Hey guys. I'm back with this one-shot. I've had this idea in my head for quite a while before I actually got to typing this. I hope you enjoy.

Eyes and Lies

Chris could remember the time he still lived with his parents. He had been pretty young back then and his family's financial conditions hadn't been the best either. Yet, it was a happy home. Well, almost happy. But Chris wouldn't have traded it for anything in the world.

Back then, anyways.

The three year old sat on the chair in the waiting room. He was all alone, his father having left a while ago. Chris didn't have anything to do which didn't help the energetic blond in not thinking about what was going on. Not that he had much idea. He knew that his mother was being treated, that she'd had a "nervous breakdown", as the doctor had said a while ago. He kicked the air as he sat there, swinging his legs back and forth to get rid of some of the restlessness.

He didn't get it. His mother had just been a bit sad, right? So, there was no need for her to go to the hospital for that. A chocolate and some attention would have done the thing.

Then again, she had been acting strange lately. She had stopped talking to him as much as she did before, she would stay up late (he had seen her wandering around a lot) and she skipped most meals. But that none of that was too serious. At least, he thought so. The biggest change had been the fact that she'd stopped smiling. Before, she was always smiling, always full of life. Now, she was just tired.

But it was nothing serious, right?

Chris wished his parents would hurry up. He wanted to leave. He didn't like this place and he didn't want to stay there much longer. His fingers traced the floral pattern carved on the cold stone wall. He could hear little children's collective cries from the distance. Chris shivered. He really hoped his parents would hurry.

He wanted to go home.

He stopped swinging his legs as the door creaked open, the sound echoing in the air conditioned room. Chris turned to the door, finding his father walking towards him. He had a strange expression on his face. He was smiling, but it seemed like all he wanted to do was cry.

Chris peered at him as he crouched in front of him. The man's smile widened and even seemed a bit more genuine as he ruffled his hair. "It'll be okay." His eyes shifted as he said it, but Chris didn't bother himself with it. Because it would be okay.

A lie.

Now five, Chris watched as his father worked. His study was usually off-limits, but Chris didn't care. He was lonely. Chris wanted attention, something that had gotten quite scarce since his mother left. They said that she was asleep, but she was never going to wake up. He didn't know why, but there was no reason his father would lie to him.

Right?

His grip on his stuffed bear tightened as he peeked into the room. He wanted to go in there and talk to him, but what was the point? He was probably going to have to leave again, busy with work and all. He wished they hadn't gone to the hospital that day. Things had gone south after that. If they hadn't gone there that day, things would have been different.

They didn't spend much time together anymore. His father was always busy with everything those days. Chris stepped in the room, his fingers curling around his only companion even tighter. "Dad?" The man finally looked from his work and smile at him. It didn't reach his eyes though. Well, there was no point in beating around the bush. "I was wondering if we could have dinner together."

Even dinner had become something he would do alone.

The man fumbled with one of the stacks of paper in front of him. "Sure." Chris didn't move. He always gave that response when he was busy. But then, he wouldn't even look at him those times. "You go on ahead while I tidy this place up a bit. I'll join you after that." His eyes darted from the stack and back to him, but it seemed like he was staring at something behind him.

Chris smiled brighter than he had in days and ran down the stairs as if that would make his work finish faster. He was in for a big disappointment, but at that time, Chris hadn't cared. Only three words registered his mind.

"Ill join you."

A lie.

Chris had been dropped off at an orphanage that night. One of his neighbors had done him that "favor" while Chris wanted to be anywhere but that place. There were kids around him of all ages, staring at him. The younger ones merely spared him single glances before going back to their activities. It was the looks of the older ones that bothered him. Looks of pity.

Chris hadn't bothered to come out of the room they had given to him. He didn't want to go and "make friends". He wanted his parents and he wanted to go home. That was it. Why couldn't he go home? Where was his father? He unzipped his bag and reached out. Rummaging through it, he found what he was looking for and pulled it out. A bey. His father used it. Before his mother left, anyways.

He fingered the purple bey as he lay on his bed, staring at it while holding it up. "You said it would be okay..." he mumbled to himself. His cheeks felt wet, but he didn't bother to wipe the tears away. "You said that things would work out..." His voice was cracking and he could feel a lump in his throat. His grip on the bey tightened. "So, why didn't it?"

The door swung open and Chris immediately turned to face the wall. He didn't want anyone to see that he was crying. He was supposed to bea big boy now. They had said he needed to be strong. Strong people didn't cry.

He felt weight add on the bed but he didn't move to know what it was. He wouldn't turn around until the person was gone. "It's okay to cry, you know?" It was the woman who had brought him to his room.

"G-Go away," he mumbled, hating how weak he sounded. He furiously wiped away his tears in case she hadn't seen them.

He felt fingers brush his hair gently and froze. It was just like his mother would do whenever he had a nightmare. He could remember all the times she had done it in the past and could almost hear her gentle voice soothe him. His breath calmed down and his heart stopped racing as fast as it was before as he remembered all his time with the woman. Of course, he was soon reminded that she was gone and that she would never come back.

The fingers started feeling annoying after that. Chris reached out and swatted it away. He didn't want to remember that.

"You need to give this place a chance," she said. "It isn't as bad as you think."

He finally turned around and looked into her eyes, which were shining with love and hope.

Her statement had turned out to be another lie.

"Let's make it to the top of the world."

His eyes were brimming with confidence, but not to the degree of calling it arrogance.

Chris smiled, not one of his old smiles which would be filled with joy and innocence, but a competitive smile that shone with a thirst to prove himself. He knew his friends weren't as good as he was. But that was okay. It just meant that they needed to train harder. That was all. Besides, they weren't bad, he was just better. And even if they lost a battle, he would just win it back for them.

After all, friends were supposed to have each other's backs, weren't they?

His friends nodded to each other, smiling brightly as they both held their hands in a sort of a pile. They turned to Chris, who smiled and nodded before putting his hand on theirs.

"We'll get there together. Together, we'll be the best team in the world."

Chris rolled his eyes as the cheesy statement, but smiled inwardly, not knowing yet that it was just another lie.

Chris stared out of the window, at the city the WBBA headquarters towered over. The city was an epitome of the sky above it, shining with lights scattered everywhere. Chris shook his head in amusement at the thought. When did he started thinking like that? Yuki was rubbing off on him, that was for sure.

After the whole Nemesis thing, it had become quite clear that most of the Legendary Bladers didn't have a place to go. And since many people would be out after their power, Ryo was adamant that they live at the WBBA headquarters, where they were perfectly safe. Or as safe as one could be with Gingka and the rest of his crazy friends. Apparently, even Tsubasa and Yu lived there.

So, Ryo had basically adopted most of the Legendary Bladers and Yu (Tsubasa was already eighteen and therefore a legal adult), except Gingka, because he was already his son, and Kyoya and Kenta, who already had families.

Living with them had it's ups and downs, Chris mused, watching the groups sleep in the living room after their movie marathon. But Chris wouldn't trade it for the world. Not even for a better childhood or his biological family. His gaze rested on the only redhead in the group and his lips twitched into a small, sincere smile.

For once, he had been told the truth. He had seen many people's eyes when they lied to him. Eyes were the window of the soul, after all. Each had been different but the look the redhead had in his eyes when they'd talked about his past had been different from all else. The emotions behind them were sincere.

Yeah, he wouldn't give those idiots up for anything in the world.

They weren't his friends. They were his family.

Okay, that could have been better, but I hope you guys still enjoyed it. Please review and let me know what you think. Constructive criticism would be appreciated but please no flames.