Of Love and Death.

The Future Chapter 8: Snakes Vs. Stars Pt. 2

     Zusie Kellerman glared at the stage. Who in their right mind ran up to the stage before being told? Well, it would appear this had worked out for her. The other captain's plan to get an early win and snag a lead had backfired. Gabe sent out a blader with no apparent strategy whatsoever. Which was a bad match to her highly strategic approach to the sport. Apparently, not even training from half the blading legends could make up for idocrity.

     "Which one is that? I can't quite see," Zusie's teammate Ichika asked. Zusie turned around to see the black-haired girl squinting at the stage.

     "My word. You need to stop forgetting your glasses," Zusie teased, rolling her eyes. It was getting a little tiresome. "It's Bel Diazora," She continued. Honestly, even without a lack of strategy Bel would be a strange choice. She'd done some digging on the Snakes before all of this. From what she could tell, Bel wasn't really anything special. Sure he'd won a tournament or two, but everyone here had least gotten to the semi's of one. There had been also something about a connection to Valt and Shu Aoi-Kurenai, but that was probably just the fact that they ran the Snake's club.

     Gabe, however, seemed to have far more experience than Bel. The opposing captain had been on his school's team before moving near the Snake Pit. That was the name of the club, right? So he would have battled more bladers simply because of a geographical. And he had gotten his bey before Bel. So yeah, more experince.

      "Huh," Ichika said, "You're gonna beat him?"

      Zusie nodded. "I certainly intend to."

     Bel folded his arms and leaned back as Zusie walked up to the stadium. He did his best to appear cocky. It was a careful act that he'd learned over the years. Make your opponent think you think you're too good. Make them think you're overcompensating for your weaknesses. Then, show them you aren't just spewing hot air.

    Granted, the last time Bel'd used this trick, he'd gotten his tail handed to him in the second battle. Hopefully this would be different, especially with there likely being only one battle. After all, once you got a point in the Roar Tournament, you were done battling. Bel had no reason to expect they would tie, so he expected one battle. 

     The only thing that was capable of shattering Bel's illusion was his eyes. They always showed how he was studying everything. He really needed to start wearing sunglasses or something. That would help hide his strategy's one weakness.

    The crowd was chanting Zusie's at the top of their lungs, and Bel had to raise his voice to speak. "So, I'm battling the captain?" He asked in a haughty voice, "Huh. Maybe you'll actually be a challenge." All of those trips to Spain to visit Free and the rest of BC Sol were paying off. He could mimic Free to a T if necessary.

     Bel watched as Zusie rolled her eyes. That's it. Let your guard down. Think I'm just some kid who doesn't know a thing. 

      "I sure hope so," Zusie said in an annoyed voice. She put her hand on her hip, black and white hair flowing off the shoulder of her black and white jacket. She glared at Bel with her brown eyes. "Now, are we getting started or is there anything you want to say?"

     Man, this team is straight to the point, Belfyre commented, Jack also just wanted to get on with the battle.

      Bel nodded. Belfyre was right. The Blazing Stars weren't exactly impatient, he didn't think. However, they did seem to dislike small talk. One more thing he could use to his advantage. He took an extra long moment to reply, using it to study Zusie's body language. It was fairly obvious that she was miffed about how long he was taking to respond. She was also standing tall, and her limbs were not close together. She wasn't nervous.