He woke up at midnight when his phone rang.

Xander Shakedera was instantly alert. He glanced around the room, to check if Ukyo was pulling a prank, but here was no one. Xander checked his phone. If this was a prank, it was masterfully done. He answered."Valt, it's twelve o' three. Why are you calling?"

"This was the first time I could talk to you!" Valt was crying on the other end of the phone.

"Calm down, Valt. Breathe. What is it?" What was wrong? Valt never cried unless he didn't get any Beybread, or he lost his beyblade.

"It's Shu!" Valt wailed. "He- his shoulder was badly injured. I told him to drop out of the tournament, but he won't. I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DOOOO!!!AND--"

Xander threw the phone to the other side of the room and waited for the yelling to cease. After a solid minute, the noise stopped.

From the room down the hall, someone yelled, "Ukyo, if that's you, I swear I'll- uh, I'll wring your neck!"

Ukyo's groggy voice responded. "Mm-hm, whatever. Good night."

Xander stuffed part of his blanket in his mouth to keep his laugh from being heard. "Hang on, Valt," he told the phone. "Need to go outside. You're too loud."

"Sorry," the boy sniffled from the other end. "I'm not sure what to do... Should I drop out?"

Xander silently jumped out the window and landed neatly. "Definitely not. Actually, I have an idea. Grandpa's an expert healer, and he taught me a few tricks. Maybe..."

***

The next day, Xander ran down the mountain, across the land-formed bridge that he had found as a child, to the tournament. What he needed to do was discreetly assess Shu's condition without being extremely obvious about it. Shu would know if something was up with him.

"Hey, Xander!" Robin and Daigo walked out of the crowd. Robin smiled at him. "I thought you were training today?"

"I wanted to see the final match," Xander explained. It was a partial truth. He would have come to see anyways. With a grin, he added, "and I thought you were single."

Robin clutched her boyfriend's hand tighter and blushed. Daigo spoke up. "Yugo's gonna be so mad."

Xander threw back his head and laughed. "Yeah, he is. Not to mention he's kicked out of his room for another day. Today is Saturday, right?"

"Yep."

Daigo looked at him, tearing his eyes away from the stand with shiny launchers. "We just met, but I think I need a favor."

That got his attention. "Huh? You're a Descendant and I'm not. What could I do?" It was almost impossible to keep the slight bitterness out of his voice. He was being kind of unfair to Robin's boyfriend, but he had always wanted cool powers. Xander was starting to feel like Deku before All Might.

The dark eyed boy looked around. "Shu's in the waiting room, getting ready for his next match. Valt's gonna give it his all, but Shu's shoulder is... not so good."

Xander nodded slowly, listening to everything. "Yeah, Valt called at midnight and woke up half the dojo. I've got to figure out what's wrong."

Robin tilted her head. "Well... I've got no idea, except something's wrong--"

Daigo broke in. "His shoulder bone's been knocked out of it's socket. I saw a few of those injuries at the dojo."

"Yeah," the red-headed giant said. "We get a lot of-- wait, what? How did you--"

Bored with the fascinating conversation, Robin cut in. "The match is gonna start in about half a minute. Last night, he was taking painkillers, I think. They work for a few hours, so the effects will wear off right about now, so how you going to help him without anyone else knowing?"

The tall eleven year old frowned, dark red eyes narrowing with concentration. "Sorry. Um, classified info."

Actually, he was still trying to figure it out.

The white-haired girl nodded. "Good enough. Thank you so much, Xander."

He laughed. "It's not like I'm going to just let him suffer."

Before he had to do an awkward goodbye, Hanami started introducing the competitors, and they all scrambled for good spots.

While he was walking towards the stage, two small kids, one with blue hair and the other with pink, tripped. The pink haired girl grabbed at the blue one, taking him with her.

Xander scooped them up before they hit the rough ground. These kids.. Toko and Nika! Only Valt's siblings are this cute."Close one," he said, smiling. "You guys remember me?"

He watched Toko and Nika think for a moment, then recognition lit up their faces. "Xander!!!" They hugged him, and Xander put them on his shoulders so they could watch easier.

As Hanami introduced Valt as "The miracle boy who made it all the way from the bottom to the finals!" he saw Daigo wrap an arm around Robin and kiss her forehead. It made his heart ache for a certain someone-- someone he had left all the way in Brazil.

How are you doing, Ru-

"And the powerhouse who' climbing the ranks again!" the announcer yelled for the crowd. "It's Shu Kurenai!"

Shu walked out, face impassive. Xander frowned. His face is only like that when he's hiding something... it's that bad already?

Valt and Shu exchanged a few words, too quiet for him to hear. Valt looked annoyed,so it was probably telling him to stop, and that it was crazy.

They got into launch stance, and everyone counted down. He could see the sweat dripping from Shu's face.

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

"Let it... Rip!"

Shu's eyes squeezed shut as he launched, and Xander uttered a Brazilian curse he had learned a year ago.

Spryzen went for center, trajectory slightly off, while Valtryek spun quickly around the outer edge. "Rush launch!"

The red bey deflected each attack with ease, despite the albino's tense face. "Now!"

Spryzen's energy layer caught under Valtryek's and charged forward, knocking it out of the stadium.

Valtryek burst and hit the ground.

Or was it the other way around?

The referee frowned and spoke into his mic. "We'll take this to instant replay!"

As the video slowly replayed, Hanami took the chance: "This could be the difference between a loss and a second chance for Valt Aoi! Will it be a burst, or a ring out finish?"

The video replayed again. Everyone held their breath, except for a new shadowy arrival. Victory Valtryek slowly arced into the air. A few people fainted from lack of air, and the bey curved downward. It crashed into the ground, and then three pieces rebounded into the air

Valt sighed in relief.

"Ohhh..." Ukyo said, appearing right next to the giant. "So that's what I missed while I was getting chewed out by Sensei. You'll be happy to know he still thinks the midnight call from Valt was one of my pranks."

Xander frowned. "You didn't say anything? Why?"

Ukyo disappeared. "You're my friend. I don't sell out friends." His shadow flitted up to the stage. "I'm taping this."

Valt put together Valtryek, and Xander turned back to Shu. He was trembling slightly, his right hand-- the one almost out of view from the crowd, tightened into a fist. Others might mistake it for anger, but Xander knew what it was like when Shu got hurt.

"I'm telling you, I'm fine." Shu told Xander. They were all five years old, playing by the river. Valt had suggested a jumping game on the riverstones. Shu and Valt had been trying to keep up with Xander, who had over thirty points with his perfect balance. Valt had already pinwheeled backwards into the waters several times and splashed him with water. Xander had splashed him back, and Shu got caught in the crossfire. He tried to block, but lost his balance and fell off his small rock. Trying to land on his stomach, he twisted, and with a cry of surprise, fell hard into the water.

The tall redhead had fished him out, and Valt and Xander quickly came to a watery cease-fire. Xander hauled the albino to shore, where he inspected the albino's swollen ankle.

"Bad," he decided.

Shu was shivering, and his small face was tense. Even so, he insisted he was fine. "Don't worry," he said casually. "It doesn't hurt anymore."

Valt, as oblivious as always, shouted for a bey battle. Shu and Xander went first. When the albino pushed off, his leg gave out from under him, and he crashed to the ground, Spryzen soaring through the air. His face had turned even paler than usual.

"I'm fine." Shu waved off Xander's concern like it was nothing. After that, his launches had been much better.

About an hour later, Xander held his hand way up for them to high-five. Shu jumped, but stumbled and fell against the tall boy.

"Shu!" Valt shook him by the arm. "You okay?"

"Y-yeah.. I'm fine." The albino's eyes slipped shut. "I'm fine..."

Shu didn't tell anyone, and the only time it came up was in preschool. Valt and Xander were trying to push each other out of a sand box. "Come on!" Xander goaded him, after Valt falling backwards.

With a yell, Valt stormed forwards, pushing Xander a few inches. Shu, sitting at the edge of the box with his eyes closed, said nothing, but Xander noticed how Shu's small body was tensing up.

He focused on the super-smol bean as he pushed the redhead a few more inches. With a quick twist, he moved out of the way and gave Valt a quick push.

He flew straight into Shu, and they toppled off the sandbox, the bluenette landing on top of him.

Shu groaned. "I think... you tackled the wrong person." Valt bounced off of Shu, and he sat up. With a gasp, the albino fell back down. Valt screamed, and the teacher ran over.

She saw Valt shaking the small white haired boy, , Xander running over, face pale, Shu unconscious with his foot in an awkward position.

The foot had to be re-set, and took several weeks longer than usual to heal.

Xander snapped out of the memory as the ref yelled, "Three!"

No! I've got to stop him!

"Two!"

"One!" Shu tensed, eyes blazing with determination. Xander saw how much stronger he had gotten over the past six years. Yet, Shu Kurenai hadn't changed a bit.

"Let it... Rip!"

Shu's determination gave Spryzen an extra boost, but after that, he stumbled. Valt looked concerned for his best friend, but his launch was even stronger. "Flash launch!"

Shu countered fast. "Upper Launch!"

The beys smashed into each other at top speed, broke apart, and attacked again.

Hanami was loving every second of the battle, oblivious to Shu's problem. "The sparks are flying! They collided again! Who's going to emerge victorious?! I can't take it!"

Daigo rolled his eyes. Hidden at the front of the stage, Ukyo did the same.

Valtryek didn't let up. Within a few seconds, Spryzen got brutally shoved out of the stadium.

"That's Victory Valtryek with one point!" The ref held up a hand. "Valt Aoi gets one point! The score is one to one!"

Shu's eyes shut again, and he swayed slightly. He could feel his friend cursing himself as he spoke quietly to the ref.

"Shu has called a time out to exchange his launcher!"

Xander saw his chance and soundlessly moved over to the door of the waiting room. As soon as Shu got inside, he let out a groan and dropped his launcher on the table, gently fingering his shoulder.

The giant decided this was as good a time as any to interfere. "Shu."

Shu released his shoulder fast and spun around. "Xander!"

"So.. what're you doing in here?" The tall redhead pointed to the launcher. "Your launcher looks fine."

"Um..."

Xander pretended to realize something. He tried to place his hand on Shu's shoulder, to test him. Shu quickly sidestepped. "Oh... are you afraid Valt's going to win?"

The albino lowered his eyes and sighed. "You got me."

His lying actually seems real. If I didn't know better, I might actually believe him.

Xander rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to tell! I know you're arm's injured. Let me see."

Shu hesitated, weighing the pros and cons. He glanced outside, where Valt stood, frowning.

Then he nodded.

Xander gently touched a pressure point, and then pushed hard. Shu clapped a hand over his mouth and cried out.

Then the giant stepped back, and Shu slowly moved his hand. He blinked in surprise. "What?"

"Just touched a pressure point," Xander explained. "It's not permanent though, so you might want to head over to Grandpa's after this. He's the best doctor in Japan. And, I heard he finally got an apprentice, so you might get to see him."

Shu nodded, and an expression of relief crossed his face. "Thank you, Xander."

He gave the albino a gentle push. "Valt's waiting!"

The rest of the match went as expected. Without the pain holding him back, Shu's launch was nearly unbeatable, crashing through Valtryek in mere seconds.

"Storm Spryzen with a burst finish! Shu Kurenai wins the tournament!"

Valt started crying. "Aww! I thought for sure..." He faceplanted on the ground, and Xander remembered how childish the little sonic could be.

Shu knelt next to him. "Valt, get up," he said gently. "Everyone wants to see your face."

The smol bean lifted his head and beheld the crowd cheering for him. His jaw dropped, and the albino laughed. "Oh, Valt..."

"Mom, can I have some beybread?" Valt yelled. "Could I invite all my friends? Please?"

Everyone started laughing.

Valt stood up. "What?"

Shu shook his head. "Nothing..." Then he knelt. "Valt, you are the most innocent, kind, loving soul I'll ever know. I love you... will you be my boyfriend?"

From his pocket, he pulled out a box. He opened it, and the crowd was silent.

"I saw you were wearing a bracelet from your family for luck today," Shu told him. Xander looked at Valt's wrist and saw a blue bracelet with a winged pendant. Dang it, I'm supposed to memorize details like that the moment I see that! "So... ah..."

Valt stepped toward him and with trembling hands, picked up a silver linked bracelet, intricately made, with a sparkling blue jewel in the center. Xander grinned. It was perfect.

The smol bean attached it to his wrist, and with a sudden surge of strength, pulled Shu to his feet and kissed him.

Everyone cheered, even the girls in the crowd who called Shu "sempai."

Valt's mom, Chiharu was smiling and taking tons of pictures. Toko and Nika high-fived, as did Daigo and Robin. Honcho and Wakiya yelled support, and Ken smiled.

Xander grinned. My work here is done. He looked back at the still-kissing boys and sighed to himself. "Renwu... I'm so sorry..."  

------

Oh my gosh! I was so happy to write this last bit. I was tempted to skip over the idiotic decision of not dropping out, but Shalt needed to happen, so I had to make it dramatic. Because reasons.

I was literally screaming in my head as I wrote the last part. :)

Okay, please comment...

Why do you think Xander said he was sorry?

What do you think the fangirls are going to say?

Robin out!