Beyblade Burst Adventures

You're Still Awake, It's Time to Change

In which Fubuki finally gets to visit Shu, and finds that the detective needs him for a big favor that will help Fubuki in the near future, but at a price. (Try to Wake, Try to Escape AU. Alternate continuation set nine years after the You Are Awake trilogy. Inspired by Fran Bow.)

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Fubuki quietly stepped into the recreational room of the mental institute, looking around for the person he had come to visit. "Where is he?" The blond murmured. "He said he'd be here..."

"You... Looking for Shu?" A voice droned behind Fubuki.

"Ah!" He yelped, whirling around and facing the young man behind him. "Oh... Jin, right?" He received a slow nod in response. "You startled me..."

"I can see that..." Jin smiled a little. "I'm pretty good at sneaking up on folks... So... Fubuki, right?..."

"Yeah. It's nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Jin's smile faded, turning into a frown. "As for Shu's location... He's in our room, having a bad time..." He beckoned for Fubuki to follow, leading him through the halls.

"W-What happened?" The blond questioned, worry lacing his tone quite heavily.

"... I'm... Not entirely sure... He was doing fine this morning, but then someone came in to visit... And he got really twitchy... When I asked, he said something about an 'awful snake' and closed his eyes... And covered his ears... I thought he was... Going to rip them off, honestly." The amber-eyed Blader turned to look at his companion. "When he saw that everyone was staring, he kinda got pushed over the edge... And he bolted. Again."

They turned down a hall, and Jin lowered his voice. "I'm hoping that with you here... He'll calm down a bit..."

They reached a certain door and Jin pushed it open, stepping aside to let Fubuki in. He was hesitant, his stomach twisting as he stepped in, looking to the detective in the room.

Shu laid flat on his bed, gripping the sides of his head with white knuckles and squeezing his eyes shut. Tears were dripping down his temples and into his hair, which had been pulled downward by gravity to reveal a scar running running across his right eye.

Fubuki had never seen it before, and he was terrified by the thought that it was self-inflicted, but he forced himself to focus on the matter at hand- namely, the red-eyed Blader's deranged muttering.

"The snakes, always with the snakes! They follow me everywhere, criminals wearing horrible snakes! Why are they free?! Why aren't they in jail, or suffering in hell?! It makes no sense..."

The shark Blader swallowed hard, mustering some courage to call out. "Um... Shu?"

Shu jumped, bolting upright with wide eyes and staring at the sudden visitor. He seemed torn between relaxing and freaking out even more.

"Uh... Ah... F-Fubuki... I... I wasn't expecting you..." He mumbled at long last, biting his lip for a moment. "I know this looks... Bad, but it's..." He sighed, slumping forward. "Okay, it's as bad as it looks. I'm sorry..." His bangs fell forward, hiding his face from view. "I never wanted you to see me like this..."

"Don't apologize, Shu." Fubuki said, sitting down by the red-eyed Blader and putting a hand on his shoulder. "Truthfully... I feel the same way about criminals. They shouldn't walk freely... I don't know what you mean by wearing snakes, but I don't care."

"It's just... I going crazy for real, Fubuki..." The beast Blader whimpered.

"No, you're not. You're just majorly stressed out because your image is under attack, and you've been forced out of your home." He took Shu's face in his hands, forcing red eyes to meet red eyes. "You're not crazy, or anything close to it. You're a brilliant detective and a clever person with a gift that makes people see you differently, because people who are different scare them. That's why my Dad..."