𝕓𝕖 𝕞𝕪 𝕝𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 | 𝔽𝕣𝕖𝕖 𝕕.𝕝.𝕙.

Moved-Chapter five

"HANG ON! I want to battle against Free!"

Silence cut through the room like a knife. All eyes swivelled to fix themselves on the person who had uttered those words.

"What? I can't battle him?" 

Valt Aoi looked around at his clubmates like it was no big deal. He pulled out Valkyrie and held it out in front of himself. 

"Free, I challenge you to a battle. First to two points wins. Do you accept?" Valt strode to an arena, thrust out his chest, raised his chin and looked expectantly at Free.

The blonde boy raised an eyebrow. He stood up slowly from the bench and thrust his hands into his pockets.

"You want to challenge me?"

Free asked the bluenette. Valt nodded with all his might. Free tilted his head slightly to the left, surveying the younger boy like he was an odd new toy. 

Kit stuck out his head and whispered to his best friend, Honey.

"Uh oh. This isn't going to end well for Valt. Everyone's challenged Free before when they first joined the club, but no one has ever won him."

Ravlynne wondered what Free would reply. Based on what she had seen of his personality, he would most probably leave wordlessly. Still, she had to admire Valt's courage to take on the strongest international blader voluntarily. There was some spunk in him.

"...Very well. I......accept." 

Free took out his bey and walked to the arena. The rest of the club gasped. Not only had he done what they thought he would never do, Free had also openly and consciously left his launcher behind on the bench when he had moved to take his place beside the arena.

"Uhh...your launcher, Free." 

Valt politely pointed out to his opponent. Free smirked.

"I know. Let's be honest, Valt. The battle won't last half as long enough if used my launcher."

 Free gestured to his left hand, which was holding Fafnir like he was about to spin it like a top.

"I'll just use my hand." 

Valt frowned at Free. He was unsure if he was taunting him or being serious. Seeing that "The Golden Boy" did not move to take his launcher, Valt decided to just go with it.

"Fine then. Ready...3, 2, 1, GO SHOOT!" 

Valkyrie shot into the arena like a meteor, an electric blue aura surrounding both bey and blader. Fafnir, however, was merely spun weakly by Free, wobbling and teetering like it was going to tip over at any moment.

"ATTAAAACCCCCCKKKKKKK!" 

Valt howled at his bey. Valkyrie charged towards Fafnir atop her armoured horse, sword held above her head. Sparks flew as the two beys clashed in the centre of the arena.

"What?" 

Valt had expected Fafnir to burst immediately upon clashing, but much to his bewilderment, it spun faster and faster. Valkyrie, in stark contrast, seemed to be much weakened, and started wobbling instead.

"Move out, Fafnir." 

Fafnir followed Free's command, zooming away from Valkyrie. The golden dragon flew lazy circles around its opponent, as if taunting her.

"YOU-

Valkyrie obviously thought so too, as she roared and rushed towards Fafnir again, puffs of steam coming out from her infuriated steed's nostrils. 

"Foolish little warrior."

Fafnir laughed and met Valkyrie head-on. Just like before, he gained rotational speed while Valkyrie slowed down.

"What's happening?"

"Must be Fafnir's famous Drain Spin."

"But how does it work?"

The entire club was busy discussing about the ongoing battle, most of them as clueless about the special move as Valt. 

Ravlynne, however, was closely observing Free's bey. She took note of the three "F" shaped rubber parts along the bey's sides, as well as the way the driver pushed in when clashing with Valkyrie. It looked to be spring loaded, which wasn't common, and neither were the rubber parts. 

Metal was the main material used in beys, as it was hardier and dealt more damage. Rubber wasn't very hardy nor could it deal a lot of damage. Rather, it was soft and flexible.

Thus, Ravlynne concluded, the rubber was not used to attack other beys but rather because it could absorb impact. 

That must be how Fafnir spun-stole: By absorbing the impact from the other bey and converting it into energy to be used himself. It also explained the spring loaded driver-the entire bey was built to  distribute, absorb and convert impact into energy.

"Crafty, Fafnir, very crafty. With an ability like that, it's no wonder you and Free De La Hoya are number one. But I don't think that'll last for long..."

Karaginn muttered to herself. Schemes to defeat the top-dog were already running through her feathered head. There wasn't a lot of rubber exposed, so Fafnir might struggle to absorb impact from a bey with a round, smooth edge-

"NOOOOO!"

Valt screamed as Fafnir abruptly smashed into Valkyrie with frightening might, instantly bursting the latter. The blue-and-yellow pieces of Valt's bey clattered onto the floor with a final-sounding clank. 

"Two points to Free for a Burst Finish. Free wins the match."

Rantaro, who had been appointed as referee, stammered out. He reached over to pat Valt on his back. Trad and Kristina exchanged a worried look.

"Well, that was easy. Can you imagine what would have happened if I had used my launcher?"

Free took Fafnir, stuffed it into his pocket and walked towards the door, picking up his launcher from the bench on his way.

"Free, you just wait, I'll defeat you someday! Still, that was fun!"

Unexpectedly, Valt bounced to his feet and grinned at Free. He extended a hand, which was ignored by the older boy.

"Fun? You can only have fun when you win."

Free threw those words over his shoulder as he walked out. They were cold, and brought a chill into the room, but there was a hint of sadness, of resignation in it.

"Mark his words, Fafnir. One day."

Valkyrie warned Fafnir. The dragon said nothing, merely snorted.

Valt looked down at his bey. The shiny "V" in the centre gleamed once and he smiled. It was as if he could hear what Valkyrie was saying.

"They really do have a strong bond...although Valt doesn't know about Valkyrie's true power, he still believes in his bey."

Even Karaginn had to grudgingly admit that Valt was extremely close with his bey, their relationship much closer than that of an average bey-blader relationship.

But Ravlynne could sense that Valt was anything but an average blader. It was something in his eyes, and Valkyrie's hidden might that moved her. 

Ravlynne perceived that one day, the two would become the stuff of legends. They marked a new generation of bladers. She had to stand out now, to show the boy that this was the world of Beyblade, where anything was possible if you worked for it.

So she did something neither she nor Karaginn or anyone else had expected.