sure," I agreed.

"Guys, guys, let's get back to the topic at hand!" Kenny yelled. Tyson and Hilary looked at him as if seeing him for the first time and then sat back down on the ground, making sure not to look at each other. Hmm, maybe she doesn't like Kai after all…. "Anyway, Kai's made it known that he wants to battle against Brooklyn again. Garland is expecting to fight Tyson next. They don't know that we have Kai back. I say we give Kai what he wants and let him battle Brooklyn. He's arguably their strongest and Kai can hold on his own. If we get him out of the way, we have a better shot of beating Garland as well."

"So we switch up the battling order to try and throw them off," Ray muttered, rubbing his chin. "Do you think the element of surprise will last that long?"

"If not we can always use Brooklyn's confidence against him," I muttered. "It can only last for so long before it bites him in the butt, right? He has to make a mistake sooner or later."

"Brooklyn was born a natural," Kenny pointed out. "I don't think he's ever made a mistake in his life."

"So he's, like, a robot or something?" Kevin questioned.

"Not so much as he doesn't have to practice."

"Whoa," Mariah and I muttered in unison.

"So it's agreed? Kai's going against Brooklyn and Tyson with Garland?" Kenny asked, looking around.

"Can we have dessert now?" Gary asked, holding onto his growling stomach.

"Gary, we just had dinner," Mariah sighed.

"No we didn't, it was an hour ago."

"Garland's blading style is much like kickboxing, which is something he is partial to," Kenny started to explain. "He waits for his opponent to use up their energy and then he strikes, that way he doesn't have to work hard. Our best bet would be to draw him out at the same time and then weaken him."

"So, basically we're taking a chance," Ray mused.

"Aren't we always?" I asked. Then I stood and stretched. "Are we done here?"

"Is something wrong?" Hilary asked.

"Nah, I just want to take a walk," I replied.

"Want some company?"

"I'm just walking around the dojo; I don't need you holding my hand the entire way."

"If you happen to see Kai out there, send him in," Kenny told me.

"Will do."

I pulled open the sliding door that lead straight outside and closed it behind me. I slipped on my shoes and jumped off the small porch, walking in the direction of the path that lead to the sidewalk. I contemplated taking a walk down the street but I stopped myself. I didn't need another reason for them to freak out.

Letting out a sigh, I shoved my hands into my pocket and slowly circled the dojo. I stopped by the little koi pond and sat on the rocks that outlined it. The bright orange fish swam around in groups, taking over the space. I watched them for a little bit before standing to continue walking. A cluster of bright white flowers in the otherwise dark garden grabbed my attention.

Squinting in the moonlight, I walked over to it and kneeled. A picture in a bamboo frame sat at the head of the flower bed. I grasped it and picked it up, bathing it in the moonlight. A young looking woman wore a long, deep purple kimono in the picture. Her dark navy hair was in a ponytail and a flower was sticking out behind her ear. One arm held a navy haired baby closer to her chest and her other was wrapped around the shoulders of an older navy haired boy.

"That's my mom." I whirled around as Tyson walked forward and took the picture from my hand. "That was taken when I was about three months old," he said, smiling down at the picture. "Mom loved the garden, she spent a lot of time here. You see, she was a florist. Best one in town."

"What did she die from?" I questioned.

He kneeled and set the picture back down. "She died when I was four months old, from what Dad told me," he replied, crossing his arms over his chest. "She was sick with something. Before anyone could find out what it was she died."

"Oh. Ty, I'm sorry."

"Why?" He asked, looking at me. "It's not like you killed her," he added with a laugh.

"I know how hard it is to lose a parent."

He shook his head. "I hardly knew her, only things that Hiro and Dad have told me. I do remember her smile, though. Dad says I have the same one."

"Do you miss her?"

"Not really," he admitted. "I mean, I miss not being able to have a mom to do things with but I know that she's not suffering now. I've moved on." He tore his eyes away from the flowers and looked at me again. "You should too." I didn't reply. I couldn't. What did he know? My parents were murdered. "IT happened ages ago. Don't you think you owe it to yourself to move on?" He asked as if reading my mind.

"I have moved on," I replied.

"No you haven't," he stated. "It's because you won't let yourself move on. You won't let yourself let go of the idea that you could have saved them somehow, considering the circumstance surrounding your parents' death. It wasn't your fault, stop blaming yourself. They're in a better place."

I felt a weird jolt inside of me. My ears buzzed and my mouth turned dry. Maybe, just maybe, he was was right. I had been misplacing my blame for years without thinking about it, using my blame as dedication and determination to get stronger and better in blading. If I failed that, I could stick the blame at myself once more. This was too weird.

"I hope you didn't come out here to talk to me about this," I grumbled.

"No, I came to talk to you about Kai," Tyson replied.

"What about him?"

"That beybattle it was…too weird. Kai doesn't battle like that, it was as if he was challenging you or something," he said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "What's going on between you two?"

"It's not us, it's him and his father," I replied. He lifted his eyebrows. "I know, it's hard to believe. You see, I'm hired by him, in a way, to keep an eye on Kai and make sure that he didn't use the power of Black Dranzer just to fulfill his vow to defeat you. It's why I went back to the village in the first place. I figured if I joined my district team for the tournament I'd have a better chance of running into Kai."

"That's the only reason you went back home?"

"Well, yeah, I was banished after all. I mean, I was wrongly accused, but what can you do?"

It took Tyson a while to find something to say. "Why do you beyblade?"

"It's fun," I replied. "Takes my mind off of things. I'm actually kind of good at it," I added with a little laugh. "Mainly, to travel and learn new things. The world is only so big, you know? Better to get all the information from it as you can at a young age when you can. Being banished was a blessing in disguise." He cracked a smile but it was soon replaced by a serious look. It was the most intense look I've ever seen on his face. "What's up, Ty?"

"I want you to blade against Garland," he replied.

I laughed. "Nice one, Tyson," I muttered once I calmed down.

"I'm being serious. I want you to blade against Garland." I looked at him as if he had grown a second head. He was downright crazy. "You stuck around and trained with us and saw us at our worst. You're the only other one who can control the heavy metal system blade. And, I know you can win."

"Tyson—"

He held up his hand. "When you win, I'll take on the tie breaker battle."

"Tyson—"

He interrupted me again. "Don't make me change my mind, OK?" I gave a half smile and nodded and stiffened slightly when he stepped forward and hugged me. I gently squeezed him back and felt a weigh being lifted off my shoulders. Tyson sure has grown up, I mused. "And besides, they won't suspect you battling against them," he added once he pulled away. "Should be an interesting battle."

"Yeah yeah," I mumbled with a wave of my hand.

"So, about the Kai thing…"

"Ty, drop it. Honestly, I shouldn't have told you. It's not really your business anyway."

"I was going to say you owe it to your team to tell them the reason why you returned. You've been leading them on, in a way, and Ray doesn't deserve it. Not that the others do!"

"I think I get what you mean," I laughed. "You mind bringing them out here?"

"No problem. But don't stay out too late. Grandpa freaks out at anything that moves out here late at night, thinking someone's going to rob him." He rolled his eyes and went back into the dojo, yelling at Ray on the way in. I cringed and a weight sat on my chest. I started pacing and twisting my fingers. Where should I start? They deserve to hear the whole truth but…even I don't know what that is anymore. I just hope they're not mad. I twisted my mouth to the side at the last thought. Since when did I care how they felt?

The whole time, I already knew that. I just wouldn't allow myself to admit it. They were my friends since I was born, even while I was gone I wondered what they were up to and contemplated writing them but my pride got in the way. But I missed them dearly and I longed to have some normalcy of my life back so I guess starting here was the best option.

"What's wrong? Tyson said it was urgent," Lee panted as he and the others burst out of the dojo. His launcher was up and ready.

I rolled my eyes. "Geeze, he sure knows how to over dramatize everything," I mumbled. "Put Galeon down, nothing's wrong. I wanted to um, com clean I guess."

"With what?" Kevin asked, looking up at me with his big violet eyes.

"About why I returned to the village," I replied. "I haven't been totally honest."

So I took a deep breath and told them everything from start to finish, about what happened immediately after I left the village, how I managed to travel to different countries, and why I really returned to the village. Kevin's eyes got about as wide as saucers the longer I spoke. Gary's face held the normal vacant expression on it. Lee and Ray were apathetic, and Mariah had tears falling from her eyes by the time I was finished.

"What made you want to share this with us?" Mariah asked, wiping at her eyes.

"We're a team, right?" I asked. "And we were friends first and they call it the past for a reason so…"

"And it's all forgotten!" Mariah gushed before lunging forward and wrapping her arms around my neck in a hug.

"Ugh, no hugging!" I grumbled, pushing her away as the others laughed.

"So there are no more secrets?" Ray asked.

"No, but I do have a bone to pick with you people," I replied. "What's the deal with me coming back and you all being so damn hostile but when it comes to Ray leaving you were mad at him and then boom, flowers and sunshine and you're all happy and friends again? What's with the double standard here?"

"Wait, how'd you know I left?" Ray asked. "I left after you did."

"Did you think I lived under a rock these past eight years?" I asked with a roll of my eyes. "I went to every part of any tournament that the Bladebreakers were entered in." I then added with a smirk, "I had to make sure this guy didn't besmirch the White Tiger name." I jerked my thumb in his direction.

He playfully punched my shoulder while the others laughed and draped his arm around my shoulders. I did my best to laugh with them but my mind was far away. A small piece of it was concentrating on the sudden weight of his arm around my shoulders.