Speechless

9: Ode to Driger

Persephone shuffled her feet, the crowd of beyblade fans humming around her. Anticipation for the match hung thick in the air, and she could feel the sweat on her palms. The Bladebreakers were set to have their second match of the Asian Tournament later that afternoon. But first, The White Tigers were taking on The Spin-Shepards.

Persephone bit her lip, opening her laptop and scanning through her research for the opposing team name.

"Do you know anything about them?" Kai asked, keeping his eyes on the dish in front of them.

"Yeah I do. According to my data they have some special trick with their blades called 'Wool Defense', but I'm not quite sure what that means."

"I bet it's not as good of a defense than my Draciel," Max giggled from a few seats over.

Before Persephone could respond, the match had begun. Gary was up first, facing off against Bobby from The Spin Shepards. It should have been an easy win for The White Tigers according to Persephone's research, but Gary became distracted by the prospect of food and swiftly lost the first round. Persephone could hear Mariah fussing at her teammate as she stepped up to the dish.

Persephone wasn't going to say it aloud, but she was secretly hoping the White Tigers would be defeated before they could take on the Bladebreakers. Not only were they a strong team, but she knew facing them would be emotionally draining for Ray.

Mariah had no problem taking on Doug, Galux's cat scratch tearing the poor boy's blade to shreds, the crowd going wild. She turned back to her teammates with a smirk, tossing her pink hair over her shoulder victoriously before taking her seat back on the bench.

Persephone watched Lee step up to the dish next, feeling palms grow sweaty from nerves.

Please lose. Please lose.

Much to her dismay, the universe denied her internal pleas, Lee defeating the White Tigers's final opponent with ease. Though, the match wasn't uneventful, Lee revealing the story of Ray receiving his family's bit beast instead of him, and promptly leaving with it, shocking everyone in the crowd, including the Bladebreakers.

Ray tensed in his seat, gritting his teeth and hanging his head slightly.

Persephone put a hand on his arm, looking up at him with a determined expression.

"Don't let him get to you. He's not getting Driger. You earned that bitbeast fair and square," she said firmly.

Ray eyed her for a moment before shaking his head with a small smile, ruffling her hair gently.

"Thanks, P," was all he said in response, turning his attention back to his old teammate below.

————

"Okay everyone. Your next opponent are the Charming Princes. They're royalty from India," Persephone said as the group prepared for their oncoming match in the locker room.

"Princes or not, they're not getting the royal treatment from me," Tyson said, gripping Dragoon in his palm.

"Just do your bests," Persephone said with a nod as DJ Jazzman called for them to head out to the stadium.

To her surprise, Ray seemed oddly upbeat, a fire in his eyes as they walked out of the tunnel and to the bench.

"Ready to kick some ass?" she asked softly, sitting between him and Kai on the bench, hugging her laptop to her chest.

He nodded, giving her a fanged smile.

"You know it."

Persephone was thrilled to see Tyson and Max defeat their opponents despite the differences in size of their blades.