I didn't sleep well the night before the semi finals. I couldn't stop worrying about Shu. If he wasn't careful, he could end up mentally scarred for life.
Shu may act calm and aloof in public, but in reality he was very shy and sweet. Spryzen was more than his partner. He was like family to Shu.
Still, I was looking forward to watching Valt and Zac's match. I knew that Shu wouldn't be watching the match as he would be too busy training.
Kairi noticed that I looked rather off that day. 'Rose, are you sick?' she asked.
'No,' I said. 'I just didn't sleep well last night.'
Kairi still continued to look at me suspiciously. But as she opened her mouth to say something, I heard Akira calling my name.
'Rose, Rose, there you are!' called Akira. 'Oh, who is this friend of yours?'
'Akira, this is Kairi Ogawa. She's a friend of mine from school.'
Akira smiled. 'Nice to meet you Kairi. 'Oooh, are you wearing a charm bracelet?'
Akira was talking to me, and I said, 'Yeah. Shu gave it to me.'
'It's really pretty,' said Akira. 'I wish that I could wear a bracelet like that.'
'Boys don't wear bracelets!' said Kairi in astonishment.
Akira turned red. 'Well, you see...'
'Um, Kairi, Akira's transgender. He likes girly stuff.'
'What?' asked Kairi.
'It's true,' I said.
'Boys can't be girls!' said Kairi.
Akira turned red. 'I think that I should go,' he said and went off.
'I can't believe you would be so tactless!' I said to Kairi. 'You hurt her- I mean, his feelings.'
'Well, can you imagine Akira is a frilly dress?' asked Kairi.
'Actually, I can. I even thought that he was a girl at first. I can't believe that my friend is transphobic!'
'Well, it's a waste to change your gender. I mean, there are tomboys! And they don't change their genders to act like boys.'
'I thought that you support the LGBT community.'
'I do.'
'Well, trans people are part of it. If you can't accept that then maybe we shouldn't be friends!'
'Well, maybe I don't want to be your friend!'
'Fine.'
'Fine.'
It was an awful quarrel. People were staring at us. We stormed off in opposite directions.
I couldn't believe that Kairi would act like that towards Akira. I had thought that she was a nice person.
Rantaro noticed me fuming and asked me what was wrong. But I said, 'I don't want to talk about it!'
The Beyclub were probably wondering why Kairi and I weren't speaking to each other. But thankfully they didn't say anything.
I didn't even watch the match. I just stared blankly ahead. I was just so angry at the moment. I couldn't believe that Kairi had scorned at Akira.
'I can't believe it!' I suddenly heard Akira exclaim. I looked at him. 'What?' I asked.
'Zac said that he was going to quit beyblading!' he said. 'Did you not hear him?'
'Uh...'
'Is he flipping mad? He can't possibly quit! I know that it must have been humiliating to lose to that blue-haired boy, what's his name?'
'Valt.'
'Oh yeah. But you just don't quit like that!'
'Wow, you're one drama queen. Or king. Or whatever you prefer.'
Akira shrugged. 'Well, care to explain why you were so moody? I couldn't help noticing it earlier.'
'Nothing,' I said. I walked out of the bleachers. I needed some space. But Valt's loud voice came towards my direction.
'There you are, Rose! Did you see what I did earlier?'
'Leave me alone,' I snapped.
Shu was there too. He said, 'Whoa, what's going on? I don't remember seeing you so grumpy since...'
I knew that Shu was thinking of the day I had been rude to him, the day before he had been hit by a car.
'I don't want to talk about it,' I said. I went off again.
I considered shutting myself in the bathroom again, but I had already missed Shu's last two matches. He would be very upset if I missed the third match in a row.
I felt awful. I may be furious with Kairi, but that was no reason to take it out on everyone else.
I went back to the bleachers and sat as far away from Kairi as possible. I tried to ignore Valt and the others staring at us in confusion.
I think that Shu and Lui's rivalry was one of the most famous rivalries in the history of Beyblade Burst. They were both quite equally matched, so it was difficult to predict who would win.
I felt absolutely terrified now. I crossed my fingers, hoping for the best.
Shu won the first round with a burst finish. Then in the next round, Lui ended it quite dramatically. He turned around and raised a hand. However, it was only a ring-out finish. Lui was furious when he found out.
'It wasn't a burst?' he asked.
Spryzen had flown all the way to the bleachers. Valt managed to catch it in time.
I suddenly noticed Valt gasp. Forgetting that I was in a bad mood, I asked, 'Valt, what's wrong?'
'Just a minute,' said Valt. 'I... I have to give Spryzen back to Shu.'
He quickly ran off. Shu asked for a time-out to get Spryzen from Valt. I decided to sneak off myself to see what happened.
Valt and Shu were talking about Spryzen's condition, which was now very bad. I peeked at them from a corner.
'Will Spryzen be...' asked Valt.
'Spryzen will be fine,' said Shu.
I really doubted it. But I couldn't really say so. But then Shu looked up and saw me peeking.
'Rose?' he asked.
I felt myself tense up. I slowly crept out of my hiding place. 'Hi,' I said.
'Rose!' said Valt. 'Are you back to normal?'
'I'm sorry,' I said. 'I... I had an argument with Kairi.'
'Oh, that's no big deal,' said Valt. 'Shu and I sometimes fight, but...'
'No, this one's different,' I said. 'I found out that she's transphobic.'
Valt looked confused. He probably didn't understand the meaning of the word. But Shu put a hand on my shoulder. 'I'm sure that Kairi didn't mean to upset you. She can be a little insensitive sometimes. Once back in kindergarten, I accidentally spilled some tomato soup on my pants. It looked awful. Kairi laughed and said that I looked like I was on my period.'
'Kairi said that boys can't be girls. That's extremely unfair because some girls can be boys.'
'Well, Kairi may not realize that she sometimes hurt others' feelings,' said Shu. 'She used to tease me about being an albino. But she would never hurt others on purpose. She probably feels bad by now.'
'I don't want to talk to her,' I said.
Shu sighed. 'Well, I should be heading back.'
'What? No, what if...'
Shu gently put a finger on my lips. 'I'll be fine,' he said.
Valt and I went back to the bleachers. We watched the very intense match. After a long fight, Luinor started to slow down.
'Yes,' said Valt. 'Shu's going to win!'
I hoped so too. But then it happened. Spryzen split into two. Everyone gasped, and even Lui looked shocked. No one expected it to happen.