Secret

Jocelyn D. Hoover

A Tragedy for the Bladebreakers

Joce: Yes, I renamed the rewrite. So sue me.

Mixen: But they can't if you disclaim it.

Joce: Just how many times do I have to disclaim crap before people get it?

Mixen: … Jocey…

Joce: Ok, ok! I don't own Beyblade, Takao Aoki does. Snickers. And that's what makes me laugh about Beyblade since Tyson's Japanese name is Takao. Ok, yaoi, death, um… yuri… uh, violence, angst, humor, language… and various other crap.

Kai Hiwatari
Takao Kinomiya/Tyson Granger
Max Mizuhara/Max Tate
Rei Kon/Ray Kon
Kyoujyu/Kenny

OCs:
Kama Jawakawa

08101991

Every morning was the same. Four out of five members of the team would sit around the fifth; stare at him and decide whose turn it was to wake him. They all took turns, although it was still rare that Kai Hiwatari would wake Takao Kinomiya. Usually, it was Max Mizuhara, Kyoujyu, or Rei Kon who woke Takao. They'd tried multiple things, including things like: sticking a hot pepper in his mouth as he slept, allowing him to eat it; dumping a bucket of ice on him; squirting him in the ear with a water gun; pretending to leave without him; tie him up, turn all the lights off and invite the Dark Bladers over – Sanguinex would usually do the job; screaming in his ear; put a couple blaring alarms next to his ears; or they'd leave him alone and make breakfast, the smell of food usually woke him up. They'd turned it into a sometimes fun hobby.

This morning was no different.

"Takao!! Wake up…" Max whined; the blonde's hair was messed up completely and he was still in his pajamas.

"Just get the fire hose." Kai muttered. His arms were crossed and he was fully dressed; his hair was still a bit damp and there was a mug of coffee beside him.

"Guys, let's try something new – like a newer version of Sleeping Beauty." Rei suggested, glancing at Kai. The glance did not go unnoticed; Kai glared at him.

"Go ahead, Rei – we're waiting." Kai said calmly.

"I was hoping you would do it Kai… But… if you wish." Rei smirked at him and Kai flipped him off when he picked up his coffee.

"You guys are loud and annoying. It's too early – wake me up later." Takao managed between yawns. The four around Takao looked somewhat puzzled, so Takao reached above his head, fumbling for the alarm clock. He grabbed and yawned again, rubbing his eyes and showing them the clock. It read about three in the morning.

Ok, somewhat normal morning.

"Yes! I'm coming back, dream land!" Max yelled, collapsing backwards.

"Makes no difference to me." Kai said, sipping some more coffee.

"Of course it doesn't, Ice Princess." Rei taunted.

"What was that, Kon?"

"Excuse me, Prince – Princess' usually need their beauty sleep." Rei said; he smirked.

Kai just glowered at him; he was suddenly knocked over backwards, coffee mug flying out of his hand as Takao latched onto him. Kai lay there shocked, staring at the shivering bluenette. Then he attempted to pry Takao off of him, "Takao, let go of me, you idiot!"

Rei reached out towards Takao; as soon as his hand touched Takao's shoulder, the bluenette screamed, yelling random things that made no sense; things like, "Get away from me! I don't want to die!"

"Takao – what are you talking about? We don't want to hurt you; calm down!" Rei yelled after he was kicked in the chest.

Kai leaned down, whispering into Takao's ear. After a moment, Takao seemed to ease up and relax. Rei, Kyoujyu and Max looked at Kai quizzically.

"What'd you say to him?" Max asked.

"Nothing much." Kai said, looking somewhat bored.

Takao slept on; this time without making a noise – unusual itself.

"What was that all about?" Max asked; a frown was set upon his face.

"Sounded like a nightmare if you ask me." Rei said.

There was a knock on the door and Kyoujyu jumped up, "I'll get it!" He came back a moment later with Mr. Dickenson behind him. Mr. Dickenson smiled, looking at each of the boys; when his gaze finally landed on Takao, he frowned and his eyes took on a saddened glint.

"I thought Takao slept over there."

"He had some nightmare and latched onto the nearest thing." Rei said.

"Oh… Would you be a gentlemen and wake him up for me?" Mr. Dickenson asked.

"Of course," Rei said, he turned to Takao and Kai, shaking Takao, "Hey Takao, Mr. Dickenson is here. Wake up."

"Uhn… What is it? It's still early…" Takao said; he rubbed his eyes and took notice of where he was and he pulled away from Kai quickly who snorted and yelled, "Ew! I touched him!"

This caused bouts of laughter around the room; minus Kai who was not amused and Takao who was horrified. The laughter subsided and Mr. Dickenson's became saddened again, he cleared his throat and announced, "There is an assassin around here; his mission is to kill Takao and Kevin, so far."

Everyone froze, looking puzzled and alarmed; Takao stood, fists at his sides, "Why me!?"

Rei chuckled, "Ok, joke is over, Mr. Dickenson."

Mr. Dickenson just looked at Rei and shook his head.

"This isn't funny, Mr. Dickenson."

"It's not a joke, Rei. I'm sorry."

"Oh God – is Kevin ok?" Rei asked; there was a horrified expression on his face.

"Lee saved him – just barely though. Lee picked up Kevin and ran off. He asked what the assassin was talking about and Kevin said he didn't know; he also told Lee that the assassin had told him that he had to rid the world of both him and Takao Kinomiya for the time being. Then Lee contacted me, to have me warn you." Mr. Dickenson said.

Ok, maybe it wasn't a normal morning.

08101991

Takao sighed and lifted his head to look around the restaurant again; satisfied he let his head hit the table again. Kai gave him a funny look and kicked his leg under the table; Takao screamed and jumped up onto the table, "He's under the table! Quick! Run!"

"You idiot; I kicked you. Trust me; if there's an assassin after you – which I doubt – they aren't going to be stupid enough to attack you in broad daylight." Kai said.

Takao stared at him liked he had grown three heads.

"Get the fuck off the table." Kai muttered darkly, glaring at him.

Takao obeyed – assassin under the table or not; that look scared the hell out of him. Made him think of Kai as some possessed demon or something.

"Now what do you want to eat?"

"Not hungry."

Kai froze and then turned to stare at Takao as if he had grown three heads.

"Who the hell are you and what have you done with Takao?"

"Do I detect a hint of sadness?"

"It's all in your head." Kai said, scowling.

"Right." Takao said, raising an eyebrow.

"Go to hell." Kai growled.

"You first."

Kai kicked him again, causing Takao to yelp and then grab his shin, whining.

08101991

Takao and Kai lay in the grass, staring up at the clouds; "It's been a long time since we've done this…"

"Yeah." Kai muttered.

"Look; Dranzer." Takao said, pointing at a cloud.

"Yeah – there's Dragoon." Kai said, pointing to another cloud.

08101991

Takao threw the door open, stepped in and threw his arms out, exclaiming, "Honey, I'm home!"

"Welcome back." Rei and Kyoujyu said simultaneously; Rei was reading a book and Kyoujyu was typing away like he usually was.

Max on the other hand…

"Oh my God! I missed you two so much!" the blonde screamed, bouncing up and down and then leaping towards Takao, tackling grabbing Kai and Takao around the neck and squeezing them; "huggling" them if you will. Both Bladers grunted pried at Max's arms; they didn't really enjoy losing oxygen and being shaken – it was one or the other, not both.

"Maxie…" Takao began.

"I was so worried! You should have left a note or something!" Max yelled, shaking them even more and tightening his grip. Both boys looked at each other, and as if on cue, both grabbed Max's arms and lifted their legs, pulling Max to the ground with a thud. Kai and Takao sat there, rubbing their throats as Max lay there, looking somewhat surprised.

"Max, the note is right here – you read it first." Rei said.

Max sat up quickly, scaring the hell out of Takao and Kai, "That note is non-existent! It did not state specifically where they were, what they were going to do, what they might end up doing, how long they would be, and, most importantly – what sweets they were going to bring back for me!"

Silence fell upon the room, Kai, Takao, Rei and Kyoujyu staring darkly at Max. Drizzara decided to break the silence, "My, my, look at the time! It's time for lunch."

08101991

Kai sat in the windowsill, staring up at the moon, one knee pulled up and an arm resting on it. He sighed, glancing at Takao – the younger Blader was tossing and turning in his sleep, whimpering. Takao was sweaty and had for some reason or another, basically ripped his shirt off in the middle of his sleep.

Takao suddenly jolted upright, grasping his arms and leaning forward far enough to wear his hair made a curtain around his face. He sobbed, shaking slightly. Kai sat there, staring at him, unsure of what to do.

Takao seemed to calm down after awhile and he snuggled back down into his bed. Kai tilted his head somewhat then turned to look back at the moon.

"How long have you known I was awake?" Rei asked, softly. He leaned over the remaining part of the windowsill, looking at the moon as well.

"You haven't even gone to sleep, Rei."

"Good man."

"Ah – what are you two doing awake?" Kyoujyu asked; he was right outside the window – he'd just turned the corner and found them both there, staring at the moon.

"Couldn't sleep."

"Hn."

"Reiiii – read me a story…" Max muttered sleepily, hanging himself over Rei and surprising the other three.

"I thought you were asleep, Max."

"I was until Takao stepped on me on the way out the door." Max responded grumpily. Rei held back a laugh – grumpy Max wasn't something you saw everyday.

Rei and Kyoujyu paused – Takao had gone through the door?

"Kai – did you see Ta- oh…" Rei said, following Kai's gaze towards Takao who was standing in front of the doorway to the room.

Kai continued to stare at him, as if entranced. Takao was… glowing in the moonlight. The wind blew through his hair, stroking it gently. Takao's half-lidded eyes staring at the moon… Oh God… Those eyes; Takao's eyes were soft and shining. Kai couldn't breathe – he could've sworn he was in the presence of an Angel.

Rei socked him in the shoulder and Kai turned his gaze towards the feline-like being, glaring. Kai socked him back and scowled, earning a grin from him. Kyoujyu gave them a funny look and shook his head at Max who had his eyes closed and was hanging off of Rei.

And then… Takao screamed and made a run for it, startling the four. Said four looked to where Takao previously was, only to see him running down the hallway and a dark figure running after him, a katana held steadily in one hand. On instinct, Kai jumped off the windowsill, Rei pulled both himself and Max out at the same time, the four of them taking off after Takao and the figure. Although Kyoujyu had a head start, the other three ran past him – and man, the looks on their faces scared the hell out of Kyoujyu.

The three were closing in steadily, hoping to whatever God out there that Takao wouldn't run into a dead-end or run out of stamina.

Takao grabbed something that was in the hallways and threw it towards the black-covered figure to delay the man; he yelled, "Why are you after me!?"

The figure knocked the object to the side and Takao took off again, jumping off the wooden floors and onto the pavement, running for all he was worth.

"I have to rid the world of demons such as yourself before this menace gets out of hand, of course!"

"What the hell are you talking about, lunatic!?" Rei shouted.

"My name is Kama Jawakawa! One of the three Jawakawa triplets! Remember it well!"

"You're fucking nuts!" Kai shouted.

"Fuck!" Takao yelled; he turned around quickly, hoping he could make it past this psycho before he was impaled.

Unfortunately, he didn't make it in time.

Kama lowered Takao to the ground, smirking down at him and wiggling his blade out, "Don't worry, little dragon. It'll all be over soon enough."

"Takao!" Rei, Kai and Max yelled. Kama looked towards them, stood, sheathed his sword and pulled off his mask, revealing dark skin, blonde hair and blue eyes. His hair was all over the place. He smirked and waved at them.

"Say your good-byes, beasts."

With that, Kama took off towards them, jumping over them and turning, taking a detour into the woods. Kai, Rei and Max halted and Kai crouched down to Takao; he took the dragon into his arms, staring down at him.

"Takao…"

"Kai… It's ok… I can't feel it…" Takao muttered, smiling at him weakly.

That's when Kyoujyu made his entrance, panting heavily, he announced, "I called the 911 and… Mr. Dickenson. Ambulance and police are on their – oh God…"

Kyoujyu ran over to one of the garbage cans, heaving into it. Kai brushed back some of Takao's bangs, shaking his head. Max whimpered and went over to Kyoujyu, rubbing his back. Rei was crouching and holding Takao's hand, squeezing it. Takao squeezed back slowly every time Rei squeezed his hand.

"Takao, you're going to be ok, you hear me? You just hang on." Kai said.

Takao was squeezing Rei's hand slower and slower now, and he smiled softly up at Kai, "Thanks for… everything. Really."

"Idiot! Don't talk like that!" Kai said; his voice cracked and his vision began to blur.

"Sorry… Oh… Don't cry, Kai… You're our fearless leader – you aren't supposed to cry." Takao mumbled; his eyes were mostly closed now and he was no longer squeezing Rei's hand.

"Stop being stupid, you idiot – I'm not crying, you are." Kai said, well aware he was beginning to cry. He smiled down at Takao who smiled back.

"I… love you guys… I'll miss… you…" Takao said; his eyes slid shut.

"We love you too, Takao… Just please hang on…" Rei said. He held Takao's hand in both of his own.

Takao only smiled and his last breath escaped him.

08101991

Various teams stood around the casket – Bladebreakers (what was left of it), White Tigers, All Starz, Dark Bladers, Majestics, Saint Shields, BEGA, Blitzkreig Boys, F-Dynasty, Barthez Batallion – as well as King and Queen, Zeo, Gordo, Max's parents, Steven, Ian, Grandpa Ryu, Hitoshi, Daichi, Hillary and Mr. Dickenson.

It was a sad, dark day; even the sky was crying. Various people came forth, placing various little trinkets and white roses on top of the casket. No one particularly listened to what the priest was saying, no one cared. They just wanted Takao back; even the people, who he had little effect on, wanted him back.

The priest was long gone now and a lot of them continued to wallow around, sudden bouts of horror etching their way onto their faces.

The rain stopped finally slowed to a stop and the sun was beginning to peek through.

"Ya'll look hot in those suits!"

Everyone looked towards where the voice had come from and most froze; some did a double-take, and some even did a triple-take. Max turned to Rei, "Slap me now, Rei."

"Only if you slap me." Rei said.

"Woah, woah! Let's not get violent now, look – I'm real. Jeez – why's everyone so shocked?" Takao asked; he seemed utterly… relaxed and confused.

"You… fucking idiot!" Kai yelled, angrily. He stormed towards Takao, raising a fist ready to punch the bluenette, Takao shrieked and ducked. Kai instead punched the top of his head, earning a yelp from him.

"What the hell was that for!? Maybe I should've just told Dragoon to leave me dead if I'm going to be abused over here!" Takao yelled, jumping back up to his feet.

"Like hell! You have no stomach in the afterlife, idiot! You would've come back eventually if you're going to be like that!" Kai yelled, grabbing Takao's cheeks and stretching them. Takao mimicked this move, grabbing Kai's cheeks.

"Fucker!"

This was going to take awhile, alright.

08101991

Joce: Laughing hysterically.

Mixen: Sorry, she had to add some more stuff in there, and take some away. And trust me, the Kawakawa triplets are there for a reason. And she is going to explain how Takao came back.

Joce: Do I have to? If I do that, it'll make sense! Plus, I'm pretty sure people already want to kill me for changing the title and taking some stuff out and switching it around… and adding stuff.

Mixen: I doubt they mind.

Joce: Whatever.

Mixen: Sanzo.

Joce: Shut up, hoe!