Howdy all, I hope you've all been waiting eagerly for this next chapter. I know I've been wanting to write it so I hope you all enjoy it.
Day of Destiny
"Kai?"
"Yeah?' Kai didn't look up from his inspection of Dranzer's blade as Rei spoke.
"Who am I up against tomorrow?"
Kai looked up in surprise. Rei was looking over at him curiously, his Drigger blade forgotten for a moment. "I didn't tell you?" Rei shook his head. "That's right, you weren't there when I told the others, that was after we'd had that fight."
"Oh, right." Rei looked a bit uncomfortable and Kai changed the subject back, though rather reluctantly.
"You're the last battle. You're versing Mariah."
Rei's eyes narrowed. "Are you serious?"
Kai nodded. "I couldn't do anything to change it, not without arousing some suspicion. It was a completely random draw designed so that no team member would be facing off against each other."
"Right." Rei looked nervous.
Kai got up and sat up on the bed beside him, drawing the boy into a warm embrace. Rei clung to him tightly.
"I'm still scared Kai."
"I know, it's natural, but you don't have to be frightened. I'll make sure that nothing happens to you." Kai placed a gentle finger under Rei's chin and drew his head up for a deep kiss.
"Kai?" Rei asked, pulling away after a short while. "Do you think I should tell them?"
"Only if you feel you're ready."
Rei nodded. "After the match tomorrow. I'll tell the others and Lee, but I won't press charges. I still care about Mariah as a friend, but I know that she needs help."
"Sometimes you amaze me Rei." Kai smiled down at his beloved. "How can you always be so positive about everything?"
"I just don't think that Mariah means all that bad. I know what she did was wrong, hell, it hurt and I despise her for that, but I know she's not always like that. She's just obsessed. I don't want to hurt her, I want to help her."
"Then you should talk to Lee, he's the best one to help as well."
"I know." Rei smiled, feeling like things can only get better for him from then on. He looked at Kai with a gentle smile. "Do you mind if we go to bed now? I'm a bit tired and we need to rest."
Kai kissed Rei's forehead. "Sure. I'll just go check on the others then I'll be back in." Kai disentangled himself and exited the room.
He shook his head and smiled as he saw the others asleep in the lounge room. Kenny was on the floor, his head leaning on the coffee table. He'd fallen asleep while analysing statistics on his laptop. Tyson was upside down on the couch, slowly slipping off and Max was lying on his stomach, also slowly slipping off because of Tyson.
Kai sighed and opened the door to their room then he grabbed Kenny and gently placed him on his bed. Picking up Max before he could slip off, Kai put him in beside the other boy. Hearing a thud, Kai quickly ran out to see if Tyson was awake. But, having known Tyson for a while, he should have realised that falling off a couch was no big deal for him. He was still snoring away as Kai picked him up and carried him in as well.
Closing their door gently Kai quietly made his way over to his own room and stood in the doorway, smiling gently at the sight that greeted him.
Rei was already in bed, fast asleep, his blade clutched tightly in his hand. Kai quickly removed his clothes after stepping into the room and closing the door and slipped in beside his beautiful neko-jin. Rei rolled over and cuddled into him. Kai smiled and put his arms around the boy, holding him close.
He leaned over slightly and placed a feathery kiss on Rei's forehead. "Goodnight Rei."
* * *
"Man I am so excited about this!"
"Tyson, please calm down, or at least lower your decibel level." Kenny removed his hands from his ears as Tyson sheepishly scratched at the back of his head.
"Sorry Chief."
Tyson had every right to be excited though, it was the match that everyone had been waiting for, the individual competition exhibitions. Each player on the five teams had to face another player without the support of the rest of their team. Each match was worth two points, two for a win, one each for a draw and none for a loss. The team with the highest point count at the end of the matches was declared the winner.
Upon arrival at the stadium the teams had one last brief moment for talk and farewells before each person was taken away by an official to another room. They could not communicate with anyone at all, so they went into the match completely blind, not knowing if they were winning or losing.
However, Tyson being the first up, had no such problems. He grinned cheerfully at Robert, who faced off against him.
"Ready to loose?" Tyson challenged, stepping up to the dish, beyblade at the ready.
Robert smirked and stepped up opposite him. He set his Griffolyon in his launcher. "I'm ready to win," he replied with a grin."
We'll see." Tyson smirked in an uncanny imitation of Kai and set Dragoon in his own launcher. He stared at Robert as the count down commenced and as Jazzman called out 'Let it rip!' the two blades sped off into the dish.
Tyson concentrated on the battle, watching Roberts moves. Hmm, he's trying to overpower me with his attacks. Time to use them against him. Tyson grinned and called out, "Dragoon, attack him."
"Griffolyon, get him before he attacks you." Tyson grinned as Robert called out this battle plan.
"You're mine Robert," he stated confidently as he used the same maneuver on Robert as he had Kai and Rei yesterday. When Griffolyon attacked, Dragoon moved to the side slightly then slammed back into the blade when it was vulnerable, causing Griffolyon to go flying and slam into the side of the dish and start to wobble uncontrollably.
The crowd roared its approval at the sight of this fantastic move and Robert starred in stunned amazement at his blade.
"Now Dragoon, finish it off. Phantom Hurricane!" Dragoon sped off towards the other blade and smashed into it with the usual force of it's gale of power. Griffolyon had no chance. The blade went flying up and out of the dish and lay on the side, no longer spinning.
"And the winner is Tyson of the Bladebreakers!" The crowd jumped up, ecstatic at such a fantastic battle from the two boys. Tyson grinned at the recognition and waved his arms around and blew kisses to the crowd.
"Thank you, thank you, I love you all!" Tyson grinned and retrieved his blade then headed over to Robert with a smile. "Hey, great match."
Robert smiled warmly. "Indeed it was. I see you have improved greatly. I commend you on your battle." He held out a hand and Tyson shook it with a grin.
"Thanks Robert." With the crowd still crying out in delight, the two bladers made their way to the change rooms to wait out and watch the rest of the games.
* * *
The next match was a long one between the two captains of the White Tigers and the All-Stars, but Lee emerged the victor. From inside the change room, Tyson and Robert watched the television screen with wide eyes as the two embraced after the match and shared a kiss then moved into the change rooms themselves.
Tyson grinned at the two of them as they entered. "Well that explains a few more things." Michael and Lee blushed slightly and laughed then they too settled down to watch the next match between Johnny and Bryan.
Needless to say, the falcon won that small scuffle. They shook hands and joined the others in the change room ready for the next match.
Max and Emily.
"Come on Maxie," Tyson muttered, staring avidly at the screen as his teammate approached the dish. "You can do it."
As if hearing his friend's words, Max grinned confidently and set his Draciel in his launcher, waving out to the crowd and people he knew in it like his mother and father. Then he turned to Emily with a smile.
"I'm glad we finally have a chance to battle again."
Emily smiled at her friend and nodded. "Yeah, me too Max. Just remember, I'll be doing my best, I want you to do the same." She put Trigator in her own tennis racket launcher. "Okay?'
"Sure." They waited for the countdown and launched.
Max grinned cheerfully as Draciel set up in the middle of the dish. Wait until she gets a load of my new moves. Emily smirked seeing Max put up a defensive stance. She moved in to attack and gasped as his blade dodged.
"Trigator, attack!"
"Draciel, dodge!" The tortoise dodged again and Max grinned. "You'll have to do better than that to beat me Emily."
Emily sniffed. "Fine. Trigator, maneuver."
His opponent's blade started to move faster around Draciel, weaving in and out. Max looked a bit worried then he grinned as he caught onto the pattern she was using.
"That was a mistake Emily. Draciel, move counterclockwise and attack."
Emily stared at him when he shouted out this strange move. "What?" She watched as Max moved up to her blade quickly, too quickly. Her eyes widened as she realised his strategy. He's increasing his attack power by using my blade's momentum against me. "Trigator move away, quickly!"
But Draciel was expecting this and attacked her blade from behind as she tried to move away. Emily had left her blade open to attacks from the side when she called out her next move. Her blade went flying and she quickly caught it in her hand. The crowd cheered wildly as the two of them shook hands and moved off to the change rooms.
"That was a fantastic battle," Emily complimented her opponent with a smile. "You've gotten really good Max."
Max laughed and blushed. "Thanks Emily."
When they got into the change rooms, everyone congratulated them and began watching the next match between Spencer and Gary. The round ended in a draw. Then the intermission began.
"All right food!" Everyone groaned and held their head in their hands as Tyson ran out of the change room in search of something to eat.
* * *
Kai let out a deep breath as he paced nervously in the small room with the official.
It was hell waiting like this, alone. It must be worse for Rei, considering he was in the last match.
Rei.
Kai felt a smile appear on his face at the thought of his beautiful raven-haired neko-jin. He wished they were here together right now, Rei was good at calming him down, in many ways.
The door opened and Kai looked around, berating himself for getting caught up in his thoughts.
"You're on," the second official said, holding the door open.
Kai nodded and made his way to the main floor of the stadium, breathing deeply and calming himself mentally as he did before every match. He barely noticed the crowd or the commentators, he was focused solely on his opponent.
Tala grinned. "So, we meet again."
"Indeed." Kai smirked and set Dranzer in his launcher. Tala did the same with Wolborg. They waited for the countdown then launched with furious cries of attacks.
"Dranzer! Attack head on!"
"Wolborg! Dodge and come in from the side."
"Evasive maneuvers!"
The blades followed every direction of their owners, dodging and circling anxiously, their every move causing gasps to rise from the audience.
Wolborg chased Dranzer around the ring, switching directions every so often forcing Kai to cut across the dish to escape and reposition to attack. Ever attack from Dranzer was met with a dodge from Wolborg and every offensive from the wolf was countered by the phoenix. Things looked at a standstill. Someone was bound to slip up.
The bladers themselves had their eyes locked to the dish. Tala glanced up one at Kai to see him completely focused on the battle.
"Wolborg!" The ice wolf rose up. "Attack full power!"
"Damn," Kai muttered. Dranzer couldn't escape that. "Dranzer! Face it and attack yourself!" The firebird screeched and moved to intercept the other blade.
They met with a resounding slam, the dish tearing up and sending smoke everywhere.
Everyone waited expectantly for the dust to clear and the winner to be announced. There was the sound of a blade hitting the floor and everything cleared. There were huge cracks and large piece of debris all over and through the dish. Dranzer was spinning, circling around the dish while Wolborg lay outside, motionless.
The crowd went wild and Kai smiled in satisfaction as he saw the result of the match.
Tala grinned at him and picked up his blade while Kai retrieved his.
"Great match," Tala said quietly, "but the better blader won."
"Perhaps." Kai smiled at him. "You're a worthy opponent Tala." He clasped his hand firmly.
"Thank you." Tala returned his smile. The two of them bowed to the crowd and walked off to the change rooms to find out how everyone else had done.
"Kai!" Tyson jumped on him as soon as he arrived. "You were awesome!"
"How did you do?"
"We won!" Max joined Tyson in jumping on Kai in excitement. "It's all thanks to you and your training."
Kai shrugged. "You're the ones blading. I don't control your actions." The two boys grinned at this. "Now get off me." They complied sheepishly. "How are we doing?"
Tyson looked at the scoreboard he'd written. "Well, I won, giving us two points, Max won, that makes four, you won, so we're on six right now. Um, the Majestics and All-Stars are both on one, the Demolition Boys are on three and the White Tigers are now on five with Kevin's win."
"What?" Kai turned to see the television and gaped.
"Yep, they've improved heaps."
Kai looked over at Lee, who was grinning and congratulating Kevin, who'd just entered the change rooms. "So Eddy's facing Ian now."
"Yep."
Kai nodded and leaned against a wall in his usual fashion, though he kept his eyes on the television screen, as did everyone else in the room.
Ian won easily, bringing the Demolition Boys up to five, equal with the White Tigers.
"It all hinges on Rei now," Max said unnecessarily.
Tala approached Kai with a worried glance. "Are you scared Kai?" he whispered, standing next to him.
"Will you think less of me if I said yes?"
"I'd think less of you if you lied and said no."
"In that case yes. I hope he's strong enough."
Tala clapped him on the shoulder comfortingly. "He is. Trust in him Kai, that's what's making him strong, your faith." Tala smiled reassuringly one last time before leaving.
My faith, Kai thought as he watched the figure of his boyfriend walk towards the dish to face off against Mariah. I do have faith in you Rei, I always have. I know you can do this.
* * *
Rei breathed in deeply and exhaled in an effort to calm himself.
It wasn't working.
I wish Kai was here beside me, he thought looking over at Mariah. He stiffened slightly at the look in here eyes. No, I have to be stronger than this. My team is counting on me to win this, I can't let them down. Who knows, this may very be the deciding battle.
"Bladers get ready." Rei placed Drigger in his launcher and focused solely on the dish and his blade. "3-2-1. Let it Rip!"
They launched. Rei grinned knowing his launch was perfect, but so was Mariah's. The two blades circled each other seeking out any weaknesses in their motions.
"Galix!" Rei started from his concentration with the sound of Mariah's voice. "Attack!"
"Drigger, evasion." Come one, chase me, I know you want to. Rei smirked as Galix followed Drigger around the dish. Perfect. Galix was swiftly catching up to Drigger and Mariah smirked at him.
"Ready to give up to me yet Rei?"
Rei paled at the choice of words but focused his attention on the battle. He didn't want to lose it now. Just a little closer … now! "Drigger!"
The tiger blade swung around as Mariah came in striking distance and completely switched directions coming around the dish again so quickly that Mariah couldn't evade his blade.
"Damn. Galix! Attack!"
The two blades clashed, but Drigger spun off at a slightly different angle, as he had in training. Rei grinned as Galix began to wobble.
"What?" Mariah gasped. "Galix, recover, hurry."
"Sorry Mariah, but this match is mine. Drigger!" The blade moved in again and struck at Galix again, sending Mariah's blade crashing into the side of the dish and causing it to stop spinning.
There was a huge silence everywhere as the match concluded.
In the change rooms Kai was staring at the screen in amazement. He grinned suddenly and whooped, startling everyone. "He won!" Kai laughed and ran out into the main stadium as the crowd erupted with cheering.
Rei was standing by the dish, shocked. He couldn't comprehend exactly what happened even though he knew he'd just won.
"I won," he whispered and finally started taking notice of what Jazzman was saying.
"And with that narrow win by Rei, the Bladebreakers take the title."
He jumped up and yelled excitedly.
"Rei." The neko-jin turned to see Kai standing at the entrance to the change rooms.
"Kai! I won!" Rei ran to him and Kai hurried to his side and lifted him up in a huge embrace.
"I know. I knew you could do it." And with that, Kai kissed him passionately, holding him close. Rei wrapped his arms around Kai and kissed him back, his elation and excitement transmitted in the deep touch.
Kai broke away suddenly, his eyes widening. "What are we doing? There are cameras everywhere!"
Rei grinned. "You forgot about that? I guess that shows how much you love me then."
Kai blushed and looked away, letting Rei go. "Yeah, I guess."
Rei found the sight absolutely adorable and he leaned up to place a soft lingering kiss on Kai's lips. "We can do this later," he whispered as everyone else ran out excitedly to congratulate Rei.
* * *
It wasn't until much later, well into and close to the end of the celebrations that anyone noticed anything wrong.
Lee was gathering his team about to leave when he once again noticed a team member missing. "Emily," he asked the girl as she passed. "Do you know where Mariah is?"
Emily shrugged. "She said she wasn't feeling very well and wanted to go back to the hotel. I assume that's where she is now."
"How long ago was that?"
"A while ago, just before the Bladrebreakers left I think."
Lee nodded and smiled at her. "Thanks Emily. See you guys later."
"Bye," she waved and joined some of the other people still at the party.
"You look worried," Michael commented as he came up to say goodbye to Lee. "Something wrong?"
"Mariah's nowhere to be found, but Emily said she left a while ago."
Michael shrugged. "I'm sure she's fine, she's probably a bit cut up about losing that last battle."
"I guess." But something felt off to Lee. He shook the feeling away and smiled at Michael. "I'll see you soon."
"You'd better." Michael bent down and captured him in a deep kiss. "See you."
"Bye." Lee gestured to Gary and Kevin and the White Tigers left the huge hall that had been lent for the night, not realising the real cause behind Mariah's disappearance.
AN: *evil laugh* Now, I wonder where Mariah could be? You won't want to miss the next installment, else you won't find out. We're reaching the climax here, soon this will all be over. But for now you have to wait.
Laters.
