Valt:

I blinked. What? Whoś that? Some ultra-strong opponent? Awesome!!!

Shu did not have the same enthusiasm. His head whipped towards the boat and his scar smoldered.

"Shu..." I warned. "Your face is glowing."

He absentmindedly covered the scar over his eye. Emotions crossed his face, and I saw pain, anger- a lot of that- and most definitely, love.

Shu, whatś going on?

"Valt," he said, voice a low growl.

"Yeah?" This is so weird. I LOVE WEIRD THIS IS SO COOL!!!

"Weŕe going to the stage. Let's help Zac welcome his guest." He spat the last word like poison.

I frowned. The boat had docked now, and I could see a guy my height with flaming blue hair. A white scarf that looked extremely fluffy wrapped around his neck, and a pale blue coat framed his body. He was probably a year older than me, but his violet eyes told me that he had seen too much in twelve years. So is this Lui? I hope heś a blader, and that he doesn't have an actual blade with him.

Lui's sharp, gleaming teeth convinced me that he didn't need a weapon to beat me up. He jumped from the boat to the stage, walking casually as if a dramatic entrance was nothing. And how'd he get the money for the boat?

"Welcome," Zac greeted him. He seemed to respect Lui, as did most of the now-silent crowd.

"Who else is here?" Lui replied coldly. His voice struck me like a hammer. Between his rude tone and strange eyes and scary teeth, he came off as really intense and really weird. Not that I could talk. I was the very embodiment of weird. He continued. "Maybe you can give me a challenge today, but I doubt it. You know whoś gonna win that solo tournament, and it won't be you."

Shu had apparently had enough of this jerk. As he jumped onto the stage, red eyes met purple, and the latter's widened. Okay, so they've got some kinda history, but why's this Lui so important? And why is Shu so mad at him?

"Remember me, Lui?" Shu growled, eyes flashing with a challenge.

"Sadly yes, Shu."

How could two people hate each other so much?

A couple of muscular arms pushed them apart as Xander ascended the stage. "Hey! Are you forgetting someone?"

Xander? Why's he onstage too? I wanna go!

"Don't count me out yet!" Zac smiled winningly, and the fangirls screamed louder than I do. Daigo and Robin, now back with a very suspicious shadow, covered their ears. Daigo seemed to have a new bandanna, and it was slipping and sliding and messing up his carefully spiked hair. I caught a glimpse of black and grey and pale pink before an exclamation from Xander brought my attention. "Now all of the Supreme Four are here!"

Supreme Four? That guy's one of the Supreme Four? But they're legendary! The four top bladers from all of Japan! Okay, now I have to go up there!

"Why don't we try a first round?" Zac suggested cheerfully, unaware of the building tension between my friend and Lui. "I've got a brand new stadium to try out!"

The other two shot a cold look at each other, while Xander and Zac went backstage to find it.

Now. I can go up now.

"I want to battle too!" I vaulted onto the stage, right in front of Shu. His angry face softened and warmed to happiness. "C'mon! Iĺl take you all on!"

Lui turned and glared at me. "Get lost, kid. I'm the most powerful member of the Four." His eyes suddenly went trancelike, and I tilted my head, confused.

"Are you sure?" I asked. "I'm pretty sure Shu is."

The crowd oohed at the challenge.

"And why are you calling me kid?" I continued, building speed. "You must be twelve at most. That's only a year older."

The clouded look in his eyes vanished abruptly as Lui whipped his head around. "I'm at least twice as strong, kid. So get off the stage before I send you packing."

He's not pulling any punches, I noted. My turn. "Don't worry! I'm so excited! LET'S DO THIS!!!!"

Apparently, I'm a natural, because the crowd cheered and shouted for the battle. Xander and Zac came out with the stadium, and they both gave me approving looks.

"I call this..." the latter said excitedly, "My Cyclone Stadium!"

It was clear why it was called that. Most of the stadium was normal, but the center was a constantly spinning black disc that looked suspiciously like on of Zac's records. It looked like it was going really fast, and it could probably knock a ton of beybread out of the stadium in seconds. To prove the stadium's coolness, the blond popstar threw a soccer ball into it. The ball rolled twice, hit the rotating thing and spun faster and faster and flew out. Xander caught it with one hand.

Lui was the first to criticize the awesomeness, the tiny jerk. "Pssh. Lame."

The crowd booed him, as did Shu. I decided to speak up before this turned into World War III. "I think it's so cool!!! How fast does that thing spin? It it super powerful? Woah! It's amazing!"

Zac smiled, taking out a launcher and beyblade. "Do you want to test it out?"

"YOU BET!!! YEAH!!"

I hoped I was ready to take down a Supreme Four member.

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

"Let it... rip!"

Valtryek sped along the outer edges of the stadium, deftly avoiding the spinning disc. Zillion Zeutron, I think it's called, went straight for the center, spinning clockwise with the disc. In that way, it gained speed and power, and got to the barely-moving center of the disc. "I've never practiced on a stadium like this before," Zac admitted. "So this is completely new to me. You might even beat me this round."

Maybe I can do the same thing he did, and then knock Zeutron counterclockwise. If Valtryek can go fast enough, I might be able to.

Xander watched with a calm expression. Lui scowled at the fact that none of the beys had gone out yet.

More or less my only option right now. Go! Valtryek!

Valtryek screamed down, turning at the last moment to go clockwise. The disc made the speed unstable, and to my dismay, it flew out of the stadium. Dang it! I was so sure I would win that!

"Zillion Zeutron with a ring out finish!" Xander yelled. "Zac... Gets one point!"

The popstar picked up is still-spinning bey with a flourish. "That was impressive, Twinkle Toes. You figured out how the stadium works."

I could feel a certain flame-haired boy smoldering behind me. "Lui?" I said without turning around. "WHat is it?"

"You should have figured it out earlier!" he exploded, blue hair flaring with his temper. "If you ever battle an opponent, you should understand how to beat them just by seeing their expressions! Zac's no different, you weakling! You have so much potential, but refuse to use it! WHAT IS WRONG WITH--"

Shu slapped him.

Right across the face.

.

.

.

There was a dead silence.

"Never," my albino said in a scary voice, "Never insult my Valt again." His hooded red eyes met Lui's again. A challenge sparked between them again, and the latter's violet orbs burned with anger. I could see similar sparks in Shu's eyes. "Do you understand?"

Without a word, the flame-haired kid took a step backwards.

That was enough for Shu, who turned back to the stadium. "I suggest Xander and Zac next."

I understood that he was trying to shield me from another round of Lui-Gets-To-Insult-Me-And-Shu-Hits-Him and Might-Get-Disqualified-From-The-Tournament-For-That. Yeah, that game wasn't much fun.

But beyblade was.

I jumped up, bouncing as much as I could. "Wait! Zac, let's go another round!"

He smiled, amused. I growled inwardly, You'll be way less amused when I beat you! And I think I figured out a way.

"Three!"

"Two!"

"One!"

"Let it... rip!"

This time, Valtryek and Zeutron touched down at the same time. Zeutron went to the center again, being a defense type. I knew my beyblade could spin for maybe five minutes straight, so I had a few minutes to put my plan into effect. Okay, partner. We need a fast enough speed that we can go onto the plate, but slow enough we don't fall off.

Was it my imagination, or did the beyblade slow down?

At any rate, it didn't matter. "Go! Valtryek!"

Valtryek zoomed towards the disc and went onto it, running clockwise. Perfect! Nice job, partner. As it went with the quickly spinning disc, it also got faster and faster as it got to the center. With a loud crash, it hit Zeutron. Zeutron bounced back, but it was going counterclockwise now, and was tossed out of the stadium.

Thanks to Shu's notes from Science, I knew exactly why Valtryek got more speed. Atoms went faster when two things, say rocks, are rubbed against each other. Those areas get warmer because the atoms are heating up. When atoms heat up, they also speed up and create more energy. That speed and heat and energy is shared between the two things. I'm very glad Shu lets me copy his notes.

"Victory Valtryek with a ring out finish! Valt Aoi gets one point!" Xander bellowed. He was the only one who could outclass me in a yelling match. Other than fangirls, of course.

Lui stepped forwards. "How 'bout I put Shu in his place right now?" His eyes were angry and cold, and I couldn't help wondering what made him like that.

Or who...

My red-haired friend gave him a relaxed smile. "I haven't gotten to battle yet. How about you try against me?"

The other boy gave him a dismissive look. "Tch. Like you could beat me."

Xander's smile didn't falter. "We'll see."

Zac stepped up to the mic. "Unfortunately, we've only got five more minutes! Who do you think should battle next?"

The crowd yelled out mixed answers. The popstar scanned the crowd, then pointed to a certain white-haired girl. "Who do you think should battle next?"

Robin lifted her head, revealing determined eyes. "If it's okay with you, I'd like to see you versus Lui Shirosagi."

It seems like she's protecting Shu for some weird reason, I noticed. But it's not like he's ever needed to be protected before.

The flame-haired kid grinned menacingly, showing scary teeth again. I think they could tear three beybread in a second, which is very, very sharp. "Try me."

Long story short: Zac lost.

By a lot.

And I mean, A LOT.

Burst finish.

How can one hate-filled person have so much power?

---

Chapter done!!

ROBIN OUT!!!