Okay, this is the second to last chapter! Not much battling, but still. Six google docs pages, so I didn't get everything I wanted in this with less than twelve pages, so I needed two chapters. Last one will be somewhere in the next week (hopefully)

Also, I found this really great singer online. He's really good, but not many people have found his channel, and he deserves more attention. Just search up Icydeal Productions and check out a few of his videos. It won't take long, please. Or listen to the one above.

Anyways, enjoy!

Robin:

She sat patiently at the kitchen table, Shu at her side. Both wore a mask of calm acceptance, hiding what Robin knew as a burning anger. Their parents sat across from them, the Flytrap holding the screen and the Reaper talking in honeyed tones, disguising cold hatred.

The Kurenai family, Robin knew, was dangerous. She with her powers was the least dangerous of them all.

Her mother paused the video yet again at her launch. "Sweetie? What did you do wrong here?"

The chosen seconds showed Robin jump into the air, spin once, and launch Phoenix into the stadium without so much as a bounce. This was her nineteenth battle, but her hands were perfectly still. The launch at that angle had allowed her extra speed without any bounce. What had she done wrong?

Robin closely observed the launch angle, the expression on her face, and her tensed body. She didn't see anything wrong, so she remained silent.

After a twenty second pause, her father broke in. "Watch how you land."

The purple haired woman replayed the section of the battle. Robin fell and landed with locked knees. Lui vaulted over the stadium and attacked, and it took her a second to jump back and counter.'

She figured it out in less than a second. "My knees weren't bent. I could have broken my leg if it had been from a greater height."

The Reaper waved his hand gracefully from side to side. "Close. You had difficulty countering his first move, therefore, there was a simultaneous burst finish."

Robin sighed inwardly. It had been an hour, and they were only mostly done with Robin's battles. Well, mostly done.

The purple haired seductress sighed as the last match was broadcasted. "I won't even comment on this. Such a shame, how badly you have shamed us on that battle."

Robin tilted her head to look at the ground. She hadn't shamed them, she just lost! It happened to everyone... right? And it wasn't like Robin screwed up too badly.... Had she? Robin had given up from surprise after seeing that sign on him, but one loss wasn't everything. Was it?

God, listen to me. She sighed inwardly. I'm letting her into my head.

Phoenix shrugged. Nah, those are your thoughts. Did you mess up badly? I just remember fighting to the death against Luinor, and then everything going dark. Did you really give up?

She ended the conversation as fast as it had begun.

Even though Robin hated her performance being picked apart, her anger at it was manageable, mostly because it was all her fault, anyways. Shu had a huge, disastrous relationship wit hLui that her parents had no idea about, and coping with that had to be twice as bad.

Everyone was silent as they watched Storm Spryzen burst. The Reaper frowned at Shu. "Explain. And it better be good."

For once, Shu was better at hiding his emotions than Robin. Mental agony was plain on his face as their mother paused the video at the burst. "I..."

"Well?"

He clutched his head, suddenly breathing heavily. "I-I... no, please. I can't."

"You can and you will." His smooth voice had turned to ice.

Shu slumped. "It was my fault. I pushed him too much... it's all my fault."

"Yes it is. Now, onto the next thing."

An hour and a half later, they dismissed the younger Kurenais and started with the giant amount of paperwork. Shu and Robin retreated to their bedroom and immediately started swearing. Shu in particular was very creative. When they stopped, he growled and punched his crimson wall. Blood trickled down his hand, and he muttered another oath. "I know I should love them for caring for us, but I swear, we're just puppets."

Robin nodded, feeling her anger swell and dip like waves inside her. "Ditto. If I could do anything, I would, but I've got zero ideas. Maybe we should hang out with the gang tomorrow." She opened her mouth, wanting to ask about Spryzen, but hesitated. That had become a forbidden topic between the two of the. Even though Robin wondered how much internal pain he was suffering, she couldn't work up the nerve to ask. The reason she thought she was the least dangerous in the family was because she had never seen Shu get emotional, except around Valt. The only time she'd seen anger was angled at Lui, and Shu had looked ready to stick a knife between his ribs then. His anger at Lui breaking his bey must be incalculable. That scared her.

He shrugged, bringing her back to reality. "Well, they wake up at seven in the morning. Think you can wake up early?"

She gave him the derp look. "Dude. I've been waking up at 5:45 am for the last week. I'm more worried about you."

"Let's get outta here."

Robin went back to her room and looked around. It was a total disaster. Dresses, boots, and hoodies were strewn around the room. Both posters were torn down and hidden behind the overturned desk. The seaglass so carefully stacked in the corner, a reminder of when her parents were nicer-- well, fake nice-- were smashed and the sharper ones tinted red and copper smelling. Robin had accidentally stepped on some in the mess, and her foot had several scars to match. Quickly, she dumped her books and stuff out of her backpack and filled it with two sets of clothes, a towel, a dress, and after working up the nerve to sneak into the kitchen, some nonperishable food. It was nine in the evening as of now, but Robin felt too worked up to sleep. She needed to figure out what was bothering her right now, so it'd leave her alone.

Let's solve this like one of those awesome detective mangas. What do I know?

Robin had lost the match to Lui after hearing from Gabe she was key to the world's survival. Phoenix had later confirmed this, that the world went in circles.

The third ranked international blader, Andi De La Hoya supposedly gave Gabe Brunei this information to tell her.

Lui had the Brand of the Exalt, a good guy mark, on his shoulder.

After hearing comments about her worthlessness, she saw bad memories and depressing thoughts.

Robin was supposed to save the work by destroying it, and turning into a god.

Conclusions?

Andi had started all of this. She supposedly had the power to see the past, and sent Gabe to Robin at a crucial point, just before the match. That alone confirmed she had the time power, and was a high ranked blader, if she could order Gabe Brunei around. The last fact didn't matter, and that was about everything.

Conclusion: Robin needed to speak to Andi at some point. She held all the strings, so if she wanted to know what was happening, that blader was the one to go to.

Her phone rang, startling her. Unknown number. Incoming Skype call. Accept?

Robin glanced at herself, confirming she was presentable. Once, she had answered a call in a sports bra and shorts, and Daigo had been on the other end of the line. Most embarrassing day ever.

She clicked accept, and a beautiful girl a few years older than her stared back. Flawless pale skin and blue eyes were framed by dark pink hair. A black headband was barely noticeable. At her side, a 21-ish aged boy looked stoically at the wall. Or where she assumed the wall would be, wherever they were. His brown hair was extremely wavy, ending at his shoulders. Tense golden eyes gleamed, contrasting with his semi-dark skin. All in all, weird pair. One obviously super cheerful, the other not looking too happy about something. Probably the call.

"Hello!" The pink girl smiled disarmingly, speaking in accented Japanese. "We're BC Sol, Spain's international beyblading team. We'd like to ask you to come to tryouts in three weeks."

Robin smiled, heart suddenly light with hope. This was an amazing opportunity! She had heard the top ranked blader was on that team, Free De La Hoya. Which meant Andi would likely be there too. On top of that, going international would be awesome! She did know a lot of Spanish, as her parent's business ran in Mexico and Spain, so it wouldn't be too difficult to communicate.

"I would love to!" Robin replied in hesitant formal Spanish. "This is a great chance for me, thank you so much!"

The girl smiled. "My name's Kristina, the stoic on is Trad. I would have scouted you, but we did Valt Aoi instead."

Trad flinched and facepalmed. "Kristina! That was extremely disrespectful!"

Robin grinned, switching back to Japanese. "I don't mind. Valt got further than me in the tournament. If you want to win, you only take the best bladers. Makes sense. I like straightforward."

Trad looked relieved. Kristina tilted her head. "Sorry about that. Anyways, I looked forward to seeing you in El Astro, Spain in three weeks! We've got three spots total available, so I hope you make it!"

"Kris! You can't show favoritism!"

The video call ended, and Robin threw back her head and quietly laughed. That was extremely beautiful. The team managers were super funny, and now she could drag Daigo to try out with her! On top of that, she had enough money saved from underground Descendant fights to book a flight. Then again, she could probably get Wakiya to bring her there, but she didn't need to rely on that jerk.Robin could get there on her own.

Suddenly tired, she curled up on her bed and fell asleep.

--

"Wake up!" a quiet jet of breath hissed in her ear. "For the sake of our sanity Azura, WAKE UP!"

Her head jolted off the pillows, and her forehead crashed into Shu's jaw. He jumped backwards, then the pain hit him and he growled softly. It didn't really bother Robin, as she was used to that from the dojo.

"I'm up," Robin grumbled. She checked her phone and blinked. 5:46. "And only one minute late! Geez, lighten up!"

He threw her the backpack. "C'mon, let's blow. I don't want to be here any longer."

She caught it with her right hand as she stood. Robin slept in her clothes. She didn't see the point of other clothes to sleep in. "But what about food?"

"You'll be practicing for the next two hours. I'm sure you've got something in that magic backpack of yours." Slight envy entered his voice when Shu mentioned practicing. "I'm going for a run. I'll stop by Valt's later."

Robin guessed Daigo would be with Ryota later in the morning and wouldn't want to be interrupted. Even for something this awesome.

She tugged her boots on and surveyed her wardrobe critically for a second before leaving the apartment. Robin would need a big costume change before she went to Spain. Being an emo didn't cut it anymore, and her clothes were beginning to feel too heavy and awkward.

Shu and Robin split ways after they left the elevator. To their mutual surprise, Valt was waiting in front of the building, yawning and rubbing his eyes. With him was a blue bike with yellow and orange streaks down the sides.

Robin grinned. Shu must have brought Valt for a ride with him, because that would be the only reason he'd bring a bike. The smol bean's balance was awful.

"Hey Shu!" Valt smiled shyly. "I- I've been practicing biking a little. I can now go five feet without falling over!" He smiled, pleased with himself.

Robin smirked to herself, subtly clicking the 'record' button on her phone.

Shu smiled as well,a gentle one that only appeared around the Sonic. "Great job! Do you want to go on the streets right now? No cars are around, so it'll be perfect for training."

Valt grinned. "Yes! Let's go!"

Before Shu could get his bike, Valt grabbed his arm and pulled him onto the bike, wrapping the albino's arms securely around him before starting the bike. "SONIC SPEED, LET'S GO!"

Robin held the phone in the air while she doubled over laughing. Phoenix collapsed on the ground, wings beating uselessly. Oh my god! No way! NO. WAY.

Robin tried to collect herself and failed. And I can't believe Valkyire went along with it! Becoming a bike?

For a proud spirit like her, she sure sunk pretty low, Phoenix snickered. Poor her. Anyways, let's go practice so you can be Phi one day.

Her mirth was swept away by a cold tide of-- something. Fear, anger, hatred, mostly remembering. Phi. An immortal, nicknamed the god of destruction. How would she become someone so powerful? Robin had morals, and Future Her (maybe) certainly didn't. In addition, there was the power factor and the looks. What did Future Her even look like?

And why did Robin feel so useless every time she thought about Phi?

She rolled her eyes at her stupid thoughts and went to the beypark.

It was totally empty, which was a relief. Her breath came slowly, naturally, as she knelt by the nearest stadium and pulled out Phoenix. It all felt so natural, despite her parents pointing things out. "Three," Robin murmured, cold morning air wisping across her jacket. She stopped and tugged it off, leaving her in a red tank top.

"Three!" she restarted.

"Two!" Robin stepped back a few steps, mixing Switch Launch with Valt's Sprint Boost. The results would be spectacularly awesome.

"One!" She jumped forward, swinging her launcher like a sword and keeping the launcher perfectly flat.

"Let it... rip!"

Phoenix bounced once in the stadium, rebounded into the air, and crashed down on the other side against the wall and floor with a ton of speed. Her launcher creaked it's protest to the violent launch. Rise Phoenix gained speed quickly, circling the outer edge, then inner. Without waiting for her to stop, she scooped the bey off the concrete. Robin winced as the metal edges sliced her palm.

You really should get gloves for this, Phoenix advised.

No. If I screw up, that's my fault. Besides, did you know that when your skin gets broken, it repairs stronger?

That's just dumb.

No, it's science. Robin grinned. Daigo told me.

Phoenix smirked as well, and smoke curled off the beyblade. It took the shape of a woman. "Alright, this is a lot easier to talk to you now," she said, mouth moving out of sync with the words. "What is it?"

"I need more ideas for launches and attacks," Robin said. "I'm totally out, and the tryouts are in three weeks."

Phoenix shrugged. "Well, I'm a balance type. Why don't you try a defense launch for once?"

"Because a good offense is the best defense."

She raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? Another saying is to not face everything head on. Also to not place all your eggs in one basket."

"Those are all English sayings." Robin sighed. "But I get your point. Thank you."

Now how do people do defensive launches? She wondered. I mean, Wakiya does a decent job, but it seems like all you need is a flat, well-aimed launch.

"Let it rip!"

Phoenix spun around the inner edge, lost her balance, and flew out. Robin caught her. "That's a yoink." What about a lower launch? I launch pretty high above the stadium, more than most people. What else? She recalled several memories of Gave, Quon, and Wakiya's launches. All of them kept the launch flat. At least she did that right. Robin also noticed the follow-through with the ripcord (pull all the way behind oneself) was complete, unlike most attack beys. Their launcher ended pretty low in the stadium, no matter what crazy launch pattern they followed.

"Let's try that," Robin muttered aloud. Thank goodness no one was here, else everyone would believe she was crazy.

"Let it rip!" She knelt, flattened her launch, and pulled the ripcord all the way back as fast as she could.

Her red bey spiraled to the center, extremely steady. Robin grinned. Jeez, finally! Now, let's perfect this.

Two hours later, Robin had to stop. The cut on her hand stung with sweat, and she was having trouble seeing straight. Or rather, Phoenix made her stop. You're beat. Give it up. Take a rest and continue later already!

No! Robin complained. I bet Phi could practice for hours straight. Just two isn't good enough. Let me go!

She ignored Rise Phoenix and knelt again. Her vision wavered, heart beating too fast. "Let it rip!"

The launch shattered in her hands. The chips went flying like a mini bomb had gone off in it, and her bey was sent careening into a bench. Robin yelped in surprise and pain and fell on her butt. She began picking the pieces out of her skin. "Oww..."

"Robin!"

"Are you alright?"

A black aura touched her awareness, then a light purple one. Daigo and Ryota. They must have just gotten here.

"I'm fine!" she called back. "My launcher blew up, though."

Daigo reached her, adorable cat ears and concerned face catching her eyes. Ryota got there a few seconds later, breathing heavily. His short legs probably couldn't keep up with his older brother. "Again? Robin!" He carefully pulled another plastic piece from her bare shoulder, brushing aside the few drops of blood. "Wasn't that one the fourth one?"

"Yeah," she muttered, embarrassed that Daigo had to stop his time with the adorable little brother to help her. "I'd better get one of those metal ones. Might survive a couple more weeks."

Daigo laughed, offering her a hand. Mercifully, he said nothing about how sweaty she was as she took it.

"Sorry about interrupting your time," Robin said, shrugging her jacket on again. It was suffocating, but at least she wouldn't slime anyone with sweaty hands. "I know you haven't gotten much time with just Ryota and you. Sorry 'bout that."

Ryota grinned, his adorable purple eyes narrowing as his smile widened. "Do you really think that? You're kidding yourself."

"My little bro's right," her boyfriend agreed, and his aura supported the statement. "C'mon, I wouldn't leave you out of anything."

"And I want to get to know my future sister-in-law."

That statement made both of their eyes snap wide open and their faces turn red. Daigo and Robin looked at each other and nodded. "RYOTAAA!!" They charged at him.

Ryota laughed as he ran for his life.

--

So... yeet. Yeah, I know advertising in a book isn't cool, but he really deserves more views at the very least. If you end up commenting, PLEASE DO NOT TELL HIM WHERE YOU FOUND THE VID. Last chapter coming soon!

Anyways, Robin out!