The Weird, Wild, and Wonderous World of Beyblade

Kensuke-Crumple

                   

All rights reserved to Hiro Morita.

Kensuke felt like time had wound backward.

Just shove it down, keep your cool. The black-haired boy said as he looked down at Kaiser Kerbeus in his palm while his fork fiddled with the carrots on his plate while his mother scrubbed the dishes in front of him as red, evening sunlight partially lit up the shadowed kitchen. As long as he didn't think about it, it couldn't get to him, no point in getting himself down.

His mother set down the dishes and turned to him, no doubt thanks to all the clanging his fork did against his plate. Kensuke's black and spiky mane of hair was a far cry from his mother's straightened and well-kept hairdo. She let out a sigh before speaking. The knowing and tired tone of her voice told Kensuke this was gonna be a bit rough.

"What's the matter, dear?" She placed her hands on her hips and stared at him expectantly. Kensuke set his fork down and looked up at her, going on autopilot like he'd been doing for the past few months.

"Nothing, Mom." Her expectant glare only hardened in response. Kensuke felt a fair bit of sweat down the back of his neck at that. If there was one thing he knew he was bad at (Well, one other thing he was bad at) it was lying. Sure it had worked the first few times, but eventually she knew something was up. Every other day this happened, Kensuke had some vague hope that she would just drop it and move on with her day.

But it looked like every other day was long gone.

"Nothing, really? " She questioned as Kensuke shrank while his will to keep his mouth shut began to chip away from the frustration in her voice. "After we finally got things in this home stable enough to keep from jumping around from place to place, and all the work we as a family put into it, instead of reveling in being able to have the life of a normal kid that you never got to have, all you do is sit around frowning at that Bey in your hand. Kensuke Midorikawa, what do you take me for?"

Kensuke deflated at that. Much as he wanted to whip out some excuse to try and keep the lie going, she had a point. All that time he spent hopping from city to city while his mom and dad looked for work was long behind him. He should be happier than he'd been in a long while, but every look he shot at Kerbeus dragged his mood down further.

With a huff, he decided to get it out slowly. "Mom... you remember the guys, right?" The ones I always talked to you about.  Valt, Shu, Wakiya, Daina, all those guys?"

Her glare softened a bit as he mentioned them, causing him to sigh with some relief as she responded.

"Your Blading friends? Yeah, I remember them, what about 'em?"

"Well..." Kensuke twirled Kerbeus in his hand as he built up the courage to respond. "I feel like me and Kerbeus...fell off, compared to them." It was less of a feeling, and more of a fact the more thought Kensuke put into it. Thanks to trying to get his life under control along with his family, the green-eyed boy had fallen out of step with the Blading world around him.

A look at a recent match between Valt and Shu in Spain changed all of that. Before, he could hardly even think of the word "Beyblade". Now, he found himself bombarded by thoughts about the sport. Shu and Valt's power levels had shot through the roof since the last time he saw them fight, their new Beys just added to the shock. Valt's Ultimate Valkyrie was hands down the fastest and most brutal Attack-type he had ever seen, while Shu's Burst Spriggan had a Swiss army knife's worth of gimmicks any Balance-Type Blader could have wanted. And all the way back on the other side of the world was Kensuke and his poor, powerless Kerbeus.