The Butterfly Effect

Promise Me

It didn't take that long to get to America, nor did it take that long to get to where the Bulls trained. I arrive only a day or two later, I can't remember. Everything still feels weird, like I'm in a dream, and my foggy memory makes it nearly impossible to tell how much time is passing. The only reason I know it's only a day or two and not several weeks is that Kensuke wished me luck at the airport before I left. If not for that little memory, I probably would've thought it had been months already, maybe years.

Gilten greets me personally when I get to the building, having been taken there by one of the trainers for the Bulls. I don't know his name, I barely remember any of their names. The only name I truly know is Gilten, and the only other name I care about is Valt's.

"Mr. Kurenai," Gilten greets me, holding out his hand for me to shake. "It's so good to see you. I've been waiting."

I shake his hand and bow. "Thanks for allowing me to join your team. I know it was pretty last-minute."

"Don't worry about it. A Blader as strong as you should be able to adjust to my team's environment rather quickly." He gives me a smile that's supposed to be friendly, but there's something off about it. "Not to mention, if your reputation holds, then I know you'll fit right in here."

"My reputation?"

"Hardworking. Dedicated. Disciplined. You'll fit right in on a prestigious team such as my own." He starts for the door. The man beside me rushes to open it for him. "Thank you," he tells the man whose name I still can't quite recall, and then he turns to me again. "Follow me. I'll show you around our facilities and then you can get started on your training. Assuming you're not horribly jetlagged. If you are, then there are dormitories just up the road that I rent out for my Bladers. You can head up there and get some rest."

As good as rest sounds right about now, I have a mission. I need to find Valt, and I have to talk to him before he does something stupid. "I'm not tired. Don't worry about that."

Gilten chuckles. "Like I said, hardworking and dedicated. Just try not to overdo it. I wouldn't want any of my Bladers to hurt themselves."

"Trust me, I know my own limits."

That makes him laugh again. "You're a smart kid."

With that, he takes me inside and gives me a tour, though I'm hardly paying attention. My memory of the Bulls facilities is one of the foggiest of them all, but that's not important. I can figure my way around any building; I found my own way around the WBBA back in Japan. This is nothing. No, what I'm doing while he's gesturing at things and telling me what they are is looking at the faces of the Bladers. One of these people is bound to be Valt. He's the one I have to find more than anything else.

"Eager to get to training, I assume, considering you're not listening to a word I'm saying and you're staring at the stadiums," Gilten catches my attention.

"Oh, yeah, I guess I should be paying attention." I stare him right in the eyes. "I'm sorry."

"No, no, don't apologize. This tour probably is a waste of time; our training facilities aren't that big. It's the WBBA you should be worried about getting lost in." He smiles. "I've gotten lost in there a few times myself, actually, when I first started going there. Then I started my team, I was all excited that I knew what I was doing, and then they decided to remodel the entire building." He laughs.

I force myself to laugh as well. "That must've been awful."

"Oh, it was. The kids knew the layout of it better than I did. I always had to ask them about everything." He gestures toward the stadiums. "Well, go ahead. I know you're eager to get started. I'll ensure that your luggage makes it to the dormitory, so all you have to worry about is making sure your skills are up to par."