Once BladerDJ announced the winner, everything went silent. The entire crowd was stunned, faces frozen in disbelief and amazement at what they just saw, dumbstruck at Atlas' power.
Then, after a short while, an eruption of cheers shook the stadium.
"Oh my God! That was insane!!"
"No wonder this dude got 500 points!"
"I wonder if he's single,"
As the crowd cheered and talked, Atlas raised his hand, and Jupiter flew directly into his palm, before he placed it back in his BeyCarrier.
Meanwhile, Masamune, lying flat on his back from the sheer force of the blast, groaned and stared at the ceiling, bewildered.
"…What just happened," he whispered.
Up above, the WBBA office was in chaos, papers falling, chairs toppled, alarms from Madoka's scanners blaring as numbers spiked into territories she had rarely ever seen before.
All of the were also dumbfounded by what happened.
"That…" Gingka finally whispered, leaning against the railing, "…didn't even look real."
"Jupiter emitted enough energy to shake the entire stadium," Madoka said, voice wobbling as her fingers flew across her screens, "That wasn't just powerful… that was on the level of Galaxy Pegasus' strongest attacks… maybe even higher."
"Higher?" Kenta squeaked.
Madoka gulped, "We still don't know, but it's at least on par with what we saw from Galaxy Pegasus. How incredible,"
The crowd below continued roaring long after Blader DJ's voice blasted over the speakers again.
"WITH THAT STUNNING VICTORY - ATLAS KUROSAWA CLAIMS HIS SPOT ON TEAM JAPAN FOR THE BEYBLADE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP!"
The cheers soared as various parents lifted kids onto their shoulders and dozens of bladers shouted Atlas's name as if it were a battle cry.
"And that means that he joins Team Gan Gan Galaxy alongside the Winner of Battle Bladers, GINGKA HAGANE!!!! Tomorrow, we'll learn who of Kyoya and Tsubasa will join these two amazing bladers on the team, so stay tuned,"
Gingka grinned, fists tightening at his sides, "Gan Gan Galaxy just got seriously awesome."
Ryo nodded thoughtfully, "With power like that… our chances for the Championship just multiplied."
Yu hopped up and down, "Did you see that? Did you see that? Looks like Yoyo's already got some serious competition,"
"Stop calling him Yoyo." Benkei said, grabbing Yu by the back of the shirt so he wouldn't bounce through the window, "But yeah, I'd love to see him battle Kyoya-pal,"
Down on the arena floor, Masamune, now sitting upright, stared up at him with disbelief melting into excitement.
"You… you're amazing!" he blurted, then immediately tried to stand but fell again, "Ow,okay, give me a sec—, "
Atlas offered him a hand. Masamune took it, still blinking the dust out of his eyes.
"We'll battle again," Masamune said, determined as ever despite the fact that his hair was still partly smoking, "And next time I'll win!"
Atlas smiled warmly, "I'll look forward to it."
Then he turned and walked toward the exit tunnel, the cheers washing over him like waves. He waved once, calmly, almost shyly, before disappearing into the shadows beneath the stadium.
Once Atlas left the stadium, he was swarmed by an army of reporters and journalists, something the Anime failed to illustrate.
Thinking on it, it made perfect sense for things like these to happen, but the Anime most likely just skipped over it as no-one would care about random press conferences after every battle.
Still, it took Atlas around 30 minutes of shuffling and answering questions before he could leave.
He didn't head toward the hotel where Gan Gan Galaxy would be staying or anywhere a crowd might follow.
His feet carried him down a familiar sidewalk, past overgrown weeds and a rusted chain-link fence. Toward the cracked entrance of the abandoned stadium he had visited only days ago.
Wanting to take some more time to relax. He stepped through the creaking metal gate and stopped as for the second time in a row, someone was already inside.
Hikaru was standing there, one hand behind her back, the other resting lightly against her hip. She turned when she heard his footsteps, her expression steady but her eyes were almost relieved when she saw it was actually him.
"…So you came," she said quietly.
Atlas blinked, surprised, "You… were waiting for me?"
She shrugged lightly, but he saw the truth in the faint color touching her cheeks.
"I figured you'd come back here after the battle," Hikaru admitted, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
Atlas stepped forward slowly, "And you came here because…?"
Her gaze flickered to him, then away, "Because your strength surprised me. Because I didn't understand it. Because…" She exhaled softly. "Because I'm part of the WBBA. And starting tomorrow, we're going to be working together pretty closely."
Atlas watched her for a moment, her straightened posture hiding her nerves while she did all she could to avoid looking directly into his eyes.
"So you wanted to meet me." He said with a smile.
Hikaru snapped her gaze toward him instantly, "I mean...I didn't say it like that.."
"You didn't have to," Atlas said gently.
Hikaru huffed, crossing her arms, "Hmph, just don't get overconfident. You almost blew up the bey stadium. You're lucky it's quite sturdy,"
Atlas chuckled, "You sound like you're not sure if you should congratulate me or report me for excessive force."
"Honestly? I haven't decided yet." Her voice softened. "But… seeing you again is nice. When we met that time, I thought you were just a random blader, who knew you'll be so strong, you should've told me,"
Atlas stepped closer, stopping just a few feet in front of her. The fading sunlight caught her face perfectly, "Would you of believed me. Besides, it's funnier seeing your shock,"
"Is it really. I don't think so," Hikaru said, trying to remain serious.
Atlas tilted his head, looking at her with a small, playful smile, "You know, Hikaru…" he said it gently, but confidently, "You're cute when you're trying to act serious."
Her face went bright red as she heard that, "W–W–What?!" she sputtered, stumbling back half a step. "Wh, why would you?! You can't just say things like that!"
Atlas laughed softly, "Why not? It's true."
Hikaru stared at him, flustered, eyes wide and cheeks burning. She looked like her brain had disconnected for a moment.
He stepped beside her, looking out across the dust-covered floor of the forgotten stadium.
"If you ever need anything," he said quietly, sincerity replacing the teasing, "just tell me. I'll help you out."
Hikaru swallowed, her pulse skipping.
"…Why?" she whispered.
Atlas turned his head slightly toward her, mismatched eyes soft, "I saw you struggling here when we first met. Can't I help you out? Besides, you said it yourself, we'll be working together. Better to have a good relationship with your colleagues right?"
Hikaru heard that and smiled, "Right, then I'll see you around. We'll contact you once we're ready for an official team meeting."