Osu! It's time for another chapter! Boy, it's a good thing I start writing my next chapter immediately after submitting because apparently I take LONG breaks in between and before I know it, it's update time and I've got nothing. Once again, it shall seem disjointed, and it hasn't been proofed by anyone other than me. My apologies. I did my best to (gently) push things forward, Enjoy!

G on Alvarado
Sixth Stop – The Progression
Disclaimer: I do not (nor do I foresee to ever) own Beyblade.

ooo

Kai set the glass of water onto the coffee table and sat down. Rei paused before reaching for the glass and taking a small sip. He quietly thanked him for the drink and handled it gingerly. Leaning back, Rei took a precarious glance to his left, where Kai sat, unmoving, on the furthest most point of the couch. His AVS binder and books sat between them. The TV wasn't on. All of the windows and blinds were closed.

"K…" Rei closed his mouth and took another sip.

This had to be the most awkward situation ever known to mankind. No, even before that…the moment before the meteor hit the dinosaurs was less tense than this. The Big Bang that formed the planets was no more than a balloon popping in comparison to—

"Want more?"

Rei pulled the glass away from his mouth. He had finished it all. He had been holding an empty cup to his lips, for several seconds. Kai had noticed; and Rei had not. Good Lord…

"Er," he placed the glass on the coffee table and shrank back into the couch. "Yeah, thanks."

Kai got up, took the glass and went into the kitchen.

Rei greatly resisted the urge to run. He gripped the couch cushion and straightened in his seat. 'Why me? Of all the things that could have happened…and all the people it could have happened to!' His inner monologue was deafening. He almost wished Kai hadn't pulled him inside a few minutes ago.

His books fell to the floor. "…Kai?"

Salima stepped out and dragged Kane with her. "Hi Kai. Do you know Rei?"

Rei blinked out of his stupor, bent down and picked up his things. 'Kane is Kai? No…Kai was always Kai… He was always…'

"Maybe we can straighten this out now," she suggested. "Want to come in?"

Kai strode forward as Rei stood up. He took the younger boy by the wrist. "It was just a mistake, forget about it." With that, Kai guided Rei to his apartment and closed the door.

Kane sighed and went back in. "Can't believe Rei mistook him for me…"

Salima raised a brow. "Yup, hard to believe."

Kai set the glass down again, to which Rei mumbled a thanks. How was he supposed to strike a conversation after that mishap? The worst part was, there was no way out. Takao and Max still had class, they wouldn't call him. Kyouju never called. Yuriy was in the hospital. There was no one to bail him out.

Rei started to weigh his options…what was worse: sitting in silence or talking about the misunderstanding. Yeah, it wasn't looking too good…

"Why did you call me Kane?"

Rei started. He looked at Kai, who hadn't moved an inch from his spot.

"…Well…" he started. He paused as his stream of consciousness played out. 'Well it all started when I saw you go into Salima's apartment and then I asked her who her roommate was, and I never actually knew I was mistaken because I never called you by your name and no one else ever called your name when you were there so I never knew you were…you…' Rei knew he wouldn't say that; and even if he had time to rephrase that, it probably wouldn't sound any better.

Kai glanced at him, the small slit of mahogany that met his gold silently said: "Well?"

Rei exhaled. "…I…it just slipped," he said. There was no way he was going to attempt to explain the long road that led him to this very moment. That would be the second most awkward situation ever known to mankind.

Kai seemed to accept that answer as he shrugged and got up. Surely he must have known it was more than just a slip of the tongue. The way Rei had acted then and now was proof of an underlying problem.

Rei wanted to break the glass of water…with his hand…if only to have an excuse to get out of that apartment. He practically melted into the seat cushions.

Kai went from the kitchen to the bedroom, excusing himself quietly. Rei took the opportunity to sulk a bit more openly. He fell onto the couch and took out his cell phone. Willing it to save him, Rei should not have been so surprised when –

MAKIOKOSE IMA KISEKI BOKURA NO JIDAI E

– the phone responded to his wishes. Honestly, the world did not hate him that much.

Unfortunately, Rei was surprised and lost the grip he had on the device. It jumped onto the coffee table, narrowly missed hitting his drink, and then slid to the floor. He scrambled after it and brought it up to his ear.

"Yes?!"

"…Rei? Are you all right?"

"Mao?" Rei took a moment to right himself, settling into a cross-legged position against the couch. "What is it?"

"Oh well, and I know you're probably going to say no, but I need some help and I was wondering if – "

"Sure! OK!" he said quickly. The sound of the door opening influenced him somewhat. If Kai heard this, he'd have a valid reason to go. "I'll meet you at your place,"

"No, um…actually if you want to it's fine," she said.

"Yeah, it's fine. I'll be right there," he hung up soon after and quickly stood.

Kai moved into the kitchen, barely glancing as Rei started gathering his things. When he was done, he headed for the door, shuffling his feet.

"My friend needs help with something," he said. "I should get going." He jiggled the handle of the door, his composure faltering as it didn't open.

Somehow striding over without a sound, Kai stood behind Rei and gave the handle a sharp tug upward and then pushed it out. The door opened. Rei felt Kai's breath on his neck more than the healthy breeze outside.

Stepping out, Rei paused, tucked his books under one arm and gave a shaky smile. "Thanks for the water, bye!" Not waiting for a response, Rei made a dash for the staircase. He'd dump his materials and bike to Mao's. He didn't even want to consider what could happen if he waited for the G Line.

Behind, Kai stood at the threshold. When he saw Rei pedaling out of the parking lot, he waited until the boy was out of site and then went back inside.

ooo

"Thanks for coming so quickly Rei. I didn't think you'd want to at all," Mao said.

Rei struggled with the number of hangers and clothes he held in his arms, barely able to see his feet to make sure he wasn't stepping on anything.

"You're so sweet, unlike Rai. Well, I didn't ask him, but you know he'd refuse. He's such a boy," she muttered, tossing one more article of clothing onto Rei's pile.

"Probably…can't believe you need all this for one date. Or that you're dating…"

"I'm not a little girl, Rei!" she reprimanded him, purposefully dragging the boy through a throng of giggling ladies into the sale section.

Rei tried to stay close to Mao without getting in anyone's way. Sale shoppers were vicious. "Rai's not going to like this…"

"Oh I know, that's why you're going to keep him busy," she said.

"What?!"

Mao quickly placed another shirt across Rei's shoulder and patted his cheek. "Come on, it's not like you guys can't manage one night," she turned around and surveyed the rack. "You'll probably order some pizza, watch old kung-fu movies, talk about how incorrectly the actors have performed the moves…"

"It's not always kung-fu…" Rei mumbled.

"Please? It's just for tonight," she reasoned.

"Tonight?! You never said – "

Mao sighed, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Why do you think I asked you out just now? The guy down the hall said he's been dying to take me to a club so I said yes!"

Rei tried to organize the cache of clothing, will little success. "The guy…down the hall?"

"If I told you his name, you'd tell Rai and Mr. Guy down the hall would become Mr. Guy with no teeth," Mao said, a threateningly glare targeting Rei maliciously.

"…Right…" he tailed the pink-haired girl as she weaved toward the dressing room. "Rai aside, what do you think the elders would say about this? I doubt this guy is from where we live."

"Elders? Man, I hate those traditions," she said.

"Yeah?"

"Of course!" she placed her hands on her hip. "Grandfather looks up new herbal tea remedies on a laptop and he expects me to keep to an agreement of marrying someone I've never met? Or someone to unite our families? It's ridiculous, Rei," she started sorting through the shirts, tucked the ones she wanted under her arm and throwing the rest to the side.

"What can we do about it? Both our marriages have been planned out. Rai too…"

"I don't know," she conceded. Then she shrugged and shook her head. "But I won't let some tradition affect my life now, especially when we're hundreds of miles from home," Mao looked at him. "Will you, Rei?"

Rei straightened up. "Me?"

"Well yeah. Isn't there someone you like?"

Rei didn't even stop to think. If he did, he knew someone's face might accidentally pop up. "No! Um…no?"

Mao laughed, taking the last few pieces of clothing from him. "Don't worry, a sweet guy like you will sweep tons of girls off their feet!" she teased.

"Er…thanks, Mao."

She smiled, pointed at the "husband's seat" and then went into the dressing room. As he sat and waited (because he knew she would send him to get a smaller size or another color), he played with the idea that Mao actually didn't include herself in the "tons of girls" that would fall for him. She didn't want an arranged marriage either.

'Friends then?'

Rei felt more comfortable playing clothing caddy for her than he did the other day when she came over and showed off her portfolio (granted Rai's voice was in his head at the time). This was fine. Rei knew he could be a best friend for her, and he didn't even need to try hard to do it. Best friends…siblings…

"Rei! I need this in blue!"

Rei got up and went into the dressing room slowly, shielded his eyes, and took the long-sleeved shirt Mao held out from the dressing room. This he could deal with, but he had a feeling Rai would not like it. And he had to see him tonight.

'Damn…'

ooo

"I could do that," Rai said.

Rei paused the movie, rewound it and played it again.

"Yeah, I could definitely do that!"

"Rai, even Mao could do that," Rei said.

The older boy tugged the nearly empty pizza box away. "You don't get anymore pizza,"

Rei smirked, a silent 'touché' hung in the air as he went back to the movie. Yes, it was an old kung-fu movie and yes, they were talking about which kicks and stances they could pull off. They used to do this when they were younger; it spurred their training, as they could not accomplish jump spinning hook kicks back then.

"Y'know Rei, shouldn't you be working on that project?" Rai said. "Not that I'd kick you out, but it was kind of out of the blue,"

"Oh…" Rei picked up his drink and chewed on the straw. "I already made lots of progress, so I thought I was due for a break," he said. It wasn't a complete lie. He had arranged to meet the head of the animal department tomorrow to pick a bird; that was progress. "And uh, Yuriy is still in the hospital. It's kind of lonely over there,"

"Hm, well, that's fine," he leaned back in his chair, wiping his fingers on a crumpled napkin. His dorm was built for two people, but the other student dropped out. Rai pretty much took over, using the spare bed to house his loose papers and dirty laundry. A nicely sized TV sat on the extra desk and training weights and instant noodle packages were stored in the second closet.

"Too bad Mao went to the library to study, otherwise I could ask her to prove that she can't do that kick," Rai said.

Rei hushed his laughter. Mao told Rai she was going to the library's 24-hour reading room to finish a portfolio assignment. If Rai knew their friend was actually having a night out on the town, those two would fight like a married couple. And, of course, Rei would be off to the side recording the scuffle for blackmail purposes.

"Hey Rei,"

"Yeah?"

"How are things with…Mao?"

"Good," he said. "We're pretty good."

Rai paused, averting his gaze. "Sounds great," he mumbled. "Um…keep trying hard! Because you two are a sure thing, ok?"

"I know," he said. If he hadn't consumed nearly a third of that pizza and downed one less soda, Rei would have thought that Rai was trying to convince himself more than anyone. Why would he? Rai was the main supporter of the 'Rei and Mao campaign' as far back as the younger could remember. He wanted it to work, didn't he?

Rei held back on his questions and picked a pepperoni off of Rai's slice. It was absurd. He had simply eaten too much.

ooo

Rai's dormitory was a J and G line away from Rei's complex. It was fairly late when he decided to leave, but the thought of sleeping over where Rai had been keeping his laundry wasn't very appealing. He had kept Rai occupied and vouched for Mao's studying excuse, that seemed like more than enough.

He transferred from the J bus and got onto the G. It took half an hour to get back. By the time Rei was on the sidewalk of his complex the street lamps were just as bright as the moon. He adjusted to a jog, trying to get back quickly without losing too much heat.

"Hm?"

As he turned the corner, Rei saw a flash a blue enter the parking lot. It had to be Kai.

'Then again, with my string of luck, it'll probably be Kane. Or, when I say 'Kane', it'll actually be Kai,' he thought.

Rei hurried up, even if it was dark, he could tell which one it was if he got a good look. He did not want to chance it, not with what has been happening lately. After entering the parking lot Rei couldn't see anyone. It wasn't about light, no one was there.

'I hope I'm not seeing things,' he thought, walking to the side to the apartment. 'Must have been that last slice of pizza…'

"Rei?"

'Or not.' Turning, Rei spotted Kai by the staircase. He was carrying a healthy stack of mail. 'Ah, so that's where he went." They met halfway and traded greetings.

"Boris called," Kai said. "Yuriy is looking better,"

"Already?"

"Apparently," he shrugged. "He's got a physical tomorrow. You may not be alone much longer,"

"That's great!" Rei said, a smile clear on his face. "I should have called him myself, guess I forgot. I'll go visit him then…soon,"

Kai brought up the time and Rei agreed about the cold. They prepared to leave.

"You can still come up," Kai said. "If I'm not there, I'm sure Boris will be,"

Rei laughed nervously. He wasn't sure if he was ready to face Boris yet. It was uncomfortable just thinking about their expedition to the hospital. Also, he was still slightly traumatized by today's awkward afternoon.

"I'll…call first, or something." And before Rei could even think about the idiocy of that line (as he didn't have Kai's number), he waved and started to leave. "Good night, Kai."

"Hn."

Rei made his way inside. He locked the door, tapped the handle with a laugh and decided on a quick shower and lots of sleeping in.

Outside, Kai turned around and walked upstairs. "Night, Rei." He went inside and locked the door, his hand resting on the handle one moment longer before he let go.

ooo

I'm too tired to add my weird tidbits. Sorry for the delay, let's hope the Wave keeps going! whoosh Or whatever sound a wave makes…

Reviews are appreciated, thanks for reading!

Sleepy Sheep G.