Hey guys! My sister has another four updates for you! She wants to apologize for not updating due to a busy schedule, but now she's working on NaNoWriMo for one of her classes so updates will hopefully come quicker. Enjoy!
I dug my nails into my arms, aware that none of the Bladebreakers were moving. Curiously, I glanced up to see if they had fallen asleep.
Most of my team was staring at their hands or a section of the room, but a few locked eyes with me, watching silently.
"So, yeah," I murmured silently. I didn't really know what else to say. The room still felt like it was closing in on me and I eyed the walls and door. A loud bang came from across the hall and I jumped. Then I realized it was just a neighbor slamming their door shut.
"You should have said something earlier," Tyson said. "We might have been able to help."
"He's right, Sandy," Hilary said, folding her arms. "You should have said something." I lowered my eyes and stared down at my hands. Hiro stood up and reminded us to get some sleep. Once he was satisfied with everyone's efforts to go to bed, he pulled me aside. I couldn't meet his gaze and tugged at my glove self-consciously. Hiro put a hand on my shoulder to get my attention.
"Sandy, it was brave of you to speak up like that. I appreciate it, as I'm sure the rest of the team does. If there's anything we can do to help, just ask. That's what makes us a team." His piercing, brown eyes, so much like his younger brother's, forced me to nod. My friends climbed into bed and steadily fell quiet. I fingered a rip in my pajama pant legs – probably from running around the city in them at night; the thought made me blush in hindsight – and waited for exhaustion to overtake me.
I opened my eyes a crack, noticing as I did that I was curled up near the bottom of my bed. Kai was already pulling his scarf over his head and gathering his gear. I waved half-heartedly at him, fully aware that he was unlikely to answer. To my surprise, he met my gaze.
"G-good morning," I stammered, caught off guard. "W-where are you off to?"
"Out," he murmured, silently strolling towards the door. I called out, talking mostly to myself.
"Any chance I can come?" Kai stopped, glancing over his shoulder at me. I froze under his glare, immediately sorry I'd asked.
"Don't slow me down," he said roughly, exiting. I blinked, not sure I'd heard correctly. A smile almost touched my lips, but it was replaced with alarm when I realized Kai would be half-way down the hall by now. I quickly got ready and rushed out the door after him.
Finally catching up to Kai, I glanced over to see if he would say anything else. He didn't. Kai's legs were longer than mine, so I struggled to keep his pace. There was a tense silence as I walked quickly next to him, almost trotting. A little disappointed – but not surprised – by Kai's few words, I decided to pull out my beyblade. I pushed the ripcord tied to my hip into my launcher, then snapped Nyclix into place. My muscles tensed, but right before I launched, a cold voice to my left spoke.
"I told you that it won't work if you angle your launcher too far in one direction," Kai said. I almost tripped, my attention diverted from launching my beyblade. I narrowed my eyes in annoyance.
"Thank you, I'll keep that in mind," I murmured, striking my arm out and sending Nyclix flying. My bit beast must have felt my lack of concentration, for the gold and green beyblade immediately sputtered to a halt. Kai brushed past me.
"Exactly." I reclaimed my beyblade and caught up to him again.
"You try it," I said, irritated. "It's not easy launching with your non-dominant hand." Kai stopped dead, folding his arms. His eyes were like shards of ice.
"If that's going to be your excuse for everything, you won't get anywhere with a beyblade. Stop hanging onto the past and move forward. If it's too difficult to change your launch position, then use your right arm. If you can't use your right arm, you should have just gone home in the first place." I glanced down, avoiding his gaze. Kai continued walking, never looking back at me.
I started following him, but knew I couldn't steady my launcher with the pace Kai was keeping. Carefully focusing on the angle of my bey, I shot Nyclix out. This time the beyblade steadily whirred, though the landing was a little shaky. Finally. I looked up to see Kai watching me out of the corner of his eye. Immediately 'vanishing' the smile that had been forming on my lips, I rejoined him feigning indifference.
"So what now?" I asked.
"Now you start practicing launching," Kai said.
Hours later, I had learned several valuable lessons. Among them, that Kai could do impossible tasks with a beyblade and a few soda cans, and that I had a lot of work to do. I had lost two matches against him in a humiliating fashion and my fingers ached from gripping my launcher. Still, if I was willing to admit it to myself, I felt a new sense of accomplishment for finally being able to practice with one of the Bladebreakers' most infamous 'bladers.
As it reached ten o'clock, we headed back.
"Thanks for letting me practice with you," I added carefully.
"Don't get used to it," Kai said. "At least now we'll have a team of 'bladers who can actually launch a bey." I almost fell behind, my pride stinging. But I was starting to wonder…if perhaps, there was something more behind Kai's hard, blunt words.
To my surprise, there were still Bladebreakers sleeping when we got back to the room. Namely Tyson, Daichi, and Max. The face of my watch caught my eye and I jumped.
"I have somewhere to be," I exclaimed, turning to exit. I could feel Hiro's stare boring into me.
"Where are you going?" Rei asked.
"Oh, I have a match with a friend of mine," I said.
"Aren't outside matches prohibited in the finals?" Kenny broke in. I brushed a strand of hair behind my ear, embarrassed. Memories of the many times I had bent that rule surfaced in the back of my mind.
"Well, it's not an official match…but, yeah, I guess it's not really legal…"
"Well then, shouldn't we get going?" A voice called. I turned to see Tyson suddenly listening with rapt attention. Max had already woken up and Rei was gathering his things. I hesitated briefly, before nodding. With a small smile, I brushed some dirt off the top of my beyblade.
"Yes, we should."
"I'll stay here," Kenny said. "I need to do some research on a few beyblade designs. Daichi and Max, can I have your beyblades for a while?" Max tossed Draciel to Kenny.
"Sure, Chief."
"You mean I can't bring my bey?" Daichi groaned. He also handed it to the tech guy of the Bladebreakers. I shifted back and forth on my feet, anxious to get going. I didn't want to be too late. As soon as the team was ready, I jogged out the door and hurriedly made my way to the park.
Panting, I arrived at a small crowd of young 'bladers. Some of them were pacing, others crossed their arms as if doubting I would show up. A rugged smirk crossed my face and my eyes lit up in anticipation of a new match.
"So, you ready?" I asked. The small boy looked terrified at the fire burning in my gaze. He raised his launcher slightly, but it shook in his hands. I did my best to soften my expression and knelt beside him. Without a word, I reached out my hand and steadied the boy's shaking fingers. "Are you ready?" I repeated. "I said I would teach you some of my moves, right?"