Warnings and Disclaimer are in the first chapter.


Chapter 8

The next two months leading up to the concert were a frenzy of activity for Ryou. Every day he would go to NG studios, sometimes with his teammates and sometimes without, and endure Ryuichi as he practiced and practiced singing. After his singing lessons he'd meet up with his friends and teammates wherever they'd ended up. Sometimes they'd be just practicing at Takao's house, and sometimes Bad Luck's manager would drag them off for some promotional activities for the concert. He could hardly speak after his lessons with Ryuichi, so those made for interesting photo shoots or interviews or whatever else K could think of to inflict on unsuspecting beybladers.

The night before the concert arrived far too quickly for Ryou. He was, for once, not being forced to sing for Ryuichi. Instead he was at NG studios with Ryuichi and the rest of Bad Luck, discussing which songs, exactly, Ryou would sing.

"The flyers have all been printed up, but don't let that worry you, Ryou," Suguru assured him, sorting through the sheet music scattered across their table. "All it says is that there's a special guest singer, without a list of songs."

"So if you decide that you can't sing one of the songs, just let one of us know," Hiro said. "We can play any of the songs here."

"We've practiced all of them," Ryou agreed, looking over one of the songs. "Are there any that you'd recommend?"

Ryuichi hummed, tapping three songs against the table. "How about these?" the singer offered, playing with Kumagoro's ear and offering the folded sheets of paper. "I was going to sing them, but I think Shuichi would want you to."

Ryou took the songs and flipped through them. They were very familiar, three of the five songs he'd talked to Ryuichi about initially. They'd decided last week to have him only do three songs, and he'd been trying to decide which ones. "Rage Beat, Glaring Dream, and In the Moonlight?" he asked.

"In that order," Ryuichi agreed. "They're great for opening, and I think you can handle them. What do you think?"

"Yeah. We've practiced them a lot, too." Ryou read the words he'd gotten very familiar with over the last two months. "I think we'll go ahead and stick with these three. I'm less likely to screw them up."

"Very good then!" Ryuichi said. "I'll leave you two to do whatever!" He bounced up, Kumagoro in hand, and grinned at Ryou. "Let's go shopping!"

Ryou just looked at him blankly, songs still in his hand. "What?"

"You can't get up on stage looking like that!" Ryuichi tsked, ruffling his hair. The amnesiac bat his hand away with a scowl. "We need to get you a new set of clothes!"

"I like my clothes," Ryou grumbled, but he'd learned that arguing with the singer was a futile endeavor over the past two months. With a sigh he stood and let himself be dragged off.

In a nearby department store an hour later he was secured in a dressing room, Ryuichi tossing him clothes over the door. Several of the garments he tossed right back.

"I am NOT wearing anything that shows my stomach," he said hotly through the door, his fingers working on the buttons of a floral print shirt. "No matter how many shirts you throw at me, it is. Not. Happening."

"It's a good look though!" Ryuichi protested.

"I told you no." He took a good look at himself in the mirror and shrugged off the shirt. "This pair of black khakis is good. Can you find me a shirt to go with it?" He threw the floral print shirt back over the top of the door and caught a black short-sleeved shirt, which he immediately tossed back. "I need sleeves, Ryuichi."

"It's going be hot on stage. You need something to help keep you cool!" the singer told him, tossing the shirt again. "It's got sequins around the collar, very nice!"

"I don't want my arms showing," Ryou said firmly. "Not my arms, stomach, or legs, okay?"

"Well, what if we got you a jacket to go with that?" Ryou could hear Ryuichi humming, and then he was besieged by a wad of clothing from over the top of the door. "You stay right there, I'll be right back!"

Ryou rolled his eyes but set about untangling the shirts. One violet one caught his eye, with black and silver rhinestones running down the front in a thin line, slightly off-center to the left. It was short-sleeved, but it had a collar with small silver gems in the corners. He tried it on and found himself liking it when it was tucked into the hem of the black khakis. If Ryuichi came back with a good jacket he thought he could get out of the store and home for a good night's sleep.

"Back!" Ryuichi's voice declared. "Did you find a shirt?"

"Yeah," Ryou called back. He tossed the rejected shirts over the door and braced himself for the inevitable wad of coats. Instead only a single jacket was sailing at him. This one was a long coat, just cloth with a thin lining, black in color with violet trim. He found, putting it on, that it matched the shirt very well. He scrutinized himself in the mirror, then pulled on his normal gloves and opened the dressing room door. "Well? What do you think?"

Ryuichi grinned. "I think that's perfect. Now get undressed!" He dumped the pile of clothes on a nearby salesperson and picked up Kumagoro, humming contentedly. Ryou rolled his eyes but did as he was told, carefully folding each article of clothing so that the price tags were showing. He winced as he mentally added the total, but knew that no matter how much he tried Ryuichi would insist on buying him the clothes. It was better to just grin and bear it.

"All done?" Ryuichi asked when Ryou emerged from the dressing room, fully dressed and clothes in hand. "Then let's go! We have to be at the concert hall early tomorrow, so we need to get home and get to bed!" Kumagoro traded hands, and Ryou studied the pink bunny critically while Ryuichi dashed off to the checkouts. It was a normal rabbit plushie, so he wondered what fascination the singer could have had with it.

"Time to go!" Ryuichi announced, pushing several shopping bags into Ryou's hands and taking back Kumagoro. "Need a ride home?"

"Please?" Ryou asked sheepishly. His bike was back at NG studios so he'd been wondering how he'd get back home.

. . . . . . .

The next day Ryou woke up bright and early, grabbed his shopping bags and Drasonet, and found his bike had mysteriously shown up on his doorstep sometime during the night. He left far earlier than Max and Mr. Mizuhara, needing the extra time to get to the concert hall. His adopted father and brother would take the train, something which, a year after the tragic wreck, still left him feeling uneasy.

The day leading up to the concert was the most hectic of Ryou's life, but finally the time for the concert arrived. He stood backstage with Max and Zeo, chewing nervously on his glove in his new clothes, while Tohma was onstage with some speech he was too nervous to listen to. Now that it was time, and he was ready to go onstage and sing, he was wondering why he'd agreed to this in the first place. His bitbeast was in his pocket, and Ryou could feel his protective predatory nature, something which helped him calm down just a little.

"And here's our special singing guest tonight. Please welcome Ryou Mizuhara!" Tohma's voice echoed around him. Ryou took a deep breath, smoothed the worse for wear glove, and walked onto the stage amidst applause and cheering. Tohma smiled at him and offered him the microphone, which he took with a slight feeling of déjà vu. He took another deep breath and spoke into the microphone, smiling a little bit.

"Hi everyone. Mr. Seguchi did a great job of introducing me. We all know what we're here for, right?" He looked down, away from the crowds and the bright lights. "I'm supposed to say something about the wreck, and what happened during it and how I felt. Well, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I can't remember," he said sheepishly. "I can tell you about what happened after, though. I woke up in the hospital without my memory, but I was badly injured. I was very scared, and it was thanks to Dr. Janet Fraiser that I was able to recover from my injuries. I'm also thankful to Mr. Mizuhara and Max, who took me in when I had nowhere to go." He looked back at the crowds and smiled a bit. "After that, Max introduced me to beyblading, and I almost won the World Championships. But it couldn't have happened without everyone who was there to help me recover from my injuries, and now I'm here to help other victims of the crash." He bowed deeply. "I apologize for inflicting my voice on you all."

With that short speech he looked back at Hiro, who nodded encouragingly, and then at Ryuichi hiding just out of sight of the audience, ready to take over if he couldn't do it. Suguru whispered encouragement at him, and he inhaled deeply, held it for a moment and let it out in a rush. Hiro took that as a sign that Ryou was ready and struck the first chords of "The Rage Beat."

Singing in front of thousands of people was a more personal experience than Ryou had expected. Lungs filling to better belt out sounds, the light nearly blinding him in its intensity, and his own body moving almost without him realizing it, all came together for Ryou for him to realize just how someone could do something like this. It was a thrilling experience for him, and after the first verse he completely forgot about the fact that he was singing in front of everyone, that he probably couldn't sing very well at all. He could feel the music in his very bones, and it only prompted him to sing louder.

The end of the song came as a shock to him, and he looked around a bit bewildered as the last notes faded into oblivion. He didn't expect the rush of sound that nearly knocked him off his feet, and he could only stare at the crowd that had apparently liked his singing. "Ah, thanks," was all he could say, looking back at Hiro at bit at a loss. "Are you ready for the next one?"

A wave of sound.

"Then let's get going!"

It was Suguru's turn to start the song, and Ryou launched into it with a lot more confidence than before. "Glaring Dream" was one of Shuichi's big hits, he remembered, and he did his best to do it justice for the singer's sake. At the same time, something odd stirred in him. With every note, he felt like there was something he should know, something that stayed just out of reach. During one instrumental section he looked out at the crowd and saw a tall blonde man at the front who was just staring at him with the most forlorn look on his face. All he could do was smile at the man apologetically as his turn to sing came up again. With the end of the song he felt like he was missing something important, but that didn't matter, because Hiro was already starting the next song.

"This next song," he said quietly, as the guitar reverberated around him, "will be my last. I'd like to dedicate it to Shuichi's friends and family."

And then he was just singing, the lyrics of "In the Moonlight" rolling off his tongue with far more familiarity than only one hard month of practicing should have accounted for. He became so enraptured in the song that he forgot that he was just a beyblader singing for charity, that he shouldn't have been able to sing anyway. In those few minutes he became the music, let it flow through him and into the air around him, and he felt every emotion behind those words and notes.

The song ended far too quickly, despite being the longest of the three songs he'd had to sing. After, he just held the microphone loosely in his hands, staring blankly at the stage in front of him. It took Ryuichi patting him on the shoulder to shake him from his reverie, and he gave an uncertain smile before forfeiting the microphone and retreating backstage. All he knew as he sat down in a chair was that he felt somehow hollow. With the songs over, it seemed like something was missing in him, and he wondered what could cause those feelings.

Max noticed his mood and came over, crouching next to him. "Hey, buddy, you okay?" he asked, concerned.

Ryou nodded, then shook his head. "I'm not sure. It's strange…"

"Want to talk about it?" his adopted brother wanted to know. "We're not due to beyblade for a few minutes, there's time."

The amnesiac shook his head and smiled, though he knew even Max would tell it was forced. "I'll be okay for the match. I think it's just relief that it's over with," he lied.

Max was unconvinced, he saw, but nodded. "Okay, but remember, you can talk to me."

"I'm fine, honest. Do we know the lineup yet?" Ryou wondered, changing the subject easily.

"Yeah. I decided I wanted to take on Takao this time, so Zeo's going against Rei. That leaves you with Kai, and from what Takao told us, he'll be the last up. That means you get to watch us win first!" Max said mischievously. "So don't worry, okay?"

"I won't," Ryou promised.

It came time for the match in no time at all, and Ryou found himself walking back onto the stage, where a dish had been set up. Takao, Rei, and Kai were already there, and he stood with Max and Zeo opposite them still feeling slightly unhinged. He tried to shake it off and focus on the match, but it had sunk its claws deep into him and wouldn't let go.

Somehow they'd gotten the same announcer, DJ, to referee this match as well, and he stood unfazed under the bright spotlights in all his leather glory. "Are we all ready for this charity beyblade match?" he hollered to the crowd. He was met by a lot of screaming, which only brought a smile to his face. "Then let's get going! In a stunning rematch, Team Gravity, with tonight's guest of honor Ryou Mizuhara, are facing off once again against the Bladebreakers! They lost against this same team at the World Championships, but now they once again have the chance the claim the title of World's best!"

Another round of cheers.

"Then let's get started! Teams, send up your first players!"

Zeo and Rei took their places at the dish and launched on DJ's command. It was a short but fierce match, both beyblades not giving an inch, but finally Zeo emerged victorious. Then it was Max and Takao's turn. It was a one-sided fight, Max weathering the blows like the pro he was but unfortunately falling victim to overconfidence. He grinned at Takao as he retrieved his blade, though, and the two talked animatedly off to the side, probably discussing the match. They'd get Kyouju's feedback on it later, as their tech was unfortunately holed up in his room with some long-neglected homework.

It was finally Ryou's turn, and he took his place at the dish opposite Kai with only a bit of trepidation. He hadn't fought Kai very much in their practice matches, so this would really be a challenge for him.

"Are you both ready?" DJ asked them, to which they responded positively. "All right then! Three, two, one, let it rip!"

Drasonet landed eagerly in the middle of the stage, ready for the battle. Dranzer wasted no time in gunning for him, and Ryou fell into his usual match mindset, though it took more effort than he was used to. He was still deeply unsettled, and his lack of concentration was reflected in Drasonet's performance. The spider reacted slower than usual, taking hits that he should have been able to avoid. It was one hit that nearly knocked him out that drew Ryou back into the match, and he shook his head to clear it before focusing on the game. He called Drasonet back, to go on the defensive, and the spider did as he was asked, falling to the center of the dish and taking up his normal defensive position. Ryou watched Dranzer's moves carefully, impassively analyzing them, and after a moment he thought he had Kai's attack pattern down. That meant it was time to go on the offensive.

Drasonet ducked to the side suddenly, letting Dranzer careen past him, and then turned to chase the phoenix bit beast. He managed to get in a few small hits before Ryou called him back, not willing to press his luck. Kai glared at him from across the dish but said nothing, only coached Dranzer quietly from the sidelines. Ryou noticed that Kai was much like him, not needing to give Dranzer verbal prompting for the bit beast to act. They danced around like that for a long while, until it seemed Kai had finally had enough of all these games.

"Dranzer!" the other player yelled. "Come on out and let's show him who he's messing with!"

And the bit beast did just that, a shrill shriek piercing the air as the bird appeared. That scream stopped Ryou cold in the middle of calling out Drasonet, the sound piercing him deeper than anything he'd ever thought possible, right into that well of emptiness left by the songs. For a moment he forgot to breathe, a fear so great filling him, and in the back of his mind he heard that scream echoed by something else, something equally inhuman. He let out his breath with a shocked whimper, falling to his knees and covering his head. He didn't know what was frightening him so, but it was a reaction he couldn't help. Drasonet, he only vaguely registered, was knocked soundly out of the stage and off into the crowd somewhere, but he couldn't bring himself to worry about that. The shriek came again, Dranzer's victory cry, and he flinched, sinking deeper into himself, trying to get away from that horrible fear. He vaguely registered a frightened scream in the back of his mind, but it didn't matter, not when this nameless threat was trying to tear him apart.

He heard people talking to him, the crowd roaring, but he couldn't pay any attention to that. After a moment he felt hands on him, touches that he flinched away from, drawing him up from his crouch and off the stage. Aside from those initial starts he didn't react to anyone, staring off into space, not really seeing the small room he was led into backstage, not registering the words that were being spoken to him. He whimpered a bit and flinched away when a hand touched his forehead, but there was nothing else, and he was left alone with his fear. He turned it around in his head, this primal fear that had him so helpless, and it was as if something in him had broken. All he had was fleeting impressions, of flame and fear, of a horrible knowledge that left him frozen in place.

Just when he thought it'd never end, that he'd be stuck trapped in this fear, there was a light, a break in the shadows. A voice, one at once familiar and alien, dragged him out of the abyss of fear and emptiness. Without really registering what he was doing he was out of his seat and clinging to the source of his light, sobbing a name he didn't realize he knew. This light, this person… Their presence was enough to banish the fear, the fire that tried to claim him, and it was such a relief that he felt he could be forgiven for surrendering, at last, to a blissful sleep.

. . . . . . .

Doctor Janet Frasier, a special guest to the memorial concert, finished checking up on the slumbering form in the hotel bed. Ryou's face was far from peaceful, caught up in dreams only he would ever know, and he twisted away from her touch in a way he never had in the hospital. However, there was nothing wrong with him physically, so with a sigh she straightened and turned around to where Max and Mr. Mizuhara were waiting impatiently.

"I'm glad you had this hotel room," she said first, looking around the small room that could have been in any hotel in America. "I don't know how Ryou would have reacted to waking up in a hospital, which is where I would have taken him otherwise."

"What happened?" Mr. Mizuhara asked worriedly. "Will he be okay?"

"As far as I can tell, there's nothing wrong with him. Whatever's going on with him is just in his head, and I'm not an expert in that." Janet frowned worriedly. "Although…"

"What?" Max wanted to know.

The doctor shook her head. "It's too early to say. Let's just let him sleep and see what's going on in the morning. Will one of you be staying with him?"

The two traded looks. "Ryou was going to be staying here by himself," the elder Mizuhara admitted. "I thought it'd be too late after the concert for him to take his bike home, so I wanted him to spend the night here and come home in the morning. I have to open the shop early tomorrow, and I was counting on Max to help me."

"What about one of your friends? I'd really rather not have him by himself tonight."

Max gestured to the door. "They're all waiting downstairs to hear how Ryou is. I'm sure one of them wouldn't mind."

Downstairs, the lobby was deserted aside from an assortment of beybladers, Ryuichi, and the blonde man in whose arms Ryou had passed out. He'd been introduced as Eiri Yuki by Ryuichi, but so far all he'd done was sit in the corner and glower, as far as Janet could tell.

As soon as Janet appeared in the lobby she found herself to be mobbed by a group of anxious teens and Ryuichi. She waited until they'd stopped asking her questions before she relayed Ryou's status to them. After she was done, she asked, "Is there anyone who can stay with him tonight? I can't tell what's going on in his head, but I don't want him to be alone just in case he wakes up disoriented. "

The beybladers turned to discuss amongst themselves, while Ryuichi wandered over to the corner and latched himself onto Yuki's arm, whispering something urgently in the blonde's ear. Janet was interested in what they were talking about, but forced herself to look away. It was none of her business. She just hoped they would decide amongst themselves soon, as Mr. Mizuhara, upstairs with Ryou for the moment, had made it clear that he needed to get home soon.

Just when it looked like no one would be volunteering a voice shocked them all into silence. "I'll stay." Everyone turned to look at Yuki, who was glowering at Ryuichi but had come out of the corner. He caught their gazes and frowned. "What? You all obviously have things you need to do, and I can finish my book here just as easily as at home."

"You just don't seem the type," Max said quietly, staring at him wide-eyed.

Yuki glared at them. "As long as he doesn't snore or anything there's no problem. Now drop it before I change my mind."

That caused them all to nod agreeably, though they shot secret looks at Ryuichi. The same thing was going through all their minds: Just what kind of power did the singer have to be able to convince Yuki to do something he obviously didn't want to do?

"Well, that's all settled then," Janet said matter-of-factly. "I'll show you upstairs and give you my number. Just give me a call when he wakes up, and I'm sure Mr. Mizuhara would like a call as well."

Yuki said nothing, just adjusted the laptop case Janet was certain he hadn't come with, so Janet led him upstairs to Ryou's room. Mr. Mizuhara was sitting on the bed next to his adopted son, running a hand through the boy's hair just like Janet had seen with countless other fathers and sons. She didn't say anything about it, instead just clearing her throat to let Mr. Mizuhara know she was there. The older man looked up at her with a small smile.

"I found someone to watch him tonight," Janet said kindly. "This is Eiri Yuki. He's the one that finally got your son calmed down, and he's volunteered to stay with him until he wakes up."

"Aren't you a writer?" Mr. Mizuhara asked doubtfully.

"I promise you that Yuki is a good choice," Janet said firmly. "Ryou didn't calm down until Yuki came to return his beyblade, and I've seen a reaction like that in many soldiers that I've treated. They don't relax and calm down until they get someplace that they know is safe, and sometimes that place is a person. So I think that whatever Ryou was going through, somehow he knew Yuki. This might be a good sign!" she finished optimistically.

"All right, if you say so…" Mr. Mizuhara stood and crossed to the small table under the window, which held the standard hotel fare like brochures, the telephone, and a pad of paper and a pen. "I'll give you all of my numbers, so please let me know when Ryou wakes up, no matter what time it is. Once my help comes in tomorrow I'll have Max come and relieve you." He scribbled the numbers along with various notes and handed them to Janet, who added her own number to the sheet. "Thank you for doing this for me."

Yuki accepted the small square of paper, then looked over at the form in the bed. "It's nothing," he said shortly, walking past them and setting his laptop on the desk. "I'm just as curious as you are."