XD I came up with this idea after being inspired by reading several prom/masquerade fics and several GinMado fics. So, I decided to just go write it up. Hope you enjoy!
Zero: GalaxyPegasus14 does not own Metal Fight Beyblade!
"What's up bladers? Blader Guider here with a huge announcement!" a voice boomed out of several loudspeakers around Japan.
"An announcement?" One blader said.
"What could it be?" another asked.
Zero and his friends, who were eating burgers at Bull Burger, paused for a moment to watch the announcement.
"In exactly one week is the seventh anniversary of the defeat of Nemesis! That's right, bladers!" A picture of Gingka and the other Legendary Bladers from seven years ago appeared onscreen. "The anniversary of the Nemesis Crisis is almost here! And, as usual, we are going to celebrate to thank the bladers who stopped it!" The screen switched back to Guider, Tsubasa was standing next to him. "And here is our very own director of the WBBA, Tsubasa Otori to explain what is going to happen!" he handed the microphone to Tsubasa and stepped off-screen.
"Alright bladers! I am sure all of you know of the Nemesis Crisis and the bladers who stopped it in its tracks!" Tsubasa began. "So, in exactly one week, we will be having a huge party, that will be all around the world in selected locations! This will be a formal event, so dress in your best and bring a friend, because there will also be dancing! This event would be a perfect time to ask that special someone out as well! So get going and keep blading! Let it Rip!" Tsubasa handed the microphone to Guider and stepped off-screen.
"You heard him bladers! Now get out there and invite your friends, because this is going to be one rocking party! Details about the time and location of the event can be found at any and all Bey Parks or stored where Beys are sold!" Guider said. "Until next time, Let it Rip!" the TV then went back to its previous show.
"Wow, a big party huh? Sounds awesome!" Zero exclaimed.
"Yeah! I can't wait! Ren, Maru, want to see if Madoka-chan will take us shopping?" an orange-haired girl seated next to Zero asked the two girls sitting across the table.
"Sure Kiari! That sounds like fun!" Ren replied, looking at Zero, who had gone back to shoving his burger down his throat.
"It's going to be a masquerade guys, so you should look for masks as well! Now get out of here and have fun!" Benkei called. The group quickly finished their burgers and left.
"I assume that we are going together, Benkei?" one of the Bull Burger waitresses said, coming up behind him. She was quite small compared to Benkei, and rather shy as well, but they had been dating for quite a while now.
"Of course, my little princess Suri!" Benkei replied, placing his large hands around her waist, picking her up, and spinning her around in the air before setting her back down.
"Hey Zero, can I speak to you alone for a moment?" Shinobu asked, tapping his rival on the arm.
"Sure thing Shinobu!" Zero replied, stepping aside. "You guys keep going, we will catch up!" he called to the Unbara brothers and the girls, who nodded and kept walking. "Now, what is it?"
"Well, I figured I should ask you this, since your dad isn't here, but would it be okay if I asked Kiari out to the dance next week?" Shinobu said hurriedly.
"Ehh, sure! Why not?" Zero replied. "I can't think of anyone I would rather have her go with, and there will be tons of bladers clamoring to have her as their date, since she is so pretty."
"Thanks Zero! I promise, she will be treated like a princess!" Shinobu shook hands with his rival and took off after the girls, who had split up with the Unbara brothers after Eito had very sweetly asked Maru to go with him to the dance.
"Kiari! Can I speak to you for a moment please?" Shinobu called out to the orange-haired girl.
"Sure, about what?" Kiari asked, stepping aside with Shinobu.
Zero watched the two out of the corner of his eye. "Umm, Ren?" he muttered, spotting Maru headed off with Eito and Kaito.
"Yeah?" the blonde turned her brown-eyed gaze onto him.
"I-I… W-would you go to the dance with me?" Zero blurted out.
Ren was caught off guard. "Sure!" she said. "Why not? It'll be fun!"
"Thanks Ren! I promise, it will be the funnest dance ever!" Zero exclaimed, grabbing both her hands.
"Alright guys, let's go to the B-Pit!" Shinobu exclaimed as he and Kiari rejoined the group. The tone of his voice betrayed the fact that Kiari had accepted his invitation.
-At the WBBA-
"Well Hikaru, things have now been set in motion. I wonder if Zero and Shinobu have asked Ren and Kiari out yet?" Tsubasa said, looking at the large screen that indicated the last places all of their friends, including the Legendary Bladers, had been seen.
"Probably, I hope they don't waste any time." Hikaru sighed, tracing her finger over a certain design on the map.
"You miss him, don't you?" Tsubasa said, catching sight of the Leone face design.
Hikaru smiled sadly. "Yeah, I wish he would come back, just for one night at least, so that I could tell him I love him."
"Well, who knows? This was announced this publicly with the hope that he would. I bet Madoka is feeling the same way about now." Tsubasa replied. "Go on, you might as well take the rest of the day off to go shopping with her."
"Thanks Tsubasa!" Hikaru exclaimed, hugging her friend. The bluenette grabbed her purse and set off for the B-Pit.
When Hikaru arrived, Zero and his friends, including Maru and the Unbaras, were seated on a couch, discussing colors for their outfits. Madoka was chatting with a rather familiar-looking redhead over Skype, the older male was going on about his fiery birds as usual, with his wife throwing in occasional comments.
"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Hagane!" Hikaru greeted.
"Ahh, hello Hikaru! How's it going?" Ryo asked.
"Hey Hikaru!" the brunette seated next to him said. Setsuna Hagane was still beautiful, despite dealing with an ongoing sickness that left her weakened. Her grey eyes sparkled at the sight of younger girls, but dulled when any mention of her son was made. She had finally been well enough to be released from the hospital, and Ryo had arrived back in Metal Bey City with her, ready to finally introduce Gingka to his mother, only to find that his son, who was then sixteen, had mysteriously disappeared the night before. A month after that, Ryo retired, passing the command of the WBBA down to Tsubasa so that he could search for his missing son, who had not been seen since.
There were always rumors going around, rumors that Gingka had been kidnapped or worse, killed on that fatal night. Nobody really knew what had happened, Madoka had been the last one to see the blader before he disappeared. He had left the B-Pit that night, after promising to return in the morning to help Madoka ready the shop for customers. However, morning had come, and the day had gone by with no sign of him. Ever since then, the smallest splash of red in a crowd, the smallest blowing white object, had been enough to make Madoka hold her breath, then let it out with a disappointed sigh when she saw that it was not him. Many times, she had seen a silver and blue Synchrom spinning in the stadium, only to be disappointed when it turned out to belong to another blader.
Rumors, they were always there, but one girl in the world, one loving couple, would not give up hope until there was undeniable proof of one of those rumors.
"Well, I have to go take these guys shopping for the dance in a week. You guys should come! I know you would enjoy it!" Madoka said.
"We plan to come, see you later Madoka!" Ryo and Setsuna waved, then closed their chat window.
Madoka sighed and stood up. "Ready guys? Hikaru, are you free?"
"Yup, Tsubasa gave me the rest of the day off to go shopping with you guys!" Hikaru replied.
"Alright then, everyone pile into the car and let's go!" Madoka punched the air.
-Half an hour later-
"What do you think, Shishou?" Maru asked, twirling and showing off a gold-colored dress with black trim.
"Very nice Maru! The color looks good on you!" Madoka exclaimed, glancing up from the dress rack.
"Hmm, what do you think Ren? Too red?" Kiari asked, coming out of the dressing room in a bright red, knee-length dress with gold straps.
"Yeah, I'm not sure red is either of our color" Ren replied, wearing a ankle-length dress with black accents.
"Back to the dressing room!" Zero and Shinobu heard both girls exclaim, the boys were hunting around for suitable tuxedos.
Zero sweat dropped. "Just how long does it take a girl to pick out a dress, exactly?"
"I don't know, how do you not know? Kiari is your sister, after all." Shinobu replied, searching for a dress shirt his size.
"Hey boys, what do you think?" came Hikaru's voice. The two glanced up.
Hikaru was wearing a knee-length forest-green dress with a black ribbon tied around the waist and black straps, a row of black tulle roses running from the waistband over her left shoulder.
Zero and Shinobu grinned and gave the bluenette two thumbs up each. "Looks good!" the chorused.
Hikaru smiled and went back to change into her regular clothes.
Madoka meanwhile, was still searching through the racks, trying to find the dress she was picturing in her mind. In the background, she could hear the excited giggles of Ren and Kiari, who each had chosen about ten dresses in as many minutes, and had spent the last ten trying them on.
"Oh wow Ren! Definitely that one! The green looks great on you!" Kiari exclaimed.
"You too! What red was not, black definitely is! And those golden accents just make it that much awesomer!" Ren replied. Both girls soon came out of the dressing room with the last dress they had picked, Ren was wearing an ankle-length, sleeveless light green dress with darker green accents, and Kiari was wearing a jet black knee-length dress with golden straps and trim.
Out of the corner of her eye, Madoka spotted the boys' eyes pop.
"Guess we need to find ties in those colors then?" Shinobu called.
"Yup! This is it!" Kiari replied.
Zero memorized the green colors of Ren's dress, then turned to look for a tie to match.
"Aha!" Madoka finally found a dress similar to the one she was looking for. It was light blue, strapless, with a skirt that should brush the floor when she put it on, and had silver designs running all over it, with a darker blue ribbon around the waist. The brunette hurried to go try it on, and was immediately satisfied with the result. Changing back out of it, she went to find the others, who had completed their purchases and were helping the boys find ties. After a while longer of searching, the group finally found what they needed and left to go find masks to match their clothes. Again, Maru quickly found a black mask with simple gold edging, which she declared to be perfect. Hikaru soon found a black mask with a fang design on the underside, which reminded her of Kyoya. Ren and Kiari, having found their dresses, took about five minutes each to decide, purchasing matching masks with the colors of their respective dresses. Zero and Shinobu quickly found plain masks with edging to match their dates' dresses and their ties. Madoka, again, took her time searching, in the end settling on a light blue mask that was shaped like a pair of wings, with silver edging on the feathers.
"Someone's thinking about a certain redhead!" Hikaru teased, catching sight of Madoka's outfit.
Madoka blushed. "Hey, you know you were thinking about a certain someone when you picked that dark green outfit." she shot back.
"Huh?" all the younger bladers were confused.
"We'll explain later" Madoka said, shooting a warning glare at Hikaru as the group climbed into Madoka and Hikaru's cars.
Tsubasa meanwhile, called his own girlfriend to ask her if she was available on the night of the party.
"Hey Manami, It's Tsubasa. I just wanted to ask you if you were available in one week to go to the dance that we just announced. Anyway, call me back once you get this message! Bye!" he left the message on her voicemail.
Meanwhile, Hikaru, who had The Kuroganes, Ren and Shinobu in her car, turned up the radio and began singing along as one of her favorite songs came on. Madoka, in her car with the Unbara brothers and Maru, did the same. Once they all arrived at the B-Pit, Madoka and Hikaru cooked dinner. After eating, the group all parted ways.
-One week later, Night of the dance-
"Hold still Maru, I'm not done with your hair yet!" Madoka exclaimed, trying to curl Maru's uncooperative pink hair, which was tied back into a ponytail with a few strands hanging down in her face. Hikaru, her blue hair curled and down, was styling Ren's long golden hair. Kiari, off by herself, was doing her own hair.
"Alright Madoka, your turn!" Hikaru exclaimed once she was done curling Ren's hair. The bluenette stepped back and admired her work, then turned to do Madoka's hair. Once their hair was done, the girls went to change into their dresses before the boys arrived.
"You look stunning, too bad Gingka isn't here to see this." Hikaru whispered in Madoka's ear as she helped the brunette fasten a silver pendant around her neck.
"Thanks Hikaru, you look great too." Madoka replied.
"Ready?" Ren asked Kiari.
"Yup, now you better treat my brother right." Kiari teased.
"Don't worry, I will." Ren laughed.
"You girls look stunning!" Zero complimented, entering the B-Pit with Shinobu and Eito.
"Thanks Zero. Where's Kaito?" Kiari asked.
Zero shrugged. "I think he went off to meet his own date somewhere else." he replied, offering an arm to Ren as Madoka and Hikaru came downstairs, wearing their masks and carrying Ren's and Kiari's.
"Let's go!" Eito exclaimed, grabbing Maru's hand and pulling the young girl towards the door.
Half an hour later, the group arrived at the dance, quickly finding Benkei and Suri at the food bar, then Tsubasa and Manami chatting by the fountain.
After another hour, music started playing. Madoka stood off to the side and watched the respective coules as they glided across the floor to a waltz, Hikaru standing next to her. "There they are!" Madoka exclaimed, finally spotting Ryo and Setsuna gliding towards them. Setsuna was wearing a light orange dress that went down to the floor, and a red mask with golden feathers on it, resembling a phoenix. Ryo was wearing a tuxedo with a tie to match his wife's dress, and wore a simple gold mask with red trim. As the song ended, Gingka's parents spotted Hikaru and Madoka, and came over to greet them.
"Would either of you two young ladies care to dance? You look bored." Ryo asked politely. "Hikaru?"
The bluenette glanced at Setsuna, who nodded. "Go ahead, I can't keep up with him right now and you do look rather bored anyway." she said, giving the younger girl a light shove towards the dance floor.
"Well, maybe just one." Hikaru muttered, allowing Ryo to lead her off. Madoka sighed, watching Zero and Ren glide across the floor, carefully, but gracefully. Shinobu and Kiari, a few feet away, were doing the same. Once the song ended, Ryo returned for Setsuna, and the two headed off for the food line. Many of the other couples dispersed around the room, chatting casually with each other. Madoka sighed, then went to get some food. Hikaru sat down in one of the chairs lining the walls, watching the other couples absentmindedly. She jumped, startled, as someone tapped her on the shoulder from behind.
"May I have this next dance?" a voice from behind her asked.
Hikaru turned. "K-Kyoya?" she stammered, surprised at the tall figure standing behind her.
Kyoya grinned under his green mask, which was in the shape of a lion's face. "Well, who else would I be?"
Hikaru stood and hugged the Legend Blader. "Where have you been?" she asked, stepping back to get a better look at him.
"Oh, you know, around training. Where's Madoka? I want to see her reaction when Gingka shows up."
"Gingka's here too?"
Kyoya grinned and pointed to the back of the room. Standing just inside the shadows, barely visible, was the familiar red hair of the Legendary Blader. "Don't say anything to Madoka, he's going to surprise her." he whispered, leading Hikaru towards the dance floor as another song started.
"Hey Madoka, want to take a song with me?" Tsubasa asked, approaching the brunette.
"No thanks, I'm fine watching" Madoka lied. The only person she really wanted to dance with wasn't here-or so she thought.
"Suit yourself." Tsubasa said, leading Manami off to the dance floor.
Ryo and Setsuna were already out on the floor, along with Shinobu and Kiari, Zero and Ren, and Benkei and Suri. Kaito was off with his own date, a pretty young girl with light pink hair.
Madoka sighed as she heard the beginning lines to one of her favorite songs.
Hikaru and Kyoya danced, her left hand on his shoulder, her right hand grasped in his left.
Madoka sighed as the music began to pick up, then caught sight of Kyoya and Hikaru. "Wait, when did he get here?" she wondered aloud.
"I figured you would be wearing those colors." a voice said from behind Madoka.
Madoka turned, slowly. Standing behind her, leaning casually against the wall with his arms crossed, was the hero she had been waiting for.
"G-Gingka?" Madoka stuttered.
"May I have this dance?" Gingka asked, bowing and holding out a hand, which Madoka took, and allowed herself to finally be led off to the dance floor.
Gingka spun Madoka around, then dipped her, her long blue skirt flowing with her movements.
Gingka dipped Madoka again, the couple keeping up a steady stream of movement.
"Finally, it took him long enough." Kyoya commented, catching sight of the two.
Hikaru glanced back and smiled as Kyoya twirled and dipped her. As the music slowed down, the quick, flowing movements of Gingka and Madoka slowed with it.
Gingka and Madoka stopped dancing as the song ended, both out of breath.
"Now, how did you slip in without anyone noticing you?" Madoka asked as they left the dance floor.
"I came in the back door and stuck to the shadows, simple as that." Gingka replied, linking arms with Madoka.
"No way, how long has he been here?" Ryo exclaimed, suddenly catching sight of the couple.
"Who?" Setsuna asked, out of breath. Ryo said nothing, only pulled her towards the laughing couple, who were now by the buffet bar.
"Gingka! You are in so much trouble for just leaving without saying anything!"
The Pegasus wielder froze at his father's voice. "So, you finally noticed me." he replied without turning around to face the older Hagane.
Setsuna remained silent, surprised as she caught sight of her son.
"Gingka, look at me, you have a lot to explain for yourself." Ryo ordered.
Gingka turned to face his father, his golden-brown eyes sparkling through the eye holes in his mask, which was plain blue, with the same design as his headband on the forehead in silver. The smile on his face turned to a look of shock as he caught sight of the grey-eyed beauty leaning on his father's arm. "M-Mom?" the redhead was speechless.
"Hello Gingka." Setsuna said quietly.
Madoka, leaning on the Pegasus wielder's arm, smiled. Gingka let go of her arm and flew into the arms of his mother, giving her a tight hug before stepping back.
"Best day ever?" Madoka questioned as Gingka's parents left for the dance floor.
Gingka smiled. "Yeah, it was pretty good." he replied.
"Alright bladers! Thank you for coming to the seven-year anniversary of the defeat of Nemesis! In exactly one minute will be the exact time that Nemesis stopped spinning! That's right bladers! Exactly seven years ago, the final special move exchange was starting at this very moment! And now, here is Mr. Tsubasa Otori!" Blader Guider announced.
Tsubasa took the stage and the mike. "So, exactly at this moment, Nemesis was defeated once and for all! The Legendary Bladers may not be here right now, but we would still like to extend our thanks to them for accomplishing what seemed to be an impossible task!"
Gingka and Kyoya snickered as Tsubasa's words. "Someone wasn't paying attention to the huge crowd!" Gingka laughed. "Kyoya?"
"Yeah, let's do it!" the Leone blader grinned, pulling his launcher out from under his coat. Gingka did the same, and the two split up, heading for opposite sides of the room.
"So, with that said, I have a few more announcements!" Tsubasa continued. "First up, there will be a large tournament taking place in just a few weeks, signups for this will be available at any Bey Park! Second, we are beginning a search for the missing Legendary Bladers, if you have any information as to their whereabouts, just let us know! They have been off training long enough, now it's time for them to come back and-" the silver-haired blader was suddenly cut off.
"Let it Rip!" Kyoya yelled, launching his bey.
The crowd gasped as a green tornado, twisting and turning in all its power, took over the dance floor. Leone appeared with a roar, then the tornado wound itself up and disappeared. "You should pay closer attention to the crowd, Tsubasa! I've been here all along!" Kyoya yelled, standing casually on top of the wall behind the stage the silver-haired blader was standing on.
"Kyoya you showoff!" Hikaru yelled from the crowd, laughing.
"Wha- how did I not see you?" Tsubasa asked, surprised once he caught sight of the Leone wielder.
Kyoya shrugged. "You were too busy, I guess."
"Ladies and gentlemen, making an unexpected appearance, lets give it up for the Legendary Blader of spring, Kyoya Tategami!" Blader Guider said, being the first to snap out of the surprised daze that had overtaken the crowd. The entire room began cheering, chanting Kyoya's name as the Lion came forward to the front of the stage, where Tsubasa handed him a microphone.
"Ok guys, quiet down. I'm not usually one to come attend this sort of thing, but I lost a bet, so I had to come. Plus, I'm sure Miss Hikaru Hasama was waiting for me anyway." he grinned.
"What bet did you lose, Kyoya-san?" Benkei cried from the edge of the crowd.
Kyoya grinned. "Well, I guess battle is a more accurate term. I lost a battle, so I had to keep my promise to my opponent and come here with him." the crowd fell silent, pondering his words.
"Wait, so you're not the only one here?" Tsubasa gasped, suddenly figuring out what Kyoya meant.
"That would be my cue." Gingka chuckled.
Kyoya grinned. "Are you kidding? Of course I didn't come alone!"
"Let it Rip!" Gingka yelled, creating a ring of blue flame in the center of the dance floor. Stars appeared in the center of the ring, and Pegasus soared high into the sky, letting out a loud whinny. Gingka quickly leapt up and joined Kyoya onstage while the crowd was distracted by his bey. Their eyes followed the silver and blue bey as it flew back to Gingka's hand. As the redhead put his bey back in his pocket, Kyoya handed him the microphone and stepped back. Gingka raised an eyebrow at his rival, who grinned and gave him a thumbs-up. The crowd fell silent as Gingka raised the microphone and spoke into it.
"All I have to say is that I am really impressed at the skills of the young bladers I have seen. During the course of Neo Battle Bladers, I saw pure skill, and huge potential, in every single blader there!"
The crowd cheered at this, but Gingka raised his hand for them to be quiet.
"I would like to congratulate Zero for winning the tournament, and I would also like to thank you all for coming here tonight. We have had seven years now without Nemesis, and the sport of Beyblade seems to have recovered quite nicely. Tsubasa, I might as well tell you that you get your wish. All ten of us plan on returning to the public eye within the next week, to train, encourage, and battle all the younger bladers of the current generation. Now, let's get back to partying, shall we?"
The crowd cheered as Gingka handed the microphone back to Tsubasa and stepped down from the stage, along with Kyoya. The two quickly made their way back to Hikaru and Madoka, who enveloped them in a tight hug. A couple of hours later, at exactly midnight, fireworks began going off. Gingka and Kyoya looked at each other and winked.
"Let it Rip!" they sent their beys flying high into the sky, creating a few explosions of their own to add to the fireworks. After the fireworks were over, everyone parted ways, agreeing that it had been an amazing night. Gingka and Madoka walked back to the B-Pit together, arm in arm, along with Ryo and Setsuna, who were ecstatic to have their son back. Zero and Ren went stargazing by the river with Kiari, Shinobu, Eito, Maru, Kaito, and Kaito's date. Kyoya and Hikaru sat at the top of Metal Tower, watching the city lights. Tsubasa and Benkei walked along the river with their respective dates, deep in conversation. As the sun rose, Gingka sent Pegasus flying into the sunrise from the top of the B-Pit, and the remaining eight Legendary Bladers began preparing to reenter the fast pace of the media and the public eye.
XD hope you enjoyed the story! As usual, read, review, and Let it Rip! I promise, I am planning on posting chapter 5 of Stormflight: Return of the Warrior ASAP!