Disclaimer: Beyblade and all its likeness does not belong to me. No profits are being made off this story.

story written by: Glay

LOSING KAI AGAIN

[Chapter 5: He Could Dream]

No moonlight reached the hallways at this time of night in the hotel. Only artificial lights dimly lit the narrow corridors making them have a slightly scary appearance. It was something foreign, reminding one that they were just sleeping there because they had no other home to go to.

When the clock had read 3:27am Tyson had awoken, mission in mind. He was currently creeping down the hallway with a key card to a room. Reaching the doorway, which hadn't been very far from his own, he slid the card into the slot. An eerie green glow was cast upon his face signalling that the door had been unlocked.

He quietly opened the door, and tiptoed into the room. He was only wearing his socks, just coming out of bed himself.

This was going to be a strictly in-an-out operation.

Making his way over to the single bed that occupied the room, Tyson sucked in a nervous breath. His heart was beating so hard and fast, he thought it'd wake up Kai at any second.

Kai.

This was Kai's room, and Tyson had just entered it without permission. This was Kai who was sleeping in his bed, unaware to what the World Champion was there to do.

But Tyson wasn't taking any of this into account. His nerves were on end as he reached the edge of the bed, and laid a sweaty hand onto the cool sheets. They felt frosty compared to the anxious heat that radiated off his body.

He glanced down at the face that was rested against a soft hotel pillow.

He'd always thought that maybe Kai looked different when he slept. However, Tyson had always been one of the first to conk out when it was time for sleep or Kai was always sleeping far away from him. At first, Tyson hadn't really cared about knowing what the others looked like in their sleep. People drooled and snored or something when they visited sand land. Besides, it was what one saw in the day that mattered anyway. However, when he began to notice how Kai would purposely move away from him when sleeping arrangements came around, Tyson got annoyed.

Tyson knew that he, himself, snored and drooled, but he didn't think it was that bad.

He didn't want to think it was that.

No, Tyson believed that Kai had something on his face at night, when his consciousness was nowhere to be found and the soft breathing of sleep would fill his body. He'd have something in his expression that he didn't want Tyson to see. The midnight-haired boy got curious, but never got a look. It was interesting to wonder, what type of expression would take hold of the Team Captain's features. Would he have a smile?

But as Tyson gazed down at the sleeping figure, he sweat dropped.

Kai was frowning exactly like he did in daytime, and… woah, snoring lightly too. Who knew?

A smile quirked on Tyson's lips as he looked at Kai. Then, he steeled himself. He was going to do it.

The dare.

It had eaten away at him as he had gone back to his room after Kai fell asleep. Max and Ray had disappeared. Though a bunch of water glasses and chip bags were lying at the corner they had hid behind.

He didn't know why it had affected him so much, to back down from the dare, but he knew he'd have to complete it to feel whole again. He had to prove it to himself.

He… stared at Kai some more.

'This is really hard.' Tyson thought. 'Okay, just get it over with. Put your arms around him, dude!'

Slowly and nervously Tyson slipped his arms around the blanket-covered body. It was a bit awkward trying to hug Kai while standing over the bed, so he eased his knee a bit on the mattress.

It squeaked.

'GAH!!' Tyson screamed in his mind and froze, his eyes shut.

One blue eye cracked open after a single stinging moment. Nothing. Kai hadn't woken up. Breathing a sigh of relief, Tyson eased his other knee onto the mattress with great caution.

All right, now he was kind of looming over top of Kai, who was lying on his side. He'd have to roll the guy over.

'Oh man.' Tyson griped. 'Right, kiss him real quick – don't linger! – hurry up!!' The midnight haired boy wondered why his freaky inner voice sounded like his grandfather chewing him out, but decided to focus on the task at hand.

Slowly, he applied pressure to Kai's shoulder, making him roll onto his back and now was positioned directly beneath Tyson.

He was shot with the sudden idea that this would look very wrong and very scary if Kai woke up. Feeling guilty Tyson found himself loosening his hold on Kai and forced himself not to.

'Just do it!!!'

Without giving himself the time to think, Tyson's head bent down and his lips pressed directly onto Kai's.

'…'

Everything was quiet. But inside Tyson, a storm was raging. It felt warmer than he thought it would, and there was a tingling sensation that was spreading like fire over his skin.

He pulled back, his lips leaving Kai's making a quiet sound.

Tyson's eyes were wide and bright in the darkness of the room.

He'd done it.

He leaned in and pressed his lips against Kai's soft ones again, this time closing his eyes and only focussing on the feeling of touch.

'Just making sure.'

Tyson pulled back, more slowly this time, and opened his eyes a bit sluggishly.

And looked right into the burgundy irises of Kai Hiwatari.

Tyson stared frozen in terror.

The duel-haired boy stared back; his ever-present mask slowly beginning to crack.

Tyson's body was rigid with shock. The boy's arms were securely fastened around his torso and his long hair was spilling over his shoulders and hanging down into Kai's face. Nothing could stop Kai's emotions from going into overdrive at the intimate contact.

He had been awoken by Tyson's first kiss… and with his heart hammering in his chest, felt the second come and instant later.

All the ice inside him was burned away in a flash.

He stared up into Tyson's beautiful deep blue eyes calmly.

"Tyson…is this a dream?" His voice was serious and soft. It had a tiny breathless quality to it.

And before Tyson could get a chance to make any sort of reply, Kai placed his hands behind his head and roughly pulled Tyson in for another kiss.

The force of Kai's pull made the longhaired boy lose his balance. His body fell flush along the Team Captain's. Fuelled by the intensity of the kiss, Tyson slid his hands down Kai's sides deliciously until they reached the arch of his back and were able to lock underneath.

Unable to control the sound as it rose from the confines of his chest, Kai moaned lowly, "Tyson…"

Tyson took advantage of Kai's gasping mouth to dip his tongue inside and then they were gliding together in what seemed like ecstasy. He kissed Kai until he could breath no longer and had to pull back with a deep intake of air.

"Yes?..."

Kai's hands were in his hair, over his back, everywhere. It was getting harder to think by the minute. The Team Captain's hands halted at the waistband of his sleeping shorts. His fingers were making lazy circles on his skin and driving him insane.

"Tyson..."

The teasing touch too overwhelming to handle, Tyson buried his face into the crook of Kai's neck, breathing harshly.

"Yes…"

Kai gasped softly when he felt Tyson's hot hands on his backside. He arched up in surprise, chest straining against chest their bodies were curled together – tangled with emotions they'd never felt before.

"Ah! – Tyson..."

Kai linked his arms around Tyson's neck tightly. Their bodies were like shadows in the night. Melting together with a heat that had been suppressed for so long. The taller teen's hair was beginning to get matted down with sweat that was rolling down in salty tracks. But Kai wanted to get closer.

He wrapped his long legs around the other's hips slowly, savouring the friction of their bare legs until his calves met the soft fabric of Tyson's shorts. Kai arched up more forcefully, the air rushing out of his lungs over Tyson's shoulder as electricity tore through his body.

"Yes!" Tyson cried out. The onslaught of sensations caused his yell to dissolve into a throaty moan.

"Oh, Yes – Kai –"

"YES!!" Tyson yelled at the top of his lungs, shooting into a sitting position in his bed. The blankets were pulled up as if he had been tossing and turning all night and his pillow was clutched in his hand. Tyson's hair was also sticking up haphazardly.

"Wha –!?" The World Champion looked back and forth in confusion wildly, his heart was going a mile a minute in his chest and his skin felt incredibly flushed.

"Wha…it was…" He continued more quietly, "a dream?"

The phone rang.

As if in a trance, Tyson picked the blaring phone up and placed it to his ear.

"Tyson?" A cheerful voice questioned. "Rise and shine buddy it's 8:30am, this is your wake up call!"

"Max…?"

"Gotta call everyone else! Bye!"

The line was disconnected with a soft click, and Tyson's eyebrows shot into his hairline and his mouth formed an embarrassed grin.

"Okay, that settles it. I'm never eating that much junk food before bed ever again!!"

~*~*~*~

The morning sun had hit his eyes making them open groggily. Kai pushed some hair out of his face as he sat up in his bed, the covers bunched up underneath him. It was around six in the morning. He yawned.

Something felt different this morning, he realised, looking around the room in suspicion. Then he glanced down at his hands, noticing they were buzzing with a warmth he hadn't felt for a long time.

"Grab my hand!" His icy hand was electrified with heat when it met Tyson's.

Kai lifted his right hand to his chest and placed it over his heart. His eyelids lowered and a soft smile graced his mouth.

Outside the window, he could hear the song of birds.

He had to go out early today.

~*~*~*~

"Tyson!!" A voice called out as Tyson walked down the hallway.

"Yeah?" He questioned.

Catching his breath the blonde grinned. "Let's go downstairs, Kenny's meeting us in the restaurant with Mr. Dickinson!" At the name of their manager Tyson smirked and Max cringed but then he adopted a sly look.

"We heard Kai yell last night outside the door!! What happened? Did you go for it? Did you complete it?!"

Tyson sweat dropped. "Ahhhh, about the dare…"

"What about it?" A curious voice startled the two as Ray walked up to them. "How'd it go Tyson?"

The capped boy shook his head. "Sorry guys, I… I couldn't do it."

"NO WAY!" Max shouted in disbelief. "Then what was that yell?"

Tyson debated on whether to tell Ray and Max about Kai's health but then decided that Kai wouldn't like that very much. They all knew that Kai liked his privacy.

"I kinda uhhh," He wracked his brains, "tripped and spilt water all over him." Tyson grinned embarrassedly.

Max slapped his forehead. "Aw man!"

"Hey!" Tyson said accusingly, pointing a finger at Max. They all piled into the elevator. "It's like you honestly want me to kiss Kai!"

The half-American Bladebreaker smiled, waving Tyson's finger away. "And where would you get an idea like that?"

The World Champion eyed the blonde suspiciously.

Ray intervened. "You'll just have to try again Tyson. You don't want your perfect record of completed dares to be broken do you?"

"No…" Tyson frowned. 'But this gives me an excuse to try and get Kai alone… I need to make sure his pains aren't serious…'

"Where is Kai, anyway?"

The blonde shrugged. "I called his room like I did with everyone this morning – no one answered."

Icy trickles of fear washed over Tyson. What if he had left, and Kai had been in pain again sometime during the night? What if he hadn't been sleeping when he left? He could have been unconscious! Or what if –

Max and Ray gave each other a look when noticing Tyson's stricken expression.

"Hey no sweat, Tyson." Ray said moving his hands in a placating manner. "I'm sure he'd down at the restaurant already."

The World Champion hesitantly grinned, "Hope so."

The elevator stopped at the lobby and they all got off.

~*~*~*~

The BBA head, Mr. Dickinson, was seated at a large table in the restaurant. Currently, he was reading the newspaper and crunching on a piece of toast.

He brought his mug of coffee to his lips and drained the last of it. "So, Kenny, did you have a good night?"

"Sure, Mr. Dickinson!" Kenny replied without taking his eyes of the computer screen.

This particular hotel restaurant was a buffet and the short boy had already gotten a plate of fruit. He'd go back and get some bacon after typing in this one last thing…

A chair at the far end of the table scraped across the floor and someone plopped down in it.

Kenny and Mr. Dickinson looked up in surprise.

"Kai! Good to see you up and about." The Manager smiled. Kai was wearing the team jacket.

"Hn." The Team Captain replied noncommittally.

Kenny pushed his glasses up. "I've created an intense training regiment that should be followed for the whole two and a half weeks on our stay here." He pressed print on his word processor and paper began rolling into his portable printer. "I'll print everyone out copies."

"Ah, Kenny," Mr. Dickinson intervened. "Could you make my copy to go? I have an important meeting to attend in half an hour."

"Sure thing, sir! I'll e-mail it when I get back to my room."

"Excellent, excellent. Well, I must be off." The old man pushed himself from the chair.

Truthfully, his meeting didn't start for another hour, but Mr. Dickinson was still a little bit weirded out by the phone call he had gotten last night. Yes, he had been young once too, but the pranks kids pulled today…

He swiped a handkerchief across his forehead before placing his bowler hat on top of his bald head. Smiling jovially, he exited the restaurant, cane in hand.

Kai put his feet up on the chair next to him, relaxing. He was a little tired from going out so early and searching for what he had been looking for. There weren't many shops open that early in the morning. And if the Chief's schedule promised to be anything like what Hilary could come up with then he'd have to rest as much as he could before being thrown into heavy-duty work. Contrary to believe, Kai liked his breaks just as much as the next person. Especially since…

The printer on the table gave a loud beep signifying that the schedules were done.

"I'm going to go get some more food. If the guys come in, hand out these for me, all right Kai?" The Chief took his plate in hand before leaving.

Then Tyson, Ray, and Max bounded into the room. It was a lot busier since it was around nine in the morning and they had to search a bit before they spotted their table.

"Oooooh, look who's all alone at the table!" Max said in a childish voice.

Ray snickered. "It's Kai!"

"Zip it!" Tyson said with conviction. "You're making it sound like I've got a-a crush on him or something."

Max broke out into a laugh. "Oh c'mon Tyson, it's just that…"

Tyson eyed him. "Yeah…?"

"You two are toooo cute!!!"

Ray doubled over in laughter. This morning he had been able to take the horrible ribbons out of his hair and then he had washed out the crimps the braids had made. He was feeling very light and fresh. "It's good to be dare-free!"

The World Champion fell over, leg twitching. "Aw please guys!"

"I'll tell you what," Max said. "You can complete half of your dare right now. Go over there and greet Kai with a hug."

Tyson looked a bit putout. "Here? In front of everyone?"

"No one will care!" Ray insisted. "Well… maybe Kai, but you already broke the ice with him last night huh?" He nudged his friend in the ribs.

Tyson rolled his eyes. "Yeah okay. I'm not backing down by a long shot."

"Okay, you do that and we'll go grab some food."

"You're not coming to watch?" Tyson asked confusedly.

"Oh no, I know you'll do it this time. A hug between friends isn't a big deal." Max replied happily. "But I'm way starved."

He and Ray walked away and lined up for the buffet.

Tyson fumed. 'Not a big deal? Easy for him to say! He's not the one who went crazy at night dreaming of things because of this…'

Sighing, the boy adjusted his red jacket and the yellow t-shirt underneath before strolling over to the table.

Kai's eyes were closed when a voice next to him asked, "This seat taken?"

Quickly, his eyes snapped open and he removed his feet from the chair. He looked to his left and jolted when he saw Tyson's sweet smile directed his way.

"Or are you saving it for someone?" Tyson continued.

"Sit down, " Kai replied, mind whirling.

Tyson obeyed and sat on the chair next to Kai, though he was on the edge of his seat. Before he could open his mouth again, he was startled.

"I," Kai blurted out, then hesitated, "I… got my hair cut this morning."

Tyson's eyes widened.

Driving foreword, Kai continued to ask, "Do you think it's all right? I mean, that stupid barber I went to was as blind as a bat."

Kai inwardly cursed that he had to add in that insult. His hair was cut much shorter, back to the way it was when he and Tyson had first met. It was still darker though; he hadn't had much time to consider the benefits of trying to get the colour back. However, he didn't like dyed hair anyways, and wasn't about to do something that drastic for Tyson's attention.

Tyson grinned, "Well, he did a pretty good job anyway. Looking good, Kai!"

Kai's face actually lit up which made Tyson's grin brighten in return.

Unexpectedly, Tyson's hand came up and began to pry Kai's crossed arms apart. The touch made the duel-haired boy's heart constrict almost painfully. He opened his mouth to protest, not wanting to but unable to stop it. Only to be cut off when Tyson leaned forward, off his chair, and slipped his arms low around Kai's sides.

Tyson squeezed gently and rested his chin on Kai's shoulder. Kai could feel it when Tyson smiled. "Today should be fun…"

Kai's mind was going wild with the feel of Tyson pressed so tenderly against him but before he could return the hug, Tyson slipped back into his seat.

In a way, Kai was thoroughly disappointed he hadn't been able to hold the other boy as well, but then immediately stamped on that idea. No matter how much he craved the affection – the care – he just couldn't bare it if he had to share his deepest feelings… even he did not dare to examine them too closely.

That the feeling that engulfed him when he was around Tyson could be…

Rejection was not an option. For he feared that if it ever did come to pass – that if Tyson ever discarded the only pure thing Kai had to offer – then he'd surely die.

He would cherish what he already had and not destroy it with his selfishness.

But blushing crazily, Kai could not help but smile as another little piece of his heart was captured. After all, he could dream.

~*~*~*~

Because the dare didn't fully happen, I threw in that evil evil dream. ^^ hehe