Title: Society and Acceptance
Author: isumi'kivic'
Pairings: Absolute KaiRei, slight TakaoMax and YuriyBoris. Might contains other pairings in later chapters (read: Author still can't decide..).
Warnings: This fic contains shounen-ai and yaoi, bad grammars, definite OOC-ness, and excessive amount of fluff and possibly dramatic reactions or events. If you're allergic to it, please click the 'back' icon on the left corner of your computer. Call your doctor if the symptoms are getting worse and worse. XP
Disclaimer: No, still don't own Beyblade and its property. They belong legally to Takao Aoki-sensei, and Rei belongs to Kai as much as he himself belongs to Rei. I do own every OCs and the plot of this fic, though..
A/N: I'm finally back into KaiRei spirit! –spirited- They're just much too sweet to be left, ne? Ahem. Anyways, I posted this fic as a part of the KaRe Wave. Why? Because I want to spread the epitome of love in Beyblade and the kawaii-ness that is KaiRei. Simply as that. XD
It's so weird to use Yuriy and Boris instead of Tala and Bryan. I've always used the English version for the Russian boys only, and I'm trying to change that little bad habit of inconsistency of mine. Heh..
Pardon my bad grammars, English isn't my native tongue. Feel free to tell every single mistake that I made, I'd appreciate it very much. Lastly, let us not let the kawaii-ness and the love of KaiRei die forever!
Please read this chapter thoroughly, and review? –grins-
Enjoy!
--o0o--
"When they see you, it's not just you they see. They see us. They see your parents, your society, your faith, and your country."—Okaachan
For you, Otouto, because you introduced me to Bakuten Shoot Beyblade at the first place.
--o0o--
Society and Acceptance, a Beyblade fic
Chapter One: Distance
Tokyo, Japan..
Tuk, tuk, tuk, tuk, tuk…
The rhythmic, continuous sound of a pencil being tapped onto the surface of a wooden table echoed throughout the unusually silent Kinomiya Dojo, overlapping with the ticking sound of the clock on the wall. It was four o'clock in the morning, and only birds was starting to chirp outside the window, greeting the sun as it rose from its sleep and peeked shyly at the world.
Tuk, tuk, tuk, tuk, tuk…
"Rei.." Max's sleepy voice came, and Rei was jerked out of his thoughts, the pencil tapping stopped. He turned towards the source of the voice, and found Max standing in front of his room door.
"Ah.. Ohayou, Max," he greeted, smiling brightly.
Max gave him a pointed look. "It's four in the morning, Rei.." he yawned. "If you can't sleep, don't make too much noise, please? I can't sleep, I can hear you tapping the pencil from my room."
Ah, that was right. Max and Takao were just in the next room. Rei glanced at the pencil he was holding, and grinned half-sheepishly, half-apologetically. "I'm sorry, Max. I won't do it again."
Max nodded, and closed the door. Rei heard his footsteps echoed faintly on the wooden floor, and listened until it fade completely, telling him that Max had slipped under his blanket on his futon once again.
The eighteen-year-old teen turned back his attention to the blank paper on the table before him, eyeing it carefully as if it was some kind of important specimen. He pursed his lips thoughtfully as his mind putting the words together into sentences, focusing on a figure that had been absent from his side for about a month now.
Finally, his right hand moved, carving each word on to the paper before him, concentrating on pouring every single emotions and thoughts he had.
Kai,
He stopped, contemplating if he should use "Dear Kai" as the opening of the letter or not, but then shrugged and continued. Kai wasn't a romantic type, so Rei figured he wouldn't be awkward on reading this letter if Rei didn't start with such words.
You might be wondering why the heck would I bother to write you a letter when I can easily call you on your—no, our—private cell phone. And I practically write this with no apparent reason. You see, I just woke up at four in the morning, and started to think.. about many things.
What are you doing now, Kai? Perhaps you're drinking coffee as you read this letter. Don't drink too much coffee, you know it's not healthy. Even if you're now a president of Hiwatari Enterprises, you're still a nineteen-year-old blader. And being a coffee addict at the age of nineteen isn't healthy at all, you know.
Have you read our team's victory in a friendly match against PPB All Star? I bet you have. How do you feel about that, Kai? I felt rather odd, though, because you're not here with us. It's weird for a team to win without its captain with them. But Max had improved so much that even Takao and Daitenji-san were shocked at his blading ability. It's so hard to believe that he's able to improve so much in one month. When you come back here, you might want to have a match with him. Even I wouldn't be so sure that I can easily beat him now.
Hey, Kai? Are you eating properly? I know you're very busy in Russia, but that's no excuse not to eat properly. Now that I'm not on your side to remind you to take a good care of yourself, I expect you to pay attention to your health. Don't come back in a sick condition, ne?
You were the headline of the newspapers and magazines yesterday, Kai. You and that girl. They're saying that you have an affair with her—your father's friend's daughter. How foolish, aren't they, Kai? They don't know a single thing. They don't know that we've been together for quite a long time, they don't know that your parents had given us their blessings. Even my elders back in the village know about us, even though not everyone happy about it. But these people are saying that you have something going on with this girl… who is her name again? Right, Sophia. I can't remember her last name, though..
So, anyway, they said that just because they saw you had dinner with her family the other day… you told me about the dinner, too. I still remember, you said you had to go in your father's place. And you said you had nothing to say about this girl—Sophia. Don't worry, Kai, I know you're not interested in her. I won't believe the media about such foolish gossip. You're, after all, the president of Hiwatari Enterprises now, so there's bound to be gossips about you. I trust you, Kai. So don't worry about it.
Oh, you said something about a board meeting, too. Did it go well? I hope this week you wouldn't be as busy as last week that you only have time to call me before you go to bed. And I don't want you to call me when you're exhausted. You're not going to use your sleeping time to call me and end up fall asleep on me, okay?
I miss you a lot. I can't wait until you come back for our Japan Tournament, but it's still 5 months from now on. I wish I can go and visit you in Russia, but our team is also busy with trainings and friendly matches right now. So I can only hope time will fly and you'll be back really soon.
Take a good care of yourself, Hiwatari Kai. And don't forget that I'm still waiting here for you. I love you.
Love,
Rei.
Rei hesitated a bit to close the letter with "love," but he figured that one romantic word wouldn't hurt Kai. Besides, they said it every time they talked in the phone, so it wasn't like they were strangers to this word.
But still, it was kind of awkward to write it in a letter. It made Rei feel like a schoolgirl writing a love letter for her crush on Valentine's Day.
In a way, it was a love letter, Rei grinned at the thought.
He glanced at the clock, and saw that an hour had passed since he started writing the letter. Smiling, he rose to his feet quietly, folding the letter and tucked it into an envelope neatly.
The nekojin changed quickly into his running pants and shirt, before exiting his room as quietly as he could, the letter clutched in his hand. He had one hour to jog before he had to come back to prepare breakfast.
--o0o--
Hiwatari Enterprises, Russia..
Kai's eyes narrowed at the Japanese magazine before him, before he turned his glare towards the nonchalant Yuriy and Boris who was sitting on the couch in his office.
"What is this?" he demanded harshly.
Boris, who had brought in the magazine, shrugged. "A magazine." He replied, evidently didn't have the slightest care about it. Yuriy rolled his eyes as Kai's eyes narrowed more dangerously.
"You've read it, Kai," Yuriy spoke, trying to ease the tension in the room. "Boris and I brought it here because we thought you might want to know."
Kai slammed the magazine on to the table, anger and rage clear in his eyes, yet his voice was still as calm as ever, hovering on the edge between calm and rage dangerously. "Who spread this kind of rumor?"
"Nobody." Boris spoke up unhelpingly. "They just assume things, you know that."
Kai's lips thinned in irritation. This was exactly what he didn't like the most for being a Hiwatari. People just couldn't stop gossiping. Not only in Russia, even in Japan! This was just unbelievable!
Japan.. his stomach lurched at the thought. What would Rei think of it? Although Rei wasn't the jealous type, there was always a chance that Rei would be angry at this news. A misunderstanding was always possible, especially because now Kai was miles away from his nekojin. A small flare could cause the whole forest in fire.
He grabbed the phone on his desk and punched several numbers, his face scowling in irritation as he waited for someone on the other line. He would get this clear up, and those who had spread this gossip would regret they had even thought about it.
There's just no way he was attracted to Sophia, moreover had an affair with her! He didn't even bother to spare a glance at her except when she was talking, and he did that because he had to make a good impression. And this magazine—which Kai knew very well was very popular in Japan—said that he had been having a secret 'affair' with Sophia?
Yuriy watched his dual-toned haired friend intently, listening all Kai said to his private detective, and couldn't help but smirk in amusement at how Kai was overreacting. It was not an everyday treat to see Kai in an outraged state like this, especially over such trivial things like a gossip.
"You're overreacting," he stated as soon as Kai put down the phone. A cold glare was sent at him as an answer, but he shrugged. "You're the president of the famous Hiwatari Enterprises, Kai. There's bound to be gossips about you. You can't help it."
Kai kept silent, but his glare softened a little. Boris huffed, eyeing him pointedly and said, "And you're just panicking because your little kitten might misunderstand about what's going on here. And that's pointless. That magazine was issued three days ago. He would've called you and demanded an explanation if he believed the gossip."
Kai let out an inaudible sigh, and he leaned back on his chair. Turning his chair around to face the window, he took out his cell phone—his personal one, not the business one—from his pocket and flipped it open. But before he was even able to press any button, the intercom beeped.
"Mr. Hiwatari, sir?" it was his secretary. "There's a letter for you from the BBA."
BBA? Kai's interest was piqued. "From who, exactly?"
"It's from Kon Rei."
"Bring it in." Kai quickly answered, ignoring Yuriy and Boris' snickers. A moment later, his secretary came in, placing a white envelope with a BBA seal on it. But Kai could easily recognize the neat handwriting of his office address on the envelope.
Thanking his secretary, he took the envelope and carefully cut its edge with a little knife he took from his drawer. He paused when he drew the paper inside the envelope out, casting a glance at his Russian fellows on the couch wearily.
Yuriy smirked. "C'mon, Boris," he rose to his feet, gesturing Boris to follow him. "Kai had just gotten a love letter and he didn't want anybody to know about it."
Kai threw a glare at the redhead and the silver headed boy as the two o them walked out of his office casually. When his door was finally shut behind his two former teammates, he sighed, shaking his head. Well, he still had to thank them for telling him about this moronic gossip. At the rate of his busy daily life, he would never have the time to pause and look at anything else other than business. So he wouldn't even know what was going on if it wasn't for Yuriy and Boris.
He unfolded the paper slowly, and scanned the familiar, neat handwriting, wondering why Rei even bother to write a letter when the nekojin could've just called him on his cell phone. Rei was certainly the only person who knew his private cell phone number, and therefore the only one who could call him. And Kai never turned off his private cell phone, knowing that his nekojin could always call him even at an unearthly hour like two o'clock in the morning—which luckily never happened this far.
The relaxed expression spread on his face as he read on about Rei's usual motherly ramblings about his health, and a small smile even formed on his face when he read about his team's victory and Max's improvement. But then, the smile turned into a frown when he read about the gossip Rei told him in the letter.
There was a slight relief slipped into his mind when he found out that Rei believed him. And yet, he couldn't help but notice the strange tone of the letter. It was as if Rei wanted to convince himself that Kai wouldn't be interested in Sophia…
The frown deepened as Kai pondered over the thought. He couldn't help but think why was Rei anxious about this gossip. No, Kai didn't catch any tone of jealousy in the letter, so he was certain that the nekojin indeed wasn't jealous. He was sure that the nekojin didn't doubt him, not even a single thought of it. But still, the letter sounded anxious.. as if..
Kai's eyes widened in realization. It's as if he wanted me to convince him that I'm not interested in Sophia..
I see.. a smirk made its way on to Kai's face. You feel insecure, don't you, Rei?
He glanced at his wristwatch. It was almost lunch time. He was supposed to meet a client for lunch, but now, he knew he had something better, something much more important and enjoyable to do while having lunch.
Leaning over the table, he pushed the intercom button. "Stella," he called to his secretary. "Call off the lunch meeting with Mr. Sadovski and block all the phone call. I'll be having my lunch in my office. Order the usual menu from the cafeteria for me. Make sure no one disturb me."
"Yes, sir." Came the reply, and Kai leaned back on to his chair, satisfied. Now that he had free time..
He flipped open his private cell phone, punched the speed dial, and waited.
"Hello?" a sleepy voice answered. He smirked. It must have been late at night in Japan.
"Rei."
--o0o--
A/N: Waah!! And you'll meet Sophia in the next chapter, an antagonist I've prepared to start all the conflicts in this little fic of mine. So! If you're still confused as to when this takes place, it's definitely after the end of the series, and the BBA Revolution had reunited. Kai is 19 here, while Rei 18, and that makes Takao and Max 17. As you've probably guessed from the setting I've introduced you to, Kai is busy in Russia and he has to leave his teammates in order to take his father's place as a president of Hiwatari Enterprises.
I really am still not sure about the title, I might change it later. Seriously, because I don't like it. It's… -look at the title disdainfully- I don't know.. I hate it. And yes.. I know I'm a hopeless romantic… T-T
Anyways, thank you for reading this far, and please, please review! Constructive criticisms are highly appreciated, and I will reply flames with bonfires. –grins- Come on, one review helps spreading the love and kawaii-ness that is KaiRei, you know? –grins-
Next Chapter: If there's an existence Kai hated so much other than his grandfather, that would be her.
Mata ato de!
-isumi'kivic' and Ilde-