Running through the forest, Zukira followed the one empty path which led to the other end. Sweat formed on her forehead as the little hairs on the back of her neck stuck to her skin like glue. Taking a pause, she looked around. Where did the person go?

A rustle sounded from a nearby bush, and the Blader immediately whipped her head towards it, a small crack sounding from her neck. She studied the bush, her eyes narrowed into slits and moved towards it with silent, cautious steps.

Oh, whoever you are, you are so dead.

Prying the bush open with her gloved hands, her hardened expression faded into a more confused on. "Hold up...Tetsuya?!"

"Craaabby!" he waved at Zukira and stepped out of the bush, dusting himself off. "It seems you have pulled the crab out its shell."

"What?" Zukira raised a brow, staring at him ever so lost.

Just then, Blazer made its way through the forest and spun normall next to its owner's feet. It tipped upwards as though to catch a glimpse of the other Blader in front of it.

"I guess I didn't make myself clear," Tetsuya placed a hand on his hip while his other held up the index finger and took on a more 'authorative' tone. "I came on behalf of Mr.Crabman to escort you back home!"

Indeed that tone made Zukira's skin itch, but she couldn't help but feel annoyed at the words of that...Mr.Crabman,.

"I merely forgot about his existence for a moment there..." she muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes. "Alright. I'll be there, but I just need some more time to stay here to spot any...Bladers worthy of L-Drago."

"Yes, yes! What a nice crab, carrying out her duties ever so diligently! I'll tell Mr. Crabman that you shall be returning tomorrow!" he held up two fingers on each hand, opening and closing them like a pair of pincers.

"Thank you very much, Tetsuya," the brunette replied awkwardly, looking for a way to escape the conversation, but she heard a low growl from her stomach which she covered up with a cough.

"I believe I must get going," she glanced at the moon and turned around, but her attention was caught when she heard the sound of something being clicked in place.

Turning her head around, she spotted Tetsuya pointing his launcher at her. "Not until you battle me," he added with a miserably failing dangerous edge.

Zukira stared at him and let out a sigh, shaking her head.

...

B O O M !

"DARK GASHERRR!!!" Tetsuya sprinted towards his flying bye, disappearing into the cluster of trees.

"Sheesh, he's an oddly weird one," Zukira placed a hand on her neck, lightly massaging it.

"Zukira!"

There came Hikaru, worried and relieved to see her friend, "I heard a loud noise coming from here, so I came here to check it out. Are you alright?"

"I appreciate your concern," Zukira replied, grabbing Hikaru's hand with both of hers, "but I'm okay!"

"That's a relief," Hikaru huffed, "anyways, who was that guy? Or that person you were chasing after."

"Oh! Well...it was just another one of those goons, you know? The ones which have an obsession with stealing people's points and all."

Hikaru smirked, "And I presume you showed them who's boss?"

"Absolutely."

Both of them chuckled softly.

"I have to say: even with your absence, Blazer still fought pretty well!" Hikaru complimented, "it's so cool to see such a strong bond between you guys."

"You could say we're practically joined by the hip," Zukira winked, early a playful eye roll from the blue-haired girl. "Well then, let's get going. I'll drop you off to your place," the brunette offered, taking Hikaru's hand once again.

"Woah! Are you sure?"

Zukira turned towards her with a teeth smile, her hazel eyes practically glowing under the moon's silvery threads, "100%"

      🌙

After dropping Hikaru off, our beloved teenager made her way back to the hotel. Again, it was a quiet night, and there was nothing more Zukira enjoyed: a nice walk during breezy weather. The air was crisp, sending gusts of wind about her way once in a while and making her nose cold. Ah, the Monsoon season was a blessing but quite unpredictable.

Reaching the sloping green belt, Zukira stopped and grasped the railing, peering down at the shiny flow of water; its surface glistened like pearls upon the ocean. How mesmerizing. She hopped over the railing and took a small skid down, placing herself on the ground before fully laying back. Her eyes twinkled at the sight of the innumerable, tiny dots flickering on the dark blanket.

She raised a hand towards the stars, her index finger pointing and trying to connect them to make out a constellation which...she eventually did. She pulled out her journal and flipped towards a blank page with the word 'Constellations' written on it with black ink. As she turned the pages, there were sketches and footnotes of the different constellations the universe offered. She stopped at a particular constellation and held her jounal up to the sky, aligning it with the cluster of stars in the sky.

"Draco..." she whispered, lowering the journal as she took in the sight of the grand celestial body.

For some reason when she uttered its name, he popped up in her mind mostly. After all, he was the one wielding the power of the Forbidden Bey which just so happened to be a summer constellation.

"So beautiful..." she then held up Blazer, but she couldn't help but feel a strange, heavy feeling in her chest. A sense of not belonging.

She frowned, letting out a solemn exhale, "We really fall under someone else's category. Don't we, Blazer?" she spoke in a soft, sorrowful tone, "everybody has their own unique constellation, why not us?"

The bey stood still, its metal frame reflecting off the moonlight. Its 'eye' remained unblinking (obviously since it was engraved in the facebolt), but Zukira couldn't help but feel out of place. She sprawled out her arms and legs, feeling the grass graze her body and continued staring at the sky.

What is my purpose?

Light tears filled her eyes as her mind slowly began to spiral, but she couldn't lose hope, no, not so quickly. From the deepest depths of her mind, she remembered her grandfather's words:

*
"The stars recollect themselves when the time is right," he gave her a smile, the wrinkles on his face stretching, "you will get to see your friend's constellation soon, for now it is in a deep sleep."

"Deep sleep?" she clutched onto her grandfather's arm with a curious tilt.

"Yes. When the time is right, the heavens will respond with a new light in the sky, and you'll get to see Blazer up high with all its glory."

*

"A constellation inside a constellation," she turned to her side, staring at the clutched bey in her hand, "is that...really possible?"

   🏙️

It was another bustling day in Metal Bey City, and Zukira found herself roaming the streets once again.

"Hurry! Hurry! We need to go battle Gingka!"

"Okay, okay! I'm coming!"

She watched as two little boys ran past her, taking a left turn and disappearing off. Her curiosity peaked and she followed them, stopping by a tree with a thick trunk. She hid her body behind the tree, quickly putting on her mask and watching intently.

This was the 8-Pit which was once owned by Madoka's father before she took charge of the place. It was a small building, but Zukira could see the various bey parts hung from the wall in front of the cash register.

Hmmm, how interesting. I wonder if there's more to this place...

Looking left and right, she crossed the road and sauntered through the door, but the sound of the bell ringing took her by surprise and was ready to run. However, nobody appeared so she took a sigh of relief before proceeding.

She could hear the muffled screams and cheers of multiple kids from afar, and she couldn't help but feel drawn to them. She strode through the hallway, her heart beating with anticipation and a bit of apprehension. Her stomach grew queasy, but she kept her chin up and shoulders pulled back.

As the cheers neared, she rounded a corner and hid herself behind it, peering into the room. It was quite crowded, and the kids were surrounding a small bey stadium, watching with excitement. Upon further scrutiny, she spotted a kid with navy blue hair with a light blue shirt, a dark blue jacket on top and beige/grey trousers.

"Come on, Akira! You got this!" Another kid, presumably Akira's friend, cheered him up. He was a chubby but adorable kid with spiky brown hair, wearing a blue T-Shirt with a red shirt on top and beige trousers: Osamu.

Zukira's eyes hovered over to Akira's opponent, her heart skipping a beat. Dark red spiky hair, the blue headband, the long white scarf: there was no doubt in her observation.

It was Gingka Hagane.

"Go, Pegasus!" Gingka called out, and his bey struck into Akira's earning sweet victory for himself. "Aw, yeah!"

"Wow, great going, Gingka! Can you battle me next?!"

If my memory doesn't fail me, that's Kenta. Her eyes darted over to the girl with goggles on her head. And she's Madoka. Gingka's friends. She watched as the trio talked amongst themselves with such...closeness. Zukira waved a hand in the air as though she was shooing a fly and shook her head. No, no. I must NOT let these useless thoughts clog my head. I must keep on track and not falter.

As the kids swarmed around Gingka and latched onto him like koalas, Madoka and Kenta laughed at the scene, but this was the moment when Kenta's eyes landed on the door, spotting a shadow casting on the ground.

"Hey!" Kenta called out, "who's there?"

Crap.

Zukira took off. She ran all the way back to the entrance, bumping into an empty rack. Collecting herself, she bolted out of the door as Kenta chased her.

"Hey! Wait a minute! Please come back!"

With her terror mounting every second, her mind thought of the worst case scenarios. The last thing she wanted was to be appeared in a negative light.

"Listen to me!" Kenta suddenlt appeared in front of her, causing her to stumble on her step for just a moment.

Both of them stared at each other for a long time, with Kenta panting softly. "Wait, it's you! Zukira isn't it?!"

"How do you know who I am?" she retorted, her tone low and deadly. Uh oh...

Kenta gulped, raising his hand mid-air in surrender, "WAH! I-I didn't mean to startle you or anything! I just- heard a lot about you!"

"Heard about me?" she tilted her head to the side, attempting to intimidate the poor kid (which she did.)

Right then, two pairs of running feet stopped behind her at a distance.

Oh, great heavens...

She didn't need to look back because she already knew who it was.

"It's-it's her!" Madoka squeaked, "Hey! What do you want from Kenta?!" she spoke defensively.

"What do I want?" she craned her neck to catch a glimpse of her, "why don't you ask your friend here as to why he made such an effort in following me out here?"

"But- you were watching us from the shadows while we were-!"

"Silence. Don't interrupt me when I speak," Zukira warned in that same low tone but more aggressively.

Taken back by her sudden aggressiveness, Gingka took a step forward, his brows furrowed. "I don't know what yoy were trying to achieve from us by watching us from the shadows, but you're the same Blader who battled Hikaru, weren't you?"

How does he know?

Zukira took a step back and let out a low growl. It was either Fight of Flight, but she didn't know what to. "Yes. Yes I am. Hikaru and I are good friends. It was nothing but a friendly match."

"If that's the case then...why is an incredible Blader like you with the Dark Nebula?"

That question was understandable. After what happened at Koma Village, Gingka was bound to ask people why they worked for the organization who technically intruded his hometown.

Zukira fell silent, letting out a sigh and letting her gaze drop for a second. "I...I have my reasons," she replied in a soft tone but backed up immediately, "but I won't let any of you get in my way."

"Wait! But-"

The brunette pressed onto Blazer's facebolt: a Russian violet, fiery aura appeared around her and the projection of the nightmarish bat-dragon shown behind her, its jaws wide open. It made the illusion of drowning their surroundings in dim lighting, spreading its wings territorially.

The duo backed off while Kenta let out a whimper, frozen to the spot.

The creature let out a guttural roar and flew up.

"WH-WHAT'S HAPPENING?!" Madoka exclaimed, holding onto Gingka.

Gingka clenched his teeth, his hand balling into a fist. "Stay behind me, Madoka."

Zukira's long hair flowed with the wind, "Heed my warning, Gingka and friends. One word to Hikaru about my identity, none of you will be spared."

The creature then came down with a ball of light forming in its mouth. A bright, white light flashed, blinding the other three for a good time.

After the light died and the smoke cleared, one thing caught their eye.

"Ah!" Gingka stared at the empty, scorched spot in front of him,

"She's gone!"