A Loyal Mutt

Aftermath

"GINGA WON IT!!" Blader DJ yelled as soon as he got his words together. "GINGA HAS WON IT!! IN THE EPIC BATTLE, WITH THE MYSTERIOUS BEY THAT WAS TRYING TO DESTROY THE WORLD, GINGA HAS DONE IT!! HE HAS CLAIMED THE MOST DRAMATIC OF VICTORIES!!!"

The sky cleared as soon as the creature was gone. Ryo ordered for the helicopters to finally land, and Benkei, Zeo and Toby ran over to their repective friends instantly.

"KYOYAAA!!" Benkei was by far the loudest.

"Hey, everybody!" Toby and Zeo called out together.

"Ginga!!" And of course a father's attention would first go to his own son.

"Is everyone okay?" Hikaru asked, worry shown clearly on her face.

Chi was last to go out to greet them, though she didn't actually greet them. She scanned the area in slight panic, hoping for any sort of sign.

As they all walked towards the helicopters, Kenta spotted Chi, still looking around. She was trying to hide it, but he could tell she was desperate. She was looking for him.

They noticed her as well and exchanged glances. Kenta and Ginga both turned to each other before the latter walked up to her. "Chi, about Ryuga... He-" But she ran off before he could finish. Ginga and Kenta followed right after her, wondering where she was going.

A little ways away from the hole were a couple of rocks. They didn't know where she was going, but when they got beside her, she was no longer standing. Instead, Chi was on her knees, tears flooding out of her eyes as she held a familiar yet torn white jacket.

"Chi..." Kenta felt sorry for her. He didn't know if Chi bonded with Ryuga the same way he did. He even didn't know if she was close to him or not. But seeing her like this made him realize that Ryuga was special to not only him, but her too.

Some of the others followed them in there, each wanting to have a word with them for taking so long. But they all became silent as soon as they saw Chi.

Yuu and Tsubasa were the most surprised out of them all. With all the time they've known her from the Dark Nebula, this was the first time she showed so much emotion.

~~~~~

After getting them all back to the WBBA building, Madoka took away all of their beys to be repaired at the B-Pit while Hikaru was in charge of making sure none of them leaves the hospital. There were a few attempts to escape, but not a single one of them worked. Those who were frequents at the place, like Tsubasa and Yuu, didn't even bother trying, and simply laughed at those who failed.

Ginga, Masamune and King had been the ones most frequently trying to escape. At some point, they even got Toby and Zeo to help, but they were caught before they could get to the next corridor.

Kyoya had been surprisingly tame, not doing much aside cleaning his launcher every now and then. But they supposed it was because he didn't even have Leone with him, so he had no point in going anywhere. Tithi and Yuu were placed in a different room too, so it wasn't like he was being tortured in there.

Aguma, Chris, Dynamis, Tsubasa, and Yuki were in the same room as the lion, none of which were capable of driving the other crazy. Aguma had Bao come over nearly everyday, but that's about it. Chris didn't really have anyone to invite. Yuki and Dynamis were in their own little corner talking about astronomy. And Tsubasa spends most of his time reading.

In the other room where Ginga, Masamune, and King were, Tithi and Yuu were sticking together like glue, occassionally sticking Kenta into the group with them. While the first three were focusing on escaping, the other three had been making up games to pass the time.

It didn't take longer than a week to get them all out, and the first thing they did was head to the B-Pit. As soon as they all got their hands on their beys, Kyoya immediately got back to his 'beast' mode and challenged them all to a battle, enraging Madoka. Hikaru, who had been there the entire time, could only sigh as chaos ensued in the small room. How they all managed to fit there in the first place was already mystery enough to her.

A couple of knocks caught their attention. The door opened to reveal Chi in a whole new outfit. She had abandoned all her previous uniforms as well as the spare clothes Hikaru had provided for her in the hospital.

"Well?" She waited for their response.

Now, she was in a red shirt and some jeans. Her bey was in a yellow case on her side, and her bey gear was kept on her white belt. She had cut her hair to be about the same lenght as Madoka's, but aside that, her face didn't really change. Her crimson eyes still looked as soulless as ever. What was most noticable was the jacket she was wearing.

"Is that... Ryuga's...?" Kenta asked, solemnly.

She nodded. "I fixed it up... so I could return it someday without worrying..."

The others were clearly not convinced, but Ginga put up a smile. "If you really believe he's out there-"

"I know he is."

"... Right. Well, when you meet him, say 'hi' for us." He said with a laugh.

Kenta somehow joined in too. "Yeah! Tell him that we miss him... And that we want to battle him again!"

"That's right, Ken-ji!" Yuu pointed out. "Ryuga would never say no to a battle! He'll take the bait for sure!"

"And when he does, I'll be waiting to settle the score with him!" Kyoya declared, surprising the rest. "I still haven't got back at him for Battle Bladers! Or what happened at the volcano for that matter! I'll make him pay! Be sure to tell him that!"

Everyone joined in, making comments about how exciting it would be if the dragon emperor did return. Chi gave them a small smile, probably the first one she has ever given them.

Ginga, excited beyond his usual, pulled them all to Bey Park. After enough nagging, he even got Chi to join the battle as well. Hikaru did too.

A battle royale began, and the bladers ended their day at the B-Pit once again, with another scolding from Madoka.