Chapter Text
Kyoya catches Leone with one hand, the bey slightly warm in his open palm from the battle they just fought. Across from him, Benkei sighs in disappointment, moving to climb down into the arena to collect Bull, who is lying on the ground motionless, having just been defeated. They have been going for several hours now, so Kyoya can relate to Benkei's visible exhaustion. There is a slight tremble in his right hand from repeatedly launching his bey against Benkei's and adrenaline is continuously making his blood pump in his veins. Their fights have been progressively getting shorter, too, neither of them having much stamina left after the drawn-out fights of their first few rounds.
"One more time!" says Benkei, fingers already tightly curled around his launcher again as soon as he is back on his feet.
Kyoya bares his teeth in a grin. This is one of his favorite things about battling Benkei. He always gets back on his feet, no matter how many times Kyoya beats him in a fight.
"Heh, you're stubborn as ever," he remarks and readies his launcher as well, letting Leone click into place.
Their eyes meet above the arena, identical grins of eager anticipation on their faces. In unison, they count down and release their beys into the arena.
"Three, two, one. Let it rip!"
Their beys collide with a deafening bang. As sparks fly between Bull and Leone every time they crash into each other, Benkei calls out to him, "Doesn't this remind you of something?"
Kyoya wipes a drop of sweat from his brow with the back of his hand, tilting his head in consideration, but still with his eyes trained on the fight.
"Are you trying to distract me? No matter what you try, I am not going easy on you, Ben!"
Benkei laughs just as Bull engages Leone in a strength contest, trying to push him towards the edge of the arena. Kyoya grits his teeth as he watches Leone try to defend against the powerhouse that is Bull.
"I would never!" assures Benkei with a chuckle that Kyoya isn't sure how to interpret. He frowns at him, trying to figure out if he's telling the truth.
Leone finally manages to break away from Bull, both of the beys mere centimeters from the edge. Leone moves towards the center of the arena but before he can reach it, Bull shoves him out of the way, likely knowing all too well how devastating it would be to allow Leone to carry out his special move.
"Scared of a little breeze?" Kyoya smirks.
Benkei scoffs. "As if. Bring it on!"
The two beys clash again and again while they chase each other in circles. Bull tries to hit Leone from below and catapult him into the air but doesn't manage to get through his defenses. When he tries the same thing again, Leone evades him narrowly, making Bull shoot past him with the power he put behind his attack.
The look on Benkei's face tells Kyoya that he noticed his mistake a few seconds too late. He grins as Leone uses the opportunity to reach the center of the arena. Bull corrects his course and tries to interrupt him again, but he isn't quite fast enough.
"Special Move!" shouts Kyoya grinning wide. Their eyes meet across the arena, Kyoya's gaze victorious, Benkei's resigned to his fate. "Lion Gale Force Wall!"
The tornado that erupts out of Leone throws Bull several meters into the air, bouncing him across wind currents and eventually shooting him out of the arena with one forceful blast of wind. Benkei has a wry grin on his face as he bends down to retrieve Bull who had landed directly in front of his feet.
"One more?" he asks hopefully as he watches Kyoya snatch Leone from the air.
Kyoya chuckles. He reties his ponytail, arms trembling a little when he lifts them behind his head, exhaustion making his limbs feel like lead. "Of course," he says. "Also, I think I know now what this reminded you of."
Benkei lifts an eyebrow and waits as Kyoya pauses to shake out the heavy feeling in his arms.
"I guess we haven't changed that much from when we first met, huh?"
Benkei hums as he considers this. "Well, I wouldn't say our fighting styles and blader spirits have changed much, that's true. But who we are as a person and our relationship?" He looks down at Bull and then back at Kyoya with a small, wistful smile. Kyoya pretends like his breath doesn't hitch at the fondness in his gaze. "I never would have imagined us being here, blading just for fun, talking like we do. We never talked like this back then."
Kyoya concedes with a tilt of his head. "I was kind of an ass, wasn't I?"
"No!" Benkei shakes his head vehemently. "You were a little arrogant but not without good reason. You were the strongest blader in the city, you were completely unchallenged." He swallows. "You were an inspiration, to many of the Face Hunters."
Kyoya hadn't thought about the Face Hunters in years. He hadn't kept in touch with any of the bladers from his old gang, with the exception of Benkei, of course. He regrets it a little, how he ended things back then, but there's nothing to be done about it now.
He doesn't remember being the inspiration Benkei is talking about. It's true that he had tried to lead by example, take on the hardest fights by himself, show the gang members what true strength really looked like. But that had more to do with feeding his ego than anything else. It wasn't for their benefit. It was only for himself.
He throws Benkei a skeptical look. "An inspiration? I don't remember inspiring anything other than maybe blind loyalty."
Benkei's answering smile is warm. "Even if you didn't notice it, everyone admired you, and for more than just your strength. You were our leader. You made the Face Hunters prosper, made them confident in their abilities. The people in that gang weren't exactly model members of society, you know? The outcasts, runaway kids, people that had no ties to their family, no friends, and no one who believed in them. You helped them feel like they belonged somewhere, gave them a place and a family to return to."
"Ben..." Kyoya sighs and tries to fight the blush he knows is already showing on his cheeks. "You make it sound like I ran some kind of youth group, but we were ambushing younger and weaker kids and bullying them into giving up their points."
"Yeah, okay. I guess you were a little bit of an asshole," Benkei shrugs. Kyoya blurts out a laugh. "I was one, too. The important thing is that we both changed." He grins. "It means I can admire you even more now that you've grown so much as a person."
"Shut the fuck up." Kyoya turns away because there is no way he can conceal this blush from Benkei's amused eyes. He fiddles with Leone, pretending like he's checking something about the Fusion Wheel and trying to hide his face. "Don't think I'll go easy on you for some measly compliments!"
Benkei laughs and indulges his attempt to move on from the topic by lifting his launcher. "I would never."
When they finally count down for their next battle, Kyoya meets Benkei's gaze with a determined glare. There are still the traces of amusement around the corners of Benkei's mouth and Kyoya can't imagine a better way to wipe them off than by defeating Benkei in a bey fight.
"Three, two, one. Let it rip!"
Bull and Leone land on opposite sides of the arena. They circle each other once, then, as if by some invisible signal, they both change their course for the other and meet in the middle with the loud slam of a car crash. Bull pulls back to ram into Leone again while Leone readies himself, taking the coming attack without flinching. Sparks fly wildly in all directions.
Kyoya can't help but compare this battle to the ones he and Benkei fought when they first met, after all this talk about the Face Hunters and their past. The Benkei of today could easily overpower the Kyoya from back then. He has gotten so much stronger, improved by leaps and bounds in the last few years through nothing but sheer determination and strength of will. Benkei is really incredible.
Kyoya resolves to tell him this after the battle because he can already imagine the kind of smile Benkei would get, one that lights up his whole face and makes it impossible for Kyoya to look away from him.
He knew, of course, that they were not the same people anymore. It would be silly to think otherwise. But to have the evidence so clearly and obviously in front of him? Kyoya suddenly feels proud of how far they've come, Benkei and him. It's true that the way they talk to each other, touch each other, and hang out together isn't how they always interacted. That's a more recent development, one that has been slowly progressing for years and brought them to this closeness, this trust that they share today. They've come a long way.
Benkei seems surprised at the small nostalgic smile that he sees on Kyoya's face when they look at each other over the clashing of their beys.
"What are you thinking about?" he asks, mirroring Kyoya's smile automatically.
Kyoya shrugs, a little amused at himself and his sudden sentimentality. "It's nothing. You want to go another round after this one?"
"Sure." Benkei's eyebrows are lifted slightly in surprise, but he seems happy enough agreeing to Kyoya's request.
Concentration returning to the fight happening in front of him, Kyoya focuses on the way Leone and Bull are chasing each other all over the arena, exchanging blow after devastating blow while he and Benkei had been distracted by their conversation. As if bolstered by the attention, both beys begin to increase their rotation speed and the force behind their attacks. Kyoya clenches his fists as he watches Leone struggle not to get knocked around by Bull's aggressive charge.
"Hey, Kyoya," Benkei interrupts his focus with a soft voice. Kyoya's eyes widen as he looks at him and sees the gentle smile on his face. He almost wants to take a step back, unexpectedly faced with so much affection in Benkei's expression.
He swallows and fails to open his mouth to respond, taken off guard as he is.
"I'm really proud of you," Benkei says anyway.
Kyoya stares, mouth slightly open, eyes wide and surprised. His heart is pounding in his throat, blood rushing in his ears. His face feels warm.
Down in the arena, Leone wobbles dangerously without Bull touching him even once.
That is what makes Kyoya suddenly find his voice. "You did that on purpose!" he exclaims, shocked. "Ben, stop cheating, I swear to god!"
Benkei just laughs, warm and booming loudly through the training hall of the WBBA they've been spending the whole day in. Kyoya listens, not moving a muscle, heart stuck in his throat. It's probably Kyoya's favorite sound of all time.
Who cares about winning when Kyoya's already got the best prize in the whole world?