Chapter 2 - Liar Liars

"Wait, what?" Madoka questioned, staring at Zyro in disbelief as her, Benkei, and the other younger bladers had all gathered at the WBBA building at Tsubasa's request, of which had originally been Zyro's.
When they had first walked in the room, seeing Zyro sitting in a chair silently, the boy had looked like he had been crying or had tried to stop himself from crying - and violently.
His eyes were still a bit bloodshot and the skin around them was a reddened color, biting the inside of his lip from apparent anxiety of which all worried them; seeing as how he had been fine and relatively happy throughout the week now that Gingka was alive and had finally woken up - despite deciding to leave until things maybe calmed down a bit - and seeing him in the state he was in now...
Well, they could all immediately tell that it wasn't something good. They had first asked him if he was alright, Ren and Shinobu being the ones to fuss the most of which Zyro blatantly appreciated but said he was okay.
'Okay' being the key word, was Kite made a mental note of.
It definitely wasn't okay, from how evident it was that Zyro had likely been crying or had tried to hold it in.
It wasn't long before Zyro told them everything, the tears reforming in his eyes but using all of his willpower to force them down so that he wouldn't almost break down for the second time that day - but the pressure of having the eyes of most of his friends and allies upon him made it even harder than before.
He had once been able to be entirely open with them, able to talk to them without fear of breaking down in front of them even when in stressful times like this; the first incident with Alcorin had left scars upon all of them, and while it may not be evident on physical appearance, it was blatantly obvious when it went down into their souls.

The words that came out of Zyro's mouth were ones that he, once again, had no control of, not planned in saying or the order they went in even though they came out startlingly accurate even to him.
He watched all of their expressions morph, until he was left with them staring at him in disbelief of what he was now telling them.
It was obvious they probably wouldn't believe him, and he wouldn't blame them if they didn't - it was definitely something that was entire surreal, unimaginable in every shape or form to any regular human beings that hadn't gone through the things they had gone through.
Maru had vaguely watched something murdered at the hands of a half-deity psychopath, Kite would've lost his little brother if the angle of the way he hit the wall hadn't been the way it had, Madoka had watched as one of her best friends lay dying with no hope of salvation, Tsubasa had been faced with the fact that there was nothing he could've done but sit back and watch as the world come crumbling down, and Ren had had her free will taken from her unwittingly.
Unless they had known about Alcorin's true heritage and what linage he had been born into, not one of them would have been able to believe such a thing as possible. But even now they would probably turn their backs on him.

"Okay, backtrack..." Ren began, holding up her hand with her brown eyes looking towards the ceiling slightly before back to him, "What?!You're saying that the entire time you guys were apparently battling Alcorin or something, it wasn't actually him, and when 'Gingka' showed up, it wasn't actually him?!"
Zyro averted his blue gaze for a moment before looking back at the blond of who had only received a rather vague explanation of the whole battle, as none of them were really willing to talk about it.
"Yeah.." He said, trying to keep his emotions down and not begin breaking down again like he had in front of Kira, "That's exactly what I'm saying."

"Alright, no offense, Zyro.." Shinobu said, sighing slightly and looking down before back up at his friend, "But I find that I bit hard to believe."

"That makes two of us.." Kite said slowly, pushing his glasses up on his nose as he watched Zyro carefully with his blue eyes.
"We defeated Alcorin, Zyro." Shinobu reminded the Fire Blader, of who didn't say anything as he still held his ground on his statement, "Kite even said he saw Gingka running down the tunnel that lead to where we were. I honestly don't see how what you're saying is possible."
Maru, sitting in the chair that Zyro had originally been in before they walked in, looked up from peering at the ground, stopping the motion of swinging her legs back and forth since they didn't touch the ground.
"Didn't Alcorin say something about being able to change what he looks like?" The pinkette asked nervously, a bit uncomfortable with the subject as what happened to Dynamis came back to her mind at the mention of his name.
"Well, yeah..." Madoka said, looking absent for a moment as she tried to recall everything that had happened just last week, "But there's no way he could've done that... We would've noticed, wouldn't we?" Zyro didn't say a word as his eyes made their way through all of them, all of which were seeming very wary of how possible this could be.
Only, it was very possible, considering the arsenal of Alcorin's apparent abilities - Zyro was just the one that knew it was the truth.
"I swear, I'm not lying.." The Fire Blader finally said, his eyebrows knitted together slightly as he still had the memory of what had happened with "Gingka" fresh in his mind, "If we've got any sense after all of that, than you'd know this isn't something I would lie about!.."

Benkei scratched his chin, thinking for a moment, but didn't say a word.
He hadn't been there, and had - as Kite, Ren, Eight, and Tsubasa did - received a rather vague explanation of what had happened, with Gingka's supposed death which had only lasted a few minutes.
"Okay, let's say that you are right, Zyro.." Tsubasa said calmly, taking all of this into consideration like he had learned to do throughout his many years of working with the WBBA, "What are we supposed to do? We've fought as hard as we could, and some of us nearly lost our lives. 2 people - our friends - are dead because of him. What are you expecting us to do?"

"I'm not expecting you to do anything..." This choice of words is what surprised most of them, watching as Zyro's expression became grave and his blue eyes once more went down to the ground of where he knew he would see nothing.
"Then what are you going to do?" Kite questioned, looking at Zyro warily, "Suggesting that your crazy idea is right.."
Zyro didn't answer at first.
Normally, he wouldn't be bothered if his friends thought of him as crazy, considering he did kind of have that thrill for excitement and danger and a few ideas that may be a little over the top, but this time it was different.
Zyro knew that he wasn't crazy, he knew that he wasn't imagining it when 'Gingka' had said those words to him, when he had felt his touch that had no longer been as strange and hypnotic as it once had. He knew this was real - they just had a hard time believing him, as they just wanted to believe all of it was finally over and they could all get on with their lives; honestly, he wished that as well.
"I'm going after him." Zyro said, finally looking up towards his friends of who now looked at him in utter shock and surprise.
"Are you crazy?!" Ren exclaimed, throwing her hands out to her sides, "Zyro, do you even know where the guy is? I mean, yeah, he left, but that's all that he ever told any of us!"

"No, I don't." The Fire Blader said bluntly, "But I'll find him if I have to cheat death again.. He's hurt enough people."
Madoka sighed, exchanging a glance with Maru who's lavender eyes said quite a lot more than she could have ever said - the pinkette looked down for a moment before looking up absently.
"I believe him..." She said in a subdued voice, drawing the attention of most of the others. Nobody said a word at Maru's declaration, and Zyro remained to stand his ground on what he fully believed was the truth.
"I guess Gingka was acting a bit weird..." Madoka admitted, recalling the last week in her mind and noting her friend's odd behavior throughout it, "I just don't get how Alcorin would able to do that without us noticing.. Yeah, he's the son of Nemesis, but I don't even think he would've had that much power.."
Zyro watched them somewhat bicker among each other, glancing down at the floor with eyes that were still a bit bloodshot and sore from rubbing them so violently and keeping everything down - his temples throbbed with a small headache that pounded in the depths of his skull, nearly driving him into insanity while the voices of everyone else in the room didn't help with it.
"I don't care what the rest of you do." Zyro announced, drawing the attention of everyone else back to the Fire Blader of who's blue eyes now burned with a fierce intensity that was - in all honesty - rather frightening, "But I'm not lying.. And you're not going to stop me from going after him.."
With those words did Zyro head towards the doors of Tsubasa's office, the automatic metallic doors opening for him before he heard Tsubasa's voice.
"Zyro, think about this.." The Director said firmly as he stood out from behind his desk, his golden-brown eyes narrowed to get to the point with the younger blader, "I've seen this kind of thing before, most of have.. What do you think you're need for revenge is gonna do for you-"

"I'm not doing this because of what he did to Gingka anymore!" Zyro shouted as he whirled around, a number of emotions on his face and in his eyes, all of which were impossible to identify while they all overshadowed each other.
The entire room fell silent at Zyro's outburst, a couple of them being able to see the tears reforming in his eyes that he forced himself to keep in, a fire raging behind blue orbs that matched the usual color of the sky; nobody said a word once Zyro went on.
"I'm doing this because I know what he could do to other people.." The ginger-ravenette continued, "And I honestly don't like the idea of just letting him go.."
With nothing else to say, Zyro turned on his heel and left Tsubasa's office, the automatic doors closing behind him once they no longer sensed his presence and leaving the rest of them in complete silence. None of them had anything to say to the way Zyro had spoken to them, his eyes filled with an intensity that almost visibly burned around him with how hard he believed in what he had claimed to be the truth; it was evident that - though still with 'him' still being there and holding the other hand in hand - Zyro had changed.
His appearance, of course, remained the same while his soul and personality that had been dented and damaged by what he had been through in the battle that they had fought long and hard for.
Maru, out of all of them, was the one that fully believed Zyro was telling the truth even if it was a thought that was a bit 'far-out', even considering Alcorin's linage of a deity; the rest of them stood there not knowing what to believe. One thing they did know, is that Zyro didn't lie about many things, if anything at all - and this was something that no one, probably not even Kira, would ever think of lying about.

All of them had believed it was over, that everything was fine and they could finally get on with their lives now that Alcorin was gone - whether to believe Zyro or not was a tough decision.
"He's telling the truth..." Eight began slowly, standing by his big brother, "Isn't he?" Kite placed his hand on Eight's head, gently petting the ocean blue locks with the tips of his fingers as he carefully thought over the matter as well.
Tsubasa bit the inside of his cheek as he solemnly thought all of it over, not knowing whether he should make some sort of decision or take a side on this, for this one was a situation that could have many possible outcomes.
"Tsubasa?" Madoka questioned, a concerned look in her eyes at this up-rising situation that Zyro had brought to him.
The silverette didn't answer at first, his golden-brown eyes looking down towards his desk before looking out the windows of his office, and then to the old friend that he had known for many years.
"I don't know think he's lying in his own mind..." The Director said as some sort of way of making some sense of things, "But he's definitely not lying when he says that he's likely going to go after him."

"So then what do we do?" Ren questioned, a confused and stressed look on her face as they all tried to make sense of the situation that as lain about before them. Tsubasa pursed his lips for a moment before sighing and shaking his head in defeat.
"I don't know.." He answered, leaving them all in hopeless silence...

Kira leaned forward on the railing, gazing at the Zero-G stadium with his one eye as his mind wandered elsewhere.
The metal was cold, as well as the air around him from the wind that breeze that blew through the city - the sun was unable to help give warmth as it hid behind the clouds, making everything seem dull and grey.
Of course, things had always been dull and grey to him since his childhood, long since corrupted from the day he had walked into the bathroom and found his mother dead in the bathtub, taking her own life and ridding herself of the world and the burden she had been given known as a child; back then, Kira had been a much more sensitive child, unable to understand why he didn't see his mother anymore until the time he was about 9 years old, a year after he had lost his right eye.
It was after that did things change, did he change.
Years living in foster care had definitely taken their tole on him, going from the runt that could never stand up for himself to the creepy kid that we honestly all a bit frightened of with the smiles and the looks that he gave them, and the way he looked so content when one of them got hurt.
He had been messed up since a very young age, and grew to care for no one as he only accepted acquaintances, despite his teammates of the other ex-DNA bladers.

But now, Kira didn't understand why everything was so different.

He had previously loved seeing Zyro in pain, seeing that smile whipped off his face as he cried tears of pain and sorrow and anguish - now, the thought that he (had) enjoyed such pain of others made him feel a bit sick.
He sighed in annoyance to himself for this - there was no way that someone like Zyro could suddenly just change his whole perspective on things, no way that he could make him feel some sort of pity for the weak and suffering when he enjoyed seeing their tears and hearing their pained and sorrowful screams that would never be answered. But it looked like Zyro may have somehow cracked that code.

"I was looking for you.." Came a voice a little ways away from the pastel-haired blader who did not have to turn around to see who it was, though he did anything and placed a hand on his hand with only one raised eyebrow.
"Well, have you calmed yourself from you little temper tantrum?" Kira mocked, watching as Genjuro walked up to his leader with that accursed dandelion stem in his mouth, chewing on it from what was likely force of habit.
"Captain Arrow was probably the only one who really took it the best.." Genjuro said bitterly, his irritation still evident towards the Bahamoote Blader - Kira, in all honestly, wouldn't have had it any other way, "They asked why you'd help them in the first place, and you can guess I don't have any answers to that.."

"What, are you some sort of messenger pigeon, now?" Kira questioned, his stance still as sassy and intimidating as it always was, though Genjuro had gotten used to that throughout the time he had known the sadistic blader, "I honestly expected much higher of you, Genjuro... But I suppose that doesn't matter since what's done is done."
Genjuro raised his eyebrow, taking a moment to stop chewing the dandelion stem with his shark-like teeth.
"What's that supposed to mean?" He questioned, "Why were you even helping Kurogane in the first place?"

"Okay, first of all..." Kira began, rolling his wrist off to the side, "I wasn't helping them, I just couldn't stand their pathetic whining... And second of all, I mean everything that they were going through, and I was 'helping' them with, is over.. It's 'personal matters' to them if you want to call it that."
Genjuro, arms crossed, listened to his leaders words as he tapped his arm with one finger, chewing lightly on the dandelion which a small, satisfying crunching sound every time.
He didn't say anything, watching as Kira looked off into the distance for a moment with an irritated look about something that Genjuro couldn't identify, though he knew Kira well enough that if he was irritated about something, there was always a good reason for it.
And if he looked sickeningly joyful or happy in any way, it was likely because somebody had done something to hurt themselves or another either mentally, physically, or emotionally.
Sighing from irritation, the Bahamoote blader looked over at him with his one narrowed slightly.
"If you must know.." Kira began bitterly, "I only 'helped' Zyro because I had a favor to return to him.. That's the only reason.."

"And does he still have you in debt to that?" Genjuro questioned, rather eager for answers of which he knew Kira could see - somehow, his leader as always capable of seeing someone's true motives or emotions through eyes alone, probably because he only really had one eye or something like that.
The pastel-haired blader sighed through his nose, seeming to think about how to answer at first before even saying anything.
"He doesn't have me in debt to anything, Genjuro." Kira answered almost softly, much unlike him in many ways though seeming to fit the way of how quite feminine he always seemed to be, "I did it on my own.. And to be honest with you, I'd be lying if I said I regret doing so."
Both of the ex-DNA bladers stared at each other for several moments, Kira's gaze eternally piercing and frighting to look into; whether it was from the lack of one eye, which had been that way before they had ever met, or the intense aura that he always let off, none of them would ever really know.
It wasn't long before Genjuro sighed and looked away, his eyes staring out across the arena that they had all been in many a time in battles that were fierce, driven, and cutting it a bit close to the end with victories.
No matter the bladers, no one could ever complain that it was a bad battle when they fought - not even Kira, of who prayed on the weak like a lion on a gazelle.

"Well, at least everything will be mainly back to the way it was when the tournament restarts.." The dirty-blonde lamented, chewing on his dandelion loosely while listening to soft crunches and squishes it made in his mouth.
"I highly doubt that it will be restarting, Genjuro.." Kira said bluntly, a little edgy with the almost sentimental moment they were caught in, which wasn't exactly something he liked - or something he was ever used to from those years in foster care where nobody really cared about anybody, because none of them were even related; well, save for one of the older kids and his younger sister. Genjuro, however, looked over at him with a confused and surprised expression, receiving a loose look from the other.
"What are you mean it won't be restarting?" He asked, narrowing his eyes, "What do you know about this, Kira?"
Kira hummed slightly before looking across the arena once more, his face and eye not saying much or giving any answers, as he had basically mastered the art of the poker face, or whatever it was he did.
"Only from what Kurogane's told me.." The Bahamoote blader explained, "If he's done what I think he has, there is no way that's restarting any time soon.."

"And what happened exactly?" Genjuro asked, ceasing to chew on the stem in his mouth and raising an eyebrow, trying to pry the answers out from the leader that he knew wouldn't tell him much - Kira had always been that way.
"Personal matters of theirs.." The pastel-haired blader said almost softly, "Either way, if I told you exactly what it was, you'd deem it absolutely ridiculous as anyone else would. Honestly, I put up with you hard-heads.."
Genjuro didn't say anything for several moments, looking at Kira who simply looked back out across the arena of which had become a reoccurring habit with both of them while they were standing there.
"So, what are you gonna do?" The dirty-blond finally asked, watching Kira's vague expression since he couldn't see the eye that was on the other side of his face from his head being turned towards the Zero-G stadium.
Kira was silent for a moment, not looking at the other ex-DNA blader of who awaited an answer with painstaking patience.
"I don't know, Genjuro." Kira said bitterly, looking towards the dirty-blond with a blank look and placing his hand on his hip, "To level with you, I'm not entirely sure what I'm supposed to believe anymore... Not that I'm going to get sentimental."

Genjuro hummed softly for a moment after Kira's words, closing his blue eyes for a moment before opening them again, looking at Kira intently.
"Well, then I'll try and level with you.." The dirty-blond began, chewing on his dandelion stem which had gotten consistently shorter - wherever Genjuro even got those things or wherever they went, Kira had never known, "If you want to help Kurogane or whatever it really is, I don't care.. If you come back to us, I don't care.. Because I don't really have any right to question you, now do I?"

Both bladers stared at each other, Kira more out of surprise or shock than anything while Genjuro's was cold yet rather sincere.
Kira, for once, was entirely devoid of anything to say as he processed the words that had come from Genjuro's mouth.

Genjuro was... Okay with it?

No, that wasn't it - he just didn't care about what he did now. Whether it was because he was his leader or not, he had no idea - he was always capable of seeing through someone's mask, and Genjuro was never any different.
He could always see straight through him like glass, but this time even he wasn't able to distinguish what exactly his teammate was thinking.
"Listen, Kira.." Genjuro began with a small sigh, being sure to keep his dandelion in his mouth as he spoke, which he was good at, "I don't care what you do, just don't get yourself killed... Because I know you don't trust any of us enough to allow us to try and lead.. Either way..." Genjuro's eyes stayed on Kira, even as he went to turn away from his leader to take his leave, "It's always hard to repay someone for saving your life.."
With that, Genjuro turned away and headed back the way he had come in, their conversation over as they departed from each other for what hopefully wouldn't be the last time.
Yet Kira still stood there, staring after Genjuro with the only eye that he had because of the accident from when he was 8, soon slowly looking away and down towards the Zero-G stadium below of where he stood.

"Hmph.." The pastel-haired blader grunted, once more leaning on the railing like he had been before Gejuro had decided to show up, his own thoughts lost to him as he stared out across the arena that he had been in so many times absently.
Even with how much he irritated him sometimes, Kira did have to admit - though he was reserved and isolated from the others unlike the rest of them were to each other, Genjuro had been the one that had understood him the most...

Zyro had, of all places, gone to the Bey Park of where nobody was this time of day, which was strange since there was usually always people here that would battle each other for fun or out of other reasons.
It wasn't exactly the place that was least fueled by memories that he had had with Gingka and his friends, but at this point he was beyond caring. He had meant what he said to the Director, the Manager, Madoka, and the others about going after Alcorin - Maru was the only one who really believed him, or at least admitted it.
The others likely didn't, and Zyro could now understand why they would be in denial of him speaking the truth, why they would want to believe that he was lying and it was all finally okay like they had all seen it to be at first.
He wanted nothing more than to believe that it was a lie as well, but Alcorin himself had proved to him that it was far from over, that they still had a battle to fight which now involved the world.
The only thing was... Zyro had absolutely no idea where he would ever start looking for him. The psychopath had indirectly proved through Maru that he was able to teleport, and had very great distances which meant that he was probably on the other side of the world for all he knew; and with his ability to shape shift, it was probable that he could take the form of near anyone and not look like Gingka anymore.
The only solution for Zyro was that he couldn't do it on his own, which was where his problems definitely weren't solved.
His friends didn't believe him, save for Maru who was only 6 years old, and then there was Kira... Kira was an entirely different story.

"Depends..." He began, placing a hand on his hip, "Do I still have to return that favor?.."

This almost brought a smile to Zyro's lips - almost.

The Fire Blader looked away for a moment, down towards his knees of which were half brought up to his chest and where his arms were currently resting.
"I don't know.." He replied softly, not seeing the one eyebrow that Kira raised with the small hint of a smile on the edges of his purple-coated lips.
Blue, bloodshot eyes went back to the other blader with the difficultly of not crying gone, as he didn't feel the need to anymore as he spoke to thee one person he had never thought he would consider a friend.
"Do you?" Zyro asked, which almost seemed to catch Kira off guard, "I mean, it was your choice to help us in the first place with the first thing... So, I guess it's up to you.."

The other blader stared at him for a moment, seeming to consider his words before he looked away slightly, with a face that almost made it look like he was pouting - but there was no way Kira would pout.

"You've changed.." He said aloud, almost to no one yet Zyro knew that he was likely talking to him, "But you're still weird.."
With no further words did Kira turn and depart from the other, of which Zyro did not protest to, rubbing at the eyes that already stung with the tears that he had shed and kept in and wiped away.
Of course he had changed, for all of them had.

Zyro had said so himself that he had no control of what Kira's decision would be earlier that day, so whether or not Kira would be helping him with this was something that remained a mystery.
The question if anyone would help him remained a mystery as he sat there alone in the Bey Park, questions perhaps forever remaining unanswered as the realization of one of the last times he had ever - and would ever - seen Gingka was in this spot.
Well, it was at least one of the last places that he had ever spoken to him, had seen him alive and awake while even simultaneously dying.
Zyro shivered slightly and forced down a whimper as the tears returned, silently cursing himself for letting such a thing resurface and try to break the wall that he had built around himself that kept his emotions, and even his mental health, in tact and okay.
Zyro sighed shakily, wiping at his eyes and forcing the tears away, his temples hurting from the small headache that had decided to surface from the pressure of holding everything in and what always came when you cried.

"Zyro?" Said blader jumped slightly at the voice that came from behind him, forlorn blue eyes looking back over his shoulder and meeting with light green ones that belonged to the first friend and rival he had made in Metal Bey City.
Zyro's shoulder relaxed slightly as he looked into the face of Shinobu, his features calming and looking down towards the ground of which he was several feet above.
"Hey, Shinobu.." Zyro greeted absently, forcing down the tears, hearing Shinobu's footsteps as the light-haired blader walked up and sat beside his friend, knowing very well that Zyro was one that needed comfort.
"Hey.." Shinobu responded as he settled himself beside his best friend, trying to catch Zyro's gaze even though the Fire Blader refused to look at him, "You, uh... You seemed a bit upset earlier, so.. I thought you'd want some company."
Zyro didn't need to ask about what he spoke of, remembering very clearly what had happened earlier that day when he had gone to tell the others at the WBBA building.
He had flipped out a bit when Tsubasa had claimed that he was going after Alcorin after revenge - the Director had been wrong about those motives.

It wasn't just about them anymore, it was about other people, possibly the world of what Alcorin was capable of, especially now that he had left Metal Bey City of where he had condemned himself until Gingka was dead; but Shinobu was right when he said that he seemed upset.

He had been upset.

He still was.

"I believe you, you know.." Shinobu claimed, his eyes soft towards the blader beside him, who bit the inside of his lip at these words.
"Definitely didn't seem like it before..." The ginger-ravenette responded almost bitterly, not looking at the light-haired blader out of fear of him seeing the tears gathering in his eyes.
Shinobu bit his lip and looked away for a moment - yes, he hadn't believed Zyro had first when he had told them about what he believed as truth... But the more that he thought about it, the more it just somehow seemed to make the most sense out of everything.
Gingka had been acting weirdly throughout the week, reserved, almost avoiding them a bit, sometimes not even responding to his name until they tapped him on the shoulder or got his attention through other means.
He had, strangely, been absolutely fine with no physical or internal injuries when they had gone to hospital just to be safe with him, and then not even a week after waking up from what would've been an eternal sleep, he just left.
Left and had supposedly gone without a trace, so fast that nobody would have even know that he had been in Metal Bey at all until he was gone.
Shinobu didn't entirely know what the others thought on this subject, save for Maru who already made her opinion clear, but he had found himself unable to deny the fact that Zyro was likely telling the truth.
Whether what he suspected was actually true or not was currently unknown, but Shinobu was one of the few who believed him.

"Well..." The Salamander Blader began, looking over towards Zyro of who's expression was soft with half-lidded eyes that were still a bit red, "Really, the more I think about it, the more that it seems to make sense... I-I didn't think you were, uh.. Telling the truth before, but..."
Shinobu's words trailed off as he tried to find what to say. But really, there wasn't anything that words would really do to comfort Zyro at this moment - he would probably think he was lying, or he might get upset again..
"Thanks.." Zyro said, catching Shinobu off guard as the Fire Blader finally looked over to his friend, tiny droplets of tears decorating delicate eyelashes on eyes that had been rubbed violently over and over again - it was honestly a very uncomfortable sight to see when you thought about how hard Zyro may have been crying, if he had at all.
"For believing me, I mean.." Zyro continued, his voice a bit shaky as the tears visibly welled in his eyes again, "I-I don't even know i-if you actually do or what, but... Thanks, I guess.."

Shinobu seemed surprise at first, before he returned the thanks with a comforting smile that somehow made Zyro feel just a bit better.
"I-I didn't mean to, uh, freak out back there..." Zyro said as he looked away, a solemn look on his face as he glanced up towards the darkening sky that showed how much time had passed throughout the day, "I just, uh..."
Shinobu waited patiently for Zyro to speak, watching as he bit the inside of his lip and visibly hesitated.
Zyro knew that he couldn't repeat those words all over again - if anything, he'd break down right then and there.
Goddammit... How was he able to talk out his emotions to Kira who didn't even care, and not Shinobu of who he knew did care?..
Whimpering softly and holding back a sob, a single tear finally made it's way from Zyro's eyes, leaving him to bite his lip as the temptation to let out his emotions only grew more intense from the tear that escaped him.
"Zyro.." Shinobu whispered softly, gently placing a hand on the other's shoulder of which he could feel was tense and shaking.
Zyro didn't look at Shinobu, but didn't push him away either from the simple comfort that any sort of human contact gave him. He could talk to Kira, and yet not Shinobu...

"Zyro, please..."

That little whisper in the back of his mind had grown faint, no longer bothering him like it once had before when it first began in the first 3 weeks of when Gingka's condition was slowly torturing him into an eternal sleep.

"Don't... Leave him too..."

The words that came from the voice as small and fragile as a mouse could no longer give him any motivation or comfort like they once had, its' pleading seeming like nothing but dull aches in his heart through everything they had been through.
Zyro bit down on his lip as small tears ran in small droplets down his face, his bottom lip quivering slightly as he tried to force everything down like he had been for the whole week that Gingka had been in his coma.
There was no one around except for Shinobu, so why would it matter if he saw him cry?...
It mattered because he knew that Shinobu was the one who cared.
Squeezing his eyes shut, Zyro bent down and but and buried his face in his hands, letting the few tears that managed to escape him fall onto his gloved palms.
Shinobu had no idea what to at this point as he helplessly watched as Zyro cried silently, seeing the strain that he put on himself as he tried so desperately not to let out the tears that he kept in for who-knows-how-long.
At this point, it was understandable to see Zyro in this state, as well as a few of the others with the realization that Zyro would've brought to them.

But right now, Shinobu's main priority was Zyro.
Gently did the light-haired blader slip his arm around Zyro's shoulders, pulling him towards him into a position where the other could awkwardly lean against his shoulder, turning his body a bit so that Zyro could rest more comfortably despite the state he was currently in that frightened Shinobu to no end.
Zyro never broke down... They had all seen Kite had a mental breakdown once, but he was a different story than Zyro was - Zyro didn't cry, at least not in front of them.
The only difference now, as it appeared, was that Zyro had every reason to cry from the anxiety and guilt of knowing he had been the one who had failed the man he had tried so desperately to save.
Light green eyes looked up towards the sky as he silently held his best friend of who tried to keep it in, sighing as he stared up into the darkening day that would not lead into a better tomorrow...

Alcorin gazed from a long distance towards the city of which the man of who's form he took now once called 'home'.
Golden-brown eyes that resembled his, and yet were so different, looked at the city that now seemed so small from where he stood, faintly seeing the lights in the growing darkness of the sky as the moon began to rise from behind the clouds that overshadowed it.
Quite a city it was, filled with life and joy and dreams of so many young bladers, understandably the Beyblade capital of the world seeing as how it was where the legend of Gingka Hagane had first began.
Of course, it had also been the place where his legend had ended. Gingka Hagane was no more, and Alcorin had made sure of that - all of that now really remained of the famous blader was the fact that he now took on the appearance of the man he had killed.

No, he wasn't afraid to go that far, to take the appearance of Gingka himself and fool all of them into believing that it really was him, using the pity and the relief and the joy of having him back to his advantage of where he knew none of them would ever notice the physical difference.
Either way, he wouldn't have been able to pull it off if they had not had the same eye color as each other; when shape-shifting, it was the only thing that remained the same which would give it away otherwise.
But he and little Hagane had had the same eye color, almost entirely identical unless someone was able to see through to someone quite easily.
At first, he had almost feared that Zyro would be the one to notice something, but he had successfully fooled the blader that he had spoken too earlier that day, had said all those nice things to just to twist the knife further once he had made him realize his stupidity and failure.
Alcorin wasn't even sure why he now stared at Metal Bey City, of which seemed as small as an ant from the distance he was at from it, why he still took the form of the man he had killed - maybe it was simply because he liked it.
Maybe it was because he knew that it would easier if people saw Gingka Hagane instead of what was really behind the mask that he put up.

The reason he now looked back at Metal Bey City, was because it reminded him so gingerly that Zyro was likely suffering now, emotionally shattered at the fact that he had failed so hard in protecting the blader he had wanted and tried to save with his friends.
He wished he could see that now, but he had way more important things to tend to now that he was finally free of the place he had condemned himself to until Gingka was rid of the world.
And now that he had done that, now that everything had gone his way as he had staged it out too, that pathetic little child barely had anything to cling onto anymore, his grip on the edges of the real world fading as he weakened and tried to scream like he had for years, yet was rendered mute.
A small giggle escaped Alcorin's - no, Gingka's - lips in the voice that wasn't his, yet still held the same chilling power behind it like it had in his human skin.
Whatever little Zyro chose to do now was entirely up to him, but nothing was going to take this away from him - not ever again would he allow 'him' to slip through his fingers, not ever would he lose 'him' again.
This was everything he had fought for, everything that he had killed and deceived for, and he would not allow anyone to take 'him' away ever again.

"It's a cruel, cruel world, Zyro Kurogane..." Alcorin said out of amusement in the voice of the man he still took the form of, his eyes darkening to a black color before lighting up once more in the demonic red that he had been with, "And the strong always win.."
A small giggle escaped his lips that would've left shudders down anyone's spine.
Turning away, Alcorin faintly heard the weak, desperate pleas of the child that had clung to his shadow for so long with the need to fight for something, with the need to hold on to the physical world that he had been banished from all those years ago.
Now, there was no way that child would be resurfacing ever again from the depths of the mind he had locked him into - after all, he had fought too hard for all of this to let him ruin everything now.
All Alcorin ever wanted was 'him'. And now, as his eyes faded back to golden-brown that had matched Gingka's enough to fool anyone, he knew that he had been the one to win.
Getting back the only thing he cared about was all that had ever mattered to him - because nothing else mattered but 'him'.