To Keep A Promise

Chapter 11

"It's a funny thing coming home. Nothing changes. Everything looks the same, feels the same, even smells the same. You realize what's changed is you."-F. Scott Fitzgerald 

I can't believe this, how did I not put this together before. Amèlie celebrated this day like it was my birthday. Today it's been exactly four years since I left for France. I always knew Lui wasn't over the moon about me leaving, and he definitely wasn't happy when I would call and tell him I'm staying longer, but he's always been supportive, never trying to stop me. I never realized how much it really hurt him. That would explain why Gabe thinks Lui became this way while in America. 

I needed to talk to Lui. I had I feeling where I would find him, and I was right. He was sitting on a small hill looking over the bay at the edge of the park. When we were little we came here to play. As we got a little older it became more like a sanctuary for us. We'd come here when we were angry or sad. We'd come here on special occasions, good or bad. It's where we both felt the safest. Away from the world.

He had his arms wrapped around his legs which were pulled up against his chest and his chin on his knees. I didn't stop running until I was only a few feet away from him. "It was my fault wasn't it?" I ask, not caring that I was out of breath. He didn't say anything. "I left and it hurt you didn't it?" I ask, still nothing. "Come on Lui say something! Talk to me, yell at me, I don't care!" I shout, wanting to get some kind of reaction out of him. Silence. I fell onto the ground next to him, talking deep breaths.

"We were a team." He spoke up. "Huh?" I ask, not understanding, but glad that he talked. "Ever since we were little it's just been you and me. But then you left me alone to start a new school and live with our sorry excuse for a father." He says, throwing a rock into the water as he said the last part. I didn't really know what to say. When we talked, he always kept home life brief, but he never told me anything was wrong. "Lui, why did you never tell me this?" I ask. He gives a light shrug. "You were so happy to be traveling so why would I want to stop you? The look you got in your eyes when you first told me you wanted to see the world was a look you hadn't had since...since..." His voice trailed off in the end, not wanting to bring up our mother.

I was caught speechless again, so I decided to go with the truth. "There were times when all I wanted was to come home, and there were times when I wanted to stay forever. When I saw your battle with Shu a year ago, it scared me. I finally realized how much you'd changed, but I guess I have myself to blame for that. I didn't want to come home not because of you, but because of the change that would be brought with it." I explain. "But that's no excuse, I should've left sooner. I only cared about myself. I never thought about how it would affect you and I'm sorry." I say.

"You know, I'm not the only one that's changed." He says. I tilt my head to the side, wanting him to explain further. "When you left, you were a lot more closed off. Ever since you've been back you've gotten along with practically everyone." I thought about what he said for a second. I never really thought much about how different I am now. I guess I have been a lot more open recently, and a lot more comfortable around people. I mean, four years ago I would have slapped anyone that touched me, but I let Shu hold my hand without putting up much of a fight. 

"Lui, I truly am sorry. I've spent basically my entire time back yelling at you for how you act, but it turns out it was all my fault to begin with." I say. "It's not totally your fault, I should have told you about how I felt, not just keep it quiet or give you riddles. I'm sorry." He says. My eyes widen. Lui never apologizes, it's like a rule of his since he says everything he does has a reason. This is a side of Lui I've never seen in my entire life.

"Are you crying?" He asks. "N-No." I say, bringing my hand up to wipe the tears forming in the corners of my eyes while cursing myself for stuttering. "What happened to your hand?" He asked. See, the thing is, I've been keeping my evening with the Beigoma Academy Beyclub a secret from everyone, knowing they wouldn't approve of me spending time with their next opponent. I hated keeping it from them. "I cut it on accident." I say. "You're lying." He says. He's always been able to tell when I was lying. I can keep a secret, but if he asks, the truth will come out. "I burnt it." I say. "Is that all?" He asks, not letting the matter drop. "Nooooo." I drawl out, already getting ready to make my escape. "Are you going to tell me?" He asks, yet to notice my movements. "Nooooo." I repeat, a small smile on my lips as I totally stood up and broke into a run the other way,

He was ready and stands quickly. I guess he did notice. He chased me along the hillside and into he park. I let up a happy scream when he reached for me and missed. I looked over my shoulder to see how close he was. He had a determined look in his eye to catch me, but I could tell he was also having fun. If I knew this was what it was going to be like, I would have come how a lot sooner.

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Not only had I run to Lui, but now I'm running from him, and I got tired. "Ok, ok." I stop finally, placing a hand on my chest to catch my breath. I felt like we were five again. I could practically hear my mother shouting at us to be careful. 

"I wasn't lying, I did burn my hand." I say. "Yeah, ok. Where were you?" He asks. "At Shu's place." I say slowly, waiting for him to start yelling. "Shu Kurenai?" He asks, a lot calmer than I expected. "What other Shu do you know?" I ask, giving him a look. He copies my expression to show he wasn't in the mood for anymore games. 

"Fine, the Beigoma Academy Beyclub invited my over for dinner the night I went for that walk." I say. "And you actually agreed?" He asks. "Not exactly, Valt kinda dragged me there, but that's not the point. I was helping them cook and I accidentally placed my hand on the stove." I explain, hoping to get of this topis soon.

"I told you that you've changed." He says. Not really the reaction I expected. "You're not mad at me?" I ask. "Not really, I guess it's kinda my fault you ended up in the situation by refusing to stop training." He says. I smiled at him and he raised an eyebrow. "What?" He asks. "You're acting like the old Lui again." I say. 

We st in a comfortable silence for awhile. "Tell me about you're time traveling." He says out of the blue. "Huh?" I ask. "You only told me you had a good time. You never really told me about it." He says. I was a bit taken aback, but glad he asked all the same. 

"Um well, I've officially meet every memeber of the Big Five except Free. Never managed to run into him. I meet Joshua Burns in Germany where he was filming a movie. Then I ran into Ren Wu in Brazil. And of course I already know you and Xander. Brazil was probably my favorite out of all the countries I visited. I loved all the different colors and foods. Everything was so lively." I explain before yawning, it was getting late. 

"Let's go home." He says, standing up and I followed. "Yeah, home." I whisper happily. 

|Shu's p.o.v.|

I walked home alone after the match. We stayed a bit longer than everyone else so Nika, Toko, and Ryota could play around some. I mainly spent the time thinking, and a certain girl had my attention. Rin. She's never ceases to amaze me. First she shows up with the team during the match, then she warns Valt of the bey flying towards him, then she gives Lui's medal to him, and finally she runs off without giving us a clue why. 

Also, while everyone else was in shock of Valt's stunt on stage, she laughes. Even if she tried to cover it up, we all heard it. Though she was laughing at Valt, I could tell she wasn't being rude. Her laugh was actually kind of cute. I don't know why, but she's had such a big effect on me ever since I met her. When I locked eyes with her on the stage earlier, I didn't care that she was on the apart of the opposing team, or that I was competing at all. I just didn't want to look away. 

I hadn't realized I totally spaced out before I heard a loud scream coming from the park, and immediately thought there was trouble. I broke out into a run in that direction until I realized what was going on. The park was totally empty except for two people, Lui and Rin. 

He was chasing her at top speed around an open grassy area where Valt liked to train. They actually looked like they were having a good time. I could tell Rin was slowing down and she finally stopped, placing her hand on her chest and saying something to him, but I was out of ear shot.

I turned around and started to walk away. I guess I'm not the only one Rin's had an effect on.

I know it was short, but I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. School is starting back up, and I won't be able to update as often, but there is no way I'm stopping this story any time soon. I've loved writing it too much! Anyway, I'm hope to get another one out soon for you. I've loved all the support you guys have given this story and I'm truly grateful. So a big thank you to everyone!