author: munky
Rating: G
Pairing: none
Genre: Beyblade angst, introspection. Spoilers for the Kai vs. Max episode.
Archive: MCY
Author Notes: A Max vignette, just because he deserves one for being overlooked all the time. What was running through his head as he stepped up to the dish and faced Kai?
Disclaimer: Beyblade and its' characters are not mine. I'm just a wandering muse obsessed with the show.

~counting down~

Three.

I set my feet wide apart so they stay solid on the ground. My shoulders tense as I grip my familiar shooter in one hand, the other grasping the ring of my cord. I can feel my heart beating as I try to keep my breathing down to normal.

Does Kai know what it feels like, this anticipation for the fight to begin? The need to block out the roaring crowd cheering him on and the intense lights that create sweat trickling madly down the back of his neck? I wonder.

Maybe he's too confident in winning that he's lost those needs inside himself.

Two.

I watch his face turn into a mask of intense concentration. He's waiting for Jazzman to say the magic words of "Let it Rip!" Just like I am. This moment hangs in the air, silence before a storm in its' frozen endlessness. I'm not sure if I've stopped breathing yet, but if I have, I'm sure that Kai hasn't noticed.

Right now, I wish I could separate myself from this whole scene. I want to be the person looking in to this from an unattached vantage point. Just observe and wonder what's going to happen next; who's going to flinch first, if anyone does flinch at all. That would be so cool.

Wait, why am I thinking this now? I need to concentrate. I need to watch and wait; let my ears listen for Jazzman's command to start. Pay attention, Max. Listen for the countdown.

One.

My grip tightens on the cord and even though my ears are focused on hearing Jazzman's smooth, polished microphone voice over the roar of the crowd, I swear I can feel a pulse of raw power from Grandma's pendant. It could be a trick of my imagination, but I'm not sure. Nothing's sure anymore except that Kai's my opponent, Takao promised to meet me in the finals, and I need to calm down. I start taking a deep breath that escapes from my lungs the exact same moment as I hear the words I've been waiting what seems a lifetime to hear.

"LET IT RIP!"

~OWARI~