Call It Whatever

Chapter 1

Sparring with Xander is terrifying.

Protip: never do it.

I swear I've died five times already, and we've only been sparring for five minutes.

On the other hand, my adrenaline levels are through the roof right now. I could probably fight for days straight.

I want to win.

Win I shall.

"Come on! Come on! Is that all you've got!?" Xander keeps shouting at me, which only serves to make my adrenaline move faster.

He's blocking my every attack, and hitting me with attacks of his own. If only I could kick below the belt. I would've won this fight already.

"KI-YA!" I jump kick him.

He grabs my ankle.

I know I'm screwed. I shut my eyes. Goodbye, cruel world. I feel my other leg leave the ground. I fly over his head and land on my back on the floor.

"Augh!" I grunt. I open my eyes. Xander is leaning over me, with his hands on his hips and a scowl on his face.

"You can't keep fighting at half-strength! That's not gonna cut it!" He says. "If you were getting mugged, would you half-ass the fight?"

"No..." I try to sit up, and fail. "I think you knocked the wind out of me."

"A mugger would've done a lot more than knock the wind out of you." Xander claps his hands. The sound makes me flinch. "Come on! Get up! You're not done until you fight with everything you've got!"

"Xander, give me a break." I stand up, reluctantly. "Can't you spar with someone else?"

"I just want you to fight me for real for once." Xander gets in a sparring stance. "Come on, fight me. I'm ready for-"

I'm sick of this. I kick him right in the crotch. Down he goes. Yugo, who's standing on the sidelines, covers his mouth. I put my hands on my hips and stand over him.

"I win," I say.

Xander's hands are over his sensitive spot. He looks up at me, and manages a chuckle. I can see the tears in his eyes. "Nice one."

I smirk. "I'm done sparring for today."

"If you say so." Xander gets up. I can still see a hint of pain on his face. "Yugo, your turn."

I can see the terror on Yugo's face. "Oh, hell no!"

I snicker. Poor thing. I stand on the sidelines and lean against the wall. I look around the room. That dark corner looks tempting. I walk over and stand in it, watching the sparring match from my spot in the shadows. My mind starts thinking about things. Weird things. Things I haven't thought about in a while. The shadows do that to me. They bring back thoughts that I haven't had in a really long time. They make me remember the strangest of things.

Daigo. There's one. I haven't thought about him in forever. How much I wanted him to be my friend. I ruined that, just like I ruin everything.

How close the Bey Club is, compared to the Sword Flames. The Bey club is a group of misfits, yet they seem to fit together better than we do. A swordsman, a samurai, and a ninja. You'd figure those things would fit together like a puzzle. We don't. But then you have the Bey Club. A rich brat, a little Goth kid, a hot headed boy, a mature Blader, and...

And...

Rantaro Kiyama.

I have no adjectives for him.