Ryuga's POV
*That one time, it was only for a brief shining moment, I became serious. I promised. Take it! KENTA!*
Ryuga's eyes snapped open. Sunlight was blazing around him, making him shield his eyes with a grunt. It seemed like only a moment ago Ryuga was giving Kenta the power of the star fragment.
*How am I alive?* He thought he had used up the last of his remaining strength to give his star fragment to Kenta... yet somehow he was still here, wherever "here" was. Ryuga reached for L-Drago. His heart skipped a beat when he realized he didn't feel his brace on his arm. Ryuga sat up and looked around. All around him was a barren dry landscape, almost like a desert but L-Drago was nowhere to be seen.
"R-Ryuga...?"
Ryuga stiffened at the sound of a familiar voice. He looked over his shoulder. In the distance, stood the very kid he had entrusted his power to. *Kenta...* Ryuga smiled. Out of everyone else in this world, he was happy Kenta was the first person he saw.
"Ryuga! Ryuga, you're alive!" Kenta's cries carried on the wind as he bolted toward Ryuga.
Kenta sobbed violently as he threw his arms around Ryuga, who just sat there and allowed Kenta to hug him. The kid fell to his knees, sobbing and clutching Ryuga. After a few moments, Ryuga gently pushed him away and got to his feet. Kenta took a step back. He sniffled, wiping the tears off his cheek.
"What happened?!" Kenta asked, gazing desperately at Ryuga. "I saw you disappear!"
"I don't know," Ryuga admitted.
*How can I still be here when L-Drago isn't?*
"Nevermind, it doesn't matter." Kenta grabbed Ryuga's hand and Ryuga noticed the kid trembling. "I'm just glad you're back! I was so worried, and scared, and-"
"Kenta." Ryuga cut him off. He gazed at Kenta for a moment, noticing that his eyes were red and puffy. "Why aren't you with Gingka and the others?"
"I..." Kenta looked away. "I was going to catch up, I just wanted to hang back for a bit."
Ryuga raised an eyebrow. "To cry?"
"Would you judge me if that was why?" Kenta asked, his voice suddenly drained of any emotion.
"No."
"It was..." Without warning, Kenta hugged him again. "I missed you."
Ryuga stared at him in awe. *I missed you... No one's ever said THAT to me before.* Kenta and Ryuga both fell silent for a few moments.
"Hey, where's L-Drago?" Kenta asked, taking a step back and gazing up at Ryuga curiously.
Ryuga looked away. "Gone."
"Gone?!" Kenta repeated, his eyes wide.
"It disappeared," he explained, staring at where his arm brace would've been.
"But... I thought it just went with you..."
"It didn't. I don't know where it went." *I don't know why I'm still here,* Ryuga added silently to himself, *Without my L-Drago...*
"Well, your fight against Nemesis must have been really tiring, for both you and L-Drago." Kenta pointed up at the sky. "The bey might be resting in the cosmos, like Pegasus was after Gingka's fight against you."
Kenta's response left him so confused that Ryuga wondered if he just had a stroke.
"...what?"
"Uh... long story." Kenta rested his hand on the back of his neck. "I can explain it on the way."
"On the way?"
"I wanted to go back with the others. Flash Sagittario got damaged pretty badly in the fight against Nemesis."
Kenta reached into his pocket and pulled out a Beyblade. Ryuga gazed at it. Its spin track alone was taller than a regular Beyblade, though it lacked Sagittario's distinct claws and was instead covered in cracks. Bits of the fusion wheel were also strewn about in Kenta's hand.
Ryuga smiled a bit. "Wow, I give you a new Beyblade and you immediately destroy it?"
"I-I didn't mean to!" Kenta exclaimed, clutching his broken Beyblade in his hands. "We were fighting a God!"
"Well, you'd better get it fixed then."
"What about you? Where will you go?"
"I..." Ryuga's heart skipped a beat. "I don't know..." He realized aloud.
*What am I supposed to do? I was only travelling at all to become a stronger Blader and find worthy opponents. Where am I supposed to go now?*
Kenta grabbed Ryuga's arm. Ryuga glanced down at the kid, his eyes narrowed.
"Please come back with us, Ryuga." Kenta was giving him that sickening expression, the one he always gave him when he wanted something: the dreaded puppy dog eyes.
"Come back?" Ryuga asked, moving his arm away. "With Gingka and the others?"
"Yeah!"
*Don't they all hate me?*
"Why would I do that?" Ryuga grunted, raising an eyebrow.
"You said yourself you don't know what you want to do! You can figure that out with us!"
Ryuga's eyes narrowed.
"They'll all accept you!" Kenta insisted, "You helped us defeat Nemesis, in your own way... You're a hero, Ryuga! You're..." Kenta looked away, his voice suddenly quieting. "You're my hero, at least."
Ryuga let out a chuckle, "Don't let Gingka find out you said that."
"Wha-" Kenta nearly tripped over his own feet. "He-he's my hero too! I can have multiple heroes! Are you coming with us or not?!"
Ryuga's smile faded. "If I don't, you'll just follow me to the ends of the earth," he grunted, "I might as well save myself the effort."
In truth, Ryuga wanted to stay with Kenta and didn't see the point of travelling if it wasn't to get stronger at Beyblade. However, there was no way he was going to admit that.
Kenta smiled. "I'll take that as a yes..."
He grabbed Ryuga's hand and attempted to run forward, only to flop backward with a yelp. Ryuga yanked his hand free and walked past Kenta.
"Hey! Wait up! Kenta called, chasing after him.
Ryuga walked at a casual pace, allowing Kenta to catch up and walk beside him. In the distance, Ryuga spotted two helicopters on the ground. As they got closer, Ryuga saw the largest crowd gathered around the helicopters. He recognized some of them as the legendary bladers, and others as opponents he had once defeated. However, Ryuga struggled to put names to faces. He knew Gingka, of course, along with Kyoya, Tsubasa, and Yu, three former Dark Nebula bladers like himself. Everyone else's name was a mystery.
"Kenta!" Gingka exclaimed, his eyes brightening. "You're back!" He froze, noticing Ryuga. "And Ryuga?!"
"You're alive?" Kyoya asked, raising an eyebrow.
Ryuga rolled his eyes. "Obviously."
The group fell silent. Everyone's gazes were intent on Ryuga, some full of fear or anger, while others were just bewildered. One girl with blue hair toward the back of the crowd seemed frozen with fear. She looked vaguely familiar. However, Ryuga couldn't figure out where he had seen her before.
"Why is he here?"
Ryuga stiffened at the sound of a familiar voice. Gingka's father was toward the back of the crowd, glaring daggers at Ryuga and holding his arm out in front of the blue-haired girl.
"Because he's a legendary blader!" Gingka replied, stepping up beside his father.
"Was," Ryuga grunted, glancing at Kenta.
"What do you mean 'was?'" Gingka's father asked, taking a step forward. His eyes were narrowed in suspicion.
Ryuga took a step back. "Kenta," Ryuga gestured to the kid as he spoke, "Show them Sagittario."
"Oh! Right." Kenta retrieved the broken Bey from his pocket, holding it up in his palm so the others could see.
A few people in the crowd leaned forward with wide eyes.
"It's broken," replied a boy with brown and yellow hair.
"It's different," Gingka's father added.
Ryuga rolled his eyes. *Congratulations for noticing the obvious.*
"It's evolved," Kenta explained, gesturing to Ryuga. "Ryuga gave me the power of his star fragment."
*At the cost of L-Drago...* Ryuga's eyes widened at the realization.
"How is that even possible?" Gingka's father asked, staring at Flash Sagittario.
"It's a long story," Gingka replied, resting his hand on the back of his neck. "We can explain it on the way home."
"Right." Gingka's father dipped his head. "Are all of you coming to Japan?"
"Some of us are from other places, you know," an obnoxious kid replied. Ryuga was sure he recognized him from the World Championships, but didn't care to remember his name.
"Yeah, but this would be easier," a white-haired kid replied, gazing at the obnoxious kid.
"Yes," the brown-haired kid with the glasses agreed. Ryuga remembered fighting him on the volcano. "And we all need to get our Beyblades repaired," he added, holding up the pieces of a blue Beyblade.
"Yeah."
Everyone else pulled out their Beyblades, which were in similar condition to Sagittario.
"Uh, Ryuga..." Ryuga looked up to see a young-looking girl with goggles gazing at him. "L-Drago probably needs repairs too. Can I see it?"
Ryuga froze. His gut reaction to that kind of request was to hide his Beyblade; no one could have L-Drago besides himself. However, he quickly remembered what happened. Everyone was silent, their gazes all intent on him.
"L-Drago is gone," Ryuga finally replied.
"Gone?!" Several people gasped at once.
"What do you mean gone?" the girl with the goggles asked, her eyes wide.
"Exactly what I said," Ryuga grunted, "It's gone."
*How many times am I going to have to explain this?!*
"L-Drago disappeared," Kenta explained, taking a step forward. "Like Storm Pegasus did when Gingka defeated Ryuga." He gestured to Gingka. "I don't know, but that may be what happened."
"Oh..." Gingka turned to Ryuga, an almost sympathetic look on his face. "Sorry about your Bey, Ryuga. Maybe... it'll come back one day."
"Whatever," Ryuga growled, looking away. "Are we leaving or not?"
"Half of you can fit in one helicopter, the rest can go to the other one," Gingka's father explained, pointing to the two helicopters.
"Which one should we take?" Kenta asked, looking up at Ryuga.
"It doesn't matter to me," Ryuga answered. He didn't really want to deal with anyone here but he had no choice.
"It matters to me!" the blue-haired girl exclaimed, her eyes narrowed at Ryuga.
Ryuga turned to her. "And... you are?"
The girl stiffened. "A-are you kidding me?!" she snapped, clenching her fists.
"Do you seriously not remember Battle Bladers?!" Tsubasa cut in, his voice uncharacteristically annoyed.
"I try not to," Ryuga replied.
He suppressed a shudder as he recalled Lightning L-Drago attacking him and controlling him with its dark power. Kenta grabbed Ryuga's arm, returning him to the present.
"Ryuga, you can go in that one," Gingka's father ordered, pointing at the second helicopter.
Ryuga shrugged, "Whatever." He hated being told what to do but right now, he didn't feel like arguing.
Ryuga started toward the helicopter. Kenta immediately started after him, walking by his side once he caught up. The majority of people walked toward the first helicopter. Kyoya took the first step toward the second helicopter.
"Wha- Kyoya?!" Kyoya's closest friend gasped.
Kyoya just scoffed, "I'm not afraid of him."
Kyoya's friend followed him. A few others followed as well, including Tsubasa and Yu of all people. Why did they want to be anywhere near Ryuga? He had no idea. In total, eight people boarded the second helicopter. Ryuga sat closest to the wall with only Kenta beside him.
Kenta was clinging to Ryuga's arm, as if he would disappear again at any moment. Ryuga didn't bother pushing him away. He had gotten used to Kenta's clinginess, though he was showing it much more now, and wasn't repulsed by it.
Ryuga remembered the first time Kenta had broken that touch barrier: while Ryuga was stealing a legendary blader's power. Kenta had thrown himself at Ryuga. However, instead of attacking him in any way, Kenta had instead hugged him, and begged him not to take their power. Ryuga was still bewildered by that. *What was he trying to do? Hug the ambition out of me? What a fool.*
However, Ryuga recalled an even more bewildering moment, only minutes after that, when Ryuga had decided to confront Kenta.
"What were you thinking, getting in my way like that?!" Ryuga demanded, glaring down at the kid.
Kenta glared back, with a fire to match his own. "You were stealing their power! I had to do something!"
Ryuga let out a growl. "If you ever pull a stunt like that again, I'll-I'll..."
"You'll what, Ryuga?!" Kenta exclaimed. "You'll what?!"
Ryuga took a step back. What would he do? If anyone else talked to him like this, Ryuga would've attacked them on the spot, but this was Kenta, the kid who had travelled with him for months, despite it just being for some "destiny" nonsense. The idea of hurting him made Ryuga sick to his stomach. He narrowed his eyes and forced himself to speak.
"Don't forget who I am, kid," he growled, "My goal is to take all of the legendary bladers' power for myself and nothing you do or say will ever change that."
He turned and walked away. After a few moments, he heard Kenta starting to follow. For weeks, Ryuga had been vehemently denying to himself that he had any sort of attachment to Kenta. Now, however, there was no way he could deny it. Kenta wasn't just some annoying kid following him anymore, he was someone Ryuga wanted around. That was something he couldn't say for anyone else.
"Hey, Kenchi." Ryuga and Kenta glanced up at Yu, who was sitting across from them and gazing intently at Kenta. "What did you do to get Ryuga to respect you?"
"Uh... I..." Kenta turned to Ryuga.
*He doesn't know?!* For a brief moment, Ryuga considered giving Kenta an answer. However, he realized that he wouldn't just be telling Kenta: he would be telling the other six people in the helicopter.
"That's between him and me," Ryuga replied defensively.
"You mean between you and yourself," Tsubasa cut in, glaring at Ryuga from beside Kenta.
He was sitting between Kenta and the mechanic girl, as everyone else was sitting on the opposite side of the helicopter.
"He doesn't have to talk about it," Kenta insisted, shifting a bit in his spot. "I mean, there are so many people here and it's probably personal."
Ryuga stiffened. *How in the world did he know what I was thinking?!*
"I guess," Tsubasa sighed, folding his arms.
The helicopter fell silent again. Ryuga gazed at Kenta. In truth, Ryuga had always been somewhat impressed by Kenta, ever since their first meeting. He had barely noticed him before and gathered that he wasn't a very strong blader and Gingka was just keeping him around to humour him. Yet Kenta had challenged Ryuga, even though he knew he didn't stand a chance. Ryuga thought that would be it. Kenta would realize it was a lost cause and return to his friends. But he didn't. Kenta was so persistent, so determined to get Ryuga to listen, that he was willing to follow him through the wilderness and just generally put up with Ryuga's harshness. He was the only person Ryuga could call a friend. How could he not respect him?
Beside him, Kenta let out a yawn. Ryuga glanced at him. Without warning, Kenta let go of Ryuga's arm and laid his head on Ryuga's lap.
"Kenta, what the-" Ryuga barely stopped himself from saying a word that shouldn't be used in front of children.
"Tired..." Kenta murmured, struggling to keep his eyes open. "Fight against Nemesis... so exhausting." He let out another yawn.
Across from him, Yu let out a yawn as well.
"You said it Kenchi," he murmured, rubbing his eyes.
Ryuga looked around. Nearly everyone was falling asleep. The mechanic girl rested her head on Tsubasa's shoulder. Kyoya had done the same with his much taller friend. Another kid, one with purple hair that Ryuga recognized as one of the legendary bladers, snuggled up to Yu. Only the man with light purple hair seemed up and alert.
Ryuga bit back a yawn. His entire body was numb from the exhaustion of his own one on one fight with Nemesis, then using what he thought was the last of his strength to give Kenta his power. Ryuga glanced down at Kenta, who was currently using his lap as a pillow.
*Well if he's going to use me as a pillow then I'm going to use him as an armrest,* Ryuga thought as he rested his hand on Kenta's shoulder. Kenta suddenly smiled.
"Goodnight Ryuga," he murmured.
*It's the middle of the day.*
However, Ryuga couldn't deny his own drowsiness. Leaning back against the seat, he closed his eyes and allowed his head to dip.
"We're here, everyone!" a voice informed.
Ryuga's eyes snapped open.
"Huh?" Kenta muttered, sitting up beside Ryuga and rubbing his eyes. "What's happening?"
"We're home?!" Yu asked, his eyes popping wide open.
The purple-haired kid he was with snapped awake as well, jumping to his feet with a yelp. Kyoya's eyes fluttered open. The moment he noticed his head rested on his friend's shoulder he scooted away.
"Wake up, Benkei," Kyoya grunted, nudging the bigger kid awake.
Everyone began to file out of the helicopter, chattering amongst themselves like rabbits. Ryuga stuck close to Kenta. Not too close of course, just closer to him than the others. The other helicopter had landed nearby, allowing the two groups to join up and walk in an even bigger crowd.
Ryuga stopped for a few moments. He allowed the rest of the group to go on without him before he continued, now a few paces behind the huge crowd. He wasn't scared, he told himself. He was just keeping his distance because he wasn't used to being around so many people at once. That was all.
However, he still followed the group. Even as he entered the somewhat familiar Japanese city, he couldn't think of anywhere else to go. His mind was like a broken compass, having no sense of direction to point him to a destination or even a purpose. All he could think to do was follow Kenta.
At that moment, Ryuga realized a cruel irony: after months of trying to get Kenta to stop following him, now Ryuga was the one following Kenta. Ryuga stopped in his tracks. *I've sunk so low... can I even call myself the Dragon Emperor anymore?!* Ryuga gazed at his empty wrist and let out a sigh. *No... without my L-Drago... I'm nothing.*