Kenta's POV (Yes, again. I have a good reason I promise)
"Ryuga!"
Kenta dashed toward his friend, jumping up and throwing his arms around him. Ryuga barely caught him with a small yelp of surprise. He briefly returned the hug.
"Mind warning me next time you do that?" Ryuga grunted, letting Kenta down on the ground.
"Sorry, but you really had us worried!" Kenta noticed Madoka near them. "Did you seriously stay at the shop all night?!" he asked, gesturing to her.
Ryuga rolled his eyes. "I fell asleep."
"What were you doing before that?"
Ryuga fell silent. Kenta turned to Madoka instead.
"He just played with Beyblade parts mostly," she answered with a shrug.
"Really? Ryuga..."
Kenta stared up at his friend. He thought it was weird that Ryuga had wanted to stay in a place full of reminders of Beyblade, when he constantly avoided the topic of L-Drago's disappearance, but he hadn't realized it was this bad.
Ryuga cleared his throat. "Your parents wanted us back at your house," he informed, walking away.
"Oh, okay..." Kenta turned to Madoka. "Bye Madoka!" he called, waving and chasing after Ryuga.
"Bye Kenta!" Madoka called back.
Kenta slowed to a walk once he was at Ryuga's side.
"You really miss Beyblade that much?"
"Hm?" Ryuga glanced down at him.
"Playing with Beyblade parts?" Kenta raised an eyebrow. "Come on, Ryuga, you're not fooling anyone."
"I'm not trying to."
"Then what are you trying to do?!" Kenta exclaimed, clenching his fists. "Wallow in misery over losing L-Drago?!"
Ryuga stopped walking, remaining silent for a few heartbeats. "You're the last person I expected to be mad at me."
Kenta froze. *What does he mean by THAT?*
"I-I'm not..." Kenta looked away. "I'm sorry."
They were both quiet the rest of the walk home. Kenta pushed the door open. His parents were in the kitchen, and perked up at the sight of them.
"Ryuga!" they gasped in unison.
Ryuga stepped back. Kenta tilted his head to the side. Usually, Ryuga would react to Kenta's parents with indifference or annoyance but this time his eyes were wide and he seemed frozen in place. *Is he... afraid?* With a chill, Kenta realized that this was the first time he had seen Ryuga show fear, and it was toward Kenta's own parents. After a few moments, Ryuga stepped forward. He grabbed his white jacket off the couch and made his way toward the basement.
"Wait, Ryuga!" Kenta called, chasing after him.
Ryuga stopped and looked down at him. "Let me be alone," he grunted.
"I..." Kenta stepped back, his heart skipping a beat. Then his shock turned to anger. "Fine. Go ahead," he grunted, turning away.
Ryuga hesitated only for a moment before retreating into the basement. Kenta grunted as he sat at the table with his parents.
"He just got back and he's already pushing us all away," Kenta sighed, pouring himself a bowl of cereal.
"Oh, he just needs some time alone, kiddo," his dad replied, with a shrug. "Some people are like that. Social activity is draining for them so they need time alone every now and then."
"But it seems like he wants to be alone all the time, even though he's living here."
It had been a week and Ryuga didn't seem to be feeling any better. He still avoided Kenta's parents, in fact, he avoided any and all social interaction with anyone besides Kenta, and he still seemed so indifferent day in and day out. *He's lost his passion.*
"He just needs space," Kenta's mom insisted, "He seemed really upset when he called me."
Kenta looked up at her in surprise. "He called you?"
"He thought we were mad at him for not coming home."
"Why would he think that?!" Kenta gasped, nearly dropping his spoon.
"I don't know," his mother sighed. "It was good of him to check in of course, but it was... worrying." She turned to Kenta's dad, who dipped his head.
"I know it's none of our business but it makes me wonder if something happened to the kid," he spoke in a low voice, as if he didn't want Kenta to hear.
Kenta's mother nodded. "Oh, I think that's for certain."
Kenta didn't want to tell his parents that they were right: something had indeed happened to Ryuga... at Battle Bladers. However, he didn't see how that event would make Ryuga wary of Kenta's parents. There was no connection. *Is this a side effect of him missing Beyblade or is this a separate problem altogether?*
Regardless, Kenta knew one thing was true: the happiest he had ever seen Ryuga was when he was Beyblading. *There has to be some way he can Beyblade again.* Then he got an idea. Ryuga didn't want to replace L-Drago likely because he believed no Beyblade could match its power, and he was somewhat correct. However, if he could design the bey himself... It seemed like a stretch but maybe Ryuga would be willing to try. The WBBA on the other hand...
*I have to at least try. Ryuga gave up his power for me, this is the least I can do for him in return.*
Once Kenta finished his breakfast, he went on his phone. He looked at his contacts. Gingka had spent the day yesterday with his dad but he was probably free now.
-Kenta: Gingka, can you meet me at bey park?-
-Gingka: For a bey battle?-
-Kenta: No, Sagittario's still damaged. I just need to talk to you about something.-
-Gingka: Uhhhhhhhh okay.-
Kenta stood up and glanced at his parents.
"I'm going to see Gingka. Can you tell Ryuga I'm leaving?" *Since he hates being alone with you so much,* Kenta added silently to himself.
His dad nodded. "Sure thing, kiddo."
"Have fun with your friend!" His mom called as he walked out the front door.
Kenta made his way toward Bey park, checking his phone every now and then to see if he had any messages from Gingka. He stopped in front of the building and looked around. Gingka was nowhere in sight. Kenta looked at his phone again, letting out a sigh.
"Hi Kenta!" Kenta perked up at the sound of Gingka's voice.
"Hey, Gingka!" Kenta greeted, putting his phone away. "How was your day with your dad?"
"Pretty good," Gingka answered, stopping in front of him. "So what was it you wanted to talk about?"
"I, uh..." *Okay, right to the point.* "I want to ask your dad something," Kenta admitted, shifting in place a bit.
"Huh, what did you want to ask him?" Gingka asked, tilting his head to the side.
"It's something WBBA related."
"You gonna tell me?"
Kenta gulped. "Don't freak out, please."
"I won't," Gingka replied, sounding genuine.
"I want..." Kenta paused to take a deep breath. "I want to ask the WBBA to make Ryuga a new Beyblade."
Gingka stared at him. "Uh... they might-"
"I know they might not want to do it!" Kenta cut him off, his voice quivering as he went on, "But I have to at least try and ask! Ryuga's been feeling so depressed and left out without Beyblade!"
"He told you that?" Gingka asked, his eyes wide.
"He didn't have to. Ryuga's like a brother to me, Gingka. I can tell when he's upset and I can't bear not doing anything about it."
Kenta briefly wondered if Ryuga would be annoyed at him for saying they were like brothers. However, it was true in more ways than the obvious one. Kenta never knew what it was like to have siblings, so he looked up to both Gingka and Ryuga as older brothers.
"Kenta..." Gingka smiled a bit. "That's really sweet... you can try asking my dad if you think it'll help. I think he's available right now."
"Thanks, Gingka!" Kenta threw his arms around Gingka. His friend immediately hugged back, resting one hand on Kenta's head.
"Alright let's go," Kenta replied, stepping out of the hug and walking forward.
Gingka however stood still. "Uh, but the bus is that way..." he informed, pointing in the opposite direction.
Kenta shrugged. "We can walk there."
"Walk?!" Gingka gasped, his eyes wide. "But it's like... Two kilometres away!"
"Two kilometres?" Kenta bit back a chuckle. "Do you know how many kilometres Ryuga and I walked a day when we were travelling together?"
"Uh..."
Kenta shrugged. "I don't, but it was a lot of kilometres."
"Yeah, no kidding," Gingka chuckled, gesturing for Kenta to follow him.
The two chatted with each other the whole way to the WBBA headquarters. When they neared the director's office, they fell silent. Kenta froze. *How am I going to ask them this? 'Hey remember, Ryuga? The guy who stole the forbidden bey and hurt tons of people with it? Can you make a new bey for him?' Now that Kenta was thinking about it, he realized just how crazy that might sound. Gingka pushed the office door open. Kenta shook himself from his thoughts, following Gingka inside.
"Hey, dad," he greeted with a wave.
"Hello Gingka, Kenta," his dad replied with a dip of his head.
Kenta froze. Gingka's dad and Hikaru were sitting at the desk, looking over some important-looking documents. Hikaru... Kenta hadn't counted on her being here.
"What brings the two of you here?" Hikaru asked, tilting her head to the side.
Gingka turned to Kenta.
"I, uh, well... I kinda..." Kenta cleared his throat. "I had something I wanted to ask the director."
Kenta cast a sympathetic glance at Hikaru, remembering with a chill how Ryuga had attacked her during Battle Bladers. *I can't just bring this up out of nowhere, especially not with her here.*
"Well, what is it?" Gingka's dad prompted.
"It... it's about Ryuga."
Hikaru winced, letting out a small shriek.
Gingka's dad stiffened. "What has he done?" he asked, his voice suddenly dark.
"Nothing!" Kenta exclaimed, stiffening with anger.
"Hikaru..." The director glanced at his assistant, whose eyes were wide and unfocused, as if her mind wasn't fully present. Gingka glanced at her.
"Hey, Hikaru." He stepped toward her casually. "Why don't we leave these two to talk about things and get some ice cream or something?" he suggested, pulling the office door open.
"Yes, you can take a break, Hikaru," Gingka's dad added with a nod.
"I..." Hikaru dipped her head. "Thank you, director."
Hikaru stood up and followed Gingka out of the room. They closed the door behind them, leaving Kenta and Gingka's dad alone in the office.
"Is there a good reason you brought up that b-" Gingka's dad cut himself off. "That Blader here?"
"He's not a blader anymore, and I'm sorry. I..." *I didn't know how else to bring it up.* "I had a request... for Ryuga."
"For Ryuga?" Gingka's dad asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why isn't he here himself then?"
Kenta's eyes narrowed. *Like you would want him here,* he thought, fighting the urge to roll his eyes.
"I haven't told him yet," Kenta explained, looking away. "I... I want to get him a new Beyblade. M-make him one, I mean. I-"
"A new Beyblade?" Gingka's dad cut him off, sounding outraged. "For Ryuga?!"
"I know, I know it sounds crazy but Ryuga is my friend and he's changed a lot since Battle Bladers. He's been so depressed without Beyblade... I just want to help him."
Gingka's dad let out a sigh. "I understand wanting to help your friend but I cannot comply with this request."
"Why not?" Kenta had admittedly expected this answer but he wasn't going to give up this easily.
"It's too dangerous, Kenta," Gingka's dad struggled to keep his voice down. "That kid shouldn't have been allowed to hold a Beyblade again after Battle Bladers!" The man bristled with rage. He looked like he was seconds away from slamming his hands on the table but had stopped himself.
"Battle Bladers..." Kenta shivered. "With all due respect, director, that tournament was years ago now and Ryuga helped us defeat Nemesis last week, nearly at the cost of his life." Kenta forced his voice to remain steady as he shivered at that memory, "He has changed. Letting him Beyblade again won't lead to a Neo Battle Bladers."
Gingka's dad looked unconvinced.
"Please," Kenta sighed, his head hanging low. "At least give him a chance..."
"On some conditions..."
Kenta looked up at the director, letting out a squeak of happiness.
"He can't enter any tournaments, not for a few months at least and I need to know that more than one person will be keeping him and his new bey in check."
"Um... Well, there's my parents..."
"That will work. I want one of you three present whenever he uses it."
"Cool, cool." Kenta nodded vigorously. He leaned over the desk, pleading with his eyes. "So when can we design the bey?"
Gingka's dad let out a sigh. "Madoka can make a blueprint for the bey. Kenta, bring Ryuga here tomorrow at one pm. I want to speak to him first."
"Okay, I'll let Ryuga know." Kenta dipped his head. "Thank you, director!" he called, dashing out of the office.
*Well, that went well,* Kenta thought with a smile. He made his way out of the building. Then he froze. Hikaru and Gingka were standing just outside.
"Oh... hey guys," Kenta greeted, forcing a smile and waving.
Hikaru glanced down at him. "Kenta..."
"Yeah?" Kenta froze.
He and Hikaru weren't exactly friends; they just knew each other through Gingka and hadn't talked much since Kenta had challenged her over and over again years ago now.
"Is it true?" Hikaru asked, raising an eyebrow. Her tone was almost accusatory.
"Is what true?"
"That Ryuga is living with you and your parents now?"
Kenta stiffened. "Y-yeah. He is. Did Gingka tell you?" he asked, casting a glance at his friend.
"Yeah..." Gingka rested his hand on the back of his neck. He turned to Hikaru. "Hikaru I-"
"Gingka," Hikaru cut him off, her tone blunt. "I get that Ryuga's different now and frankly, I don't care. It doesn't change what he did."
"I... I know." Gingka looked down at his feet.
"Yeah..." Kenta bit his lip. "We're not asking you to forgive him." *Even if he might not have been in full control of himself during Battle Bladers, what he did was still really messed up.* Kenta shivered at the memory.
"I... I should get going," Hikaru replied, turning away. "I have a meeting with my therapist."
Before either of them could reply, Hikaru dashed off. Kenta and Gingka turned to each other.
"Are we just not going to tell her that you asked the WBBA to make Ryuga a new bey?" Gingka asked, tilting his head to the side.
"I..." Kenta looked away. "I know telling the truth is the right thing but... I don't want to be the one to tell her. She'll freak out."
"She'll have to find out eventually. My dad will probably tell her at some point. Well..." Gingka forced a smile. "Worrying about it won't do anyone any good."
"Yeah," Kenta nodded in agreement.
"Do you want to hang out for a while? I know Sagittario's broken but we could do something at my house."
Kenta smiled and nodded. "Sure! Let's go!"
Gingka and Kenta walked side by side down the sidewalk, smiling as they chatted casually with each other.
------------
Kenta spent the entire morning with Gingka, playing video games and talking together before noon, when Kenta decided to head home for lunch. He hoped Ryuga would be home too. Kenta had yet to tell his friend about their meeting with the WBBA tomorrow. *I wonder how he'll react. He hates social situations, clearly, but if he wants to Beyblade again...*
Kenta stepped inside the house. He didn't see his dad anywhere, he was probably at work, but his mom was at the kitchen table, her gaze fixed on her laptop. She glanced up at him.
"Hi, Kenta," she greeted with a smile.
"Hey, mom." Kenta smiled and waved. "Is... Ryuga still downstairs?"
"I think so. Unless he left without letting me know." There was worry in her tone.
"I..." Kenta bit his lip. "I don't think he'd do that after... Well..."
"Right..." The two of them looked away, clearly remembering what happened that morning.
"Well, I'm gonna go check on him."
Kenta pulled the door of the basement open and hopped down the stairs.
"Ryuga!" he called.
When he reached the foot for the stairs, Kenta scanned the mostly empty room, looking for his friend. Ryuga was sitting on the bed. He was still wearing his mother's jacket and his gaze was intent on his phone.
"Ryuga..." Kenta stared at him for a moment. This was the first time he had ever actually seen him use his phone. "What are you doing...?"
Ryuga looked up at him and put the phone aside face down.
"What do you want?"
*Why is that always his response? I don't always want something from him... do I? Am I too demanding?*
"We kind of have a meeting with..." Kenta stopped himself from saying 'Gingka's dad.' "With the WBBA director tomorrow."
Ryuga's eyes narrowed. "Why?"
"I..." Kenta took a step back. "I asked them to make you a new Beyblade."
"You did what?!" Kenta winced when Ryuga raised his voice. It didn't scare him, just made his head hurt. "Kenta, I am not replacing L-Drago," Ryuga grunted, standing up.
"Why not?!" Kenta exclaimed, clenching his fists. "So what, it won't be as powerful?! You'll get to design it to your liking and you'll be able to Beyblade again! Isn't that what you want?"
"It's not about L-Drago's power."
"Huh?" Kenta froze.
"I miss that too, but that's not why I don't want to replace L-Drago. Would you be able to replace Sagittario if you lost it?"
"I..." Kenta was taken aback by the sudden question. "No. Sagittario and I have a bond..."
"Exactly."
Kenta stared at him. He knew Ryuga valued L-Drago's power above almost everything and assumed that was why he didn't want to replace it.
"Really? After all that bey put you through, you still have a bond with it?!"
Ryuga nodded. "It was still my Beyblade... and no other bey can ever replace what L-Drago and I had."
Kenta suddenly felt guilty for not even considering that. *I thought he only cared about the bey's power? Do I really think that little of my own friend?*
Kenta let out a sigh. "Can... can you at least try?" *I went through all that effort...* Kenta kept that last part to himself. He didn't want Ryuga to feel guilty; this wasn't his fault.
Ryuga dipped his head. "Fine. When is this meeting?" he asked, sitting back down on the bed.
"One o'clock tomorrow."
"In the afternoon?"
Kenta smiled and sat next to him. "Nah, we're staying up past midnight to design your bey. Best get a nap in now." He couldn't help but smirk triumphantly at his own joke.
Ryuga smiled a bit. "Shut up, smart aleck." He pushed Kenta over. It didn't hurt; Ryuga had barely touched him yet it still made Kenta yelp in surprise.
"Hey!"
Kenta tried with all his might to push Ryuga over but couldn't even make him budge. Ryuga just smiled and ruffled Kenta's hair. Grunting with annoyance, Kenta decided to pull Ryuga into a hug, because that was the best revenge he could think of at the moment. Ryuga let out a grunt but hugged him back anyway.
"Kenta! Ryuga!" Kenta's mother called. Kenta could feel Ryuga stiffen in front of him. "There's food on the table!"
Ryuga let go of Kenta.
"We'll be up in a minute!" Kenta called before turning to Ryuga. His friend was glaring down at the ground, his arms folded.
Kenta sighed, "Ryuga, we need to talk."
"We just did," Ryuga grunted, standing up.
"Hey, wait!" Kenta jumped toward him, grabbing his arm and staring up at him desperately. "Why are you scared of my parents?"
"Scared?" Ryuga rolled his eyes. "I'm not scared of your overly doting parents." He tried to pry Kenta off his arm.
"Really?" Kenta let go, his eyes narrowed. "Because it sure seems that way."
"You're imagining things," Ryuga grunted, turning away.
"Imagining what?" Kenta ran in front of Ryuga, standing between him and the stairs. He gazed up at him desperately. "Ryuga, please talk to me."
Ryuga let out a sigh. He sat at the foot of the stairs, gesturing for Kenta to sit next to him.
"I know I upset them," he grunted, his head hung low. "They just haven't done anything."
Kenta stiffened. "What do you mean they haven't 'done anything?'" *What does he think they'll do?*
"They can act nice all they want, I know they're mad at me. Why can't they just punish me and be done with it?"
Kenta couldn't bite back a gasp of fury. "Why would they do that?! You didn't do anything wrong! It was an accident!"
"That doesn't matter."
"Yes it does!"
Kenta thought back to his parents' conversation earlier: *I know it's none of our business but it makes me wonder if something happened to the kid.* Kenta fought back his anger. This wasn't Ryuga thinking poorly of his parents, this was Ryuga, for whatever reason, being wary of trusting them.
"Who hurt you?" Kenta asked, raising an eyebrow.
Ryuga stiffened. "What?"
"You don't trust them because you're scared of being hurt again. Isn't that it?" Kenta had no idea; he was just sort of guessing.
Ryuga didn't answer.
"Do you trust me?" Kenta asked.
Ryuga raised an eyebrow. "I gave you my power."
"Yes or no, Ryuga. Tell me." *I want a direct answer.*
Letting out a sigh, Ryuga nodded.
"Then trust me when I say that my parents are good people. If you trust me, you can trust them."
Ryuga looked away. Kenta sighed. He hoped Ryuga would at least consider his words. Kenta's parents had given Ryuga no reason not to trust them, so why was he so suspicious of them?
"Hey, after lunch, do you want to go on a hike together?" Kenta suggested, trying to cheer him up. "It can be just like old times."
"Old times?" Ryuga smirked a bit. "You mean when you stalked me?"
Kenta's jaw dropped. "I wasn't stalking you!"
"Then what do you call following someone who doesn't want you around?" Ryuga asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You-you wanted me around..."
"I didn't at first."
"Are we going or not?"
Ryuga nodded. Kenta smiled and the two of them walked up the stairs side by side. *He seems to be feeling a little better.*