11: Daylight

Sarcasmcat: Thank you so much. Things are about to get moving, trust me.

some weird person: And who might you be, oh weird one? And bed sharing is alway good. :p

TigerTerror: Yes. Very cuddly. Have you ever noticed that if you place a heat source near a cat, the cat always ends up right by the heat source. And the answer to the Kevin & Mariah thing is the first part of this chapter.

Platinum Rei: Kai/Ray/Lee would be very nice, but it all depends on how the characters want to go. ^_~

sakura9566: You wish it were real? Well let's find out.

TigerRain: You're starting to catch on. Just don't let the other readers know. ^_~ #^_^#

Yes, it's going to get angsty from now on. And Merry Christmas!

Note: At the end of this chapter is a link to the wonderful picture by Melanie, taken from the second part of this chapter. She captured the scene so well, so the pic is exactly as it is written, or should I say, we both visualised the same thing. Perfection of both our parts, I do believe. THANK YOU MELANIE!!!

Disclaimer: Maybe they should create Beyblade shares.

The light began to peak at the corners of the sky, turning it a blood red. The storm had cleared away to reveal a crystal star-filled sky, but no one on the bus bothered to look. Mariah sniffed, eyes red from crying as she curled herself into a tighter ball on the back seat, Gary's large hand a small comfort on her shoulder as she cradled Kevin against her, gently caressing his face.

Those rich purple eyes looked up at her weakly, a small smile playing across his lips. "I went one step too far, didn't I?"

She shook her head, tears running down her cheeks. "You did the right thing, Kev."

He frowned. "Stop crying, Mariah. I hate it when you cry."

"T-They hurt you, Kev." Her eyes wandered toward his blood stained shirt. "They hurt you."

"Really? I didn't feel a thing."

"Stop it! Stop trying to make me feel better!" She choked back a sob, Gary's hand tightening its grip as he pulled her toward him. "I know you felt it, Kev. I saw the look on your face. And when you fell…"

By now she was sobbing uncontrollably, Gary's arm tight around her protectively. Kevin reached out and caught one of her hands, entwining his fingers with hers and smiling with weak determination, faint fire still burning in his eyes. She smiled faintly as she felt his strong grip, tightening her own, feeling better for it. Kevin wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

The bus turned on the gravel road, the group losing sight of the sky as they entered the tunnel and ground to a halt. The door swung open, a man stepping onto the bus and letting his gaze sweep over them.

"I must protest to this treatment," Mr Dickenson said. "First you attack some of my bladers, then you bundle us on board with no explanation or telling us where we were going. And one of the boys needs urgent medical attention-"

"Enough!" The man shot a look down at Mr Dickenson. "It would be wise for you to keep your trap shut Stan, unless you want it shut permanently." He looked toward the man that had originally led the group. "Well?"

"Mission successful, Zika," he said. "Though we had to shoot one of the neko-jin."

Zika looked toward the back of the bus, spotting Kevin. "Pity you didn't kill him. Unsightly creatures." His eyes darted around, the frown deepening on his face. "Wait… where are the team leaders?"

The men exchanged a look, swallowing hard. "They… they weren't there, Zika. They never attended the training session. One of the neko-jin is missing too."

"Damn!" Zika slammed a fist down onto the back one of the seats. "They never skip training. Why did they have to start today?" He growled, then sighed. "Nothing we can do about that. If anything, we gained a wild card with Dickenson. He'll bring in more cash." He smiled faintly. "We now also know who to send the ransom demand too." He turned. "Get to it. Right now!"

~~~~*~~~~

The sun crept through the cracks in the drapes, brightening the room. Kai's eyes flickered open, crimson orbs staring up toward the ceiling as he noted the pleasant warmth to the air, indicating that sometime during the night the power and heating had been restabilised.

He frowned as he became aware of something that wasn't normal. Raising his head, he looked down the length of his body and raised an eyebrow. His left hand was lost among Ray's dark hair, Ray's head resting on Kai's stomach and one arm stretched across Kai and settled on Lee's leg. For his part, Lee was curled up against Kai with his head on his shoulder, one arm draped across Kai's chest. Kai blinked as he realised that his own arm was threaded around the neko-jin, pulling Lee closer.

Kai settled his head back against the soft pillows and closed his eyes, smiling faintly. They both looked so peaceful, so content that he expected them to start purring at any moment. He actually wanted to hear them purr, something he knew he had threatened them not to do. It fascinated him; they fascinated him. He knew he should have been repulsed, not because they were neko-jin, but because they were male. But yet… yet it felt… it felt so-

The sound of the phone ringing caused him to sigh heavily. The trill quickly woke the neko-jin, Ray groaning as Lee growled, though neither made any move to leave. The phone persisted with its chimes for attention, echoing in the silence of the apartment.

"Someone really should answer that," Kai said aloud.

"Not moving," Ray muttered, squeezing his eyes closed. "Too comfy."

"It'll ring out," Lee agreed, arm tightening around Kai. "See, it's stopped."

The silence returned, Kai allowing himself to relax and close his eyes again. They shot open at the sound of a knock on the apartment door.

"If that's room service," Lee growled. "I'll punch them, not tip them."

"Can't we just let them knock themselves out?" Ray said.

Lee laughed softly, burying his head further into Kai's shoulder. "Literally, I hope."

The two neko-jin cried out in protest as Kai wriggled free and slid from the bed, moving barefoot across the room and to the door. Stepping out into the apartment, Kai noted that the others still hadn't returned. It had probably been Dickenson on the phone to tell them they would be back soon.

Unlocking the front door, he pulled it open and looked out into the corridor. He frowned, glancing around as he found no one in sight. His eyes dropped toward the ground and spotted the white envelope. Picking it up and closing the door, he turned it over in his hand, trying to find anything to suggest who it was from.

"What you got there?" Lee asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, tanned chest glowing softly from the light filtering in through the large windows and skylight as his hair fell about his face, making him appear roguish.

"Not entirely sure."

Kai found the back of the envelope open, pulling the folded paper free as Ray joined them as he ran a brush through his hair. He flipped it open, uneasiness coursing through him as he began to read.

"To the team leaders of the Blade Breakers and White Tigers. If you want to see your teammates again, then I suggest you round up $250 000 for each team member, and a further $400 000 for one Stanley Dickenson. If not, then I cannot guarantee their safety. Forward this message to the BBA as soon as you read it. You have one week. L Zika."

3 Blade Breakers + 3 White Tigers + Mr Dickenson = $1 900 000

Also, I commented that I would include the link to a certain picture by Melanie *worships* so here it is: level4chaos.goldenyaoihuggle.com/ Level1/Fanart/Beyblade/31.html

I had to put it in two parts to make it appear, so please put them together.