Warnings: Minor shounen-ai and fluff
I do not own Beyblade, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

"Noooo", I yelled as Draciel spun out of the dish. My beyblade bounced out of the beydish and rolled to a stop near Rick's feet. I could hear his growling from all the way over here.

He's pissed.

DJ Jazzman's words were muted to my ears.

I lost…

If only…

I shook my head. No, I lost. I gave it my all in the end.

I turned and smiled at Kai. The rare, tiny smile he returned caused my heartbeat to skip.

Stop, now isn't the time.

I walked back to my team, eyes closed in resignation for the moment Rick's boiling wrath would unleash on me.

"Just what do you call that Max!", Rick yelled as I drew closer. My taller teammate held Draciel in a tight grip.

"Sorry Rick. My adjustments weren't quite—", I tried shrugging off the loss but Rick grabbed my wrist. His grip is painful, I would bruise in a few hours. I couldn't hide my wince.

Rick latched on to my weakness, "You backed off from your original attack. We're not in the playground any more. Get serious!"

Playground?

As if beyblading is a mere game to me.

I smirked at him, "Think what you like Rick. That was one of my best battles. Sure, I'm sorry that I lost, but…Kai beat me fair and square. Got it?"

"You're a fool and you're not worthy of that beyblade", Rick retorted as he slammed Draciel into my captured palm.

The sting of the base point made the nerves in my hand twitch. At least he let my wrist go. I could ignore its slight throbbing.

"Not worthy? But, Rick—", I was roughly shoved aside as the other teen walked towards the beydish.

My mother and the rest of the All Starz avoided butting in our argument. Typical and just what I had come to expect from them. They all believed in waiting for Rick and me to work out our differences. My mother only cared for results and my other teammates avoided setting Rick off when he raged like he just did.

I looked over towards where the Blitzkrieg Boys were sitting. Kai was staring at me with narrowed eyes. They shifted to Rick and then back to me.

'I wonder what he is thinking. Obviously not good things about Rick from the way he's practically glaring at the taller man.'

I shook my head slightly at his closed-off expression.

'Don't bother with it Kai. I'm used to it.'

I doubted I convinced him. He had raised a suspicious eyebrow before focusing on the next beybattle.

The match between Tala and Rick ended as quickly as it started. The taller man viciously struck out at Tala's Wolborg; ending the match by using the beydish's voltage traps.

Rick basked in his infamy, the crowd's heckling not fazing him. Then he called out to Kai, challenging him through mockery.

'A stupid move', I grimaced.

Rick's issues stemmed from his arrogance. He has no idea of Kai's true strength and abilities. I warned him never to underestimate his opponents, some of who I used to beyblade with.

Their battle went as I had guessed, with a single surprise. Kai mimicked my technique that I used against him. He did it for a short time, but, the fact that he could replicate it displayed his natural talent for beyblading.

'I did stand a chance…'

Rick shrugged off my weak reassurances. He thinks only about winning at any cost. Beyblading is more than victories and bragging rights. I hope he will understand that with time.

We're a step behind for making it to the finals. My mother offers little words to placate the fuming Rick. We walk back through the stadium entrance we came out, the crowd's cheering for the Blitzkrieg Boys assaulting our ears.

The walk back to our locker room is silent. Even Emily's and Michael's usual bickering is absent. I'm aware of the slight tension hanging around us but I didn't bother in trying to lighten up the mood. I'm not a glutton for punishment.

We made it back to the locker room and the team immediately dispersed. My mother, Emily and Michael left to watch the next match. Rick kept walking down the hall and disappeared out of sight. I entered our assigned locker room alone and went to my locker. The hot Egyptian air plus Kai's fire attacks caused me to sweat heavily. A quick cool rinse is what I needed right now.

I pulled out my towel and toiletries, setting them on nearby bench. I retrieved Draciel from my pocket, inspecting it for damage. My beyblade was completely intact; no visible damage on the attack and defense rings. Dranzer's flames had been doused quickly before they could reach Draciel. I leaned my head back against the cool metal of the locker, closing my eyes as I played back my beybattle.

Kai had smiled during our match. The slight quirk of his lips boasted my confidence and I had given as good as I'd gotten. Our playing styles are exact opposites, his attack against my defense. I held Draciel up to the fluorescent light, "Hey, we'll win next time. I know we will". I placed Draciel under my clean clothes.

I stripped quickly and stepped in to one of the two shower stalls, the cool water doing wonders to my overheated, suntanned skin. Once I had cooled off, I left the shower and dried off with my towel. As I stepped into the main room—

"Your partner is a reckless and arrogant."

I stopped in place, surprised to see Kai seated on the bench with my stuff. He held Draciel, turning my beyblade in various angles in his inspection of it.

I blinked twice before my brain processed his words, "Beyblading in a tag-team format is new for him. It's…taking time for us to adjust to each other's playing style." The side-glance from Kai showed he didn't believe me.

I heaved a sigh, "I honestly shouldn't be telling you this but we're mostly likely not going to face each other in the tournament again." I changed into my clothes, keeping the towel up to prevent any chance of flashing my lower body. I folded the towel and set it aside, "Rick has built up a reputation on the streets of New York city when I returned to join the All Starz. His raw power and skills were honed from beyblading in many underground beybattles. Underground beyblading is more popular in the USA because of money and other prizes that can be obtained from winning", Kai arched an eyebrow but stayed quiet, "My mom had him on her radar since last year, around the time we were dealing with the Saint Shields and the other people after our bit-beasts. When this tournament became announced, she scouted him and he accepted. I'm assuming he joined for the fame of winning the championship."

Kai scoffed, "Fame…" He turned my beyblade over and examined its base.

I definitely heard disdain in that lone word. "Like I said, it's a work in progress. I didn't have much time to get to know him when Mom recruited him. Who knows, we might become friends by the end of the tournament."

"I wish you luck with that."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence", my cheekiness earned me another side glance; this time with a hint of amusement.

Kai held out Draciel to me, "The steadfast tortoise with the raging bull. I'm almost curious to watch this play out".

"I was able to get through your thick walls of ice Mr. I-Go-Off-On-My-Own-All-The-Time", I smiled brightly to take the edge off of my joke as I secured Draciel in my pocket.

Kai huffed quietly, a smirk curling his lips.

We sat in companionable silence for a few minutes. The roar of the crowd filtered in occasionally as the other teams battled each other.

I looked over at Kai, the question I had meant to ask in the beginning of our conversation nagging at me, "Why did you come here instead of staying to watch the other matches?"

He didn't move from his usual reclined position nor did he answer right away. That was normal. I waited as the minutes grew and the background noise kept me aware of who is currently entertaining the crowd. I wasn't startled when Kai did answer.

"Rick's hostility concerned me."

A display of concern wasn't new but definitely rare coming from Kai. A sensation of warmth wrapped around me because of his words. I thanked him, no other words necessary.

Kai left the locker room soon after, silent as a shadow. My team returned, my mom ushering us to the hotel for dinner and sleep for our beyblade match against White Tiger X tomorrow. Rick wasted no time in confronting me when the others had entered the hotel. His harsh words stung but I held my ground. Even after giving my reasons, Rick still believed in winning at any cost.

I retired to my room after a tense dinner with everyone minus Rick, going right for the shower. Under the hot spray of water, different ideas swirled in my mind but none seemed likely to help in showing Rick how fun beyblading is besides just winning.

"This is a tag-team format like last year's championship. A tag-team…", I muttered, "We battle separately with two winning matches determining which team moves closer to playing in the championship match."

I was pulling on my pajamas when the idea came to me. The answer is obvious! I just hope I can get it approved and White Tiger X will agree. Stepping out of the bathroom to the darkness of my room I slipped into my bed, tucking the covers close around me.

Late in the night I was joined by another. The familiar body pressed against my back, an arm wrapping around my waist. I turned around under his arm, pressing my face in the curve of his neck and shoulder. His arm squeezed my waist, soft words barely reaching my fading conscious.

When I awoke the next morning I am alone. I touch the indented spot next to me and it is warm. I move over it and press my face into the sheets. His smell is strong. A smoky scent with a hint of spice. I drew strength and comfort from it, steeling my spine for the day ahead of me. I pressed a quick kiss to the spot where he had laid. With a renewed spring in my step, I hopped out of bed; ready to face the new challenges!

A brief one-shot following Max and Kai's beyblade battle during the World Championship.