— This chapter is based off of Beyblade Metal Fusion: Episode 23  ~ Zee

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"Hey, hey! Wake up, Zuki!"

Zuki?

The sleepy brunette opened her eyes and let out a yawn, lifting her head up and rubbing her eyes. Having adjusted to the light, Zukira blinked and fully opened her eyes, them going wide after seeing the little kid's back facing her. She gasped to herself and quickly put on her mask.

"Oh hey, you're up! We landed just a while ago. Now, come on! You don't want to be the last one entering the building!" The kid made his way to the door, "oh, by the way, my name's Yu! It's nice to meet you!" Yu exited the copter while flapping his little arms.

Gee, that kid sure is full of energy, however, I still do believe he needs help after labelling Ryuga's Dark move as "cool."

Zukira got up and walked out of the copter. Yu was right; she was the last one to enter the building, for Ryuga and Doji were already inside.

She made her way downstairs and was able to catch up on Yu who was skipping his way through the corridor till Doji's office.

"Oh, hey, Zuki! That was pretty quick of you! I thought you probably fell asleep again!" Yu giggled, resting both arms behind his head.

"Oh? And...why do you say so?" Zukira put on her gloves, slowing down for a bit.

"That's what Ryuga told me! Something about it being an old habit of yours? I dunno, either way, Ryuga is SO COOL! I'm like- his biggest fan!"

Zukira fell silent and felt her stomach do a little jump. What? Ryuga told him WHAT? She cracked her knuckles and shook her head.

"Are you sure you're a big fan and not an air conditioner?" Zukira snickered at her own little joke and looked away.

"HEY! That's not funny!" Yu stomped his feet and turned towards the brunette, "either way, a fan is a fan okay!" He crossed his arms.

"Heh, whatever you say, little guy."

Zukira walked past Yu who was bickering in the background and walked through the door, seeing Doji first things.

"Oh? It's good to see you once again, dear friend!" He turned towards Zukira, "say, how was your ride back?"

"It was...okay. I slept most of the way back." She replied while rubbing her neck, not confident about her answer.

Yu entered the room and his eyes went wide as saucers.

"Woahhh!" He twirled around, marvelled at the sight of a new place. "This is so cool!" He ran up to one of Doji's cactuses, "hey! You have one of these too!"

"Be careful with it, Yu. They can hurt you." Doji warned him.

Yu then began running around the room, stopping to look at the things one by one.

"Zukira, why don't you show little Yu around the place? Perhaps you two could be able to create a bond as you also joined Dark Nebula not so long ago."

Yu then made his back to Zukira and held her hand.

"Yay! I get to explore the place with Zuki!" Yu laughed with the brightest smile ever.

Zukira nodded and led Yu out of the room.

✨

"Woahhhh, this place is so big!" Yu looked around the training room where Ryuga and Zukira had their battle which was then interrupted because of Doji's arrival.

Upon entering the room, Zukira felt chills go down her spine. She still remembered how it was her first time witnessing Ryuga's Dark Move and how the other Blader who was knocked unconscious.

Zukira saw Yu run down the stairs and headed towards the empty arena.

"A bey arena, so cool!! Hey, Zuki! Why don't you come down and battle me?"

Zukira felt her heart pang. Those were the exact same words Ryuga had said to her when he was battling against the other Dark Nebula members. She took a deep breath and calmed herself down.

"Aha...about that. I'm..not really a Blader, Yu." She felt bad for lying to him, but after all, he was a little kid and kids do tend to rat out secrets accidentally and on purpose.

"Aw man!" Yu pouted and trudged his way back up, "say, can I see your room? That's the only place I haven't seen yet."

And so, both of them made their way down the hallway to Zukira's room. Yu opened the door and ran inside, doing a little twirl as he observed everything.

"Wow, your room's so organised and it looks pretty relaxing too!"

Yu plopped onto Zukira's bed, swinging his legs while humming happily.

"Riiight!" Yu stopped swinging his legs and gasped, "I nearly forgot about the Survival battle!"

"Survival what now?" Zukira leaned forward.

"The survival battle! It'll be held by the WBBA AND AND!" He grabbed Zukira's hands, "the winner of the battle can wish for anything and the WBBA will make it come true, which is why, I'll wish for BATTLE BLADERS!!" He jumped from the bed.

Zukira stared at him.

"You don't know what Battle Bladers will be about tho, right?"

"Aha - yeah..." Yu scratched his head, "I'll ask Doji about it some other time. Right now, I'll go get some rest. I'm part of the survival battle and I'm gonna win this thing! Although..." he tugged Zukira's arm, "it would've been more fun if you were in it."

Zukira couldn't help but smile under that mask. This kid was so pure. She bent down and ruffled his hair.

"Even if I'm not in it, you're taking part, right? Make sure you win so that Battle Bladers becomes a reality." She gave a thumbs up.

"YAY!!!" Yu jumped and gave Zukira a hug who returned it with no hesitation whatsoever.

Yu ran down the hallway, waving the brunette while doing so.

🏙️

The Survival Battle, where Bladers were boarded onto a plane and had to jump down to one of the islands where the tournament was being held. Bladers had to make they way through by battling opponents and eliminating them. Numerous determined and pumped up Bladers had joined the Battle in hopes of becoming the winner.

Gingka and his friends were also part of the battle who made their way through by battling others. Little Yu was able to befriend the teal haired boy, Kenta and the big guy Benkei. However, when the time for battle came, Yu swiftly defeated Kenta, Benkei, and a blue-haired girl named Hikaru with his awesome power.

He eventually advanced to the final battle where he took on both Gingka and Kyoya. His bey had the ability to turn the stadium into sand and using his special move, Inferno Blast, he defeated Gingka, taking home the title of being the victorious one at the Survival Battle. Throughout the entire thing, Zukira couldn't help but feel proud for the little guy. She could already feel the bond between her and Yu. She really liked his energy and was over the moon when he had won, seemingly forgetting the real purpose behind Yu's wish for a moment.

That was when Yu made his wish for Battle Bladers which caused a stir amongst the Bladers who took part in the tournament. It was also the moment when it was revealed; whoever would make it till the final round of Battle Bladers would have to face Ryuga at the end.

Of course there would be a twist towards the end.

Zukira watched from the copter's open door as Gingka had pulled out his launcher once again, aiming it at Ryuga who was standing high up on a cliff where everyone could be seen. Ryuga can professionally terrorise everyone within seconds. How...terrifying.

From the crowd, she noticed Madoka looking at her with a confused look, but that confusion wore away when she gasped and nudged Kyoya, who also looked in her direction in surprise. Kyoya stepped forward once again, his hand clenched into a fist.

"It's you again!" Kyoya yelled, causing all heads to turn towards him.

Zukira facepalmed. What obsession does this guy have with diverting all attention to me?!

"Why do you follow these guys around?! And most of all, why would you even work besides Ryuga?! Do you have ANY idea what this guy is capable of?!"

Zukira rolled her eyes (which wasn't visible because of her mask) and groaned. She cleared her throat.

"I'm afraid I'm not answerable to any of you." Zukira began, trying to match her 'evil' voice with that of Doji and Ryuga's. "Well then," she looked at Kyoya, "if you're so curious about why I'm with Dark Nebula, then get through Battle Bladers and perhaps Ryuga will give you an insight!" She laughed. "All of you look like little ants from this angle." Her tone changed to that of a serious one as she glared at everybody below.

Ryuga then hopped onto his copter which began to elevate from the ground. He retrieved L-Drago and ceased his laughter.

"There's no point in defeating you as you are now. Build up your points and come see me at Battle Bladers." And so, Ryuga's copter flew away, with Zukira's following from behind.

💫

"That was quite entertaining." Zukira took off her mask and rubbed her neck as she made her way back inside, not noticing Ryuga creeping up to her from behind.

"I should say, that was quite impressive."

Zukira jumped a little and turned around, eyeing Ryuga who had a hand on his hip.

"What got into you? That slight change in your attitude even made that other guy know his place." Ryuga continued.

Zukira didn't know whether Ryuga was being sarcastic or actually complimenting her for once. She grinned a little and crossed her arms.

"It's pretty obvious who I learnt it from, you know."

Yu caught up to the two Bladers.

"There you guys are! That was pretty fun, right?!" He chirped, "Say! Zuki."

Zukira placed her mask in front of her face as she screamed internally because of Yu's sudden appearance.

Ryuga snickered at the nickname and Zukira was ready to kick him.

"Yes, Yu?" She responded in a friendly manner.

"Since I'm the winner of the Survival Battle...CAN YOU TAKE OFF YOUR MASK PLEASE?!" He insisted with his eyes almost popping out of his sockets.

"WHAT?!" Zukira felt her heart do a summersault and she staggered back. She was NOT expecting such a weird request from Yu.

What was even worse was Ryuga just standing there and watching everything with a smirk on his face.

"Aha, about that...I'm afraid I ca-"

"AW, COME ON!! YOUR FACE CAN'T BE THAT BAD!! PLEASE TAKE IT OFF PLEASEEEEEE!!!" He latched onto Zukira's like a monkey with a tight grip.

Zukira placed a hand on his head and attempted to push him back, but to no avail, Yu had grabbed onto her leg with all his might.

Ryuga let out a laugh, "Seriously! You can't even push him away?! Say, your face can't be that bad that you can't take that mask off now, so it?"

Zukira felt herself fuming from the inside. Oh how much she wanted to slap that smirk off of his face, but with Ryuga staring and Yu throwing a tantrum, it made her feel tense and she gripped her hair in frustration.

"UGH, FINE!" She gently pushed Yu to the side.

She moved off her mask away from her face and rubbed the bridge of her nose, looking down at you with an annoyed look.

"There, are you happy now?" She didn't intend to be mean, but she did it to hide her embarrassment because of Ryuga witnessing everything.

Yu's eyes widened once again and he gasped.

"Woahhh, your eyes are so pretty!! And that purple streak!! I want one too now..." She circled Zukira thrice who shook her head and motioned Ryuga to zip his lips right when he was about to roast her again.

"Now that I have accepted your request, I would like to go back to my room."

Zukira walked off to her room, not listening to what Ryuga was saying. She took off her coat and hung it around her chair. She stretched and placed her mask on the desk. I swear this mask will damage my ears one day. She caressed the scar on her right cheek and sat on the ground, closing her eyes for a few moments.

When she opened them, she saw Yu's big green eyes gawking into her soul.

"AAH!" Zukira scooted back, "Yu! You scared me. Just knock on the door next time, okay?" She got up and brushed her sleeves, "besides, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be um...in your room?"

"La, La, La, can't hear you!" He blew a raspberry and sat on her bed.

Zukira closed the door and silence hung over the room.

There was something Zukira wanted to ask, but her anxiety held her back. She felt a knot being tied in her stomach and her palms beginning to get sweaty. She clasped her hands and tied her hair into a ponytail.

"Hey, Yu. I have a question." She sat next to him.

"Did you...talk to Doji about Battle Bladers then?" She handed Yu a lollipop and drummed her fingers on the bed, waiting for a response.

Yu sprung up with joy and took the lollipop, unwrapped it and popped it in his mouth.

"Oh, yeah! He did tell me a bunch of stuff about Battle Bladers." He continued licking the lollipop.

"Battle Bladers? What about it? May I know too?" Although she did know about it, there was something Zukira wanted to confirm.

"Hm," Yu put a finger on his chin, "well..."

*

"Well then, Yu. I am truly grateful for all of your work." Doji said with his glass of orange juice in one hand and his other resting on his thigh.

"Oh, stop. Winning a tournament that Ryuga isn't in is easy! It's a cake! You don't have to thank me for something silly like that!" Yu replied while waving his arms sideways.

"That's not what I was talking about."

"Huh..." Yu fell silent and listened to Doji.

"Actually, until now, I must confess I've had some serious doubt hosting Battle Bladers at all. The reason is, Yu, that I thought that there was no bey in the land that could possibly compete with Ryuga's skills. However, when I saw you that day, I questioned myself about that. There are excellent Bladers like you who have not yet been discovered." Doji went on, "If we were to hold a large tournament, we would be able to uncover even more of these exceptional Bladers."

Doji finished his speech and took a sip of the juice, turning towards Yu with an accomplished smile.

"So in the long run, holding Battle Bladers will be extremely valuable and providing a feast of energy for L-Drago."

"Though in the end I lost to Ryuga, but I wasn't sad about it."

Yu began to do a little dance.

"Since then, I've been a big fan of Ryuga's! I mean he's super cool and the first Blader ever to defeat me and he has really awesome hair and a happening cape. If it helps Ryuga, I'll do anything!"

Doji looked at Yu with a mischievous look, "Hmm, yes, that's what I was hoping for. I'll be counting on you from now on as well."

"Yeah!"

*

"Uh-huh...I see." Zukira looked at the ground, trying not to give off the impression that she was concerned, concerned about Doji's true motives behind this tournament and Yu being involved in it without being aware of any potential dangers. He was just a kid after all and what would happen if Yu failed at something?

She gulped and tugged at her sleeve, lifting her head back up and stretching.

"Well, I'm going to take a little nap now. Why don't you go battle some of the Dark Nebula members?" She smiled while wrapping an arm around Yu who was playing with her mask.

"Aw, man! That's okay though. I don't mind at all! I'm just glad that I was able to make a new friend and spend time with you!" He hugged Zukira once again and jumped off the bed.

He sprinted down the corridor, waving Zukira bye as he did so. He soon disappeared, leaving Zukira by herself as she drowned herself into an endless loop of thoughts and overthinking.