Life In The Spotlight

Chapter 1 (Past)

"Good morning baby brother," said a cheeky sixteen-year-old girl. "I made pancakes. Your favourite."

The ten-year-old boy (almost eleven) looked at his sister. "You do realize that I am not a little kid anymore, right?"

"You'll always be my baby brother," said the girl with a grin. She was a very pretty girl with silky pink hair and blue eyes. "So Shu, first day of summer. What do you plan to do? Watch Beyblade Metal Fusion?"

Shu gasped. "Oh, I remember now. The audition results should be out by today. I'm so nervous. Sora, what if I don't make it?"

"Shu, you are super passionate about this," said Sora. "You rehearsed for days and I had to drag you to bed. You have always been a good actor. Remember when you were Romeo in your school play?"

"Sora, a school play is different from being in a TV show," said Shu. "I don't know what I will do if I don't get into that new Beyblade show. I auditioned to be the best friend of the protagonist."

Suddenly, there was the sound of crying from the baby monitor. "Sounds like Kirika is awake," said Sora. "I'll go and get her a bottle. You go and watch TV."

Shu sighed. He had always been a fan of Beyblade. Even though he was a little young for Beyblade Metal Fusion when it came out, he loved watching the show, which had defined his childhood.

Just then, the house phone rang. Shu went to grab it. "Hello?" he asked.

"Hi Shu. It's Mom," came a voice from the other side.

"Aww," said Shu.

"What's the matter? I thought that you would be pleased."

"Sorry Mom. I love you to bits, but I was hoping that it's the director of that show I auditioned for."

"Don't worry Shu. You will get in, I'm sure of that. And did you really think that they would know our house number?"

"Oh. Silly me."

"Well, I have to go soon. Your Dad and I will be back for dinner. Give our love to Sora and Kirika."

"Okay Mom. Love you."

"Love you too."

The line went dead. Just then, Sora called out, "Shu! The director is calling!"

Shu ran upstairs to see Sora holding Kirika's milk bottle with one hand and her phone in the other. Sora handed him the phone. "Here."

Shu took a deep breath before talking. "Hello?"

The news made him jump up and down. "No way! I got in? Thank you, bye!"

Sora giggled. It amused her to see her usually calm and composed brother act so childish. "Good news?"

"The best! I got in!" said Shu.

"Did you hear that?" Sora turned to the pink-haired infant in a white crib. "Shu got in."

Kirika squealed although she had no idea what her siblings were saying.

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A few weeks later, Shu felt nervous as Sora brought him to the building where the actors would meet each other. Kirika was brought in a pram.

"You okay?" Sora asked Shu. "You look a little green."

"I'm scared," he admitted. "What if the other kids don't like me because I'm too quiet?"

"Shu, don't be ridiculous," said Sora.

"It's true. I have no friends in school. Everyone thinks that I'm weird for being smart."

"Your classmates don't know what they are missing," said Sora. "All my friends like you. When I was your age, my friends were fighting over whose turn it is to babysit you."

"I can't go and hang out with your friends," said Shu.

Sora brought Shu to the studio. Inside, there were many people. There was a blonde boy with his parents and a younger boy. Both boys were eating lollipops.

In another section was a black-haired boy looking at his phone. A younger boy who looked like him had a stuffed cat.

Shu saw a tall boy with blonde hair in a ponytail and blue eyes. He was talking with an older man.

"What do you mean, my parents won't be coming?"

"Sorry, Master Wakiya, but your father says that he has to work."

Wakiya muttered something that sounded like "What is the point of being rich if I can't enjoy life?"

Shu accidentally bumps into a boy with puppets. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?"

The boy turned red and ran away. Shu figured out that the boy must be shyer than he was.

Shu sat down in a chair and held Kirika's pram while Sora went to talk with the producer. Another boy looked at him. He had water blue hair and big brown eyes.

"Hi there!" he said.

Shu was practically deafened by his loud voice. "Wow. You're loud."

"Oh. Hehe, sorry. Mom is always telling me to use my inside voice," said the boy. "My name's Valt Aoi, by the way."

"Nice to meet you Valt. I'm Shu Kurenai. This is my baby sister, Kirika."

"Aww, she's so cute," said Valt. "I am really looking forward to being in this show. I'm a little nervous though. I'm going to play the protagonist."

"You're the protagonist? I'm going to play your best friend," said Shu.

"Really? Oh, we should be getting to know each other," said Valt. "How old are you?"

"Almost eleven," said Shu.

"No way!" said Valt. "I thought that you were thirteen. You look really tall for ten. I'm eleven years old myself."

Soon, Sora came to Shu. "Ah. I see that you're making friends already."

Shu sighed. "Valt, this is my big sister Sora. She is always babying me."

"Nice to meet you Sora!" said Valt.

"Sora giggled. "Shu, the paperwork is done. You will be doing at least two seasons."

"Thanks Sora," said Shu.

The producer called Valt, Shu, and the other actors together. "You guys have all been chosen to be in my newest show, Beyblade Burst. I have taken a different route in this show. Instead of finding actors for prewritten roles, I have casted actors whose personalities I can draw from. Your characters will be keeping your names and personalities. Also, I will allow you to choose your own Beyblade names and you can draw what design you want your Beyblade to be."

Valt said, "But I am a terrible artist!"

"Don't worry," said Sora. "I can draw the design for you and Shu. You can come over to our house anytime."

Valt sighed. "Well, that's a relief. I already know that I want my Beyblade to be called Valtryek. But I have to work on the design."

"What about you, Shu?" asked Sora.

Shu thought for a while. "Spryzen," he said at last.

Valt talked to Shu for a while. They knew that they were going to be best friends.

Author's Note

1. Shu's parents are not neglectful in this story. Shu will only play a neglected child.

2. The characters have the same names and personalities in real life.

3. Their parents in the show are usually their real parents, with a few exceptions.

4. Toko and Nika are not Valt's siblings. They play his siblings, but they are not related. They are still twins.

5. I might make some changes to the canon show.