uptown alleyways [Beyblade Burst]

❷ | Valkyrie

cw // depictions of gore and body horror (nothing too graphic, imagine like describing a zombie from a horror movie or something, that's the extent of it)

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This time, Rantaro pays more attention to his surroundings. He'd like to be able to get around this hellscape without needing to be handheld by this other guy (though oddly, he couldn't say that he hated the feeling. Quite the opposite, in fact, but Rantaro Kiyama, man of men, wasn't going to let himself get caught up in that thought), so it would probably be a good idea to get his bearings.

One of the first things he noticed about the Alterplane Shibuya, aside from the mist, was how dilapidated it was. Some buildings were surrounded by thorny plants he had never seen before (he made a mental note to not touch any of those, no matter how curious he was), and even the small cracks in the ground had these weird vines crawling out of them. A lot of the architecture seemed ready to crumble, and there was a layer of some dusty, sand-type substance that kicked up around them whenever they took so much as a step. It was completely deserted, almost like no one had ever lived here.

"So there's really no one left here except for you?" Rantaro figured that the best time to ask his new dumb questions was probably in the glowing period right after the Wyvern had calmed down. At the very least, his companion didn't seem like he was in the mood to seriously argue.

"No person," Wakiya corrected. "Well, at least, no one that's able to have some semblance of a complete thought. There's definitely something living out here, but I ain't seen no one I could talk to before y'came around."

"How long has it been like this?"

"I'm not sure. Clocks stopped working on that day. I tried ta keep track on a calendar, but the days ran out fast on that, and who knows how long it's been since then."

Rantaro thought for a second, which might have been longer than he ever had before. "...so you've been here for a long time by yourself, then?"

Wakiya shrugged. "Not so bad." He turned and gave Rantaro a pointed look. "No one around to make annoying statements, for one."

"Hah, you're so funny. Seriously, I'm cracking up over here."

"I'll crack your head open next."

"And here I thought we were just becoming friends."

He could have sworn the Wyvern smiled, just for a moment. "Why are y'asking about the city anyways? Pretty sure I explained everything I could earlier. Unless ya weren't listening, and I guess by now I should know better than ta expect much from ya."

"See, getting to know each other better already!" Rantaro chuckled. "Seriously, though, what's up with all the plants? You guys got gardeners tending to them after the apocalypse or what?"

Wakiya thought for a moment, before scratching his head. "Actually, I don't know that either."

"There seems to be a lot of stuff that you don't know.

"Hey, it's more than whatever's rattling around in yer empty head. What's up there, marbles? Or have ya lost them too?"

"Nice."

The other blond shrugged. "Anyways, like I was saying. I don't know. They only showed up after that fog did, so my guess is that it probably has something ta do with it." He then looked pointedly at Rantaro. "By the way, don't touch anything weird just ta 'see what'll happen. That's a rule y'should probably follow at all times, but I'm telling ya again because I keep seeing ya looking at them and whatnot."