Thank you so much for your reviews! It really makes me happy!! Keep them coming! You guys are awesome!

Here's your next chapter!

I want to thank a few of my readers whose idea I surrounded and built up on the idea at the beginning of this chapter on(they all suggested the same idea). We're going to be going a little bit into the past.

Also, gemgemchan: Well here's your answer! I got the message today and today happens to be the day I was going to update it! But you know, you could just watch/alert the story so you don't have to check everyday for an update.

This is a tad longer than usual so I hope it doesn't bore you!


"…You look nothing like the rest of your family," said Gou when he looked at the very few family pictures Kai had.

"I get that a lot," said Kai. The two were in the living room; Kai on one of the sofas and Gou on the floor looking at the pictures.

"Mommy told me your grandfather was 'evil,' but she didn't sound sarcastic when she said it," said Gou looking at a picture of Kai's grandfather. Gou tilted his head as he held the picture up and looked between the picture and Kai to see if there was any resemblance or if there's some kind of sign that he should be looking out for.

"That's because it wasn't supposed to be. Be lucky you did not live in my time when I was your age…" said Kai and crossed his arms, wondering why he still had a picture of his grandfather in the first place.

"Was he really that bad to deserve this kind of treatment?" Gou asked showing Kai the photo and Kai got a look of it from his point of view and saw lots of tiny holes. Oh yeah, Kai used to have a dart board…

"Believe me, he deserved to be burned in the fireplace long ago," was Kai's response.

"I see…Mommy never told me much about when you were little. Was it because she didn't know about them?"

"…I didn't talk about my childhood with her very often. I didn't like talking about it. Which was fair since she didn't tell me much about hers either," Kai explained.

"Oh yeah, she doesn't tell me either. She said she'll tell me about her past only if I've been a bad child…"

"What? Why?" Kai asked, obviously confused.

"To scare me to be good," said Gou simply, "Like how the people in Japan use the Oni monsters to scare kids into being good!"

"Have you ever been bad?"

"No, because I don't want to be scared."

Kai lifted a brow at Gou's simple and calm response to everything, almost as if he didn't have a care in the world even though he does. Kai couldn't help but think that Gou's responses sound a lot like how he responds to people.

"Did she tell you…anything?"

"She mentioned once about this place called the abbey…said that if I'm really bad, she'll send me there. But I never asked what it was. Then she said it was because of the abbey that you and her are not together. Is that true?" Gou asked curiously, pictures forgotten. Kai looked up at the ceiling and thought about,

"In a way…" he replied, "I'll tell you what it is when you're older."

"I'm almost 7! How old do I have to be?!" Gou pouted,

"How about…10?"

"No fair…" Gou crossed his arms and pouted.

"Did your mother ever tell you anything about when we were a team?" Kai asked, a bit curious himself. Gou nodded,

"She told me that her first impression of you was that 'Kai was not as bright as I thought considering my good friend Takao slipped me onto the team right under his nose' and then I laugh every time she tells me that story," said Gou and Kai looked like he wanted to call Takao and take his anger out on him.

"Now that isn't really fair," said Kai, more like growled, "Because she fooled the rest of the team too. If Kinomiya was not in on the plan with her, I'll bet my money that he'd be the last person to figure out what was going on!"

"Still…I thought it was funny," Gou admitted.

"Hey the only reason why I fell for that trick was because she was flat-chested!"

"…"

"I'll explain what that means when you're older," said Kai in response to Gou's silence.

"I know what that means, I just wanted to point out that even after all these years…she still is," said Gou, "But what does that have to do with her tricking you again?"

"Are you saying she never actually told you how she first got on the team?" Kai asked, surprised and Gou shook his head.

"She never finishes the story because my favorite part was always when she told me her first impression of you. But now that you're offering, can I hear it?" Gou confessed and then asked. Kai shook his head, groaned, and sat up better,

"The team was all together and staying in Kinomiya's dojo. We were training, it was like any regular day to us. Until Kinomiya arrived to training, late, with another person. The person was our age, had black hair, a large bandana-thing wrapped around the person's head, and wore baggy pants, a shirt with a jacket over it. Kinomiya introduced to the person to us as Hoshi. Kinomiya says the team can be improved with another member. I disagreed, and in the end, it was going to be decided in a beybattle. So we did, best of three. I took the first round with ease, second round…I lost…."

"You were pummeled weren't you? I assume the tactic used here was that the person let you win to see your fighting style and then counter it in the next one," Gou concluded and Kai stared.

"Don't trying to be smarter than me…"

"Okay sorry…go on!"

"In the third round, I did not want to lose to a stranger so I summoned my bitbeast. Then, to my surprise, Hoshi had one too…and after a tough battle, I lost again. So the team got a new member. A few days later, I believe it was Daichi, who was thirsty so he started drinking out of the water hose and Kinomiya thought it was be funny to turn the water on completely and the whole practice went into chaos. Everybody was soaked, except for Rei who was actually indoors the entire time making cold drinks for us. So we were going to take turns changing into dryer clothes, because I was not stopping practice so I wanted the most people there as possible. Hiromi, who was there, went first since she was a girl. Then Takao went, then Hoshi. Takao was still in the dojo when Hoshi went in, but because of that, some of us didn't even know somebody went into the dojo to quickly change. Rei was one of them, he was going back in to put the empty glass away when he walked in on 'Hoshi' because Kinomiya was an idiot to not get that person a room…" Kai looked like he was getting a little pissed at Takao at the moment from the memories.

"Mommy says she's always loved Kinomiya-San…as a brother," Gou added the last part in case Kai assumed the other love.

"I know she does. The two have been close, otherwise, she and Kinomiya wouldn't have worked together on the plan. But anyway, with Rei going back into the dojo, it resulted in a chain reaction. Outside, the remaining few of us heard a scream, a female scream, followed by a yell of Kinomiya's name…"

Kai remembered it quite clearly…

"TAKAO KINOMIYAAAAAA!"

"Whoa!" Daichi turned his head away from the battle, "What was that?!"

"Wait…Hiromi is the only girl here…" Max looked at Hiromi and then was beyond confused, "So if she's here, then who could've…??"

Kai forgot practice and quickly walked into the dojo to solve the crises.

"I can see why you called him an idiot," said Gou nodding his head, "Mommy must've been mad."

"She was, and so was I when I found out 'Hoshi' was actually a female and that wasn't even her real name…"

"Did you know Hoshi is both a girl and a boy's name and it means 'star'?" said Gou and Kai just gave him the expression meaning 'I don't really care' so Gou went off the subject, "Did you let her stay on the team?"

"No, at least, I didn't actually let her. I wanted her off that second. The moment I saw she was a girl, I wanted her off the team."

"What gave it away?" Gou asked,

"She had long hair, she just wrapped it up in that bandana to hide it. And her scream was high pitched. Plus, Kinomiya admitted it. Though she did hit him over the head, knowing that they still had a chance to cover it up until Kinomiya went before me saying he can 'explain' everything. I admit, I did not think female beybladers are as strong as us males. Kinomiya was a bit brighter than I thought considering the boy disguise was his idea and he somehow knew my thoughts of letting a female on the team. But the rest of the team outvoted me, saying that even though she is a girl, she is a strong beyblader thus I could not do anything about it. Max already grew attached to her, and was already on good terms with everyone but myself. And that is how your mother got onto the team and was there to stay for a good amount of time."

"So in the end, she was pretty useful to the team like Kinomiya-San thought right?" Gou asked with a smile.

"Ugh, yes, he was right…" Kai admitted but quietly.

"Tell me, because Mommy never told me this either: When did you two started getting the 'butterflies in your stomach' when she was staying with the team?" Gou asked and Kai looked at Gou, confused again.

"What in the world does she tell you then if she didn't tell you stories like these? Well let's see…it was approximately sometime past the six months mark but before a year that she's been staying with the team. I'm not saying we got together, but it was the first time I felt…different…about a girl. Then the feeling went away, then it came back again a few months later. And it kept doing that until it became more frequent, like weeks or days. We didn't really get together until a couple or a few years later. It was either that or sometime after the team split because we were no longer 'kids' I guess so we couldn't beyblade in tournaments anymore," Kai explained.

"…When did you two leave each other?"

"Hm?"

"Mommy never likes to talk about that with me…"

Kai looked at Gou's pleading, but sad, eyes.

"Obviously some time more than 6 years ago. We were fighting a lot…thinking about it now, I found it quite childish. I guess if given the chance, I would like to apologize to her…" Kai admitted. While he may not be the best companion for anyone but animals, Kai did find himself lonesome after being left alone again. And while he may not admit it to anyone, being able to say he loves someone made him feel…better about himself. Actually, happy, happy that he has proof that he can feel emotions. Gou blinked when he saw some twinkle in Kai's eyes as he was reminded of those feelings he once felt.

"Hey…is Mommy really that cheap like you said before?" Gou asked and Kai looked at Gou.

"Oh don't get me started on that. Depending on my mood, I'll either call her cheap or greedy…"

"She can't be that cheap!"

"She picks pennies off the floor…"

"So do I," Gou admitted and Kai sweatdrops.

"Oh great! She got to him before I did! Oh wait, of course she did...it's not like she has the money I do now so it's expected that Gou was influenced that way…but still! Don't go picking 1 cent coins off the ground! She's not THAT poor! Oh crap, I can't believe I just called her poor…"

"…Otosan, can I ask you one more thing?" Gou asked, snapping Kai out of his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, sure. What is it?"

"Were you like me when you were my age? Mommy said you didn't have your dad with you at a certain time. Saying you hated him for what he did. How did you act?"

Kai was quite surprised at this. Did Gou's mother say anything about his cold-heart or unemotional times back then?

"I acted quite different from you, Gou. But now that I think about it, maybe being a brat was better than my choice…"

"I'm not a brat!" Gou pouted.

"Hn, you just keep telling yourself that…" Kai muttered but Gou obviously heard.

"Hey! Take that back! I'm not a brat! I must be twice as much lovable than you! Because I'm much cuter and more polite than you from what I've heard!"

Kai rolled his eyes,

"Oh you're more lovable alright…considering everybody always takes your side…" Kai muttered the last part but again, it seemed as if Gou was supposed to hear it.

"You're being a jerk again! That's the last time I'm calling you 'Otosan' you hear me?!" Gou continued to pout.

Kai shook his head, as he wonders if this is what Takao, Max, and the others feel about their kids. Have they ever gotten upset with them? They can't be that perfect, especially Makoto who seemed to have had as much air out go out of his head as Takao did (note this is according to Kai). And in the end, after the kids do something bad, what makes them always love their children in the end? Kai just can't put his finger on it. While he may not exactly be on great terms with Gou yet considering they still get into their usual bickering every now and then, but not as often as earlier in their relationship, they always had to wait until the next day to get over it. Hmm…in the end, Kai realized Takao and Rei are the only two people he can go to for that question. Both of them growing up without a parent, or both parents, just like Kai. The problem is: Rei's in China and as a best friend, Kai wasn't sure if he wants to ask Rei a question concerning Gou's well-being because then it'll get Rei worried and he doesn't want that to happen to the only other person on their team with common sense (again, according to Kai). Then there's Takao…the fact that he's asking Takao is the problem.

Kai then had another thought: Daichi grew up without a dad starting a year or so before he joined the team. But then again…asking Daichi isn't much different from asking Takao…

"Otosan…"

"Hm? What is it?"

"I want to go play with Makoto-Kun."

"Again?" Kai groaned. If Gou kept playing with Makoto, Kai was afraid Gou will only get Makoto's influences.

"Yes. I can't exactly play with you…especially if you don't like playing board games, climbing trees, going to the park, watch TV. shows that I watch, play pretend, play dress-up, or play anything for that matter…"

"Yes, I get it! I'll take you to Kinomiya…"

"Thanks Otosan. And why do you always leave after dropping me off? You can save gas if you stay," Gou suggested but it's not like Kai has a reason to stay in the first place, at least, Gou didn't think so.


Gou and Makoto went to go play, as usual, and Kai sat down in the Kinomiya dojo for the first time in many years.

"It's so nice to have you here, Kai! I missed having you or anyone from the team back in the day just sit down have a nice talk!" Hiromi chirped as she served Kai a drink.

"Yeah but as I recall it, there was never a time when we just sit and talk…it's usually a sit and bicker," said Kai as he sipped the served tea.

"I guess that's another way of putting it," Hiromi admitted sitting across from Kai.

"Where's Kinomiya?" Kai asked,

"He's doing some chores that I told him to do yesterday but he was too busy watching movies and playing video games with Makoto…" Hiromi rolled her eyes at the inner child in Takao. But she quickly added, "But he'll be here soon. I told him you were here."

"I see…"

"Is there a problem Kai?" Hiromi asked,

"Hn…I just wanted to ask him something. But I guess I can ask you for the time being. You love your son, yes?"

"Huh? Of course I do! Being a mother, I love my little boy!" Hiromi happily replied.

"Doesn't he do anything bad? That upsets you?"

"Of course he does! He's a little boy! He gets in trouble all the time! Especially with Takao as the father who always supports everything he does…" Hiromi rolled her eyes at that thought.

"Then…why do you still love him?"

Hiromi looked at Kai and then just realized what he was really asking about.

"Of course I still love him, Kai! Everybody makes mistakes, nobody's perfect. Even though I personally think Makoto will always be my little angel! Think of it this way Kai: You and Takao always fight right? Even now, after all these years, you two still get into your usual disagreements. But in the end, you two still respect each other and you're still friends. It's almost the same concept with a parent and a child," Hiromi explained. Kai slowly nodded his head. He can understand that. Especially since he and Takao have been like this since way back in the day. But it can't be all true can it? Why are some parents different? Some even go as far as neglecting them or kicking them out of their home. What's going to keep Kai from doing something like that to Gou?

"Yo! Sorry I wasn't here earlier!" Takao greeted as he made his way into the room and plopped down next to Hiromi.

"Oh yeah, like I wasn't disappointed…" said Kai sarcastically and Takao grew an anime vein.

"Um, how about I go get us something to eat?" Hiromi offered standing up,

"Please and thank you!" said Takao with his usual grin and Hiromi went into the kitchen.

"Hn…you and her seem to get along just fine," said Kai after Hiromi left.

"Well, yeah, of course!"

"You guys still fight right?"

"Huh? Well, I guess we do. All couples fight every now and then," said Takao who actually found it surprising that Kai's asking about it.

"…Then, how do you know when you're fighting too much?"

"Huh?" Takao raised a brow and then looked up, crossing his arms, and started thinking, "Well…I don't know…but I know that fighting every other week is bad…but I'm not sure what to say about months though…"

"Er, don't strain yourself, Kinomiya," said Kai with a small sweatdrop as he watches Takao ponder harder, "Your guess is good enough."

"Oh! Well okay then!" said Takao with a smile, "Tell me, how you and little Gou are doing?"

"Hn…better I guess. But he's still a brat most of the time…"

"That's good! You're making progress! Max told me about his visit to your place and was quite worried when he left!"

"Yeah…it was hard to pick up on his lessons but I admit that got some stuff out of it…" Kai admitted and looked over Takao to see Makoto and Gou playing in the room next to the kitchen.

"Do you…like Gou?" Takao asked and Kai stared at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you like him? It's a pretty simple question, Kai," Takao repeated. Kai looked over to Gou and Makoto again who both are playing with Makoto's trucks and cars.

"…"

"Here you two are!" Hiromi chirped as she puts down some snacks for them.

"Yes! My favorites!" Takao grinned happily reaching for them and Hiromi whacked him over the head,

"Save some why don't you? I can always make more! Stop being a pig!" Hiromi scolded.

"Ow…Hiromi-Chan…" Takao groaned rubbing his head.

"Don't 'Hiromi-chan' me! I've taught you manners before and you have to apply them even when our friends are over!"

"You made these for us! I thought that was an invitation for me to enjoy them! I mean, I learned my lesson the first time when you whacked me over the head with your purse, which probably has bricks in it, when I ate the last piece of the cake from Makoto's birthday!"

Kai's brow twitched and grew a sweatdrop as he watches the two go back and forth with each other. They both seemed to have completely forgotten he was still sitting there. Though the same thing was said for Gou who probably had a bigger sweatdrop.

--

"Um…Makoto-Kun, why are you not reacting to that?" Gou asked pointing back at the kitchen. Makoto was still smiling and humming to himself as he drove the red car around on the floor.

"Hm? Oh, it's no big deal. They do that all the time. Sometimes it's funny so I like to watch too sometimes!" Makoto replied with a smile.

"Huh?" A question mark was clearly seen above Gou's head.

"It's not like they're actually fighting!" Makoto added and Gou's expression changed.

"What? How can you tell?"

"Ha ha! If they were actually fighting, I would know! It's just a feeling I guess…oh! Right! If they were actually fighting, I'd be scared," Makoto explained and Gou got confused again.

"It just…happens?" Gou asked,

"I think so…but it only happened once. It was after dinner time but it wasn't bed time yet. I heard them fighting…and my body just started to tremble…don't your parents do this too, Gou-Kun?"

"Huh? Oh…no…I know I never mentioned this to you before but…my parents don't live with each other…So I don't know because I never even heard them talk to each other before let alone fight…"

Makoto stopped playing and sat up completely, looking at Gou with a new emotion that Makoto doesn't recall feeling before,

"R-Really…?" A feeling of sympathy and a realization of how unfortunate other kids like him are. Makoto could never imagine his life if his parents were separated…

--

The phone started ringing,

"Oh, I better get that. Well, enjoy yourself, Taka," said Hiromi and walked away and Kai almost experienced his first anime fall.

"Sorry about that, Kai! Now where were we? Oh yes! Do you like Gou?"

Kai shook his head to get him back on Earth and looked at Takao who acted as if nothing just happened. Is this what family is? Even with ups and downs, in the end, the family still stays together and loves each other.

"Kinomiya…first, I want to ask you one more thing: What if you didn't have your family? What would you do?"

"Huh? Hmm…honestly Kai, I never wanted to grow up and die alone. I've always wanted to find that someone and then have a family. I can't imagine a life without my family…" said Takao with a gentle smile. Takao's eyes then drifted to the photo of his mother and it remained there. Kai turned to see what Takao was staring at and saw a picture of a young woman. Kai's lips slightly curved,

"Your mother would be proud of you, Kinomiya…"

"My family…makes me happy," said Takao and Kai looked back at him again but Takao was still staring at the picture.

"That's your reason?"

Takao turned his head back to Kai,

"Yeah…that's my reason. They're my pride and joy. They take me away from loneliness and they make me happy and gives me something to be proud of. And it's also nice to know that I can give Makoto something I didn't have."

"Kinomiya can give his son the love from both parents…something he never had. Something Rei never had and something…I never had."

Kai looked at the two kids again, and sees the two sitting and talking instead of playing. Makoto looked concerned and sad while Gou looks like he's going through some pain telling Makoto something. At that moment, Kai felt his heart cringe.

"…Yes Kinomiya…"

Takao blinked,

"What?"

"Yes…I do like Gou…"


Notes:

-I didn't want Kai to go too detailed about the abbey. Though it would make a good bed time story for bad kids, I don't think telling a 6-year-old about the abbey, or Voltaire, in detail is going to be a pretty thing for the poor child's mind.

-The anime fall: You know, when the characters just fall over (or partially fall-still standing on one leg and balancing) because of the situation?

As I recall, I don't think Kai ever fell over before (I'm not sure if Beyblade even uses anime falls). I'm unsure if I've seen Kai with a sweatdrop before either, but I've known I've seen other expressions from him before (such as surprised, sad, happy/glad, weirded out, and even laugh) so I know he's capable of the sweatdrop but not the anime fall.

If you think about it, the anime fall is more like a reaction to someone else's saying or actions but Kai doesn't care what people do or say, especially if it's stupid, so its actually understandable why Kai would never anime fall. If the situation calls for it, he'd most likely be the only one standing with a sweatdrop instead.

-One thing that I always tend to focus on or at least mention once or twice in my beyblade stories is Takao and his mother. I've always felt for Takao and I think that Takao acts obnoxious at times or seek attention because of how he grew up. I also believe that he strives to be the best because (besides his passion for beyblade) he wants to do something for his family to be proud of. Think about it, he grew up almost alone. His grandfather was the only thing keeping Takao from turning into Kai! (wow, ironic isn't it?) Takao's mother died when he was very little, his father and brother was never around, and his grandfather was really his only family until he met his teammates, now friends that are like family. It's the fact that Takao became a great person with a good heart and if his mother were alive, she'd be proud of him(I think she'd be proud dead or alive honestly).

-I tend to pay attention to the characters with a history like Takao, Kai, Rei, and Daichi: All have in common the lack of one or both parents in their childhood. And I understand their personalities better based on that lack of family love. You may not get that with Rei if you watch the anime only. In the manga, Rei's quite different. In fact, this is the manga: Manga-Rei acts like anime-Kai, manga-Kai acts like anime-Tala. Or something like that. Rei has the most mysterious past since I've never recalled any sort of mention or imagine of Rei's parents in either anime or manga. But it must be sad or unfortunate because Rei is more quiet and mysterious in the manga than the anime. But it can't be tragic since he seems pretty laid back at times and isn't cold-hearted(unless you count glaring at his old teammates vs. his anime approach)since his favorite things to do besides beyblading are eating and sleeping(I'm dead serious about this-though it could be just my opinion).

-I cannot imagine Kai marrying someone that doesn't Beyblade. The woman's got to at least beyblade whether be at least good! Ironic (again) really, I should be saying that about Takao…

Scratch that, I should say that about both of them. Both their sons look like promising beybladers (not just because they look like their fathers!) and I think if they're going to be good, both parents should've beybladed before. Not everything should be taken from the father only! Dammit! I just said something that supports Rin's existence! CRUD! I hate my way of thinking now!

Next:

Unless you want to see something else happen/contribute something to happen between Kai and Gou, I might continue the storyline and I'll be close to ending this story.

I actually wanted to do a scene when Gou grabs Yuri's hair and ask a funny question (well I hope it's funny) but I'm not sure if can get that into the story…But I might squeeze it in there if you guys are interested in seeing, er, reading it.

Oh yes, and possibly reveal Junna's parents if it comes up. If that does happen, I do warn that I don't think it's a popular couple but I think the couple itself can be a moral in itself…you'll understand if I decide to show the couple (unless you guys already figured it out)

Please R and R!