Beyblade Burst Adventures

Overprotective, Part 4

In which Shu's time with Mina has an unfortunate end that leads to a mistake that will change the red-eyed Blader forever. (Lui x Yandere Shu. Five years after Evolution.)

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"So, you finished the book in a single night?" Mina asks, sounding impressed.

"Yeah, I did."

"What did you think? The ending always has me sobbing like I'm reading it for the first time!"

It was the biggest piece of trash I've ever read, and as a Blader it personally offended me. Joshua should've just taken Jinnius and left. I force a smile and chirp, "It was the greatest book I've ever read!"

"Oh, wonderful! I knew you had great taste, you're too classy to not love Never Alone Again!"

"Yeah, as a Blader I could really relate!" Oh gods saying that makes me want to bash my head in. "To how hard he had to train, and the- the burning resonance he had with his Bey, at least," I add, lessening the disgust I feel. "But I don't think I could trade Spryzen for any girl, no matter how much she loved me. That would be like throwing away my childhood friend."

She pauses, looking thoughtful before she replies, "Mm-hmm. It wasn't really fair to make him choose. Jinnius was Joshua's partner, he shouldn't have had to throw it away. He could have been with Tabitha and still Bladed."

I relax a little and nod. "So, uh, now that I've read it we can work on the report. Where did you want to do it?"

"Well, I think going to Angel's Cafe would be good! It's the hottest hangout in town!"

"That works for me. Let's get going."

"Okay!"

When Mina said Angel's was the hottest hangout in town, she wasn't kidding, but I can barely hear myself think, and I can barely hear her talking. Not to mention I can feel twenty pairs of eyes on me and I can't concentrate. I thought it might've been like MadCat's or Chia's. How are we going to do the essay in a mess like this?

"Shu!" I jump and turn to Mina. She frowns tilting her head to the side. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, of course. I- I'm just a bit overwhelmed." I have to shout to be heard over the noise of customers talking and the trashy pop music playing. Gods, have you heard of Zac the Sunrise? Play something by him, please.

"Do you want to sit in one of the quieter spots?" She asks, smiling sympathetically. I nod quickly, and begin to follow her through the cafe.

We find an empty table in the back, sitting in two of the four chairs, then Mina pulls her laptop out of her backpack and opens it up. "Okay, first off, the author's theme. What do you think it is, Shu?"

"Well, throughout the whole thing Tabitha is trying to get Joshua to be with her, so I guess it's probably that love is important."

"I think so, too. Tabitha Miller was trying to tell us that love is something to be cherished above all else!" I just nod, and she writes all of that down. Then we pull out the book, picking out paragraphs and quotes that support the theme.

So far so good, we reach seven document pages by the time we've picked apart the "book," but it's been an hour and a half and Angel's has only gotten more crowded, and the darker it gets outside the higher the lights turn up in here- but they're bright pink, white and blue and it hurts my eyes. The music seems to have gotten louder, too. My senses are so overloaded that my head is pounding, and the hundreds of eyes constantly watching me isn't helping at all...

At least it's nearly over. Maybe after this I could track Lui down, or I could go to Chia's.

"And now we're supposed to find any typos or anything," Mina mumbles.