Hikaru's shout snapped the entire WBBA office out of its quiet focus.
Ryo turned toward her first, brows raised. Gingka twisted around in his chair so fast he nearly fell off it, "Hikaru? You know him?"
Hikaru flushed, hands lifting defensively, "No, not really! I just...I ran into him last week! I didn't even know he was competing when we first met, let alone…"
Her voice dropped as she stared at the image of Atlas's calm smile on the monitor, "Let alone pulling five hundred points like it's nothing."
Meanwhile, back in the arena, Yu leaned so far forward to look at the screen above he almost fell over, "THAT GUY took my spot?!" he yelled, mouth hanging open.
Benkei whacked him on the head, "Quit whining! He got five hundred points, Yu! Five! Hundred! You barely cracked three!"
"BUT THAT'S A LOT OF POINTS!!!" Yu screamed back.
Kenta, meanwhile, just stared at Atlas's picture, wide-eyed and confused, "I… I didn't see him around at all. Who is he…?"
Ryo stroked his chin thoughtfully. "A completely unknown Blader, appearing out of nowhere, tying Kyoya for first place… That's not something that happens every day."
Gingka nodded slowly, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth, "He must be pretty amazing. I didn't see his battles, but… tying Kyoya? That's seriously so cool, I can't believe you didn't let me compete, I could've been fighting this guy,"
Hikaru's lips pressed together as she remembered the trembling she'd felt that day in the old stadium, followed by Atlas's calm voice cutting through her panic like sunlight.
Ryo crossed his arms and smirked, "Guess we'll find out who he really is soon enough. The qualifiers aren't done yet."
Right on cue, Blader DJ's voice roared across every speaker in the WBBA building.
"ALRIGHT EVERYONE, THE BATTLES FOR THE FINAL SLOTS ON TEAM JAPAN HAVE BEEN DECIDED! WE HAVE TSUBASAAAAA versus KYOYAAAAA!"
The reaction around Japan was immediate, shocked screams, cheers, dozens of Bladers losing their minds. Even Gingka winced. "Oof… that's a scary match."
"And we also have MASAMUNE KADOYA versus ATLAS KUROSAWA!"
Yu's jaw dropped, "Hmm, serves that dork right, hopefully that Atlas guy totally recks him, I wonder how he battles, I've never seen him around anywhere, but he must be super duper strong to match Yoyo,"
"DON'T CALL HIM YOYO," Benkei said.
Hikaru didn't speak. She just watched Atlas's picture lingering on the screen, expression unreadable as she thought of him.
***
The next morning dawned bright and loud, the WBBA Stadium packed to the rafters. The energy in the air was explosive, like static before lightning.
"WELCOME EVERYONE TO DAY TWO OF THE JAPAN QUALIFIER SEMI-FINALS!" Blader DJ roared, voice shaking the stadium walls. "TODAY WE HAVE AN EXPLOSIVE OPENING MATCH: ATLAS KUROSAWA VERSUS MASAMUNE KADOYA!"
The WBBA office overlooking the main stadium felt like a pressure cooker, too many powerful personalities crammed into one room, all staring down at the wide arena where Atlas Kurosawa was about to test his mettle against Masamune Kadoya.
Gingka leaned forward against the railing, eyes sparkling with the familiar hungry excitement of a Blader who lived for moments like this. He glanced at Hikaru beside him, nudging her lightly.
"So… was he strong when you met him?"
Hikaru stiffened, her cheeks puffing slightly. "I—I don't know. He didn't launch or battle in front of me, so I couldn't tell anything special! He just seemed… normal and I said before it was a short meeting,"
Yu snorted loudly. "Nobody who ties Yoyo for first place is normal."
Benkei slapped Yu upside the head again. "Show some respect! Stop calling him Yoyo,"
Madoka, sitting on a rolling stool beside a mountain of screens and instruments, shook her head in amazement, "I still don't understand it… He wasn't in any WBBA records. No tournament logs. No battle history. Nothing."
Kenta stepped closer to the glass, looking down at the two Bladers approaching the stadium floor. "Whoever he is… we'll know soon."
Ryo, arms crossed, answered without taking his eyes off Atlas, "A Blader with no past and a perfect score? We'd be foolish not to pay attention."
Even Gingka felt his pulse quicken. He loved this. Meeting new strong opponents and testing himself against them was what Gingka loved about battling.
Down in the arena, the crowd erupted as Atlas and Masamune walked out from opposite tunnels.
Masamune swaggered confidently, his spiky black hair bouncing with every step, grin as sharp as a blade. He held his launcher proudly in front of him, pointing dramatically at Atlas the instant he stepped into view.
"You're the guy who tied Kyoya, huh? Well too bad! Because I'm stronger! I'm Masamune Kadoya, the number one Blader in the world!"
Atlas blinked slowly. "…Right."
Masamune's eyebrow twitched, "Hey! That's the part where you're supposed to be intimidated, y'know!"
Atlas only smiled, serene and unbothered as he stepped into his box, "Sorry. Can't do that. I'm kind of enjoying myself."
Masamune grunted, whipping his launcher up. "Fine! Then prepare to lose! Because I'm gonna crush you with STRIKER!"
He flicked his wrist dramatically, and the gleaming silver-and-green Ray Striker D125CS caught the stadium light like a blade made of lightning. The crowd shouted in excitement, everyone knew Striker's reputation.
Up in the WBBA office, Madoka nodded with familiarity. "Ray Striker… Masamune's super-fast attack type. Very sharp wheel, this will be a good test for this guy's strength,"
"You bet! Masamune's gonna come out swinging!" Gingka said.
"Hmm, I hope that dude teaches him a lesson, I still haven't even gotten to battle Masamune, soo annoying," Yu said.
"Keep watching," Ryo murmured.
Hikaru clasped her hands together unconsciously. She wasn't sure why her heart was beating so fast.
Back in the stadium, Masamune held Striker aloft like a trophy.
"Let's see your Bey! I wanna know what I'm gonna beat!"
Atlas chuckled under his breath. "Sure. Don't faint." He reached into his coat and pulled out Jade Jupiter S130RB.
The arena lights hit the Bey and exploded into shimmering jade and lavender hues. The layered metal gleamed, the circular frame elegant and dangerous, the tiny metal spheres inside glinting like stars.
The crowd gasped. Even Masamune's jaw dropped. Upstairs, several people stood up at once.
"What kind of Bey is THAT?" Kenta whispered in awe.
Yu squinted, "It looks kinda weird!"
Benkei leaned closer to the glass, "Weird? It looks awesome!"
Madoka shot to her feet, eyes wide as she scanned her database frantically. "I, I've never seen that Bey before! There's no WBBA record, no part listings, NOTHING. It's completely unknown!"
Ryo turned to her, "Can you analyze it?"
Madoka was already flipping switches, "Only during battle! Whatever that Fusion Wheel is made of, it's not registering through standard sensors!"
Gingka grinned, thrilled. "An unknown Bey… now that's what I'm talking about."
Atlas held Jupiter proudly between his fingers and smiled softly, like he was introducing a friend.
"This is Jade Jupiter. Try not to blink, Masamune."
Masamune slammed his launcher into position. "Hah! If you think some shiny unknown Bey is gonna scare me, you're dreaming!"
Atlas mirrored him, setting Jupiter into his launcher.
"That's fine. You'll understand soon."
Blader DJ's voice boomed through the stadium with earthshaking excitement:
"BLADERS - TAKE YOUR POSITIONS!"
Atlas and Masamune crouched low, launchers angled, eyes locked. The entire stadium leaned forward in unison.
Hikaru's breath hitched.
Gingka's grin widened.
Madoka hit the record button on every device she owned.
"THREE - TWO - ONE"
Their voices joined the crowd:
LET IT RIP!!!
And the battle began.