Coach Shu in the Snake Pit

Chapter 2

When Shu woke up, he was once again a little disoriented. He remembered battling the masked Bladers, then... huh.

He put his left hand over his eyes and almost recoiled, not finding the burn scar he had given himself while cooking a few years beforehand. He then remembered his situation and sighed deeply.

"You're awake?", a voice asked him. Shu turned towards the voice, only to find Black Eye sitting at his bedside. Shu slowly pushed himself up, noting Black Eye seeming a little distressed.

"Woah, easy there", he said, helping Shu sit up properly and putting a pillow on the headboard for Shu to lean against. Shu muttered a small 'thank you'.

"What happened?", Shu asked.

"You fainted", Black Eye responded. "Giving all of us quite the scare, might I add. You've been sleeping for a couple of hours, Shu."

Shu tilted his head and looked Black Eye in the eyes. He noticed the other teen tense under his stare.

"This is the second time you've used my name. Why?"

"You're not Red Eye", Black Eye said. "You look like him and you have similar mannerisms, but you're not him. The only logical conclusion is that you're Shu Kurenai instead."

Shu couldn't help but be impressed. He hadn't expected anyone to come to that conclusion, but he welcomed it nonetheless. He did like being addressed by his name more than an alias he'd shed years ago.

"I'm surprised. Well, it doesn't matter much anyway. I only have one favor to ask of you", Shu said, noting that Black Eye seemed nervous about Shu's next words. "I want you to continue to address me like this, also in front of the others."

Black Eye seemed very surprised, but nodded. "Of course, Shu, no problem."

Shu smiled. Then he noticed how his head hurt and put a hand on his temple. Black Eye noticed.

"You have a bit of a fever", he explained. "You should take it easy for a little while. Ashram authorized it."

Shu nodded. He took a deep breath and then went to lie back down. He was still really tired, and not all of that came from the battle. Just what had Red Eye been doing to himself all this time? Shu couldn't remember when he'd last felt so terrible.

Black Eye suddenly took off his mask. Shu's eyes widened but he kept quiet. Black Eye smiled at him, gently, kinder than Shu had expected.

"I guess you didn't remember how I look like, huh? Surprised?"

Shu nodded. Dark eyes that seemed kind and warm, freckles on pale skin. Pale not naturally, but from not getting enough sunlight. Red Eye's skin looked the same. Shu wondered how much of this was by choice and how many of the Bladers were here because they had nothing else left. Black Eye seemed like that type of person.

"I don't know what you're thinking, Shu, but you don't have to worry about me or anyone else. Only about yourself, okay?"

Shu nodded, though he had already decided to not do that. Shu wasn't going to let the masked Bladers wither away like this. Though, it might take a bit more work than Shu expected. No matter. Shu was a coach, a coach who'd dealt with difficult cases before, Aiga, Lean, and many others. He wouldn't back down, not now.

Once Shu decided something, no one could convince him otherwise, after all.

Silver Eye was still in shock. Red Eye had beaten him, using a Bey whose raw power did not even begin to match his new Sparking Bey, and had still had enough energy to beat Gold Eye, too. And while Silver Eye liked to think that he was the better Blader of the two of them, Gold Eye was really, really powerful. As exhausted as Red Eye had been, he could not have beaten Gold Eye unless he was much, much more powerful than everyone thought.