How Things Changed Forever.. PART - II

CH 26: Optimism is All I Have

Kai turned on Tyson the moment they were alone. "Are you so determined to be the person who loses his world champion title the fastest?" he thundered.

Everyone looked taken aback by this, but Tyson was never one to accept criticism quietly or without context. "Well, I was trying my best to make sure his attention stayed on me because I didn't want you to hurt yourself by pushing too hard!"

Kai scoffed. "I would have been fine!"  "Yeah, that's why you haven't bothered to practice with us, isn't it?" Tyson retorted, sarcasm dripping in his voice. The two were within punching distance now.

Kai clenched his fists, struggling to control his frustration. Things had never escalated to physical violence between them before, but it was clear Kai was at his wits' end.

Now seemed like the perfect time for someone to intervene. "Alright, guys, time out!" Max said, pushing them apart and stepping between them.

"How bad are they?" Max asked Kai.

"They were national champions for a time, so yes. They're bad. On top of that, this buffoon agreed to play on their home turf—a scrapyard. There's a reason they call themselves the Forged Furies. I haven't heard of a single match they've lost there."

"Well, then it's time to give them their first loss," Tyson replied nonchalantly.

"It's not that simple," Kai shot back. "Dragoon is an air-type bit-beast. You have a clear disadvantage against them!"

"That's never bothered me before, and I don't see why it should now," Tyson said, shrugging.

"Tyson, shut up before Kai bursts a blood vessel trying to restrain himself from hitting you," Ray intervened. "We all admire your optimism, really, but this isn't the time. You're being borderline reckless with that attitude."

"What do you expect me to do?" Tyson snapped. "I can't back out of a challenge without looking weak. I can't ask for time without looking weak. I can't refuse a venue without reason. And even if I'd known about this, I couldn't have asked for a change of venue without looking weak! Now I have less than an hour to prepare myself against a seasoned opponent I know nothing about. Forgive me if I'm overly optimistic—this optimism is all I have! Let me keep that, at least!"

The silence in the bey-arena was tense."So," Tyson finally said, forcing a grin and trying to channel his usual cheer, "is anyone interested in coming up with valuable information about my opponents now that we're done shouting at me?"

"I don't know much about their beyblading styles, but Adam's cunning," Cassie said, walking toward them from the stands. "He was captain of the baseball team last year, always changing tactics. Too dynamic—you can't guess his next move until it hits you. But he's prideful. He and his brother can't handle criticism; they blame everyone but themselves."

The group turned to her, surprised. Honestly, they'd forgotten she was there.

"What? I was in the cheerleading squad last year. I've seen all his matches," she grumbled.

"That's helpful," Tyson admitted.Ray added, "Adam talks a lot about honor, but the moment things start going south, he'll pull you down by any means possible." He glanced at Kai. "Didn't he get banned during the Hunger Games edition for being too aggressive?"

Tyson and Max exchanged confused looks. This was before their time, and moments like this reminded them of how versatile and strong Ray and Kai must have been to survive in the sport for years whem most people lasted only months.

Kai nodded. "Adam's bit-beast is Magnetorian. It's more aggressive than Adam himself. Most of its moves were banned for being too dangerous, but this isn't an official match—we can't be sure he won't use them."