Ryuga's Return

Chapter 3

"Yes! Very!" Kenta answered, hopping up the step into the house.

Ryuga followed, instantly feeling confined in the small space. It wasn't even a small house. There was space to walk around but it was nothing compared to the infinite space of the outdoors or even the huge Bey stadiums. This house however almost made Ryuga feel smaller.

"Well, there's plenty of sushi on the table," Kenta's mother was saying to Kenta. She turned to Ryuga. "There should be enough for you too, Ryuga."

*Sushi? As in food?!* Ryuga hadn't realized he was hungry until the idea of food was brought up. Now he realized he was starving. He looked at the kitchen. A green-haired man was sitting at the table, reading a book. He looked up at Kenta.

"Hey, kiddo!" he greeted, with a smile.

"Hi, dad!" Kenta rushed over to his dad and threw his arms around him in a hug.

"How was your trip?" His dad asked.

"Really exhausting," Kenta admitted, stepping out of the hug. "I'm glad to be home, and with food!"

He sat at the table, immediately reaching for the tray of sushi and grabbing three pieces. He placed them on a smaller plate.

"Ryuga, want some of this sushi?" Kenta asked, looking up at him and holding up a piece of sushi.

Ryuga froze. Everyone's eyes were suddenly on him, which he would be used to in a stadium, but this wasn't a stadium. It was the furthest thing from a Bey stadium.

"Ryuga, huh?" Kenta's dad didn't even sound shocked. "Wow, Kenta really can make friends with anyone."

"You've heard of me then," Ryuga muttered. He took a seat next to Kenta, across the table from Kenta's parents.

"Sure, a while ago," Kenta's dad answered with a shrug. "How'd you and Kenta end up friends?"

Ryuga stared down at the table. "Long story."

"We can listen," Kenta's mom insisted gently.

Ryuga tapped Kenta's shoulder. "Kenta, you tell them."

"Huh?" Kenta had been busy stuffing his face with sushi. "Oh, okay." He turned to his parents. "I was with Gingka and the others on the journey to find the Legendary Bladers and defeat Nemesis..."

Ryuga zoned out as Kenta recounted the events of his travels. He glanced at the sushi tray. He was hungry, but the food looked so... Weird. Ryuga wasn't a picky eater, he was willing to eat whatever he could find, but he rarely ate processed food like this. However, he wasn't dumb enough to deny food when it was right there in front of him. So he grabbed one of the rolls and took a bite. *What is this supposed to be?!* Ryuga could barely make out any individual ingredients, though he was pretty sure he tasted fish. He wasn't sure if he liked it but he was hungry enough to eat it without thinking.

"So I ended up travelling with him for months and somewhere along the way we became friends," Kenta had just finished his story before taking a bite of his sushi.

"So you're homeless then?" Kenta's mom asked, turning to Ryuga.

"You couldn't tell?" Ryuga asked, letting out a dry laugh. He hadn't thought about it until now, but he probably looked like just as much of a wreck as Kenta did.

"Don't you have a family somewhere?" Kenta's dad asked, tilting his head to the side.

"No."

"Oh..." Kenta's parents turned to each other, their eyes wide. Ryuga growled. They were pitying him, he could tell.