The Price For Immortality

The Messenger

"Lui! Lui!" Zac runs through the hallway, looking left and right for the room. He runs past door after door, and still can't find what he's looking for. "Lui Shirosagi!"

He never does get an answer to his calling. He does, however, run right into somebody and nearly run them completely over.

"Sorry!" Zac shouts, jumping backwards. "Did I hurt you?"

"I'm fine!" The person who stands up is a younger boy with spiky blue hair and big brown eyes. He lights up when he sees who ran into him. "Zac!"

"Twinkle toes!" Zac beams down at him. "What are you doing, wandering through the hallways?"

"I'm kinda looking for my team," Valt admits. "I think they might've ditched me. But, hey! I've been itching for a battle! You up for it?!"

Zac gives him a sympathetic look. "Sorry, I can't battle right now; I have somewhere to be. Hey, do you by any chance know where Lui Shirosagi is?"

"Lui? Why are you looking for him?"

Zac taps his foot and looks over his shoulder. He has somewhere to be. He wishes Valt would just give him a direct answer. "I have something I need to tell him. I can't find him. He's rather elusive."

"Elusive? What does that mean?"

Zac grins, despite the fact that he's starting to get frustrated with all of Valt's questions. "It means he's hard to find. He hides a lot, in the darkness, away from people. He's rare to spot. He doesn't want to be seen."

Valt's eyes were sparkling. "Cool... No, I haven't seen him. But I do know where he trains. It's in this huge room, all by himself. He pulls on this machine and then it goes whoosh and whack! "

Zac keeps that smile on his face, though he continues to tap his foot. "Sounds interesting. Do you know where that room is?"

"It's in this hallway on the top floor. Rideout trains there a lot."

Zac starts to walk away. He waves over his shoulder. "Thanks, twinkle toes! And hey, keep your schedule free! I think I'll battle you later!"

"Alright! See you later, Zac!"

The blond superstar walks away. He shoots a glance over his shoulder just in time to see Valt run around the corner. He turns back around and smiles. His eyes flash a bright yellow. Valt Aoi. He's exactly what Zac is going to talk to Lui about.

He ascends the stairs. The top floor, Valt said. It seems like an odd location for a training room. Even so, Zac continues up the stairs. At the top of the stairs was a set of doors. His heart swells with excitement. This has to be the door to the top floor! He's so close to finding Lui now, he can feel it! He holds out his hands and throws the doors wide open...

And ends up outside on the roof. Well, that's certainly not where he wants to be.

"This building's like a maze," Zac mutters to himself. He runs around the roof, and sees another set of doors. He runs forward and opens them, hoping and praying to the Gods of Beyblade that they are the doors he is looking for.

Beyond those doors is a dark hallway. Valt had said the room was somewhere in a dark hallway, hadn't he? Even if that isn't what Valt said, it does look promising. Lui always loves dark places away from people. Zac takes off, sprinting down the hallway. His long blond hair flows behind him like a cape. He passes door after door, wondering if each one is the room he should be entering. Oh, great. He'll have to open every single door in the building if that's the case. 

Zac at last comes to a room at the end of the hallway. Didn't Valt say it was at the end of a hallway? The idol realizes that he can't remember anything that Valt told him, he had been so desperate to find Lui. Zac stops outside the doors, and reaches his hand out. The doors slide open the moment his hand touches a sensor. Beyond that door is a huge room that's almost empty. The only thing keeping that room from being vacant was a single training machine. Standing in front of that machine is a boy. He's short, wearing a white tank top and navy blue sweatpants. His hair is light blue and flaming. He's easy to recognize: Lui Shirosagi.