Wow! I didn't know that peeps even read this fic. But there's been people asking for more, so here it is! Enjoy and remember to review!

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Chapter 3: Never Take a Chibi to a Mall

Rei rolled his eyes fondly before following Kai out of the bathroom and to the front door. Tyson picked Max back up, then quickly followed them. Now that he had spent some time with Max, he had to admit that the chibi really wasn't so bad. He was cute and sweet, just like his older self. The fourteen year old followed the two older boys out the front door, squeezing himself between them both so he was walking in the middle. "So, what store are we going to anyways? I wanna grab something to eat since I missed breakfast."

"You'd want to eat even if you -hadn't- missed breakfast," Kai countered, but then relented and sighed. "OK, we can stop for food. I have Mr Dickenson's credit card. He probably won't mind, as long as you keep it to just ONE meal."

Max caught the word breakfast and grinned. "Ice cream!" Kai sweatrdropped. "I said -breakfast-. not snack."

"Ice cream!"

"No! Breakfast!"

"Ice cream!"

"For the love of...." he caught himself before saying anything too obscene, knowing Rei wouldn't approve of calling a chibi anything as vulgar as what had popped into his head, and sighed. In all honesty, he had always felt guilty cursing at Max, because, even in his normal form, he always did seem exceptionally innocent and vulnerable for a kid his age. He sighed again, then shook his head. "Fine, whatever. Rei? Where are we going? Pick somewhere -close-. "

"There's a mall just over there," Rei said as he pointed to the said building as he led the others towards it. "We'll go there. That way we'll only have to make one stop to get everything we need, baby supplies and breakfast for Tyson."

"Sounds like a plan to me!" Tyson agreed as they crossed the road to the mall, then went inside. Even though it looked fairly small from the outside, the inside seemed huge with several small stores and one large department store that sold everything. "Sweet! I'm gonna find me a place to eat!"

"Sweet!" A little voice echoed, and Kai shook his head. "He would have to copy Tyson, wouldn't he. As if the original isn't already a big enough pain in the ass." Crossing his arms, he looked at Rei. "Are you going to eat too? You can't buy baby clothes without a baby to try them on, right?"

The baby in question looked up at the older boys and laughed. He gave Tyson a curious smile. "Is Kai the daddy?"

"Well no, but I could go and buy the other stuff like diapers, sippy cups, bathroom things..." Rei said as he counted them off on his fingers, then looked up at Kai, meeting his eyes. "Unless you think I should wait until they eat."

Tyson chuckled and gave Max a quick snug before tipping his head curiously. "Daddy of what?"

"It's up to you," Kai replied, being very noncommital, as he headed towards the closest decent looking restaurant. "I'm not going to trust Tyson alone with Max and a table full of knives and forks though." Max watched Kai walk off without Rei and puzzled over it, his brow furrowing with intense thought. "Mommy and daddy-Kai fighting?" he asked finally, looking up at Tyson worriedly. "Still get ice cream?"

Tyson burst out laughing when he caught on to what Max had meant. Now -that- was a hilarious mental image! Rei and Kai as Max's mommy and daddy. He continued to laugh as Rei grabbed his arm and pulled him along as he followed Kai, not wanting the bluenette to leave his sight since he didn't want them to get seperated.

"Kai! Wait up!" Rei called out, trying to get the older boy to slow down a bit.

Max frowned when Tyson laughed at his question, and was about to ask Rei instead, when the chinese boy sprung forward, grabbing Tyson's arm and leading them both after Kai. When the older blader called ahead to the team leader, Max started shouting as well, drawing a lot of attention from other shoppers. "KAIIII!!! NO GO!!!!! WAIT!!!!!!!!"

The slate-haired boy, spun around, and quickly came back, trying to hush Max as a large woman glared at him for making such a sweet little boy upset. "Max! I'm back already! Shut up!" He shot Rei a relieved look as the chibi finally settled down with a grin. "No leave!" he demanded in his squeaky voice, and Kai nodded, embarassed to be taking orders from a child, but not willing to risk another public scene.

"Good job Max! You got Kai to come back," Tyson praised him as he shifted the blonde to his other hip as they walked. He kinda wished someone else would carry Max for awhile since his arms were getting tired, but wasn't about to ask anyone to since Kai would accuse him of being weak. Anyways, it really wasn't -so- bad, and at least he knew the chibi liked him.

"How's that place look?" Rei asked as he gestured to a quiet little ice cream shop with only a couple of people in it. He knew that ice cream would make both Tyson and Max happy, and hopefully they'd be able to burn the sugar's energy off before they got back to their room.

Kai glanced over at it, and shrugged. "Fine, whatever."

"Fine, whatever!" A small voice repeated, and Kai cast a playful glare at Max. "Don't copy me." "Don't copy me!" the blonde echoed, giggling and squirming excitedly in Tyson's arms. Kai smirked, eyes gleaming dangerously. "Max is a baby."

"Max is a baby!"

"Tyson is a fool. -Kai- is the superior blader."

The chibi thought over the large words, then finally shouted, "Tyson is food. Kai is the super burger!"

"What?" Kai exclaimed, flushing with embarassment. "I said blader, not burger!" The chibi only laughed and hid his face in Tyson's jacket. "Burger!" was his muffled reply.

"Super burger?!?" Tyson exclaimed before snorting then laughing just as loudly as before. The mental images were just getting to be too much for him and his face went bright red as he continued to laugh and hold the child in his arms. "Super burger, coming to the rescue! Super Burger!" he sang between laughs. "Ha ha ha!"

"It's your own fault, Kai. You should have said something simplier," Rei teased, but smiled softly so Kai would know that he didn't mean it. "Max is just having fun."

Max began singing along with Tyson, and, after giving Rei a pained look, Kai gave up. Rei was right, like usual. Max was just a kid, and only playing. Smiling slightly. he looked down at the little boy and said, "Yes, I'm the Super Burger...... and I'm about to make Tyson into cat food if you all don't hurry up and order!"

"You don't want that, do ya Maxie," Tyson asked as he smiled down at the blonde as he approached the counter. "Let's see... I'll have the super sundae special," he said, as he gazed at the photo of a large sundae, drizzled in chocolate syrup, sprinkles, peanuts, whipped cream over chocolate ice cream and with a cherry on top. "What about you?"

Max's mouth hung open as he looked at all the diferent types of ice cream to choose from before nervously looking at the impatient man behind the counter. "Ummm......" he cringed then hid his face in Tyson's shirt again. "Want cwoclwate" he murmured to Tyson, holding onto him tightly. "Ok? You say?"

Kai saw the effect the man's sullen attitude was having on his chibified teammate and growled unconsciously, his fists tightening at his sides. "What a jerk," he muttered to Rei, nodding towards the man. "Just tell him, Max," he called over, crossing his arms, "so we can get out of here already, before the I lose my appetite looking at -him-," he added, with a disgusted sneer at the salesman.

"Don't make him do something that he doesn't want to," Rei said as he stepped in front of Tyson and Max and gave the salesman a leveled look of his own. He then grinned slightly, showing off a sharp fang as he pressed his palms against the counter. "He'll have a small chocolate ice cream cone and I'll have a chocolate chip one, ok?" he said lowly before glancing over his shoulder at Kai. "What about you?"

Kai smirked. "I'll have mint chocolate chip, two scoops, on a waffle cone. And don't let me see your dirty fingers touching it, pal. I'm not paying for germs," he said harshly as he pulled Mr Dickenson's VISA out of his pocket and flicked it onto the counter. Max had peeked out of Tyson's shirt when he heard Rei's voice, and was now grinning as he watched the man growl, pull on some latex gloves while cursing them, then finally begin preparing thier treats. "Mine?" Max asked every time a cone was passed over the counter, but his came last, and Kai suspected it was intentional. Glaring, he paid the bill, then made sure to 'accidentally' knock over the prices sign, before covering the chibi's cone with chocolate sprinkles and syrup, then handing it to him. "What?" he barked, noticing the other boys' looks. "He always gets that stuff!" Grabbing a handful of napkins, he stormed out of the store and headed towards the food court to find an empty table with a booster seat of some kind.

Tyson chuckled and stuck his tongue out at the man before following Kai towards the food court. He tried to hurry since he didn't want Max to drip his ice cream on his shirt, and he wanted to get started on his sundae too! It just looked too good and he wanted to take a bite out of it right now.

Rei followed the other three and stopped once they found a table to take Max from Tyson and put him down into the booster seat/high chair. He made sure to keep a few napkins near by, because from the way Max ate his pancakes, he knew most of that ice cream wasn't going to get into the blonde's mouth.

Kai sat down on the middle of the booth to keep Tyson from sitting next to him, then slided over as soon as Rei stepped up, casually asking, "Don't you need to sit next to the kid?" He gestured towards Max, who was already licking at his ice cream and getting chocloate all over his chin and round cheeks. Sighing, Kai carefully began licking his own large cone, keeping a napkin in one hand to avoid looking messy. After watching Tyson and Max eat, he had become much more careful about not getting food all over his own face or clothes.

A loud laugh made him look over at the blonde who had already dropped one scoop onto the table and was trying to pick it up with his hands and push it back onto his cone. All he was susceeding in doing, however, was cover himself, the table, and his clothes in melted chocolate. His laughter was infectious, though, so instead of complaining, Kai just smirked. "Try eating it off the table like a dog, Max," he called over with a laugh, but the boy took his words as a suggestion rather then a joke and, with a wide grin, leaned over and started licking the dirty table top, to everyone's disgust.

Rei smiled before sitting down next to Kai and starting to eat his own cone, until he heard Max's laughter and saw the mess the blonde had already made. "Max, you're making a mess," he said gently as he tapped the boy's chin to get him to lift his head again. "Don't like the table, okay? It's dirty," he said before picking up the stray scoop of ice cream and putting it back on Max's cone for him. "There you go."

Tyson wasn't paying much attention to the mess that Max was making, since he was busy making his own. He was so fixed on eating his sundae, that he didn't care whether it got in his mouth or not, so it ended up all over his face, t-shirt and the table.

Kai cringed internally, expecting Rei to snap at him for telling a baby to lick a filthy public table top, but luckily, Max seemed to be keeping the Chinese blader distracted as he started eating the -bottom- of his cone first. Shaking his head, Kai turned his eyes away from the playing chibi to notice the quite possibly -dirtier- 14 year old across from him. "Tyson! You're worse then Max!" he snapped, glaring at the peanuts stuck to the boy's face. Max looked up and noticed them as well and started giggling, reaching out for Tyson's face, saying, "Yummy! WANT!!!!"

Tyson looked up when Kai addressed him and gave him a guilty grin before looking over at Max and smiling. He wasn't too sure what he wanted, since he wasn't aware of the peanuts stuck to his face, but he leaned closer to Max anyways, assuming that he wantd some of the whip cream stuck to his cheeks. "Go right ahead, Maxie," Tyson told him. "It's an all you can eat, Tyson buffet!"

"I'm not sure who's worse, Max or Tyson," Rei joked as he looked at the mess the two boys made. "I'll clean up Max, you can clean up Tyson, Kai."

"WHAT?!" Kai yelped, blushing quickly, then glaring at the filthy boy across from him, because he could never bring himself to glare at Rei. "You can clean yourself. Maybe take one of those rare showers. It has been almost a month since the last one, hasn't it, Tyson?"

Max ignored the older boys' talk as he greedily grabbed a handful of Tyson's dark hair and pulled the boy close so he could lick the sweet mess off his cheeks and face with a huge grin. When the peanuts and sprinkles were all gone, the little blonde giggled then planted a messy kiss on his friend's cheek, smiling brightly.

Tyson ack!ed when Max grabbed a chunk of his hair and pulled him closer, but only because he hadn't been expecting it. He laughed lightly as Max licked his face clean, then smiled back and kissed the chibi on the nose. "Thanks Maxie," he said before grinning at Kai. "I don't really keep tabs on when I shower, but why should I when I got Max around to clean my face up after I eat?"

"You're a strange one, Tyson," Rei said teasingly before he ruffled Max's hair. "Are you all done with your ice cream, Max?"

"Uhh....." Max looked down at his melted, soggy cone, then over at Tyson's now clean face. "No more," he said almost sadly, before spotting Kai's green cone, which he was almost finished. "Kai!"he exclaimed, eyes bright. The slate-haired boy glanced over at the chibi, an insult already forming on his lips, but, remembering how 'motherly' Rei was about the baby, he held his tongue, and simply popped the rest of his snack into his mouth. "Sorry, Max. All gone." he said between bites. The little blonde blinked at him, considered the fact that Kai hadn't shared then just giggled, and threw his arms in the air for Rei to pick him up. "Go now?" he asked quietly, and the team captain released a sigh of relief.

"We'll go in just a minute," Rei said as he grabbed a couple of napkins and began the task of cleaning up Max's face and hands, and dabbing the ice cream drips off his shirt. It wasn't too easy to do, since the blonde kept moving, but Rei got it done eventually and playfully dabbed Max on the nose before getting to his feet. "Ok, we can go now," Rei said as he hoisted Max into his arms, holding him close and securely. "Can you grab the trash, Tyson?" he asked, knowing better then to ask Kai.

"Hmm? Oh sure," Tyson said as he got up, gathered the garbage then walked off to dump it all in the trash before coming back. "Where to now?"

Kai got up to follow Rei, keeping out of range of the chibi's curious, sticky fingers. He shrugged at Tyson's question, not even sure what it was they were here to buy, except for the obvious. "Where do you buy diapers? A diaper store?" Max giggled. "Kai wear dippers?"

"If you ever ask that again, I'll kill you Max!" The older boy sneered, but the little blonde just laughed, one hand wrapped tightly around Rei's ponytail.

"Don't be mean, Kai," Rei scolded him as they headed out of the food court and to a store he had seen when they had come in. "He's just curious, right Max? But no, Kai doesn't wear diapers, only you do. So, if you're good while we go shopping, then I'll buy you a toy, ok? How would you like that?"

Max's big blue eyes lit up. "A toy? Any?!" He gripped Rei's hair tighter. "I be good!" he promised, giving the older boy his biggest smile. "I want a bunny, Momma! Or a turble!" Kai shook his head. "Have fun making him choose just one," he called to Rei as he broke from thier group and walked into the department store the Chinese blader had directed them to. He glanced around quickly, before noticing a sign indicating the "Children's" section. Frowning, he crossed his arms, then casually made his way towards the racks of tiny sweaters and track pants. A bright green t-shirt with a purple turtle on the front caught his eye and he picked it off the rack. "What size is Max now?" he asked as he looked at the price tag, then grimaced. Thank god they had taken Mr Dickenson's credit card. There was NO way they could afford to clothe Max on their own!

He passed the shirt to Rei as he approached. "It reminded me of Draciel," he said, making an excuse for the fact he was actually picking out baby clothes.

"Then we'll get you a bunny or a turtle," Rei told him as he followed Kai through the department store. He looked behind him, to see Tyson lagging behind and looking extremely bored. Now that he had gotten his breakfast, there was nothing left that he wanted to do, especially not shop for baby clothes. When they caught up with Kai, Rei took the t-shirt then set Max down on the floor. Crouching down in front of him, he held the t-shirt up to Max's front and nodded. It seemed to be the right size, so he held it away from Max and turned it so the blonde could see the picture on the front. "Do you like this one, Max?"

Max squealed when he saw the shirt. "TURBLE!" He tried to grab onto it, but Kai caught him by the back of his shirt. "Wait until we buy it before you get it filthy, Max." The boy just looked up at him with his bright blue eyes before clamping onto Kai's leg. The older boy's surprised exclamation drew a few stares as he reached down to rip Max off his legs and push him against Rei. "Hug him!" he commanded, before backing a way, a faint blush staining his cheeks. Muttering about finding some pants, he dashed off between the racks, leaving the giggling affectionate chibi behind him fast.

"Oi... Max is just asking for a death sentence," Rei muttered to himself before reaching out and giving the small blonde a hug. He then stood up, letting Max stay on the floor so he could route through a nearby rack for a couple of other shirts, since he had a feeling Max would need them with the way he ate.

Meanwhile, Tyson had wandered off, growing easily bored of standing in the baby section while Rei and Kai picked out clothes for Max. He headed for the electronics section and plopped down on a large leather couch that was place right in front of a big screen TV. Now this was how shopping should always be! Nice seat, good shows and no walking!

Max watched Rei sort through clothes for about 2 seconds before he got bored. Grinning, he crawled under the rack of shirts the chinese boy was looking through, and ran in the direction he had seen Kai going. Kai had already grown too embarassed to stay in the children's section, and had wandered off towards the hobbies section to look at the new beyblade parts. The chibi spotted his scarf floating behind him as the captain left and scampered after him, covering his mouth with two tiny hands to keep from making any noise and ruining the fun when he 'caught' Kai. His short legs were no match for Kai's though, and as fast as he tried to go, he lost track of his older teammate quickly.

"Kaiii!" he called loudly, but the boy was out of range of his tiny voice. Pouting, Max wandered towards the big "Barbie" sign hanging over the toys section, a grin spreading over his face as he saw the bin of stuffed toys. Running up, he tried to pull himself up over the ledge to touch the plushies, but was too small. "Boost!" he said, waving his hands in the air insistently. When no large hands caught him around the waist and lifted him, he spun around, a frown on his face. "Mommy! Boost! UP!" His eyes widened. "Mommy?" His small voice echoed in the narrow, empty aisle, and Max blinked quickly, lower lip beginning to quiver. "Tyson? Kai?" Realization began to dawn on him as situation sank in. He was lost. "MOMMY!!!!!!" he wailed, falling down onto his bottom, and sitting in the middle of the toys aisle, tears streaming down his face. "MOOOOOOOMMMMMMAAAAA!!!!!"

Rei noticed Kai wander off but didn't think anything about it since that's just how the bluenette was. He never stuck around for long, and Rei knew that it was a rare case that Kai had even stayed in the baby section for as long as he did. While routing through the rack, he found a couple of things that he thought would be cute on Max, but wanted the child's opinion. "Max, what about..." he paused, only now noticing that the blonde wasn't in sight. "Max?" he said more slowly as he bent down and looked beneath the rack and all around. After searching through the whole clothing section, the raven-haired boy felt a stab of panic hit him dead in the chest. Where could Max have gone? Maybe he was just off with Kai... that had to be it. Kai must have taken him someplace.

Leaving the clothing behind to get back once he found Max, he went off in search of Kai and soon found him looking at some Beyblades. He looked around, once again not seeing Max and feeling that wave of panic return. He quickly grabbed Kai's arm, looking up at him with worried golden eyes. "I can't find Max."

Kai spun around when someone grabbed his arm, his other hand already tightening into a fist, but stopped short when he saw it was Rei, and how scared he looked. "Rei? What..." His crimson eyes widened as Rei told him Max was missing. If it was anyone else, Kai would have screamed at them for letting the child out of their sight, but he could never bring himself to yell at Rei. "Don't worry, Rei. I'm sure Tyson must have him. The idiot just didn't mention it to you, when he took the kid. C'mon, they're both probably looking at video games, like usual."

"You think so?" Rei asked, and now that he thought about it, that did sound like something Tyson would do. He let go of Kai's arm, then turned and ran back down the aisle to where he believed the electronics section was, even though he wasn't absolutely sure since this -was- his first time here.

Kai dashed after Rei, abandoning the attack ring he had been eyeing earlier. "Wrong way," he called, catching Rei's arm as he noticed the "Electronics" sign a few rows to their left. Holding Rei's hand, he ran that way, pulling the Chinese boy behind him. Tyson was easy to spot as he lounged in front of a wide screen TV, and Kai couldn't help but notice, with a sinking feeling in his stomach, the empty space on the couch next to the other boy. "Tyson!" he barked as he stopped in front of the younger blader, panting slightly. "Where's Max? Rei's worried! You should have told him what you were doing, not just grab the kid! I thought he might have been kidnapped, you idiot!"

Rei immediately noticed the empty spot next to Tyson and realized that Max wasn't here either. Even if he was here at one time, he wasn't here now so now Rei had no idea where to look next. His hand unconsciously squeezed Kai's, which he hadn't let go yet as he talked quietly to himself. "Max isn't here... he was with me, and I lost him..."

Tyson jumped when Kai and Rei suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking the TV screen so he couldn't finish watching The Price Is Right. His eyebrows knitted together, not liking how he seemed to be getting blamed for something he didn't do. "I didn't take Max! Last I saw, he was with the two of you! Sounds like you lost him to me!"

When Tyson said that, Rei let go of Kai's hand then ran off again, more determined then ever to find the young blonde before something bad happened to him, something Rei would never be able to forgive himself for. He should have kept a better eye on him! What kind of 'mommy' was he if he let Max get lost so easily?

Kai growled at Tyson, about to really lay into him, when Rei suddenly ran off. The oldest boy gasped, watching the chinese blader disappear with wide eyes before finally realizing Rei was gone. Forgetting about Tyson for the moment, he chased after Rei, worried by the fact that the normally calm and thoughtful boy was behaving so irrationally and impulsively. What they should be doing is alerting the store staff and splitting up, not running in a panic around the store, but that's what they were doing. Spotting a familiar long ponytail flick round a corner ahead of him, Kai tore after it, calling loudly, "Rei!! Wait! I'll help you look! Hey, Rei!!!"

Rei came to a stop when he heard Kai call out for him, and he waited for the older boy. When Kai showed up, Rei was running his hands nervously through his bangs, ruffling up the already poofy hair. "I can't believe I lost him... Kai! I lost Max! He was with me and then he was gone and now... I don't know where he is!" he said in a panicked voice, as he kneaded at his scalp.

Without thinking, Kai grabbed Rei into his arms, holding him in a tight embrace. "Don't worry Rei. We'll find him, I promise. It's not your fault." He rubbed the other boy's back soothingly, his own eyes closed tightly to hide his own concern. " You know Max! He always wanders off. Knowing him, he's probably in the toy section right now, trying to pick out which one he wants us to buy him. He's fine, Rei. Please calm down, ok? I'll find him for you. Let's start walking. He has to be in the store somewhere."

Rei seemed to relax a bit in Kai's arms as he pressed his forehead against Kai's shoulder in an effort to calm himself down. He knew that he was panicking, taking all the blame for Max's disappearance even when it wasn't anyone's fault. He still felt that it was his, since Max was with him when he disappeared. Rei stayed in Kai's arms for a few moments, feeling safe in his embrace, before pulling back and smiling weakly at him, worry still etched upon his pale face. "Okay, let's go and see if we can find him."

Kenny chuckled as he watched the Zellers drama unfold on his laptop screen. He had affixed tiny surveillance bugs to each bladers clothing about a month ago to help him monitor and improve their blading styles, but now he was using the resource to keep an eye on his teammates as well as observe chibi Max, looking for clues to a cause and antiodote for this mysterious ailment. The Chief chuckled as he watched Max bawl pitefully while Rei and Kai were hugging and consoling one another just two aisles away. Tyson was still sitting on his butt, yelling prices at Bob Barker.

"How can they not hear the rugrat?" Dizzi demanded, her maternal insiticts coming through. "Remind me to buy those boys some hearing aids!" Kenny just snorted in response. After the run in he had with the chibi, the boy was secretly enjoying seeing him so miserable and scared. "That's what he deserves for messing with -my- Dizzi!" he muttered, glasses gleaming in the low light.

Max continued to cry, though his voice had by now grown weak and ragged. He mewled for Rei weakly, holding his arms around himself sadly, convinced they had all forgotten him. His imagination ran rampant, making his child's mind start to believe he would be left here until after the store closed, and then he was going to be attacked by evil janitors and stuffed and made into a plushie as well. He didn't want a toy anymore... all he wanted was to be found by his friends. To be picked up and hugged. "SUPER BURGER!!!!!" he called, hiccupping miserably at the end.

"What was that?" Kai asked, not sure if he had heard something or not. He knew Rei's hearing was better then his, so he looked at the other boy curiously. "Did you hear someone calling Super Burger, or has Tyson's stupidity rubbed off on me?"

"Not unless it rubbed off on me too," Rei said as he pulled out of Kai's hold and walked slowly, looking down the aisle to see if he saw anything. When he came to the second aisle, he stopped at the end of it, a wave of relief rushing through him when he saw Max at the end of it. He quickly made his way down, feet hitting the floor softly and making it so he could barely be heard. When he was a couple of feet away from the blonde, he felt his knees grow weak and he fell onto them, as he looked at his teammate, trying to determine whether he was hurt or not before crawling forward and gathering the small child in his arms. He sat back, holding Max tightly to his chest and he rocked him back and forth. "I'm so sorry, Max," he said quietly. "I'm so sorry..."

"Momma?" Max asked, sniffling as he felt strong arms scoop him up suddenly and pull him against a wide, warm chest. He lifted his red eyes to look at the chinese boy's face, a relieved smile brightening his own face up immediately. "MOMMY!!" he yelled, wrapping his arms tightly around the other boy's neck and burrowing his face into Rei's neck. Cuddling against the other boy , he opened his eyes, and peeked over Rei's shoulder, spotting Kai a few steps away. "Where you go?" he whimpered, giving Kai a sad look. "I try to catch you."

"What?" Kai asked, looking at the little boy. He had been relieved to see Max safe in Rei's arms when he rounded the last corner, but now the chibi's wide, sad eyes reminded him of an abandoned puppy, and he felt the guilt rising in his throat, making him feel ill. "I didn't mean to leave, Max. I didn't notice you following me."

Rei rubbed Max's back soothingly as he tried to get his own emotions back under control. He had been so worried and scared when Max had gotten lost, and he feared that he would never see his blonde teammate again and it would all be his fault. Then the others would shun and turn their backs on him, leaving him all alone again. Rei always felt very highly about his friends, which is why he was so torn up when the White Tigers accused him of being a traitor, turning his back on them when he never did. Holding Max tightly, he gingerly kissed the blonde's forehead. "Kai would have waited for you if he knew you were there, Max. But everything's okay now because we got you back... I was so worried about you! Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"

Max shook his head before pressing tighter against Rei's chest. "Missed you," he mumbled, snuggling under the other boy's chin. A soft sigh escaped his lips, brushing against Rei's neck. "Lost you," he said quietly. "but I found the bunnies," he added with a tiny giggle. Kai overheard and snorted, a smile playing around the corners of his lips. "I should have known you'd be here, Max. You're nothing but trouble! " The little blonde looked over at him and stuck out his tongue. "No! You are!"

Rei ran his hand through Max's soft blonde hair as he continued to rock with the child, while sitting in the middle of the aisle. He was so thankful that they had found him, and the last thing he wanted to do was let him go, in case he got lost again. "I think you're -both- trouble and with the way you two are always worrying me, you'll be the death of me!" Rei said with a smile. When he said that Kai worried him, he meant when the bluenette would go off by himself without telling anyone, then return hours later without saying a word. The raven-haired boy always hid his worries though, since he knew Kai wouldn't appreciate them, but he could never stop them completely.

Kai's eyebrows shot up, his surprise evident on his painted face. "You worry about me?" he asked, voice full of shock and disbelief. He had no idea what he had ever done to make the other boy concerned. To him, when he wandered off, he assumed the others didn't even notice, or better yet, probably celebrated his absence as a holiday from training. He would never think that Rei might miss his company. A frown pulled at his face. "What have I done?"

"Uhh..." Rei blushed, not intending for Kai to catch onto what he said. He ducked his head, avoiding eye contact with the older beyblader as he held chibi Max to his chest. "It's just that... when you wander off... I always worry because I don't know where you are or what's going on, or if you're even okay..." he admitted, his blush deepening over his cheeks and the bridge of his nose. "It's not your fault though, I just worry too much I guess."

Now it was Kai's turn to blush as he watched the other boy fidget under his inspection. "I... I didn't think anyone cared. I'll let you know where I'm going from now on," he promised softly, eyes downcast as a faint flush tinged his striped cheeks. "So you don't worry."

"Me and Tyson like when Kai go 'way. No twaining!" Max confessed, covering his chubby cheeks with two hands to bite back the guilty giggles. Kai eyed him, a playful growl rising in his throat. "You better watch it Max...."

"Thanks Kai," Rei said sincerely as he looked back up, giving Kai a soft smile before he started to tickle Max's belly. "Don't tell him that! He'll just make you train harder and then there won't be as much time for play!" he said playfully as he continued his tickle assault.

Max shrieked and squealed with laughter, and soon Kai joined in as he watched the chibi wiggle happily under Rei's quick fingers. Impulsively, the slate-haired boy dropped to his knees next to Rei and ran his own fingers up the other blader's ribs, then down his spine. "Are you ticklish too, Rei?" he asked, eyes twinkling with amusement. Max looked up and laughed. "Yeah! Let's tickle Mommy!"

Rei visibly tensed when Kai's fingers ran over his ribs and spine and he bit down on his lower lip, trying to keep himself from laughing, but it didn't work very well and he soon burst out laughing as he tried to move away from Kai. It didn't work very well, since with Max in his lap, he couldn't go far and he had to undergo the torture of Kai's fast fingers. "No! Stop!" he managed to choke out between laughs. "It tickles!"

"It tickles?!" Kai gave Max a smile over Rei's head, and the chibi grinned right back "It's a-posed to tickle!" Max yelled, squirming around until he was facing Rei, and able to run his own tiny fingers up and down the Chinese boy's chest, mimicking the motions Rei had done to him seconds before to make him giggle helplessly. Kai grinned, increasing the torture, secretly enjoying the feel of touching his teammate's strong body.

"No! Stop it!" Rei said again through his laughs, as he helplessly tried to get away from the probing fingers. He was so busy laughing, that he didn't hear someone approach until they were standing right over them.

"Hey guys! Whatcha doing?" Tyson asked as he leaned over to see what was happening better. He grinned once he realized they were tickling Rei and got down on his knees to attack the chinese boy's sides, making him laugh even harder and fight back even less then before.

Kai frowned slightly when Tyson arrived, jealousy erasing the happiness from the moment for him as the other boy put his hands all over Rei, making him laugh just as hard as Kai had. 'Hmph'ing, he sat back on his knees, and crossed his arms, a tiny pout crossing over his face as the dark-haired boy ran his fingers up the Chinese blader's sides. Disgusted with the display as much as himself for becoming so jealous, Kai rose hastily to his feet and stormed out of the aisle, Max's voice trailing after him, calling him back, but he didn't stop to answer the chibi. He just wanted to get away, fast.

Max pouted, leaning against Rei's heaving chest. "Why Kai go?" he asked sadly. "He no like game? Maybe he want turn for tickles?"

As Rei tried to get his breathing back to normal, Tyson took it upon himself to field Max's question. "Maybe he had to go to the bathroom or he's just walking away like usual. Don't worry, Maxie, he always finds his way back eventually," he assured the toddler.

"That's right, Max. He'll be back soon," Rei said, though frowning since Kai had already broken his promise by not saying where he was going. The chinese blader got to his feet, lifting Max up too then taking him to the plushie bin. "Since you were so good while you were lost Max, you can have two toys," he told him, saying he could have two since he was still feeling guilty that this ever happened.

Max's eyes lit up. "Two? Really?!" Wiggling free of Rei's hold, the blonde dropped into the bin with an excited yelp, and immediately began crawling around and digging deep, seeking out the softest, "bestest" stuffed animals. When he re-emmerged, a soft, light brown floppy-eared bunny was clutched in one hand, and a shaggy, long-haired black dog plushie was held tightly in the other. He held the dog up with an excited smile. "Look like Tyson!" he exclaimed, giggling happily. "There no Kai or Momma though, so you be bunny! Kai be bunny's ears!"

A snort at the end of the aisle drew the chibi's eyes. "I'm the -ears-?" Kai asked, arms crossed across his chest. Max laughed. "You back! Where you go Kai? I thought you go for good... or long time." The team captain fidgetted slightly. "I forgot to tell Rei where I was going." he said quietly, slightly ashamed, before straightening up and meeting the Chinese boy's eyes. "I don't break promises," he said calmly, letting his arms fall to his sides. "I stopped an aisle down and turned back," he confessed.

"Are you trying to say that I look like a dog?" Tyson asked as he eyed the plushie in Max's hand.

"No, he's trying to say you look like a shaggy, messy, dark-haired dog," Rei joked as he reached in and scooped Max out of the bin, then set him down on the floor with his new toys. He then straightened and smiled at Kai, glad that he hadn't forgotten about his promise. Rei nodded, golden eyes shining warmly at the bluenette. "Thanks Kai, but are you okay? You left pretty quickly..."

Tyson crouched down beside Max and poked at the dog plushie. "Doesn't look like me at all!"

Max laughed and bopped Tyson on the nose with his bunny. "Yes! It's Ty, the super dog! And Rei, the super bunny! And Kai, the super ears!" the chibi exclaimed in an excited voice, before hugging the toys tightly, his eyes squeezed shut to make room on his face for a monstrously huge grin. Kai couldn't help but smile as well, looking at the happy chibi, then at the happier blader in front of him. His smile faded as soon as Rei's did however, and the chinese boy looked concerned.

"I'm fine," he assured Rei, before sighing and dropping his voice very low so Tyson wouldn't overhear them. "I just didn't like it when Tyson showed up and joined it. It was..... uncomfortable," he confided, blushing slightly, before raising his voice again to quickly hide his embarassment. "I thought I was the super BURGER Max?" he asked, a pretend frown on his face.

"You can be the super burger ears!" Tyson chimed as he grinned at the team leader. "Least you don't gotta be a ratty ol' dog. You get to share a toy with Rei, that outta make you -both- happy," he winked, not sure at all what was going on between them, but he did know that Kai favoured Rei over the rest of them.

Rei blushed slightly and bowed his head again so that the others wouldn't see before he started to head down the aisle. What had Tyson meant by that? Was there something that he didn't know? He knew that he liked Kai, enjoyed the way that Kai was never mean to him and how he sometimes even confided in him, but was the feeling mutal? Rei stopped at the end of the aisle and turned to face the others. "Let's get going. We still have some things to get."

Kai blushed as well, then glared angrily. "Shut up Tyson! If it were up to me, you wouldn't be the dog, you'd just be the dog's ass!" He immediately regretted his outburst as soon as a small curious voice called out, "Ass? What that? Kai? What's a ass? It that Super Dog's ears?" The blonde cocked his head to the side, deep in thought. "Are you Rei Bunny's ass?"

"No! I'm not Rei's ass!" Kai blanched, unsure what to do. Stumbling over his words he said quickly, "You don't need to know ok, Max? Forget it! Let's go get some candy!" he finally said with fake enthusiasm as he scooped up the toddler and carried him awkwardly down the aisle, hoping to distract him so he'd forget, and maybe even distract Rei as well.

Rei put his hands on his hips and gave Kai the 'look' silently scolding him for teaching the baby a swear word and then trying to make him forget it by bribing him with candy. He didn't want to say anything to Kai, since it might cause Max to start saying the word again, so he'd just let Kai deal with it.

Tyson laughed, thinking it was funny that Kai taught Max a swear word, since he had been wondering how long it would take. He got up and followed the other boys, still snickering under his breath from the word and how awkward Kai looked carrying the small blonde in his arms. It didn't look very comfortable for Max, that's for sure.

Max fidgeted, trying to free his leg which was caught uncomfortably against Kai's hard stomach. "Stuck...." he whined, but Kai ignored him, too intent on getting something sugary into the chibi's mouth to block out any inappropriate words that might try to come out. His sneakers squeaked down the aisles in a hurry, before he finally spotted a stand of early Halloween candies. "Perfect!" he exclaimed, before grabbing a bag of rockets, ripping it open, and forcing a few sweets into Max's mouth. "Eat 'em!" he demanded.

Max looked up at him, slowly chewing. "These fizzy," he complained, but Kai just scowled. "You wanted candy," he reminded the baby. "Nuh uh!" the blonde protested. "Wanted plushies!"

"Well eat them anyways, damn it!" He froze as soon as the words slipped out, mentally smacking himself a few times.

"Damn?" Max echoed, eyes wide and inncoent.

"Kai! Would you please stop swearing in front of Max?!?" Rei said when him and Tyson caught up to the other two in the candy aisle, He stepped forward, arms out and gestured to the blonde. "Give him here," he said before taking Max back and holding him properly. "Poor lil guy. Don't listen to what Kai says, okay? He's got a bad potty mouth that needs flushing," Rei gave Kai another dirty look before carrying Max back to the clothes section to get the things he left there earlier.

Tyson whistled lowly as he stood beside Kai, watching Rei as he left with Max. "He really lay it on ya, Kai. I hope if I turn into a baby, he takes care of me. He does a good job. Let's the kid get away with murder, and just gets mad at the other two. That's how it should be!" he grinned. "Rei sure is great at what he does."

A loud slap resounded in the quiet aisle as Kai smacked Tyson across the back of his head, knocking his hat to the floor. "Shut up, Tyson," he growled, "or I'll be sure to take 'extra special' care of you when you're a kid." Crossing his arms, he stalked after the upset Chinese boy, leaving the opened candy bag on the shelf for someone else to clean up. He caught up to Rei quickly and shadowed him as he wandered around the clothing aisle. Max was trying to convince Rei to explain Kai's 'funny' words to him, before he spotted the older boy over his 'momma's' shoulder, and grinned. "Say more funny words, Kai!" the boy asked, eyes wide and gleaming. Kai shrank and cringed as the chibi laughed, before frowning. "Those aren't funny words, Max, they're uh..... well, they're dirty words. And I shouldn't have said them, so I came to..... take them back?" His face showed his discomfort and unease with this situation, but he wanted to fix this problem before Rei got any more upset with him. "Your 'Mom' was right, Max. You shouldn't copy what I say, ok?"

"Ouch! Gah! Ahhh...!" Tyson whined as he rubbed the back of his head where Kai had hit him. He wasn't sure what he had said to make Kai so upset suddenly, but he wasn't about to ask since that would get him another slap to the head. So, he just muttered things to himself as he put his hat back on his head, then trudged after the others. This shopping trip was getting old fast, and he just wanted to get out of there and see if Kenny had come up with the antidote yet.

"That's right Max, because those words will make your mouth dirty and then I'll have to wash them out with soap and that won't taste good," Rei said, even though he would never wash a child's mouth out with soap, Tyson and Kai, on the other hand, that was a totally different story.

Max pouted. "No want eat soap!" he protested, before pointing at Kai. "Wash Kai! He dirty!" The boy stuck out his tongue at his older teammate, giggling slightly. "He smelly too!"

"Hey!" Kai began, then quickly shut up. After his last outburst, Rei probably -would- wash his mouth out if he let his temper get the better of him, and another curse word slipped out. Sighing instead, he offered the Chinese boy a weak smile, trying to distract him asgain. "So, are we almost done here yet?"

"Almost. I just need to grab the diapers and a couple of other things then we'll be ready to go," Rei said as he passed Max to Kai, letting him hold onto him before holding his hand out. "Can I have the credit card? It will go alot faster if I just grab the things and pay while you and Tyson watch Max."

"Sure," Kai said, before frowning. He was holding Max awkwardly and didn't think he'd be able to get his wallet from his pocket without dropping the blonde. Max didn't help the situation much by wiggling around, trying to get comfortable by still giggling about Rei feeding Kai soap when they got home.

"Uhh..." The team leader flushed slightly under his blue face paint, before saying in a low voice," It's in my wallet. You'll have to grab it, Rei, my hands are full."

"Umm, sure," Rei said, blushing as well as he went behind the bluenette then shyly put his hand into Kai's back pocket. His hand trembled slightly as he grasped the wallet then pulled it out, quickly opening it and fishing through the cards before finding the right one. He then shut the wallet and quickly put it back before jogging off to the baby supplies, calling a quick "See ya later!" over his shoulder, not wanting Kai to see how red his face had gotten over such a simple task.

Tyson joined up with them, casting a quick glance as Rei jogged off then back at Kai and Max. "So mommy ditched ya huh? Where'd he go? Is he coming back?" he asked, not realizing how those questions may sound to Max.

Max glanced up at Tyson, then twisted around to watch Rei run off. Kai didn't even notice the chibi's eyes begin to fill with tears until it was too late. "NOOO!!!!!" Max wailed loudly, making the older boy jump and almost drop him. "MOMMMMMYYYYYY!!!! NO GO!!!!!!" The blonde struggled to free himself from Kai's tight grasp and run after the chinese blader, but Kai held him close, panicking as the boy only cried harder and screamed.

"Tyson, you idiot!" he hissed. "Do something!!"

"Like what?" Tyson yelled, trying to be heard over Max's screaming. "I didn't do nothing! Uhh... Maxie, it's okay! Rei will be back. He likes you! Yeah, so stop crying cuz uh... Rei WON'T come back if you keep acting like a BABY!"

"TYSON!" Kai bellowed, as Max started wailing even harder, terrified Rei really -wasn't- coming back now. Hiccups shook his tiny body as he cried. "I'm not a baby!! I want my Mommy!!! I WANT MOMMY!!!!" Tyson and Kai's yelling was only upsetting him further, and he started coughing as he sobbed, hitting his captor's chest with tiny fists. "Lemme go! Want Momma!"

They were drawing a lot of attention, and soon a large, heavyset woman stepped forward, eyeing them dangerously. "Is everything all right over here? Where is this boy's mother? Are you supposed to be taking care of him?"

Kai glared at her. "What do I look like? A kidnapper? Mind your own business!" he snapped.

"'Course we're supposed to be taking care of him or else we wouldn't have him!" Tyson replied, eyes narrowing which wasn't like him at all. He glared at the large woman as he rubbed the underside of his nose. "It's not -our- fault he doesn't like us as much as his mommy and that he's a cry baby!"

"SHUT UP TYSON!!!" Kai roared, scaring Max even more. The little blonde had long since given up calling Rei and was now just wailing and sobbing, his voice raw when he did try to speak. "You no like me!" he cried, covering his face with his hands. "No one like me!!"

Kai cringed, torn between smacking Tyson, smacking the annoying fat woman, and smacking himself for letting Rei wander off and leave him with the emotional and sensitive boy. The Chinese blader -knew- Kai wasn't good with kids! He could just imagine Rei's laughing face hiding around a corner nearby, enjoying the show, even though in the back of his mind, he knew Rei would -never- do something like that. He was too frustrated and irritated to think straight.

Kenny, however, was -really- enjoying the scene playing out in the mall as he spyed on them through the small receptor he had placed on one of the buttons on Tyson's shirt. Dizzi was disgusted by the Chief's sense of humour, and logged off, but Kenny didn't even notice as he leaned over the laptop, eyes glued to the screen.

Rei had finished paying and was heading back to where he had left the others when he heard Max's crying and saw a small crowd of people gathered in the children's clothing section. He automatically knew who had to be the cause of this, and pushed his way through until he got to the middle where his teammates were. He wasn't sure what was going on, besides the fact that Max was bawling and there were alot of people glaring at Kai and Tyson.

"What's going on here?" Rei asked as he shoved the bags into Tyson's arms and approached Kai and Max. "What's wrong with Max?"

"Mommy's back!" Tyson announced as he set a couple of the bags on the floor, then looked at the large woman again. "See! Told ya Rei'd be back!"

Kai snorted. "You told him Rei was -never- coming back, idiot! You're the reason he won't stop crying!" Holding out the boy to Rei, Kai explained, "Tyson decided to tell Max you ditched us, then when Max started crying he added you were never coming back because he was a cry baby! I've been trying to make him stop since you left, but all these gawking -idiots-," he yelled, glaring dangerously at the crowd around him until they started fidgeting, then shuffled away, "didn't help."

Rei took Max and bounced him gently in his arms as he pressed their cheeks together, just to let the blonde know that he was back and to try and calm him down since he was crying so hard that it seemed to be getting hard for him to breathe. As he worked on soothing the toddler, he glared daggers at Tyson and bared his pointy white fangs.

"I can't believe you would tell Max such a lie, Tyson! You should know better then that! Look how upset you've made him! You have no right to tell Max that I wasn't coming back or that I thought he was a cry baby because it's -not- true! You jerk!" He exclaimed as he snatched the bags out of Tyson's hands then headed towards the washroom to get a diaper and some clothes that fit onto Max.

Tyson was surprised by Rei's reaction, never hearing him raise his voice that high before at anyone. "I didn't mean it..." he said quietly. "Just didn't think... how was I supposed to know it would make Max cry so much? I'm no baby expert!'

Kai's mouth hung open as he gaped at Rei's departing back. "Shit..." he muttered. "I've never seen him so pissed. Good job Tyson," he said sarcastically, before crossing his arms. "Should we follow them?" he asked nervously, dreading having to confront that angry face again, but not wanting to risk losing Rei in the large mall. "You really did it this time..."

Max calmed down as soon as he felt Rei's arms around him, and smelt that familiar, comforting scent. Still sniffling and hiccuping, he clung to Rei's shirt, whimpering quietly as tears streaked down his face. "Where you go?" he asked sadly. "You still love me?"

"I didn't mean to make Max cry like that! I thought I was helping!" Tyson exclaimed before pouting and crossing his arms against his chest. "I guess we should follow so we don't get seperated, but let's keep some distance between us because I don't want Rei yelling at me like that again..."

Rei kicked the door to the washroom open and stepped in, dropping the bags to the floor then getting down on his knees. He wiped away a few of Max's tears with his thumb, as he smiled warmly down at the young blonde. "Of course I still love you. I only went to buy you some diapers and then I was coming right back. You should know that I would never leave you... I'm your mommy."

Max smiled up at the older boy, his eyes red and puffy. "I love you too." he said softly, before clinging to Rei's chest and nuzzling against him. Now that he had his mommy back, he was NEVER going to let him go again!

"You deserved it," Kai said bluntly, before starting to follow Rei. "Next time, just keep your big mouth shut."

Rei smiled softly as he stroked the boy's head for a few moments before reaching out and pulling one of the bags towards him. "How about if we get you dressed now? I got you a couple of things that I think you'll really like Max..."

"It was your fault too! You were the one who couldn't get Max to stop crying. If you did, then Rei would never have known what happened!" Tyson protested.

Max released the boy's neck to look up at him, then at the bags curiously. "Surprises? Turbles?" he asked quietly, wiping at his nose with his sleeve endearingly, before clutching his Rei bunny tightly. "I like presents," he said with a tiny smile.

Kai glared at Tyson. "If you hadn't made him cry, there never would have been any problems!" the slate-haired boy retorted, before stopping outside the bathroom. "I'm waiting out here," he said bluntly as he leaned back against the wall. Sighing, he looked at Tyson. "We're going to be in trouble when Rei turns into a chibi. I know nothing about kids, and you obviously aren't very maternal either."

"Good, because everything in these bags are presents for you," Rei said as he reached in and pulled out the bag of diapers. "But before you put on any clothes, you need a diaper, but! Check these out," he said as he opened the bag then pulled one of the diapers out and showed it to Max, so he could see the lil green frogs hopping on the front of it. "They didn't have any turtles, so I thought you'd like the frog ones."

Tyson slumped against the wall next to Kai and nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Maybe if we're lucky Max knows a thing or two about kids, or Rei could teach him so he knows... or, if we're really lucky, Rei is so mommy-like, that he can take care of himself and save us the trouble."

Kai smirked. "That -would- be nice! Save us the headache. When your turn comes around," he added with a short laugh," I'm locking you in a closet till you're normal again... or at least as normal as you ever are. What's taking them so long?"

Max squealed and reached for the diaper. "Froggies! I can hop like a froggie!" he said with a grin, before demonstrating his hopping skills. "I can be a bunny too! And a lion!" Squirming excitedly in front of Rei, Max went into a million indistinguishable animal impressions he was extremely proud of. He rarely had much of an audience as a child, so having the older blader's undivided attention was making him ecstatic, and he wanted to show his Mommy -everything- he could do good, before Rei got bored like his real mother always did.

"Gee thanks Kai. I'll remember to do the same thing for you too," Tyson replied as he gazed at the closed door and shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe you should go in and check."

Rei smiled and praised Max for each one of his impressions as he went about getting the diaper onto him. It was hard with his constant squirming, but Rei managed and got his dark purple sweatpants and the turtle shirt from earlier on too. "Guess what, Max. I bet you'll be able to be a really good bunny when you wear this," Rei said as he held up a baby blue one piecer with bunny ears on it. When he had saw it, he knew that he had to buy it because it seemed to fit Max's personality perfectly. "Do you like it?"

Max's eyes widened before he shrieked and glomped onto Rei, hugging his neck tightly. "A bunny suit! Bunny!!" The small blonde hopped up and down in Rei's lap without releasing his hold on the blader. "I be bunny, you be mommy bunny, and plushie bunny be MY baby bunny!" he babbled, grinning sweetly. He was too happy to stand still, so he jumped and danced in Rei's lap until his tiny foot caught under Rei's leg and he fell over in a fit of giggles in the older boy's lap, eyes lost behind a curtain of messy blonde hair.

Rei couldn't help but grin, happy to see Max so happy over the bunny coat. Being happy suited the blonde, and Rei didn't like to see him as upset as he had been before. When Max fell, Rei brushed his bangs back then helped him back up and into the suit. Once Max was in, he did the zipper up then slipped the hood over his head. "There you go, now you're a bunny," Rei said as he got back to his feet and gathered the bags up. "We should get going now. You stick close, ok?"

"Ok!" Max replied cheerfully, before reaching up to feel his own large fuzzy ears and giggling. "No one will know it's me!" he said, bouncing beside Rei, just as Kai stepped through the door. Seeing the Chinese blader, the bluenette froze, the flushed. "Uhh... I was just checking on you... two...." he lost track of his train of thought as he looked down at the tiny chibi in his bunny suit. Not even Kai could fight back a smile as little Max looked up at him, cuddling his stuffed bunny to his chest, and beamed. "I'm a bunny, Kai!"

Since it was only Rei and the baby in the room, the oldest boy loosened up a bit and gave the Chinese boy a playful wink before looking around the room. "I thought Max was in here with you Rei? Where is he? Did you loose him again? All I see is a little rabbit.." His game was cut short when the 'rabbit' suddenly threw himself against Kai's legs, hugging them tightly. "It's me! Maxie!!! I'm only pretending!"

"Are you sure?" Kai asked, pretending as well. "You don't look like Max....."

Rei smiled at Kai, not caring that he came in since it was Tyson that he was still mad at. He thought it was sweet of Kai to play along with Max, since Kai just wasn't the type to do so. That showed some real heart on Kai's part, and Rei really admired that.

"Let's keep him anyway. He's too cute to let go," Rei said, smiling down at the bunny then back at Kai. "And he's really sweet too."

Kai nodded, relieved that Rei didn't seem to be mad at him. Even though he had originally only played with Max to appease the older blader caring for him, when he looked down at the blonde clinging to his knees, he just didn't have the heart to kick him off. Leaning over, he ruffled Max's hair where it stuck out of the hood, then scooped him up. "Good plan. We're sure to win with a blading bunny on our team! I mean," he continued, as he opened the bathroom door and stepped into the hall, "we've done pretty good so far with a trained monkey," he said, looking straight at Tyson and laughing.

Tyson stared blankly at Kai, not sure at all what he was talking about, and what was this about a monkey? He frowned and tipped his head to the side, before Rei came out and shoved half the bags into his arms to help carry. The chinese blader didn't say anything, just walked by him and followed Kai and Max to the front entrance of the mall so they could head back to where they were staying.

~~~~~

To Be Continued...