Just a note as to the setting of this fic. It's pretty much identical to Heian period Japan were lots of things were pretty. But it's not Japan cos you can't really have a Bryan living in ancient Japan now can you?

As this is my first proper Beyblade fic it might be a bit OOC. Feel free to let me know if you think it is and also feel free to leave me suggestions as to how I can fix it.

This is dedicated to CC Queen of Death who encouraged me to write something Beyblade a long time ago. I've finally done and just hope she doesn't hate me for writing something terrible.

Last thing I have to say is that I (obviously) don't own Beyblade or any of its characters.

Courtesan

The Gifts

Kai was thoroughly bored. He was always bored when he had to send Bryan away. Unfortunately for him sending Bryan away was a large part of his job. Life really did get boring when your closest friend also happened to lead your army and was always fighting your wars.

He was glad that Bryan was due back soon. It would be any day, perhaps even later that very day. Kai had sent Bryan to both the Land of Waves and the Land of Clouds to negotiate peace treaties. Normally he would have gone perhaps taking Bryan to give him company; though not necessarily it would have depended on affairs in the Land of Flames. But with Midoriko pregnant again his advisors had felt it best that he remain.

Personally he couldn't see the point in his staying. His presence would not make any difference to whether she had another miscarriage or carried the child to full term. His advisors had all felt it would send an appropriate message to the country if he remained with his wife. Too many of them had agreed on the idea and so he had remained.

It didn't seem to matter to the advisors that neither he nor his wife loved each other. To him she was just a necessity. One day he would need an heir to ascend to the throne after him and therefore he had needed a wife to provide him one. As for Midoriko the woman liked power; being married to the Emperor gave her all the power a woman could ever hope to possess.

Kai was just grateful that she was an intelligent woman. She had been able to make some valid contributions to the running of the Land of Flames. She had made several contributions to the treaty that had proved to be popular with Spencer of the Land of Waves and Lee of the Land of Clouds.

He was grateful for these things, but at the end of the day it wasn't her company he sought at night. Or at least not what he intentionally sought; it was of course sometimes unavoidable as he was trying to father a son.

Like many other men in his country he preferred the company of other men. It was widely regarded that men were equal to men and women were equal to women. It was only natural that each should seek the same sex for lifelong companionship only turning to the opposite sex for having children.

He had however yet to choose his partner. His father had left him several courtesans but none of them were quite right for him. Whilst Brooklyn and Garland were both exquisite creatures he didn't feel that either of them were right for him. Max had a naïve charm about him that Kai was sure some would find irresistible but again Max wasn't for him. He couldn't fathom what his father had been thinking when he had left him Tyson as a choice of courtesan. As far as he was concerned Tyson was a gluttonous fool who didn't possess the qualities it took to be a fine courtesan.

It was causing his advisors some annoyance that he was being so picky about choosing his courtesan. To them it was more important that he make his choice before his twenty fifth year than that he make the right choice for him. It didn't matter to him; he would make them wait as long as it took even if he went over his twenty fifth year.

He sighed as he sank lower in his throne. He was still thoroughly bored.

"Would you like to beybattle Kai-ou?" Max questioned.

"If either of us is going to battle him it'll be me," Tyson demanded.

Kai knew Tyson was adamant on battling him as he had beaten him the last five battles they'd had. It was another one of Tyson's faults he was far too competitive. It didn't matter though as he wasn't in the mood to battle either of them. He let them know by just shaking his head.

"Why don't we battle each other instead then?" Tyson suggested as he locked his beyblade into his launcher.

Max was just as eager as Tyson to battle Kai noticed as an infectious smile spread across the young blond's face. Soon everyone in the room save himself was smiling just as Max was.

Kai was barely paying attention as they launched their blades and the battle commenced. Usually he would have been studying the two opponents ready to spot any weakness he could use against them when he batted them. Today he just couldn't seem to focus on the battle taking place before him.

As the battle drew to close Kai was paying enough attention to see that it was Max that was clearly going to win. The look of annoyance on Tyson's face provided him with enough amusement to let him smirk.

As Tyson's blade was about to be knocked out the dish the door burst open and Bryan was revealed in the doorway. The battle stopped immediately as Bryan bowed low to Kai before entering the room. With Bryan's arrival Kai's smirk grew. Bryan was finally back and hopefully he'd bring good news with him about how the treaty negotiations went.

Kai caught the eye of the nearest servant to him. "Bring some sake," he instructed. The servant hurried out the room and Kai turned to everyone else gathered. "The rest of you can leave."

Max looked disappointed as he collected his beyblade from the dish while Tyson was jubilant that the match had ended with him not losing. Bryan made his way into the lavish red marble room, not bothering to acknowledge Tyson or Max as they left. Bryan took a seat on a large black cushion on the floor next to Kai's throne.

As the two courtesans bowed when they left the room the servant returned carrying a tray laden with pots of sake and two cups. He hurried to set the sake down before Bryan and poured both men a cup before leaving. As he shut the door behind him Kai turned his face down to his companion.

"So how did it go?"

"Don't send me on peace treaty missions again," Bryan complained. No one else but Bryan could get away with talking so informally to Kai. It was one of the things Kai liked about Bryan, he wasn't afraid to speak his mind to his leader; he would tell him if he thought he was wrong whereas anyone else would go along with whatever Kai suggested. "I lead your army remember, I start wars, I don't make treaties that stop them from happening in the future."

"Are you going to tell me how it went?"

"Everything went fine. Both Spencer and Lee agreed to everything in the treaty."

Kai was pleased. Not only was Bryan back but also he had managed to achieve the task Kai had set him. If he was honest Kai had thought Bryan would make a mistake somewhere and have to concede one of the terms of the treaty. His quick temper and ability to think rationally through his anger made him brilliant at leading an army, but Kai was concerned it wouldn't serve him well in negotiating a peace treaty.

"Spencer and Lee have sent you some rather pretty gifts to seal the treaty," Bryan said. Bryan smirked as Kai raised an eyebrow towards him. "They've been quite generous if you ask me. For either of them to give away a courtesan is generous, but for both of them to send you their finest is something else. Lee has sent you Rei and Spencer, Tala."

-------------------

Tala was nervous as he waited outside the throne room along with Rei. He had never been away from the palace in the Land of Waves since Spencer had taken him in as a courtesan and he had known no other master since then. Now he was waiting in a strange palace, in a strange country waiting to meet a new master.

He spared a glance to Rei. The younger boy was restless, fidgeting with the end of his long braid. Tala thought he knew why Rei was so nervous and it wasn't for the same reason as him. He had noticed as they travelled back to the Land of Flames together that Rei struggled to take his eyes of Bryan and that he clearly desired him.

However it was possible that Rei and Bryan would be destined not to be together. From what Tala had heard the courtesan system worked differently from the way it did in both the Land of Waves and Land of Clouds.

In both their homelands the Emperor could have as many courtesans as he desired, be it one or twenty. In the Land of Flames from his twenty-fifth year onwards the Emperor could have only one courtesan.

As far as he was aware Tala thought Kai was still several years from reaching that age, but it was his understanding the Emperor's were encouraged to make their choice before this age. From what he had heard it was considered that the sooner and Emperor made his choice the more blessed his rule would be.

If Kai chose Rei then he would never be able to be with Bryan. In a way their fears were the same. Tala assumed Rei didn't want to be chosen so that there would be a possibility he could be with Bryan. And he knew he didn't want Rei to be chosen because he didn't want to think what his future would hold for him if that happened.

It was all out of their hands though. Kai was the one that held their fates and Tala could only hope he would be merciful as Bryan called them both through to the throne room.

-------------------

Kai was stunned by both his gifts. Even from a distance he could tell that they were both exceptionally beautiful. For him to be given them as gifts was a great honour. As they reached the foot of the throne they both knelt as Bryan introduced them. Neither of them had lifted their heads once and he could tell they had been well trained unlike another courtesan in his castle.

Whilst it was obedient of them, it didn't help him make any first impressions on them. He instructed Rei to lift his head first and the black haired teen obeyed him without question. He could not deny that Rei was beautiful but Rei wasn't meant for him. He couldn't explain how he knew this but somehow his body knew.

He told Rei to lower his head again and asked Tala to raise his. The moment he looked in Tala's eyes he felt something between them. He didn't understand what exactly he was feeling or even if Tala had felt it too. He couldn't presume to guess what Tala felt; the redhead could be repulsed by him and want nothing more than to return to his old master.

He may not have known what Tala felt, but his own choice was clear. Tala was the one to be his courtesan.

There was now only one problem. Whilst he had made his choice he couldn't make his choice known to the public. If he rebuked Rei too quickly it could cause friction in his relationship with Lee. If his gift was spurned Lee's pride might be offended and Kai had known wars start for more trivial matters than offended pride.

In order to seem impartial to either Spencer or Lee Kai would have to be seen as taking his time in making a decision regarding his two gifts.

-------------------

After they had been introduced to Kai he and Rei had been dismissed. There were two other courtesans waiting just outside the throne room. They introduced themselves as Brooklyn and Garland. Garland lead Rei down one corridor while he followed Brooklyn down a different one.

Now he was sat alone in his new room. A futon was already spread upon the floor for him, he assumed in case he was tired from his journey. As he had come to expect of palace rooms his was beautifully decorated. Ornate vases stood on stands placed around the room. Fine silks in rich shades of red and purple hung from the walls.

He removed his kimono and laid down on the futon. He didn't feel ready to sleep but he did need to rest as he tried to make sense of his first meeting with his new master.

There was no denying that he found his new master attractive much more than he had ever found Spencer. What troubled him was Kai's opinion of him. He couldn't be certain but he thought Kai had looked at him longer than he had Rei. He couldn't guess whether that meant Kai preferred him to Rei or whether he wondered why Spencer had sent him such a gift.

He knew only one thing for certain. For the sake of showing respect to both Spencer and Lee Kai would have to take his time making a decision. This bothered him. He wanted to know if his future was secure or if he as to be cast aside.

Tala didn't want to end up living the life his mother did. She had worked in a brothel and he had spent the early years of his life watching how she and the other women and men were abused. They had next to no rights and received next to no money from the brothel managers.

It was a life he had not wanted for himself and so he had worked hard to develop his blading skills so Spencer would notice him. He had heard rumours that Spencer looked on the streets for attractive young bladders to bring into the palace. His mother had not deluded him as to what his future would be like and Tala knew it wasn't what he wanted. He wanted something different and being in the palace had seemed as different as you could get from being in a brothel whilst essentially doing the same job.

His plan had worked and since he was fifteen Tala had lived in comfort in Spencer's palace compared to what it would have been like in a brothel. He had worked hard to get himself away from the lifestyle his mother lead and he did not want to have to go back to it now.

There was one other thing that appealed to Tala about being chosen by Kai. It would mean he was truly special. While it was true enough he had be chosen by Spencer it was different. With Spencer he was one of many but if Kai chose him it would be just him.

With that though in mind he turned over onto his side and drifted to sleep.

-------------------

"So what do you think of your gifts?" Bryan asked as he poured more sake for Kai.

They had just shared the evening meal together and were now enjoying some more pots of warm sake.

"I'm not sure what I've done to deserve them," Kai replied as he sipped the sake. "It's only polite to send them a gift in return."

"How do you repay gifts like that?"

"The answer to that is simple, I'll have to help them keep the numbers of their harems up."

"You're going to be send Brooklyn and Garland away then?"

"Not just them, Max and Tyson will be leaving as well."

Bryan smiled. The news that Brooklyn and Garland would be leaving had disappointed him. Kai had never felt a need to keep them away from him. Most people in court had debated as to whether they were Kai or Bryan's courtesans. The news that Tyson would be gone did compensate him for the loss of Brooklyn and Garland. He would just have to hope that once Kai made his choice between Tala and Rei he would be given the one not chosen as a gift.

"Who do you plan to insult by sending them Tyson though?" Bryan questioned with a raised brow and smirk.

All I have to say now is please leave a review. Those with constructive criticism in them are really appreciated cos they help me improve.

Also I'm beta-less, so if anyone would like to help me out please let me know through a review or pm. I can only apologise for any mistakes I might have missed when I read through this about ten times to try and spot them (I bet I missed some).