The Butterfly Effect

Two Pasts

It feels like I'm dreaming, but at the same time it feels so real. Here I am again, back in front of the stadium, back in front of Shirasagijo Lui in one of the first matches I've ever fought him in. I feel younger, so much younger. Even Lui looks less mature. The referee has declared the start of the match, and we both launch.

I can feel Spriggan's energy. I can hear its voice in my head. This is it. This is the time that everything changes, that I never feel that intense rage and hatred toward Lui, that I never feel the desperate need to beat him, so desperate that I run all the way to Snake Pit. With the help of Spriggan, everything is going to be much, much different.

Here it comes. I remember Lui's exact movement, and his exact words when he knocks my Bey out of the stadium and it nearly takes my eye out. It's coming. But this time I'm expecting it.

That had been the reason Lui won the match, too. Because I had gotten injured, and because for some reason that counted as an over finish and gave Lui a point, he had won. He didn't see a point in fooling around and fighting an actual match with me, since at the time he saw me as nothing more than a pathetic kid with no skill. He's in for it now.

There's the move.

I step out of the way, nonchalantly. The Bey flies right past my head. The entire crowd gasps. I see a momentary look of shock on Lui's face before he pretends he isn't surprised. The referee calls an over finish for Lui, and I give him my best death glare.

I'll have no reason to hate Lui if I beat him here, so I might as well try my best. After all, I'm back in the past with all of my knowledge and skill from the future. According to Spriggan, this is our chance to change the future.

"Hmph!" Lui crosses his arms and glares at me. "So you're stronger than I thought. Big whoop. You're still going to lose."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," I answer. "Let's do this."

Lui thinks I'm talking to him, but in reality I'm talking to Spriggan, and I hear its voice in my head. Are you sure you want to do this? You have no idea how this will affect the future.

"You sure you don't just wanna quit now?" That's what Lui says, at the same time I'm listening to my Bey.

"I'm sure," I answer both of them.

"Pfft. Alright then." Lui grins. "You're gonna need a miracle."

Alright, Spriggan answers me, let's change the future.

And the match continues. We fight again. The next time, we tie, and Lui looks like his entire world is about to come crashing down. We tie and tie again, and the crowd is on the edge of their seats.

It feels like I'm barely there. It feels so much like a dream, but most of my mind knows that this isn't a dream. This is time travel. It's like I'm walking on air, it's like I'm in the middle of a holographic projection. Something about this feels so artificial. You know that dissociated feeling that you get when you're dreaming? That vague sense of 'something isn't right', but you can't quite place it? That's exactly how I feel right now.

Despite the ties, despite everything, Lui still manages to pull through and win the match, though that victory was a 'just barely'. The only reason he won at all is because his Bey managed to spin longer than mine did and he got a spin finish. The crowd goes nuts. The referee looks so relieved to make the call that Lui won. The announcer sounds like he's losing his mind.

Lui looks at me from across the stadium. He gives me such a spoiled brat glare that I can't help but smile at him. With a huff, he snatches up Longinus, turns dramatically on his heel, and storms off the stage, leaving me standing there for a moment before I turn and leave the stage, too.