"Shu, wake up!"

"Whattimeisit?" he mumbled, cracking his eyelids. Suoh's blurry face floated above him. His hearing was distorted, but it didn't sound like there was anyone in his house. Rare.

"Noon."

"Are you kidding?" He shot to his feet, immediately regretting it when pain flashed through his head, making him collapse. Why had he been sleeping on the couch, of all places? "Why didn't you wake me up?"

"I just got here now." Suoh pulled him up. He nodded his thanks, swaying slightly. "You're lucky it's me and not Phi. I don't think he would let you hear the end of it."

Shu decided not to respond, instead heading to his room to get out of yesterday's clothes. "I'm going to go train." He hesitated, then added, "You're welcome to join me."

A dull ache pounded through his skull, and he clenched his teeth to keep from swearing. If there was one thing besides the heat flashes he couldn't stand, it was headaches.

When he turned, Suoh was standing in his doorway. His face was absolutely calm, but his red-and-black aura was glowing.

This couldn't be good.

"Do you want to tell me why you're hung over right now?"

Shit, he hated being right.

"I... don't know what you're talking about." Suoh followed him into the bathroom, where he scowled at his messy reflection. Shu filled up the sink and dumped his head underwater. The other albino jumped back to dodge the spray of water when he violently shook his head.

"Please don't do that."

"Then stay out of my house next time."

Ignoring that, the Salamander blader asked again, "Why the hell are you hung over?"

"I don't know what you mean."

Suoh cracked a grin. "Oh please. Don't even bother trying that." He frowned. "Valt?"

Shu went absolutely still.

It'd been a month since he'd spoken to Free, and Valt now knew he was breaking up with him. He took it surprisingly well, even offered to be his friend still. Getting friend-zoned after a breakup still sucked, though. Even if it was him that initiated the breakup. Valt seemed sad, but okay with it when Shu agreed to still be friends.

He'd stayed around for a few more days, making sure Valt was doing alright. He was talking with Free more, and seemed genuinely happy.

During the first week of being in Spain, Phi seemed to be aware of his plans. Phi seemed hesitant to leave, but after getting so many weird stares, eagerly rushed back. Suoh and Hartes had gone to France immediately after. Apparently, Suoh had wanted to see the Eiffel Tower, and Hartes was content to follow.

Shu vaguely remembered the last night, when his body had a heat flash so bad he blacked out. Trying to steady himself, he drained half a bottle without even realizing it, then proceeded to pass out on the couch. Very undignifed and stupid to leave himself open like that. Especially when everyone else on the floor could get into the apartment at will.

So maybe having that many shots hadn't been such a good idea.

"Yeah," Shu relented, tying back his hair and considering it in the mirror. "Your point?"

Suoh reappeared at the door, holding a bottle of vodka. "This thing is half empty!"

Shu untied his hair and twisted a braid on the left side.

"Don't you dare ignore me," the albino hissed suddenly. He stepped forward.

"If you're just going to annoy me, you can lea-"

"Don't you get it? We care about you, Shu!" Two pale hands grabbed his shoulders. "Why can't you just listen! All of us- even Phi- we're all worried about you, and we don't want you to stay like this!"

"That's illogical." Shu frowned. "As I am now, I'm a liability. The more strategic option would be to cut me off so everyone else's lives are not dragged down with me-"

Suoh cut him off. Not with a word, but a hard slap.

Shu's hand shot for the nearest weapon, and he came up pointing a toothbrush between the Salamander's eyes. "What the hell?"

"You sociopath! We care what happens because we're your friends!"

We're your friends.

Definition of friend: a person you know and have a mutual bond with, typically short of sexual interaction.

He'd loved Valt since he'd met him, always wanted to be around the Valkyrie blader, but Valt had always been happier on his own. All Shu had done was hurt him and burden him with problems.

Boa had been a side project of his, not even a friend. Just someone to mess with, see if what Ashtem had taught him would prove true for more than one person.

Fubuki was his protege, and Shu a lot about him, but he caught his interest and stayed interesting.

Had he ever had a friend?

Not really.

"A... friend?"

"Why are you so damn surprised? It's not so hard to believe!" Suoh rolled his bright golden eyes. "Why else would we have hung around?"

"Because I'm interesting and you want to beat me in Super Smash Bros. tournaments, not to mention get more information about beyblading from me."

"I don't believe you realize how good of a serial killer you'd make." He shook his head, hair falling over his left side. "You've never actually had a friend... have you?"

Shu recited the definition and the Salamander blader facepalmed. "Is there something wrong with you?"

"Yes."

"You know what? Never mind!" He grabbed Shu's arm. "We're going training. And when we come back, Phi wants to go to karaoke. And you're coming with us, got it?"

It was probably in his best interest to go with him. Besides, he needed to make up for the lost time beyblading, and Suoh wasn't too bad of an opponent. "Alright."

---

"How... are you... not tired?" Suoh was beside him, sprinting through the nearly empty streets of Beigoma. "We've been running for an hour!"

Shu exhaled, increasing his speed even more. He was exhausted, but everything in him begged to go faster. Just to be able to move this quickly felt amazing. The heat flashes that usually hit him about now had been left in the dust, and the cool wind around him felt amazing. Just to feel something cold was a relief.

Faster.

Faster.

Fas-

A pale hand grabbed his arm, forcing him to slow down. Shu brought himself to a stop and turned, suddenly realizing his body was shaking. He was completely soaked with sweat. How long had it even been since they'd started running?

"Wait..." The hand on his arm slipped.

A thump startled him, and he glanced down. "Suoh!"

He was on his hands and knees, gasping for breath. Both eyes were wide open, his hair completely messed up, and looked barely capable of standing up, much less running again. Shu winced. He completely forgot that Suoh was there with him, and forcing someone two years younger than him to run as fast was just cruel. Honestly, it was impressive he'd been able to last that long. Except that he looked like he might puke his guts up on the sidewalk.

"I'll be good in a minute," he panted, aura flickering weakly before burning out. "I'm... fine."

Yeah, right. If 'fine' meant 'about to die,' Suoh was better than fine.

"That was inconsiderate of me, sorry." Shu apologized instead, though it was a bit of an understatement. "How long have I- I mean, we, been going for?"

"T-two hours."

His muscles spasmed, suddenly and he stumbled. Suoh looked up and gave a shaky grin. Shu glared, but then muttered, "Maybe we should take a break."

While Suoh tried to keep himself from blacking out, Shu sat beside him and took out his phone. No new updates on Instigram, no missed calls or new texts. He settled for scrolling through Youtube and clicking a random song.

"What'cha... listening to, Kurenai?"

He unplugged his earbuds.

"Halsey. Huh." They listened in silence until Suoh stood. Shu copied him. "There's a stadium nearby."

"I need the training," Shu nodded. "Race you?"

The Salamander blader grinned at him. "You are dead to me, Kurenai."

They took off.

---

"Do you always train like this?"

Shu launched again, arms protesting. His hoodie was soaked. "This is nothing. Your teacher climbed a mountain to train. I don't have time for something so irrational, though, so I'll make use of this place."

Suoh dropped from the tree where he'd been doing pull-ups and paced over. "What are you training for?"

The Chimera blader narrowed his eyes at the stadium, trying to gauge where the next launch might land. "I don't understand."

"I get that you're the leader of a major club now, but it still doesn't make sense." The gold-eyed blader crouched, curling in on himself, then jumped. He landed on the small roof protecting the stadium. Suoh's head popped over the side. "I've been training with Lui Shirosagi for five years, and I've never seen him run- at a dead sprint- for two hours. Ever." Suoh jumped back onto the ground. "But here you are. So I repeat: what are you training for?"

He was just going to ask over and over and interrupt his training if Shu didn't reply. "To beat Phi. What else?"

Both of his eyes widened and his lips parted in a near-silent oh.

"If you want to help, battle me. Humans are better to practice against."

When Suoh got tired of losing and Shu's arm couldn't take anymore movement, they headed back.

----

"You guys were almost late~" Phi pouted. Then he looked at them. "You two look awful."

Suoh huffed an exhausted curse. "You try keeping up with Kurenai." He went to his apartment to change, leaving Shu with the Phoenix.

"Where were you today?" Phi asked.

"Training."

"You're always training," he sighed. "You know, the rest of the Albino Squad is worried about you."

"Consider me notified," he replied, walking back to his room. Phi followed.

"All of us, I mean."

Shu didn't let himself think about that. Phi's lies were flawless, but only if he convinced himseld he whole-heartedly believed in it. And if he could convince himself he did, it usually ended up being the truth. That was why Phi was so careful about lying.

But if he was telling the truth-
I said, don't think about it!

"What about it?" Shu pulled out his braid and looked through his closet for clothes that weren't old and threadbare.

"You're not seriously thinking about what Free said, are you?" When he was silent, Phi rolled his eyes. "He never spoke to you. All he heard were rumors, and whatever you displayed at the last World Cup. Free doesn't actually know much about you."

"But all of what he said was true," Shu pointed out, taking a fresh set of clothes out of his closet and grabbing a towel.

"Did I say it wasn't?"

Shu scowled over his shoulder. "Are you trying to make me feel better or worse?"

He held up his hands in surrender. "All I'm saying is that there might be more to you than Red Eye."

Shu stopped in the doorway of the bathroom and turned. "Just logic."

"Then why do you smile when you win?" he countered. "Why would you scream when you lose, or laugh when you hear something funny? Why would you be afraid of Red Eye, when logic demands otherwise?" Phi's eyes turned black. "You're human. You can be irrational."

Shu glared. "I had the decision to do all of those. I give what I decide is an appropriate reaction to everything."

Phi was silent for a moment, and he reveled in having the skill to make him shut up. "I want to make a bet with you~"

"Excuse me?"
"Did you not hear me?"

Shu hesitated. "Go on..."

"We're going to karoake. If you sing a song of our chosing three times, then you win. If you don't, then I win and you have to give me Spryzen for the next day."

"What?" Shu hesitated, feeling the beyblade in his pocket warm. "What... what do I get if I win?"

"I suppose I'll be at your mercy for the rest of the night~"

Well, then. Probably not worth the effort, or risk of losing to Phi, but it was a challenge. He couldn't resist his instinct to fight and win.

This was such a bad idea.

"Deal. And one more thing."

"Yes, Shu-senpai?"

"Are you going to go away before I shower?"

---

An anime opening was blaring from the speakers as they walked in, and Shu winced. He'd much rather be training, but he knew he wouldn't be able to do much with only a half-hour break. Then, there was that bet he made.

Completely irrational, but the turnout could potentially help him destroy Phi later. Plus, he really wanted to beat him in something.

Phi had neglected to mention that the place was dark, with random, color-changing lights, and loud, and the noise was coming from everywhere. With his vision and hearing completely unreliable, he could barely move without hitting something.

A hand closed over his own, making him jump. "Come on~" Phi said in his ear. "It gets easier to see."

Another question was pressing on him, but he could barely focus on Phi's hand, much less his thoughts.

Shu tried to keep his vision on Phi in front of him, but even with a set point, his hair was so dim that it just made him feel dizzier.

His knee hit something that felt like a wood table, and he swore quietly.

"There's a couch about a foot to your right," Phi said. "We're near the middle of the room right now."

Shu could barely hear him, but felt a beat-up cushion and sat on it. "Where do you find these places?"

Phi ignored that, settling beside him. "It's mostly empty today. The owners keep the lights off so no one notices~" He stood. "I'll be back. Try not to get lost!"

By the time he disappeared, Shu's hearing and sight had adjusted. There was no reason to let him in on that fact, as he could barely see two feet around him, but it was better than nothing. The question on his mind reappeared. Why was Phi being... nice?

Phi didn't do anything without a reason. He might be genuinely worried about him, which was unlikely. His only goal was to win.

Or he wanted to have a bit of fun, humiliate a potential rival, and show off with a bunch of other people.

That was more likely. Knowing the Phoenix, he aimed solely for self-improvement. If he never wanted to lose again, then he wouldn't. Phi had enough motivation, at least.

Shu's thoughts turned to how he'd win the bet. Suoh would probably be the kindest about it, so he'd be second. The immortal twins would be the worst, Phi slightly better. The Hades blader would just want to humiliate him. Phi would want to test him, see how far he could go without breaking.

Or he might just try to piss Shu off.

Light footsteps announced that the albino was back. Phi sat on the table, setting two drinks on the table. "Miss me~"

Shu picked up his drink and looked more carefully at it. "It's not spiked, is it?"

"It's a normal glass of orange juice," Phi huffed, making a face. "Nothing special." He drank some of Shu's, and he hissed at him. "See?"

He drained the rest of his. "This is your first time at a karaoke place, right?"

Shu nodded, pushing his glass away. He wasn't taking any chances with Phi.

"Well, you can go up for any song you want. The computer has them all, so I'll be sure to pick something embarassing~"

Shitshitshit this was a bad idea. The Chimera blader was about to run as fast as he could away before he heard slightly louder footsteps. Hartes and Suoh appeared out of nowhere, sitting on the edge of the table. "We heard about that bet!"

Phi grinned. "That's right. We all decided Hartes chooses first."

This was going to be a nightmare. He sighed. "What's the first song?"

"New Rules. English song. You know it?"

Shu crossed his arms, trying his best not to look like a pouty five-year old. "Unfortunately."

"Well, go up! Don't keep all those adoring fangirls waiting~"

Phi, I will kill you.

---

Shu flopped onto a couch. "Are we done yet?"

"Just one more!" Phi called out, sauntering over. "My turn!"

Whatever gods may be up there, do me a favor and murder me as fast as you can. Right now.

They didn't listen.

"Have you ever heard of an anime called, 'Kiss Him, Not Me?'"

SHIT.

"No..."

"Well too bad!" Phi winked. "And don't worry about how you look, sweetie. I'm sure your online fans will love it~"

"You posted those?"

"Imma be youtube famous!"

"You are dead to me."

"Just make sure to subscribe to me first~"

Shu threw his hands in the air. "Fine. I'll sing the damn song. And then I get complete control over you, right?"

"Yep-" Phi's face paled. "Oh, that's not good... don't do it!"

The Chimera blader smirked and, imitating Phi, sauntered onto the stage.

And he was smiling this time.

---

"Phiii..." Shu casually approached him, flipping a piece of Storm Spryzen in his hand. "Oh, Phiii~"

The Phoenix looked unnerved. "Yes?"

"I've got something for you!" He held up an outfit he'd conveniently stashed in his backpack and smiled. "Go up on the stage wearing this costume, and start the music for the-"

"Oh shit."

"Caramellan dansen!!!"

And that was when a hundred people died of nosebleed while watching Phi dance in a maid outfit.

Extra:

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU POSTED UP ME SINGING IN ENGLISH?"

"Uhhh..." Hartes hid behind Suoh.

"AND WHY DOES IT HAVE TEN BILLION VIEWS OVERNIGHT?"

"Umm...."

"YOU'RE GONNA DIE!"

----

Yaay! One request down! I need one more request and then I'm gonna wrap up the book! UWU

Again, credit to justadiosaur!

Robin out!