Disclaimer: Still not owning anything but the plot.

A/N: Hello you guys,

Chapter 9 already, wow! This is becoming one monster of a story. Thanks to all those who are still with me on this, especially to the amazing kaidatinuchan who turned a scene from this story into a beautiful picture (go check her out on tumblr guys!) and my lovely reviewers IcePhoniex, kyuubi (you'll see what he needs them for;) ) and Little A Granger. You're the reason I still have so much fun writing this! :))


Felix Culpa

Chapter 9


When Kai woke the next morning, he knew right away that he'd done it again. He didn't even have to open his eyes to know, because whatever he was lying on was not his comfortable king-size bed.

He felt a light touch and opened his eyes. Again, he found himself nose to nose with Tyson. And again, Tyson blushed. Had he always blushed this easily? Even more importantly, why had Tyson been stroking his head?

"Tyson."

"Um, good morning Kai! Just wanted to check if you're okay, you know, since you sleepwalked again."

Kai sat up. He'd been sleeping on the couch in the living room, amidst crumpled paper and a variety of pencils. He picked up a sheet of paper. Oh great, apparently he'd spend the night writing a letter to Voltaire. He sighed and tossed it back on the couch.

"I'm fine."

"O-okay, that's good news. Still Kai, we'll need to figure out a way to keep you in bed. I'm afraid that you'll get hurt."

"Don't worry, I got something in mind," Kai said with a grim face.

Last night he'd tossed the handcuffs in a corner, thinking this might be too drastic after all. As soon as he'd get to his room he would fix them to his bed.

Tyson was still looking at him with big, sad puppy eyes.

Before Kai knew it, he'd reached out and patted his head. Realizing what he was doing it was now his turn to blush. Oh for heaven's sake...

To cover this up he got to his feet and said, "Cheer up. Let's get some breakfast, shall we?"


A little later Tyson was in school, using the time to think about Kai once again instead of listening to the teacher. It was a good thing that at school he'd had the Chief to help him out and at home, there was Max to fill in the blanks, because boy, had he been zoning out lately! He couldn't help it, though. He was just head over heels in love with this guy.

And he was making progress, wasn't he? Tyson replayed the past days' events: there was Kai, helping him out with his homework, Kai not killing him for sleeping sprawled across him, Kai not getting mad about the hug, Kai picking him up from school and going to the beach with him… Tyson wasn't sure if Kai knew he'd been stroking his hair this morning, but if he did, it was one more reason to hope, wasn't it?

Yes, all those little things made Tyson really think that he'd had a shot at winning Kai's heart. If only he wasn't so scared to take the next step, so afraid of the rejection he might get. That side of love sucked big time. But if he were to win Kai's heart, all the sleepless nights and the detentions he got for spacing out in class would be so worth it.


Kai's day had started out bad and things had only gone downhill from there. This had very simple reasons: for one, they ran out of coffee. If Kai needed one thing, it was a nice, steaming cup of coffee in the morning. So he had to go to the supermarket to get some before he could even think about getting started with his day. Kai hated going to the supermarket this time of day: it was full of little children and old people, and Kai didn't feel comfortable around either.

Also, he figured it was time to meet face to face with his grandfather and get the negotiations on the way, which admittedly got to him. In the past days Kai had realized this was actually really important to him and waking up in between drafted letters was only adding to the proof. He was the competitive type; he needed the victory over Voltaire. Also, the more he learned about economics and the arms trade, the more he could see himself working in that business. To him, business meant constant competition. In in a way, it was very much like beyblading: know your opponents, know their weaknesses, and figure out how to use them to your advantage. It would be a lifetime of challenges, and that was exactly what Kai was looking for; it was exactly what he needed.

So yes, he wanted this company badly! And yes, this might be a cause for his sleepwalking. Which meant that there was not a whole lot he could do about the sleepwalking, except getting the negotiations on the way.

Again, a grinning Tyson appeared in front of his inner eye. Argh, not again! He didn't have for this. He needed to do something about the Hiwatari Enterprise-thing first. Kai shook his head. All this thinking made him crazy. He had to clear his head. A healthy work-out was what he needed now!

Kai quickly changed into running shoes and started to run down the street, away from the beach, because he didn't want to take the chance of running into Tala again. He wasn't in the mood.

After a nice long run, Kai went upstairs do some muscle building exercises. Just because the Championships were months away didn't mean he had to slack off. Also, there was something meditative about lifting weights… though some might disagree. Once more Tyson's face appeared. Oh no! No, no, no! Get out of my head Tyson, his inner voice yelled. He ran his fingers through his hair and took a couple of deep breaths. There, he was in charge of his own mind again. Content, Kai dropped his sweaty shirt on the floor and picked up his weights.

He'd only gotten halfway through his workout when he heard a knock on the door. Seconds later Ray peeked in.

"You got a minute?"

Before Kai had the chance to answer, he said, "Thanks man."

Helplessly Kai watched Ray slip in, close the door behind him and flop down on his bed. Then his Asian friend grabbed some of the pillows and started to pile them behind him. Finally he leaned back and sighed, apparently happy with the outcome of his rearrangements.

"Make yourself comfortable," Kai murmured.

Ray ignored his comment and cut right to the point, "You know, something's been bothering me and I thought before I start to sleepwalk as well I should maybe talk about it."

Kai realized there was no chance he'd get to continue with his workout now. Ray had this look on his face that he always got when he was determined to see something through.

"I'm flattered you chose me to confide in," Kai said as he put away his weights.

"You're welcome."

"I was being sarcastic."

"I'm aware."

"Hn. Fine. Spit it out."

"I don't know what I want to do with my life."

"You're not suicidal, are you?"

"Oh come on," Ray rolled his eyes, "Of course not! I just don't have a plan for the time after blading. It used to be blading and school. Now I graduated and it's months until the next Championships start. I need something to do, but I'm having trouble deciding. Kai, I'm somewhat lost."

Well that explained the excessive cooking action. Ray had just needed something to keep busy while he figured out the next step. In a way Ray was in the same situation as Kai himself was.

"So I'm your career coach?"

"Kind of, yeah."

"Hn."

Kai leaned back in his chair and thought for a moment.

"Well, you should do something you like. You like Beyblading and cooking and stuff. Do something with that."

"That's a very simple way of looking at things. And I wasted days surfing various universities' websites and all kinds of educational guides."

"You're welcome."

Ray frowned at him.

"There's only this problem: I can't keep blading forever. There's gonna be younger Bladers, better Bladers… So that's out. And the cooking… I mean, I like it, but am I good enough to make it a profession?"

"Come on Ray, you're smarter than this! You don't have to be an active Beyblader. You could train, coach, whatever. You've put up with Max and Tyson long enough to prove you can do that. Also, everyone who's tried you food has liked it, right? What makes you think it isn't good enough? Take classes, teach classes, open a restaurant … the possibilities are endless."

"Wow Kai, I don't think I've ever heard you talk this much."

"Very funny, Kon."

"Seriously, thank you. I think you gave me some direction."

"It's quite simple, really."

"Yeah, but sometimes you're not able to see the simple solutions yourself, however obvious they may be. Which brings me to another topic: Why don't you tell me what's really going on with Voltaire?"

Kai looked at Ray. This guy wasn't going to give up, was he? Like, ever. Secretly Kai liked that about Ray. Maybe he should confide in Ray. Who knew, it might help with his sleepwalking after all.

"Fine. But Ray, this has to stay secret and can never be mentioned out loud, do you understand?"

Ray nodded eagerly.

"Cross my heart," he said.

Kai got up and walked over to Ray. Just as he bent down to whisper into Ray's ear that he was actually thinking of becoming CEO of Hiwatari Enterprise, the door flew open.

Kai spun around on his heel and glared at the person standing in the doorway. It was Tyson, of course, and he seemed to be frozen in place.

"Tyson, when will you learn to knock? It's fairly easy, really."

"Err, I, um," Tyson stuttered, his eyes open wide, "I, err, I'm sorry, you're busy, um, I'll come back later."

Then he turned around and fled from the room.

Kai sighed. Had he overreacted? Maybe he shouldn't have snapped at Tyson the way he had. He seemed to have been … hurt?

"Hurry and tell me before he bursts through that door again."

Kai leaned over and whispered, "I want to run Hiwatari Enterprise."

Ray's eyes went wide. "No shit."

"Shut up," Kai said in a low voice, "I'm trying to figure out if he's serious, because it's all or nothing for me. But he can't know that I actually want it, you know? So keep your voice down, in case my room is bugged."

Ray rolled his eyes.

"You have very disturbed family relations, my friend."

He got to his feet.

"Well, thanks Kai, for helping me and for trusting me. I suggest you go find Tyson now. He seemed to have misunderstood things," Ray winked and left.

Misunderstood things? What was Ray talking about? He had been pretty straight forward, hadn't he? And Tyson had repeatedly burst into his room without knocking so he'd know what Kai was getting at? Unless… oh. That? Did Ray mean Tyson had misunderstood him leaning down to whisper in Ray's ear? Kai looked down on himself, shirtless and sweaty, and then at the bed, a messy bunch of pillows thanks to Ray's rearrangements. Oh please. Lately everyone seemed to assume he was gay. He wondered why? And why now? This matter seemed to come up constantly since Tala had spoken of it! Damn Tala! Well, at least this was something he could expect from the redhead. What was curious was that Tyson might have jumped to this conclusion… It always seemed like he cared about nothing but beyblading, and least of all about dating (or school?). Maybe Kai had been wrong about that. Tyson was a teenage boy after all, just like him. Why would Tyson care though? Oh, he was probably weirded out a bit by the thought of his two friends fooling around.

Kai ran his fingers through his hair and shook his head. He was thinking about the strangest things lately.

Somehow he felt the need to tell Tyson that he'd completely misunderstood and that he hadn't interrupted a make-out session between Ray and him. And why was that? Was it because he didn't like false rumors about himself? Or was it maybe that he …

Oh for heaven's sake, here was Tyson thinking he was getting it on with another guy and his only concern was straightening things up with Tyson, for whatever reason! Not even a thought about this misinterpretation being ridiculous because they were both guys?

Well, fuck. He should rethink his sexual orientation after all.

Well, fuck again. He might just be gay.

And at that point Kai walked over to his armchair by the window, picked up the bottle of vodka that was hidden behind it and put the bottle to his mouth.


Tyson was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Only hours ago he'd been so sure he had a chance at winning Kai's heart. Now he felt like Kai had never been more out of reach, because apparently Ray had snatched him away under Tyson's nose. When did that happen? Tyson hadn't noticed any changes in their behavior. So maybe nothing had happened and he'd jumped to conclusion? Oh, but what else could they've been doing except for kissing?

Before his inner eye Tyson replayed once more the scene he'd just witnessed: Ray, lying in between the pillows on Kai's bed, his cat like eyes focused on Kai, who'd leaned over him, half-naked.

Oh noooo!

This wasn't fair. Just when he thought he'd had him. And now Ray of all people…

Oh, so that at least meant Kai was gay. That at least was good news.

Argh, rats. What was he supposed to do now? They were both his friends and he wished them happiness with all his heart. Just why did they have to find it in each other? Why couldn't Ray marry Mariah, have lots of little cat-eyed babies and leave Kai for him?

Haaa, life sucked. Love sucked.


After the vodka - just a sip, really, he wasn't into drinking during the day - had helped him recover from the shock Kai was now sitting on his window seat, thinking. Maybe he was gay, maybe he wasn't and maybe he was a bit of both. Being the rational thinker he was Kai decided he'd just have to wait and see. There was no use stressing about something that he wasn't even sure of. Especially as it was something he couldn't do anything about anyways.

As for the Tyson-matter… well, pretty much the same: things would sort themselves out eventually and when they did there was still plenty of time to freak out. Last night the thought had crossed his mind if he found Tyson attractive. Well regarding the fact that his only concern was to tell Tyson nothing had happened between Ray and him, it was possible. Possible, but not certain and therefore too soon to stress about.

Kai nodded to himself. Yes. That was how Kai Hiwatari addressed problems: quick, calm and rational.

Still, he should probably go talk to Tyson before he did anything else, to have this matter cleared up. Well, after he'd taken a shower maybe…

Said and done. Once he was dried off and dressed, Kai made his way to Tyson's room and firmly knocked on the door.

"Tyson, are you in there?"

"No," Tyson muffled voice said.

Kai rolled his eyes. Still a kid after all…

"I'm coming in anyways," he said and went in.

Tyson was sitting on his bed, holding a pillow pressed against his chest. Kai raised a brow.

"What are you doing cuddling your pillow?"

"What are you doing fooling around with Ray without telling us?"

Oh, so Ray had been right and Tyson had really jumped to conclusions. Kai wouldn't have expected Tyson to get so worked up about this. Somehow it stung to see Tyson this way…

"I'm not 'fooling around' with anyone, you idiot."

Tyson looked at him with big eyes.

"You're not?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but no."

He watched the information sink in and a smile work its way onto Tyson's face. He really had a nice smile. It was good to see him smile again.

"Oh that is so great!" Tyson exclaimed. Then he blushed and added, "Err, I mean, that you didn't… err… start dating without telling us, um, because you don't trust us or, err… you know."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know I had to introduce you to whoever I'm dating, Mom," Kai said and rolled his eyes.

"Wait, so you're seeing someone else?" Tyson asked, his smile somewhat frozen.

Kai wrenched the pillow from Tyson's grip and used it to hit Tyson over the head.

"I am not, you curious brat."

Tyson mumbled something incomprehensible.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Tyson said and stuck his tongue out at Kai.

Kai shook his head and turned to leave.

"Hey Kai," Tyson called.

"Hn?"

"Let's go to the mall."

"No."

"You promised."

"I did not."

"Yeah you did. Yesterday you said we'd go some other time."

"First, that's not a promise, and second, by some other time I meant a very, very distant future."

"Well, I think you owe me for giving me such a scare."

"You were the one who jumped to conclusions."

"Anyone would have if they saw what I saw."

"I was going to tell Ray something."

"He was in your bed and you were half-naked. Why is it that you are always half-naked?"

"I was working out, obviously, and if you didn't always barge in my room unannounced I would actually have a chance to put on a shirt. Why would care anyways?"

"I don't, I'm just saying. So, are we going to the mall?"

"If that'll get you to shut up."

Damn, Tyson had talked him into something again! Kai was hoping this trip wouldn't as disastrous as the last…


A/N: Uh-oh, disaster's in the air! ;) Drop me a review and let me know what you thought of this? :))

Have a good one,

NoEarlyBird :)