#like I don't care anymore that he wasn't a legendary blader when he is already a legend in my heart

[downinsomanyfandoms]

Points that show beside Kenta, Tsubasa might had been the first person Ryuuga actually respect and because I’m mentally ill and has been thinking about them:

-Tsubasa got the balls to run it back with Ryuuga in Battle Bladers even though he knows he’s more than likely to lose (and he did it again in Metal Fury during the Tower of Babel tourney). Not because he wants to be the very best at blading or something like that, but because Ryuuga and L-Drago was his objective/stands between him and his job. Heck Tsubasa even fully stopped the dark move - something that never been done before - if those doesn’t warrant enough respect for Ryuuga to remember him by name and take him seriously then I dunno what else

-Hyouma’s mission when searching for Ryuuga was to ask him for help with the dark power problem. Ryuuga had all the opportunities to not help at all because it’s no longer his problem anymore, but he did so anyway. And then he could just give Tsubasa advices and leave, but no, he stayed behind and escorted Tsubasa to Gan Gan Galaxy, even though he absolutely doesn’t have to. Julian already let them go freely, and Tsubasa can just stumble his way back to the gang. He stayed anyway, because Tsubasa was in no right state mind nor condition to stay alone.

-You thought that “Yeah, him helping Tsubasa is him repaying his debt to Gingka for saving him from the Dark Power” then the show says “No stupid watch two more episodes”. Turns out, him coaching Gingka and giving him advices on how to deal with left-rotating bey was him returning the debt.

-So guess what, Ryuuga training Gingka is him repaying the flavor that Ryuuga owned to Gingka himself. But Ryuuga helping Tsubasa is him feeling responsible for how Tsubasa came out to be. But this is Ryuuga we talk about, you really think he would just, help someone out of the darkness if he never held respect for them in the first place

-There might be some different, but both iterations of Ryuuga respects the blader’s ability to fully master and control their bey despite the bey limit. It’s his own perception of blader spirit. Gingka has his respect, Kyouya has it too, but in Metal fury he fully looked down on them because those two were in over their heads, that simply having a star fragment and their beys evolved make them strong when all they did was just hitting the bare minimum of what they can capable of. Ryuuga scoffed at them and rightfully too. He never scolded or scoffed at Tsubasa later in the Tower of Babel tho, even though our favorite bird is no legendary blader and has nothing else go for him except his hard work as well as masterful control over his old stock combo bey. Ryuuga respected the heck out of him, enough to immediately sock an ultimate special move on Tsubasa (Eng dub) when his normal rings of fire, something that one shot Kyouya and spammed against Gingka, didn’t work. Like not many acknowledged or talked about how Tsubasa was able to handle that. And maybe Ryuuga also won’t let Tsubasa has any chance to analyze and cook up a strategy after what happened at Battle Blader lmao. That same respect also happened again with Kenta too like 😩

(That episode was so good. Then the Destroyer Doom happened and somehow Tsubasa went from being able to tank L-Drago’s rings of fire to being pushed around by 2 person who had lay off from steroids, what the hell is this inconsistent scaling the fuck Metal Fury)

Wait no actually I wanna talk about how Ryuuga and Tsubasa are the only person in mfb to stare into the depth of hell and suffering and come back from it intact and alive. There’s chips and cracks, but they’re alive despite the wounds, and that’s what matters. Can we talk about how Ryuuga actually has this respect as well as feeling responsible for Tsubasa, can we talk about that—

[beybladefanfictions]

Ryuga’s Return - Chapter 2

(Description: AU where Ryuga survives Metal Fury but loses L-Drago. He reunites with Kenta and struggles to figure out what he’s supposed to do without Beyblade, his purpose in life for so long. Character’s thoughts are in asteriks.)

Kenta’s POV (Yes, I know, odd choice, but bear with me)

Kenta followed Gingka and Madoka into the shop. The others trailed after them, filing into the store after them one or a few at a time. Kenta and Gingka placed Sagittario and Pegasus respectively on the counter then stepped aside to allow the others to do the same. The shop had never been more crowded. Kyoya, Tsubasa, and Yu put their Beyblades on the counter followed by Yuki, Masamune, and several others that Kenta knew to be the Legendary Bladers. They all looked completely beat and worn out. Everyone's hair was sticking out in several directions while their outfits were torn and ragged. Some even had scars or other marks on their skin.

Madoka began collecting the Beyblades on her counter. A few people filed out of the shop. Masamune and his friends, Zeo, Toby, and a blue-haired kid Kenta scarcely knew, left together, chatting and amongst themselves.

“I’ll show you guys around the city,” Masamune was saying, “Since we’re gonna be here for a few days at least.”

“We should get some food,” the blue-haired kid replied, “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.”

The four kids laughed as they left. Some of the other Legendary Bladers followed their lead and left as well. With a start, Kenta realized he hadn’t seen Ryuga in a while. He looked around then spotted him. Ryuga looked just as dishevelled as the others. His skin was covered in cuts and scrapes, he was missing his white jacket and the rest of his clothes were in tatters. It made him look like a homeless person, which of course he was, but it wasn't normally this obvious. 

Ryuga was leaning against the wall, his gaze intent on the display Beyblades in the glass. He was noticeably far away from the others. Two of the Legendary Bladers, a little kid and a tall purple-haired man, stood on the opposite side of the store talking. Meanwhile, everyone else was near the counter with Madoka.

“You know, most of us are gonna be without our Beyblades for a while…” Gingka was clearly fighting to keep his voice cheerful. “What should we do with all that time?”

“I don’t know,” Madoka replied with a shrug. “What do you guys normally do when your Beyblades are damaged?”

“Wait for you to fix them,” Yu answered, pleading with his eyes.

Madoka let out an exasperated sigh.

“It’s been so long since all this stuff with Nemesis started,” Yuki spoke up, adjusting his glasses. “I barely remember what life was like before it.”

“Yeah…” Gingka nodded. “I got so used to travelling around. It’s gonna be hard to take it easy again.”

“It’ll be nice to take it easy again!” Benkei exclaimed, his eyes wide. “All that travelling was exhausting.”

“I agree,” Madoka replied with a nod.

Gingka suddenly glanced up, meeting Kenta’s gaze.

“What do you think, Kenta?” he asked with a smile.

“Huh?” Kenta froze for a moment. “Oh, uh… I agree with both of you,” he replied, taking a nervous step toward the others. “Travelling was exhausting but I got used to it. It’s gonna feel weird not travelling with Ryuga all the time.”

Kenta cast a glance at his friend. Ryuga didn't seem to be paying attention, his gaze still intent on the Beyblades. *Should I try to talk to him?* Kenta wondered.

“Oh, yeah!” Yu exclaimed. “You were with Ryuga!”

“That must have been…” Yuki gulped, casting a glance at where Ryuga was. “Interesting. It must have been interesting.” Yuki faked a smile.

“It was just a bunch of walking,” Kenta replied, casually. “And entering some tournaments here and there.”

*And sometimes talking if Ryuga was in a good enough mood,* Kenta added silently to himself.

“But enough about me,” Kenta insisted, “I wanna hear about your journey!”

“Uh… that would take a while to explain,” Gingka replied, resting his hand on the back of his neck.

“I’ve got time!” Kenta insisted, leaning forward over the counter. “Please! I wanna know!”

“Yeah, me too!” Yu added, stepping beside Kenta. “You guys must have had so many cool adventures! I wish I had been there with you!”

“Okay, okay.” Gingka smiled as he gestured for Yu to quiet down. “Well, first we went to China…”

Kenta and Yu listened intently as Gingka and the others recounted their travels. Suddenly, the bell at the door rang.

“Huh?” Kenta looked over his shoulder.

Ryuga was walking away from the shop, his head hung low.

“Where’s he going I wonder?” Gingka asked, tilting his head to the side.

Anxiety rose within Kenta, *Is he leaving town? Am I never going to see him again?!*

“I’m gonna find out!” Kenta replied, rushing toward the door. “Ryuga!”

“Hey, Kenchi, wait up!” Yu called behind him.

Kenta pushed the door open and ran down the sidewalk after Ryuga.

"Ryuga!" he called.

Ryuga stopped and turned to him.

"Where are you going?" Kenta asked, struggling to catch his breath.

"Aren't we leaving?" Ryuga grunted, though he didn't quite seem angry. "You gave her your Beyblade already."

Kenta froze. *'We'… He still wants to stick with me?*

"Well yeah, but there's no rush!" Kenta insisted, "We can stay and socialize."

"Socialize?" Ryuga asked, sounding as if he had never heard the word before.

"Yeah, talk to them, like friends do!"

"Then do that." Ryuga turned and started to walk away again.

"Wait, Ryuga!" Kenta called, reaching out to him.

Ryuga whipped around. "Why do you want me to stay with you when you're just talking to your friends?!" He demanded.

"Because you're my friend too."

Ryuga let out a sigh, his gaze faltering to the ground. "Kenta, I need some time alone." His voice was oddly quiet, almost distant.

"R-Ryuga…?” Kenta stared at his friend for a moment. *Is he okay?* However, Kenta didn't want to push him, so he just nodded. “Okay, can you come back to the shop at sunset?" 

Ryuga looked up at the sky. The sun was in the middle of the sky, giving them about a few hours between now and sunset.

"Fine," he grunted.

"Great!" Kenta faked a cheerful smile to mask his worry. "I'll see you then, Ryuga!"

The two of them turned and went their separate ways. However, Kenta couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. Kenta hadn't known Ryuga long and during the time he had known him, they had been on somewhat shaky terms. However, Kenta had never seen him like this before. Ryuga always had an air of confidence, even arrogance in some cases, but since reuniting with him, Ryuga spoke as if he wasn’t fully sure of his own words, or even fully sure of what he was doing anymore.

“Kenchi!"

Kenta looked over his shoulder. Yu was walking toward him, a bewildered look on his face.

“Oh, hey Yu,” Kenta replied, waving.

“Wow…" Yu stared at where Ryuga had been. "Ryuga really does seem to respect you.”

“What do you mean?” Kenta asked, tilting his head to the side.

Everyone kept telling him that: that Ryuga respected him but Kenta had yet to hear it from Ryuga himself. It made him question whether it was true. Of course, Ryuga had to care about him, enough to not let him die on their journey and to give him his star fragment but… respect? Kenta wasn't a fool. He knew Ryuga was just humouring him with that challenge. Ryuga didn't take him or anything he said seriously until he was proven wrong and nearly died.

“He barely talked to me at all when I knew him," Yu explained. "Let alone talk like a normal kid.”

“Well, he is a normal kid.”

That’s what Kenta always told himself, ever since he started following Ryuga. Even though he led a very different life than Kenta and his friends, that wasn’t a reason to fear him. He was just a normal kid like them.

“Not really." Yu's eyes suddenly narrowed. "To be honest Kenchi, I don’t really get why you put up with that guy. I mean, considering everything he did."

"Well, you and Benkei weren't exactly nice to me at first, but I'm friends with both of you now."

"Well, yeah, but you were travelling with Ryuga for soooo long before he even acknowledged you. At least, that's what I gathered." Yu shrugged a bit.

"That's not exactly true…"

"Huh?" Yu tilted his head to the side.

"He did kind of ignore me at first but he never let any real harm come to me," Kenta explained, smiling a bit as he remembered his travels with Ryuga. "We were in it together. Whatever we faced, we faced together."

*That's how I saw it at least…* At first, all Kenta cared about was getting Ryuga on their side, and never faltered in that motivation. However, travelling with the same person for months on end had a way of making you grow attached to them.

Yu raised an eyebrow. "You're really sure you can trust him?"

"Yu!" Kenta gasped, defensively.

"I just don't want you to get hurt, Kenchi!" Yu insisted, his eyes huge with worry. "Like I was." He looked away. "I thought Ryuga was my friend once too but he turned his back on me when I needed him."

"He didn't do that to me," Kenta insisted, remembering how even before their promise, Ryuga didn't let him die. "And I know he won’t."

"How do you know that?" Yu tilted his head to the side.

Kenta gazed off in the distance. In his mind, he recalled a very specific moment from his travels.

**********************

It had been mere minutes since Kenta had stopped Ryuga from stealing a legendary blader's power. Once they were away from the others, Ryuga turned and glared at Kenta.

"What were you thinking, getting in my way like that?!" He demanded.

"You were stealing their power!" Kenta snapped back, clenching his fists and glaring up at Ryuga. "I had to do something!"

Whatever fear Kenta might have felt was completely drowned out by his anger.

Ryuga let out a growl. "If you ever pull a stunt like that again, I'll-I'll…”

"You'll what, Ryuga?! You'll what?!"

Kenta knew the exact intent behind his words, though he didn’t say it directly. He was asking Ryuga what he would do to retaliate. Ryuga's eyes went wide. Kenta knew that if anyone else talked to Ryuga this way, they would immediately be attacked. Instead, Ryuga seemed frozen with shock for a few moments. Then his eyes narrowed.

"Don't forget who I am, kid," Ryuga growled, "My goal is to take all of the legendary bladers' power for myself and nothing you do or say will ever change that."

Ryuga turned and walked away. Kenta froze before chasing after him. At that moment it was clear to Kenta: Ryuga couldn’t bring himself to intentionally hurt him. The very idea had shocked him.

***************

“We’ve just been through a lot together," Kenta finally answered Yu's question. “If he was going to hurt me in any way, he would’ve by now.”

“Well…” Yu still looked somewhat doubtful. “I guess you have a point.”

“Now, come on.” Kenta gestured for Yu to follow him. “Let’s go listen to the rest of that story!” The two of them walked back to the shop side by side.

It was nearly sunset when the group walked out of the shop, chatting amongst themselves.

"I'm sooo hungry,” Yu complained, gripping his stomach. “I could eat, like, an entire building.” He gestured vaguely to the Beyblade shop behind them.

"Hey, why don't we all get dinner together?!" Madoka suggested, with a smile.

"Yeah!” Gingka agreed, bouncing like a rabbit. “I could go for a celebratory hamburger!"

"Same!" Benkei agreed, nodding vigorously.

Kyoya rolled his eyes. "You guys always eat hamburgers."

Gingka stopped in his tracks. The others stopped behind him, gazing at him expectantly.

"Actually…” Gingka rested his hand on his chin. “I can't think of the last time I had a hamburger." 

Madoka’s eyes narrowed at him. "Three days ago, Gingka. It was three days ago."

Gingka staggered back, letting out a shrill gasp."That was like forever ago! I need a burger now!” He turned to the others, holding his hand in the sky. “Who's with me?!"

"I!" Benkei replied, bouncing toward Gingka.

"I!" Yuki added, adjusting his glasses.

"Tithi, wanna come with us?" Yu asked, glancing at the shorter kid.

"Well, I wanna stick with you…” Tithi looked up at Dynamis. “But then Dynamis will be all lonely!"

Dynamis chuckled. "I'll come along. Though I must admit, I have never heard of these 'hamburgers' before."

Gingka let out a gasp of horror. "You've never had a HAMBURGER?! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!"

"The temple on Mist Mountain," Dynamis answered without missing a beat.

Gingka froze. "Oh... Well..."

Kenta chuckled. The others cackled as the colour drained from Gingka's face.

"So we're all going?" Tsubasa asked, gazing at the group.

"What about Kenta?" Benkei asked, turning to him.

"Huh?" Kenta stared at the group as they all turned to him.

"Yeah, do you wanna come and get burgers with us?" Gingka asked, a smile returning to his face.

"Oh, uh..."

Kenta glanced up at the sky. The sun had nearly set, casting it's orange and pink hues across the sky. He didn't see Ryuga around. However, he would probably come back soon, just like he said he would.

"That's okay," Kenta replied, looking back at Gingka. "I was actually gonna meet up with Ryuga. He should be here soon."

"O-oh!" Gingka sounded slightly taken aback but he still smiled. "Okay."

"Yeah, he's got no one else so I want to make sure he's not alone," Kenta explained, smiling. He kept the part about him being worried about Ryuga to himself.

"Why don't you just invite your friend to come with us?" Dynamis asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Uh..." Everyone stared at him with wide eyes.

"Oh, he wouldn't want to anyway," Kenta replied, flicking his hand dismissively. *Not that I know what he wants anymore.* "But I'll see you guys tomorrow!"

"Okay, bye Kenta!" Gingka replied, with a smile.

The group began to walk away.

"See you around Kenchi!" Yu called, waving as he followed Tithi and Tsubasa.

"Have a safe trip home!" Benkei added, walking beside Kyoya.

"I will!"

Kenta stood and waved until the group disappeared around the street corner.

“Kenta."

Kenta nearly jumped out of his skin, letting out a yelp. He whipped around. Ryuga was standing a few paces away, having seemingly emerged from the nearby alleyway.

"Oh, hey Ryuga!" Kenta greeted, shaking a bit as he waved. "You, uh, you startled me. Uh…" Kenta straightened his posture. "Where did you go exactly?"

"Nowhere in particular," Ryuga replied, with a shrug.

"Uh… Okay.” *Why is he being secretive about something so simple?* “Well, I was thinking of heading home,” Kenta replied, “My parents-"

"Parents?” Ryuga cut him off, sounding bewildered. “You have parents?"

"Yes?" Kenta tilted his head to the side. “Did you think I didn’t?”

"Well, you were travelling with me for months."

"I told my parents I was going with Gingka and the others to find the legendary bladers. They were fine with me going… As long as I stayed with a group…”

Kenta's heart skipped a beat. He gazed expectantly at Ryuga who just shrugged.

"You were with me. Close enough."

"Is it?"

Ryuga smiled a bit. It wasn’t sadistic like he could sometimes look, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes either. “Well, you're alive so I clearly did my job,” he replied.

Kenta chuckled a bit. "If you say so…” An idea hit Kenta like a bolt of lightning and he couldn’t help but smile. "Hey, do you want to meet my parents?” he asked, looking up at Ryuga. "I bet they'd like you!"

Ryuga laughed wryly. "Me? The former Dragon Emperor? Don't be silly." He suddenly looked away, his gaze fixed on something in the distance.

Kenta raised an eyebrow. *'Former' Dragon Emperor? Why did he say former?*

"It's not silly! My parents like all my friends!”

“Did they see Battle Bladers?”

“Huh?”

Kenta stepped back, his eyes wide. The two of them avoided talking about that infamous tournament, and only brought it up if they had to. Ryuga paused to take a breath.

“Did they see Battle Bladers?” He repeated, clearly realizing the weight of his words.

“I mean, probably…” Kenta shook his head clear as memories of that horrible tournament raced through his mind. “But that was a while ago! And you weren’t even in full control of yourself! I… I've forgiven you, a-and they will too!"

Kenta didn’t know if the last part was true, but he was willing to say anything to make his friend feel better.

"Whatever,” Ryuga grunted, crossing his arms. “I don't have anywhere else to go so I'll stick with you."

*Nowhere else to go…? So that’s why he’s staying with me? He doesn’t want to travel anymore?* Then Kenta understood. Ryuga had only been travelling to get stronger at Beyblade, and now his Beyblade was gone, so he didn’t want to anymore.

"Okay.” Kenta nodded, keeping his realization to himself. “I'll just let them know we're coming.”

Kenta grabbed his phone and dialled the number. His mother almost immediately picked up.

"Kenta!" She exclaimed cheerfully.

Kenta smiled. "Hey, Mom!"

"So you're back from your long trip then!"

"Yeah, I was just on my way home! Can I bring a friend over?"

"Of course, dear. Which friend is it?"

"Oh, it's Ryuga," Kenta answered, sounding completely casual. "I met him on the journey."

"Ryuga? As in... THAT Ryuga?" She didn’t sound scared, just confused.

"Yes, THAT Ryuga." Kenta rolled his eyes. "We're friends now and he doesn't have anywhere else to go."

Only after he said it did Kenta realize Ryuga might not have wanted him to share that information. He glanced at his friend. Ryuga didn't appear to be paying any attention as he gazed somewhere in the distance.

"Wow, you can make friends with anyone,” Kenta’s mother remarked, chuckling a bit.

Kenta chuckled as well. "Thanks, Mom."

"Well, he's welcome to stay over for dinner. Same rules as you and the rest of your friends, no Beyblading in the house."

Kenta bit his lip, remembering that L-Drago was gone now. "Oh, that won't be a problem…” he blurted out, then quickly added, “Sagittario's in the shop. You'll have to see it once it's fixed, it's completely different now! Uh, anyway, we'll see you when we get there."

"Bye, Kenta."

"Bye, Mom."

Kenta hung up, putting his phone back in his pocket. He turned to Ryuga. The older kid was still staring off into the distance, his gaze unreadable.

“Ryuga?”

Ryuga met Kenta’s gaze. Without a word, he began walking. Kenta walked beside him. Ryuga’s gaze was fixed on the ground and his entire posture seemed slouched. *He’s clearly upset… but how am I supposed to bring it up?* Every other time Kenta had seen Ryuga upset, he had been angry and destructive. Kenta didn’t know if he had ever seen Ryuga sad before. *I don’t want to bring it up right now… but if I don’t bring it up, he might never talk about it. Ryuga doesn’t seem like he wants support, but he might need it…*