Burst Finish My Heart: Free de la Hoya x OC | A Beyblade Fanfiction

Chapter 3: Challenge

"Next up in the first round," Trad announced. "Valt Aoi--"

"YEP, THAT'S ME!" Valt said, raising his hand and rapidly shaking it back and forth.

"--against Mark Strong," Trad finished.

"Oh, yeah. Out of the way," Mark said. He pushed through the lines of bladers, and he particularly shoved Ferox. After she gave him a dirty look, Mark said, "You're here to try out? You're better off finding a man. Many guys like a cute Asian girl, if you know what I'm saying."

You want to go, you flipping fuckity fuck?! Zmaj swore loudly. I'll send you right to hell!

The gym went starkly quiet. Christina and Trad gaped, while many male bladers appeared confused, shocked, or disgusted by the bizarre comment. For the most part, Free's face remained expressionless, but his lips twitched, indicating that the boy was interested in the situation. It was hard to tell what kind, but it did not matter because nobody spoke up for Ferox.

Ferox wanted to tear out her hair. Not often did she encounter overtly sexist male bladers, but whenever she did, it always seemed to be when she was least expecting it. Nevertheless, her experience with Lui Shirosagi had toughened her up, so Ferox glared and replied dryly, "Too bad because guys like you make me run for the hills."

Valt broke out of his frozen state and dashed in front of Ferox. "Nobody talks like that to my older sister and gets away with it!" Valt said, balling his fists.

"Hey, pipsqueak," Mark said, hoping that his older age and bigger size would intimidate Valt.

"I may be shorter than you, but I go big in the stadium!" Valt cried out.

"Don't let him get to you!" Rantaro said. "He doesn't deserve to be a blader."

"No fear!" Kitt added. "You need to stop him, Valt!"

"He's no match for you, Valt. Trust me," Ferox said coarsely. She crossed her arms and turned up her nose; this whole situation was unbelievable, but she would enjoy this battle thoroughly.

Valt pulled out his newly evolved Beyblade and said challengingly, "This is Genesis Valtryek, the Beyblade that will beat you!"

"The first battle!" the referee said after a tense moment.

"That's one of the bladers I scouted," Christina said, shaking her head. "He better win, especially after all that mess." She exchanged a silent glance with Trad that screamed: if Mark somehow wins, let's kick him out of the tryouts.

"Huh?" Free said, rubbing his eyes. "Him?"

"He ranked second in all of Japan," Christina said. She wondered if Free had paid attention to the spectacle earlier, but the boy did not appear to have much to say.

"That may be true, but he's never battled on the international stage," Trad said, playing devil's advocate to look out for BC Sol's future.

"Well," Christina said, her gaze lingering on Free to see his reaction, "word on the street is that he was able to hold his own against Lui Shirosagi."

"Huh, a loss is a loss in my book," Free said and shrugged. He glanced at Valt and his Beyblade before returning to Ferox. The female blader did not seem as sunny and jovial as before, and determination was set on her facial features.

"It's all you, buddy. It's our chance to stand up for Ferox and discover even more of your new power," Valt said warmly to his Beyblade.

Unbeknownst to Valt but detected by Ferox's ears, his Bey Valtryek replied, You may not have a handle on my power yet, but I fight happily and honorably by your side, my partner.