I had a stupid thought so here's a stupid tiny story to go with said thought ...

"Why the hell does Kai even like Takao so much? All he does is complain about him..." Yuriy slammed the hotel room door behind him, hand dragging through his hair. "Takao this, Takao that. If I didn't know any better I'd say Kai's got a crush on the damn kid." He paused, laughing a little before flopping down onto the unmade bed.

"...I don't think so, Yuriy." Sergei commented, idly flipping through the local newspaper. "He's just obsessive. One-track mind."

"What if he does though...I mean he's not just merely obsessed with beating him, he's obsessed with Takao himself." Yuriy again paused to mull on the subject, but only ended up smirking to himself. "Eh. As long as he can help us get to the finals and win, I don't care."

Sergei just rolled his eyes, continuing on with the Very Exciting newspaper. The Russian trio was waiting for their turn to use the hotel's temporary Beyblade setup to train, but naturally, the fourth "member" of their team had gone missing.

"So I take it you found him?" Boris asked, glancing over as Yuriy got up from the bed to fetch some water.

"Yeah. Napping in the little greenspace...courtyard...whatever." Yuriy gestured disdainfully. "Told him to meet up with us in 30 minutes or so, but who knows if he'll actually come this time."

-
30 mins later
-

"...I told you he wouldn't come, Yura." Boris muttered, earning a jab from Yuriy's elbow. "What?! He thinks he's above us, so why would he train with us." Scanning the room, he noticed the Japanese group on the opposite side. "Oi. Maybe he'll train if he knows they're here."

"Eh? Maybe." Sergei shrugged. "Who's going to tell him though?"

"YUUUURIIIIIYYY!"

"Oh for fuck's sake..." Yuriy cringed as a small blur raced towards them, stopping just shy of Boris' slightly outstretched leg (He'd meant to trip the kid). "What, Daichi? We're trying to start training, so if you don't mind, buzz off."

"Well where's Kai? Isn't he part of your team?" Daichi had a smug grin on his face, standing as tall and puffed up as a 10 year old kid could.

"Dunno. Why don't you ask Kinomiya? I'm sure once he starts griping about Kai ditching him, Kai will come creeping back in from whatever alley he's napping in." Boris deadpanned, staring down at the small boy.

"Just shoo. You need more training than anyone here, so don't waste your time on little old us." Yuriy waved him off, glaring pointedly Daichi just frowned and tried to meet Yuriy's icy glare. After a few moments of holding his breath and squinting harder, Daichi just 'hmph'd' and dashed back over to the BBA's dish.

"Whatever! I'm gonna wipe the floor with you guys!" Daichi hollered, sticking his tongue out and making wild gestures towards the Russians.

"Uh-huh. You and Taco can hardly blade your way out of a paper bag." Boris sneered, imitating Daichi's facial expressions back at him as he continued to rave on. He wasn't paying any mind to the other BBA members until Hiromi and Kyoujuu started to laugh loudly. So did the other Russians. Boris frowned, turning back to his teammates, confused.

"B-Borya." Yuriy snickered, holding a hand over his mouth in an effort to stifle his laughter. "Oh god, you're an idiot..."

"What...?" Boris' brow furrowed as he stomped back over to Yuriy, who was now holding his side from laughing so hard. "What did I say?!"

"It's Ta-ka-o, not Taco." Sergei smirked, barely containing a chuckle or two. "You must have heard it wrong."

"..." Boris thought for a moment, trying to piece together exactly what was going on. And then it dawned on him. "...SERIOUSLY? I THOUGHT IT WAS WEIRD! SHIT!"

"I thought we were supposed to be training." Kai raised a brow, leaning against the wall beside Sergei.

"Oh so NOW you show up?!" Boris was tempted to throw a punch at him, but Yuriy's continuing laughter was pissing him off more. "Shut up Yuriy! It's not that funny!" Face flushed with embarrassment, he tried grabbing at Yuriy's hands in an attempt to hold him still and make him stop laughing. "Seriously! Stop laughing!"

"I guess Yuriy was right." Sergei smiled, watching the other two play-fight. "The slightest mention of Takao, and you really do come running, eh?"

"Hn. Whatever. Weirdos."