Sharingan Eyes Chapter 10: HOUSEGUESTS: That's a Lotta Duffle Bags!, a Naruto + Beyblade Crossover fanfic

HIYA!

Author's Blurb: Over 300 reviews?!...Whoa… thanks everyone! I know I've been skimping on responding to reviews but I'll be getting back into the normal routine of writing responses now ^.^

AND! Special, special thanks to Darakna for her fanart! It's a pretty awesome manipulation of art; it kinda boggled my mind a little XDD Everyone can check it out at: http: / / DemonDarakna. deviantart. com/art/ Sharingan-Eyes-121012182 (without the spaces).

KEY:

'… Blah, Blah…' denote thoughts

II …(italics)… II denote a change in language

II…(bold)… II denote a second change in language

Enjoy!

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:-Sharingan Eyes-:

A Beyblade and Naruto Fanfiction by Sholay

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Team 7's next mission: protect the Bladebreakers on a trip to… Russia?!

An unusual relationship is formed

Kai Hiwatari and Sasuke Uchiha's lives clash violently over one simple enigma:

Kai's red eyes.

Beyblade-Naruto crossover. NO YAOI. Alternate Universe fiction

The mirror never sees itself. The reflection never is itself.

J. Gregory Keyes

Disclaimer: Beyblade belongs to Takao Aoki and is licensed by Nelvana and published by Viz, though that may depend on where you live. Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto and has also been published by Viz. So now that we've established that I do NOT own either of these fictions, shall we move on? Additionally, I took some liberties with politics, history and cultural differences (i.e. The difference between the Chinese and Japanese) so while there are some facts strewn in there, there is also a healthy dose of fiction. Have fun!

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',.-Chapter Ten-.,'

HOUSEGUESTS: That's a Lotta Duffel Bags!

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The Bladebreakers and Team 7 were walking down a winding, dirt path; leaving behind the sounds of rushing water and seagull calls as they traveled away from the harbour docks. It was late afternoon, but the sun had not yet begun to set and they had a few hours to kill before heading back to Tyson's dojo. The main topic of conversation between them was, naturally, beyblades and chakra.

"That was so awesome! Why can't I learn how to use this chakra thingy like you guys?" Tyson, asked. He was so hyped up by the fight that his feet barely touched the ground as he bounced down the trail next to Naruto.

"Uhhh…" The blond ninja groaned unintelligibly. He was now back to being a boy—and fully clothed—but was also nursing two new bumps on his head, courtesy of Sakura and Hilary. He was bent over as he walked, rubbing the tender spots gingerly. "Why do I keep getting beaten up today?"

"Well, if you stopped doing such stupid things you wouldn't keep getting smacked." Hilary stated matter-of-factly.

Sakura nodded her consent. "Couldn't have said it better myself."

Naruto sent Sakura a wide-eyed, pitiful look. But Sakura shook her head.

"Don't even try that on me. There's absolutely no excuse for you to use that disgusting jutsu. In fact, if I ever meet the person who taught you that technique I'll smack HIM too!"

Naruto suddenly got a funny look on his face and had to swallow a bubble of laughter.

"What?" Sakura eyed him suspiciously.

"N-nothing." Naruto bit on his lip and looked away, feigning interest in the passing scenery. Silently, he wondered what Sakura would say if she knew he'd created the technique himself. Ruefully remembering his aching head, the blond teen decided he didn't really want to find out.

"So," Max cut into the conversation. He was walking next to Rei and Kenny in the middle of the group—behind Tyson, Naruto, Sakura and Hilary—and he spoke to everyone at large. "Where are we off to now?"

"Well… We all gotta get back to my place for dinner…" Tyson trailed off.

"But we'll be staying there overnight too. Then we have to leave for the airport first thing in the morning, right?" Max pointed out. When he got a nod from Tyson he continued speaking. "Then why don't we stop by mine, Kenny's, Rei's, Hilary's and Kai's places first to pick up our bags? That way we won't have to run around in the morning."

"That's a good idea!" Hilary piped up. "Then Tyson won't be able to sleep in and make everyone late!"

"Hey!" Tyson cried indignantly.

"Oh, that's right," Hilary sent Tyson a wry look. "You're perfectly capable of making us late no matter what time we have to leave."

Tyson glared at Hilary and muttered something under his breath.

Hilary's face changed into a completely fake, innocent look and she leaned toward Tyson. "What was that, Tyson?" She asked, voice deceptively sweet.

Tyson was very quick to respond with a squeaky "Nothing, nothing!" He threw up his hands and backing away from the girl. Smattered chuckling met the duo's antics.

"So, whose house is closest?" Sakura asked.

"Mine!" Kenny called, and he rushed ahead.

"So…" Tyson leaned in toward Naruto conspiratorially, "You can, like, turn into a hot, naked woman whenever you want?"

Naruto stared at the navy-haired boy, looking stuck between laughing and running away in fear.

The trip to Kenny's house went quickly. Team 7 and the Bladebreakers waited patiently on the first floor with Kenny's doting mother as he ran upstairs to haphazardly toss two week's worth of belongings into a dark green duffle bag. When he returned a couple of minutes later, he was loaded down with both the bulging travel bag and a heavy laptop bag that housed Dizzy and looked ready to topple over under their combined weight.

Kakashi amicably offered to carry the large duffle and Kenny quickly handed it off to the tall ninja with a grateful smile. In spite of its size, Kakashi slung the bag over his shoulder swiftly, bearing the weight with ease.

A short walk down the street brought them to Hilary's house. Here, the stop was considerably longer. Hilary claimed that she was nowhere near finished packing and insisted that Sakura come and help her choose her clothes. Hilary's exuberance proved catchy and soon both girls were giggling and chattering excitedly over a hundred and one different topics as they headed up to Hilary's room.

Giving the two girls a wide berth, the males of both teams hung around in the kitchen with Hilary's father.

"So…" Mr. Tatibana began. He wasn't a particularly large man; but the way he leaned over the tabletop—coupled with his thick brows and glinting eyes—made him more intimidating that his stature would suggest.

"Yeah, Mr. T?" Tyson grinned charmingly; though after a long pause of awkward silence, during which Mr. Tatibana didn't so much as blink, Tyson's smile eventually faltered and slid off his face.

"Hilary tells me she's going away with you boys." Mr. Tatibana's eyes dragged over to Rei—whose gaze turned downward as he gave a small, respectful nod of the head—then to Kai, whose stony expression wasn't actually all that different from Mr. Tatibana's. His eyes stayed on Kai. "Again."

"Well, sir," Max interjected, trying his best to sound cheerful. It was impossible to ignore how Mr. Tatibana seemed to be trying to peel Kai apart with his eyes; Kai bore it well though, showing not even a hint of ill-ease. Max was glad that Hilary's father hadn't looked at him that way. "It's not just us this time. They're all coming with us too!" He gestured to Team 7.

But somehow this seemed to be the wrong thing to do as Hilary's father's mood just seemed to darken all that more. He looked at Sasuke, Naruto and Kakashi with a heavy frown. "All of you?"

"Well, Sakura—the young lady your daughter just escorted to her room—will be coming as well." Kakashi said light-heartedly. And these words seemed to mollify Mr. Tatibana somewhat.

"Ah, I see… well, at least she'll have someone other than—" Mr. Tatibana's words trailed off, but he didn't seem at all apologetic of the insinuation in his words. "So tell me, who are you people and how do you know my daughter and her team?"

Naruto smiled. "We're—"

"—Accompanying team." Kai grunted.

"Oh really?" Mr. Tatibana's eyes immediately went to Kai, as did everyone else's.

"From rural Japan." Was Kai's curt explanation.

"Eh, we're no—" Naruto's denial was quickly cut off as Rei sharply shushed him. Mr. Tatibana didn't seem to notice the interruption.

"I see," He was still eyeing Kai oddly, as though surprised the teen could speak. "So all of you play with those… beyblade toys."

What followed after was a long, awkward pause. Tyson looked affronted at being told Dragoon was a 'toy', but wisely, he said nothing. Sasuke was sported a vaguely insulted expression, annoyed that he was being grouped with the Bladebreakers; and Kakashi just seemed amused.

Needless to say, when Hilary and Sakura finally returned to the group nearly one hour later everyone was quite ready to leave.

Next on the list was Max's house.

Max took great pleasure in giving Team 7 a quick tour around the Beyparts store his father owned. In particular, the ninja seemed intrigued by the many variations of spiral metal attack rings on display behind a glass case. When Naruto asked about them, Max happily launched into an explanation of how specifically cut blades were better for certain styles of beyblading.

Using his own team as an example, Max pointed out four different types of blades displayed proudly in a tall cabinet.

"See this one with the long curved blades?" Max pointed to one of the larger attack rings: streamlined with vicious looking blades that tapered off at the ends.

"Yeah?" Naruto leaned in toward the glass cover, nearly pressing his nose against it. Max had already warned them against touching the panes. "Looks sorta like a shuriken."

"That's the kind Kai uses: good for slashing and swift, powerful attacks." Max explained. "Then there's this one, the one I use." Max showed Naruto a hefty blade with serrated edges. "It's good for wearing the opponent down over a long period of time."

"You know, we have something similar to that in our varying types of shuriken. It's a very effective method; I didn't know they used it for other purposes." Sakura said thoughtfully.

It was inevitable that Sakura's comment would make everyone think about what the ninjas used serrated blades for and exactly how different that was from Beyblading. Max looked back at the pink-haired girl uneasily for a moment before forcibly brushing the thought off.

"…I… see…" the blond said. "Right… well… this one here," this time Max showed the ninja a lightweight blade with smaller, thinner blades that appeared almost needle-like. "Is the one Rei uses. He likes to keep his blade fast and light, this blade works well for more stabbing-style attacks. And finally, Tyson's," Max gestured to a blade that looked like a cross between Kai's and Rei's: with long, thin, curved blades. "Is more balanced between attack and speed."

"Hey, Max! Thought I heard your voice." Max's father, Alex Tate, immerged from a backroom of the shop, wiping his hands on a rag. When he spotted Team 7 one of his dark eyebrows shot up to his receding hairline. "Who're your new friends?" He asked, looking down at Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke before raising his eyes to look at Kakashi. The silver haired man stood level with Mr. Tate, though he was somewhat leaner than Max's stocky father.

"Ah-ha…" Max laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. "They're uh…" Somehow he didn't think his father would take too kindly to finding out there were ninja travelling with his son.

"We're from out of town. The Bladebreakers her have been kind enough to allow us to accompany them to Russia." Kakashi said smoothly.

"Uh-huh…" Mr. Tate looked unconvinced. "So you're Beybladers?"

"…Something like that." Sakura answered.

"Then why was my son explaining to you what an attack ring was?" Alex scratched at the dark stubble on his chin and his lip quirked smugly at Team 7, having neatly caught them in the lie. Sakura blushed.

"Like I said, we're from out of town, we have a different system." Kakashi didn't even pause before answering, his visible eye perfectly calm.

"Hmmm… What part of the country are you from? I've never seen clothes like yours before." He eyed Kakashi's heavily padded vest, Naruto's bright orange jumpsuit, Sakura's split dress and Sasuke's high collar.

"Aww, Dad, stop interrogating my friends! They're cool; and we just came to get my bag!" By now, Max had dashed into the back of the shop, grabbed his duffel, and ran back. "We're gonna spend the night at Tyson's, then we'll be leaving first thing in the morning."

At the mention of his son's departure, Mr. Tate's attention immediately shifted to Max. "Alright then, you have your money, passport and itinerary, right?" He asked, voice filled with fatherly anxiety.

"Yes Dad," Max rolled his eyes, but smiled consolingly at his father's concern.

"Then c'm'ere" Alex beckoned Max toward him and gave his son a short hug. "Say hi to your mother for me, will you?"

"No problem," Max grinned, then ducked as his father reached out to ruffle his hair. "Hey!" Max laughed.

Unnoticed by both Max and his father, there were two pairs of eyes that watched the exchange between father and son with more attentiveness than the rest of the group.

Naruto looked wistful whereas Sasuke's face was a mask of marble as they looked on.

"Hey, Max?" Naruto asked. The little bell over the door jingled as they left the store. Max cocked his head and Naruto continued "What did your Dad mean about saying hi to your Mom?"

"Huh?" Max looked confused for a second before understanding came to him. "Ohh… my mom and dad are divorced and she's the manager of the American Beyblade team, so we'll probably see her in Russia." The blond teen looked happy at this possibility.

"Divorced?" Naruto looked quizzical.

"Yeah, you know, separated? They don't live together." Max elaborated.

Naruto still looked confused. "Huh…" He cocked his head to the side. Divorce was a foreign concept in Konoha; Naruto knew what it was, but the instances in which a married couple split from each other was so rare in his village that it was almost unheard of.

"It's normal for them," Sakura whispered to Naruto. "In their culture families get divorced all the time."

Naruto's face scrunched pensively. He still didn't get it. If two people loved each other, and wanted to spend the rest of their lives together, why would they separate? It made not sense.

"Weird…" He mumbled.

When the two teams arrived at Rei's house they found themselves looking up at a relatively humble, two story restaurant.

"You live at a restaurant?" Naruto looked at the place appreciatively. "Do your folks run the place? Must be great to get all the food you want for free!" The blind ninja was making a clear attempt to have friendly conversation with Rei. Throughout the entire day Rei had been uptight and aloof around the ninja. Naruto, although somewhat offended by the behaviour, wanted to work past it. This seemed as safe a topic as any.

But apparently it wasn't as safe as he'd thought because Rei's face suddenly went blank and he hesitated before answering. "Ah… no. I work here. And… listen, the people I stay with… they're Chinese…and they may recognize the symbols on your forehead protectors… So if it's possible, I think you should…"

"We will wait here, if it is more prudent." Kakashi interceded appeasingly.

Rei looked relieved. "That's good… thank you. I will only be a moment." The 'thank you' was awkward and rushed and Rei gave a miniscule nod of his head before jogging toward the restaurant.

"Now seriously, what is UP with this? Why is he always acting funny around us? And he as good as said the people he's staying with won't like us either. Do all Chinese hate Ninja or what?" Naruto grumbled, kicking a stray pebble on the ground.

"Naruto!" Sakura scolded. "That's prejudiced!"

"So?" Naruto asked brazenly. "They seem to be perfectly happy being prejudiced against us!"

"Rei… Rei's not prejudiced…" Max's defence wavered at first, but grew stronger as he spoke. "I'm sure there's another reason for why he's acting so odd around you guys."

"Yeah, Rei's not like that!" Tyson said confidently, sticking his hands on his waist and nodding sagely.

"You seem to know what's going on, Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura looked to her teacher questioningly.

Kakashi just cocked his head and regarded the group of teens with his visible eye. "Oh?" It didn't appear as though he would be any more forthcoming.

Silence fell as the group waited for Rei. Hilary shifted the strap of her stuffed duffel bag, which was digging uncomfortably into her shoulder. The strap slipped and she nearly dropped the bag. She huffed and made to switch it to her opposite shoulder, all the while grumbling under her breath about how stupid of an idea it was to lug fifty pound bags across the city. Seeing Hilary's difficulty, Tyson opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He was about to move toward her when a hand came out of nowhere and swept the bag out of Hilary's hands with graceful ease.

Hilary looked up with a gasp at Kai, who was standing over her with her bright cherry duffel thrown neatly over one shoulder. The heat rose to her cheeks as she realized, embarrassedly, how pathetic she must have looked struggling with her bag, especially to make Kai of all people, take it from her.

But Kai didn't even look at her, and the duffle—stuffed to exploding—seemed to weigh nothing as it sat comfortably on his shoulder.

Still, Hilary fidgeted self-consciously and Sakura elbowed her with a knowing grin. Hilary looked at Sakura with something between hope and embarrassment as she blushed, mouth trying to form words that wouldn't come out.

Behind them, Tyson looked inordinately displeased as he sucked in a cheek and turned away.

Max caught Naruto's eye and they shared a look.

Luckily for everyone, it was at that very moment that Rei emerged from the house, his bag slung over his shoulder.

The trip to Kai's place involved a bus ride and was significantly longer than any of the others, taking them into the heart of the city. It gave Team 7 a chance to gaze upon the busy streets and towering skyscrapers of Tokyo in greater detail.

As they traveled, it slowly became difficult for the Bladebreakers to not notice how people just seemed to veer away from the ninja. It was like there was an invisible line drawn around Team 7 which even crowds of people would not penetrate. Even while they were sitting on the bus, there was always a space of at least two seats between Team 7 and everyone else, save the Bladebreakers. For the most part though, this observation was written off by the beybladers as a side-effect of the ninja's odd graveness and strange attire.

The ninjas were unnaturally creepy, Tyson had reasoned. He remembered well how he had been on edge and wary around them when they'd first appeared too. So it wasn't really surprising that everyone else avoided them too

On their part, Team 7 also began to notice some odd behaviours that seemed to afflict people as the Bladebreakers' would walk by. For one thing, girls would break down into fits of giggles whenever Rei just looked in their general vicinity. Rei took this behaviour in stride: his smile amicable as he joked lightly with various girls asking for his autograph.

Kai's effect though was both greater and more violent. Between the odd 'squeal and run away' there were actually some girls who would try to reach out and touch Kai's scarf as he swept by. This behaviour was not stopped by the ninja, since it didn't appear to be particularly harmful; but it did cause some degree of mortification for Sakura and Sasuke as Naruto made amused comments about the similarities between these girls and Sasuke's fanclub.

"I am NOT that bad!" Sakura gasped, staring as yet another girl squeaked and ran away from Kai. All she'd done was brush his arm… "This is extreme! I don't act like that, do I Sasuke-kun?" She looked at Sasuke imploringly.

Sasuke's forehead hit his palm, which he dragged down over his face.

"Do I?" She repeated, her expression slowly turning aghast.

Sasuke closed his eyes for a moment, seeking patience. "…You're annoying." He said at length.

"You always say that to me!" She dismissed the words. "But am I THAT annoying?"

Sasuke refused to answer.

Aside from Rei and Kai, who received attention mostly from the girls, Tyson and Max got more diverse responses. Every now and again, a random person walking down the street would yell an informal greeting to Max, as though they knew him personally. And he would return in kind. Sometimes he'd even stop to have brief conversations with these strangers.

Tyson, as he walked, got the occasional loud whoop and pumped fist, which he responded to with a large grin and a whoop of his own.

In all, the Bladebreakers seemed very accustomed to walking in the limelight. They never acted out of turn, or reacted in negative ways, which made Team 7 wonder if they received this sort of attention everywhere they went.

When questioned on their ease at handling the fans, Tyson responded for the group.

"This is nothing," He grinned. "You should see them during a tournament. We can't even walk outside during those times; they'd swarm us. Even when we're in cars, they crowd right around them and try to peer in through the windows. Kai nearly got strangled once when a couple of girls grabbed his scarf and wouldn't let go." Tyson bore Kai's resulting death glare happily as everyone burst out laughing. Even Sasuke looked smug, as though some unknown speculation of his had just been confirmed.

Once they descended from the bus and began walking between the tall skyscrapers, Team 7's attention was taken by the scenery and the conversation shifted.

Hilary and Kenny were only too happy to explain various aspects of history and architecture to the amazed genin. Tyson and Max meanwhile, had a small, funny anecdote for almost every recreational site they passed. Currently they were telling a story of how Hilary had once shoved Tyson so hard he'd toppled over into a fountain. As it had turned out, Tyson had reached out at the last second and grabbed Hilary's hand, pulling her into the fountain right after him.

"This place is so BIG. Konoha doesn't have any houses anywhere near this tall!" Sakura strained her neck as she gazed upward at a particularly steep, slim skyscraper. "And they're so… oddly constructed too." She commented, referring to the mirror-like glass that covered every surface of the building.

"I like all the lights." Naruto added, pointing, unsurprisingly, at a large neon sign depicting a bowl of ramen. "I bet it's nowhere near as good as Ichiraku's, but we so gotta try it sometime! Do all the lights come on at night?" He asked, looking at the many dozens of neon signs that were still unlit in the late afternoon.

"Yup! You should see it! The whole place is lit up like a giant Christmas tree!" Max grinned. But getting some confused looks from the genin he shook his head and quickly rephrased. "Sorry, American reference. I mean… like New Year's." Comprehension came to the ninja and Max chuckled.

"So Kai…" Sakura began, speaking cautiously. "Where do you live?"

Kai, who was leading the group, suddenly stopped. "Here." Came his simple answer.

"Whoa…" Naruto looked up at the tall building. It was sixty floors high, at least, made of continuous panels of opaque, black glass and held up by a set of black marble pillars. "You live here?"

Kai didn't answer, and instead moved to head into the building. Max, taking pity on the gobsmacked Naruto, took a moment to explain how Kai didn't live in the whole building, but rather, in one of the apartments.

As the two teams got closer to the swinging entrance doors, two large, burly men in dark long coats exited the building. The two teams paid them no heed, but as they moved to pass between them one of the men bumped roughly into Kai's shoulder, making the teen stagger backward.

Kai turned his head, a harsh comment on his lips, but for reasons unknown the words died before any breath could be put behind them.

"Hey!" Tyson shouted at the retreating backs of the two men. "You can't just bash into us and not say—"

Kai tsked. "Ay, Tyson. Let it go."

"But—" Tyson looked surprised. Kai just shook his head and turned to continue into the building. Tyson sighed, but acquiesced, following after his captain. Curious looks were sent at the two men, then Tyson and Kai, but no one else said a word as they followed the two teens.

Kakashi did notice though, how Kai had frozen as he looked back at the two men. And how his eyes had widened every so slightly.

Sasuke though, had a considerably darker look. He had seen—under the flapping of the man's trench-coat as he shouldered Kai—the unmistakable glint of a polished weapon. Sasuke pondered the implications, and he had his suspicions, but he said nothing. What he did notice though, was the pensive look on Rei's face. He eyed the elder teen suspiciously and Rei, as though sensing the gaze, looked up and met Sasuke's eyes full on.

Mutual distrust and wariness passed in that look, along with something else. Sasuke felt his fingers tingle with energy and some agitated instinct was shooting off sparks in the back of his brain. Something about this amber-eyed teen screamed power to Sasuke, but he didn't know what. Rei had no chakra to speak of, so the dark haired ninja chalked it up to the so-called training Kakashi had mentioned Rei had received.

This time, Sasuke made sure to break eye-contact first. Frankly, he just wanted to get this mission finished; the Bladebreakers' skeletons and secrets were worth as much to him as sand in the desert. He didn't care; and as such, let the interest flake off himself as he turned toward the group.

They entered the building and were met with a rush of crisp, air-conditioning mingled with the smell of pine and chemical freshener. The room was modern and neat with carefully arranged fake plants on black shelves protruding from white walls and prim black leather chairs set next to polished glass tables. Everything looked clean and proper and sterilized; to such an extent that even Tyson and Naruto didn't immediately rush to throw themselves on the cushy seats. Instead they all shifted back and forth on their feet, waiting awkwardly as Kai strode up to the female receptionist, who greeted him with a polite—if not somewhat awestruck—hello.

"See," Hilary nudged Sakura, pointing out the receptionist, who was tucking a strand of dark hair behind her ear with a self-conscious smile. "He's pretty well known around here. Even among older people."

Sakura grinned. "That, or it's just his looks." The two girls shared a small laugh.

"Yeah, you saw those girls back there." The brunette said in reference to the giggling, flirty girls they'd passed on the streets. Hilary shook her head. "Crazy fangirls…"

This time, Sakura's laugh was markedly more uneasy.

Kai moved past the desk and depressed the elevator call button.

Everyone exchanged short glances: the choice between standing around in this sterile room, sticking out like sore thumbs, and going with Kai was an easy one. Kai raised an eyebrow when everyone crowded behind him, but didn't say anything. This silence was more or less taken as an invitation up to his room.

When the elevator arrived everyone swarmed in at once. It was a tight fit and Hilary was grousing about someone—Tyson—stepping on her foot; but they eventually got the door closed and with a quiet hum the elevator started moving up.

"So… erm… this place, it looks more like a hotel than anything else." Sakura didn't actually ask a question, but her statement implied it. The place did not look like an apartment building. Sakura raised her eyebrows and looked around at the group as though waiting for a response.

"It is." Kenny answered peering up at the pink-haired girl through his thick glasses. "Actually, there are a number of suites that are owned by Mr. Dickenson and act as available guest rooms for visiting representatives or teams." Kenny's analysis was clinical and carefully disassociated from Kai.

"But then why does he live here?" Naruto jabbed a thumb at Kai, who had his eyes closed as he leaned against one wall. It was clear that Team 7 would be getting no answers from him, so they turned to the other Bladebreakers.

"Well…" Tyson trailed off. No one seemed to want to answer Naruto's query.

"I suppose," The low drawl came from Sasuke. "That the rest of his family lives in Russia."

And the silence which followed that statement was long and thick.

"Yeah, well, Kai's lived here for a whole year! And he does just fine on his own!" Tyson spoke heatedly, defensively. "He doesn't have to go live in Russia—"

"It's fine Tyson." Kai's low voice smoothed over Tyson's. His eyes opened and caught Sasuke's in a long stare. "It's not like he doesn't speak the truth." There was something dismissive about the way Kai said 'he' instead of 'you'. As though Sasuke were a child, unable to understand what the adults were talking about.

Sasuke didn't appreciate that undertone, and had opened his mouth to say something caustic when the elevator door slid open on the fortieth floor. The topic was forgotten as everyone piled out of the elevator, though the thin, firm line of Sasuke's mouth showed that he was still feeling the insult.

Kai lead the way down first one long, narrow corridor—lined on both sides by classic, black-and-white photographs and fake, miniature plants—and then turned and headed down a second corridor, similar to the first. At the end of the third hall, he finally stopped at a single door.

444

An unlucky number if there ever was one and Rei's eyebrows rose as he glanced at Kai cagily. The older youth just smirked fleetingly, scoffing at Rei's superstitious misgivings.

With a flick of his fingers, Kai produced a key card seemingly from thin air. He inserted it swiftly into the lock before pulling it out. There came the sound of a metal bolt shifting and Kai opened the door.

If Kakashi had to describe the room he would have called it cold. Aside from the provided luxuries—bed, table, kitchen, washroom and chairs—there was absolutely nothing added to the room. No personal affects: little trinkets to show a person's habits or quirks. It was utterly impersonal. Spartan. The dishes were all washed and put away, no clothes or other items were to be seen and a quick glance into the washroom showed that even the towels had been neatly folded and stacked on the racks.

In fact, if it hadn't been for the black duffel sitting neatly on the meticulously made bed, and the small clutter of papers on the floor near the door, Kakashi would have said that the room looked positively unlived in.

"Wow, clean much?" Naruto asked dryly, probably thinking of his own home, which was always in varying states of chaos.

Kai didn't say anything. Instead he walked forward and—in a single fluid motion—bent and swept up the papers on the floor.

Intrigued, Kakashi subtly tried to get a closer look at them; but Kai was quick, immediately tucking them out of view. Kakashi did see though, that the papers were actually letters and the one on the top had a strange type of writing on it. It looked more like a series symbols and curves than actual characters and words. Kakashi wondered at that. The symbols looked familiar; they were written in another language that he could not quite place. It wasn't English, but perhaps one of its cousins.

Kai picked up the duffel from his bed—and, in effect, stripping the room of its last personal belonging—and swung it onto his free shoulder. Hilary immediately walked up to him in concern, not wanting him to have to hold both her back and his, but Kai just took her bag and tossed it unceremoniously toward Tyson who—not expecting a large, heavy duffle to be thrown at his face—squawked and nearly toppled over as the thing smacked into him. Fortunately, he managed not to drop the bag.

Hilary, standing between both Kai and Tyson, had her arms half-way outstretched toward Kai. For a moment she hesitated, taken by surprise. Then she turned to Tyson and beckoned to him with a sigh.

"What?" Tyson asked. He'd shouldered the pack and was holding the strap almost protectively.

Hilary looked at him oddly. "You don't have to hold it." She said. "You can give it back to me."

"N-no! That's okay!" Tyson insisted, to Hilary's surprise. "No really, I don't mind!" Tyson held the bag closer and turned to leave the room.

"Huh…" Hilary cocked her head at Tyson retreating back. "Okay then…" Sending a brief shrug at Sakura, she turned and followed after Tyson.

Sakura shared a look with Naruto. "You don't think…" She started.

Naruto's lips crooked upward. "Uh huh."

"Definitely." Max put in, sharing a knowing nod with Naruto.

"Oh no…" Sakura sighed, closing her green eyes as she massaged the hollow of one eye.

Having finished his business in the room, Kai led the way back to the elevator which they rode back down to the main floor. Exiting the building, Tyson took over the lead and they headed back to his dojo.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

',.-End, Chapter Ten-.,'

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Hee hee, so, how was it? Isn't it funny how Max is the one who seems to be clicking most easily with everyone ^.^ ? And also, to tell you the truth, I don't actually know Mr. Tate's real first name :P I use 'Alex' because that's what I used for my other Beyblade fic; so I'm keeping it consistent XD

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, for this chapter and the last! I know I didn't get around to responding to reviews, but I will certainly respond to all reviews for this chapter! Miharu-desu, StunningGhost, beckylovesgigs, wah-keetcha, winddragonpowers, TheFallenangel927, Kavbj, Kuma the wolf alchemist, alanacrystal, , stephvamp25, beybladeingninjaprincess, sasukoi, Darakna, FlamingIce94, Yuliya, terracannon876, dimonyo-anghel, Petalwhisker X Fireheart, meyoumeyou justmealrigt!, Mrs. MonkeyD. Hitachiinx3, lady KCassandra, fawks136, CleverPhoenix, Feonix in Ashes, WolfSong, StarShinobi, scarletmirror, Dani Hiwatari, Lhune, Nameless Little Girl, BloodRedViolet, Haro kzoids, ShadowHeart251, 99DenmonChick99, Taijiya Mizu, Steal My Soul 7767, bladz-liska, dragonlilly1993, Amitha, beautyofthedarkmoon, Sciura, blackblood1616, CleverPhoenix, Elves of the Moon, Painted Ys, ShiningHeart of ThunderClan, Evanescente, mimic shalle, Crulean Gemini, Yame, Ugawa, SPB Wolf, Yurrei, Jadej.j, Australia, Tio Hiwatari, ShadowBlade7330, dekoolsky, StrangeoneXD aaand Aacura!

You're all awesome!

Adio!