Chapter 3 is here! I want to say thank you so much to my friends RK and slr2moons, who somehow found the time to help me with a quick beta. Thank you so much! I don't want to think what a mess this would be without you guys. And also thank you to everyone who has been reading, and especially those who were kind enough to review!

The Lightning Fangs are my own OCs, but please don't worry about them taking over the fic. This is still for Max and Kai!

I really hope you will continue to enjoy this fic. I will do my best to have chapter 4 up for everyone to enjoy in good time.

Morning found Kai feeling far more rested and refreshed than he could have ever expected. He already knew not to go bck to sleep with that dream on the forefront of his mind, and experience told him not to expect any more sleep in the short amount of night he'd had left. He had only wanted Max to sleep so he could sit up and think without his teammate being aware of it. Instead, Max's chattering had somehow helped to clear his head in a few minutes when it normally took him hours to sort himself out.

After waking up more clear-headed than he'd felt in a week, Kai actually found himself glad to be sharing a room with someone for once. Max had even stayed on his own side of the bed. He was still asleep when Kai looked over at him, curled up with his knees to his chest and one hand fisted in his pillow. Max appeared so innocent in his sleep, it almost made Kai forget how easily his energetic teammate got into trouble.

Kai shook himself out of his thoughts. If he was wasting time just watching Max's sleeping face he must not be as awake as he felt. He had decided a long time ago that the best way to avoid the awkwardness of being forced to share a bed with one of the others was to rise early and clear out, leaving them to wake up on their own.

With this in mind Kai took a quick shower, to wake himself up the rest of the way more than anything. He dressed before applying his face paint with the efficiency of long practice. He had picked up that ritual again once he got back into beyblading, and once again he could do it without even needing to see himself in the fogged mirror.

He expected Max to still be asleep, but when he slipped out of the bathroom he found Max in the middle of a wake-up stretch. His bare legs were swung over the edge of the bed and the movement pulled up the T-shirt he was sleeping in to expose a flash of his stomach. Kai quickly flicked his eyes away from the sight, though in the back of his mind he was noting that their physical training regimen was having a positive effect. It might even be time to make Max's training a little more intense.

"Mm. . ." Max folded his hands behind his head, still looking half-asleep. "Mornin' Kai," he managed around another yawn. "Wha's up?"

"Bathroom's free. I'll see you at breakfast if you get ready in time."

"Did you get a good sleep?" Max asked. "No more bad dreams?"

That made Kai pause. Of course Max remembered last night. He had been awake enough to try and make conversation. Of course he had been awake enough to remember.

"I'm fine."

"Tha's good." Max yawned again, before pushing himself up out of bed. "Why'd they make this start so early. . . ?"

Even if he remembered, it was a fluke so far as Max knew. There was no reason Max would even think about it any further, not with so much to distract him. Though he had been momentarily glad for Max's company, Kai decided he would be even more glad to have privacy again. He wouldn't give Max any reason to think about him, and everything would be forgotten soon enough. That, Kai reasoned, was best for both of them.

Buoyed by the excitement of their upcoming match, Max woke up quickly. He had forgotten how exhilarating it was to be playing in a proper stadium, surrounded by the crowd. The stadium still showed a few signs that it had been under repair after the damage sustained in that final round of the world championship, but it was finally ready to host beyblade matches again. Max still didn't know exactly what had happened, but he remembered the clash between Tyson and Tala had made the whole building shake.

Max was actually disappointed that today's show was only a few exhibition matches to christen the newly repaired stadium. He would have loved to spend all day on preliminary rounds as they had before, seeing all kinds of different styles and taking them on one by one. By the time they were ready to start he was practically vibrating with energy, wishing he could take part. Someone had to sit out, obviously, but Max didn't want to be that someone.

When they finally stepped out onto the main floor of the stadium the Lightning Fangs were already there waiting for them. Max nearly tripped over his own feet trying to get a better look at the other team. All four wore a patch on one arm with a small picture of what looked like a lizard or snake head spitting a lightning bolt. Other than that none of them looked anything alike.

Max immediately recognized Lexi, their team captain. Her short hair was almost silvery in the back with longer deep blue bangs framing her proud face, so that she looked almost like a reflection of Kai. Max had only seen a poor photograph of her before, and wanted to know if she would share Kai's uncanny crimson eyes as well. Now that he finally got a good look at her he found they were an unremarkable blue, like his own. When she stepped forward and shook hands with Kai, formally agreeing to a friendly match, Max realized they were even a match in height. He couldn't be sure if the similarity extended to temperament as well. Neither captain seemed to give a single hint of what they were thinking.

Looking down the line from Lexi, Max recognized two of the others from the chief's briefing the day before. Kent was a huge, broad-shouldered boy who looked like he hadn't slept in a month. At least, that was what Max thought before realizing the black marks under his eyes were only painted on. Elane, the other girl on the team, seemed tiny standing between her much taller teammates. She had her long hair up in twin ponytails and a fierce, pointed little face that reminded Max of a fox.

Standing a little behind the others was a tall boy who Max could only guess was the team's alternate. No one had even mentioned the other teen's name to him. Before Max had a chance to get more than a glance at him it was time for them to step back to opposite sides of the stadium, ready to cheer on the others.

Ray was up first. He face off against Kent in a specialty dish with a miniature version of the stadium itself, complete with the surrounding grounds. Kent's beyblade was obviously a powerful bulldozer if given the chance, and just looking at it Max could guess it was within milligrams of the weight limit, but Driger's speed meant such a bulky opponent couldn't manage to land a single blow.

Even with the advantage in speed and maneuverability, Ray didn't let up on his opponent for a minute. With Driger Ray could, and did, turn and loop around a slower blade with ease. He moved seamlessly from evasion to attack in an eyeblink, unbalancing the other beyblade with a series of quick attacks. By the second round Driger was literally spinning circles around Kent's beyblade, whipping up a vortex of air pressure that sent his opponent flying.

The first set was over before the announcer had a chance to get revved up. It was probably poor form to whoop and jump on Ray to congratulate him, but Max didn't think of that until after he'd already done it.

Even though the events today were meant to celebrate fixing up the stadium, it became apparent after Ray's match that some repairs hadn't been completed yet. There had to be a break while the switch to a new dish was made manually, which was a minor hassle. More telling was the fact that both teams were shunted into the same resting room while the change was made.

They immediately gravitated to opposite sides of the room, sizing each other up once again. Ray was the first to break out of the group by going to offer a more friendly introduction to his opponent. Tyson, always good at making new friends, was right behind him.

Max was a step behind Tyson and about to join in when he realized he was being watched. Looking around, Max found he was being scrutinized by the Lightning Fang's last member, the one he'd only gotten a quick glimpse of before the first bout.

He was easily taller than anyone else on his team, even slouching against the wall. Everything about his appearance was casual, dressed in jeans and a battered leather jacket, and with his short black hair sticking out in all directions. Now that Max finally got a good look at him it was impossible to miss that he was sporting rings in his eyebrow and lip, and several in one ear.

Max gave him a friendly smile almost on instinct, and got a grin flashed at him in return. This guy had to be the one stuck in the same position as Max was, having to sit out as the fourth member on his team. Max was suddenly incredibly curious to see what kind of blading style he would have, and took a step away from the cheerful knot the others had made, intending to strike up a conversation.

When he glanced past the tall boy he noticed Lexi was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. Her eyes focused unwaveringly on Kai even though he was ignoring her. It wasn't anything personal, since Kai was ignoring everything, but it still made Max want to laugh.

She noticed Max looking at her and turned on him with narrowed eyes, making Max suddenly want to slink away. He didn't get a chance to introduce himself to the other boy after all.

The second bout pitted Tyson against Elane in a dish that had been iced over beforehand, producing a slick surface with almost no traction. In spite of their warnings, Max could tell Tyson wasn't taking the match seriously. He got knocked straight out of the dish within seconds in the first round.

A delightfully mischievous smile made it clear Elane was not to be taken lightly. Unfortunately for her, Tyson got the message and put his full power into play to make up for his stinging pride. He hurriedly brought out Dragoon to blow away Elane's blade in the second round.

By their third and final round it had suddenly become an intense battle of bitbeast against bitbeast. Elane's stingray-like bitbeast went about cracking and melting the thin film of ice on the dish with small bolts of electricity. Tyson was hard-pressed just to keep Dragoon spinning in the dangerous terrain. At length he managed to force Elane's beyblade into one of the damaged areas, toppling her and pulling off a victory.

During their second break, as the stadium was reset for the last match, Elane easily struck up a friendly conversation with Tyson and Ray, while Kent lurked behind her like a bodyguard. Not that it made much difference. Tyson didn't even seem to notice if the guy was trying to be intimidating.

The other two were less sociable. Their alternate was still looking at him, and Max was starting to feel self-conscious. It wasn't like they would get to do anything today, so why was he getting so much attention? Though he was trying not to stare at the other teen in return, Max heard him make a comment to Lexi that he'd heard Max went and joined some rival team in America, but obviously they went out of their way to get him back.

"He's not important. He's just an alternate. You should remember last year he didn't even participate in that final match in the world championship," Lexi answered.

Max could feel his ears burning. He tried to turn to Kai and start a conversation to distract himself, but Kai looked like he was napping, leaning against the wall with his eyes closed.

"A lot of really high-profile teams like that can only afford to keep three good players, but that's all they need anyway," Lexi continued.

"Hey!" came an angry shout from Tyson. "You take that back!" Max hadn't even thought he was paying attention, but he seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to anyone insulting a friend.

At almost the same time Elane cried, "Lex, what did you say?" at her captain, sounding scandalized.

Max had to help Ray physically hold Tyson back to keep his friend from trying to defend him by getting into a fight with the opposing team's captain. Distracted by Tyson's anger and his own embarrassment, he didn't notice Kai's eyes had snapped open until he moved, stepping forward to confront his now stony-faced opponent. Her narrowed eyes just seemed to be daring him to hit her, as Tyson was flailing around trying to do.

"You aren't anywhere near a high enough level to take Max."

Max relaxed his grip, too startled to think of holding Tyson back when even Kai was defending him. Luckily, Tyson was also too shocked at seeing Kai actually stepping in to take advantage of his distraction.

"And what makes you say that?"

Kai's lips twisted up, but his expression wasn't anything like a smile as Max knew it. Lexi had a serious backbone not to back down from just that look. It was sending chills down Max's spine, and Kai wasn't even looking at him.

"I'll make you a deal. Let's make this a best of five. If you can beat Max, you'll be back in the running."

"Can we even do that?" Tyson wanted to know.

"He is team captain," Ray answered philosophically.

"You're not just trying to weasel out of facing me?"

"If you somehow manage to win, I'll be glad to beat you down myself."

There was no time for further bartering. They were being called into the arena even as the two captains shook on it, this time looking as if they would like to break each other's hands.

Max's throat was too tight to say anything to Kai. Either, 'thank you,' or 'what are you thinking!?'

When he went to stumble back into the arena, Kai stopped him with a firm hand on his shoulder and a low voice in his ear. "Don't prove me wrong," Kai told him, giving his shoulder a squeeze.

The arena had been switched to a standard dish for the final round, so there wasn't even the stress of an unexpected terrain for Max to contend with. There should have been no pressure at all with his team already up by two wins, but Max's stomach was in knots when he stepped up. Kai had placed trust in him to win. Suddenly this match was painfully important.

Max didn't handle the pressure as well as he could have, or should have. He rushed into the first round, trying to strike first and make Kai proud. Instead he ended up getting Draciel ricocheted back to him in a defeat far more sudden and embarrassing than Tyson's.

With his heart apparently trying to hammer its way up into his throat, Max found himself unable to even take a deep breath and attempt to calm himself. He was almost too tense to load Draciel back onto his launcher for a second try. The world seemed to close in on him as a tinny ringing in his ears threatened to deafen him. Only one voice could reach him.

"Stop messing around. You're better than that. Calm down and fight, Max."

Max looked back at Kai. His team captain's face was impassive as ever, yet the look Kai fixed him with was intense enough to make his heart settle down to where it was supposed to be. He could still practically feel Kai's hand on his shoulder, lending him strength.

He could see Tyson and Ray and Kenny all cheering him on, and somehow that helped the sound of the crowd finally filter back through. He couldn't let his head fog up in panic, no matter if his opponent thought he was useless and even Kai had been moved to defend him. The stubborn determination that had gotten Max into and out of worse situations than this finally took over. He wouldn't go down that easily.

Determined, Max launched Draciel a second time.

With his head cleared by Kai's brisk words and the reminder that his best friends were still on his side, Max was able to focus on playing Draciel's strengths. This time he stood his ground and kept to defending. He guided Draciel into absorbing and deflecting attacks, slowly frustrating his opponent and wearing her momentum down.

Just when he judged Lexi was angry enough to get reckless he switched tactics. A sudden attack after his long defensive stint startled her and let him snatch a win in the second round.

When they faced off for the third, final time Max had completely regained the excited energy that had been flowing through him all morning. He grinned across at Lexi, and she gave him a hint of a predatory smile back. Max was sure both of them knew this would not be an easy win, but someone was going to have to go down.

Lexi took a more cautious tack this time, looking for an opening that Max wasn't about to give her as both of them kept their guard up. When their eyes met across the dish, the look on her face was enough to sweep away any grudge Max might have considered harboring. All he could see now was the strength of a serious blader settling into a match. There was a new respect in her expression, as if to say she wouldn't be so sloppy as to underestimate him again.

Their blades circled, clashing violently from every possible angle. The sound drowned out the announcer, at least in Max's ears. Lexi didn't seem to believe in dodging, moving just enough to deflect each of Max's attacks. Draciel stood firm enough to absorb each of her return strikes without losing speed.

She was testing him, twisting to attack at different angles in an effort to overbalance him. Max could see that almost without having to think about it. She was expecting him to absorb each attack because he could, with Draciel's rotational speed and magnetic core deflecting the hits well enough to avoid damage.

As competition sharpened his focus to a fine point and the blinding rotation of his beyblade gave a spark of life to the small talisman set in it, Max once again became aware of Draciel on a solid, physical level. The bitbeast hadn't even manifested yet, but to Max Draciel was already an extension of his own body.

Almost before Max had formed a plan in his head Draciel was moving into place for him. Max feinted back along the curve of the dish with the next few strikes, letting Lexi's blade arc around and come in high behind him.

At the same time that Max let Draciel appear he saw an answering glow rise from Lexi's blade. She was done trying to soften him up, and now she rushed in for a finishing blow. Her bitbeast was a flat lizard with a serpentine neck, which stretched out hungrily to get a bite of Draciel.

Max hardly had time for a cry of, "Now, Draciel!"

Draciel responded as fast as a thought, rearing up with a bellow that vibrated through Max's whole body and allowing Max's beyblade to slip cleanly out of the way. In perfect unison Draciel looped around to strike Lexi's beyblade from behind as the immense turtle came down on her smaller bitbeast in an unmerciful blow.

The combined strike sent Lexi's blade fatally out of its spin. Almost in slow motion it was driven before Draciel's solid form until it flipped up against the opposite side of the dish and crashed down again in defeat.

Max was exhilarated, out of breath even though he'd hardly needed to shout commands to guide Draciel. He could hardly believe it was over even when he fetched the still-spinning Draciel out of the dish. The dispirited look on Lexi's face told him she couldn't believe it either.

"That was a great match!" Max enthused. He was too energized to think about any past insult now. "It was really close. You almost had me there for a minute!"

Max stuck out his hand, smiling openly. Remembering his first match again Kai, he almost expected to be snubbed, but in a second there was the firm grip of Lexi's hand on his. She was actually smiling back, albeit rather sheepishly.

"Not even. I really underestimated you," Lexi argued. "And I'm sorry for what I said earlier. Kit," she jerked her head at the tall boy with the piercings, "had to remind me that you were injured and couldn't have been in that match even if you wanted to."

"Ah," Max said, not knowing how to explain. He'd known that rumor was going around, but it wasn't so much that he'd been physically injured before the championship. Rather that after having Draciel stolen he'd had to bow out and let his teammates take the fight.

"If you get a chance, you might like to talk to him. He's a huge fan of yours. I mean, he will not shut up about you. And he's already really upset I got to face you and he didn't."

"Really?"

Max looked over at Kit again in disbelief. He had fans? He knew the team had fans, and Kai and Tyson and Ray each had some fans that were just really into them, but it hadn't quite occurred to Max that he might have the same. Especially not someone like this. Kit was a head taller than him and had to be a couple of years older as well.

Even when their two teams mingled to share congratulations and Kit finally stopped lurking in the back and made a beeline for him, Max still couldn't quite get his head around it. If he'd tried to imagine a fan of his it'd probably be some excitable kid from his home town asking for an autograph, not a self-assured teen. Max knew he was good, but he had always had the least flashy style on his team and he was sure there was no way he would stand out among the other three.

"Hey," Max managed.

"Hey." Kit took a minute to shake Max's hand. Everything from the slow drawl of his voice to the warm look in his eyes was completely mellow and laid back, which put Max a little more at ease even if it didn't lessen his confusion.

"Sorry about Lexi." He glanced back at his team captain to be sure she was off trading congratulations with the rest of the team before continuing. "It's kinda my fault. I haven't stopped complaining since the match lineup came out and you weren't on it, so I guess she was pretty sick of hearing your name every ten minutes. Sometimes she's just like that. I know if anyone'd said that kind of thing about me she'd kick the tar out of them."

"It's okay," Max assured him. Now that they'd resolved their differences in the dish he could just laugh it off. "She already apologized. I think Tyson got a lot more mad about it than I did."

"I'm glad you can be so cool about it. You looked like you were really flustered at the beginning."

Max was feeling pretty flustered right now, too. He had always thought getting to meet fans was so much fun, but Kit's unwavering focus was making him uncomfortable. He looked around, hoping for guidance (surely Tyson knew how to handle this), but everyone else was busy.

"Relax," Kit told him, making him flush guiltily. "I'm not trying to make you uncomfortable or anything. I just wanted to ask," he rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, tilting his head to the side sheepishly. "Could we have a match some time?"

"Sure!" Max laughed. At least that was familiar territory. He was happy to agree to it.

Kit gripped Max's hand to shake on the agreement, beaming at him. A second later he looked over Max's shoulder and his face grew more serious. He lowered his voice conspiratorially.

"Your team captain looks really pissed off. Should I be worried?"

Max looked back at Kai in surprise and found him glaring at Kit. Maybe he was mad because their chat was holding things up, but it wasn't as if they were the only ones. Everyone but Kai seemed to be happily making friends. Lexi was even heaping enthusiastic praise on the Chief for some of the statistics he had collected during the match, or something like that. Whatever it was he was blushing and looking bashfully proud of himself.

"Nah, he's just like that sometimes," Max said, unconsciously mirroring the same explanation Kit had given for his own team captain.

Their good time didn't break up until the BBA van was ready to leave. At that point, Max was happy to say goodbye, feeling like he'd gained some new friends. This was what competing used to be like, and he had almost forgotten how much fun it was.

As they clambered into the van Max managed to slip into a seat next to Kai. He watched Kai's tensely straight back for a minute, but Kai seemed determined to ignore him in favor of scenery. Max leaned a little closer to whisper to him alone.

"Thanks for back there, Kai."

"For what?"

"For sticking up for me, and encouraging me. I'm sorry you had to give up your spot. You were looking forward to having a new opponent, right?"

"I didn't say anything that wasn't true."

That had to top the charts as the best thing Max had heard all day. He knew he was already grinning like a loon.

"How about a match as soon as we get back?"

Kai actually shifted enough to glance back at him out of the corner of his eye. Max was practically squirming in his seat with excitement.

"Sure."

"We could have a free-for-all!" Max suggested excitedly. A four-on-four free-for-all was the kind of crazy thing you would never see in an official match, but Max found that kind of challenge fun.

"Yes! We could set up our own tournament!" Tyson joined in.

In a second Max was chatting excitedly over the back of his seat with Tyson, who was just as energized by their match as he was. Even though Kai was ignoring the conversation once again, Max still got the feeling Kai might actually join in whatever crazy game they decided on in the end. Even if he was wrong, today he was just happy to have Kai on his side.