I know, what the hell? First time I'm NOT making Rei drunk!
Forgive the slow plot. This is just a crappy chapter needed to get the story going. (What? I pulled what out of my what now? That's just absurd!)

Chapter Two
Black Sun

''Two thousand?!''

Rei stared in complete shock at the clerk as the cost of the repair was told to him. His golden eyes staring in bewilderment, larger than Boris had ever seen a pair of eyes get before. He gave the Tiger a look of boredom, counting the minutes as they ticked by.

''Yes'' the Japanese man spoke with a thick, bothersome accent. ''Two thousand. And it will take about four months to get all the parts.''

''But I don't have four months!''

''This is a Blade-repair shop, not a time-store.''

Rei's gaze thinned, a small growl wanting to be let free. Instead he shook his head, digging through his pockets after his wallet. The clerk smiled broader as the credit card was fished up, Rei giving it a look of pain as if it pleaded for him to leave it be. He could almost hear the metallic voice crying about how it had children, a family, even a little house on the country side...

''Fine'' Rei muttered, handing the card over as he couldn't escape the feeling of being a murderer.

Boris snorted, arms crossed while he looked around. It was a fairly decent little store, small but well spoken of in the neighbourhood. Boris though, was not impressed, wondering what he was even doing there. He felt Rei's stare tug at him, and much against his own will the Russian glared back.

''What?''

''You should pay for it, you know''

Boris frowned.

''Why?''

''Your foot broke it!''

''Your Blade could've broken my foot!''

Rei just glared, pouting childishly as he turned back to the counter. Boris muttered something in Russian that the Tiger was certain wasn't very nice. But he had other things to worry about as the clerk held out his card again, shaking his head in refusal. Something inside of the Tiger instantly sank.

''This is no good.''

''What?'' slight panic rose in Rei, his eyes worried as he took the card. ''What do you mean no good?''

''No good!'' the clerk spat in annoyance. ''No money, no good! No good, no repair!''

Rei groaned.

''Can't you just… write a check or note or something? An IOU?''

The Japanese giggled, a weird little sound full of mockery and glee. Soon it had burst out into laughter, and as it grew louder Rei's irritation grew with it. Growling, he grabbed the bag that held his shattered Blade, glaring at the man who still hadn't quieted.

''IOU!'' the clerk snickered, bending over with laughter as tears formed in his eyes. ''IOU!''

''You know what? Fine! Forget it!'' Rei growled, brushing past Boris as he headed for the door.

The Russian looked slightly confused, glaring questioningly at the clerk then at the door, which swung loudly from the force it had been opened with. Sighing indignantly, Boris followed the Chinese with brusque steps, not all that certain of why he did so in the first place. Well out on the street he had to hurry his steps in order not to lose the other, who was angrily stalking down the sidewalk, almost fuming with emotions. The Russian would have considered it amusing if it hadn't been so troublesome.

''The nerve of him!'' Rei hissed as Boris caught up. ''What a complete waste of time!''

''Told you, you're fucked.''

The golden eyes turned to glare sharply at him now, as if all that had gone wrong was somehow Boris' fault.

''Don't! I don't want to hear it!''

Boris glared at him.

''Don't take it all out on me, Ms. PMS''

''You don't get it! The tournament is soon! I have no Blade! I can't compete without a damn Blade!''

''So borrow one.''

''Borrow one? From who?! You think my rivals want to help me win the tournament?!''

Rei fumed, out of ideas as of what to do now. If he didn't show up at the tournament, no explanation whatsoever could save him from what his teammates would think. They'd say, no matter what his defence, that he had abandoned them again. They'd blame him, and those who didn't would just think he was too scared to fight. No matter what Rei did, it was all over with before it had even started. And all for such a silly little thing as money.

''Stop being such a pussy''

Boris wasn't quite sure why he was even following the other. Sure, he had no place to stay as he refused, over every dead body in Japan, to go back to the hotel. And as luck would have it, he didn't have the money to go back to Russia. He didn't have anywhere to go or anything to do, but still. Even for him, following Kon around was a new low.

And Rei was ranting, muttering in frustration about things the Russian didn't even care to listen to. At first his plan was to wait it out, but the Chinese wouldn't stop talking no matter how far they walked or how much time passed them by. For a moment Boris considered just punching his jaw off, then finding himself some cheap motel but oddly enough, luck smiled at him.

The luscious smell of ramen reached him, like a caress through the polluted air, calling out for him. Boris turned his head to see where that divine smell came from, and sure enough spotted a small restaurant at the corner of the street. Without even caring if Rei noticed it, he turned his steps and marched right to it. The hunger that had built up inside of him growling the closer he got, as if hypnotized by the smell of pork and meat.

''And then I – '' Rei stopped in his tracks as he felt that something was missing. ''Boris?''

Turning around he saw the muscular shape moving away from him, making its escape and this confused Rei because if anything, he never considered Boris the kind of person to run. Until he also spotted the ramen restaurant, his stomach growling loudly as the smell slapped him angrily in the face. Sighing, Rei sprinted after him.

X

If anyone were to ask Rei how it happened, he would have no answers to give. He didn't know it himself, often finding he asked the mirror the very same thing.

''Why in the hell are they spending time with each other?'' it was Yuriy though, who voiced the question out loud.

It was directed at Kai who was simply looking at his friend, a thoughtful look in his eyes but otherwise he gave away nothing. He had noticed, much like the others, that something was weird. Boris hadn't returned to the hotel for a week, and with the stress of the oncoming tournament the Neoborg could not afford to lose manpower. But the Falcon wasn't the only one who had been mysteriously absent as of late. No one had seen much of Rei either.

''You called me over just to ask me that?''

Yuriy snarled, biting his lip as he drilled his blue stare into the other. Kai didn't move a muscle in his face, instead donning an air of nonchalant boredom.

''Kai, it's weird.''

''Weird that Boris' gotten a friend?''

Yuriy looked at him like he was retarded. His voice resembled the same manner, dripping with the poison that filled the words.

''It's Boris we're talking about. His social skills don't exactly reach that far.''

Kai sighed, shaking his head. Whatever Rei did and whatever Boris did, was none of his concern. If they wanted to spend time with each other, he had no right to tell them not to. The thing that agitated him though, was Rei's slacking off in training. In fact, he couldn't remember Rei training at all the past seven days. It was almost like he was turning into Takao.

''Whatever, Yuriy. But why are you asking me this and not them?''

Yuriy growled.

''Still not speaking to him?'' Kai said, although he already knew the answer.

''The bastard's going to ruin everything, Kai!''

The Phoenix shrugged.

''Does it even matter?''

The aqua eyes filled with something much like morbid shock, the Wolf's mouth taut and tense, his jaw tightly clenched as he couldn't believe what he had just heard. Of course it mattered, why else would they be there? This was their last shot, their last attempt to rid themselves of the Abbey's shadow and prove that they were invincible. Without Beyblade they had nothing, and if one thing, they would leave the sport on top.

But Kai, who hadn't touched his Blade in months, already had other things on his mind. He hadn't told anyone, not even the redhead, and Yuriy wondered exactly how worried he should be. If Kai came up with a plan, one could be certain that it would be brilliant. What one could never know for sure, though, was just how safe the plan would be for oneself.

''Whatever scheme you're planning, Kai, I don't want to be involved. I just want to focus on this tournament and…'' he muttered, not wanting to finish the sentence.

But Kai knew the end of it anyway.

''Without Boris and me you lose a lot of power.''

The Wolf wanted to rip out his throat for saying such a thing out loud, as it made him feel like he had just admitted to something very nasty. Kai took no notice of him whatsoever, simply shaking his head with a sigh.

''See it this way, Yuriy'' the Wolf looked suspiciously at him. ''Perhaps this is just what Boris needs.''

''What the hell does that mean?''

''It means that maybe Rei'll be able to get that stick out of his ass.''

Yuriy cringed at the mental image that brought him, shuddering as the image refused to leave him be.

''Damn it, Kai!''

Kai just smirked.

''It's not worth worrying about. Just wait and see. Who knows, maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised?''

The redhead just glared at him, tiredly resting his hand in his face. Kai's words made no difference, since his irritation refused to be stifled. Whatever Boris was up to, no one seemed to know and perhaps, Yuriy pondered, that was the best way for it to be.

X

Another week went by, slowly and yet too fast for any of them to notice. Training was getting harder and harder, the stress of the tournament stomping on everyone's nerves. Bladers from all over the world came pouring into town, bumping into each other around every corner. Kai was merciless, not a second of doubt as to why he had been team leader in their minds.

But apart from the training, he wasn't seen around much. No one knew what he was up to, bu they were sure it wasn't any good. It still made Takao feel like he had been a little abandoned by his friends. Max had little time to drop by and Rei, well he was sneaking off more and more it seemed. Apart from Kai, no one really knew where he went to, or with who, but Takao had a pretty good guess.

''Takao, this is very wrong!'' Hiromi's voice rang angrily like only a woman's could, but the child-dressed-as-a-man ignored her with ease.

''Relax, Hiromi!''

''No, I am not going to relax you baboon!''

''Shh! He'll notice us!''

''Takao, why are we spying on our friend?''

Her brown eyes were hard and cold, reprimanding the blue-haired man who had his own eyes elsewhere. She crossed her arms grumpily, not wanting to be a part of this diabolical scheme anymore than she wanted to get her arms chewed off. But she really couldn't leave the delinquent champion alone, now could she? Who knew what catastrophe would follow in his wake?

No, Hiromi had known Takao for much too long to know that he was not safe to let out on his own.

And well, okay, a little part of her liked spying. Just a little. She couldn't help it, a girl got curious! And when Rei had gone off on his own little secret mission, telling no one where he went, they just had to see. Catching a glimpse of Rei the past days had been as common as seeing a unicorn, and she knew in the bottom of her being that the boy was up to no good.

''There he goes, there he goes! Quickly!''

Takao twirled around behind the bushes, invisible yet clumsy enough to snatch a few twigs here and there. If it hadn't been for his female friend, he probably wouldn't have made it as far as out the door before anyone discovered him. Hiromi sighed as they got closer, clearly seeing Rei by the end of the street, staring up at the stars, lost in thoughts.

''Takao Kinomiya, you stop this nonsense right now!'' Hiromi hissed, but Takao only grinned.

''Quiet or he'll hear us!''

The girl shut her mouth, not too happy though, glaring at the other somehow hoping he would just drop dead. But she couldn't deny her own curiosity, and no matter how hard she tried, slowly even her eyes were drawn towards their victim. Said person was still staring at the stars, waiting quietly. But his wait was soon over with, when Boris emerged like a demon out of the shadows. He didn't look happy, as always, but that murdering lust in his eyes to rip everything apart was slightly absent. Unwillingly he stepped closer, grunting in greeting. When Rei turned to greet him with a smile, the Russian only glared.

For some reason he did not know, he had found himself around the Tiger far more than usual. They'd been bumping into each other all over, often ending up sitting at the same old ramen restaurant until late in the evening. Talking, like regular people. Okay, so Rei was the one who did most of the talking while Boris mostly grunted nasty remarks at him. But still, they were socializing and it felt… weird. Like putting on someone else's pants.

The weirdest part of it was that, slowly and much unwillingly, Boris got used to it. By each time they met, he got more and more accustomed. And since none of them had anything else to do, he guessed it wasn't all that bad. As long as no one got to know about it and Rei didn't think they were friends, Boris could manage.

The Tiger was just about to say something, when he was interrupted by a very loud gasp. The two immediately spun around to stare oddly at the bushes, from which they now could hear movements. Hisses and whispers, trampled twigs and leaves that shook as they were stirred from their peace. Rei was half expecting to be assaulted, some madman leaping out of the bushes to rob them or… whatever people hiding in bushes did.

But he was surprised, and not pleasantly, to see Takao stumble out into the street, Hiromi following soon after with murder in her eyes.

''Takao you stupid, stupid idiot!''

''Hiromi – aghk! – You're strangling me!''

''That's the point, you moron!''

Rei stared, Boris mirroring this action but his eyes filled with contempt rather than horror. So much for his plan of secrecy.

''Takao?''

As Rei spoke the two looked up at them, as if they momentarily had forgotten they were even there. Hiromi's eyes took on the size of planets, a wild blush spreading across her paling face. Takao just looked like he was about to die, which wasn't all that unlikely to happen judging by how Boris' clenched his fists.

''Uh…'' Takao tried to come up with something smart, but it wasn't exactly his strong point. ''Hi…''

''Kinomiya!''

''Kuznetsov! How nice to see – aghk!''

Boris had now taken over the job of strangling him, pushing Hiromi off Takao roughly. Rei rushed to see if the girl was alright, the brunette hissing at her bruised elbow. Rei helped her sit up, glancing towards the others wondering if he should go help.

''Uh… Boris?''

''Not now, Kon!''

Rei bit his lip, frowning a little.

''I'd prefer you not to kill him, you know''

''How nice for you! Any last words you want to say to him before I break his neck?''

Takao twitched and tossed, trying to shake the larger man off him but to no avail as Boris was much too heavy and much too strong. Blazing blue eyes burned with anger, anger that pulsated like thousands of screams through his head as Takao's face turned bluer by the second. Rei decided it was best to do something, leaping over to put a hand on Boris' shoulder.

''Boris, let him go!''

''No way!''

''You can kill him later! I just want to talk to him, okay?''

The Russian stopped momentarily in his attempt to murder, glaring very, very disliking at Rei. The Tiger looked at him in implication, heart racing like thunder in his chest and he found the moment a little too awkward. Finally, Boris let go with a grunt and stood up, glaring heatedly at them as he did.

Takao sat up with a wheez and a cough, gulping down air like he was never getting the opportunity to ever again. When the color had returned to his face, Rei met his eyes, which immediately drained the colour once more. Takao knew he was in deep trouble, and he did not like it one bit.

''Takao'' Rei spoke, voice strained. ''What were you doing in the bushes?''

''I… uh…''

''Well?''

Takao muttered, knowing he was defeated. There was no use in trying to get out of it. After all he had run out of good ideas by the time they reached the bushes, and the look on Hiromi's face told him she wasn't likely to help.

''We just wanted to see who you were meeting!''

''We?!'' Hiromi looked appalled, glaring with large eyes as she pictured how Takao's head would look on her wall.

''Don't try to squirm your way out of this, Hiromi!''

''It was your idea! I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't do anything bad!''

''Obviously you're not doing a very good job!''

''Hey, hey, hey!'' Rei broke their arguing with raised voice, firmly silencing them with one solid glare. ''Take it easy! I'm the one who's supposed to be mad at you!''

Guiltily they turned their stares down, muttering slightly. Rei sighed.

''You know, it isn't very nice to spy on people''

''We know, Rei'' Hiromi said sullenly. ''I'm sorry.''

''Yeah, me too'' Takao mumbled. ''It's just… we haven't seen you around much lately. I was getting curious, you know?''

He cast a widewards glance towards Boris, who was plotting their death that very moment. Takao got an odd, funny feeling in his gut, wanting to get out and away from there. Whatever was going on with the mystery that was Rei Kon, he would have to find out in some other way that did not involve interacting with Boris. Which seemed highly unlikely to happen, if Takao's instincts were right. He sighed and with a final look at Rei, he stood up.

''Just tell me one thing Rei, and I'll go'' he said, and Rei nodded slowly, wondering if he was making a mistake by doing so. ''Why him?''

The Tiger smiled slightly at that, which had the Dragon somewhat confused.

''Why not?''

The blue-haired man could come up with several reasons as to why not, but he had no time to as Hiromi had gotten to her feet. With one final sweet smile and an apology, she grabbed Takao's ear and dragged him off into the night. Rei stared questioningly after them until they could not be seen, tilting his head a little in wonder.

''Huh… Well that was awkward.''

''I'm going to kill him.''

Rei turned around with a smile, which somehow only made the Russian angrier. Suddenly he was regretting ever meeting Rei again, like he had been much better off if he had just stayed in Russia in the first place. But something in Rei's smile made him stay. He didn't know what it was but the day he found out, he was going to kill it.

X

From there and onwards, no one was sure of the how's and when's anymore. Despite that, Boris tried to get a grip of it all, pondering slightly over his life. His eyes were gazing into the far distance, seeing something no one else could. His mouth a thoughtful line as he chewed at his thumb in irritation. He hadn't met the other Russian's for a week, hadn't even spoken to them. He'd kept mostly to himself, waiting and waiting for the tournament to just be over with.

But something was odd. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, and this angered him to the point where he couldn't even sleep. If there was something Boris hated, it was having that gnawing little uncertainty in the back of his mind, churning and murmuring until the mystery was solved. He wanted things brutally honest and simple, and when the world contradicted this wish, well, Boris was not a happy person.

Not that he ever really was, but at times like these it was slightly worse than usual. For some reason, he had been meeting Kon at that damn restaurant every single day for two weeks. Willingly, even. How much of a loser did one have to be in order to accomplish that? Boris didn't know. He wondered just how on earth he ended up like that.

One moment he tried to kill the Chinese, the next he was eating lunch with him. It was as if the whole world had been tripping on acid, and nothting really made sense anymore. But still, why wouldn't he be able to eat with the man? He hadn't tried to kill the man because he hated him – to be fair, Boris hated everyone equally – but because he had been told to. And since he was a true born sadist, he had done it.

But now no one was there to tell him what to do. Boris was free, in a way, and he could do whatever damn thing he wanted to do with his life. And, this he would never admit out loud, Kon wasn't all that bad. Boris had no idea what to really think of it all. His mind one complete mess of thoughts and anger and things he didn't even recognize.

Since when did he socialize with anyone? He had a hard enough time being around his own team! A team he had abandoned as well, refusing to compete or even touch a Beyblade since his and Yuriy's fight. And they hadn't really gone out of their way to get him back, so what a loss could he be? He was always benched anyway. Whenever Kai was around he was replaced, put in the corner and discarded like he didn't even matter.

They wanted nothing to do with him, he wanted nothing to do with them. Since Kon wouldn't be competing either, and they had nothing better to do, then why not? All they really did anyway was to accidentally meet at the same time at the same place every day. For all he knew it could be fate. The cruel way of some higher power or whatever Buddhist crap he could think of. He wanted some food, Rei wanted some food, oops look at that, they ended up at the same table. It could be a coincidence.

And the mess in his head wasn't feelings he had never felt before. It was all just misplaced confusion, he told himself. He was annoyed, bored and confused. Nothing more. And as soon as the tournament was over, he was going to go home, enjoy his solitude and never speak to his so called 'friends' ever again. He just had to endure a few more days, then it would all be over. No more Neoborg, no more Beyblade, no more ramen and no more Kon. Peace of cake.

If he was lucky enough, this was no bonding-shit that always happened in movies. He was simply going mad.