I always felt like this character was a good concept done dirty so here's a good shot at a rewrite to give him some much-needed pathos as well as him unlocking his Flare.
And just for a heads up, basically, every other fic involving this character is going to branch off of this rewrite.
All rights are reserved to Hiro Morita
Lean honestly thought the sky was blue today just to mock him.
The sunny blue seeping through the shattered window honestly felt inappropriate as the dark pink-haired boy rubbed the sleep. And salt from a pretzel some loser threw at him the other day, from his ringed yellow eyes as he crawled from his makeshift bed of a holed tarp and a yellowing mattress. Lean took in the dump around him. The steel walls were laced with rusted yet sturdy pipes that sloshed with the sound of liquid and whatever else was caught up in it. And the walls themselves were drenched with what looked and smelled like molding fruit (he could tell what kind since he wouldn't dare go near one).
While most people would sulk or sob at the situation around him, all it made Lean want to do was scream.
"Another day, same old dump." Lean thought as he walked around the room. For as long as he could remember, it was like this. Waking up in this wreck of a building and trying to scrounge up some cash for food when going into town and getting there only to get chased off because living in a dump made him smell like death. He hated living like this, from dawn to dusk. He couldn't stand it. How pathetic he was, how powerless he was.
That wasn't any further helped by his Blading skills, with his rank being the miserable number of 481, thanks partly to First Uranus. Lean shoved a hand into his pocket to pull out the pale, six-bladed Beyblade, the glassy blue eyes of the layer's gold face glaring at him in oh-so-convincing aggression. Lean honestly knew he hated the worthless thing. The only thing it ever got him when he went to the local Beystadium were laughs, pointed fingers, and tossed sodas. But given his circumstances, something like Uranus was a dime a dozen. It was all just so unfair. All the losers who mocked him hardly even came down to the stadium floor to Blade. All they ever did was laugh at him and gawk at the fights!
One day... One day I'll show them. I'll show 'em all!! Lean thought bitterly as he clenched Uranus, as a strange feeling singed his body. It was something like anger but not quite. This feeling pulsed through his veins just like the other. But on top of that, it felt like something else pulsed with him. Almost like it was calling to him.
Simmering down and letting out a snarl of contempt as the feeling faded. Lean stormed back to his bedside, grabbed his black raincoat, and threw it on with his red training gloves as he headed for the door. If he was going to rage, he might as well do it through some Blading. While Lean wasn't the best at the sport (at least not yet) anything was better than kicking around this trash heap.
Lean felt like slapping himself as he came to the front of the local Beystadium. The scene was disgustingly picturesque. The blue sky and yellow sun were a backdrop to the stadium entrance, flanked by dozens of kiosks lined and flanked in turn with people of all ages. All of them were gossiping, clamoring, and laughing while taking up food, drinks, and merchandise commemorating them!
"Stupid Legends," Lean seethed under his breath as he walked through the peepy display. His gaze came across all sorts of crap, from tacky plushies to gift cards to cardboard cutouts depicting the world's mightiest Bladers. Lean's irritated gaze fell on one unoccupied kiosk containing cardboard cutouts of the Legends' best and brightest, The Big Five.
Lean could feel that strange rage-like feeling kicking in again, stronger than before while looking at the cutouts, one of a blonde guy that looked as dead inside as Lean wished he were on the outside. A smug-looking bluenette with shark-like teeth that needed to be knocked out. An albino guy with a red glare that matched how much Lean hated him. And an all too cheery bluenette and redhead that both needed a good punch in the face.
Lean couldn't stand them, couldn't stand this, any of it. As much as it ticked him off to admit it, the Legends were everything he wanted to be feared and powerful. But all they ever did was constantly remind him that he wasn't. Every thought he had made the strange feeling prick up more and more. As that calling came into his ears, once a vivid murmur and now a raspy chant.
Crush them, Crush them all, make them dust!!
Shocked by the voice, Lean darted his eyes around the kiosk to find the source, only to come up short. Whatever that was, Lean honestly couldn't say he disagreed with it. Part of him always wanted to show the Legends what for. But the other part of him, the smarter part, knew that doing so would just be another check on the list of disappointments life had brought him. Huffing in aggravation, Lean got his bearings and went into the stadium.
"What's the matter, Hedgehog? Can't keep up?"
Lean ignored the comment and grimaced at the state of the battle, with Uranus being pummeled from all directions by the rando's Bey. The pale Bey's form wobbled in the center of the stadium. Lean couldn't believe he was losing this badly. Most of the 'Bladers' in this stadium just slapped random parts together and thought they could take on the world. Unlike them, Lean knew better. Knew that real Blading required strategy, effort, and passion. All things that they had in crumbs and scraps.
"Come on, Hedgehog, show off your quills." That, admittedly, got Lean's eyes to narrow this time. Hedgehog was a name he was called all too often in this stadium's purple walls. Granted, he'd been called all kinds of 'clever' names, from "The Mongrel" to "Porcupine. "
"Grr, fight back, Uranus!" Lean yelled as the opposing Bey ground against his. Only for Uranus's cone-shaped Mobius Driver to grind against the dark of the stadium and knock the opponent back up the slope. Lean found Uranus spinning on its last legs, causing his brow to furrow as he growled, to his opponent's delight.
"Looks like this win's mine, Hedgehog. I guess you'll have to settle for some mealworms instead. It's over!!"
At that, the opposing Bey barreled down the slopes towards the quivering Uranus. But Lean just snarled. Snarled at another loss, another crappy thing
in the sea of them he called his life. Another reason to hate, to rage, to crush!!
That thought made something snap inside Lean, as he felt that feeling inside of him again, pulsing, no drumming wilder and faster than ever before. Lean seethed an awful noise, something twisted, inhuman, as Uranus' driver snagged the stadium floor. The bey shimmered with a sparkling purple aura as the driver's cone-like tip spun with aggression before the Bey's wobbling stabilized as it whirred back to life. The strange sight caused the eyes of Lean's opponent to shadow with horror.
"Wha...But...how did you?" He said before his eyes gained panicked aggression before he continued."Whatever. Bring it on!!"
The opponent's bey crashed into Uranus. Only for the pale Top to counter by unleashing a whirling dark flame. Causing its opponent to be consumed before emerging a splintered mess of plastic and metal and clattering to the stadium floor as its owner fell to his knees. A haunted stare on his face as the stadium's Jumbotron was declared Lean the winner.
Lean simply stood there flat-lipped and hunched in aggression, his Bey's revival and the destruction of its opponent having completely passed through him. Why should he care about that loser? He got what he deserved, what they all deserved. A dark flame of an aura coming over him as he stood, Lean lifted his eyes to the crowd, their faces stiff with awe and fear. By contrast, Lean simply continued his now glowing gaze. His eyes were still with feral intent, with two unspoken words in mind, "Who's next?"
One Blader became two, two became three, and three became legions. The battles were still hard at first, but ever-so-slowly they all blurred into the same results. The battle would begin, only for Uranus to burn through them with those strange dark flames. That rage-like feeling grew with every slain and shattered Bey. That raspy voice from before goading him on in his head, all the while.
"That's it, knock them down, shatter them!! All they've ever done is mock you. Now is the time to show them who you are!!!"
Lean followed the voice without question. He wanted this, needed this, a good win in his life. That's all he cared about. Whatever this voice was, it seemed to be helping him.
Eventually, the fights stopped coming. The arena floor was cluttered with dozens of flung and shattered Beys. Their former Bladers simply stared down from the stands in uncomfortable silence. Only for Lean to rip through it with a roar of triumph. His feral eyes darted among the audience, the call to violence from before now falling on deaf ears as everyone simply recoiled in fear.
Good. Just like it should be. Lean thought as he finally picked up the shimmering Uranus. He'd never picked it up since the first battle, but now that he had it in his hand, he could feel a pounding. The same pounding from before, only now coming from his Bey. Lean's eyes lit up in realization.
Is...is this you, Uranus? He thought. But before he could ponder further, his ears caught the murmuring crowd. The murmurs soon gave rise to a unified roar that snapped him to attention as a new figure came from the stands and approached the other side of the stadium.
The thousands of spectators were gawking at the sight of a man, one who Lean assumed was a legend only, for the desperate jabbering from the crowd to all but confirm it. The tall man had red eyes with a similar color of eyeshadow, a spiked column of obnoxious teal, and yellow hair. He wore a black bodysuit with a green pauldron to the right.
But all of that was all second to his smile, a smarmy, knowing look that compressed everything Lean could hate in a person into one form. He couldn't help but snarl as the man finally spoke up.
"Well, well, well, look what I found." he spoke in a lax, amused tone "I was looking for a fight with that Kurenai kid, but it looks like he won't be showing. That said, it looks like I found some decent sloppy seconds."
Lean snarled and immediately got into launching form as his opponent did the same. No one insulted him, and certainly not to some legend, and with this new power, he'd show this teal-haired clown why.
Just as the match was finally underway, a massive chant rose from the audience. Lean's ears picked up the sound as the man before him smirked while the cheer got louder.
"Kurtz,Kurtz, Kurtz,Kurtz,Kurtz!!!"
The man, Kurtz, as Lean now knew. Turned toward the crowd and gave a thumbs up, causing the chant to pick up speed as he turned back and readied his launcher.
"Looks like I'm the crowd favorite, Hedgehog." He joked lazily, causing Lean to simply grit his teeth.
"It's Lean to you,"
"Eh, whatever. You ready for this?"
"As ready as you aren't," Lean said, clamping Uranus to his launcher as Kurtz did so with his Beyblade. Its colors were a mix of teal, pink, and gold.
"3", the two Bladers shouted as Kurtz began jumping.
"2"
"1" Kurtz bounded into the air and braced for his launch.
"Go shoot!!" They finished as their respective Tops fell into the stadium. Uranus immediately moved toward the center, only to be ground upon by its dive-bombing opponent. The pale Bey ground back against its enemy in equal measure.
"All right, Beat Kukulcan. Let's stress test 'em." Lean narrowed his eyes at the man in annoyance, leading the other Blader to fold his arms and shrug.
"Look, kid. It ain't anything personal. But if ya can't take this, you don't stand a chance." The comment only made Lean glower further as that raspy voice sounded again.
Look at him, so smug yet so ignorant of our power. Let's show him where he stands!!
"Yeah-" Lean mumbled as his aura oozed up from him briefly as his eyes flashed, "let's show him who we are!!" He roared.
With that, Uranus and Kukulcan continued their struggle, only for the latter to win out and knock the other away to Lean's shock.
"Well then, stress test failed. Beat Kukulcan attack!!" Kukulcan bounced into the stadium and immediately bolted for Uranus, slamming into it and causing it to slam against the right wall of the stadium before bouncing back into Kukulcan's path. Lean let out a snarl as he whipped a hand forward.
"Uranus, fight back!"
The Beys slammed together. Orange sparks flew from their clash as Uranus' dark flames swirled again. Forcing its attacker back along the stadium's left side, giving Lean some breathing room.
"Alright, now get to cen-"
"Not fast enough, kid. Thunder attack!!"
Just as Lean gave his orders, Kukulcan flew toward his Bey coated in teal lightning. The Top slammed Uranus into a wall only to slam it repeatedly as the two traveled across the stadium. The crowd lit up with its annoying cheer from before as Lean grimaced.
Was it not enough? Even after all of this, could he still be weak? No, no, that'd be stupid! He couldn't be!!! Not after all of this!
" Not yet!!" Lean sparked as Uranus bounced into Kukulcan again. Only for its flames to shield it as it rushed forward, only to again be smacked away as the flames dissipated.
"No," Lean grunted as he backed away. This couldn't be happening!!
"Too bad, kid. Looks like those are the brakes," Kurtz said as he unfolded one of his hands to let out a snap. "Let's wrap this up, Kukulcan."
The teal Bey made contact with Uranus once more, only this hit caused it to give a heavy click and a charge of lightning from itself as Kurtz smirked. Uranus was left spinning idly as its opponent zoomed away into a wall to the same effect. This time with the top's golden claws protruding slightly, as thunder raged around its form. Kurtz, in kind, was surrounded in an aurora of a flare, representing his Bey's colors.
"Rise, Kukulcan!!"
The Bey erupted a wall of pink, one that parted as a tailed bird made of pure teal static and let out a deafening roar.
Kurtz thrusted a palm forward as his voice echoed, " Fair warning, kid. This'll sting-Trigger Attack!!"
Kukulcan rocketed towards Uranus, its aura and lightning streaming off it like a comet as it did so. The bird. The Bey's avatar. Roared as a bolt of lightning fired from its mouth. The Beys' collision was massive as Kukulcan slammed Uranus into another wall. The impact of its gold claw caused an explosion to arc from the point of impact.
Lean simply looked on, his eyes shadowed in disbelief and horror as his hair blew away from the force of the impact. He had it. He finally had it. Victory, power unlike anyone else, but it wasn't enough. It was never enough. He was just a loser, like always. Someone with no talent. No power. No life.
But then the voice came in again.
Yes- that voice, Uranus' voice as he figured now, hissed. Your hate, your frustration, pour it all into me. That is the essence of strength. That is what gives you this power!!
So Lean did just that. He focused all his anger. All his frustrations about his life, about his dump of a home. About all the losers gawking at this fight, about the hate he felt towards Kurtz, towards the Legends. He focused it all on one point. And he let it flow.
Uranus oozed pure darkness, a darkness that spread. A darkness that burned! Kurtz's smugness melted to shock as he witnessed Kukulcan being forced away by the wall of darkness and then dragged along as the wall spun in unison with Uranus as the explosion evaporated. The wall eventually overtook the slope the Beys were on, then the center, and then the whole Beystadium was ablaze in crackling flames of darkness. The crowd was deathly silent. Kurtz looked at Lean wide-eyed as the boy was surrounded by his aura, snarling excitedly like a monster. The tension was finally shattered as Lean let out a roar and spoke as his voice echoed.
"Uranus-Violent Orbit!!!"
And so Uranus spun, faster, faster, and faster as the wall sped up with it, Kukulcan spinning along helplessly as it was dragged by the flame wall back up the slope towards Uranus. The now violently spinning pale Bey was desperate for contact, before it received it.
The dark erupted into a column, the impact booming through the stadium. People shielded their eyes from the sheer force. Krutz held up his crossed forearms to his face to block the assault. A gap in his guard let one of his red eyes catch a glimpse of a Bey rocketing up from the column and into the Stadium ceiling. The dust settling and the pressure fading as he looked up and heard the finality of a Bey's burst as the parts of Kukulcan dropped at his feet. As he dropped to his knees.
The jumbotron sounded for Lean's victory as he wordlessly retrieved Uranus and looked down at Kurtz. A smug grin plastered on his face as he drank in the shock and despair on the Legend's face before he turned to leave.
As the sun set on the dump that Lean refused to call home, the boy sat on his yellowed mattress and looked down at his Bey in thought. The power, the voice of Uranus, told him the power he wielded back there, power enough to defeat even a Blading legend, came from his anger and malice. That his hate made Uranus the way it was now. Lean imagined what he could do if he used that malice. He could crush all the legends, make everyone fear him, and what he could do with his hate, his power. He could make them all feel the same pain he felt every day.
For the first time in a long time, Lean couldn't help but be excited.