NOTE - Please Read - I do not own Beyblade or any of the characters. I also do not agree with homophobia. This is merely an exploration of homophobia and differing views regarding sexual tolerance, acceptance and (in this case) the lack of it. The Demolition Boys are my favourite characters and I like putting them in situations that put their abbey conditioning to the test. Let's be honest, Balkov wasn't a nice man and I like watching the D-Boys squirm. Plus Ian never gets enough fanfic time and I think he's hilarious.

Ian walked into the square slowly with his hands in his pockets. It had been a long time since he had been back in Russia and he wasn't really comfortable with the place at all now.

His breath was visible on the air in front of him, something he didn't experience all that often in the warmer clime he lived in now, but it certainly brought back memories of his time at the abbey. He remembered the freezing cold stone corridors, the endless training, the shouting of the guards, his friends and teammates…he pulled himself up sharply. Sometimes it was no good to dwell on old times.

He glanced at the massive bulk of the Kremlin that towered over him and grimaced. He'd disliked the damn structure then and he bloody hated it now. It was too imperious. A lay over from Russia's decadent and frankly pointless past.

The former Demolition Boy was now 28 years of age. Gone were the large goggles that had spent years sat on his face, he was now a svelte young man, with soft purple hair and gentle red eyes. He was also no longer the large nosed runt of the Demolition Boys, now standing at 168cm. Still short for a man his age but nowhere near the minute dimensions of his childhood.

He wore a fur lined black bomber jacket and grey stone washed jeans: items carefully picked to ensure he didn't attract attention. He already knew he was a Russian undesirable and didn't want to stand out.

He glanced to his side at his companion and sighed. He really didn't want to be here.

His companion for this trip was none other than Kai Hiwatari, former Captain of the Bladebreakers and now CEO of Voltaire Industries after the death of his grandfather. Unlike Ian he'd barely changed in appearance over the years. He had lost those ridiculous blue triangles but he was still very much the presence commanding, two-tone haired individual he'd been before.

Also unlike Ian he was dressed like a businessman in a navy suit and drew looks wherever he went. Kai got attention. He was famous for leading a world winning Beyblade team after all.

Kai realised that Ian was dragging his feet across the stones and glanced at him. 'How are you coping with this? He asked in English.

Ian stared at him. They'd been over this a hundred times.

'Fucking terrified,' he responded in the same language. 'You know I don't want to be here.'

Kai grunted his usual noise that Ian had heard so many times over the years. He knew Ian's feelings about this well.

'They got in contact with me directly and asked for you personally.'

'So you keep saying,' said Ian shortly.

Kai glanced at him. Ian didn't look happy and Kai knew he'd barely slept last night. Kai grimaced and carried on walking, looking straight ahead.

'Look,' said Ian misreading his expression and relenting. 'I didn't mean to be rude. But you know how things happened. They hate me.'

'Nevertheless,' said Kai and there was no room for argument.

Kai did however privately agree with Ian. He'd laid on extreme security to protect the former blader out of his personal finances. His best security guards were waiting in the café that had been earmarked for the meeting dressed, of course, like innocent civilians. He even had armed gunmen waiting in cars outside and a surveillance van that had decked out the café in cameras, just in case.

The remaining Demolition Boys were not to be underestimated and in this particular matter they were very, very dangerous.

Ian had come out as a homosexual to his teammates when he'd hit 16 and they had, as Ian colloquially put it, flipped their fucking lids. Being gay in Russia was downright awful and the Demolition Boys had exacted their interpretation of social norms in a way that had made Bryan's fight with Ray all those years ago look like a disagreement between 3 year olds in a kindergarten.

They'd subjected their teammate to the kind of torture and beatings that the mafia themselves would have been proud of. Then they'd turned him out on the freezing streets of Moscow and left him to die.

Kai had been called to the hospital by Mr Dickinson and had immediately got in contact with Tala.

'Tala,' he'd gasped into the phone. 'Ian's been found practically dead. You've got to come see him. He's in a state!'

Tala had informed him of the circumstances rather curtly to a horrified Kai. He and the other Demolition Boys no longer wanted to have any further dealings with Ian, case closed.

Kai had exploded with rage and bad language. He was far more tolerant of differing sexuality than his previous Russian teammates and his once good friendship with Tala had gone down in phoenix fire. He'd thrown the phone across the room in fury, shattering a picture frame and showering Kenny and Max in glass.

Even tempered moderate Ray had been shocked.

'Surely they'll see sense?' he'd asked Kai, picking up pieces of glass from the floor.

Kai had clenched and unclenched his fists and once composed enough to talk had explained how Tala had told him that they weren't prepared to deal with someone as disgustingly homosexual as Ian.

Ray had sworn. A lot. Long and loud. Tyson's jaw had hit the ground at the Chinese teen's rare and foul outburst and it had cheered Kai up no end. Kai had been sure that naïve little Ray didn't know words like that and had been damn well pleased to find that not only did he know what they meant but could use them in a grammatically structured way to indicate his displeasure. And as Ray had launched into a long tirade about tolerance and acceptance Kai had made plans.

He'd moved Ian to a private hospital where he was looked after very well. Once well enough Kai had put him on a private jet to Japan and there he had stayed. Kai and the rest of the Bladebreakers had spent months getting him to come out of the shell of shame that the Demolition Boys had built him and they'd been rewarded with a loyal friend who was almost like a brother and a part of the team.

Kai didn't care about Ian's sexuality and neither had Ray, Tyson, Max, Kenny or any of the other teams who had of course shown their support. Ian was surrounded by people who liked him for him and didn't care who he fucked.

He'd become an honorary Bladebreaker by default.

Kai sighed.

Then a couple of months ago he'd got a phone call.

It had been Tala who'd jovially greeted him down a terribly crackly line and had jokingly accused him of cutting him and the others off. He'd carried on in this manner for a few minutes before Kai had lost his temper and explained exactly what he thought of Tala, Bryan and Spencer and why.

He'd hung up and really had thought that was that, mentally swearing to never tell Ian that his former Captain had rung.

But over the course of the week Tala had kept ringing back, eventually asking to meet.

'What?' yelled Kai, elegantly choking on his own saliva. 'Why on earth do you want to meet?'

'Because we want to see you again. And bring Ian. We have…things...from the past that need to be talked about.'

And so here they were.

In Russia.

Crap.

Please review. This is my first published fanfic so I'd be fascinated to know what you all think.