Disclaimer: I do not own beyblade.
CHAPTER 25
All the writers keep writing what they write
Somewhere another pretty vein just dies
I've got the scars from tomorrow and I wish you could see
That you're the antidote to everything except for me
Fall Out Boy
NORMAL POV:
Pop music blared through the speakers as loud guffaws and shouts erupted from the bladers gathered in the hotel's humble suite. The top fifteen beybladers in the world were all scattered about the cozy space having the time of their lives. The front door opened quietly amidst the racket to let in the most surprising guest of the evening, completing the assembly. Kai Hiwatari.
Tyson, sprawled out on the couch, blabbing his mouth off, immediately shut up, turning his head around to scan the room instinctively. He didn't even know what he was searching for as his gaze passed over the happy figures surrounding him but the moment he spotted the newcomer, Tyson realized that this was only a knee-jerk reaction to the presence of a certain slate-haired show stopper. Hang on a second, Tyson sat up. What was Kai doing here? The chances of the ultimate lone wolf ( quote Garland) showing up at an after party hosted by Kieran and his team, was as likely as an alien invasion during monsoon in the Sahara.
Kai walked in with a nonchalant air and leaned against the far wall after giving the entire expanse a once-over. Ignoring Tyson. Rolling his eyes, the three-time world champion sighed and eyed Kieran who'd just stood up from where he'd been lounging next to him. Kieran held up his hands in front of him as if to draw everybody's attention. "Alright, listen up! Hey!" .The bladers who were too caught up in their conversations, stopped to look at him.
Clearing his throat, he addressed the now comparatively quieter gathering. "Okay, so I think it's time for some fun games. What do you say?". Everybody perked up, Kai opened his eyes to glare at the grey-eyed host. "I have something in mind, it's one of my favourite games. Truth and Liars!", he grinned big, spreading his arms wide. "Gather around".
Once he had his wish granted by the eager guests, he continued, "Now for those of you who don't know how Truth and Liars is played, I'll explain the rules. It's pretty simple. I have three index cards here,", he held them up, "with the word truth written on two of them and liar on the third. I'll place them face down on this table here", moving over to the coffee table at the centre of the carpet, he arranged the cards. "and three of you will pick a card each, randomly without showing the other players. You'll be asked a question that you will have to answer, two telling the truth, the other one lying. The rest of us get to decide which of one of the three is the liar and if caught, the liar will be made to perform a dare but if they get away with it, then they get to pick another person to do a dare. Clear?"
"Sure", said Max pulling his feet up on the couch, having plopped down next to Tyson, who rubbed his hands together in anticipation and yelled, "Let's do it".
"Great. So who are the ones going first?"
"Me!", shouted Max, excitedly. Ambrosio and Ming-Ming bounded over and squeezed in between him and Tyson.
"Uh….not four. Three at a time, please", Kieran bit his lip, hands on his hips. "That's alright. You guys can take the first shot", Tyson got up and made his way over to the larger sofa on the opposite side, Kieran sank in the space between him and Brooklyn, everybody else settled down around them, some on the same sofa, the rest on the plush carpet. Kai rested his arms on the back of the couch, right behind Tyson's head, into whose chest seeped in warmth and happiness.
"Go on, then. Pick a card", Kieran prompted. Max, Ming-Ming and Ambrosio each chose one and glanced at it before putting it down. They looked up at him enthusiastically.
"What would you do if you were invisible for a day?"
Ming-Ming answered without missing a beat, "Watch you all day".
"Nothing else?", Kieran raised his eyebrows at her. She looked thoughtful before adding, "Maybe mess with Garland". Garland curled his lips at her in response.
"What about you, Brosey?"
"I'd just walk around the town butt naked", Ambrosio winked at him.
Now it was Max's turn and he'd gotten the liar card. What he'd really do was spy on Kenny at night (was he simply working through the whole night almost every day?) but he couldn't say that. He thought long and hard about his lie and then finally spoke, "I'd watch someone shower?". Oops, it came out a question, he knew he was done for.
"Maxie. You know lying is not very becoming of you", Tyson smirked at him in triumph. He knew it was Max the moment he saw his face after reading the card.
"Aww.. I suck at this". Disappointed with himself that he couldn't lie, he asked dreading the dare, "What do I have to do?"
"Repeat everything Bryan says for the next three rounds", said Tala, proud that he'd come up with such a brilliant idea. Bryan oohed and told the blond to repeat it. Max did just that, making Ming-Ming smile up at him, adoringly. "You are sooo cute"
"Thanks", he blushed a deep red.
"Get off, I'm next", Bryan savagely pulled Max up by his arm and parked his butt in the relinquished seat, the blond nearly face-planting on the floor in the process. Rubbing his arm, he said, "Get off, I'm next", carrying out his dare. Brooklyn watched as Ming-Ming stood up, smoothed down her dress and winked at him before walking away, he settled down in the empty cushion. Tala perched on the arm of the sofa near Bryan, not wanting to be in the immediate vicinity of Brooklyn, who lounged on the far side.
Each of them decided on a card, that had been rearranged on the table by Athan and waited for the others to hit them with the query.
"Have you ever had a crush on anyone in here?", asked Kieran, opting himself as the quizmaster, nobody protested because they were all quite content with his probing.
"Yes", grumbled Bryan.
"Yes", repeated Max.
"Who is it?"
"That wasn't a part of the question"
"That wasn't a part of the question"
"Yes it was. You have to tell us their name"
"No way", Bryan ground out. There was no chance in hell that he was going to tell anyone, let alone the whole room, who owned his deepest fantasies.
"No way", laughed Max.
"Don't be a party pooper, man. At least tell us the first letter of their name", pressed Tyson, anxious to know who'd managed to break through the wall of ice in the burly blader's chest.
"Fine", he took a deep breath and blurted out, "T". Everybody else's jaw hit the floor. T? There were only two people in the whole suite whose names started with the letter T. Tyson or Tala?
"Fine, T", the blonde reattached his jaw.
Tyson straightened up, a little wary while Kieran eyed Tala with a smile playing on his lips. Kai let the back of his hand brush the hair of the blader whom he'd nearly kissed to death a while ago. Tala blinked twice, unable to believe the things happening around him. Kai and Bryan's got a thing for Tyson? The heck? Will somebody please tell him what was so great about the annoying Granger? He ground his teeth in exasperation.
"Okay", Kieran chuckled, thoroughly enjoying the game. "What about you, Tala?"
"No", he bit out venomously. All eyes turned to the orange-haired genius who sat calm and collected, with his head propped up on a hand.
"Yes", sang Brooklyn.
"Who?"
"Ming". Her eyebrows shot up to the ceiling. Brooklyn had a crush on her?
"Very well. Who's the liar?"
"Bryan", said Tyson. There was no way Bryan was gay.
"Is that the final decision? Is Bryan the offender?", Kieran asked the room.
"Of course. Who else could it be?", crowed Spencer from where he was lying on the carpet. He knew Bryan pretty well, or so he thought and his teammate was definitely lying.
"Bryan it is!", Rei clapped once and shouted.
"Morons", the alleged player, mumbled under his breath. Was he that good at keeping secrets? No. Kai knew. But then again, Kai was an intelligent asshole unlike the rest of his teammates and the inmates of this room. Why'd he keep his mouth shut, though? Bryan shifted his gaze towards Kai leaning a little too close to Tyson. Now for anybody else, it would have been normal but this wasn't anybody. This was the loner who tried to avoid contact with people as much as he could and him angling towards his rival was something of a rare occurrence, if not completely odd and Tyson on the other hand, kept looking up at him every now and then. Hmm…weird.
"Actually. It's me.", Brooklyn spoke up, amusement glinting in his eyes. "You got it wrong, now I get to dare someone. Kieran….I dare you to prank call Hiro and tell him that you are infatuated with his baby brother"
"I'm not a baby", Tyson murmured.
"Sure", Kieran whipped out his phone and started dialling Hiro. Holding it up to his ear with a big smile plastered on his face, he waited for the call to connect. Tyson chewed on his lip a bit nervous, "Oh man..".
"Hiro! Sorry for disturbing you at such an hour but I have a confession to make". He paused, listening to whatever was being said on the other end of the line. "Uhuh…I'll make it quick. You see…I like Tyson"
Everyone held their breath, Tyson shifted closer to Kieran and pressed his ear to the phone, trying to hear his brother's reaction to the happy news being delivered to him this late at night. Kai sucked in his lips and looked down at his folded arms.
"No. I like him as in I am sexually attracted to him". Tyson jerked back to gape at the grey-eyed prankster and mouthed, "What the hell?!", the rest of the inhabitants shook in quiet laughter.
"Oh…he's not-", he paused mid-sentence. "Oh..", he actually sounded disappointed. Tyson rolled his eyes.
"Hmm. Anything for Ty if it makes him happy….you know what they say, if you love something you must let it g-", stopping suddenly, he drew the phone back to look at it, then cracked up. "He hung up on me! Ha ha ha"
"Jeez", the world champ blinked in uncertainty. He didn't even know what to say. At this rate, Hiro might end up losing his mind.
"Alright. Who's next?", Kiaan yelled, eager to keep the game going without any long breaks. Daichi, Rei and Garland crashed into position, once the former players had abandoned the post.
"Okaaay. Ready?". Cards in hand, Rei and Garland nodded while Daichi cried, "Bring it! Hit me with your best shot."
"Sure. How long have you gone without showering?", asked the Granger straight away.
"A day", said Daichi. Tyson narrowed his gaze at him. There's no way that's true, he thought.
"Three days", Rei admitted looking a little embarrassed. Probably speaking the truth.
"I shower everyday", proclaimed Garland. Definitely not lying. Everybody knew Garland was a neat freak so him lying about not showering was out of the question. That made Daichi the liar. Tyson pointed at him, "Liar!"
Daichi crossed his arms and huffed. "Whatever. Dare me"
"I dare you to switch clothing with someone of the opposite gender in here. Change in private but you have to wear the clothes for the next four rounds", challenged Mystel.
Daichi, outraged, yelled, "WHAT!"
"Just do it. It's either that or singing", Max told him.
"Fine. Where's Hillary?", he scanned the room for her and looked distressed when he didn't find her. Remembering that she was working with Kenny on their blades's new upgrades, he thought about bailing because with her absent, the only female person in there was…Ming-Ming.
Dragging his eyes toward her and the shimmering 'thing' attached to her tiny frame, he shuddered. She grinned devilishly at him, "Let's go, Daichi".
"Oh…I'm gonna regret this". Slowly lifting himself up, he trudged to her, she latched onto his hand when he reached her and marched to the next room.
"Ty. You haven't played the game yet. Why don't you go next?", suggested Rei.
"Fine by me". Tyson got up and took his seat on the now empty couch and waited for someone else to join. Kieran scooted beside him and shot him a dazzling smile, "I wanna do it with you". That statement spurred Kai into action, stepping around the sofa, he made his way over to the happy duo and sank in between them. Do it with him… over my dead body.
Kiaan positioned himself right across them and grinned like a Cheshire cat. I am so going to own this, bitches. "Pick a card", he urged.
Tyson peeked at his choice. Truth. Smiling, he held it against his chest, watching Kai glare at his card from the corner of his eye.
"Have you ever had sex?". Kiaan ran a tongue over his lip, practically bursting with glee.
Tyson, a little pink because he was sitting next to Kai, answered first, "No". Kai turned his head to look at him.
"Aww…you little virgin. Don't worry. Soon you shall be entering the world of manly men. Soon.", promised the handsome devil.
He gulped. What was Kiaan talking about? Kai moved his leg right then, his knee brushing Tyson's, sending shock waves up his thigh, reminding him of everything that had transpired just a few hours ago.
"Your turn, Hiwatari"
"No", answered Kai. Hmm..
"Kieran?"
"Yes", he shrugged.
"There's no way Kai's a virgin. Look at him", the brown-eyed Indian shook his head in disbelief.
Tyson swung his gaze towards Kai and met his eyes. Was he telling the truth? But that would make Kieran the liar but Kiaan didn't bat an eyelash when he said yes, like it could never be a lie.
"Yeah he's lying", confirmed Spencer. "I've seen things with my own eyes"
"What?", Tyson shouted, mouth hanging open. He shot Kai an incredulous look, who turned away from him. "What is he talking about?"
"Nothing. You're right, though. I'm lying", his words were crisp, laced with the kind of confidence in oneself that could only be born out of years of self-reliance.
Hands and mouth that had touched someone else? Looking elsewhere, Tyson shifted away from Kai a little.
"I dare you", Kiaan cocked his head thinking hard, then smiled all of a sudden when a brilliant idea flashed in his mind, "to swim in the pool! Behind the hotel. In the fucking cold water right now".
"Oh boy, it's freezing out there. But don't they close the pool after nine?", asked Tyson. Not considering the absurdity of the challenge. Swimming after midnight when it was almost freaking winter.
"They don't really close it off, there just won't be any guards around, that's all. Making it that much more fun", answered Kieran, eyeing Kai, who looked perfectly unconcerned. Cold water? He could handle the cold, it wouldn't be a problem at all when he had Dranzer with him.
"Whatever", Kai stood up, determined to give the fools a show.
The lights around the hotel's luxurious swimming pool were dimmed but they still cast enough light for the adrenaline-charged bladers who'd come to witness the cruel punishment of an unfortunate liar well past midnight. Kai stepped toward the azure, glowing water, removed his shoes, placed them at a safe place and fingered the hem of his shirt, trying to guess the temperature of the water from the chilliness of the night.
Kieran and Tyson walked forward to the longer side of the pool, adjoining the border where Kai stood, Tyson squatted down and dipped two fingers into it, quickly snatching his hand back just as they skimmed the surface of the water.
"Brr..it's freezing in there", he straightened up, then glanced at Kai, who grabbed his black shirt and slowly tugged it over his head, getting himself used to the cold as the fabric inched up his body. Tyson felt his mouth fall open as Kai's ripped stomach came into view. The pale, rippled skin stirring something deep within him, the black mass of cotton falling to the tiled floor. Unbuckling his belt, the purple-eyed heartbreaker locked his gaze on Tyson's. Unzipping his pants, unwavering stare burning into Tyson from across the small expanse of blue between them, he shed the clothing, now clad in nothing but a pair of black boxers. Tyson gulped. Kai looked as hot as hell.
Focusing back on the job in hand, he inhaled deeply and dived into the water. Holy…
"Kai?", Tyson called out, squinting at the vague form dancing in the pool. Seconds ticked by, Kai never rose out of the water, he started panicking. "KAI! Answer me. Darn it! Who's freaking idea was this?". It was so damn cold in there….
He tore at his hair, "KAI!". I swear if anything happens to him, I'm killing everyone. "Kai, for God's sake, are you alright? Answer me…", his voice broke at the end.
"Tyson, calm down. I'm sure he's fine", Kieran placed a hand on his shoulder, Tyson shrugged it off. He just wanted to see Kai. Max and Rei joined him, shouting Kai's name, asking him if he was alright.
"That's it", he said, flinging his jacket to the floor. "I'm going in", he started taking off the rest of his clothes till he was standing, shivering in his blue dragon boxer shorts.
"Ah Tyson, do you think it's wise to-", Rei started but Tyson held up a hand to stop him. "He's in there. He needs me"
And with that he lunged into the water. Once the initial shock of sudden coldness left him, he took another breath and swam towards Kai, squinting in the dark water. As soon as he reached the spot, he felt an arm slide around his waist and pull him forward. The next thing he knew, a pair of lips were crushed against his.
Somebody's kissing me…Kai's kissing me. Breaking away to look at the boy he thought had gone unconscious underwater, he felt anger and relief flow through his veins simultaneously. The asshole. Anger won in the end. Kicking away from him, he swam to the surface and gasped. Kai followed suit a second later, Tyson splashed water onto his face in fury. "What the hell?"
"There you guys are", Kieran stood ready to jump in. Hands on his hips, he shook his head while Max and Rei exclaimed shouts of relief. "And here I thought you two were dead".
"Genius over here thought he could save both of you and was starting to play lifeguard", Daichi told them, pointing at a half-naked Kieran.
"Shut up. I'm an Olympic level swimmer", he flexed his arms and winked at Tyson. To anyone else, Kieran would've looked licktastic but to a super aggravated Tyson, who floated trembling from head to toe in the blasted cold pool, no amount of flexing or winking could turn him on the slightest bit. Unless it was a certain slate-haired jerk who'd just almost scared him to death.
Kai moved, accidentally splashing Tyson, who whipped around savagely and flailed about, making a little Tsunami of his own for Kai, who took it like a man. Doing nothing other than glaring.
"That looks like fun". An amused Kieran who wanted to try the whole 'swimming after dark in freezing cold water' thing, cannonballed in, soaking the two in the pool and a few who stood on the edge. Ten minutes later, almost everyone was in the water, laughing and swashing about.
Noting that all the bladers were properly distracted, Kai went underwater and grabbed Tyson's leg, pulling him in. Running his hands along his tan sides, Kai pressed his lips against Tyson's and opened his mouth, sucking the air he'd instinctively drawn, right out of him, sending Tyson into trepidation. Kai let him go as he clawed to the surface desperately.
What in the world? Tyson took a huge gulp of breath only to have it snatched out of his lungs by Kai who dragged him under a second later. Thrashing back to the surface hysterical a second time, he decided to give Kai a taste of his own medicine.
Plunged underwater again, Tyson attacked this time. Taking back the breath he'd stolen from him, he smirked. Impressed, Kai tugged the brown-eyed feisty blader towards him and sucked the life out of him. Tyson fought back. The single cloud of air, that was so vital to their beings, one stole from the other, unrelenting, refusing to give in. They'd fight till the little puff of life, seeped out of their bodies and mixed with the dark, form-shifting liquid that surrounded them.
The amount of oxygen, that was from inception unsatisfactory for them to share, dwindled down, the strength in their limbs ebbing away as they tangled and untangled vehemently, one trying to defeat the other to the point that what was Kai's belonged to Tyson as much as his own organs, hands clawing, nails scraping, teeth cutting, insanely screaming inside not from pain but from emotional anguish. Why won't he give in?
Wishing the other would break so that he could win, heedless of the fact that the doom of one would ultimately bring the demise of the other.
Tala watched the writhing pair underwater from a safe distance, standing a few feet away from the pool. Not a soul was aware of what was happening down there but he knew…
I can't let this go on any longer, thought Tala. This is the second time Kai's shown a lapse in judgement. The first time, it was in the bathroom. He'd uncharacteristically failed to make sure that they were completely alone before carrying out his profane 'activity'. But at least it was sort of a private place but what was this? Making out with Tyson in a swimming pool when everybody he knew was present just a few metres away from them? Didn't he care about what would happen if someone were to see….
Kai was losing his sanity, he was not in his right mind, thanks to the ever so talented Tyson whose stupidity was infectious. If this continues, I'll get kicked out of the tournament along with Kai and that just won't do. I need him to concentrate on nothing but blading for the course of this series if I'm to make it to the next one, he can do whatever he wants after that. But for now, Tyson will have to be removed from him. Trying to get through to Kai once he'd set his mind to something was impossible, so convincing Tyson was the only option.
There was a slight problem though, Tyson would never listen to him unless he had leverage. Teasing was his only intention when he took that video of them but desperate times called for desperate measures. He had everything he needed, now all that was left to do was come up with the best lie ever.
~And lies work best when they are brewed with truth~
A/N: That was long.
Review, loves. I need to know what you think. ^^