Ken walked nervously through the doors to his new school... He kept his head tucked into his scarf slightly as he scanned his surroundings, Keru and Besu close to his chest.

The bell rang and the other students disbanded to get to their first class of the day. The young ventriloquist walked to his first class, the teacher catching sight of him and waving him in.
        "Everyone!" She started, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Meet our new student, Ken Midori. He just moved here and he's a bit shy, so try and make him feel welcome."

Whispers emitted from the others, whispers about how he wore puppets on his hands. He flushed, his gaze moving to the floor as the teacher spoke again.
          "Ben, could you raise your hand? Ken will be sitting next to you." She asked. A guy with a pink mohawk, magenta eyes, and a bandage on his cheek leaned back in his seat; raising his hand half heartedly.

Ken made his way to the desk, sitting down and staring at the tabletop. Ben spared a glance at the fanged boy, noticing how he was looking depressed and staring at the brown and blue puppets sitting on his hands. Maybe they could be friends.

~~~

Class went by painstakingly slow for Ken's taste, sighing as he moved out of the room and down the hall.
          "Hey puppet boy!" A male's voice suddenly rang out, making the green clad male turn to the voice.

His green eyes widened when he seen a group of mean-looking guys behind him. He gulped, looking at the guys and then a hallway, taking off running. He squeaked when heard five pairs of feet echoing behind him, the angry calls of the guys making him cringe and tear up slightly.

The young ventriloquist rounded a corner, skidding to a halt when he about ran into a wall.
        "Well well... Look who can't run from us now..." The same voice said, a smirk on his face. Ken faced them, pressing his back into the wall and Keru and Besu to his chest.

The one in the middle snapped his fingers, two strong looking guys stepping forward and grabbing his arms, pinning them to the wall. The warmth of his beloved puppets was lost suddenly when they were pulled off his hands, the bullies putting them in their pockets.

The rest moved forward, the leader taking the first move and punching him in the face, making him cry out. The rest joined in after, punching and kicking at the poor male. The bell rang and the abuse stopped, Ken dropping to the ground when his arms were freed.
         "You better not tell anyone about this puppet boy..." The leader sneered, grabbing his bruising face to have him look at him. "Got it?"

Ken nodded shakily, tears and blood dripping down his face. The group left after, taking Keru and Besu with them. The fanged boy curled up on the cold floor, sobbing softly and wishing he was back home.

Ben was walking to class when he had seen something out of the corner of his eye. Down a hallway, something brown and slightly familiar laid discarded on the floor, making him raise an eyebrow. He moved down the hallway and, as he grew closer, realized it was one of the puppets the new guy wears.

He picked it up, magenta eyes looking it over. Something wasn't right, surely he wouldn't lose it. They looked like they were really important to him. He moved further down the hallway, noticing the soft crying from around the corner.

There, curled up in a heap on the floor, laid the ventriloquist, bruised and beaten. Ben walked over to him, dropping down to a knee and nudging him softly. Ken cried out suddenly from the touch, whipping around and punching the shorter male in the face.

Ben dropped to the floor in surprise, growling softly and grabbing his wrists. Green eyes snapped open as he tried to kick him away, calming down slightly when he seen it was only Ben.

Magenta met green, Ben finally getting a look at his face. It looked awful in his opinion. Bruises everywhere, a forming black eye, blood still dripping from his nose and the corner of his mouth, and tears staining his battered cheeks.
        "What happened?" Ben asked, letting go of his wrists. Ken shook his head, trying to hide his hands in the sleeves of his coat. The pink-haired male suddenly remembered the puppet resting in his pocket, pulling it out and holding it out to him.

Ken immediately, but carefully, snatched Besu from his hand, placing it on his own, looking away as he moved the puppet up to him.
         "Uh... Thank you." The brown dog said softly, bumping his little paws together nervously. Ben blinked, having never seen such good ventriloquism before.
         "You're welcome." He said, standing up and holding out his hand. "I'm Ben. Now let's get you out of here." Ken looked at him with shining green eyes, giving him a soft smile as he grabbed his hand.

The Betromoth owner pulled him up, catching him when he nearly fell over. He had him drape his arm around his shoulder for support, wrapping an arm around his waist to keep him up.
         "Are you ok...?" He asked softly. Ken nodded, leaning into him slightly.
         "We're good. I'm Besu, and this is Ken." The puppet said, jerking his head towards the raven-haired male. "You wouldn't happen to know where Keru is, do you?"
         "Keru?" Ben echoed. "Oh, you mean the blue one. No. The only one I found was this one." He said as they moved forward, making their way down the hallway.

Ken stumbled slightly, dizzy from the beating, and held tightly to the other male. 
         "We really need to find Keru. Ken gets anxious without us both." Besu said, laying on Ben's shoulder.
         "We need to get you cleaned up first. No offense, but you look awful. Whoever did this did quite a number on you."
        "Gee thanks Ben. That's exactly what we want to hear..."

They walked to the bathroom, Ben having the young ventriloquist sit outside the door while he dampened a few paper towels. The magenta-eyed male walked out and sat down in front of him, rubbing away the blood and dry tears.

A light blush crossed Ken's cheeks, his eyes looking anywhere else but Ben's. He felt weird. It was a feeling that he's never felt before, like butterflies fluttering in his stomach. Familiar blue fabric caught his eye, making him turn his head slightly.

He moved to get up, but a strong hand grabbed his shoulder and held him in place.
        "Where do you think you're going? I'm not done yet." Ben somewhat snapped, continuing cleaning off his face.
        "Ken wants Keru. He found him on top of a trophy case." Besu said, Ken looking pleadingly at the case where his other puppet lay.
        "I'm almost done... You can wait another minute and then you can grab your puppet."

Ken huffed, keeping his gaze to Keru as he felt Ben still gently cleaning his face. He fidgeted, his hand shaking and twitching, waiting anxiously.
         "Alright-" That was all he needed before he got up to run and grab his other puppet. The green-eyed male stumbled again, the dizziness returning as he tripped and hit the floor.

Ben watched him carefully from afar, concerned for his safety. He doesn't know why considering he had just met him, but he felt oddly connected to him. He watched as Ken shakily picked himself up off the floor and reached up, grabbing Keru from the case.

He slid him on his hand, sighing in content as he felt complete once more. He walked(more like stumbled) his way back to Ben, a small smile gracing his lips as he looked at him.
         "What?" The pink-haired male asked, crossing his arms. Puppet covered hands lowered slightly, a blush crossing his cheeks as he looked down.
         "Thank you... For everything..." He said shyly, his soft voice making Ben's heartbeat quicken. He returned his smile, chuckling slightly.
        "It was nothing. Really. Maybe... We could hang out sometime?"
        "If you really want to. You'd be the first friend we've made since moving here." Besu said, bumping his paws together again. Keru had his arms crossed, feeling the conversation is too... cute for his taste.
        "What's with him?" Ben asked, pointing to the blue puppet.
        "Keru doesn't like to talk about feelings."

The bell rang, signifying the end of the class period. The two males spared each other a look, Ben noticing the slight disappointment in Ken's eyes.
         "I'll, uh, I'll see you later." He said, starting to make his way to his next class.
         "Y-yeah... Bye..."

~~~

School ended for the day. It was slow in Ken's opinion. He wasn't harassed by the group for the rest of the day, but they noticed the condition of his face, victoriously smirking to themselves. The fanged boy walked out of the school, walking silently through his new town.

He managed to get himself lost, walking aimlessly until a bey stadium caught his eye. He smiled to himself, moving up to it and looking at his companions.
        "What do you think Ken? Training with Kerbeus?" Besu asked.
        "We have been meaning to do some practicing." Keru added. Ken smiled and nodded, pulling off his puppets and taking out his bey and launcher.

He got into his stance, eyes on the stadium as he counted down.
         "3... 2... 1... Let it RIP!" Kerbeus hit the stadium floor, spinning around the wall before seizing the center. It spun for a while before falling over. The green-eyed male picked up his bey, smiling to it and gripping it a little tighter.
  
        "Hey there puppet boy..." A familiar voice sneered, making Ken freeze. Green met the red eyes of his abuser, making fear rise in his chest. He moved to place Kerbeus back into his pocket, only for a hand to grab his wrist roughly, the other snatching his bey from him.

         "Say... I didn't know you were a blader." The male said, looking over Kerbeus. Ken shook, wincing when he felt the hand on his wrist tighten into a painful hold. "You know... If you gripped a bey the right way, you can just-" a sharp sound cut through the air.

Tears filled green eyes when he heard his partner burst, dropping to the ground in three pieces before a hand came back and punched him, making him cry out and fall to the ground.
  
Memories from earlier played in his mind as the bully continued his abuse on him, crying out in pain as it did.
         "Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" An angry voice called out. The punching and kicking stopped once more, the male crossing his arms as he glared at a familiar pink-haired male.
         "Ben Azuki. Never thought I would see you here." The male smirked, moving away from Ken and stepping on his puppets.
         "The same goes for you Alex... Almost like you were following the new guy." Ben accused, narrowing his eyes. "You have no right to hurt him!"
         "Well well... Looks like someone is attracted to the little puppet boy." Alex taunted, delivering a sharp kick to the fanged boy's back, making him scream in pain.

Ben growled, gritting his teeth and stepping forward.
         "Ah. I would stop there Azuki. Wouldn't want him to get hurt any more, would you?"
         "What do you want Alex...?" The magenta-eyed male was growing impatient, tightening his hands into fists.
         "Nothing really. But I will take a battle. You and me, for the puppet kid."
         "He is not an object to be wagered over Alex..."
         "Oh? Then you should have nothing to worry about." Alex smirked at the way Ben shook in anger.
         "Let's get this over with then... When I win, I don't want to see you harass the boy again."
         "You mean if you win." The red-eyed male scoffed, taking out his bey and launcher. "Meet Aerial Accel. The fiercest of them all."

Ben 'tch'ed, grabbing Betromoth and his launcher. Ken was off to the side of the stadium, shaking violently and curling in on himself as the two males walked to opposite sides.

The battle was over in mere seconds, Ben winning with a burst finish. He smirked, his magenta eyes watching as Alex bent down and grabbed the three pieces to his bey.
         "A deal's a deal. Now leave..." The pink-haired male growled, standing protectively in front of Ken. The other male scoffed, walking away with his bey and without any other comment.

         "Oh god Ken..." Ben muttered, kneeling down and gathering him up in his arms. The raven-haired male shook still, hands(not puppets) gripping onto him tightly. Ben put the terrified ventriloquist on his back, picking up Besu, Keru, and the pieces to Kerbeus.

He slid the bey into his pocket and gently brushed the dirt off the puppets, pocketing them as well as he moved to walk to his house. Ken cried softly into his shoulder, shivering and holding on for dear life to feel some sort of comfort.

At his house, Ben carefully made his way up the stairs to his room, laying the now sleeping fanged boy down carefully. He undid his coat, sliding it to the sides and guiding his arms gently through the sleeves.

He lifted up the bottom of his shirt to get a look at the condition of his torso, growling when he did. It was a disaster. So many bruises and red marks littering the surface of his pale skin.

He went into the bathroom and grabbed some things to clean him up a bit, and a washcloth to lay on his forehead. After he fixed him up, he went downstairs and looked up the number of his family.
  
It was shockingly easy considering his family do puppet shows for birthday parties, so he called the number and waited for an answer.
        "Midori residence." A cheery sounding female's voice answered.
        "Hi Mrs. Midori. My name's  Ben Azuki, I'm a new friend of your son's." Ben said politely. He heard her gasp softly in surprise.
        "That's great that Ken found a new friend! He's been heartbroken ever since he had to leave his friends." Mrs. Midori explained. "Speaking of Ken, have you seen him? He hasn't come home yet."
         "That's why I'm calling. He's at my house. We were practicing together and he pushed himself a little too hard, so I brought him back home with me. He's asleep right now." The pink-haired male lied, not really wanting to tell her what really happened.
        "Oh that's fine, he can stay there for the night. Just have him call me in the morning Ben."
        "I will. Thanks for understanding."
        "No problem at all. Bye now!"

Ben hung up, breathing out and heading back up to his room. He sat at his desk and started doing his homework, glancing at the injured male sleeping on his bed.

About an hour later, a whimper cut through the still air, causing magenta eyes to snap to the source. Ben watched as Ken shifted violently, tears pouring from closed eyes and soft cries escaping his lips.

The pink-haired male's heart broke at the sounds of the whimpers, getting up from his seat and walking over to the side of his bed. He gently ran his fingers through Ken's soft raven hair, soothing the distressed ventriloquist along with it.

The whimpering died down, stopping completely after a few minutes to Ben's surprise. He pressed a soft kiss to his forehead, changing into some shorts and pulling off his hoodie and shirt.

The Betromoth owner laid down next the sleeping green-eyed male, wrapping an arm around him and pulling him closer. There was no denying the feeling he has.

He is, in fact, in love with Ken Midori, the new kid at his school...

NightBear15 signing off...