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thesilliestrovingalive · 2 months ago

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Updated: March 12, 2025

Headcanons/fun facts for the Iron Eclipse cast vol. 3

What does the Iron Eclipse cast smell like?

Marco: Cigar smoke, citrus cologne, and hyacinth

Tarma: Creosote, gunpowder, and freshly cut spring grass

Eri: Blood, ash, and ambergris

Fio: Bulgarian rose, fresh basil, and raspberry

Trevor: Garlic and cannabis

Nadia: Cotton candy and white chocolate

Ralf: Root beer, blueberries, and sage

Clark: Sundew, caramel, and raw fish

Tequila: Coconut, cooked agave, and mountain air

Gimlet: Lime, pineapple juice, and burnt plastic

Red Eye: Sweet-smelling herbs, boiled potato, and chrysanthemum

General Morden: Orris root, maple syrup, and whiskey

Allen O’Neil: Sweat and woodsy cologne

Doctor Amadeus: Night-blooming jasmine, bergamot orange, and cinnamon

Ptolemaios: Buttery corn and palo santo

Rootmars: Rotting flesh and old books

Invader King: Vomit and Mediterranean breeze

Walter: Cheap aftershave, roasting meat, and passionfruit

Tyra: Stargazer lily, mangoes, and pomegranate

Hyakutaro: Desert sand and pumpkin spice

Allen Jr.: Watermelon and buttercream

Pupipi: Acorns and dragon’s blood

Rumi: Butternut squash and cherry blossoms

Madoka: Banana smoothie and blooming apple tree

Sophia: Edelweiss and cappuccino

Margaret: Narcissus and honey

Leona: Ume, moonflower, and beechwood smoke

Heidern: Sandalwood, oakmoss, and yuzu

Alisa Stewart: Lemon myrtle and saltwater

Nathalie Neo: Rooibos and lingonberry

Roberto Nicola: Heated leather, quince, and oud

Avatar of Evil: Indole, absinthe, and star anise

Sol Dae Rokker: Dimethyl sulfide, baked earth, and grapefruit

President Marx: Musty newspaper and champagne

Midori: Huckleberries and sawdust

Nayutaro: Wasabi and juniper

Issenmantaro: Turpentine and matcha

Nanahyakumantaro: Cinnamon sugar and isopropyl mercaptan

Happyakumantaro: Monsoon rain, hibiscus, and guava

Abul Abbas: Orange blossoms and gahwa

Hilde Garn: Cherry blossoms, wood smoke, and beeswax

Macba: Earthy peat and fish guts

Wired: Cordite and frangipani

Pocke: Roasting walnuts and galangal

Oghma: Gingerbread, rosewater, and antiseptic

Zoilo: Ocean spray and copal

Anastasia: Freshly baked bread and oregano

Wysteria: Bitter almond and lavender

Dilovar: Chamomile, peaches, and dry earth

Sagan: Strawberries, grilled sausage, and line-dried laundry

Logan: Clean bedsheets, burning coal, and petrichor

Celaphios: Frankincense and peanut butter

Torquil: Diesel and smoked haddock

Guilherme: Freshly turned soil and warm milk

Ferdinand: Apple tarts and grape juice

Mikuláš: Petrol and the aroma of slow-roasted pork

Gyeong-Hui: Rotten pears and ginseng

Thandolwethu: Sorghum and sour maize

Harvie: Salwater taffy and wet wool

Amilcare: Olive oil and limoncello

Ekaterini: Old stone and fresh figs

Souma: Ramen broth and Japanese cypress

Juozapas: Smoked fish and forest berries

Priyanka: Agarwood and mishti doi

Yohanes: Durian fruit and spicy sambal

Zdravko: Phyllo dough and thyme

Dezső: The smell of thermal baths and plum jam

What is the best cheese for the Iron Eclipse cast?

Marco: Colby cheese

Tarma: Sakura cheese

Fio: Stracchino

Trevor: Paneer

Nadia: Gruyère

Ralf: Cheddar cheese

Clark: Halloumi

Tequila: Paraguay

Gimlet: Y Fenni

Red Eye: Doesn’t have a favourite cheese (as Ruoxi), chura kampo (as Shufen), and danablu (as Liddy)

General Morden: Pikauba

Allen O’Neil: Pepper Jack cheese

Doctor Amadeus: Roquefort

Ptolemaios: Requeijão

Rootmars, Invader King, Pupipi, Avatar of Evil, Sol Dae Rokker, and Pocke: They don’t have a favourite cheese

Walter: Feta

Tyra: Lighvan

Hyakutaro: Circassian cheese

Allen Jr.: Provel cheese

Sophia: Brie

Margaret: Cottage cheese

Leona: Olomoucké tvarůžky

Heidern: Milbenkäse

Alisa Stewart: Muenster cheese

Nathalie Neo: Hushållsost

Roberto Nicola: Nabulsi

President Marx: Port wine cheese

Midori: Cream cheese

Nayutaro: Kalari

Issenmantaro: Oka

Nanahyakumantaro: Soy cheese

Happyakumantaro: Smoked cheese

Abul Abbas: Labneh

Hilde Garn: Vurda

Macba: Cheese curds

Wired: Colby-Jack cheese

Oghma: Fried Camembert cheese

Zoilo: Canastra

Anastasia: Myzithra

Wysteria: Leipäjuusto

Dilovar: Bryndza

Sagan: Niehimer

Logan: Harzer

Celaphios: Brunost

Torquil: Red Hawk

Guilherme: Añejo cheese

Ferdinand: Bergkäse

Mikuláš: Hermelín

Gyeong-Hui: Emmental

Thandolwethu: Amasi

Harvie: Ricotta

Amilcare: Montasio

Ekaterini: Kefalograviera

Souma: Takesumi

Juozapas: Džiugas

Priyanka: Chenna

Yohanes: Dangke

Zdravko: Urda

Dezső: Trappista

What are the favourite sleeping positions of the Iron Eclipse cast?

Marco, Allen Jr., Nanahyakumantaro, and Celaphios: Sleeping on their left side

Tarma, Alisa, Happyakumantaro, Oghma, Wysteria, and Juozapas: Starfish

Eri, Leona, General Morden, and Souma: Freefaller

Fio, Ptolemaios, Sophia, Hyakutaro, and Mikuláš: Thinker

Trevor, Doctor Amadeus, and Ferdinand: Yearner

Nadia, Logan, Nayutaro, and Wired: Sleeping on their right side

Ralf, Madoka, Zoilo, Harvie, and Priyanka: Skydiver

Clark, Nathalie, Guilherme, Gyeong-Hui, and Amilcare: Log

Tequila, Allen O’Neil, Heidern, Anastasia, and Yohanes: Soldier

Gimlet, Walter, Abul Abbas, and Dezső: Fetal position

Red Eye: Yearner (as Ruoxi), starfish (as Shufen), and freefaller (as Liddy)

Tyra, Issenmantaro, and Torquil: Sleeping on their stomach

Pupipi and Pocke: Their leg tentacles are tucked in and their faces are buried in a pillow or blanket

Rumi, Margaret, Roberto, Midori, Hilde Garn, Sagan, and Thandolwethu: Pillow hugger

President Marx, Macba, Dilovar, and Ekaterini: Stargazer

What nicknames does Nadia give to the other characters?

Marco: Markie

Tarma: Tarms

Eri: Rie

Fio: Fifi

Trevor: Trevie

Ralf: Ralfy

Clark: Clarko

Tequila: Tequi

Gimlet: Gimbo

Red Eye: Ruo-Ruo (for Ruoxi), Shufie (for Shufen), and Lids (for Liddy)

General Morden: Mordy

Allen O’Neil: Allie

Doctor Amadeus: Amideo

Ptolemaios: Tolmai

Rootmars: Rootie

Invader King, Pupipi, Sophia, Avatar of Evil, Sol Dae Rokker, Gyeong-Hui, Amilcare, and Dezső: She has no unique nicknames for them

Walter: Walty

Tyra: Rara

Hyakutaro: Hyaro

Allen Jr.: Alsy

Rumi: Ruru

Madoka: Doka

Margaret: Margie

Leona: Leoni

Heidern: Heidy

Alisa Stewart: Lisu

Nathalie Neo: Natty

Roberto Nicola: Robby

President Marx: Marxy

Midori: Dori

MS-Alice: Acy

Nayutaro: Yuta

Issenmantaro: Senma

Nanahyakumantaro: Nahya

Happyakumantaro: Pyaku

Abul Abbas: Bulu

Hilde Garn: Hildy

Macba: Maba

Wired: Wirey

Pocke: Poks

Oghma: Guma

Zoilo: Zoi-Zoi

Anastasia: Anastasy

Wysteria: Wystie

Dilovar: Dilo

Sagan: Sagie

Logan: Loggie

Celaphios: Celapi

Torquil: Tork

Ferdinand: Ferdie

Mikuláš: Mikul

Thandolwethu: Lwethu

Harvie: Harvs

Ekaterini: Eka

Souma: Soumie

Juozapas: Juozi

Priyanka: Priyu

Yohanes: Yohan

Zdravko: Zdra

#writerscorner #creative writing #writing #iron eclipse au #metal slug #snk #gaming community #fun facts #headcanons #characters #smell #scent #cheese #sleeping positions #nicknames #nadia cassel

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thecrowperson · 11 months ago

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Kaidou manga panels I like: (pt 478)

Everyone's Here: feat. (ughhhhhh) ... Saiki, Nendou, Teruhashi, Riki Jr Mark 2, Anpu, Kuboyasu, Yumehara, Mera, Hairo, Aiura, Toritsuka, Akechi, Suzumiya, Satou, Takahashi, Saiko, Warp, Yuuta, Chouno, Kurumi, Kuniharu, Kuusuke, Makoto, Rifuta, Michael, Shiragami, Kumagoro, Kumi, Sora, Kaidou's mom, Toki, Midori, Takeuchi, Kongou, Shima, Matsuzaki, Iguchi, and Zolbe

From: vol 26 ch 273

I'm most certainly gonna run out of tag room so I'll have to downsize a lot...

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squicky-fannish-discourse · 29 days ago

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Gauntlet - Ch. 5

Initially I was going to write this story around the bladebreakers starting their own thing, but now I think Dark Mystel may shake things up?

Anyways for my Rei-focused chapter.

✧.*

START HERE

Main directory

<< Chapter 4

>> Chapter 6

✧.*

Mystel—later that evening—in the BEGA training facility was staring at his attack ring with some kind of odd interest. He then spotted Rei and Garland walking in.

Rei stood there awkwardly in the middle of the room, while Mystel turned to him with a smile.

”So, I paid your team a visit today,” he said. “It was quite interesting.”

"Oh?" Garland asked. "How was it?"

"Let's just say their new teammate is very interesting," Mystel said. "I wasn't particularly interested your liittle team, but things have changed."

Rei stared at him.

"If you weren't interested, why did you visit them?" Rei pointed out.

Mystel said nothing. He turned to Rei with a grin.

”I believe they got you a replacement,” he said. “I must say, she’s quite skilled. I was just trying to finish the match fast enough, so I could get them to talk—but she…” He held up his beyblade which was in pieces. “Interesting girl.”

Rei blinked. Garland tilted his head.

"If she got you... she must be a skilled blader then?"

"No," he said with a laugh. "I may have let my guard down."

"Then why is she interesting," Rei said. "You tend to say weird things, but right now, you're saying contradictory things."

"Is that so?" Mystel asked. "Am I truly turning insane?"

Rei didn't reply as he evaluated him.

"Did I sign a, ah, devil's contract with BEGA after all?" Mystel said.

"No you didn't," Garland said immediately.

"Of course not," Mystel said, sounding somewhat hollow, yet grinning all the same. "In this story, there are those who fight against the raging tide, those who are swallowed by the tide, and then there are those who command the tide. Which are you Rei?"

Rei didn't reply again.

He laughed. Garland stared at him.

"So I found out—from a little snooping around—that her name is Tachibana Hiromi. She’s also performing for Swan lake for the local arts centre.”

“Oh.”

“Do you want to see your replacement?” he asked him, as he tossed Rei the flyer. “The nice lady at the arts center gave me a sheet.”

And then—

“I do wonder,” Mystel said. “If she’s the one responsible for bringing them together.”

Rei looked up at Mystel.

“Pay her a visit then. She may help you make up your mind. Whether you are truly unwanted or not.”

✧.*

Hiromi bugged Kai to come to the local community arts centre for for the production of Swan lake they were putting out. They were choreo’ed by a professional dancer.

She said they’d be doing Swanlake. He’s quite annoying. She’s going to be the main character. He said no.

He’s soooo annoying, she huffed. But it’s fine. One day he’ll show up!

Quite a few people from the local community showed up for the production, mostly old people, who clapped happily, and they enjoyed what the teens put out under the instruction. People who’ve never been to a ballet production.

There is a moment, when she looks out into the audience, sensing someone watching her. Which is a strange thing—because everyone is watching her, she thinks. This is the main act. Her eyes shift over to the balcony.

Hiromi continues the performance with a bright smile, giving no indication she senses something off.

And after the production, everyone finally exits the change room and heads to the lobby. The guys in the production want to go eat ramen.

“We always go for ramen,” Midori said. “Can we think of something else?”

“It was a great job everyone!” Minami-san told all of them, as they all cheered and clapped for her as she walked in with a bright smile.

“Thank you for all your hard work!”

She tells them she’ll see them next week. “We’re taking a break this week because of all your hard work.”

And the kids bid her goodbye, before going back to argue over what to eat. They head out together, deciding on the way, “Maybe hot udon!” one girl said. “I know a place!!”

Hiromi wanted to go home and pack a few more parts so she could take them to the post-office tomorrow morning. Feels like someone rammed a truck into her though. If she practices really hard, she can soon audition for a company when she graduates.

“Umm,” Hiromi said. “Sorry guys. I’ll have to go back home. Because I’m really tired.”

“Hahah, with that beyblading league you’re trying to make?”

“Yes!” she said. “We’re trying to figure it all out! Please come and watch us!"

“If you need help with lighting or anything,” one of the girls tells her. “I could help behind the scenes if you like.”

"Really?!"

“So this is what you’re all doing?”

She freezes as she spins around. Is she losing her edge? Usually she knows if someone is behind her…

She freezes as she sees Kon Rei with Garland standing there. Rei stares her down, as he has his hands shoved in his pockets.

“Excuse me?” she asked slowly in confusion.

“Your production was amazing,” Garland tells them.

“Oh, thank you,” one of the girls say. “Um—Hiromi-chan, do you know these guys?”

"What are you talking about?" someone says. "Aren't they from BEGA league?"

"Oh?! Wait, I know them now!"

"World renowned bladers!!"

"Hiromi, you really know these guys?!"

Rei walks forward and he pins Hiromi with a look.

“Are you my replacement in the team then?” Rei asks. “And the G-Revs are really getting together?”

“Who told you that?” Hiromi asked in confusion.

“Mystel,” Garland said.

“And you believed him?” Hiromi asked with a laugh.

"Well, what are we supposed to believe?" Garland asked in confusion.

“Hirom?! Are you going to play with the Bladebreakers?” one of the girls asked her.

“Whoa!!”

“No,” she said with a laugh. “I’m not your replacement for any team. And yes, we’re working on a beyblading league of our own. You’re both of course welcome to join. If not, I’m sorry, but you’ve chosen your path, yes?”

“Not yet,” Garland said. “We’re giving him the opportunity to choose.”

“The choice between,” Hiromi said, as she walked out into the light of the park. “A bejeweled cage or freedom?” she asked.

“Bejeweled cage?” Garland asked. “Is that what the bladebreakers think this is?”

“Yes, quite frankly,” Hiromi said. “Tell me then, do you really believe in BEGA?”

“Yes,” Garland said. “Why not?”

“So it’s only achieving the top position in the world?”

”What else do you need?”

“Your matches will be rigged. Because let’s say—a certain player is more popular. You’ll just have to go with public opinion and let them win. If they introduce a betting system. Is this truly fun? There's so much pressure. And also you've made it more of a show than anything. Inevitably, you'd have to sacrifice creativity with beyblade parts to create this coorporation that bends to the whims of money!"

"Wow," one of the girls said. "Wow! That was so well said!"

"It's the way beyblading ought to be," Garland said in annoyance.

Rei stared between them.

“I’m afraid then you and I have two very different ideas of what true beyblading looks like,” Hiromi said.

“Mystel put it like you’re the one influencing the bladebreakers. But we looked into you, and we find you haven’t entered a single league competition,” Garland said. “Why do you think you’d have sway over everyone else like you have been part of a league?”

“Hahah,” she said. “That may be true. But I am first and foremost a street blader. What gives you the right determine the future of beyblading parts and the street blading community, when say, you have people who build blades for you in BEGA?" she said, as she took a step forward towards him. He blinked.

"We're professionals," Garland said. "I rely and respect a professional. Not myself. What are you getting at?"

He stared at her.

"Put together your beyblade painstakingly, and tried to find alternative parts, understanding the ins and outs of it, and spent hours on it, thinking about all the possible outcomes of your build. Do you think deeply about weight and balance?"

“So it’s about the beybalding parts? We should probably meet in the middle. Why would you go through all this trouble.”

“No, no,” she said with a laugh. “It’s not about the parts. Beyblading should have the freedom and creativity to grow. I don’t think BEGA will let bladers grow, and it seems to be a unanimous decision.”

“I’m sure we can come to table about this,” he said.

Rei and the others just kept shifting their heads back and forth between Garland and Hiromi. Some of them mouth open.

“Why is BEGA so afraid of a competition?” Hiromi asked as she reached into her tote, pulling out her beyblade and her launcher.

“We’re not afraid of competition,” he said. “We don’t want—well, I don’t personally want to be some kind of schism in the beyblading world.”

“So it’s true,” Hiromi said with a laugh. “Getting the Bladebreakers on your side, means everyone agrees with your sham?"

"There is clearly a lack of understanding on your part on what BEGA would bring to the beyblading world."

"But I do have Takao, Kai and Max on my side," Hiromi replied with a grin. "And they don't agree with you."

Garland stared at her.

“Max hasn’t bladed in months,” Hiromi said. “He said he resonates with our frustration.”

Garland stared at her.

“Takao said he’d give up beyblading forever,” she said with a grin. “If it came down to it.”

They stared at her.

She grinned.

"Kai doesn't wish to beyblade anymore if he has to beyblade for Boris and join that bejeweled cage. You know as well as I do, that they are well regarded, and that's why you want them to join. Can you blame him or the Demolition boys? Did you put aside your morals and honor for this?"

Everyone was watching with bathed breath.

Garland narrowed his eyes.

He huffed a laugh. Hiromi smiled. She loved a good intellectual debate!

"You're quite stubborn. And you book a good argument," he said.

"So are you! Let’s beyblade?” she asked then. “And let’s see who’s resolve is stronger. Both of yours or both of mine.”

They both looked on in shock. That’s when she heard a swish of cloth, and Kai stood there beside them.

“What are you doing picking fights when you can’t even stand?” Kai asked her. He gave her a look.

“What are you doing here?” she asked with a laugh. “Did you come for my show after all?”

He gave her a surly look which made her laugh, as he walked over and he pulled out Suzaku.

“Kai?” Rei asked.

“She’s right,” Kai said. “Beyblade me Rei, If I lose—you join BEGA. If I win, you don’t sign that contract.”

Hiromi broke into a smile.

Garland blinked.

“Because then I can be at ease with your decision to join that bejeweled cage,” Kai said.

Hiromi smiled wider.

Garland narrowed his eyes.

“Fine,” he said. “I honor this match. We do not want weak bladers in BEGA.”

Rei held out Byakko as he glared at Kai.

“Let’s go.”

They both released their beyblades at the same time, as Hiromi fell back with the other girls and one of the boys reached over.

“You know Kai Hiwatari?”

“He’s m’childhood friend,” she said with a smile.

“Who’s gunna win?”

“I have my bets on Kai,” the other boy said.

“We oughta be cheering for Kai after what Hiromi’s said, you idiot!” one of the girls said as she bonked his head.

Hiromi grinned.

“Man!! We gotta record this!!”

“Rei and Kai!!”

“I’m going to be a contrarian!”

Suzaku and Byakko tore up the ground, as she watched the match intently. Kai’s really really determined.

“Whatever!!” that boy said. “Let the best blader win!!”

Hiromi watched Byakko and Suzaku fight, sparks of fire through the cloud of dirt, as both bit-beasts were warring with each other. There was a myriad of lights and sounds in the inky night sky, like stars.

There’s a brief moment in the battle, when Rei’s eyes shone as he looked at Suzaku’s approaching flames, as they all exclaimed. And then Byakko shot off with speed. Hiromi widened her eyes. There he goes!! That move!! Gattling Claw!

Kai barely dodged gattling claw, as streaks of electricity expanded through the area.

“Get back,” Kai called out.

So they all skittered back. But Hiromi really really wanted to watch Rei beyblade up close.

"Hiromi get back here!" They yanked her back.

“LET’S GOOO!” They were cheering and screaming happily.

But Rei was grinning, as Byakko and Suzaku were taking each other down. But, Rei’s moves were getting less decisive, and some of the ballet dancers—who’d been drilled in this—noted it. “I think he’s struggling.”

“I think he’s struggling with being decisive,” Hiromi said as she took a seat on the bench, nursing her ankles.

“Oh, is that right?”

“I think that means… Kai will win?”

“I’m sure he has a lot of doubts and fears,” HIromi said. “But I’m sure Rei will come to make stronger decisions when he manages to overcome those, he’ll probably make better decisions, yeah?”

“Mhmm!”

“Wow, that’s deep!”

“Hehehe.”

Kai on the other hand was staring at Rei’s face, as he was contemplative. Rei then looked up, as he stood his ground.

Kai smiled.

Rei then grinned.

“BYAKKO—GO!!” he yelled.

The attacks increased in intensity. Hiromi leaned forward, as Suzaku was being hit repeatedly, as Kai stood firm. Hiromi huffed. There he goes damaging his beyblade. Rei’s attacks are no joke. But Rei was starting to tire.

They circled around each other.

Hiromi thought that Rei looked a combination of frustration, happy and excited all at once.

And then—

“SUZAKU—FINISH HIM!!”

And they heard a cry of a phoenix over them, as Suzaku and Byakko clashed, and—with a bright light. Hiromi closed her eyes. Kai sent Byakko back flying over Garland’s head.

Garland looked back at Byakko in the dirt.

“Well?” Kai asked.

Rei was staring at the ground.

Garland stared at Byakko. He glanced back Rei.

“So… you’ve made your decision?”

Rei was panting, as his fingernails were digging into the dirt. Hiromi watched his expression intently through his bangs. Of all the Bladebreakers, because Suzumebachi and Byakko were so similar in their builds—she’d watch a lot of his matches. Some of them were great, when it’s going great.

It’s why she also knows how to counter Kai’s Suzaku so effectively these days, despite how strong Kai is. She built on Byakko's match strategies.

He’s staring at the dirt, emotions filling his eyes.

“Your childhood friend, Rai, thinks that White Tigers should be represented in the BEGA league,” Garland said. “Are you going to give up fame and fortune for this? Is this your decision?”

He dug his fingers into the dirt. He clenched his teeth.

“How long is their beyblade competition sustainable for anyway?” Garland asked. “We have money and investors on our side.”

”Is this what you lure people with? Fame? Fortunes? Is that all BEGA has?”

He glared at her.

“You're unreasonable. We have very very strong vetted bladers.”

“But don’t you see what we’ve proved with this match,” she said excitedly. “Strength will fail. Intellect will falter. Bravery will falter. All that’s left is resolve!”

Garland narrowed his eyes at her silently.

“It’s the same for you too, isn’t it?” she asked. “How long will your honor hold up in the face of BEGA? Where is your reason to beyblade? Or are you BEGA's spokesperson, content to believe you're the best?"

He didn’t reply.

She pinned them with a strong gaze and smiled brightly and bravely.

“BEGA may be inevitable, but it is not forever.”

Checkmate.

He pursed up his lips.

Rei took a deep breath.

He got to his feet, and he turned to Garland.

“I’ll stand with my team.”

“Your team?” Garland asked. “The White Tigers?” he asked hopefully.

“The Bladebreakers,” he said.

Kai smiled.

Garland stared at his back. Then he glanced at Hiromi who was smiling.

“Alright,” he said. “So be it. I wish to battle you all again.”

“Sure,” Kai said plainly.

“Alright,” Rei said.

He stopped. “You,” he said. “When you’re fit to fight and we meet again,” he said. “I wish to challenge you.”

“Challenge accepted,” she replied. Kai glanced at her. “But you’ll battle me on my terms,” she said with a grin.

He stared at her.

“In our tournament.”

"Fine."

Garland held her gaze, then he turned back around. He headed into the dark. Rei stared after him.

The group of kids behind them had wide smiles, while one of them was sobbing.

“I love this!!”

They all started to clap, startling Rei and Kai, while Hiromi laughed.

“We should all go for a good meal now.”

“I’m starving!”

“Hiromi—let’s go!! You must be hungry after yapping!!!”

“Wait, no!!” Hiromi said. “I gotta get going home and finish up some work! I’ll see you guys later!!”

She waved bye at Kai, who glanced at Rei.

Rei watched them leave.

“Did we help you make a decision?” Kai asked.

“Yeah,” Rei said with a tired grin.

Kai smiled.

“You’ll want to meet Takao,” he said. “Let’s go. They should still be up.”

Kai glanced back at Hiromi chattering excitedly with her cast-mates, and she waved at him.

"Don't get back late," he called after her. "Or your dad will be upset."

She's too busy jabbering at her friends, and not listening as usual. So he sighed, while Rei gave them an amused look.

✧.*

The idiot got a cold, because she was out late with her cast-mates, "discussing what needs to be done for the league! Getting contacts," she says.

So Kai’s over to check on her to see if she’s not working. But she’s sealing packages of beyblades.

“What are you doing out of bed?”

“I’ve nearly finished,” she said. “How’s building the stadium? I got a camera and lighting guy for us.”

“I’m eating very healthy food. Ask Mochi! How rude! He’s being rude, isn’t he Mochi?”

He rolled his eyes.

“Can you take these to the post office?” she asked, runny nose and all. “And also here’s the label. I’m sure I got them all correct—coz I double checked them and triple checked them.”

“Bed.”

“Yesss!”

She crawled into bed.

“Will you tell me a good night story?”

He walked out.

“HE’S SOOO MEAN!”

He pushed the door open, as Mochi climbed atop his shoulder.

“Are you taking Mochi with you?” she called out.

“Yes,” he called out.

“Nooooooo!” she whined. "Traitor cat!"

He headed to Takao’s dojo with Mochi, and the pile of things that needed to be mailed out and put in envelopes. Mochi was on his shoulder, attracting attention.

“Who’s cat is that?” Max asked.

“Hiromi’s Grandfather's. He never listens to her.”

“Did she—is she okay?” Max asked with a laugh.

“The cat wakes her up, and she’ll never sleep. I caught her trying to do work."

"Oh no," Max said. "A workoholic!"

“No,” he said. “Can we check these?” he asked. He held out the paper as him and Kyoujyu crawled over. “We need to make sure it’s in order.”

“Did you give her the chicken rice congee?” Rei asked, as he was leaning against the wall. He and Takao are all roughed up—probably from the bey-battle they just had. He’d made it for her as a thanks.

Mochi leapt off Kai’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” he said. “You didn’t need to cook for her. She’s sick because she’s an idiot. Let her suffer."

“Hahah,” Rei said. “Well, just a lil’ something to say thanks for helping me make a decision last night.”

Kai said nothing as he’s trying to figure out her system. He looked at Kyoujyu for help.

"Just a sec, Kai!"

Rei watched them all, feeling somewhat content with his decision. Byakko was beside him, beaten up by Seiryuu, but it feels nice.

Feels like he can breathe again, he thought as he closed his eyes, feeling the wind blow through the house.

“He’s pretty,” Max said. “What breed?”

“Siberian forest.”

Mochi plodded towards Rei, who smiled at him. And as the day progressed, and they were busy trying to work through the orders, because Max added one or two wrong—Mochi curled up on Rei, nuzzling him, while Rei smiled happily.

“Hey hey, you’re an affectionate boy, aren’t you?”

He scratched Mochi’s head, while he purred happily.

“He kinda looks like you, Rei!”

Rei grinned.

"I'm not done beating you up!" Takao said as he walked in. "AHH! Who got this cat in here?!"

✧.*

Main directory

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>> Chapter 6

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sl0thonaga · 7 months ago

Note

TELL ME EVERYTHING ABOUT FLOORMASTER KANNA PLEASEE ;;;;;;

THANK YOU FOR PULLING ME OUT OF THE GRAVE ASKER!!!

Floormaster Kanna:

• Custard Pudding+Matcha Icecream

• Bittersweet - Main Symbolism: "A Rotting Flower"

• Vice Floormaster to Midori in CH.3, similar to how Safalin vices for Ranger

• more than 50% human, less than 50% doll

• doll parts created by Midori, with help from Safalin (Safalin preserves Kanna's human flowers+her body from the execution)

-timid, initially kind and is still familiar with the rest of the remaining participants

"Everyone...please survive"

-generally as kind as she was before, more generous than every other floormaster & tries to help Sara; this is only possible because Midori basically lets the child run loose and doesn't push a lot on her freedom except the floormaster's code

-When she exerts a lot of her energy/gets super upset the canna flower around her left eye withers, her face gets a bit more cracked and the stems around her neck soon grow out more from her collar

-the explosion function on her collar has been deactivated because new shoots keep growing out from the seeds in her neck

-most of her memories retained, as well as most of her character/personality

-HOWEVER

-deliberately messed up by Midori to deprive Kanna of the one trait that made Kanna herself: forgiveness

-Gave her instead the thing Sou has that she doesn't: spite

-Because most of her memories are retained, she holds some spite against Kugie and most especially Shin for manipulating her

-from that spite, feels so frustrated to the point it makes her cry

-Upon meeting Shin in CH.3, Kanna feels contempt against him; Shin thinks it's for killing her but actually Kanna has no regrets about that, she just feels spite about everything else

"How could you do this to Kanna...!"

-the parallel of Shin being hated by the only one who he cared for and cared about him

-still has a liking to Sara, lowkey wants her to win

-HOWEVER

"Big sis Sara...are you going to betray me too?"

-Midori has Kanna call him "Big Bro Midori"

"He doesn't really treat Kanna like a toddler.."

-this upsets Sara (and severely upsets Shin)

-this floormaster kanna au is really just causing shin the most suffering

-reads through the other volumes of the Shin Tsukimi AI Test Data from time to time in an effort to navigate her emotions

-her icecream cones are edible like safalin's hat

-jk the mint chocolate is actually toothpaste

-Safalin feeds her fertiliser(???) in the form of matcha chocolates for her human canna flowers

-the vibe is the equivalent of a single mom giving her kid their daily vitagummies

-Kanna actually talks to the Shin AI normally (she sees Shin and Sou as somewhat 2 separate entities) and can often be seen in the overworld chatting with him in the security office

-Somewhat tries to avoid the real Shin, reverted to some of her old habits [hiding herself and running away] rather than confronting the problem; only expresses her contempt against Shin when she has to face him

-i imagine if she oversees the next main game she would break and panic and be unable to carry out her floormaster duties and executions

"I..Kanna...doesn't want anybody to die..! Kanna...can't...!"

-is willing to proceed with her own death as per the floormaster's code if it means protecting Sara and the others from being executed, this is where the self-sacrificial part of herself comes through

-i imagine Midori wouldn't let her [not out of pity, he just wants the main game to keep going], and by letting Kanna live instead of sacrificing herself Shin now owes him for saving her, really fked up

tbh i have much more but hoo...hoo boy

#yttd #kimi ga shine #your turn to die #kanna kizuchi #yttd floormasters #yttd fanart #kanna yttd #floormaster!kanna may have inherited a teeny rage issue too tbh

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simp999 · 2 years ago

Text

Short Lived.

Pairing: Ken Midori x Reader

Series: Beyblade Burst

Wc: 5.4k (help)

A/N: A new friend got me back into beyblade and I needed to write for my old beloved. (Sorry splatoon manga fans, I'm still working on the next chapter!)

A/N 2: I know that the beyblade fans don't vibe on tumblr for the most part, but I am deprived of beyblade fanfic. Take it

Warnings: Ends with fluffy angst (Might make Ch.2 if anyone wants.)

Themes: Fluff, angst, hurt/comfort, strangers to friends to lovers(?)-Not officially lovers but like c'mon now

Masterlist

A frustrated sigh escapes your lips as you cut the loose threads from the glove you’re trying to sew back together.

Last night, you had been training with your bey, but it seemed your glove had had enough of the years of sweat, abuse, and regular washes that it had gone through, and gave up on you. It had gotten you through many wins, and you doubt you’d find another just as comfortable since this one is now worn perfectly to your launching hand. You remembered that your school left the home ec. class open after hours, so you figured you’d give attempting to fix your glove a shot, which obviously wasn’t going well. The threads were too far apart, then too loose, then they just looked so badly done, you were ready to give up and buy a new one. Before you were able to fully get up from your seat, a boy came up to you - a brown puppet on one hand, and blue on the other.

The brown one began to talk in a goofy voice; “Hi there! Would you like some help? This guy here likes to think he’s pretty good at sewing.” The blue one cut him off, in a drastically different voice, “Yeah, ya seem to be strugglin’ a bit there.”

You could only stare at the person in amazement. What a skilled ventriloquist! Not only can he speak with minimal movement from his mouth, but he can switch voices so quickly!

You dismiss your thoughts, remembering the situation at hand. You get a little flustered after examining how badly you managed to mess up your stitching this time, accepting the kind stranger’s offer.

“Yeah… That’d actually be really nice.”

The boy takes a seat in the chair beside you, making sure to keep some distance between you two. He takes off his puppets and places them on the table with care, reaching a hand out toward your glove, silently asking to borrow it. You hand the beaten and well-used glove over, and he carefully but efficiently undoes the miserable stitching that you did. It doesn’t take long before it’s all gone, and you’re mesmerised by the way he so quickly threads the needle and pokes it through the fabric, making seemingly perfect lines. You see that he’s not doing the usual stitch, and you study the way he continues for a bit. He gets about a third through the small hole in the glove before handing it back to you, putting his puppets back on his hands to explain how to do this new stitch. A backstitch. He explains how to do it with maximum efficiency, and tells you that this stitch is great for reinforcing the area, which is exactly what you need.

You’re much slower, and the lines are obviously less straight than his, but this is far better than any previous attempts. He waits for you, pointing out when you begin to put too much space between the holes, or any other details. In the meantime, he introduces himself. Well, the puppets introduce themselves and him. You smile at how cute Keru and Besu are, and marvel at their unique personalities. You quickly learn that Ken’s puppets are very important to him, and that he’s obviously been doing this type of thing since he was young. His skills only further prove that, for both sewing and ventriloquism.

You only notice that you’ve been looking at Ken a little too long when he brings Besu’s little hand up to his face to ‘wipe’ Ken’s cheek, Besu asking if there’s something stuck there. Your face heats up, realizing your mistake, and you quickly assure him that you’re just heavily impressed by his ventriloquism skills. You can see slight surprise cross his face, it seems people don’t often see how difficult his skill really is. Besu thanks you, while Keru boasts about how long Ken’s been practicing for. He gets on to mentioning his puppet shows, and the two of you talk for a bit. It’s cut short when you sheepishly ask him if he can tie the final knot for you.

You try on your glove on the way home, trying to remember all the little details of the person you just met. The spikey, fluffy-looking black hair he had, the comfortable green color scheme, even his little snaggle tooth was hard to miss. It felt like you two spoke for hours, even though it was only probably 20 or so minutes. The sun is halfway through setting, and you find yourself wanting to see him again. You’re sure he went to the same school, it was simply unlucky that he and you had separate classes.

.·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ ..·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ ..·͙*̩̩͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩̥͙　✩　*̩̩̥͙˚̩̥̩̥*̩̩͙‧͙ .

You spent the next couple of days paying more attention to your surroundings at school. Taking the longer routes to classes, walking around during lunch, and even getting out of class a couple of minutes early so you could try to wait at the front door. No luck.

You didn’t really have anyone to hang out with, your - acquaintances at best - having their closer friends to hang out with. You didn’t mind, but there was something about the puppeteer that had you wanting more of his presence. He just seemed so… kind, and comforting.

With no luck from your attempts, you decide to test out the bey stadium on top of the school. You heard rumors of it, but never bothered trying it out, favoring the one at the park and the one you had at home- you and your dad had built it.

Before turning the corner, you heard the all too familiar sound of a bey spinning. You contemplated even going, but you were interested in potentially finding another skilled blader.

A boy with white hair and a black vest is fully concentrated on the red bey before him. You could bet that he’s counting the seconds that it’s spinning for, so you wait to make your presence known so as to not distract him. It spins for an impressive amount of time, and you wait for him to stand up and wipe the sweat from his forehead before approaching him.

“Can I help you?”

“I doubt it, but do you happen to know where I can find a boy named Ken? He wears mostly green, has two puppets-”

“Oh, Ken Midori. I believe he has a puppet show starting sometime soon in the main area of the mall.”

He finally looks at you head-on, and you recognize him. He’s known to be an extremely skilled blader, supposedly the best at school. Shu Kurenai. You pretend to not know him, and you thank him for his time before making your way to the mall. You’ve always tried to keep your beyblading lifestyle on the down-low, changing up your appearance in battle and only really practicing alone. Beyblading isn’t your only personality trait.

You smile at all the little kids who are sat down in front of the booth, and imagine all the thankful parents who can finally get somewhat of a break. The story follows an over-confident but weak hero who can’t manage to beat a dragon. Help arrives, and you’re quick to recognize the two puppets and their voices. Your smile grows, and you excitedly wait for the end. No, not the end of the cute story being played, you’re excited to go see the boy managing those two adorable puppets. Though, the story is still engaging and fun. They sure are experienced at what they do.

The puppets bow to their audience, and the curtains close. While kids begin to shuffle through the crowd to meet up with their parents, you carefully make your way over to the booth, watching out for any green and black. A lady comes up to you and asks if she can help with anything, and you see that she has a puppet on one of her hands, one from the show.

“Oh, yes! I’m looking for Ken?”

She nods and calls out his name, and the boy makes his way over to the lady, only spotting you afterward. Besu’s the first to talk:

“Oh! You made it to our show!”

“I was pretty sharp out there, right?!” Keru intervenes, and Besu doesn’t want to feel left out, so the two begin some light banter. Ken breaks it up by giving his two puppets a glare, then he makes them bow their heads, as if they felt bad. You stifle a laugh at the scene before you, happy that you got your own mini show. Ken’s smile slightly grows, and his mother notices, so she tries to give him a little push.

“How about you two go hang out for a while? We’ve got everything covered here, and that’s the last show of the night. As long as Ken’s home by 8:30.”

You bring your hands together to play with the hem of your sleeve, feeling bad about taking her kid away for a bit.

“I don’t mind helping if you’d like?”

“Don’t worry about it, you two go have fun!”

The two of you stand in silence as his mom leaves. Ken’s not sure if he should be frustrated or thankful that his mom just threw him right outside his comfort zone, but either way, he’s stuck with you now.

You check the time on your phone, 6:07.

“We’ve got a couple hours, is there anywhere you’d like to go? Or… We are already at the mall, if you’d like to just walk around?”

Ken admits through Besu that he never really got to check out the mall. You’ve lived in this city your whole life, which means you know this mall quite well. You’re quick to drag him, metaphorically, to your favorite stores that you think he’d like. The two of you find some stickers you like, some shirts, and anything else you find interesting that’s also reasonably priced. You surprise him with a keychain of a cartoon-y dog that looks an awful lot like Besu. He looks happy to receive it, Besu doing a little dance while holding it between his little paws, but Keru crosses his arms and huffs.

You turn around to show him a keychain that you already had attached to your bag, which resembled Keru. Keru’s attitude quickly changes, remarking that he’s the better one because you have his keychain. He and Besu get into another small fight, and you’re once again reminded of Ken’s amazing skill as a ventriloquist.

The night flies by, but you’ve definitely gotten more comfortable with each other. This time, you didn’t forget to exchange contact information, so now you two can plan meet-up times. Once you wave goodbye to Ken, he stands in the middle of the quiet mall, feeling the same way you did after your first meeting. He’s never had a friend before, and he’s deciding that he’d be happy to have you as his first.

For the next few months, the two of you began hanging out outside of class. You introduce him to places you enjoy, finding out that he really likes this one clear opening in the woods not too far from your home. You went once during the day, finally trusting him enough to show him your special comfort spot. There are lots of flowers, and you even added fairy lights and a few blankets to lay on, thanks to your mom. When moving the branches away from your face and holding them away for Ken, you explain that you like to come here when you want a break from reality, or to just enjoy nature as it is.

“People are always so bombarded with lights, buildings, cars, loud noises, and the like, so we don’t often get to have 'us' time. It’s much prettier at night, we should try to convince your mom to let you stay out a bit later one night. Maybe on a weekend?”

“We often have lots of plays on the weekends, but I think our first one for next Sunday is later in the day, so if we go next Saturday night after the play it should work.” He still uses his puppets to speak, and you still love them just as much as the first day they spoke to you. They are really cute and fun, after all.

“Alright, a week and a half from now, then! Don’t forget!” Ken nods, excited to see what this place looks like at night. It seems you put lots of care into the surrounding area.

The next day, you had planned to meet up after school. At the end of your last class of the day, you get a text from your favorite ventriloquist saying his club is having an emergency meeting. You were really hoping to hang out with him, and you wouldn’t mind if there are other people around, so you ask if his club would be okay with you lingering around. He thinks about it, and figured that his friends wouldn’t mind, so the two of you meet up and you follow him to the roof.

You quietly follow behind him, a little nervous about meeting his friends. You wouldn’t usually be like this, but these are Ken’s friends, so there was a good chance you’d be seeing them time and time again.

The first one to pep up is a boy with short, blond hair, he seems to be pretty eccentric. His energy is really fun and he gives off good vibes, it feels like being around him could put you in a better mood overall, which is nice. You wave at him after he points you out, and he gives you a bright grin. You notice Shu nod at you, you’re surprised he must have remembered you. The next to speak is a shorter boy with dark blue hair, and it’s a little hard to make out what he’s saying thanks to how fast he’s talking. Something about asking if you’re Ken’s friend, then about blading.

What was that about blading? It seems the friend group quieted down after he asked you the question, also wanting an answer. Noticing your lost expression, the blondie from earlier repeats his friend’s question.

“Do you do any beyblading?”

You could tell them, but you don’t like it when your name gets out there.

“Not that much.”

“But you have a bey?”

“...Yeah.”

The blue-haired boy is quick to challenge you to a battle, but you’re not really feeling up to it. You’re not a big fan of showing off your skills to any unnecessary opponents. You don’t also want to make a fool of yourself. The ‘meeting’ goes on, and they discuss an upcoming tournament. The plan for this meeting is just to battle. They introduce themselves to you one by one, then decide that they’re going to do a tournament-style set of battles. They don’t have enough players for it to start out evenly, though. They manage to convince you to join, and you agree on the condition that you get to battle Ken in the first round. It’s the only way you’d be able to hold back.

Anyone else and you’d end up with a quick and effortless burst finish.

Valt’s up first against Honcho- or Rantaro, you’re not sure which name to use since he introduced himself as Honcho, but all the others called him Rantaro. You’re surprised at how much skill is shown before you, you may have underestimated these players. Not like it matters, though. It’s then Shu against Daigo, and you already know the outcome before it starts. Finally, you end up against Ken.

You both take your positions, and you opt to not do any strength-inducing launches, so you keep it basic. You already know exactly how this match is going to do. Your eyes flicker up from the stadium to Ken, and he looks really focused on where he intends to send his bey. He makes it all too obvious that he’s going straight to the center. You barely give the launch 15% of your power, and you let him win with a survivor finish.

As if you’d have the heart to hurt him - Well, his ego. You congratulate him on the win, and remind the gang that you don’t blade that much, with a hand stretching the back of your head and a half-smile.

“No worries! At least now our tournament can continue!”

You lean back on the bench, examining the players’ battle styles. You focus mainly on Ken’s of course, and he’s a lot stronger than you had anticipated. You watch the battle between him and Valt, the underdog pulling through. It almost looked like a stroke of complete luck that he’d won against Ken, but as much as you’d like to say that, an experienced blader’s eyes like yours could catch the hidden skill that Valt has.

He comes and sits beside you, encouraging his friends. You tag along, rooting for them. Daigo sits on the other side of you, since there isn’t anywhere else to sit and his legs are tired. The two of you don’t exchange any words, but you gain a mutual respect for each other. You like his style, and he approves of you as Ken’s friend, you seem like a good pair to him. He won’t say that aloud, though.

That weekend, Ken calls you to see if you can hang out. You try your best to never turn him down, even ditching plans just to hang out with him, but you’ve got a battle in a tournament that you can’t miss. You feel bad about it, but it can’t be helped. You tell him that you’re busy, and he assures you that it’s alright and he’ll just go watch his friends battle.

You throw on your hood and a cloth facemask, adjusting the elastics on the sides to be comfortable. This mask is really breathable, and has a cool design that consists of two rows of cartoony sharp teeth. It’s perfect for concealing your identity while you blade.

Your opponent is already up on stage when you walk up, Hanami announcing you as the Mysterious blader, only known as X. You take a glance at the crowd, there seems to be more people showing up at your battles as time goes on. You refuse to go easy when it comes to important battles, so you steady your arms and plant your feet for maximum power.

3, 2, 1, LET IT RIP!

The crowd cheers, and your hood slips down from the force of your launch. That’s why the mask is important. The hand resting next to your hips subtly brings up three fingers. Then it hides one. One left. As you bring down your index, the opponent’s bey bursts. Six seconds, it seems you were feeling generous today.

Another quick glance at the crowd was intended only to observe their reaction, but your eyes caught someone unexpected. He wasn’t supposed to be here. The puppets on his hands seemed to be as surprised as him, their mouths wide open. Before he can make any sort of movement as your eyes linger on him, you shuffle over to the changing room. You try to be subtle when you leave, checking around corners before walking past, but that someone still manages to find you. He runs up to you, hugging you excitedly, but still gently, from behind, having Besu voice his excitement.

“I knew it was you!”

Keru’s quick to add on,

“Why didn’t ya go all out against Ken, though? You’re a really strong blader!”

You take a quick look around, making sure that nobody else is in the area before taking off the mask and hoodie.

“I wanna keep it on the down low. Getting challenged left and right isn’t too fun. And I didn’t have the heart to go all out.”

The last part was muttered, but Ken heard it. He chose to ignore it, though.

“You don’t enjoy lots of battles?” Besu sounded like he was a mix of sad and curious.

“Well, I’ll be honest, I underestimated your friends. I didn’t think they’d be fun to battle, but I might just have to one of these days. I’ll only do it in a competition, though.”

Ken nods, then stands still for a second. It seems there’s a lot running through his mind. His smile grows all of a sudden, and he hugs you again.

“We need to battle for real sometime, okay?”

You embrace the hug, then let go, with your hands still on his hips. You nod, agreeing to it. You may not have the heart to go all out right away, but you’re sure that if you do it enough, one day you two could have a really all-out, fun battle. The two of you have to go separate ways since it’s dinner time, but not before you promise to battle him often.

As you walk off, he finds himself staring at you in amazement. That opponent surely wasn’t weak, you were already a couple of rounds deep in the tournament. He had come to watch the previous battle, which featured Valt, but ended up staying because he was curious about Valt’s possible future opponents. He had gotten quite the reality check instead, realizing how awesome his friend is. Yeah…friend.

That moment, Ken makes a big decision: 'That’s going to have to change. Next weekend.'

The next couple of days go by as usual, having lunch with the beyclub, and hanging out with Ken a couple of times throughout the week. Although, It’s hard to miss the way he seems to slowly inch closer to you when he’s near you, or how he may have messaged you a little more often than usual, asking how you were or if you remembered to eat.

But Tuesday, that all stopped. He went quiet. You didn’t receive a 'Good morning, see you at school!' text. He didn’t have Besu pitch into the conversation, nor did he have Keru butt in with any snarky remarks during the beyclub battles after school. He still answered when spoken to, but he seemed very… out of it. Dazed? Like he had something else on his mind. You were worried about him, especially since you planned on hanging out with him in a couple of days. You have been planning this late-night meeting for a while now, and you really hoped that he still intended on coming.

But he didn’t move away when you moved closer to him, and he didn’t flinch when you put your hand in his and rubbed your thumb against it. You wanted him to know that you’d be there for him, no matter what. You wanted to so badly tell him that you- no. That can wait.

The night finally came. The sun was almost done setting, and Ken still hadn’t made it to your house yet. Now this was getting worrying. After debating for a few minutes, you finally sent him a text.

[“Hey, we’re still on tonight, right?”]

[“Of course, I’m on my way.”]

You let out a sigh of relief, unsure of why you ever doubted him. Of course you could trust him, he was the person that you were closest to, the person you cared about the most.

You look up from your dark phone screen when you hear hurried footsteps. Ken speaks through Besu, telling you that his mom wanted help deep-cleaning the house. You give him a nod, and you gently grab his hand, (you grab Keru?), and lead him to your favorite clearing. You move the branches away, being careful as to not let them smack Ken when you let go.

Ken doesn’t notice that you two have made it to the clearing until you announce it, probably because the fairy lights weren’t on. You lead him to the blanket, getting him to make himself comfortable before finally turning on the lights with a “ta-daaa~”

You had meant for all this to feel a little silly, wanting to get rid of the tense atmosphere, but you immediately saw just about every worry leave Ken’s eyes as the lights flickered on. It’s like he was finally made aware of how dreamy the world could be, and it almost seemed as if his eyes twinkled when they met yours.

Must have just been the lights.

You sit beside him, eventually deciding to lie down once your arms got too strained from holding yourself up. The only thing filling the silence was the quiet buzzing of any nearby bugs, and the crickets. Ken let himself fall from his sitting position not too long after you did, and he was quick to pull you close to him. Impossibly close, even, as he had your head laying on his chest.

He’s never been this bold before, and you can easily tell that he’s nervous with how hard his heart is beating. You snuggle closer, if possible, and you’re almost on the brink of falling asleep. Before you can though, the fairy lights die out, allowing you to see the infinite amount of stars above you. There’s no better time than now.

“Hey.”

Ken slightly adjusts his head so his eyes can meet yours, but you don’t share his glance.

“The moon is beautiful, isn’t it?”

His breath hitches. You catch the way his chest no longer moves up and down, and your lips waver, afraid you may have made a mistake. He most definitely understood what was implied, his reaction making it a dead giveaway.

It’s silent for what feels like hours, the only thing breaking it being his uneven breath. Then, his light sobs. You immediately half-sit up, focusing all your attention on Ken.

There’s a big, strained smile on his face, the kind that only shows when you’re the last person trying to convince yourself that everything’s alright. It begins to fade, and tears only begin to fall faster when you envelop him in a hug. He hugs you tighter, tighter than he ever has before, almost like he’s afraid to lose you. No, as if he’s afraid to leave you.

You back off by a couple inches when his weak hold finally allows it, and you bring a hand up to wipe one of the many tears from his cheek. You eventually have to courage to raise enough for Ken to hear.

“Ken…did I say something wrong? I never meant to hurt you, I’m so sorry-”

“It’s not your fault that you loved me.”

You both sit in silence. Your hand weakly starts to weigh itself down, away from his face, while he avoids any kind of eye contact. This was the first time you heard his voice.

“I…I don’t want to leave. I can’t just leave you, you mean so much to me!”

He begins to ramble, and it starts to become hard to understand him when the tears come right back.

“Ken, my love, I’d never leave you. What makes you think-”

“No, no, my family. My family’s puppet shows are making me travel. I have to change schools. I have to leave. I have to leave you.”

“Oh.”

That’s what that meant.

He’s leaving.

You may never see each other again.

“...When?”

“I need to start packing tomorrow. I also need to tell the bey club.”

You nod absentmindedly, you mind trying to come up with any possible, futile ways to keep him here. When nothing useful comes up, you slowly reach your hands around his torso and lay down. He allows it.

He can feel a wet spot form on his shirt, but he only embraces you tighter. He strokes your hair as gently as he can, resisting the urge to burst out into tears again. It’s much harder when the love of his life is past that point, lying on his chest, and there isn’t much else he can do as comfort.

You awake the next morning to rays of sunshine crossing your face, and you groggily attempt to sit up, but the arms wrapped around you won’t allow it. You quickly recognize the fluffy, black hair you grew so used to, and the area in the woods that you loved so much. That was all you needed as confirmation that no, none of what had happened was a dream. Your eyes want to well up again, but your body refuses, still tired from last night.

Finally, Ken’s grip loosens a bit when he takes in the situation as well, but it quickly tightens again when the two of you are sat back up.

“Don’t you still have to tell the beyclub?”

“...Yeah.”

Ken makes no effort to move until you do, grabbing his hand and letting him take the lead to wherever he had planned on meeting the club. Before he turned the corner, he takes a deep breath in and plasters the usual smile on his face. You hadn’t let go of his hand, so he currently only has Besu on.

You don’t plan on letting go any time soon.

Xander ends up interrupting the beyclub, and you all find yourselves at the Shakadera Dojo, the Beyclub battling the Swordflames. Halfway through the team battles, Daigo finally speaks up about something being off about Ken, and he slips his hand out of yours, swiftly making his way out of the dojo. You follow the beyclub, finally ending up at the top of a cliff, where they question Ken.

You know it hurts.

It hurts, even more, to say it out loud.

“Want me to tell them?”

He quickly looks your way, and his face is mixed with surprise, panic, sadness, and many other emotions. A slight nod towards you, and you somehow manage to utter out the words that Ken couldn’t. Only once it came to the part about him not wanting to leave could he finally speak up, and you could tell his eyes were starting to gloss over again, same as yours. It almost seemed as if a heavy weight was taken off his shoulders, only to be replaced with a heavier one. The clear emotions being shown by his friends didn’t help, and that made him want to get away as soon as possible.

Not paying attention to his surroundings, the rock beneath him crumbles, making him slip. He closes his eyes, preparing for the worst.

He opens his eyes to see your face, jam-packed with adrenaline. You pull him back up thanks to the help of the beyclub, and the two of you sit for a second, trying to comprehend everything that just happened.

Then, Daigo lays out the idea that everyone will still be friends no matter where you are. That gives the rest of the club hope, and Ken’s eyes fill with determination. The two of you stand up, and you piggy-back off off Daigo’s idea, assuring him that you’ll be there for him no matter where you are.

You refuse to let go of his hand once again, up until he has to get into the truck to make his way to his new home.

“Hey, don’t forget to shoot me a text anytime, okay?”

Your nerves are getting the better of you, but Ken reassures you that he’ll keep in contact. He pulls you in for one last hug.

He doesn’t let go until his mom calls to him, and even then he waits another minute.

“I love you. And distance won’t change that. Don’t get hung up on me, though, go enjoy life.”

You let out a sad chuckle,

“As if I could ever move on. I’ll still love you, even with the distance.”

One last deep breath and he gets in the truck that begins to drive off.

The beyclub members shout their last goodbyes and you give the last word;

“Be safe, Love!”

May.21.23

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