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"Healing doesn't mean the damage never existed. It means the damage no longer control our lives" 

-Anonymous -

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Shu never had a good start of his days after the incidents lacing around him. The bullying sometimes got out of hand to the point where they would physically hurt Shu leaving the albino on the floor of some abandoned training room whimpering in pain. But he always hid it, the bruises on his torso were always covered by his shirt. His sore legs taunted him whenever he tried to launch but whenever someone asked, he said it was from jogging in the morning. Excuses, that's what he always had. No matter the circumstances he always had reasons. Dylan was careful enough not to leave too significant bruises where other people could see. He had always been a tactful person. Shu messaged his leg looking around. There was no one in the training room except for him. It was lunch break and everyone was crowded inside the majestic cafeteria. Shu did not have the appetite, the last few days he had lost so much weight and if he lost more he would be better off to be a walking skeleton in the Halloween. Lucas had been busier the last few days that they hardly got the time to talk to. There was something bothering him these days. His sparkling eyes are shadowed with dark eyes bags and often his lips were settled into a deep frown.

Shu stood up and walked into the cafeteria. He felt at least he should try to eat something. There were groups scattered around, groups that Shu would never belong into. He saw Free and Joshua sitting in the corner table with Ethan. In the past few weeks those three have grown closer. At first, Joshua followed Free around annoying the blonde and somehow they ended up getting along. Ethan was always disappearing into thin air after the battles but one day Joshua convinced the three of them to hang out and get to know each other and Ethan ended up getting along with the two. Shu didn't really care about anything, but he wanted to know more about Ethan. Especially about those mysterious disappearances. There has to be something big happening.

Shu dismissed the thoughts and walked toward the buffet when someone stormed out of the cafeteria hurriedly slamming on Shu tackling both of them to the ground. Shu winced at the hard contact and raised his eyes to see a man. Probably around his early 20s. He was wearing a mask and a cap that Shu could barely make out his facial features. His gold eyes glinted panickily as he stood up. Muttering a sorry, he stood up and left without a word. Shu just layed there frozen, staring at the exit doors still swaying slightly from the sudden gesture. "Just how long are you going to lay there?" A voice said breaking his stance. Shu looked up to see Joshua with his hand extended to help him up.

"Thanks," Shu muttered, taking it, letting himself pull up to his feet.

"Join us," He said, leading Shu to their table. Ethan and Free were watching them both as they arrived. Shu hesitated averting his eyes.

"I-" He said, looking back to Dylan's table where the brown haired boy glared at him. A warning glance painted over his face. "I have to-" Shu faltered looking for an excuse.

"Not like you have to do training in the lunch hour, right?" Free asked.

"Well, yeah" Shu shrugged, finally giving up as he sat beside Ethan. Ethan didn't even spare a look at him. His eyes were fixated upon his meal.

"You have grown thin," Joshua stated, piling up Shu's plate with various foods. Shu blinked, looking at the amount of food. He had never been a big eater and he didn't remember when was the last time someone even cared about his meals.

"I can't eat this much stuff," Shu said, poking through the food absentmindedly.

"Young people these days" Joshua sighed dramatically, placing a hand on his chin. Free snorted beside him,

"You're not that old yourself, are you?"

Joshua just grinned at him and continued eating. The pleasant conversation continued and even Ethan talked with them. Shu never thought he would see a day where Ethan would talk so freely with someone other than his own bey. "Wait wait wait" Joshua suddenly said, grabbing all of their attention. "You two have been roommates for over a month but did not talk a single time?"

Ethan shrugged, "Not like we have anything to talk with"

"Damn" Joshua leaned back on his chair. "At least, nice to meet you?"

Ethan scowled, "Drop it Josh"

Free didn't say anything. He just watched Shu poking around his meal. That's when he realized how true Joshua's statement was. Shu had grown remarkably thin, almost sickly looking with the tired look on his face. Even through the bickering of Ethan and Joshua he could see the distance look on Shu's face. It was like he was not himself anymore. That was not something he expected to see on a young person like Shu. Just what would've been bothering him so much for Shu to look like he carries the world on his shoulders?

Breaking the arguments Dylan walked to their table. A smile hovering over his lips. "Yo Shu!" He called, making the albino visibly flinch away. "We're having a sleepover today, wanna join?"

Shu blinked, processing the words. Free carefully observed the behavior of the albino, surely, he did not seem to have a pleasant mood to join the sleepover. "No thanks" He said firmly, averting his gaze back to his food.

Dylan pouted, wrapping one of his arms around his shoulder with a mask of sorrow. "We are really looking forward to having you with us. You hardly talk with us anymore. C'mon, you gotta be more social mate"

Shu wasn't ready to change his idea about Dylan and his suspicious sleepover. If Dylan was planning it, there should be something crafty embedded into it. "I'm sorry" Shu said, not sounding apologetic in the least. "I'm going to sleep early today. I'm tired"

"Perfect!" Dylan snapped his fingers, "It would be the perfect way to relax your foul mood Shu! C'mon"

Shu huffed in annoyance, just how many times is he gonna ask the same question from him? Joshua was sitting quiet, watching the argument when his brain produced him a foolproof plan. It did sound nice for Shu to have some good friends, and as he has heard sleepovers are mostly filled with fun activities and helped with whatever they call, 'team bonding'. "I think Shu should join them"

Shu raised his brow at the male. "No"

"They are right Shu. You need to have some friends at your age"

Shu shook his head, tired by the meaningless conversation that included him. Then again, he thought looking at Joshua's face which practically begged him to go, why the hell does it matter to Joshua whether he goes or not? It's not like he's the one who's going to play the victim. That's when Dylan brought forth another argument. "Okay fine" He said, sitting on the empty chair beside Shu. "I know there are misunderstandings between the two of us, but I want to start new. We're the members of the same team and I just want all of us to be together. Give me a chance, please Shu"

Shu just stared at him, his mind screamed not to go as his heart hesitated, thinking to give him a second chance. Maybe it would not go bad, Dylan really needs to change. He hesitantly looked at the encouraging gaze of the raven haired male. Ethan and Free were mostly silent, just focusing on their food. Shu finally let out a sigh, "Fine" He muttered faintly under his breath.

"Great!" Dylan cheered, clasping his hands together in a delightful gesture. "Meet me in my room by 7:00 pm. We'll be waiting for a movie marathon!"

Shu hummed, nodding slightly. He watched Dylan walking back to his table with his gang of cool kids. A small part of Shu knew that he would never belong with them, but it wouldn't hurt him to give it a try, Shu thought, turning back to his untouched food only to find that he had lost his appetite.

---

There was no other happiness than winning a tournament. BC Sol had finally won their European League cup with flying colours and that night was a celebration for the whole team. Happiness was shared among them, and most importantly their determination and self confidence aroused as Christina raised her glass of wine. "We have achieved one of our goals, but this is only the beginning my dear bladers. We have a long way to go, I'm sure our next stop is going to be the National Team Championship"

She was met with a chorus of 'yeah' and enthusiastic whispers. Christina smiled, seeing the way they had come after many ups and downs. She sat down again, looking at her own hands. She had done it, just as Free said, she was able to bring a strong team that did not majorly depend on him.

Honcho grinned at Valt, "Man, it feels like it's only yesterday we came from Japan"

Valt smiled, the nostalgic memories at the school and the bakery enveloping his mind. A wave of remembrance washed over his heart as he realized that he missed them. His mom, dad and the twins, his own family. "I need to tell mom and the twins about this! They'll be so happy"

Kitt smiled, "I bet they already know. It was telecasted through the national TV"

"Oops" Valt scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I think so"

Honcho hummed, "I called Daigo, he seemed to be more pumped after the loss. That's just how he had always been I guess"

"That's how all the bladers are. Looking for an opportunity to improve" Sasha added, sipping on her drink.

"I'm glad I started to blade," Valt suddenly said, pulling out Valtryek from his pocket. The blue colored bey glinted to the light as if it was replying to Valt.

"I agree" Honcho sat back on his chair reminding himself about those early days when he used to blade with his father. It was one of the best moments in his life. "Blading is fun and it let us find many new friends and rivals"

Sisco snorted, "You all went to sappy, did you guys drink alcohol or something?"

"Why, aren't you happy Sisco?" Honey asked, her large blue eyes peering at him curiously.

Sisco just shrugged, looking at the distance. "Like duh... of course I am."

Sasha stood up from her seat, raising her glass of juice with a smile. "For Beyblade!" She said, holding the glass to the air.

The group looked at her and smiled, mimicking her actions, they all raised up their glasses, chorusing. "For Beyblade! For BC Sol!"

---

He hesitated, thinking about his decision again for the hundredth time. He took all the time in the world getting ready for the sleepover but he wasn't quite sure about participating in it yet. Shu paced back and forth in front of Dylan's dorm. He could hear the faint sound of music filtering through the door. They must've started it already, Shu thought, deciding to go back to his room when someone walked to him, it was Bruce. "Hi" He greeted hesitantly looking over his shoulder at the firmly closed door.

Shu waved silently. Bruce cleared his throat, pointing at the door behind him. "Aren't you coming?"

Shu shrugged, "Actually, I'm not really sure yet"

"Dylan invited you, didn't he? I think maybe he's trying to open up with you?"

Shu just hummed, trying to calm down. He had no idea what Dylan wanted with him, and he didn't want to end up bruised all across his body when the team games are only a few days away. He sighed, preparing for the worst. "After you please"

Bruce nodded and opened the door. The music was much louder as it filtered from the gap of the door. Bruce stepped into the room followed by Shu who still looked reluctant to join in with the party. The room was messy, Shu realized looking at the scattered blankets and pillows on the floor with many boys around his age sprawling over them, either playing games on their devices or chatting with each other. Dylan had somehow snuck in a karaoke machine, some of the boys were singing along to parody songs pulling out weird faces from the corner of the room. "Yo, you two!" Dylan greeted, dusting his hands together to get the crumbs off his palms from the snack he was eating.

"Sorry, I'm late" Bruce said, walking over to the people near the Karaoke machine. It was impressive how many people can fit inside the dorm room but Shu felt like it was suffocating him. Dylan took his wrist and dragged him to the left corner of the room, the two beds were pushed toward the side making more room for them to sit around and enjoy Mario kart and probably a movie night.

"Look who's here!" Dylan cheered, giving Shu a friendly push.

The other boys gave him dull stares and turned back to their much more interesting game of Mario Kart. Shu didn't really mind them not giving him any attention, because all he wanted was to go to his room and sleep like there's no tomorrow. Dylan made him sit beside him and watch as the guys played Mario Kart, screaming and yelling occasionally at each other in a moment of enthusiasm, but for Shu nothing was interesting at the room. He just wanted to leave the place. Surprisingly, the sleepover was peaceful and even Shu eventually warmed up against some of them. When it was almost nearing midnight, Dylan beckoned them all to the TV to have a movie marathon, that's what everyone thought just before the brown haired boy started to scroll through the recorded battles.

"Are we going to analyze battles now?" One of the guys asked, already bored from the mere idea.

Dylan smirked, "Let's do something better than that" He said, clicking on one certain battle. Shu narrowed his eyes when the Japanese TV logo popped in to be replaced with a battle he was familiar with. A battle which traumatized him, a battle he didn't want to rewatch. He immediately shot a glare at Dylan and was about to stand up when two other guys pushed him back to the floor. "C'mon Shu, the fun just started"

"I'd rather not join" He hissed through gritted teeth trying to tear himself away from the strong grip of the other two boys holding him. The battle started on the screen grabbing everyone's attention well. Shu was forced to focus on it by the stunning silence that overtook them. It was his battle, his battle in the finals back in Japan. The battle of Lui and him, the battle where he got scarred for life, the battle where he got humiliated in front of the whole world. A battle he wanted to forget. Shu tried to avert his gaze from the screen not wanting to go through that trauma again but he found himself fixated on the screen looking forward to seeing something he already experienced. The climax of the battle soon occurred, Shu held his breath biting inside his lips trying to stifle the scream rising from his throat. Spryzen flew through the stadium, right to his eye, digging it's metal disk into his skin. The albino closed his eyes, not wanting to witness it again when he heard his own pathetic yell of pain from the video. He could imagine the moment. He was on his knees, looking up at the white tyrant with his eyes narrowed and his right eye screaming in agony while blood poured out from his closed fingers on it. It was too graphic inside his mind, too traumatizing to remember again.

"Man" Dylan cheered as Lui's face appeared as the winner. "That was one hell of a battle"

Shu kept his eyes focused to the ground counting to ten while he breathed. His heart was racing with panic, he wanted to leave this place one and for all. "Right Shu?" Dylan finished, crouching in front of Shu with a smug grin. "You poor thing, got shamed in front of thousands of spectators, didn't you? Lui just completely broke you down. Aww"

Shu felt something inside him snap, Dylan had crossed the limit of his patience. He launched himself at Dylan and pressed him against the ground pinning his hands above his head. "Just shut up!" He said, raising his voice ever so lightly.

Dylan smirked, "What are you going to do? Kill me?"

Shu narrowed his eyes. "If I could, I surely will. Mark my words Dylan, there is a limit for everything you can do, and you just crossed it. Trust me, you won't like me on your bad side" He whispered the last part against his ear and pushed back. No one dared to touch him as he stormed passed the door and opened the door slamming it behind him.

There was a stunning silence inside the room for a few minutes. Dylan wiped off the sweat from his forehead glaring at the door, "That idiot" He hissed, getting up. "I'll end him"

Shu walked out of the door with a heavy heart. His eyes were prickling with tears, his lips were quivering with thousands of emotions running inside his head. He had to stop and lean against a wall to steady himself. He tried to chase away the humiliation pressing against his mind, but it was no use. He walked straight toward the elevator and hit the button to reach the highest level, the rooftop. Sure, he knew it was not the best time to go and chill on the rooftop but he wanted some time for his own. As he stepped out from the elevator a strong cold wind blew past him. Shu shivered slightly but walked toward the railings, the city lights of New York making a mesmerizing view around him. Shu took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the fresh night air. There were no stars in the sky, it was pitch black, but the distant lights made up for the loss, Shu thought mildly when he realized that he was not alone. He could make out a faint figure of someone leaning against the railings, observing the view. Shu inched a step toward the figure when he turned around and looked at him. Shu blinked, realizing the figure is none other than Free. He stared with his midnight black eyes, curiosity filling inside them. "Shu?"

Shu just waited there when Free realized that something was off with the albino. Almost as if he's on the edge of a meltdown. "You okay?"

"Y-Yeah" Shu squeaked, taking a step back, averting his gaze to the ground.

Free just hummed and gestured him to stand beside him. Shu silently followed his gesture and stood near the railings. He inhaled a sharp breath engulfing in the view of the New York city. It was gorgeous, Shu thought observing the city lights shining all around in various colours of orange, yellow and blue. "You don't look so good" Free stated.

Shu folded his hands on the narrow bar of the iron railing. The tears that filled his crimson eyes threatening to fall. Amidst the beautiful view all he can imagine was that battle, that crushing shame he felt raw inside his chest again. He sniffled, quickly turning his face away and wiping his eyes from the edge of his sleeve. He promised himself never to cry in front of anyone and he was not ready to give up on that promise to himself again. "Shu?" Free asked, a bit concerned this time.

"Yeah?" He asked, wincing when his voice crack painfully.

"Never mind" He said, turning back to the lights. "Do you like it here?"

Shu just hummed, not trusting himself to speak. Free smiled, "I prefer the cool breeze and the rustle of the trees back at BC Sol. It was calming"

Shu placed his chin on the railing. "I bet..."

"Don't you think it's too late for you to be up here?"

Shu looked at Free, "It is. I-I just wanted to clear my mind"

Free hummed, pushing away from the railings. "Go inside after you do that" He said, getting ready to leave. "Don't let the others get to your mind. You can't be yourself and please everyone at the same time. Just be who you want to be, that way you will never regret your the way you live your life" He reached one of his hands and ruffled his locks affectionately. "Good night"

"Good night" Shu replied, looking at Free. He watched the blonde leaving the rooftop. After a while, he turned back to the city lights and wondered for a long time. Everything that happened to him had a meaning and it will always have a meaning. The trauma he went through after the incident made him grow stronger as a blader. He wandered what BC Sol is like. Free seemed to be deeply attached to that club and he was sure it was not long till Free goes back there. He pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contact list. He wanted to talk with someone, he was lonely, he was sad, he wanted a friend. There were lot of contacts that he could easily reach but at the moment none of them seem to be good listeners to him. Shu sighed, running a hand through his hair, shoving the phone back to his pocket. He was overreacting, he thought trying to convince himself. He was just being childish, he was supposed to be more mature than this, he thought blaming himself for the situation.

His eyes wandered around, again. He pushed away from the railings and walked back to the elevator as another strong wing sent chills down his spine. The albino walked into the elevator hurriedly. He got out from it and walked along when he realized that out of frenzy he might've hit the wrong button. Somehow he had ended up on the floor where Theodore's office is. Shu was about to take a turn and reach the elevator again when he saw the lights still on. Shu was pretty sure it was already past midnight. Out of curiosity he inched toward the office when his ears caught few voices. Two was familiar: Theodore and Lucas and the other voice was quite unfamiliar for him. Shu paced back and forth, he knew eavesdropping was wrong and he did not want to do such a thing. He turned around intending to walk away and his ears caught: "Shu Kurenai is promising"

He stopped dead on his tracks. Pushing away the other thoughts inside his mind, he inched toward the door. He cowered behind a huge decorative plant standing near the main glass doors which let him hear bits and pieces of the conversation going on.

"We have to do something quickly" Lucas was saying, "We need a decoy for the-" He lowered his voice. Shu strained his ears only to catch the word, 'cover'

He didn't hear most of the other words but when Theodore started to speak he could hear the conversation again. "I thought he was good, but no, we need someone else"

Another voice spoke up. Quite unfamiliar and clearly masculine because of the rough edges it had. "We don't have much time. We need to earn the trust of our boss, in order to do that we need to provide promising results. We have to find someone who will play the role of decoy"

"It's dangerous" Lucas said, "We don't know what they'll put him through"

He heard Theodore humming, "We need someone willing to do everything, someone willing to take all the risks"

He heard Lucas snorting. "Easy to say Ted. Everyone loved their dear lives"

He heard the other voice huffing. "Speak quietly, walls can hear"

"Go and close the door properly then" Lucas mocked.

Shu heard a pair of footsteps reaching the door and in the next second the door was closed and he was closed away from the conversation going inside the room. But there was one word Shu's ears picked up before it happens: Snake pit

Yo, it's been so long since I put an a/n in this book lol. I hope you guys are liking it so far. I'm not generally active in any social media platform. I just drop in an leave quick. Sooooo yea, I'll keep writing tho. Hope you guys like the chapter! Thank you for reading :3