IY: Whoo! My first Beyblade fic!

Kit: Yeah, you break onto the scene once everyone's already left it... Idiot.

IY: Whatever. -raspberry-

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(I am on strike with the page breaks, just so you know)

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade! (Although I wish I did.)

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Warning: I'm only putting this up the first chapter (which is this one, obviously): Shounen ai ahead! Also known as Yaoi, Boy's Love, and Slash of the KaiTakao variety! (Maybe MaRe later...)

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And also: AU, meaning Alternate Universe!

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"Mommy! Mommy! What's wrong, mommy?"

Five-year-old Takao didn't know what to do. He entered the family room after he got home from school to find his mommy bleeding- a lot. There was a big puddle all around her on the carpet. Should he get her a band-aid? His mommy always put a bandage on his boo-boos.

"I'm gonna go get ya a band-aid, mommy! Stay here, okay?"

The little blue-haired child stood from his kneeling position, ready to bolt to the kitchen for the bandage.

"No, Takao. Stay."

The soft whisper that originated from his mother's bloodied lips stalled him. He knelt back down, putting his face right above his mother's, looking into her hazy eyes.

"Mommy? What's wrong? Why are ya bleeding?"

His mother, Ayumi, shook her head weakly.

"No, baby, listen. I need you to go get my phone, okay? Call your daddy. Tell him -" she broke off, hacking until a bit of blood flowed from her mouth. She gasped for breath, then continued. "T-tell him… it was… the… Kielbasa…" 1

With one final heaving gasp, her body went slack and her eyes slid closed.

"M-mommy? Mommy? Mommy! Wake up, mommy!" Takao sobbed, trying to shake his mother awake. "D-don't leave me alone, mommy!"

When he saw that Ayumi wasn't responding, he cried harder and backed away from her body. He curled up against the side of the couch and shook his head.

"N-no! No! My mommy's not dead! She's not! Mommy's just… She's just sleeping!" Takao sobbed brokenly, shaking like a leaf. "J-just sleeping…"

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"Takao. Are you okay?"

Takao's small blue-haired head rose, his eyes looking up from the ground to look at his elder brother.

"Hiro…"

He looked the same as he did the last time Takao saw him, which was… A year ago? Maybe more…

"What are you doing out here? You're supposed to be packing."

Takao's head tilted back down. Should he answer? Hiro probably wouldn't understand, even if he did…

"Aren't you going to answer me?" Hiro asked, frowning. "You know, this game is getting pretty old, Takao. You're going to have to talk to us eventually."

"My birthday…"

Hiro blinked. "What was that? You've got to talk louder, Takao. I don't have super-hearing, you know."

"Mommy was going to have my birthday party right here… We were going to invite everyone from my class, and we'd all have cake and cookies, and play games, and open presents, and have lots of fun… But now mommy's gone, and my birthday was three days ago…" Takao sniffed, wiping at his eyes with his fists.

Hiro's face softened. His little brother was in pain, and here he was getting mad at him. Of course Takao wouldn't want to pack up all his things. It would only confirm the fact that their mother was gone, and that he'd have to leave everything he knew behind…

"Takao…" Hiro started, floundering around for the perfect words to express what he wanted to say. "I know this must be hard for you, since mom was the one that raised you since the divorce and all… But… You've got to let her go. She wouldn't want you to be sad like this."

Takao looked away, towards the small pond that was near the edge of their property.

"Mom always said that you looked cutest when you smiled, back when you were smaller. You probably don't remember, but I do. She would sing you to sleep, and when you smiled at her she would always laugh and say you were the cutest thing she'd ever seen." Hiro laughed softly, ruffling Takao's hair. "I actually got jealous a few times."

That made the small boy crack a smile. "Really?"

Hiro nodded. "Yeah. I mean, if you were the cutest thing she'd ever seen, what was I? Chopped liver?"

Takao made a face, and Hiro laughed. "Exactly. Now you get where I'm coming from, right?"

Takao nodded, smiling slightly. "Yeah, I guess I do." The blue-haired boy sighed, giving the back yard one final glance.

"I'm going to go pack. Thanks, Hiro."

"No problem, little bro." Hiro watched as Takao walked into his deceased mother's house through the kitchen's sliding door.

Once the small boy was out of sight, Hiro turned back to the scenic grounds. "Oh, Takao…" he sighed. "Why did you have to go through this?"

"You know why."

Hiro jumped, turning to face the newcomer. "Dad…"

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1. Kielbasa is a Polish sausage… Yeah, that's stupid, I know. But it sounds dangerous…

And, just so you know, the next chapters won't be so short. This is like a prologue type of thing... Yeah.