Reincarnated in Beyblade Burst

Thunder and Lightning

Despite the late night I had thanks to the Christmas party, I still managed to wake up early on Christmas Day. I was bursting with curiosity to what my friends had given me.

Valt had given me a small container of blue slime. Kairi had given me a book called The Land of Stories. I already owned the book in my real life, but I still appreciated it.

Rantaro had gifted me a box of chocolate chip cookies. Ken had given me a handmade puppet, which he had given to me before he moved away. Yuri had given me a sweater with snowflakes on it. Daigo had given me a Disney Princess themed notebook.

I purposely saved Shu's present for last. It was the smallest, but I found it the most meaningful. Shu had gifted me a pretty charm bracelet. It was gold in colour, but it obviously wasn't real gold. There were pink charms shaped like hearts. I put it on immediately.

My new Mom looked at my bracelet in interest. 'It looks nice,' she said. 'But it looks like it comes from a thrift store.'

Like I cared! All that mattered to me is that my boyfriend (it still feels weird to call Shu that) had given me this gift.

'It's still looks pretty on you,' said my new Mom. 'Who gave it to you?'

I blushed a little. 'Oh, a friend from school,' I muttered.

'Which one?' she asked. 'Wait, is it that albino boy from the hospital?'

I think that my face might be the same colour as Shu's eyes. What if my new Mom figured out that Shu and I were together?

Luckily, the house phone started ringing and my new Mom went to answer it. I let out a sigh of relief. Phew, that was a close shave.

~🌹~🌹~🌹~🌹~🌹~🌹~🌹~🌹~🌹~🌹~

Even though most New Year parties required you to wear party dresses and suits, I figured out since it was a sleepover, I would just show up in a T-shirt and shorts. And good thing I did, because everyone showed up in casual clothes.

Valt was still insisting that he could stay up until midnight. Kairi suddenly proposed a challenge. Whoever that stayed up the longest will win a prize of their choice.

We all had fun. We played games like Monopoly and Charades. Valt wanted to play Beyblade but neither Kairi nor I played, so it would be pretty boring for us.

Toko and Nika joined in our Charades game. We were all split up into teams of two. Valt and Shu, Rantaro and Daigo, Kairi and I, Toko and Nika. It was really fun.

When it was my turn, I got Snow White. In case you're wondering, no, I did not bite an apple and pretend to faint. I simply sang in a very high pitched voice.

I had a cousin in real life who hated Snow White because of her voice. I mean, Snow White's voice is really shrill. But I like that it is unique to Snow White only. Do you hear anyone else with such a voice?

To be honest, I don't remember who won either game. Not that it mattered. We were too busy counting down to midnight. Everyone was in their pyjamas at that time. Toko and Nika had dozed off. Surprisingly, Valt did manage to stay awake. But he was nodding off close to midnight.

Shu nudged him. 'Valt, it's almost midnight.'

The countdown started. Everyone counted down from ten till one. We could hear fireworks outside.

'Yay!' said Valt. 'It's 2017!'

2017 felt like ages ago to me. It was the year I had first watched Beyblade Burst. It was the year Coco came out. It was the last year Lego Ninjago had their original designs.

Well, everything got quieter after that. We didn't play any more games, mostly because we felt so tired. Toko and Nika were put to bed.

Kairi, Rantaro and Valt fell asleep in the next hour or so. I couldn't hear any more fireworks going off. I did hear a small rumble of thunder though. Was it going to rain? The snow had mostly melted by now.

What time was it? 2 or 3 in the morning? I told Shu that I was going to the bathroom. Daigo was now asleep too.

I took my phone to the bathroom so that I could check the time. It was 2.37 a.m. No wonder I was exhausted.

Just then, I heard a rumble of thunder. It seemed like it really was going to rain.

I returned to the room everyone was in. Then I noticed that Shu was gone. I had only left for a minute? Where did he go?

'Shu?' I asked. A flash of lightning, followed by thunder, was illuminated outside the window.

I thought of The Sound of Music. In one scene, the children had been frightened by loud thunder. But Shu Kurenai, frightened of thunder? That sounded a little far-fetched. But not impossible.

I searched for Shu in the kitchen. Then in the dining room. Then I found Shu on a couch in the living room, sitting alone and shivering.

'Shu?' I asked.

Shu looked at me in surprise. 'Uh... Hi Rose,' he said.

'Are you okay?' I asked.

Shu looked like he wanted to deny it, but he eventually shook his head. 'No.'

The thunder rumbled again, causing Shu to cover his ears.

'Are you scared of the thunder?' I asked. Shu nodded mutely.

'It's kinda stupid, but I have always been afraid of thunder. I know it's babyish, but I can't help it.'

'Shu, it's nothing to be ashamed about. Everyone is scared of something. I'm afraid of heights and needles.'

'You really think so?' asked Shu. 'Are you just saying that to make me feel better?'

'It's no big deal,' I said. 'I think that you're so focused on putting on a good image in public that you forget that you're only human.'

Shu smiled at me. 'Well, I see that you're wearing the bracelet.'

'Yeah. It's lovely.'

Without another word, Shu and I kissed. There was something so natural about this moment. I yawned. I felt so sleepy as I lay on the couch.

I noticed that Shu was already asleep. I snuggled into his arms and closed my eyes.