Chapter 6
Chugging her fourth cup of ginger tea, Ayaka gathered her notes and closed her eyes. She gathered the group together.
"Dai, let's work some defense into your offense. We'll start with this- do some evasives, into an overhead arc- then smash."
"Wait, wait, wait! We gotta feel it first!"
Dai started swaying energetically from side to side. "Come on! Loosen up! You've been frowning for days!"
With a blank expression, Ayaka copied the move.
"See? Better!"
Limply, Ayaka wiggled her arms. The other two laughed.
"Let's start this. Launch with me, Dai."
They did. The training bey moved as though to avoid incoming attacks, spun out of the dish, made the arc and performed a downward strike. Ves repeating the move left a large impact crater.
"Ok. We do need something quicker than me showing you, though, in case things get tricky in the dish."
Tyreese took the pages, and skimmed through, and looked at Vesuvius. "Zig-zag- Charleston- over-the-rainbow and smash."
"Oh!"
Ayaka gaped in amazement. "You seriously can't be that-!"
"Alright, alright!" Tyreese put both hands up to placate her. "We have 30 minutes - let's get a move-on."
They powered into the final training ground and dispatched of everyone else present, and those who rushed in. After that…it was quiet. Too quiet. Their eyes narrowed. Was this thing-!
"AND THE FINAL GROUP HAS MADE IT OUT OF THE FOREST! WE HAVE OUR CONTESTANTS, FOLKS!"
Were those blimps overhead always there? They showed their points and ranking, while hidden speakers replayed cheers. Catching herself, Dai pumped her launcher in the air- 340 points. Tyreese stretched her arms up and back with a wide grin on her face- 560 points. But Ayaka…Ayaka fumed. 300 points- only just clawing into the next round.
Funny how you seem to think you have time to be so relaxed.
A fatigue was settling in, on top of her persistent frustration. So many rounds to go- so much to do before Mercury would be at her side again, sparkling as they felt the thrill of battle. Tyreese nudged her, which snapped her back into the present.
"Seems like I forgot the motto, folks! Can y'all help me out here?"
"Ratings are king!"
"ALRIGHT! Thank you all for tuning it to Brawler's Bliss, and we'll see you for Round 1!" The event's Blader DJ grinned widely.
Dai mused that the organizers really loved their pockets.
"Time we did something fun!" Tyreese stretched as they headed to the main arena with the other teens.
Ayaka was about to protest, but glares from the both of them silenced her. "…Fine."
There were vending machines around, so they stopped at one. Orange juice in hand, Dai looked at the former Mercury wielder's shoulders. Anyone could tell she was bugged about all this. Her points definitely didn't help things. The beginnings of an idea were forming…
Scooping Tyreese out of her wheelchair, she smiled down at her, adding a sultry look to her stare.
"What say you we unwind under one of the trees, my dear?"
Not missing a beat, her captive threw her arms around her neck, tapping her shoulder blade with her can of malt. "I am a lady- gonna need some proof of your commitment."
"The rings are in my back pocket."
"Well, take me away, gorgeous!"
Ayaka choked on her green tea before shaking her head. "You two are a pair."
"The dynamic duo!" The blue-haired girl beamed.
"Thunder and lightning." Tyreese smirked.
A few more moments of walking, and she pointed to the top of a small slope a few steps away. "We can go up there- get some air."
They collapsed Tyreese's chair, and Ayaka was charged with hauling it up as Dai carried her. A cool breeze toyed with the grass blades. Cloud chariots strolled across the canvas above- a canvas painted with the Midas touch by the setting sun. They clinked their drinks together.
"Cheers!"
Deciding to be more of a good sport, Ayaka offered to throw everything. On her way to the bins, she spied a few racks of blading magazines advertising bey parts. Right- Mercury's new build. She pulled the nearest one to leaf through it when a familiar heaviness bore down her back.
That enormous weight- the energy of the last girl she wanted to see. Her breath caught in her throat, and she blinked rapidly to stop her vision from swimming purple. Keep it together- she had to.
Kai-Rah really would have loved to shoot the breeze like those three. But goals didn't leave time for talk. Though, she was curious. She called the name she'd seen on the monitors.
"Maeda Ayaka."
The poor thing was near shaking.
"I'm just here to talk."
"…Make it quick."
The dark-haired girl laid eyes on Ayaka's bey pouch. Her palm twitched up to cover it, and Kai-Rah managed a smirk. "Congratulations on advancing."
To be fair, Ayaka hadn't done much worse than Kai-Rah's own 314 points. But doing anymore than that would be pointless, so she chose not to. Ayaka was just trying to cling on.
"Leave me alone."
"I'm afraid you'll have to get used to this new 'democracy' thing, Your Highness. Your wishes aren't my concern."
A growl, bringing a previous teammate to mind. A temperamental, exhausting one she could still hear yelling at her sometimes. Coolly, Kai Rah sipped at a bottle of XPerience. Chills, then a buzz at the back of her head that roused her to some extent. Hm. A little mild. Maybe it would be a better morni-
"HEY! Some of us have things to deal with!"
"I'm sure." She murmured mildly, feeling that she'd done all she had to. "Pray to lose in the next few rounds, and you'll have a smooth blading journey."
Whether that advice would be taken, however, was to be determined. She suspected it wouldn't.
Flouncing back to the others, Ayaka found a renewed urge to climb the tournament ladder. "Couple bladers should be doing practice matches in the main stadium. Let's go."
An eye roll from Dai and a mildly irritated look from Tyreese. "Almost like we were gelling or something."
As they headed to the dishes, Dai turned back to study Kai Rah as she vanished. Remembering her subtle, but unmistakable sneer, she frowned.
If there was one thing Ayaka knew, it was that plans and battle were different beasts entirely. She felt some worry as she set up with the others for a melee-type match. Seven others had gotten into position, and she found her powers of observation under strain. That was good. If she could make it through this well enough, keeping tabs on one person would be a breeze.
They took up a wide triangle formation. Tyreese started on offence, ramming into them and darting around when their opponents tried to counter. One growled.
"Not good. Break it, Sardonyx!"
A tan and silver bey tried to get past Ayaka, who smirked. "Sure you wanna do that?"
Backing up, her bey made a few rapid rounds of the dish, before knocking it right back into Tyreese's-
"PHANTOM SLASH!"
A blast of air knocked all three of them towards the heart of the formation, where Dai had been stationed.
"Tyreese- I need a 360-corral and an aerial attack."
"DAI! LOCK AND SHOOT!"
"YOU THE MA'AM!"
Vesuvius clashed into them, squeezing their opponents into a tight circle before going for a divebomb.
"Not so fast! Scheherazade!"
A small, purple and blue bey started to glow. A titaness appeared with a tome. Floating lights-a high-pitched whine. The girls blocked their ears and got as low as they could.
"Bet you didn't see that coming!"
"Woah!" Tyreese's freckled cheeks stretched into a smile. "That's good! That's real good!"
Ayaka balled her hands, running through possible counterattacks. Where were the lights coming from? What was generating and carrying the sound? She needed time- space, a step back!
"UGH! SPE-!"
"Don't even think about it! On my heels- NOW!"
"Tightrope?"
"Tightrope!"
Lupa's wolf spirit appeared. Tilting his attack ring down, he started circling. Faster- silver streaks appeared- faster still and the winds started blowing. Faster- and Tyreese had built a tornado. Vesuvius let himself get carried on the winds, spiralling up and becoming little more than a golden sparkle against the evening sky. Then, he came crashing down.
One of their foes, a boy with blond streaks in his hair, smirked. Alarm bells set off in Ayaka's head.
"Marina- Special Move! ABYSSAL TRENCH!"
The stadium quaked. Cracks opened within, running deeper that its base. All three got down for stability.
"You guys ain't giving us an inch, eh?" Dai grinned.
"Not today, lady!"
Some unseen force tugged them all down. In seconds, Lupa and Vesuvius had stopped spinning. Dai collapsed to the ground, whooping in laughter as she gripped Tyreese's chair. The platinum blond, for her part, looked satisfied. The pair walked down to congratulate the victors, exchanging compliments and high-fives. Ayaka sighed. Another loss, though she'd earnestly tried.
Later that evening, Dai pushed Tyreese up to the bay. "You guys and your bey commands are weird."
"You're weird, Dai."
"And she isn't?"
"Yeah. And snobbish. And cold. And annoying. And slimy."
"Yes."
"We keepin' her?
"Sure."
They drank on in silence.
"She can bring a good time on, though. Felt cool to do something different."
"Ok."
Bitterness lurked just under Dai's pep. Tyreese knew that well. She also knew better than to push. All things considered, Dai was taking Ayaka's sass better than Tyreese expected. Before…heh.
