Ryuga's Return

Chapter 5

Ryuga's POV

Holding his hood over his head, Ryuga made his way into the familiar Bey stadium. A few people gazed at him suspiciously. However, if they recognized him, they said nothing as he passed. Ryuga glanced up at the bleachers. There were a lot more empty spaces in the crowd than there normally would be, despite the fact that the tournament was soon to start. Ryuga immediately went toward the emptiest space, which just so happened to be towards the front. *Perfect.* From this angle, it was less likely that someone would see his face.

He observed the bladers in the tournament. There were only eight of them and they were all sitting on a bench in front of the stadium, waiting for the first match to be announced. Kenta was among the group. Ryuga also noticed Kyoya and two other legendary bladers. The first match was Kyoya and a kid Ryuga vaguely recognized from America. However, it was hard to tell from a distance.

"Ready?!" The crowd began counting down with the announcer. "Three... two... one... let it rip!"

The two Beyblade clashed against each other, sending up sparks.

"Go Spiral Fox!" the American kid called.

*Spiral fox,* Ryuga rolled his eyes, *What a dumb name for a Beyblade.* He watched the two Beyblades clash as the Blader DJ provided somewhat irrelevant commentary. Leone was clearly winning. It was repeatedly smacking into Spiral Fox, driving the bey backwards towards the edge of the arena. With one hard smack, Spiral Fox knocked Leone back long enough for it to slip away and flee across the stadium. Leone quickly followed.

"Leone!" Kyoya called, "Lion gale force wall!"

As the wind picked up, Ryuga was forced to hold his hood in place so it wouldn't blow off. He growled in annoyance. The wind swirled into a tornado, flinging Spiral Fox into the sky and ending the match with a stadium out.

*Kyoya is going to be a problem, like usual,* Ryuga thought as the wind died down. The crowd cheered around him. Ryuga didn't bother joining in: the outcome of this fight was obvious to him from the start.

"Oh, hey Ryuga."

Ryuga stiffened at the sound of a vaguely familiar voice. He looked up. The girl that worked at the bey shop was approaching him. *What did Kenta say her name was? Madoka? That sounds right.*

"You're here for Kenta I'm guessing?" the girl asked, sitting in the seat next to his.

"Yes..." Ryuga replied, gazing at the bladers.

Kenta and Yuki, the kid with the glasses, were up next and the two of them were making their way toward the middle of the stadium.

"Three... two... one... let it rip!"

Kenta and Yuki both launched their Beys.

"Did Kenta make you come here?" Madoka asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ryuga turned to her. "Well, don't tell him I think that," he grunted, his eyes narrowing at her.

Madoka just chuckled. "I won't, but you make it a little obvious."

"How?" Ryuga raised an eyebrow.

"You look bored."

It was true. Despite his dramatic loss against Nemesis, the drive to fight blazed on in Ryuga's heart, and being restricted to just watching these fights made him feel tied down and powerless. At least in this fight, Ryuga had someone to root for.

The two beys screeched as they slammed into each other, shooting up sparks. Due to the difference in the beys' heights, Anubius was attacking Flash Sagittario's spin track rather than its fusion wheel.