It was a fairly anticipating day, for it was Teru's match against Gingka which Zukira had been dying to watch for some odd reason.

She glanced at the clock. There were only 10 minutes till the broadcasting would begin. Groaning, she scrubbed her face and took a few steps away from the panel.

"Is there a delay from their side again? I swear, the WBBA needs to get their stuff together," Zukira complained, placing a hand on her neck.

"It appears so. We just need a few more minutes till the connection's fully secured and then the broadcasting will begin," one of the attendants informed.

"Hmm..." Zukira hummed, turning towards the DNO logo on the wall.

Verily, this was the same room where she once was with Doji & Yu, where she was also able to witness Tsubasa's spectacular power. It brought back an odd wave of nostalgia giving that they had only know each other for months.

"And it's live!"

Zukira made room in between the two attendants and watched intently.

~
— This part is based off of Beyblade Metal Fusion: Episode 36.

"Here we go, Bladers, oh yeah! And what a match we have here, folks! It doesn't get any better than this. The final battle will be Gingka versus Teru!"
(A/N: Again, the sentences enclosed in [] will be used to show Zukira's thoughts and commented during the present time.)

["Oh, wow, this is so cool! I'm super excited," Zukira leaned forwards, her palms placed underneath her chin.]

"I always knew that if I kept winning, I would meet you in competition eventually, Gingka," Teru raised his launcher, "time to battle hard!"

"Alright!" Gingka raised his launcher as well, a competitive, but friendly smile on his face.

"Here we go, Bladers! Ready?" Blader DJ led the countdown.

"3!"

"2!"

"1!"

"LET IIIIIT RIP!"

Once the beys were released, they landed on the stadium floor and took their positions.

"Alright! It's time to dance. My Earth Virgo, Primmadona! The curtain has risen on the stage!"

"Virgo's not short on spin power; his launch power is totally awesome!" Gingka commented, "but Pegasus can handle it."

"Pegasus has...an incredibly strong spin power. It seems that Gingka is as good as they say he is," Teru added.

As Pegasus charged towards Virgo and struck into the bey, it bounced back.

"What?!" Gingka exclaimed, bamboozled.

"Nice twirl, Virgo!"

"One more time, Pegasus!"

When it struck again, it rebounded just like last time, with no effect on Virgo.

"Check it out! Pegasus's attacks don't bother Virgo in the slightest. In fact Virgo seems to be spinning even faster!"

[Upon hearing that, Zukira's eyes marvelled at the sight of the graceful bey. "It's spinning even faster? Okay, that's something I haven't heard in a while..." Unlike a certain someone I know who keeps getting stronger the more power he steals from his opponents' beys...]

"Look! That fantastic spinning form is like dancing a beautiful ballet," Blader DJ carried on with his commentary.

"Yes, Virgo is like my own prima ballet dancer, just as I was a dancer too once. They called me a genius, noble dancer,"

"Huh? Then why did you become a Blader?" Gingka's eyes widened, a surge of shock going through him.

[This story. She was familiar to it. He had told her this story when they met each other last night. By fate. Zukira couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for the poor guy.]

"I guess it was just meant to be, Gingka. Oh yes, on that day..."

It was unfortunate.

A huge loss for Teru.

An accident.

The accident which led him to injuring his ankle and disappeared from the ballet world.

"A dancer who can't dance is like a bird that can't fly. My dream had always been to become the best dancer in the world! In the depths of despair, I spent time trying to recover," Teru raised his head and a smile formed on his face, "it was only then I saw you and Pegasus."

"Huh??"

"Not being able to move, I was stuck in bed for a long time. I had just turned on the TV and it was you who jumped out at me, dancing around the stadium. Pegasus was beautiful," he took a brief pause, "and you two were bursting with the spark I had lost. It was then that I felt like I had seen new hope shine bright. And so, my prima ballerina became Earth Virgo."

["Right! I remember him mentioning that his— uh...little sister- I dunno who it was- gave him Earth Virgo!" Zukira leaned forward a bit more, "talk about emotional support!"
"Zukira, stop hogging my space!" Teressa squealed, nearly falling off her seat.]

"If I'm with Virgo, I can be a star again! In a bey stadium, in the stage of my new dream!"

"I see now: that's what you meant by 'supporter'," Gingka said.

"In order for us to shine even brighter on this new stage, Gingka, I will defeat you!"

"So you found a new goal and had the courage to start over again. You must be very determined. Impressive! But I can't lose either."

Gingka could hear it. The sound of his pointer getting crushed so mercilessly.

"I will never lose again, never! I will grab the reins and reach my goal no matter what. Go, Pegasus!"

["OOH!! Things are about to get VERY real!" Zukira clapped excitedly.
"You seem mighty excited about this match, what's the catch?" Teressa raised a brow.
"Um-" the brunettes shrugged, "nothing special:]"]

The battle carried on as it should: beys clashing into one another, striking back and forth, hitting the stadium walls and rebounding. However, what caught Gingka's eyes was the 'invisible shield' Virgo was able to create by disrupting the air currents and not letting Pegasus attack from above.

This was the same method which was used to defeat Hikaru's special move.

After much thinking, Gingka found a way. He couldn't attack from above, so he went below.

"Go, Pegasus!"

Pegasus circles Virgo, enveloped in a blue flame and left a complete, circular trail behind it. Wind began to form as it pulled itself inward, taking the form of a bright beam. Virgo then began to float in the air and Pegasus took its stance from here.

"Pegasus! Special move: Starbringer!"

The bey clashed into Virgo and a ball of blue formed centre stage, exploding in the process and drowning the stadium in flashing white. After that light died down, Virgo landed right behind Teru, stadium out.

"The...winner is....the one! And only Gingka!"

The crowd cheered and applauded once again, overjoyed with the final result.

Gingka retrieved Pegasus and caught his breath, "I created my new special move: Pegasus, starbringer!"

"Congratulations on winning, Gingka. You are the one who shines the brightest after all."

"You guys were shining too, you know," Gingka replied.

"Huh?"

"In Beyblade, can't shine by yourself. It's because I had a strong opponent like you that Pegasus and I could shine. Thank you, Teru!" Gingka gave him a thumbs up.

The blond boy smiled, "Oh so then, Gingka. We will become even stronger, won't you battle both of us again sometime?"

"Of course!"

~

"What a match! Really had me at the edge of my seat!" Zukira walked through the corridor, rubbing her neck. "Good thing I met Teressa, or else I would've died of loneliness without any female friends here!"

Proceeding through, she saw Tsubasa emerge through the shadows, a serious expression plastered on his face.

"Ah! Tsubasa," Zukira grinned, "fancy seeing you," she noticed his serious demeanour, and her grin faded, "is...everything alright?"

The Rooftop

"Wait- you're leaving the Dark Nebula Organisation?!"

Zukira stared at him in disbelief, the wind making her long hair and trench coat flowing in sync. She placed a hand on her heart, clenching the fabric of her vest.

"I'm afraid so," Tsubasa looked away much upset himself, "but it is for a righteous cause. I couldn't myself a place here."

"What do you mean?" her voice was low and soft, in pure disbelief.

Tsubasa took a few steps towards her and took a deep breath, "I'm from the WBBA, Zukira."

The brunette's eyes widened, her lips parting in shock. She stared at his face as a million things went over her mind, but she couldn't deceive or bash him for this decision.

For both of them hated Doji.

Gathering herself, Zukira nodded slightly as she felt something tickle her nose and soon, her eyes brimmed with tears. "Oh, come on— now's not the time!" she rubbed her eye till it was red.

"Are you alright? Your eye's really red," Tsubasa reached out a hand in concern.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she quickly retorted and opened her eye. "My allergies decided to kick in at the most random moment ever."

That was clearly a lie.

"Mhm...I see," Tsubasa looked away and observed the setting sun, the last of its rays spilling on the duo like paint. "Zukira, I need you to promise me something."

She looked at him.

"I know that you feel hurt about losing a really good friend of yours, but I want you to do whatever it takes to infiltrate this place and destroy Doji's plans. This place isn't safe, even for Yu. I told him about a plan I came up with and when he puts that into action, you're going to help him too, okay?"

"Okay but...what about me?"

Tsubasa stopped. His breath hitched as he stared into those hazel eyes. He let out a deep sigh, "Zukira, I care deeply for you, and even I'm concerned about your safety here, but I trust that you can look after yourself. I know that I may sound like a jerk right now, but I hope you understand where I'm coming from. You're the only one who can fully comprehend the situation, Zukira."

She felt a strange feeling. A heroic, but queasy feeling. That one feeling you get when everyone turns their eyes on you, watching your every step. She looked down at stared at Blazer before looking back up, nodding briefly.

"I understand," she stated after pushing back her tears and putting on a tough look. "

"And I know for a fact that deep down, you want to save Ryuga too, don't you?"

"Wait, how do you—"

Tsubasa smiled warmly, "You told me yourself: you guys were fairly close when you were younger and seeing him fall into the evil side feels wrong."

"The- the fact that you remember that is so amazing..." she muttered, "but...yeah. He may be a jerk, but...I'll do my best. I can't guarantee anything though."

"Whatever you do, just know that I'll be proud of you—"Tsubasa was cut off when Zukira hugged him out of pure appreciation, thankful doe him.

He, too, smiled once again and returned the hug. When they parted, Tsubasa looked at the sky once again. "At nighttime, I will finally leave this place and never look back. It was a pleasure meeting you, Zukira. You're one of the most genuine friends I've ever met and I'm glad we did."

"And I'm thankful that we happened to cross paths. I hope your stay at the WBBA treats you well because, you never know, you might meet a familiar face someday," she winked.

Tsubasa chuckled, "Welk then," he turned around and peered over his shoulder, "this is goodbye, my dear friend. We shall meet again, but for now, I must put my plan in action and get this over with. Take care, Zukira."

After that much emotional torment, Tsubasa began to walk away, with Zukira's smile fading in the background as she watched her friend with the heavy realisation sinking deep into her heart.

"Please be careful, Tsubasa..."