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Bryan was surprised when Tala stormed into his room and practically hurled the phone at him. "Kon", said Tala, walking out. Bryan raised an eyebrow. "Rei?". "Hey. Meet tomorrow at four?", asked Rei. "Sure...did Tala sound a little...stressed to you?", he asked.

"Yeah, why?", replied Rei. "He threw the phone at me and strode out", replied Bryan, amused. "I think we're making them jealous". "Yeah, Kai was practically glaring a hole into the air when I talked about our zoo trip. I don't get them. They dumped us. Shouldn't we be the jealous ones?", asked Rei.

"Yeah...whatever. Anyways, four's fine, Tiger. See you then", said Bryan. "See ya, bye", replied Rei, as they hung up. This is getting much more interesting, he mused. Much.

Unexpected

 SEQ CHAPTER \h \r 1The next evening Rei dressed in loose sweats and headed out. Bryan met him at the corner, dressed similarly. "This way", said Bryan, heading off. Rei jogged after him.

The gym was a nice one, fully equipped and not too busy. Rei started on a punching bag. Bryan was duly impressed. "I didn't know you could fight", he remarked. Rei paused and grinned slyly at him. "There's a lot you don't know about me", he replied. Bryan smirked back. "Wanna spar?", he asked. Rei smiled. "Thought you would never ask", he replied.

They moved to a mat and loosened up, stretching. They looked at each other and began. To Bryan's surprise, Rei was a decent fighter. What he lacked in brute strength, he made up for in speed and endurance.

"I wasn't a White Tiger for nothing", said Rei, as they circled each other. "And I wasn't trained at the Abbey for kicks", replied Bryan, lunging. They continued fighting until Bryan finally pinned Rei underneath him.

"And one, two, three", he remarked, sitting on top of Rei. "Okay, you win", said Rei, admitting defeat. "Will you get up now? You're heavy". Bryan raised an eyebrow. "I might just sit here because you insulted me. It's quite comfortable", he remarked. Rei squirmed. "No fair", he said, pouting. Bryan laughed, finally getting off him. "I know".

He pulled Rei up and dusted himself off. "Nice match. If I didn't know better I'd swear you were Abbey-trained", he remarked. Rei replied, "Lots of wilderness training in the mountains". "You mean running away from wild animals?", asked Bryan dryly. "Yep", replied Rei, not bothering to deny it. "Exactly".

That night found them at the park. "So how can you mention the Abbey so nonchalantly?", asked Rei. "Whenever Kai mentioned it he said it like it was some great big burden...I mean, I know how serious it was, but you don't seem so tense and dark at the mention of it".

Bryan snorted. "He would seem that way. He's a rich boy, used to the finer ways of life. For me, the Abbey was sanctuary. My dad split when I was three and my mom was an alcoholic. My blade was all I had, and then Boris found me. Thought I had potential and took me in".

Rei didn't say anything, knowing that Bryan would only scorn pity or sympathy. Bryan was grateful for this and continued. "I met the others there eventually. It wasn't that bad. Two meals a day, lots of Beyblade training...for the other kids it was worse, but since I was on the team, I got treated better. They got brainwashed. Well...to an extent, so did I. But it kept me off the streets and it kept me from my mom, so I was fine with it". He paused, recollecting his thoughts.

"Then it got to hurting people. Other bladers who wanted my spot, people Voltaire wanted out of the picture...so I became ruthless. People stopped messing with me...until I met you, that is, and you kicked my ass all across the stadium". Rei chuckled. "That I did", he replied smugly. Bryan glared. "Don't gloat", he chided. "So I told you my sob story. What's yours? There's gotta be something that isn't perfect in your life".

Rei dropped to the ground, looking up at the sky. "My life wasn't nearly as bad as yours. I was just...under pressure. I was the epitome of perfection in my village. Responsible, honest, hard-working...Li looked up to me as an idol and Mariah had a crush on me. I could've lived in that same village for the rest of my life".

He chuckled. "Fortunately for me, one day this wanderer came around to the village. I was about nine, and so easily entertained. He told us stories of the outside world, of buildings that touched the sky and televisions, and computers...the others brushed it off as nonsense, but I believed him. I wanted to see it all, experience it".

Bryan sat down next to him as he continued. "Then I got Drigger instead of Li...I became obsessed with finding out more about bit beasts. I wanted to fight others who had spirits like I did. No one in the village did, so I hooked up with Mr. Dickinson and he helped me get out. I snuck away one night and took everything I owned with me, and never looked back".

Thinking back on it, he laughed. "I'm so glad I got out of there. The village is so close-minded about things...imagine if I had told them I was bi".

Bryan smirked. "They'd burn you at the stake", he remarked. Rei nodded. "Luckily, Li knows and he's open minded about it. Mariah...she thought that since I was bi I still liked her...I had to set her straight when I started seeing Kai. It was, I think, right after the whole ordeal with the Majestics".   

Bryan smiled humorlessly. "I started seeing Tala a week or so before Kai defected and joined our team. No one cared as long as we still bladed and trained every day".

Rei nodded. "So where are we going next?", he asked, changing the subject. Bryan thought about it, then smirked. "Why don't we go out? There's a club for sixteen and up downtown. Tomorrow, dress up and we'll go". Rei raised an eyebrow. "Is this a date?". Bryan smirked and pointed out, "What do you call our other adventures?". Rei nodded. "Point taken".

They walked back and as per usual, stopped at the gates to the Bladebreaker complex. "I'm not the woman in this relationship just because you're dropping me off", stated Rei. Bryan nodded. "Of course not", he replied. Rei nodded back. "Good".

Before Bryan knew what had happened, Rei kissed him. It ended as soon as it had started, and Rei smiled slyly at him. "If these were dates, I think I can spare you a kiss by what, the third one? See you tomorrow". He opened the gate and strode in, leaving one very dazed Demolition Boy outside.

Finally, some action! Anyways, I'm sorry it took so long to update this. School started. Eugh. Anyways, review and let me know what you thought about this chapter! I know it's short, I'm sorry!