World Beyblade Organization by Fighting Spirits Inc.

Blading has always been a passion of mine. For as long as I can remember, I've been with my partner and friend Crescent Mani. My father, another passionate blader, and I have had great times with our Beys. However, my mother despises Beyblade. She says that it's a waste of time and disapproves of any blading in the house. Everytime my father and I go to the BeyPark, she grinds her teeth in disgust. She once even sued the WBBA for disrupting the lives of people with "destructive" and "pointless" battles. My father, who couldn't take the madness anymore, left us without a word. Since then, I have been forced to quit blading and focus on more "important" matters. My mother, convinced that blading was now a sin, forbade me to ever leave the house without her permission. Day by day she grew more and more paranoid. Under her control, I wasn't allowed to have any contact with the outside world, for she feared that I was secretly blading. One day, I realized that with her I would never achieve growth. I left without a word with my Bey, just like my father. This is my journey. No. This is our journey, Mani and I.

Ever since Dad left, everything has gone downhill. I understand why he left, but I don’t understand why he left me with Mom. All I knew was that I had to escape from this mess.

Deep inside, I always knew that my life would be dedicated to blading. I had been plotting this escape for a long time. I knew that if I pretended that I quit blading, my mother would soften up. If I pretended that I had no more interest in them, that I would be the subservient child that she always wanted, then there would be an opening to grab Mani and run. I would go to the BeyPark, where she surely wouldn’t look for me, for there were bladers there. It was a good plan, but it took a long time to execute. My mother, who was still convinced that I was secretly blading, had made sure that I couldn’t leave the house. It took two months of angel-acting for her to loosen security. One night, she finally told me at the kitchen table that she now fully trusted me. She intended to start a “new life” with me, and we discussed it over dinner.

She was actually quite nice when it didn’t concern blading.

After dinner, I knew it was my last chance. See, Mom wanted herself to be right that I was secretly blading. She wanted the satisfaction of catching me red-handed with my Bey. Now that she trusted me, she would just sell it or something. I could not afford to lose Mani. It felt like we were meant to be together, as cheesy as that sounds.

She said that she would do some shopping after, and I was free to take a walk or something. After she left, I went to her room, where Mani would be. I hoped that she didn’t take it with her to sell. That would be very, very bad. I prayed that she didn’t remember to bring it on her “shopping” trip. I searched the entire room. Mani wasn’t anywhere to be found. No! I wanted to shout. It couldn’t be… She had already taken it to be sold.

I ran through the options in my mind. Steal it from her. No, that wouldn’t work. Get a new Bey. No, I couldn’t forgive myself. I couldn’t think of anything. I wanted to scream in frustration. There has to be a way! I thought. I decided to take a walk, like Mom said. Maybe I would get a miracle.

And a miracle I did get. Halfway on the way home, something dropped from the sky. It was a plastic bag. I eyed it with suspicion. It looked like the one that my mother brought. I opened it, and was overcome with surprise. It was my Bey and my launcher! It was too good to be true, but I don’t care. It was like seeing an old friend after a long time. I didn’t think about how it got there or anything.

When I got to the BeyPark, it was midnight. I sat in the lounge room and watched some TV. Apparently, my mom was being interviewed for a theft. Her bag was stolen. The same bag that I picked up. It couldn’t be a coincidence. Someone was following me. Someone who knew about me and Mani. Someone who wanted me to get my Bey back. Someone who stole my mother’s bag. Someone who could be watching me now…

The next day, I went to the stadium. I needed to battle again. Mani was almost glowing with excitement. A little kid came up to me.

“Do you want to battle?” he said.

“Sure.” I replied, barely containing my excitement.

“All right! My Divine Aquario will crush you!” he eagerly replied.

We walked over to the stadium.

“3!”

“2!”

“1!”

“LET IT RIP!”

I hadn’t heard or said those words in so long. It didn’t matter right now whether I win or lose. It felt good to be blading again.

Over the next few months, I became the strongest blader in the area. No one could beat me, and all the little kids crowded around me to challenge me to a battle. Thankfully, Mom didn’t go look for me or send anybody. I enjoyed life in the BeyPark, battling everyday with enthusiastic bladers and training with Mani.

Still, I couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching me and tracking what I was doing. I thought about this one night. Could it be someone my mother sent to look after me? I knew she still cared about me, even though I completely betrayed her trust. Could it be Dad? I didn’t want to be too optimistic since he would probably not want to come back here. Plus, I still was upset that he left without me. Would I want to see him soon? I fell asleep thinking about the bag with my Bey dropping from the sky.

The next day, I woke up and prepared for a day of blading. I was going to show the kids my new special move. They loved to see cool things like that. I put Mani in my pocket and walked out.

I saw someone new at the stadium watching the kids. He was about my age. I had never seen him before. Could it be him watching me? I eyed him in suspicion, but I put on a friendly smile to greet everyone.

“Hey guys!” I said to the children.

“Oh! Hi, Nobu! Let’s battle!” one of them said eagerly to me.

“Wait, he’s supposed to battle him first, remember?” another one argued.

“Oh yeah! So, this guy came in this morning. He said that he wanted to battle the strongest one here. But first we challenged him, and then he beat us all with a super cool Special Move!”

“So you’re the strongest one here, huh? Well, I’m here to defeat you!” he said. He had a somewhat high voice, but it was full of confidence.

“Oh, then let’s battle!” I said. I was used to this kind of pre-battle talk with the kids, so I assumed that he was just another rookie that was just a bit better.

We took out our launchers.

“3! 2! 1!” all the kids shouted.

“LET IT RIP!” we screamed.

Mani started to circle the stadium. I decided to test his strength. I commanded Mani to attack him, but his multi-colored Bey didn’t even budge. So, he was a cut above the others after all.

“Now it’s my turn!” he said.

“Iris! Attack Mode!”

His Bey started to rush in at an extraordinary speed. Mani changed modes at the last second. The rollers emerged from its Metal Wheel and softened the blows a little. Then, Mani changed back to Attack Mode.

The Beys started clashing again.

The boy was surprised.

“You’re pretty good!” he yelled over the noise of the Beys.

“You’re not half bad either!” I yelled back to him.

Soon, his Bey retreated back to the center.

“Iris! Back to Defense Mode!”

When Mani crashed into his Bey, it flew back and almost went out of the stadium. Again, his Bey didn’t move at all. I was stumped. How could he do that? Mani did have a lot of Attack power, after all. Then, I noticed colorful patches near his Bey. The sun shone on his Bey and there was a glint of light on it, brighter than usual. I thought back to a time when my father showed me something that I thought was really cool. Then I understood.

Iris was the Greek goddess of the rainbow. His Bey had prisms in it, and when the sun shone through it, it made a rainbow around it. His Bey uses it to make a shield that deflects any attack. This blader really was something.

“Now Iris! Special Move: Magic Strike!” he commanded.

Suddenly, the rainbow on the stadium floor expanded. It reached Mani and Mani flew back as if it was stricken hard. It was only because of its heavy Track that it didn’t fly out of the stadium. Mani was starting to wobble now.

I looked at him. He knew that he was about to win. I could see it in his eyes. I looked at Mani. It was losing spin rapidly. I had one last chance for an attack, while his Bey was still spinning steadily.

“Don’t give up Mani!” I said to it. “Continue spinning until we win!”

But it was no use. Even my encouraging words and my BeySpirit couldn’t stop Mani from losing spin. It was because of the rainbow ring.

A small cloud passed over us. The rainbow disappeared for a second. Then it came back. I suddenly knew what to do. I commanded Mani to use the edges of the stadium to fly up in the air. Mani passed over
Iris and blocked the sunlight. Its shadow rendered Iris powerless.

“No!” my opponent screamed.

“Special Move: Crescent Cutter!” I yelled, knowing that it was my last chance.

Mani gained speed and came down hard on Iris. Iris flew out of the stadium and onto the ground beside my opponent.

“No!” he yelled in surprise.

Mani spun back into my hand. I went up to him and put my hand out.
He glanced at it and shook it.

“That’s a nice Bey you have. I almost lost!” I said to him encouragingly.

“Thanks!” he replied. He didn’t seem disappointed that he lost, or didn’t show it. I liked that about him.

“What’s your name?” I asked him.

“I’m Keiji. How about you?”

“I’m Nobu. Nice to meet you.”

He seems hesitant to say something. I tell him to spit it out.

“It’s just… You’re really good. I mean it. Can you be like… my mentor?” he asked. His confidence was gone now. He seemed to really want me to help him.

I was surprised. I knew that I was the strongest in the local area, but
I didn’t realize how strong I actually was. I thought about it. He seemed to be a nice person. I liked him and I sensed a great friendship growing between us. Plus, I could learn a thing or two from him too.

“Sure.” I said.

“But be prepared to train very, very hard!” I said in a funny accent.

“Of course!” he said back in that accent.

We both burst out laughing.

“This will be great!” he said, gaining his confidence back.

“Yep, it sure will!” I replied.

“Hey Nobu, have you ever heard of Beyjing?”

“What? Of course I’ve heard of Beijing! It’s the capital of China!”

“No, not that one! BEY-jing! It’s the largest city dedicated to blading in all of Japan!”

“Wow… That’s a really bad pun then.”

We decided that we would go to Beyjing, since there must be many experienced bladers there for us to battle. All of the little kids seemed sad to see us leave; they made us promise to come back in a month and show them our “awesome and totally cool special moves”.

On the train, we talked about our pasts. I told Keiji about Dad leaving, Mom forbidding blading, and me running away. He told me about his past. He was from a town in the countryside. He and his two sisters were adopted triplets, who came out of their village to become stronger bladers, but for what reason, he wouldn’t say. When asked about other siblings, his jet black hair gleamed with perspiration. His fair complexion turned slightly pale. He answered with a shaky no, but that was obviously a lie. Just as obviously, this wasn’t a safe subject, so I decided not to pursue it further.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by many bladers. Many challenged us, but Keiji declined all of them; there were better battles for us in the middle of the city, he said. The “better” battle turned out to be against Keiji’s twin sisters Ella and Julia. They looked nothing like each other. In fact, they seem to be polar opposites of each other; one had solid black hair and the other had solid white hair, though that may have been dyed. Julia also seemed to be a few inches taller than Ella, too, but I didn’t dwell on it since our battle was starting.

“3! 2! 1!”

“GO SHOOT!”

“LET IT RIP!”

The Beys hit the stadium, but everyone had puzzled looks on their faces.

“Okay, who said “let it rip”?” Julia asked.

“Uh, I did”, I responded awkwardly.

Then, Keiji explained to me that in the big cities and at official events, “go shoot” was the proper line to shout, not “let it rip”. I apologized, and we started over.

“3! 2! 1! GO SHOOT!”

All four of us launched and the battle started. Iris made its way to the center and started to unleash its rainbow fury. Mani circled around Iris protectively, like the moon orbits around the earth. The twins’ Beys circled around each other on the outer perimeter of the stadium. One was solid black with a white face; the other was solid white with a black face. I realized that these made the Yin-Yang symbol, which was cool, I guess.

I wasn’t going to waste any time gawking at the patterns of the two Beys, though. I nodded at Keiji and we attacked.

“Mani!” I commanded, “Crescent Cutter!”

“Magic Strike!” shouted Keiji.

We both switched modes and charged at the black Bey, Julia’s, I think.

“Yin!” she said, and the Bey used the stadium to fly into the air, landing on the other side as the other Beyblade (Yang, I suppose) traveled to where Yin was. Mani and Iris almost shot out of the stadium, but they managed to stay in as the two other Beys swirled around us. It was impressive acrobatics with the Beyblades, but I wasn’t about to give up. We attempted to attack the other one, but the same thing happened.

Ella laughed. “Stubborn boys. They never change, don’t they? Now it’s our turn!”

“Yin!”

“Yang!”

“Tornado Drive!”

The two Beys gained speed until there was a tornado wall blocking my vision from the stadium. I couldn’t see Mani, but I knew that it was still spinning steadily. After all, the eye of a tornado is safe. But then, Yin and Yang started closing in on Mani and Iris. Yin and Yang were Beys that rotated clockwise, so the tornado created was rotating counter-clockwise; if it closed in on Mani and Iris, they could lose some serious spin.

Unfortunately, there was nothing we could do; Iris unleashed a rainbow ring, but the tornado just spun it away. The tornado closed in on our Beys, and they started to lose spin. When the tornado subsided, Mani and Iris were spinning very weakly; I could even see the exact shape of the Metal Wheels. Yin and Yang came in for the final blow, but something strange happened. When the Beys came in contact, Mani and Iris seemed to be gaining spin. Keiji and I exchanged puzzled glances. Then I understood. The tornado did its job too well. It made Mani and Iris spin left just a little bit, and we were able to spin equalize with Yin and Yang when they came in contact. I knew what to do to win the battle.

“Keiji! We’re spinning left! Can you hold them still?”

“Sure!”

Iris unleashed another rainbow ring, and this time, Yin and Yang were kept still. The girls still hadn’t recovered from the surprise and shock yet. Mani may have been powerful when spun right, but in left spin, the Metal Wheel was destructive. I called Mani to use its special move. Mani glowed red and smashed Yin and Yang right out of the stadium. We had won.

Later, Keiji went with his sisters to their apartment while I got some dinner at a local fast food restaurant. The TV show playing in there was still talking about how Ginga Hagane had defeated Diablo Nemesis with the help of all the Beyblades in the world, even though it was several months after the incident.

“Pathetic, isn’t it?” I heard a voice behind me.

I turned around and saw a kid about my age with straight blond hair and cold green eyes. His presence seemed familiar, and I realized that this was the person who had been following me.

“You! Why are you following me?” I demanded.

“Why, my father wants me to keep an eye on you, that’s all. He told me to reveal myself and battle you after you defeated the twins. I was watching that battle, and I can’t help but wonder if it was a lucky fluke or if you truly have the power.”

This stalker kid was getting me angrier by the moment.

“Well then let’s battle! I’ll show you my power by beating you to a pulp!”

“Ooh, such confidence. I warn you though. I’m quite good!”

“Bring it on!”

I stormed off to the stadium, and the kid followed after me. We readied our launchers.

“3! 2! 1! GO SHOOT!”

“I’ll just end this quickly,” the kid said. “Go, Hermit Cancer! Unleash all of your power!”

His Beyblade exploded in a supernova of energy and before I could do anything, Mani was knocked out of the stadium. His Bey was barely spinning, but he had won.

“Hmm…” he pondered. “Disappointing results, Nobu. My father won’t be pleased about this. Not at all. I too have expected you to put up more of a fight. But, I will be back soon, so heads up!”

I could barely contain my rage. With a nasty smile on his face, he disappeared into the darkness.

Ever since Dad left, everything has gone downhill. I understand why he left, but I don’t understand why he left me with Mom. All I knew was that I had to escape from this mess.

Deep inside, I always knew that my life would be dedicated to blading. I had been plotting this escape for a long time. I knew that if I pretended that I quit blading, my mother would soften up. If I pretended that I had no more interest in them, that I would be the subservient child that she always wanted, then there would be an opening to grab Mani and run. I would go to the BeyPark, where she surely wouldn’t look for me, for there were bladers there. It was a good plan, but it took a long time to execute. My mother, who was still convinced that I was secretly blading, had made sure that I couldn’t leave the house. It took two months of angel-acting for her to loosen security. One night, she finally told me at the kitchen table that she now fully trusted me. She intended to start a “new life” with me, and we discussed it over dinner.

She was actually quite nice when it didn’t concern blading.

After dinner, I knew it was my last chance. See, Mom wanted herself to be right that I was secretly blading. She wanted the satisfaction of catching me red-handed with my Bey. Now that she trusted me, she would just sell it or something. I could not afford to lose Mani. It felt like we were meant to be together, as cheesy as that sounds.
She said that she would do some shopping after, and I was free to take a walk or something. After she left, I went to her room, where Mani would be. I hoped that she didn’t take it with her to sell. That would be very, very bad. I prayed that she didn’t remember to bring it on her “shopping” trip. I searched the entire room. Mani wasn’t anywhere to be found. No! I wanted to shout. It couldn’t be… She had already taken it to be sold.

I ran through the options in my mind. Steal it from her. No, that wouldn’t work. Get a new Bey. No, I couldn’t forgive myself. I couldn’t think of anything. I wanted to scream in frustration. There has to be a way! I thought. I decided to take a walk, like Mom said. Maybe I would get a miracle.

And a miracle I did get. Halfway on the way home, something dropped from the sky. It was a plastic bag. I eyed it with suspicion. It looked like the one that my mother brought. I opened it, and was overcome with surprise. It was my Bey and my launcher! It was too good to be true, but I don’t care. It was like seeing an old friend after a long time. I didn’t think about how it got there or anything.

When I got to the BeyPark, it was midnight. I sat in the lounge room and watched some TV. Apparently, my mom was being interviewed for a theft. Her bag was stolen. The same bag that I picked up. It couldn’t be a coincidence. Someone was following me. Someone who knew about me and Mani. Someone who wanted me to get my Bey back. Someone who stole my mother’s bag. Someone who could be watching me now…

The next day, I went to the stadium. I needed to battle again. Mani was almost glowing with excitement. A little kid came up to me.

“Do you want to battle?” he said.

“Sure.” I replied, barely containing my excitement.

“All right! My Divine Aquario will crush you!” he eagerly replied.

We walked over to the stadium.

“3!”

“2!”

“1!”

“LET IT RIP!”

I hadn’t heard or said those words in so long. It didn’t matter right now whether I win or lose.

It felt good to be blading again.

“Hey Nobu, have you ever heard of Beyjing?”

“What? Of course I’ve heard of Beijing! It’s the capital of China!”

“No, not that one! BEY-jing! It’s the largest city dedicated to blading in all of Japan!”

“Wow… That’s a really bad pun then.”

We decided that we would go to Beyjing, since there must be many experienced bladers there for us to battle. All of the little kids seemed sad to see us leave; they made us promise to come back in a month and show them our “awesome and totally cool special moves”.

On the train, we talked about our pasts. I told Keiji about Dad leaving, Mom forbidding blading, and me running away. He told me about his past. He was from a town in the countryside. He and his two sisters were adopted triplets, who came out of their village to become stronger bladers, but for what reason, he wouldn’t say. When asked about other siblings, his jet black hair gleamed with perspiration. His fair complexion turned slightly pale. He answered with a shaky no, but that was obviously a lie. Just as obviously, this wasn’t a safe subject, so I decided not to pursue it further.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by many bladers. Many challenged us, but Keiji declined all of them; there were better battles for us in the middle of the city, he said. The “better” battle turned out to be against Keiji’s twin sisters Ella and Julia. They looked nothing like each other. In fact, they seem to be polar opposites of each other; one had solid black hair and the other had solid white hair, though that may have been dyed. Julia also seemed to be a few inches taller than Ella, too, but I didn’t dwell on it since our battle was starting.

“3! 2! 1!”

“GO SHOOT!”

“LET IT RIP!”

The Beys hit the stadium, but everyone had puzzled looks on their faces.

“Okay, who said “let it rip”?” Julia asked.

“Uh, I did”, I responded awkwardly.

Then, Keiji explained to me that in the big cities and at official events, “go shoot” was the proper line to shout, not “let it rip”. I apologized, and we started over.

“3! 2! 1! GO SHOOT!”

All four of us launched and the battle started. Iris made its way to the center and started to unleash its rainbow fury. Mani circled around Iris protectively, like the moon orbits around the earth. The twins’ Beys circled around each other on the outer perimeter of the stadium. One was solid black with a white face; the other was solid white with a black face. I realized that these made the Yin-Yang symbol, which was cool, I guess.

I wasn’t going to waste any time gawking at the patterns of the two Beys, though. I nodded at Keiji and we attacked.

“Mani!” I commanded, “Crescent Cutter!”

“Magic Strike!” shouted Keiji.

We both switched modes and charged at the black Bey, Julia’s, I think.

“Yin!” she said, and the Bey used the stadium to fly into the air, landing on the other side as the other Beyblade (Yang, I suppose) traveled to where Yin was. Mani and Iris almost shot out of the stadium, but they managed to stay in as the two other Beys swirled around us. It was impressive acrobatics with the Beyblades, but I wasn’t about to give up. We attempted to attack the other one, but the same thing happened.

Ella laughed. “Stubborn boys. They never change, don’t they? Now it’s our turn!”

“Yin!”

“Yang!”

“Tornado Drive!”

The two Beys gained speed until there was a tornado wall blocking my vision from the stadium. I couldn’t see Mani, but I knew that it was still spinning steadily. After all, the eye of a tornado is safe. But then, Yin and Yang started closing in on Mani and Iris. Yin and Yang were Beys that rotated clockwise, so the tornado created was rotating counter-clockwise; if it closed in on Mani and Iris, they could lose some serious spin.

Unfortunately, there was nothing we could do; Iris unleashed a rainbow ring, but the tornado just spun it away. The tornado closed in on our Beys, and they started to lose spin. When the tornado subsided, Mani and Iris were spinning very weakly; I could even see the exact shape of the Metal Wheels. Yin and Yang came in for the final blow, but something strange happened. When the Beys came in contact, Mani and Iris seemed to be gaining spin. Keiji and I exchanged puzzled glances. Then I understood. The tornado did its job too well. It made Mani and Iris spin left just a little bit, and we were able to spin equalize with Yin and Yang when they came in contact. I knew what to do to win the battle.

“Keiji! We’re spinning left! Can you hold them still?”

“Sure!”

Iris unleashed another rainbow ring, and this time, Yin and Yang were kept still. The girls still hadn’t recovered from the surprise and shock yet. Mani may have been powerful when spun right, but in left spin, the Metal Wheel was destructive. I called Mani to use its special move. Mani glowed red and smashed Yin and Yang right out of the stadium. We had won.

Later, Keiji went with his sisters to their apartment while I got some dinner at a local fast food restaurant. The TV show playing in there was still talking about how Ginga Hagane had defeated Diablo Nemesis with the help of all the Beyblades in the world, even though it was several months after the incident.

“Pathetic, isn’t it?” I heard a voice behind me.

I turned around and saw a kid about my age with straight blond hair and cold green eyes. His presence seemed familiar, and I realized that this was the person who had been following me.

“You! Why are you following me?” I demanded.

“Why, my father wants me to keep an eye on you, that’s all. He told me to reveal myself and battle you after you defeated the twins. I was watching that battle, and I can’t help but wonder if it was a lucky fluke or if you truly have the power.”

This stalker kid was getting me angrier by the moment.

“Well then let’s battle! I’ll show you my power by beating you to a pulp!”

“Ooh, such confidence. I warn you though. I’m quite good!”

“Bring it on!”

I stormed off to the stadium, and the kid followed after me. We readied our launchers.

“3! 2! 1! GO SHOOT!”

“I’ll just end this quickly,” the kid said. “Go, Hermit Cancer! Unleash all of your power!”

His Beyblade exploded in a supernova of energy and before I could do anything, Mani was knocked out of the stadium. His Bey was barely spinning, but he had won.

“Hmm…” he pondered. “Disappointing results, Nobu. My father won’t be pleased about this. Not at all. I too have expected you to put up more of a fight. But, I will be back soon, so heads up!”

I could barely contain my rage. With a nasty smile on his face, he disappeared into the darkness.