Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Day 0

Zyro knew one thing when he caught Kira’s hand: he couldn’t let his brand new friend die. It didn’t register for him that Kira might not think the same.

“Let me go…! Zyro, just let go of me!”

Zyro’s eyes widened. He couldn’t believe what he just heard. He uttered Kira’s name in disbelief.

“I hate to admit it, but you were right, Zyro, so I’m the only one who should pay the price for making the wrong choices. Let go of my hand . . . You have to escape before the stadium falls!”

“Do not say that!” Zyro’s mind was racing. “Don’t give up until the very end!”

“Zyro . . .”

The stadium loosened further. Damnit, time was running out! His grip on Kira’s hand remained steady, but at this rate, there’s no way the two of them can keep holding on like this.

Doji’s annoying voice kept grating on and on. That guy—he was willing to betray his own just so his plan will succeed! Zyro heard Maru cry something to Shinobu, but the Salamander blader could only look on in panic.

They were so close! They won the battle against Kira and DNA, they couldn’t die now! He promised everyone that they would build a new era of beyblade together. To create a new future for the beyblade world, that was their goal. Even if Kira wished to destroy it at first, he was going to be a part of it, too.

The stadium slowly started to tilt.

“Zyro, please, you have to let go!” Kira’s voice broke. He grabbed Zyro’s arm. “You’re not the one who deserves this!” Before Zyro could respond, his footing slipped.

And then the stadium fell.

✦ ✦ ✦

Maru heard Zyro’s screams. They echoed in her head hauntingly, ringing like an alarm. She tried to call out to him, but no sound came out. Cold wrapped around her legs, and her heart dropped. She could feel tears start dripping down her face.

She heard Shinobu scream, too—his cries shocking Maru out of her trance. She saw him run towards the pit. The same pit that Zyro fell into.

No, no, not again! Maru forced her numb legs to move. Only one thought was on her mind when she chased after her friend: she couldn’t let anyone near that pit. She grabbed Shinobu’s waist, desperately holding him back from jumping to his death, ignoring his struggling.

She could barely process the triumphant cheers of Doji. The rising cackling of the automaton rang through her head like a demon. She didn’t hear the legendary blader Gingka curse the man to hell. All she could focus on was Shinobu’s trembling body as he quietly started to sob.

Suddenly, Shinobu turned and aimed his launcher.

“DOJI!” He launched Salamander with a rage Maru had never seen. The bey bounced off Doji’s arm helplessly.

“Shinobu, no! Salamander’s gonna get hurt!”

“Maru, stay out of this!” He whipped his head to look at her.

The young girl froze. Shinobu’s glare pierced through her very soul.

“Master Kira . . . !” a familiar voice quivered from the entrance. Yoshio stood in horror, his eyes glued to the pit. Doji cackled as Shinobu struggled against him. There was no way he was going to win without his warrior wheel. Oh God, Zyro still had Salamander’s warrior wheel.

A large boom shook the ground. Everyone turned towards the pit. Maru’s breath hitched, but before she could do anything, fire roared out of the hole. Bright flames blasted through the room and ignited all their faces. Maru stood back.

Zyro . . . ?

The next hour became a blur. She vaguely remembers Gingka and Shinobu yelling at Doji, their beys whirring with ferocious noise. Then Doji self-destructed, and the next thing she knew she and Shinobu were being carried out by Yoshio. Apparently the building had started to collapse. The clearest memory she had of their escape was the sound of Shinobu’s hysteric sobs.

Blinding light hit her face. She could barely hear the rumble of footsteps on gravel, but once she opened her eyes, the sight before her was ghastly. In the distance, the DNA building was crumbling apart. Maru blinked, clearing away the mist in her eyes. Looking around, everyone managed to get out safely—including the DNA bladers. The DNA bladers? Why are they here?

She heard a trembling sob. Shinobu. Maru turned towards her friend as Yoshio gently set her down. That’s weird. Yoshio was never gentle with anyone.

“Shinobu . . .” Maru placed a hand on his back. The young blader flinched, shaking off Maru’s hand. He stalked off before she could say another word.

“H-Hey! Shinobu!”

“He just needs some time right now.” Maru jumped at the sound of Gingka’s voice. It sounded so weak. Like nothing she would ever expect from a legendary blader. “Are you . . . okay, Maru?”

“I . . .” She glanced at the billowing smoke from DNA’s headquarters. “DNA has been defeated. Of course I’m okay!” Maru’s cheeks hurt from smiling. “We did it, Gingka!”

The legendary blader froze. Slowly, he got on one knee. “Maru, I . . . I’m sorry.”

“You’re sorry? For what?”

“I should have done more. I was trapped—I couldn’t . . . I.” Gingka’s words trailed off as he stared through Maru. “We need to get you back home.”

“Huh? H-Hey, put me down! I can walk by myself!”

With Maru in his arms, Gingka walked over towards the rest of the group. Everyone seemed to still be reeling from narrowly escaping the collapse. Kite was violently muttering to himself, his eyes glazed over. His breathing was becoming erratic. Eight was making an attempt to calm his brother down. Gee, I sure hope Kite doesn’t lose his cool again. She heard what seemed like choking noises coming from Ren. Why were all her friends acting strange . . . ?

A yell shook Maru out of her thoughts. Sakyo was hunched over by the rocks. He punched the wall, cursing under his breath. Takanosuke was by his side, tears trailing down his face. The Griffin blader tried in vain to console his friend.

Maru didn’t know why her chest was aching. Sure, she just watched an entire building collapse, but the building belonged to their enemies! If she didn’t know better she would have guessed everyone wanted to see it destroyed.

The DNA bladers were standing a good distance from everyone else. Not one of them said a word as they listened to Yoshio talk about something. Maru couldn’t tell what he was saying, but judging from the other’s shocked faces, it wasn’t anything good. She wondered what it was—aside from their organization getting demolished and their leader now dead.

Dead?

Maru winced. Her head hurt so bad . . .

The computer in her pocket beeped. Maru gulped as Chief Madoka and Mr. Tsubasa frantically appeared on her screen. 

“Maru! Maru!! Oh God, are you there!? Is everyone alright?!” yelled Madoka.

“What happened to everybody?!” Benkei cried.

Maru’s hands shook. Words refused to come out of her mouth. What was going on with her . . . ?

Gingka quickly set her down and snatched her computer out of her hands. Maru tried to protest, but the legendary blader put a hand on her shoulder. “We all managed to get out safely . . .” The legendary blader still sounded so sad.

“And what about . . .” Benkei began. Even he sounded somber.

Gingka stilled. His lips parted in a silent gasp. “I . . . Zyro and Kira, they—“ he gulped—“they didn’t make it.”

What? That couldn’t—that wasn’t . . . Maru trembled, scouring the clusters of people. Where was Zyro?

The sun began to rise. Warm light hit her face, and suddenly she was back in the DNA base. There was an explosion, a bright burst of fire, and the echoing remnants of Zyro’s screams. Gingka startled, and crouched down in front of her.

“I’m gonna get you home, okay?” he gently whispered.

Maru shook her head. She tried to focus on Gingka’s voice, but the images in her head just wouldn’t stop.

Gingka carefully scooped her up. Sobs broke out of the young girl’s throat as she caught sight of the destroyed DNA building. “Wait—wait! Gingka, please, we need to go back!” She reached out, tears welling in her eyes. “Zyro’s still in there!”

✦ ✦ ✦

Zyro knew he was falling. The wind buffeted against his face and the smell of ash invaded his nose. The broken stadium, set ablaze, fell alongside him. When it first gave way underneath his feet, he knew that he wasn’t going to make it back up.

“Zyro!” Kira cried. The Ifrit blader could barely lift his head from the force, but he could tell that Kira was close by.

Suddenly, he felt a hand grab him. Zyro finally opened his eyes, and he saw that Kira threw his own body beneath his.

“Kira?!”

“I’ll try to soften your fall, okay, Zyro?!”

“What?! No. No, you can’t!”

Kira’s grip tightened. They were practically hugging each other now. That was when Zyro realized he was going to die. In less than 10 seconds their bodies were going to crash onto the cold, metal floor with no one by their side but each other.

Zyro held Kira close. If nothing else, he wanted some form of comfort before he died. He always heard of how someone’s life flashes before their eyes when they die, though he never really understood how that would work. Was it like opening your eyes after a long nap? Was it like a brief shot of every life event clouding your mind all at once? For Zyro, it was the feeling of longing that permeated his mind. Questions of what his future could have been. Benkei, Ren, Kite, Eight . . . Shinobu. Would they have gone to the World Championships together? Would they have continued to be friends when they grew up? Those images of a life no longer conceivable vanished from his mind as soon as they came. 

Tears fell from Zyro’s eyes as the air grew warmer. A blast of hot wind propelled them both upwards, before finally . . . Zyro saw the ground.

No . . . no no NO—!

CRACK!

Chapter Text

Day 7

Zyro’s funeral was to be held today. The weather dreary and gray, fit for the occasion. Shinobu tried his best to look good—even if it meant covering the eye bags and tear stains that seemed to permanently reside on his face. He didn’t bother putting on makeup for the wake the previous day, but today was the actual funeral. Just for today, he had to look presentable. He put his last bit of concealer on and stared at the mirror. He didn’t look . . . too broken.

The announcement of Zyro’s death had been broadcasted across Japan the morning of DNA’s defeat. The Neo Battle Bladers Champion, the hope of a new generation, was gone. Since then the nation has become silent. 

The ride to the funeral parlor passed in a blur. When they arrived, Shinobu caught sight of the people already there; Benkei, Ren, Kite and Eight, all dressed in black

He caught sight of another group as well. He clenched his fists at the sight of the DNA bladers. Right. It was Kira’s funeral too.

Shinobu really wishes they weren’t here. He doesn’t even know why they’re holding a funeral for Kira in the first place. That guy hardly deserved one! Even after Neo Battle Bladers he continued to terrorize the country. He himself said he didn’t care what happened to the Beyblade world! But the adults insisted on holding him a funeral anyway. 

When they escaped from DNA’s headquarters seven days ago, Shinobu’s mind felt static. His memories of that morning were hazy at best, but he would always start to panic whenever he tried recalling anything. The most he could remember was screaming so hard his throat became hoarse.

Madoka opened the car door. She said something unintelligible and gestured for him and Maru to come out. The young girl slid down, turning towards Shinobu. She held out her hand.

“Shinobu, come on . . .”

He blinked. Oh. It seems he couldn’t do this after all.

The walk into the parlor was a daze. Maru held his hand the entire time (though it felt more like she was dragging him). When they entered the main parlor, Tsubasa was already there. 

The flower altar was made of yellow and white chrysanthemums, arranged to look like the mountains of his hometown. Rows of chairs lined the room. Usually, Zyro’s family would be the ones in the front row, but Director Tsubasa had informed them his parents died a long time ago, back when Zyro was still a kid.

They sat down in the second row.

To think that he still acted so cheerful . . . Zyro was really something special. 

Shinobu didn’t know how much time had passed before the service started. He desperately tried to focus on the priest’s chants, but his senses started to grow fuzzy. He could see the priest was saying something, but he couldn’t tell what it was. The walls and ceiling were blending together, the candle lights glazed over, and Shinobu could feel himself slipping away.

He remembered the first time he met Zyro. At the Bey Park Stadium on a day like any other. Shinobu didn’t know, back then, where that first battle would eventually lead him.

He sprinted to that same stadium the morning they returned to the city. Zyro’s tough. There’s no way he was going to let Kira stop him from returning home. He sat in the stands for hours, waiting. Strangely no one else came to the stadium. Normally there would be all kinds of bladers battling and cheering alongside their beys. It felt surreal. Like the stadium had been abandoned. 

Once night fell, he heard footsteps.

“Zyro!”

“Shinobu, what are you doing here?!” said Benkei. He walked up the stands. He put his hand on the young blader’s shoulder. “Come on, bud. It’s getting dark.”

Shinobu shook him off. “Just five more minutes, please! Zyro will be here any time soon. I—I have to be here when he comes back!”

Benkei sighed, his breath forming frost. “Alright, Shinobu. If you want to sit here, then I’ll sit with you.”

Shinobu didn’t remember how long they waited there. He remembered the March cold had crept up his back, tingling his spine. When he first started shivering, that was when Benkei decided it was time to go.

Shinobu couldn’t sleep that night. 

He watched the minutes tick by. 3:03. 3:04. 3:05. If I fell asleep, would I dream of Zyro? He glanced at Salamander on his nightstand. It was still damaged from his battles the previous night. Madoka had offered to fix it, but he declined. It wasn’t going to be complete anyway, what with its warrior wheel lost.

Zyro still had Salamander’s warrior wheel.

Tears started to fall. Damnit, why couldn’t he remember what happened after the battle? No matter how hard he tried, all he could hear was his own screams.

A knock on the door startled him from his thoughts. 

“Shinobu?”

He sat up, wiping his tears. “Maru? What are you—”

“Can I sleep with you? Please?” The young girl peeked her head into the room.

Shinobu’s stomach dropped. He really shouldn’t be thinking of himself right now. Maru was beside him the whole time last night. She would be dealing with all of this way worse.

He lifted the covers. Maru hoisted herself up and snuggled against Shinobu’s chest. They lied there in silence, neither managing to fall asleep. 

After a while, Maru whispered, “I had a nightmare about Zyro. That’s why I came over here.”

Shinobu stayed silent, letting her continue. She probably thought he was asleep.

“It was pitch black, and I heard Zyro calling for me. I tried running towards his voice but he kept screaming.” She tugged at Shinobu’s nightshirt. “He kept begging for help and his voice got louder and louder. And then there was a flash of orange and I woke up.”

Orange?

He must have reacted to Maru’s words. She gasped, realizing he wasn’t actually asleep.

“I-I’m sorry. Did I wake you up?”

“No. No, you didn’t. I wasn’t asleep anyway.” Shinobu tiredly smiled. He might as well ask. 

“What did you mean there was ‘a flash of orange?’”

Maru blinked. “The orange light? Y’know . . . from the f̷̭̜͈́̓̕ì̷̢̻̱̗̌͂̿̉̽͠r̶̡̛̳̻̗̩̼̝̀̀̀͂͐̒̈́̕͜͝ȩ̷͉͖̺͔̲̒̌̈͒̅̓̕͝

Shinobu froze. What did she say? His mind blanked.

“Shinobu?" His hands started to shake.

“Shinobu!”

Shinobu jolted. He was back at the funeral. Maru was nudging him and pointing at the incense altar. “It’s your turn,” she said.

The young blader heaved a sigh. He was the last one to pay respects. Okay. Okay. He did this before yesterday. It was fine.

He stood up and walked towards the altar. He grabbed a pinch of incense and lowered his head, raising the grains to his forehead. Reciting the usual prayer, he sprinkled the incense back in and bowed. When he rectified himself, he looked at the casket, bracing himself.

There wasn’t a body. What? Why wasn’t there . . . ? There had to be a body so they could burn it for crema—

Burn the body. A flash of orange. Like . . . The images of that night finally came back to him. He knew why there wasn’t a body.

Shinobu felt sick.

✦ ✦ ✦

He must have blacked out during the funeral. Shinobu breathed once, twice, and suddenly he was standing in front of Zyro’s grave.

It was erected yesterday along with the funeral wake. Placed in the center of Metal Bey City's graveyard, the stone was freshly polished; its etchings smooth and clean. Yellow chrysanthemums delicately lined the tomb; some stored in vases, some lying on the grass beneath. The name Kurogane Zyro had been carved into the stone perfectly.

There were already offerings from people around the country: freshly cut flowers, letters written by bladers across the country, home-cooked foods straight from the kitchen. All for Zyro.

It made the fact that Kira’s grave was right next to him even more infuriating. 

Hayama Kira. Contrarily, Kira’s headstone was bare, save for a few white lilies decorated across the grass. Shinobu had no idea why Director Tsubasa thought it was a good idea to put him next to Zyro.

Heaving a sigh, he crouched down and lit the incense in front of the grave. He was hardly religious, but he recited a prayer.

Moments passed, and Shinobu stood in front of the grave. Staring at it didn’t lessen any of the pain. The battle had become clearer to him after the funeral. He remembered the stadium slowly tilting while Zyro and Kira hung on. He remembered the blaze . . . And right before they fell, Kira grabbed Zyro's arm.

Why would he grab his arm? Shinobu furrowed his brow. Did he . . . want Zyro to fall with him? Shinobu's stomach curled. He wouldn’t put it past Kira to want to drag his enemy down with him.

The tears in his eyes burned. It’s Kira’s fault all this happened. It was ill will to speak of the dead like that, but Shinobu couldn’t give a damn right now.

“Shinobu!” Someone called out to him. Shinobu turned and spotted Ren bounding towards him, Salamander in hand. She was wearing a black sleeved dress instead of her usual outfit for the funeral.

“Shinobu, come on! Everyone’s leaving!” Ren halted. Shinobu saw her glance at Zyro’s grave before facing him. 

“You also forgot Salamander when you left the parlor.” She placed the bey into Shinobu’s hands. “I wanted to give him to you after the funeral but you didn’t hear me when I called you, so I waited until later.”

“Oh . . . Thanks.” Shinobu had kept Salamander in his pocket. He didn’t want to look at anything that reminded him of that day.

The pair started walking back towards the cars before Ren stopped. “Hey, Shinobu? I actually wanted to talk to you about something. Just with you.”

She stood up straight. “Do you remember before Neo Battle Bladers? When Mr. Tsubasa sent us across the country to get people excited for Beyblade?”

There was a pause.

She must have expected an answer.

Ren huffed before finally saying, “I want us to try that again.”

Shinobu double-taked. “What . . .?

“Not like, right now or anything, obviously. I was thinking maybe next month or—“

“No, wh-what do you mean ‘try that again?’ What are you saying?”

“We made a promise with Zyro, Shinobu. That we would fulfill the dream of reigniting the Beyblade world together . We can’t just abandon that.” Ren’s face hardened. “It’s what he would have wanted!”

“Why does that matter if he’s not here anymore!?”

Ren shrunk back. Shinobu would have felt bad if he wasn’t on the verge of screaming his head off.

“It matters because this is our way of honoring him!”

Tears started to fall from the Salamander blader’s eyes. The air went cold as he started to shake. His mouth could barely form words. Ren noticed.

“If you aren’t up to it, that’s fine,” she murmured. “But I’ve made my decision. Phoenix and I are going to keep training, and we’ll be the ones to save the beyblade world.” She took Phoenix out of her pocket, gripping its wings.

Shinobu didn’t know what to say. Looking at Phoenix’s facebolt, it looked so regal. Nothing like Salamander’s. It seems that no matter how he feels, everyone else has already started to move on. It was like his feet were stuck in time, watching as the world leaves him behind. The wheezing in his chest didn’t stop. His legs felt so heavy. Shinobu turned and stormed off, ignoring Ren’s cries.

Thunder roared in the distance. It was going to rain soon. The rest of the funeral-goers had already left, leaving him, Madoka, and Maru last. Looking back, he saw Ren crouched at Zyro's grave. He couldn’t see her face, but she seemed to be saying something. Whatever it was, that was none of his business. Shinobu sighed. It’s barely noon and he was already tired.