𝕓𝕖 𝕞𝕪 𝕝𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥 | 𝔽𝕣𝕖𝕖 𝕕.𝕝.𝕙.

Memories like glass: a (re)collection

A thousand days can be melted into one conversation; one glance, one word, one hurt can be shattered and sprinkled over a thousand days.

"I've never seen a bey like yours before."

The boy turned the bey over in his hands, face alight with curiosity. His white hair brushed into his eyes as he turned to look at the owner of the mysterious bey.

The girl smiled. She reached out for her bey.

"I wouldn't know about that. It's a bey, isn't it?"

Shu shook his head. He held it up, letting the silver blades catch the golden rays of the sun.

"Look. These blades are retractable and can probably change mid-battle. The performance layer has a rather unusual design as well, and the tip is tapered."

The boy explained patiently. The hidden feature of the bey was hard to spot and on the surface it looked like any other bey.

Reika tilted her head. She hadn't expected the albino to figure out her bey's mechanisms so quickly.

Shu pressed the black-and-silver bey into her hands. He dug out his own bey from a pouch.

"This is Storm Spriggan. Hey, have I seen you and your bey somewhere before? You look familiar."

Reika laughed. She slipped her bey into her pocket and adjusted the strap of her bag.

"Probably not. You looked pretty familiar too, handsome, but the boys in New York aren't this good-looking."

The red-eyed boy almost choked. Reika held her hands up, still laughing.

"I'm joking, I'm joking! You already have enough girls chasing after you."

Shu cleared his throat. That was true, with fangirls at every corner gushing over him when he was in school. It was refreshing to have a friend who didn't care about his celebrity status.

The girl had turned heads when she stepped into the classroom a few weeks ago, which wasn't surprising, considering her pretty blue eyes and sharp features.

Everyone wanted to know the new student from America, but she wasn't cocky or arrogant about it. She had said nothing, just dropped into a seat at the back of the class and fixed her eyes on the teacher, occasionally scribbling down notes.

Maybe it was because they sat next to each other, or that the teacher kept pairing them up for lab work, but Shu and Reika soon got to know each other.

It was nice having a friend his age in his class, since Valt and Rantaro were both a year younger than him.

"Do you blade often? There's a park with an arena somewhere around here."

Reika's eyes widened.

"Really? That would be convenient."

Shu smiled and pointed across the street. It was spring and the cherry blossom trees lining the roads were in full bloom. Pink petals drifted down from the blossom-laden boughs.

"It's just a few blocks away. Let's go."

•─────────•°•❀•°•─────────•

"So, how do you like Japan so far?"

Alexander took a sip from the glass of sake-japanese rice wine. His daughter glanced up from her meal.

"It's nice here. How long are we staying?"

Alexander shook the glass, watching the rice wine swirl in it. It wasn't nearly as good as he remembered. The cocktails they served in New York were much better.