Disclaimer: I don't own beyblade.
Summary: Sequel to [The Real Me. It will be a fight for the ages, to span the globe. World Champion AJ Carson, the GRevs, and a few friends will have to fight to get back what is lost. The problem is this: will it be enough? KaiOC TyHil.
xxxxxxxxxxx
He pulled her closer to him, resting his back against the table portion of the picnic table. The girl looked first to his arm around her, then to his face. He looked passive, cool and collected. Typical Kai. While any other male would be in mid-spazm during his first party for the other side of the family, Kai seemed rather chilled out, if she said so herself.
"Oh my God!" A group of children, younger than ten years old, rushed over to them.
A young girl looked up at her with a light blush on her face. Either that, or she was obviously winded. "AJ, you never told me you knew Kai Hiwatari!" Coming closer to her, the girl whispered, "Do you know how talented he is? He's the best beyblader out there!"
From beside AJ, Kai chuckled knowingly. "Yeah, but AJ is pretty good. Not as good as me," He said swiftly, only to recieve a punch from the woman beside him. "Okay, maybe she's pretty close."
"You're acting funny," Another said. "Cousin AJ, why is Kai here? My Daddy said that he came with you and your parents."
Kai nodded. "I did come with Audrey," he said, slightly surprised at his popularity with the children. "Hey Aud, who are all these kids?"
The children all seemed to beam at him for his interest. "Well," Audrey said, looking at all of them, "The one who spoke to us first was Kara, the one who just drilled you and your lack of iciness is Danny, and then there's Nicole and Alex, the twins, and the youngest..." She trailed off as the littlest, a two-year-old girl, waddled her way over and extended her arms up to Audrey. "Hey sweetheart, can you tell Kai your name?"
The little girl was nothing but smiles, her curly blonde hair tucked back behind her ears. Unlike all the others, she had been with her mother instead of playing in the dirt. "Chloe," she said, before snuggling up to Audrey.
Kai extended a hand her way and Chloe took it, shaking it. "Hi there," he said, his mood obviously lifted by such a small child. She gurgled and moved from AJ to Kai within the minute, obviously liking the fresh face.
"Looks like you made a friend," AJ said, smiling warmly.
The championship beyblader shrugged at his girlfriend. "I like kids - sometimes."
"Only if they can go home?"
"Only if they don't turn out like Tyson."
"Or worse," she decided, looking out at the children who ran around once again. "Daichi."
Kai nodded, looking down at the little girl, who had fallen asleep. "She's cute."
"My second cousin. My cousin Ana's little girl." Kai nodded as the girl cuddled up against him, one hand gripping his scarf, the other uncurled upon his strong chest. "We've got a decent sized family," she said after a minute.
"Hn," he said, using his free hand to pull her closer again, this time her head rested on his shoulder. "Someday, maybe."
She laughed, quietly. "Yeah, okay. Phoenix, do you have any idea how moody a pregnant woman gets?"
He shrugged.
"You won't like it," A man said, coming over to them. He smirked at Audrey, who lifted up her head from Kai's shoulder. "Hi," he said to Kai. "I know who you are, obviously, but I'm Jake."
"Hi," Kai said, as the little mop of blonde curls stirred.
"Daddy?" The girl murmured, looking up at Jake. "Daddy!" She removed herself from Kai and let her father pick her up. Kai smiled at the girl who smiled back.
"She's really good," Kai said, looking at her.
Jake smiled. "Yeah, she's pretty mellow. Her mother was hell for that nine months though."
"What do you expect? You want to carry around an extra thirty-some pounds because you're going to spit out a kid?"
"Hey there, Ana," Both teens said.
"Hey guys, how are you doing?"
"Good," they answered unanimously.
Ana's hands fell to her hips. "How come you two aren't watching the runts attempt to beybattle?"
Kai's eyes sparked in amusement. "Well," Audrey began for him, "We'd probably end up fighting each other, and the beydish wouldn't last through either of our launches, eh baby?"
He nodded. "Though I'd win."
"Don't make me hurt you."
Jake shrugged it off. "Say goodbye, Chloe. We've gotta go, I've got to work tonight."
The blonde yawned but smiled again. "Bye AJ, bye Kai, wuv you!"
Both teens smirked, and Kai squeezed AJ's shoulder. "Bye, Chloe," he said, attempting to keep his composure. Once they said goodbye to both of Chloe's parents, Kai looked back at AJ. "Holy fuck."
"Any kid you have is going to turn you into twice the softy you are around me."
"I doubt it."
She shrugged. "Someday perhaps we'll see."
"We will," he said simply, kissing her temple. "Now where were these kids beyblading?"
"How old are you?" She asked him. He shrugged and allowed him to drag her along, by the hand. Typical Kai.
xxxxxxxxxx
Mrs. Carson smirked at the two teens, both of whom were laid out on the grass before her. They were such children at heart, though on this particular night, star-gazing was probably the best thing to do. The rest of the family that remained was scattered around a large bonfire, roasting everything from marshmallows to hot dogs.
"How long?" Her mother asked. "Those two have been together for quite some time, but how long?"
"Well Ma," Mrs. Carson said, "Not including the small snags, about a year and nine months."
"Snags? Rose, what are you talking about?"
There was a soft clearing of the throat from beside Rose Carson, as her husband spoke. "You all were made aware of Audrey's near-death experience, but there was one other occasion and it was quite an ordeal."
"Why would she be with him if his family wants to kill her?"
There was a little bit of laughter. "Well Mom," Rose said gently, "She had Kai's grandfather arrested for his confession of attempted murder, as well as all those tormentors in Kai's life to date. Your granddaughter is the World Champion of beyblading. I believe she's all-together capable of dealing with things."
"Kai is a wonderful boy," Rose's father proclaimed quietly. "He has nothing but respect for his elders, and nothing but love for my granddaughter. He has my blessing."
Meanwhile in the grass, AJ, squeezed her boyfriend's hand, whispering quietly, "It's really hard to get my Grandpa's approval. He's really protective. My Grandma is bad, but Grandpa can get a bit out of control sometimes."
Kai shrugged, looking upwards. His mind was spinning just a bit. Never before had he been welcomed into such a large family. Tyson's family accepted him, but they were just as broken up as his was, they just saw each other from time to time. AJ had a real family, and that family seemed to want him to be a part of it.
Rose looked at her husband Matthew. He looked over at the two in the grass. The only sign that they were more than friends was the intertwined hands between them. "Kai really loves her," He said simply. "And I -we - think of him like a son."
"Do you see her with anyone else?"
Matthew shook his head. "No. Honestly, I don't."
xxxxxxxxxx
It had been a long week. They had flown from Japan to California, stayed at Audrey's grandparent's house for the week, been to a family reunion, and then flown back to Japan. The calmest times were those in which they had been either star-gazing or sleeping. The plane ride was nothing short of turbulant and obnoxious, and the week had been spent getting questioned. Kai looked forward to whipping his team into shape, and getting a long rest, uninterrupted by people he barely knew.
"Mmn, hey, Kai, where are we?"
He smirked as he looked down at the girl who had curled herself up against him. "In the car, headed to Hilary's."
Mr. Carson looked in the rear-view mirror to catch a glimpse of the two teens. AJ was rather disoriented, and it was always an interesting trip with her. She spoke groggily again. "How did I get out of the plane and stuff?"
"I carried you." Kai smiled at her as they pulled into Hilary's driveway. "By the way, have you gained weight?"
She growled at him, but he already had the car door open and her in his arms. "Baka," she said, curling back up in the warmth of his arms. He shook his head as he shut the car door. None of their friends had come to the airport to meet them, since no one wanted to deal with mobs of fangirls or a grumpy Kai at three am. As a matter of fact, if they had shown up...
... He would have made them train.
"Can't you walk on your own, Audrey?" Mrs. Carson asked.
"Kai's strong, he can carry me," she murmurred, not bothering to attempt the feat for herself. Kai rolled his eyes in a less than serious manor and continued up the stairs. He stopped in their usual room, laying her on the bed before ditching his scarf and shirt.
Hilary was at Tyson's home, or else she was out like a light. Otherwise, she would have met them at the door. However, judging by the sounds in the room beside them, she was nowhere to be found, since her aunt and uncle were obviously crashed out on the bed.
Meanwhile, he continued to think, wondering about her family, about how things were being handled, and about how well things were going with his team. There was so much to be concerned about, especially with the championships coming up within the next few months...
AJ sat up a moment later, looking at his bare back in confusion.
"Phoenix?"
He didn't seem to hear her, continuing to stare downward at his hands. She laid her hands on his back, rubbing it gently. Her sleepy stupor had worn itself out quickly once he failed to respond. It took no time for him to lean back against her touch.
"Hey, what's got your mind going?"
He looked at her. She had also stripped herself of her jeans and shirt, leaning aginst him so skin touched skin. "The future."
"Why don't we take it one step at a time, kay, Phoenix? I know how you are." He slumped against her, before maneuvering himself so that he was stationed atop her. "Thanks for being cool this week, I know that it's tough being the odd one out."
He shook his head, kissing her roughly. He, surprisingly, never felt that way. He felt a strange sense of belonging with her that he had never felt before. It was nice to know that he had a place outside of beyblading.
xxxxxxxxxx
Tyson Granger smirked as his friends walked through the door. They had gone and trained - or pulled a Kai, as Tyson called it - at about five thirty in the morning. It was now nine, and although it was an early hour of the day for him to be awake, it bothered him that his friends had kept him out of the loop. Either way, Kai was coming back today... err.. last night, and he would probably end up working them into the ground anyway.
Although, it would have been nice to wake up and see Hilary still there...
Speaking of Hilary, the girl walked through the door, with another girl in-tow. "Hey, AJ," He greeted, saving the kiss for his girlfriend, who retreated to the comfort of his arms. "I thought Kai would be here by now."
"Jet lag caught up with him." She paused. "Don't tell him I said that though, he'll be grumpy when he gets here."
"Where is he?"
"Sleeping," Hilary said. "We both tried to get his ass up, and not even taking Dranzer motivated him."
Tyson gawked. "Seriously?"
There was silence as AJ pulled out a beyblade. It was undoubtedly Kai's. "Yeah. I think I'll upgrade it for him, since my mom got me an extra copy of the pictures from the family reunion. They're baaaad." She smirked at the warm beyblade. It heated up the ring on her hand, filling it - and the rest of her - with a good-natured warmth.
Hilary laughed. "Yeah, too bad I couldn't go. I wanted to, but my mom's always so busy."
"That's why we got pictures. Chloe loves Kai. I think the Sourpuss might actually want kids someday." The girl flipped through pictures, only to place one - zoomed in, of course - on the counter. The group examined it, making cute noises. It was indeed a beautiful portait, with Kai smiling down at Chloe, who was already asleep on his chest. AJ took it after they all looked at it, slipping it silently into her purse. "Maybe..." she trailed off.
Hiro, who had been sitting quietly beside Tyson at the counter, spit out his coffee. Apparently the thought finally processed itself in her mind. "He what?"
Audrey rolled her eyes at him, causing him to blush a light pink color. "I said someday. Some. Day. Not now, Hiro."
The remaining people laughed, but left the room moments later. Hiro returned to his coffee, thinking about the embarassment he now faced... again. Stupid AJ. She loved to exploit and make fun of him. No wonder, now that he thought about it. She was Kai, through and through.
xxxxxxxxxx
Notes: Sooo... I think this would be an interesting beginning... but of course, my usual action-tastic-ness would return... so, if you don't mind, review, and I'll work on making more chapters at a faster rate! Ugh... this chappie was a pain to load!!