#captain capri

[jigglywater]

is that my GOAT captain capri !?

[pastacurls]

I feel terrible for people who’s favorite beyblade characters r like smaller characters that show up for cameos in random episodes and then never really show up much again cuz like, I get upset when I don’t see kenta or yu on screen for a few seconds, I can’t imagine what it’s like for fans of people like sora or fucking captain capri.

[qloof]

TOBIOOOOOOOO

[mfb-better-fury]

Episode 4

Night

Atop a mountain shrouded in mist, a young man meditates within a temple. In his mind, he sees flashes of light, hears battle cries, and feels uncertainty. Of these lights, four shine brighter than the others, while one pulses with darkness instead. He muses to himself that four warriors have already awoken, but that the great evil has already obtained their own star fragment.

He turns his focus toward one of the unawakened lights. It is the dimmest of them all, telling him the warrior connected to it is not only unaware of their power but has no one to guide them to it.

Opening his eyes, he briefly glances across the room at a small box sitting on a shelf. Quietly he says to himself: “It seems you were right after all. If you had only waited a short while longer…”

His hand closes tighter around the cracked, jade-carved item in his lap. It pulses, then gains a steady glow. Closing his eyes, he thinks: “For the sake of this world...to prevent any more losses...I will do whatever I can.”

Day

In Madoka’s kitchen, Gingka and Ryo are watching her whirl about in a frenzy as she cooks. Gingka asks Benkei how long she’s been like this, and Benkei has to check the clock before saying it’s been a while. He’s pretty sure she’s overreacting about the person they’ll be meeting. Ryo questions who this person is, but when Benkei tries to answer he’s interrupted by Kenta’s arrival. He greets them, then realizes Madoka hasn’t registered him at all. The others can only shrug.

Ryo excuses himself as he gets a phone call, leaving the gang to themselves. They watch Madoka in awe for a moment before Gingka notes he’s never seen her like this before. It’s almost like she’s panicking. Benkei admits that might be it – he’s not entirely sure what’s going on, but he knows she seems very protective of ‘him’.

Ryo returns shortly to say that Hikaru’s uncle is bringing her, and asks Benkei if he knows if Kyoya might show up. Benkei as always is certain Kyoya will come through, though his usual cheery mood is somewhat lessened as he thinks back to the dark power spike.

By the time Hikaru arrives, Madoka has set the table and the others are already eating. Madoka greets her a bit breathlessly before telling her to help herself. After returning Ryo’s suit jacket, Hikaru sits down and does so. They note she seems to be a bit more put together than she was the day before, and she gives an uncertain, “I guess so.”

Kyoya arrives before too long and wants to get to business right away, but Madoka tells him they can’t until one more person arrives. Once again, Gingka questions this, and Madoka explains that there’s someone who’s been studying the star fragment for years. He watched the new one arrive and came to find them. Kenta imagines he must be someone old and important, but Benkei assures him that whatever he’s picturing, it’s not accurate.

Though Kyoya doesn’t touch the food, he does ask Benkei about Bull’s state. Benkei assures him that he and Bull will be battling again in no time, so there’s no need to worry. Kyoya’s slight smile of relief goes unseen by most of them, but Benkei just beams brighter.

Outside, Yuki is being walked to the B-Pit by Ryutaro, Tobio, and a very bored Tetsuya. He thanks them again for both their escort and for allowing him to stay the night with them. Ryutaro assures him it’s no problem, though is concerned that he didn’t eat enough for breakfast. Yuki explains with some amusement that Madoka tends to stress cook and he’s certain about 3 breakfasts are waiting for him.

Tetsuya complains about being dragged along, but when Tobio points out this could be seen as his way of repaying Madoka for fixing Gasher, he reluctantly goes quiet. Yuki watches their dialogue but is unsure how to take it, simply deciding they are very interesting people.

As they reach the B-Pit, Yuki fishes out a key for the employee entrance and unlocks the door. He thanks them a third time before he’s pretty much shooed inside, after which Tobio wonders if Yuki knows how to not be polite. Ryutaro however finds it a refreshing change, but doesn’t go into detail when Tobio asks, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

As Yuki makes his way through the back of the store and towards the stairs, he runs a list through his head of everything he needs to say, ending with the most important thing: Keep hold of himself and just stay calm. Everything will be alright. He keeps repeating this to himself as he turns the corner to enter the kitchen, but it dies off as he sees Madoka and her friends. They don’t notice him right away until Kenta turns his head. He’s perplexed but points him out to Madoka.

Madoka rushes out of her seat to greet him, startling not just him but everyone. When she hugs him, Yuki finds himself finally relaxing again, and unfortunately can’t stop his tears. In concern Madoka asks if he’s alright, or if something happened to him during his trip. He tries to protest, but reaching up to wipe his eyes lets Madoka see his injury again. Now seeing it up close, she can tell it isn’t simply from falling like he’d claimed, and asks him what happened. Yuki argues it’s not important and tries to brush his emotions off as simply being overwhelmed by seeing her again. Though suspicious, Madoka lets it go for now.

The others are introduced to Yuki, with both Kyoya and Ryo giving him odd looks. Finding out that he is Madoka’s cousin is a surprise to them all. Benkei encourages him to eat before they get started, remembering how tired he had looked on their call the day before. Madoka gives him a grateful smile.

As Madoka starts cleaning up, Gingka tells Yuki about her flurry in the kitchen earlier, and Yuki admits he’d been expecting nothing less. Madoka comments he’s just lucky her dad is out of town – otherwise, there would’ve been twice as much food. Yuki agrees, saying that Uncle Akigo stress-cooks even more than she does.

Once all the food is put away, Kyoya asks if they can get started already. Yuki is startled by him speaking so suddenly but is cut off by Madoka telling Kyoya not to be so rude. She then explains that the whole thing is complicated, so they need a moment to figure out where to start. Ryo suggests they begin with how they know whatever it is they know in the first place. After the cousins exchange a look, Madoka nods for Yuki to start.

Yuki’s answer is a direct quote of the legends of Koma Village, startling them – “Long long ago, a star fell from the sky. Through the ages, the tops born from that star fragment changed shape and evolved into the beyblades of today.” Ryo and Gingka question how he knows this, and Yuki explains that he grew up hearing these stories from his grandfather ever since he was young. Ryo realizes this means Yuki’s grandfather would have come from Koma Village. He then ponders over Yuki’s name and wonders: “He couldn’t possibly be…”

Yuki continues, saying that his grandfather would often take the both of them to a hill to see the vast sky full of stars. He remembers the night they had been told another legend from Koma Village – “When a dazzling glow lights up the earth from the heavens, a new star fragment will arrive and awaken a great power.” His grandfather said that their ancestors believed that a new star fragment would appear in the far future. He believed that time may be closer than they think, and promised them that they would see the new star fragment if it was their destiny.

The others question Madoka as to why she had never mentioned any of this. She first corrects their assumptions, saying that Grandpa was Yuki’s maternal grandfather, and she’s not related to him. She then admits that with everything that had happened before Kenta told them Gingka was from Koma Village, she had been so caught up in keeping their beys ready to go and collecting data on them that these childhood memories had slipped her mind.

Yuki goes on to say that he became intensely interested in when exactly the new star fragment would arrive. Using various astronomical observations and research of ancient ruins, he created a timeline of the universe that would calculate the time of its arrival. Madoka briefly cuts in to complain she’s still annoyed he didn’t want her help. After sheepishly apologizing, Yuki goes on to say that his most important reference came from the ancient Mayans. Ryo explains that they were an ancient civilization that created a group of calendars based on the movement of the stars. Yuki adds to this explaining one of those calendars predicted the arrival of the new star fragment. It wasn’t just the Mayans however – he found legends like those of Koma Village in his research from many ancient civilizations. Yuki is certain the meteor from the night before last is the new star fragment, and the light from his grandfather’s legend has appeared. “When a dazzling glow lights up the heavens...” He believes this to be the explosion of Spiral Force released into space by Gingka. This startles Gingka, who seemingly didn’t think on it all that hard before now.

The new star fragment has arrived, Yuki and Madoka know this for a fact. However, depending on who obtains its power, it could be used for either good or evil. This prompts Ryo to quote: “Where there is light present, darkness can creep in. So a new light may very well become a tunnel of darkness.” He explains this is a continuation of Koma Village’s legends. Their ancestors left these words to foretell the possibility that with the new star fragment would come an evil presence wanting to use it.

Yuki agrees that his grandfather feared that more than anything – that rather than being the beginning of a new era of beyblade, it would be the sign of a new age of chaos. He had warned them that the star fragment must not fall into the hands of evil, and they must be sure to prevent that.

Yuki believes his grandfather had sensed an evil presence that would go after the star fragment. He then corrects himself saying the star fragment itself must have as well. This is why it split into multiple points of light to scatter across the world. One of these lights hit him, and at that moment he heard the star fragment’s voice. Though the others express confusion and surprise, Yuki is certain that’s what it felt like – the star fragment pushed images into his head as if trying to communicate with him. One of these images was that of the cloaked figure, from which Yuki had immediately sensed evil. The next was of the sun being overtaken by a black star which he identified as Nemesis. The star fragment also gave him the information of “blade warriors”, or “legendary bladers”. Yuki warns the others that there is a great evil that will harness the unknown power of the star fragment, using it to revive the black sun, Nemesis. This would turn the world to darkness.

Now turning to Hikaru and Kyoya, Yuki begs them to lend him their strength. Hikaru isn’t sure what to say and Kyoya simply doesn’t respond. Benkei thinks Yuki must have been dreaming it all.

Madoka understands it is hard to believe, but the Mayans themselves predicted the day of humanity’s destruction, and it is coming soon. Yuki confirms this, believing it is tied to Nemesis’ revival. This is why the star fragment split itself, to entrust the earth to its chosen bladers. These legendary bladers were given the star fragment’s power, with there being thirteen in total. He’s also certain the enemy is looking for the legendary bladers as well to gain their power. This can’t be allowed to happen.

Ryo has now put the pieces together – the combination of the star fragment’s power in Leone along with Kyoya’s burning spirit is what caused the bey to transform. Kenta agrees, suggesting that the fragment in Aquario must have reacted to Hikaru reawakening hers. Hikaru expresses uncertainty at this, but as she remembers her mother’s words the day before, bites it back and stays quiet.

Kenta and Benkei express their hopes to become legendary bladers as well. Yuki is uncertain but admits that it is a possibility. This only furthers their excitement.

Madoka now questions Yuki about his injury, asking outright if he truly just fell. Now confronted, Yuki confesses to being attacked while trying to reach them the day before, and that he was rescued by Tobio and then aided by Ryutaro. He believes that the one who attacked him must work for the enemy, meaning the great evil has already begun working toward Nemesis’ revival. Benkei expresses his surprise about former Dark Nebula bladers coming to his aid, but Gingka just sees it as proof that their bladers’ spirits are shining bright. Yuki agrees, saying that they were quite nice to him, though also says that Tetsuya just seemed to be getting dragged along against his will.

Gingka assures Yuki that they’re all on board, with Kenta and Benkei agreeing. Kyoya doesn’t seem enthused but isn’t arguing. Hikaru gives no answer, too busy staring at Aquario in her hand. Ryo officially declares the WBBA will aid in the search of the other eleven legendary bladers. Yuki expresses his gratitude to them all.

As Ryo gathers the kids to head to the WBBA to start their search, Kyoya watches Yuki, who is being told by Madoka to stay and rest first before he joins them. When Madoka turns away, Yuki happens to glance over and catches Kyoya’s gaze. Realizing who he is, Yuki pales a little. Before he can stammer out a word, however, Kyoya turns away and leaves, raising his hand in farewell. Yuki observes this for a moment before catching his breath; when Madoka addresses him, he jumps and apologizes for spacing out, then asks for her to reiterate what she’d said.

Ryo pauses as he and the kids leave the shop, causing Gingka to ask if something’s wrong. He assures his son he’s fine and says that he just needs to step back inside and confirm something with Yuki. He’ll meet them at the office.

Ryo finds Yuki setting his things down in the spare bedroom and asks if he could bother him for a moment. He wants confirmation that Yuki said his last name was “Mizusawa”, and Yuki gives it. Now smiling, Ryo asks if his grandfather’s name would happen to be Isao, and a now startled Yuki questions if Ryo knows him. Ryo recounts how Isao was like a mentor to him when he was their age, always keeping him out of the worst trouble. He asks how Isao is doing but is confused when Yuki seems to deflate.

Yuki admits that his grandfather left on a journey just under two years ago, and he lost contact with him shortly after. He has no idea where he is now. This concerns Ryo, but he tries to reassure Yuki that Isao is a tough man to beat. Yuki says that would only be true if he had Anubius. He takes the bey out, saying that it was his grandfather’s parting gift to him. He then wishes he could be half the blader his grandfather is, but his only battle so far has been while he was running for his life.

Ryo puts a hand on Yuki’s shoulder, saying he’s confident that Yuki’s skill will grow in time. He just needs to remember to have faith in Anubius, as well as himself. Yuki seems doubtful of this advice, so Ryo tells him something else: “It’s easy to watch a battle and cheer for someone, but it can be hard to be the blader in the fight. Even so, you won’t know if you’re ready until you get out there and try.”

Yuki is quieted by this, now teary-eyed. Ryo softly tells him that these were words he heard from not just Yuki’s grandmother, his namesake, but his mother as well. Yuki may doubt himself now, but the strength is inside him just waiting to come out. When Yuki begins to cry again, Ryo stands with him and promises that from this point on, they will walk this path together, not only to find the legendary bladers but to find Isao as well.

Outside on a roof across the street from the B-Pit, Johannes is sitting along with some cats and wonders what he should do next.

[unfortunatelikeness]

Looks like they have chill

But really have none

Looks like they have none

But really have chill

Looks like they have none

Actually do have none

[mfb-better-fury]

Episode 2

Day

The boy from the observatory is exiting an airport on his quest to find Gingka by going to the WBBA headquarters. He momentarily stops to wonder if he should go elsewhere, but his musing is cut off as Johannes appears, forcing him into a bey battle. (Beat Lynx VS Mercury Anubius) Feeling outmatched, the boy decides to flee, but Johannes catches him easily.

Determined to find Gingka and share what he knows, the boy makes an escape by knocking numerous crates and boxes over.

At the WBBA, Kyoya is asleep in a bedroom with the new Leone sitting on the nightstand next to him.

Out in the hall, the others are gathered, having been joined by Hikaru. Gingka, Kenta, and Madoka are beginning to question Benkei about Kyoya’s condition. He is uncomfortable with this but admits there’s no point in hiding it anymore.

Shortly after the events of Battle Bladers, he had started noticing Kyoya acting somewhat strangely. Kyoya had denied anything was wrong at first, but after about a month he’d shown up out of the blue looking shaken. He’d then confided in Benkei that he was beginning to hear a dark voice in his mind. Obviously this concerned Benkei, and this worry only grew when Kyoya added it had gotten clearer over the past few days. He could now tell that it had latched on to his desire to defeat Gingka and was driving him to want more – to destroy him and Pegasus completely. Convinced this had to be L-Drago’s doing, the two of them had reached out to Hikaru and Tsubasa.

At the mention of her, the trio looks at Hikaru in surprise; she refuses to meet their eyes. She admits that what Benkei says is true – she and Tsubasa both had known about Kyoya’s issues all along. The three of them along with Benkei had decided to keep it all a secret so as to not worry anyone, though as they all knew from the World Championships that had not worked out with Tsubasa.

Madoka hesitantly starts to ask something but keeps faltering. Hikaru answers the unasked question – she’s never heard voices, exactly. For her it was a cold, crushing feeling when she launched Aquario, and nightmares when she slept. She is not eager to talk about this and quickly moves back to the topic of Kyoya.

Hikaru and Benkei explain that the reason Kyoya had distanced himself from them all after Battle Bladers was because of this voice, as he didn’t want to put them in harm’s way. Once it was loud enough that he couldn’t disobey it, however, costing him his spot in the Japanese representative team, he had decided that the only way to be free was to sate it. To do that, he had to find another way into the tournament so that he would be able to face Gingka. This is why he disappeared and formed Wild Fang.

Kenta asks if Nile and Demure know; Benkei solemnly confirms. Just as Benkei had found Kyoya with them, the dark power had spiked as it was realizing it would have a chance to face Gingka now that Kyoya was in an opposing team. It took all three of them to calm Kyoya and Benkei had confessed everything to them. There had been many more spikes during the championships, including one just before the press conference with Chandora. After they had snapped Kyoya out of it he wasn’t fit to attend, so they had sent Benkei as a way to cover their tracks and make sure no one knew something was wrong. Benkei adds with a sad smile that he is and forever will be grateful beyond words for them standing by Kyoya’s side, rather than running away to save themselves.

Gingka, Kenta, and Madoka are worried into silence from hearing all this. Hikaru sees this and assures them it’s not their fault and they shouldn’t feel like it is. As it is now, Tsubasa has broken free, and her nightmares are starting to dwindle. Benkei adds that this is the first time Kyoya has erupted like that since just after the World Championships, meaning it’s been a few months and they see this as great progress.

Even so, Gingka can’t stop himself from commenting that if he had been able to stop L-Drago when Ryuga had first reawakened, none of this would have happened to them in the first place. However, he let Pegasus’ anger about Ryo’s supposed death take control of him. He looks at the bey sadly. Benkei, Kenta, and Madoka remember the strange red aura that had surrounded him back then. Kenta says he had always wondered what exactly that was, and it makes sense that it would have been from Pegasus given the circumstances.

Hikaru is unable to provide Gingka with reassurance, not knowing what to say. She simply reaffirms that it is not his fault, no matter what he thinks.

After an awkward silence, Hikaru says she’s going to check on Kyoya and heads into the bedroom. Benkei watches her go; when Madoka asks if he’s going to follow he says no. Though he will follow Kyoya to the ends of the earth and fight by his side forever, this is one thing that Hikaru is better suited for than he is. He takes out Dark Bull to look at sadly, saying that it is all he can do to simply keep Kyoya from hurting anyone because he knows Kyoya would never be able to forgive himself if that happened.

The others are quiet for a moment before Kenta notices something and asks what happened to Bull. Benkei is caught off guard and tries to evade the question, but as he does so Bull is shown more clearly – it is rather heavily damaged.

Madoka cries out in alarm at this and demands to know what happened, before stopping herself as she remembers how Benkei had stopped the new Leone from hitting Pegasus, then proceeded to battle it. She realizes that Benkei has been going against Kyoya during these dark power spikes for months and feels horrible that she hadn’t thought to ask to check on Bull and Leone after the World Championships.

Benkei quiets her, saying that while he may not have the best tools like her or access to a bunch of new parts, he is still fully capable of taking care of his bey. During the World Championships, and even before that in the days of the Facehunters, he was the one who would clean and repair his teammates’ beys so they could continue to battle. This surprises them all as they hadn’t realized Benkei had this skill.

Even with this reassurance, Madoka begs him to let her give Bull a thorough repair while they try to figure out what’s going on with Leone. After looking at Bull again and thinking to himself that there is only so much he can do, and Bull has given him so much strength protecting Kyoya, Benkei relents on the condition that she allows him to help. Madoka agrees to this compromise.

In the WBBA bedroom, Hikaru is sitting in a chair close to the bed when Kyoya stirs. She is relieved to see him awake, but he doesn’t respond. His only action is to quickly look around then pick up Leone from where it sits.

After a lengthy silence, Hikaru gently tells Kyoya that Madoka would like to watch the new Leone in battle so they can try to learn more about it. Kyoya turns away at this. After another pause, Hikaru comes to a decision and leans forward a bit to say: “What if…”

Later in the day, the group along with Ryo is gathered in the multi-stadium arena in town. Kyoya and Hikaru aren’t present, making Ryo wonder what made them late when Hikaru was the one who told them Kyoya was ready to do the test battles and they should meet here. Though Kenta worries something may have happened to Kyoya, Benkei assures them that the two likely took a detour so that Kyoya could better clear his head before facing them. He then asks that they not bring up the incident, revealing one more thing – Kyoya hardly remembers anything that happens when the dark power spikes. The others are startled, but Ryo promises to keep quiet at least for now.

Moments later, Kyoya and Hikaru arrive. Hikaru apologizes for being late and explains they had needed to stop to pick something up. Kyoya says nothing and is clearly avoiding meeting their eyes. Due to his silence, Hikaru adds that Kyoya’s ready to get things started.

Benkei immediately offers to be Kyoya’s opponent, but Madoka shuts him down. She reminds him that Bull needs to be looked at and he should not battle until that has been done.

Gingka clenches his fists at his side and holds his tongue. Though he wants to help, he is certain that it would be a bad idea for Kyoya to battle him again so soon after what happened.

Kenta begins to offer to battle, but this time Hikaru denies it. She instead asks him to hold her tablet, then explains that Kyoya will be battling against her. Everyone else but Kyoya is shocked at this and Ryo asks if she’s certain. She responds by saying that it will be good for the both of them, then begins to head down to the stadiums without another word; Kyoya follows.

As they watch Hikaru and Kyoya take their places, Madoka expresses her concerns about Hikaru battling in a tournament-level stadium for the first time since Battle Bladers. Ryo is watching silently, hoping Hikaru knows what she’s doing.

Hikaru takes a moment to look at her launcher, then readies it. Kyoya only stares at her for a moment before speaking at last: “Are you sure?” The concern on his face is just as clear as it is on the others’ and Hikaru’s apparent confidence falters slightly. Her launcher lowers for a moment, but she then takes a deep breath and lifts it again. Her response: “I trust you, Kyoya.”

Her words hit, and Kyoya readies his launcher. In her mind, Hikaru reminds herself of something she has always been sure of: No matter what has happened to him, Kyoya is their friend. He would never hurt her.

The two count down and they both have a successful launch, which Ryo is happy to see. Madoka begins the analysis of the new Leone as it and Storm Aquario begin a steady but lighthearted battle. (? Leone VS Storm Aquario) Though troubled by everything that has been happening since yesterday, Gingka is relieved as he watches Hikaru slowly begin to relax and let herself get into it.

Outside in a park, the boy from the observatory hasn’t been able to shake Johannes. He’s now walking backward to keep an eye on Lynx but is flung back after a hard attack. Struggling to sit up the boy calls Johannes a bully; Johannes claims it’s not personal, just his job. He then calls for Lynx and the explosion knocks the boy further away. His cries call the attention of someone passing by, who considers the situation for a moment before turning in their direction.

As the boy tries to get a hold of himself, Johannes is snickering and saying that he should just give up now and go back home. Shaky and scared though he is, the boy refuses; Johannes tsks and says he tried to warn him before sending Lynx in for a finishing move. Before the attack can connect, they hear the call of someone launching their bey. Lynx is knocked away from Anubius as Storm Capricorn enters the battle, bouncing all over. Startled, the boy looks back in the direction the bey came from.

Tobio is still holding his launcher and muses aloud that he’s all about taking down a target, but there’s no point in a battle where the opponent has already lost their fighting spirit.

After a brief delay of confusion, the boy recognizes Tobio from Battle Bladers. He then hesitates because as he recalls, Tobio had entered as a member of the Dark Nebula. Then, out loud, he realizes something more important: “You know Mr. Gingka!”

Tobio acknowledges and agrees with this statement, to which the boy continues that he desperately needs to speak to Gingka as soon as possible. As Tobio gets a better look at the boy he finds that he looks somewhat familiar and wonders if he’s seen him in Gingka’s crew before. He decides it’s not important at the moment and turns his attention back to Johannes, telling him that if he wants a challenge then he and Capricorn will gladly oblige. Johannes watches Capricorn’s movements and the way it’s hitting Lynx for a few seconds, then hisses that this has become too annoying and calls his bey back. He takes off before either Tobio or the boy can say anything.

Tobio calls back Capricorn then turns to the boy, asking how he knows Gingka. The boy confesses that he’s never met Gingka but his cousin is often with him. This intrigues Tobio and he internally recalls that he hasn’t been able to pay Gingka and his friends back for helping him repair his, Ryutaro’s, and Tetsuya’s beys after Doji had made them battle Ryuga. As he looks at the boy again, he realizes why he looks familiar – he reminds Tobio of “what’s-her-face...Madoka”. He doesn’t remark on this yet, just tells the boy to call back his bey and they’ll go somewhere that he can get patched up. The boy watches him for a moment in silence before nodding, though he’s clearly wary.

In the arena, both Kyoya and Hikaru have managed to gain their footing. There is still clear hesitation in Hikaru’s calls to her bey, but she has started to smile. Kyoya has started to come out of his silence as well, though he is still fairly subdued.

Ryo observes that Leone is quite clearly much stronger than before and asks if Madoka has made any headway. She nods and begins to talk about her findings – Leone’s fusion wheel has been separated into a core and a frame, and if they rearrange these pieces, different modes are now possible to achieve. By flipping Leone’s fusion frame, Kyoya will unlock a counter mode instead of his typical defense. This is why after evolving, Leone’s hits had gained so much sudden power. In counter mode, Leone would be considered an attack type bey. On the other hand, if the fusion frame is flipped right-side-up, Kyoya should still be able to access defense-type features as per normal.

The others are impressed, but Gingka still wonders what caused the transformation in the first place. Ryo agrees with this and asks Benkei if he can remember anything strange happening before the battle took place. Madoka adds that he should share anything even if it seems insignificant.

After some thought, Benkei confesses that he may know something, though he’s not sure if it’s important. The night before last, he and Kyoya were training in Wolf Canyon. After Dark Bull was knocked out their training was interrupted by a light headed straight for Kyoya, now holding Leone. Once the light had faded and they could see again, Leone was left dimly gleaming and both bladers were confused as to what had just happened. He finishes with how since it had happened so quickly he assumed he must have just dreamed it.

Ryo is bewildered by the mention of “a light that fell from the sky” but Madoka remembers that she had seen the same kind of light pass by her window as she was working on Pegasus that same night. She then pauses and seems to contemplate something, murmuring about lights from the sky and wondering why that sounds familiar, though the others don’t hear this.

As for the battle, Hikaru has started to realize that although she is shaking, it doesn’t feel like the same cold fear that usually takes her over. No – this is excitement. She can’t remember the last time she felt this way. After taking a breath and clenching her fist, she thinks to herself that this is what she’s missed so much. Words from her mother, not from when she was a child but far more recently, pass through her mind: “At the end of the day, what beyblade is meant to be is a game. Taking it too seriously will take out any enjoyment you could get from it, and then what’s the point of battling at all?”

Hikaru knows she’s been letting her fear control her. For a while, she was too shattered to try and do anything about it. Now though, as she looks across at Kyoya who is still not quite himself, and down at Aquario which she can hear singing with the excitement of being active once again, she knows that just like Kyoya and Tsubasa have had to do, it’s her time to fight her fears.

As Kyoya is mentally noting Aquario’s attacks don’t seem to be very effective against the new Leone, Hikaru calls out and catches his attention. He finds her standing taller than she has in a long time, and she asks if he’d like to see if he can still take hits as well as he can dish them out. After a surprised pause, he manages a small smirk and wonders if she’s up to the challenge.

Hikaru tells Aquario that it’s time they let loose and have some fun, then calls for Infinite Assault. Aquario’s duplication technique goes into full effect, surrounding Leone and barraging him from all sides like waves crashing onto the shore of a small island. Noting that Leone is hardly bothered, Kyoya asks if that’s the best she’s got. Hikaru answers that she’s not done yet and she’ll make Leone lose its footing no matter what; her blader’s spirit has begun to rise around her for the first time in months. Kyoya tells Leone to stay steady; Hikaru tells Aquario not to hold back.

A pulse runs through the real Aquario, unnoticed. Before anyone can really process it, Hikaru’s spirit explodes and the stadium is engulfed in white light.

[jiangshi-draws]

What am I doing. This one is terrible, but you know what? Who cares.

[beybladetfln]

Original text post here.