A/N: Another Beyblade fic! yaay! I've just recently gotten back into Beyblade! and i'm lovin' it while I can! yaay! I love Rei! yaay! This is another Rei/Mariah fic! yaay! on with the story! yaay! (I'm getting annoying, aren't I?)

Disclaimer: Don't own Beyblade, and as much as I would like to, I can't. get it? got it? good. oh yeah! don't sue me!! I'm just a poor, helpless, little girl!

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Rei walked along the path, admiring the beautiful greenery of the trees. This certain park brought back a lot of memories for the teenager. There was a playground located inside this park, where he and the other White tigers often played together as children. He looked at the sandbox and smiled. 'That's where Gary and Kevin often played together.' Then he turned his attention to the slide. 'Yup, that was Lee's slide. He always said it was his territory, and that if anybody touched it, they would have to Beybattle him.' Then he looked down at the path he was on. 'This...this is where Mariah and I would take our walks.' Rei grinned. 'I would always insist we go do somthing else, but she wanted to take a walk with me. every time we came here, it was always a different excuse. but I didn't mind.'

--Flashback--

"Rei! Come on a walk with me!" Mariah shouted, laughing and pulling on his arm. Rei laughed too.

"Maarriiaah!! Do I HAVE to go on another walk with you?"

"Well, you wouldn't want to leave a poor girl alone in the woods, where she could be eaten by..." Mariah thought for a moment, then said "bears, would you?"

Rei grinned, then said "okay, if it'll make you stop whining. I'll race you to you-know-where!"

"You're on!" Mariah exlaimed. Rei and Mariah positioned themselves at the part of the path where it forked, facing the path that would take them to their secret place, somewhere not too deep into the woods, but deep enough so that no one could bother them.

"1...2..3..GO!!" Rei yelled, and they took off. As usual, Rei ran a little faster, and got to their secret place first, leaving a panting, but still smiling Mariah to follow him.

"You win again!" She said.

"Yup," a grinning Rei said.

"I'll win next time!" Mariah challenged, then sat down on a tree stump. Rei sat down on the one opposite to her, and they sat in silence for a while, until Mariah or Rei thought of somthing to talk about.

--End Flashback--

Rei, still walking along that same path, smiled to himself. He never admitted it to himself then, but he really liked Mariah. As he grew older, he found out he didn't just like her, he loved her. Just being around her was almost too much to handle, and to be around her was near impossible these days, since he joined the Bladebreakers. Lee and everyone else thought he had betrayed them, when really, all he wanted to do was get out and see the world. 'I would'nt be surprised if Mariah thought the same thing,' he thought to himself. Ahead he saw the fork in the path, but he also saw someone there. It looked like..a girl. 'A girl with pink hair...could it be?' Rei questioned himself. It seemed the girl could hear him coming, and turned around.

"R-Rei?!?" The girl said in a shocked tone. Rei smiled.

"Hi, Mariah." He said in a calmer tone.

"W-What are you doing here, Rei?" Mariah said, obviously still shocked to see him at this certain place.

"Taking a walk. Would you like to come with me?"

Mariah's expression softened. "Sure. You wanna race to you-know- where?"

Rei grinned. "You're on!" They positioned themselves facing the path that would take them to their secret place, like they did all those years ago. Mariah counted down, and they were off. Rei got there first again.

Mariah sat on that same tree stump. "It's been a while since we were here...I'm surprised it hasn't changed much!"

Rei sat on the tree stump next to hers. Now that she was here, he might as well tell her.

"M-Mariah...?"

"Yes, Rei?"

"Well...you know i've liked you as a sort-of...best friend, when we were younger, right?"

"Yeah...and?"

"I just wanted you to know...you're more than that now. I love you, Mariah. You might think I beytrayed the White Tigers, but really, I had a reason. I'll always have feelings for you, even if you reject me, and honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if you did..."

Mariah's expression softened. She stood up, then sat down again on Rei's lap. Rei looked confused, until she wrapped her arms around him and started kissing him passionately. Rei's eyes closed, and his arms went around her waist. They stayed like that for as long as they could hold their breath, and then broke away from each other, panting. When Mariah regained normal breathing, she told Rei the words he had been waiting to hear for so long.

"Rei, I could never reject you. I don't think you betrayed us. It seemed though, as if everyone wanted to believe you did, but I refused to believe it. I love you too, Rei. My feelings for you will always stay the same, no matter what happens."

Rei stood up, Mariah getting off of his lap for him to do so. They embraced each other, and stayed that way for a long time, until Mariah looked at her watch and said it was time for her to go. They shared one last kiss before parting, and Mariah walked off.

Rei watched her leave, and whispered, more to himself than anybody...

"As the Japanese say...Aishiteru."

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A/N: Well, thats my second Beyblade fic!

Grandpa: Read and Review, Mah peeps!