A/N: Greetings: I'm back with some more Bladebreaker tomfoolery – hope you enjoy it. Haha, the first half is quite unintentionally very shipper-ish. I just started typing, and couldn't delete what I'd written, it was too cute in my head. So, if you're a TyxHil fan, than you'll probably be enjoying the fluff here. If not, then be aware that I am a TyxHil, and always will lean toward this pairing.
As always, thanks to some stuff and Lin for your lovely reviews to the last chapter. Hope you enjoy the update! :)

– So, Tell Me Another Cat Joke. I Dare You

"Tyson, can I ask you something?"

"Uhh – No."

"Huh?" Hilary said, blinking in reply. "No? Why not?"

"'Cause," he grunted, "I'll just lose count and – then you'll get ratty and – make me start all over again and – dammit!" he said, sitting up straight and looking at her accusingly, "what number was I on?"

Hilary rolled her eyes. "Fifty-four," she said, sighing at his terrible memory.

It was Friday evening, and she and Tyson were in the yard outside the dojo. Kai had been a lot grumpier and short tempered over the past couple of days (Hilary thought it had something to do with the texts he kept getting, but she couldn't be sure), and Tyson's big mouth kept getting him in trouble with the older blader. Today, he made a snarky comment during practice after school that Kai took particular offense to and ordered him to do one hundred push-ups, sit-ups and squats in return. The push-ups were done already, and Tyson was currently mid-way through the sit-ups. Hilary volunteered to stay with him and make sure he got them done, because the way Kai looked at him was actually dangerously close to promising the navy-haired teen physical pain (and not just the sort he'd get from being punished to some intense athletic exercise).

She was sitting with her back against the porch post, hugging her knees to her chest. There was a mug of chocolate beside her on the porch, as well as Tyson's cap. Tyson had his feet wedged under the outcrop of the porch in an attempt to make his sit-up punishment a little easier.

"Arghh," Tyson groaned, running a hand through his messy hair before leaning back and resting his weight on his elbows, "this sucks. Sorry Hil, but I am not doing those squats."

"Oh yes you are, Tyson." Hilary bossed, but more out of habit than anything else. She was so used to countering everything the boy said that it was almost second nature.

Tyson just raised a snarky eyebrow at her, clearly dismissing her venom-less threat, before saying, "So, what was it you wanted to ask anyhow?"

"Oh, nothing," she said, turning her head to the side and looking away from him, embarrassed, "it's not really important."

"Huh? Okay, whatever." Tyson shrugged, before continuing his sit-ups. He wanted to get this over and done with as soon as possible so he could keep Kai updated with another Cat Fact. However, after about three sit-ups, he turned to Hilary indignantly and said, "Hey, you're not counting!"

"Huh, what?" Hilary blinked, not really playing attention.

"Hil, you gotta keep count for me!"

"Ahh, fine, quit whining at me! What number were you on?"

"Oh, er – like eighty-seven or something," Tyson said smoothly.

Hilary rolled her eyes and smirked. "Tch, no you weren't. Nice try Tyson. Let's call it twenty and start from there," she said cruelly.

"Huh, what! No, I was at fifty-seven, I remember now!" he said frantically, doing the math in his head.

"Okay. Well come on, then – fifty-eight's not gonna do itself." She snickered as he returned to his exercise with a groan and a mumble about 'stupid Kai.'

After about twenty sit-ups in relative silence, Hilary spoke again. "Ty?"

Tyson stopped in mid sit-up with a groan and rested his weight back on his hands. "What?"

"Does Kai have a girlfriend?" she said, all out of the blue.

Tyson's face was a complete blank for all of two seconds, before he dramatically collapsed backwards and began to howl with laughter on the ground. "Kai have a girlfriend? Hahahaha, why Hil? Are you thinking of making a move on him already?"

Hilary blushed crimson. "What? Ugh, no!" she spluttered.

"'Cause if you are, I think I'd better go and warn the poor guy," he snarked, in between bouts of laughter.

"Shut it, Tyson!" she shrieked, narrowing her eyes at him. "I'm not even into Kai!"

"Heh, nahh – you'd rather have him into you, right?" he snarked, heavy on the innuendo.

"Arrgh, Tyson! You're disgusting, you know that?" she yelled at him, picking up his cap from beside her and lobbing it at his face. He just pulled it right off and laid it to the side of him, before throwing his arms back lazily and resting his head on them. Apparently, he was through with the sit-ups for now.

"So," he began, grinning cheekily at Hilary from the floor, "if you don't like him, then why are you even asking?"

"Oh, you now what, it doesn't even matter," she replied huffily, turning her head to the side.

"N'aw, come on Hil, don't be like that! You know you can trust me with anything!"

"Pfft, yeah right."

Tyson spared a few moments to chuckle at her expense, before saying, "Seriously. I'm curious now. Why are you even asking?"

"I think the question's more like, 'why am I even asking you' when I know you never take anything seriously," she huffed, glaring at him with her ruby eyes.

"Because I'm you're bestest buddy, that's why," he said with a cheeky smile. She just rolled her eyes at him. "Okay okay, look, I'm not laughing anymore. And I won't tease you, I promise – I just wanna know. Please?" he said, pulling on his pitiful little puppy dog expression.

"Ugh, fine. It's not even like it's that bad, anyway. I was just wondering about all these texts he was getting, that's all."

"Texts, huh," Tyson said strangely, smirking a little. Hilary didn't understand why. "What about them?"

"Well, I just thought maybe he had a girlfriend and they were arguing or something. Like, maybe she was mad at him for leaving and coming back to Bakuten with us or...ugh, what now?" she said sharply at the end. Tyson had gradually began to snicker during her musings, and was now in full on laugh mode again.

"No, I'm not laughing at you. It's just, haha –" he broke off into another chortle again before continuing, "it's just, the thought of anyone thinking that Kai could have a girlfriend is hilarious."

"Tchh, it can't be that hilarious, Ty."

"Yes it can. I mean, sure, he's rich, and a lot of girls think he's hot for some reason (personally, I think they're looking at the wrong person there, I'm obviously better looking), but he's also too damn bossy and a total grouch. Can't think of many girls who'd put up with that. Those texts aren't from no girlfriend, Hil, trust me."

Hilary blinked. She thought he said that last part way too smugly. "Why...what makes you so sure?"

"Nothin'" he said innocently, absentmindedly reaching up a hand to fiddle with his hat, then grasping around for it when he remembered it wasn't on his head. Hilary latched onto the movement – she knew that habit, everyone did. Everyone apart from Tyson himself, apparently.

"Aha! You're lying!" Hilary declared, pointing a finger at him dramatically, "you know something, don't you?"

Tyson couldn't restrain his laugh. "No, I'm not lying, why would I be lying to you?" he said, totally unconvincingly.

"Fine, don't tell me," she said petulantly. "I'll just tell Kai you're up to something."

"Pshh, go ahead, I'll just say you're lying."

"Okay, I will." Hilary got up and began to make her way into the dojo, calling Tyson's bluff.

"Dude! Hilary wait, fine!" He jumped straight to his feet and hurried off after her, pulling her by the wrist back out of the dojo. "I'll tell you, but you gotta promise not to rat me out."

Hilary narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Why, what are you doing?"

"Don't look at me like that, it's not anything bad! I'm just pulling a prank on him, that's all."

"What kind of prank?"

Tyson smirked. "The kind of prank that only a pranking master could pull off," he said, smugly.

Hilary blinked at him, waiting for him to explain further. When he didn't, she just said, "Well?"

"Oh, right. Well, you know when I didn't turn up to practice the other day?" Hilary nodded. "I was just about to leave for it when I saw Gramps' phone just lying on the kitchen counter, and I had this insane lightbulb moment. And I decided that I really wanted to prank Kai, I just had to think of something really good, and this is what I came up with." He slipped his blackberry out of his pocket and handed it to her. She automatically started browsing through the messages with Kai as he explained. "I was using Gramps' phone at first, but I went and got a new sim card for it yesterday and gave it back to him so Kai wouldn't get suspicious, and kept this one so I could keep texting him from that number."

He started snickering to himself in the silence as Hilary just scrolled through the messages. They pretty much just consisted of Tyson pretending to be a Cat Facts subscription company, with Kai replying angrily every two or three texts, trying to cancel the fake subscription. With a hint of a smile around her lips she said, "I've gotta say Tyson, I don't know whether to applaud your dedication, or pity you for being plain sad. Seems like a whole lot of effort for a joke."

"Tchh, you should be fainting in awe at my brilliance and dedication, obviously," he said nonchalantly. "But I wouldn't expect you to understand, anyway. You're just a girl. Pranking is the art of men."

Hilary swatted him on the arm and rolled her eyes, but otherwise ignored his derogatory statement. Handing his phone back to him, she said, "So, just how long are you planning to keep this up, then?"

"I dunno," Tyson said, rubbing his chin in thought, "'til I get bored of it, I 'spose. Or til Kai finds out. Which he won't, since a certain someone here won't be ratting me out, will they?" He narrowed his eyes at her in mock accusation.

"Oh, don't you worry about a thing, Ty," she replied, holding her hands up, "your dirty little secret's safe with me."

"Good girl," he said, giving her a patronizing tap on the head. Then, turning around to pick his cap up off the floor with a wide smirk, he said, "'cause your dirty little secret's safe with me too, Hil."

"Huh? What secret?"

"That you have a thing for Kai, of course."

"Arghh, Ty-son!" she shrieked, "I do not have a thing for Kai!"

Hilary dove angrily after Tyson as he placed his cap on his head and ran, secretly cheering in his head that the sit-ups and squats were forgotten about, while Hilary was wondering why exactly she chose to be friends with this boy and why she was always covering for him.

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

"Chief."

"Yes?"

The small brunette spun around on the chair he was sat on and looked up at Kai. Boy, he looked thunderous. Kai was towering over him with his arms folded and an expression on his face that Tyson would probably eloquently describe as real pissed. He watched as Kai made to speak twice, but then stopped, clearly reluctant to say whatever it was that he needed to say.

'What's up Kai – cat got your tongue?' Dizzi quipped from the desktop. Kai sent one of his sharpest glares at the laptop, clearly not impressed with what her smart-alec remark.

"...Kai?"

"I want your help with something, Kenny."

"Uhh...sure. Anything you want, Kai."

He watched curiously as Kai reached into his pocket and pulled out his iPhone. He unlocked the screen, opened the message tab, and then roughly deposited it into the Chief's hands. Kenny scrolled through the messages, half perplexed and half utterly amused. "Uhh, Kai... what is this?"

– Welcome to Cat Facts! Did you know that there are approximately 100 breeds of cat? Talk about being spoiled for choice! –

– No, I didn't. I really don't care –

– Cancel. –

– Thanks for texting Cat Facts! Remember, every time you send a text, you will receive an instant Cat Fact! [To cancel, reply 'djgadauywubda89623najadn'] –

– Djggigywubwubwubda89623najadn –

– Command not recognized. Did you know, cats must have fat in their diet because they can't produce it on their own? Be sure to take good care of your cat. Meow! –

– Fucking cancel –

– What is this? –

– Welcome to Cat Facts. Did you know that a cat's urine glows under a black light? –

– Thanks for choosing Cat Facts. Did you know that a cat's brain is more similar to a man's brain than that of a dog? Who's man's best friend now? Mee-ow! –

– Piss off –

– I'm calling this number –

– Thanks for choosing Cat Facts! While many cats enjoy milk, it will give some cats diarrhea. Remember to pay close attention to your cat's diet so it can have a healthy, love-filled life! –

– Stop. –

– A cat will spend almost 30% of their life grooming himself. [To cancel Cat Fatcs, reply 'Idontwubwubwubyou192732qzp'] –

– Is this a joke? –

– Idontwubwubwubyou192732qzp –

– Do you really want to cancel Cat Facts? To confirm, reply 'cancel' –

– cancel –

– To confirm your cancellation, please complete the following sentence: Your favourite animal is the [blank]. –

– Cat. –

– INCORRECT. Records indicate you previously answered your favourite animal is the [dog]. You will continue to receive [hourly] Cat Facts –

– Are you fucking kidding me? –

– Dog. My favourite animal is the dog. –

– Dog. –

– Give me the question again –

– Welcome to Cat Facts! A steady diet of dog food can cause blindness in your cat. Make sure to steer clear of that junk food when preparing you dear cat's meals! –

– Shut up –

– Cancel –

– Spraying a female cat before her first or second heat will greatly reduce the threat of mammary cancer and uterine disease. Thanks for choosing Cat Facts! –

– Please go away –

– Welcome to Cat Facts! Did you know that the domestic cat can spring at about 31 miles per hour? Me-wow! –

Kenny was pulled out of the bizarre text messages by the sound of Dizzi cracking up with laughter.

'Ha ha ha ha – ohhhh! I see now why you weren't impressed with my cat-got-your-tongue comment!'

Kai blinked. "What the...how can you –"

"She probably read it over the bluetooth."

'Yep. Talk about persistent subscriptions, you've really got it bad. Paw you! No wonder you've been such a sour-puss lately!'

Kenny mentally face-palmed. Baiting Kai when he was already in such a foul mood was not a good idea. She might be safe inside the computer, but he wasn't! "Dizzi, please stop it with the cat-puns."

'Huh, Chief, are you kitten me? There are just so many to chose from, litter-ally!'

"Dizzi, please...this isn't funny."

'Oh, I know. It's claw-fully serious business!'

"That's it!" Kai reached out a hand and forcefully slammed Dizzi's laptop shut, ignoring Kenny's protests about her being fragile. "Kenny," he said stiffly. "I want you to make it stop."

Kenny scratched his head nervously as he tried to think. He was a computer whiz, not a phone technician – just because they were gadgets didn't mean they worked the same way! Besides, it looked to him like someone was just playing a joke on Kai. But he didn't want to say that and risk the grouchy captain being angry at him too, so he just kept those thoughts to himself. "I dunno, Kai, have you tried phoning them?"

"Yes," he hissed.

"And…?"

"And nothing. Just the answer phone."

"Right…"

Kenny continued scrolling through the messages, constantly restraining the urge to crack a smile. Laughing around an angry Kai was a dangerous thing to do – laughing at an angry Kai was even worse.

"Well?" Kai demanded.

Kenny blinked. "Well what?"

"Well can you make it stop?"

"I don't know Kai, I mean, I don't see what I can do if you've already tried phoning them."

"Can't you just block the number?"

"Well, yeah, if your problem was unwanted phone calls. But as far as I'm aware, you can't block text messages."

"Why not?" he demanded, narrowing his eyes dangerously.

"Geez! Kai, I don't know, I'm sorry! I mean, why don't you just get a new number?"

"Tch, what, just quit and let them beat me? Not likely," he said, folding his arms stubbornly and glaring out the window.

"Urghh, fine. Well then, have you thought that it might be…" Kenny trailed off lamely, not wanting to annoy him any more by suggesting that Kai was the victim of a prank.

"Spit it out, Chief. Might be what?"

"...might just be someone pulling a prank on you?" he said hesitantly.

Kai's shoulders relaxed a little. "A prank?"

"Sorry, silly suggestion, I know but…"

"No," Kai said, with a dangerous glint in his eye. "A prank…" he said, more to himself than to Kenny. Then, smirking ominously, he pulled his phone back out of Kenny's hands and turned on his heel, making to leave the room. "That's good ...thanks Chief."

With that, Kai walked right out of the room and vanished around the corner, his scarf billowing out behind him.

Mentally wiping the nervous sweat off his brow, Kenny opened the laptop again, saying, "you know, Dizzi, I wish you wouldn't tease Kai like that, because the only one who has to deal with it is me."

'Yeah, yeah, quit whining, Chief. Anyway, you're in the clear this time. I just hope Tyson knows what he's doing.'

"Huh, Tyson? What do you mean?"

'Duh, Chief, who else is both brave and stupid enough to pull a prank like this on Kai and think they can get away with it?'

"Heh, well, know that you mention it, it does seem like the kind of thing he'd do."

'Yeah. I'm suprised at how clever he's being this time, I can't believe Kai hasn't caught on to him yet.'

"Yeah well, I don't think his luck's going to last all that long now, Dizzi."

'Aww, well that's a shame, I was having fun with making all those cat puns. I love cats!'

Kenny smirked. "So does Kai."

A/N: YES! So I've finally managed to write something where Kenny speaks more than three words! AND has a bit of personality! Seriously, I struggle with him. It's not even like he's a third wheel in my fics – he's like the seventh or something. Don't get me wrong, I love Kenny, I just find him hard to write. Literally had to force myself through this because of him, so I hope it's okay. :)
Aaaanyway, I wonder what Kai's going to do now? HOW will he try and find the pranker? And WHAT will he do when he finds him? Tyson better watch his back, I think, because Kai's hot on his heels in purr-suit! (ba-dum-pishh :'D) LOL, I crack myself up. :')
See you sometime next week with an update :)

~Indie