Standard D/C applies.
A/N: Yes, another chapter. ::hears gasps of horror:: Funny guys…-.- (is mainly directing this to a certain beta) …. Ya know, I just realized that I made the summary sound like the fic actually focuses on the other bladders besides Rei and Kai………….. it really doesn't. Heh. ::grins:: I apologize in advance if the sparring match, it seems a little stiff, I don't really write hand-to-hand combat very well.
Oh, and if anyone wants to draw me a picture of Rei in the black pants and red shirt… by all means, be my guest. In fact, feel free to draw any scene that strikes you in this fic. So long as I get a copy of the picture.
And lastly, I just want anyone who reads this to check out Vialana's fanfiction. If you like mine, you will defiantly like his/hers. He/She (as I truthfully don't know) has perfected the art of angst and drama.
Summary: [KaiRei, Rei-centric] Just after the world championships, the Bladebreakers are headed back to their homes when out of the blue, they're all called to China for some strange tournament. Unknowingly, the group sets themselves up to learn more about each other and their lives before the Bladebreakers.
Segreti di il Nostro
"What are you doing?" an impatient voice asked. Kai raised an eyebrow at Rei's uncharacteristic annoyance at his presence. The usually calm, cool and collected one was… peeved.
"Your sister told me that I'm going to train with you now. I didn't ask any questions," Kai replied smoothly. Rei hissed at the answer before picking up the pace of his stride.
The pair finished their warm-up in relative silence, unless you counted the pounding of their feet or the panting of their breath. Once the run was completed, they began to stretch.
"You're probably not going to like what you see," Rei stated as he folded himself neatly in half, stretching his hamstrings. Kai smirked slightly at that comment.
"Probably nothing I haven't seen before," was his short reply.
Rei smirked. "I doubt that," he muttered, just as Castia walked over.
"You stretched?" she asked. Rei stood up and nodded. Kai too stood and awaited further instruction.
"Kai, get Dranzer. I'm going to teach you something very important. Few beybladers know about his, but to understand the basis of your bitbeast, you must know about Kshkin'ah," Castia told the slate haired teen. Kai gingerly pulled Dranzer out of his pocket. Rei growled deeply, but still said nothing.
"Rei, show him how it's done," Castia instructed. The neko-jin glared, but pulled out a small bit.
"DRIGGER!" Rei yelled, and a sudden flash of green light, appeared. When the light died down, Kai stared.
In front of him, was the great white tiger that he had only ever seen in bey battles.
Drigger looked blankly at Kai, before Rei walked over to his partner and laid a hand on the great cat's flank. At once, the massive beast calmed, and Rei began to gently scratch his muzzle.
To say everyone was surprised, when all of a sudden Kai's beyblade started to glow, would have to be an understatement. In fact, Kai nearly dropped his blade he was so surprised.
A great scream sounded from the figure emerging from the bit. Kai stared in awe as his beloved Dranzer rose amongst a sea of flames.
The great winged creature screeched as she flew up into the air. Kai watched his partner, with what resembled a smile on his face as he followed his friend with his eyes and spirit.
"That's a first," Castia muttered. Kai quickly turned his attention onto her.
"What do you mean?" he asked, a suspicious tone lingering in his voice. Castia merely smirked.
"I mean, that that was the first time I've ever seen a bitbeast emerge from their bit without their partner calling them. Some other force must have been urging Dranzer to appear..." The neko-jin fell silent as she saw Dranzer land in front of Drigger. Drigger began to purr at once and Dranzer began to—somehow— nuzzle the tiger.
"Oh my lord," Castia whispered, before a huge smile split over her face. Rei simply raised an eyebrow at his tiger's vocal content before shrugging and turning to his sister.
"Can we please get going? I would like to do some sparring eventually," he stated, clearly annoyed with what had just transpired. Castia smirked and looked at her little brother.
"Why don't we see how much a match Kai is for you? I think it would be fair to establish what you need to know when facing an unknown assailant," Castia told her brother.
"That won't quite work sis. We do know each other," Rei stated rolling his eyes. Castia began muttering.
"You dumbass, I don't think you've ever fought each other. THAT'S what I meant when I said unknown," she replied prissily. Kai just watched the pair argue in amusement.
"So, are we going to do it or not?" he asked before the argument could escalate into a full-blown fistfight. Both Castia and Rei turned to him.
"Lets do it," Rei stated, a gleam in his eyes.
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Kenny woke up and immediately groaned. The light that was spilling onto his face burned his eyes, and at once the computer boy wished he could just go back to sleep until a sound coming from the gardens caught his attention. If he didn't know any better, he'd swear there was a struggle going on…
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"Whenever you're both ready, we can begin," Castia instructed, looking at both her brother and his advisory. Rei dropped down into a fighting stance and grinned over at Kai. The slate-haired teen simply smirked and too dropped back.
Without a word, Rei went on the offence and immediately attacked Kai with a hard kick to the face. Kai blocked the kick, seemingly without any effort and retaliated with a punch to Rei's exposed stomach. Rei blocked the attempt and the duo continued on with this dangerous little dance. Both knew that the other wouldn't pull any punches; therefore the need to defend and attack was well understood.
Castia watched the pair with critical eyes. As she observed the pair, she made a definite note to herself.
'They look like liquid velvet. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that they'd have rehearsed this thousands of times,' the female neko-jin thought to herself.
It was true. Neither one noticed, but every move they made was countered perfectly by the other. Everything one did to attack, the other used against them to feed into their own attack, making each hit stronger and quicker.
Rei suddenly had a thought. He obviously couldn't beat Kai by what he had been taught, so why shouldn't he try something new?
As the slate-haired teen reached out to throw Rei to the ground, the neko-jin allowed his captain to grab hold of his shirt. As Kai began to throw the neko-jin, Rei grabbed his arm and used their combined momentum to throw Kai over him and pin the boy.
Kai's eyes widened in surprise as Rei hovered over him. Both were breathing quite hard from their match, and Rei couldn't help but smirk smugly.
"I win," he stated simply, before getting up off Kai. The blue haired blader growled low, before pulling a similar stunt to what Rei had done.
Rei blinked up at Kai whom was now leaning over him, smirking. It was then that Rei became all to aware of the muscle of Kai's body, pressing into his own lean shape and he flushed slightly.
"Get off," he whispered, not trusting his voice enough to speak much louder then that. Kai raised an eyebrow at that and smirked. However, he did get up off the neko-jin and Rei nodded in gratitude before glancing apologetically at his sister and taking off towards the woods that surrounded the village, grabbing Drigger on the way. Puzzled, Kai began to go after his teammate, the only thing restraining him being the hand Castia laid on his shoulder.
"Leave him. He'll be fine," she said in a stern motherly voice. Kai nodded, his body responding to the strict tone. Without any more words, the pair walked back into the Kon household, where everyone was now rising.
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Rei began to slow down as he entered the woods, searching for a secluded spot where he could release Drigger and think. It wasn't long before he found that spot and he sunk quietly to the ground.
"Drigger," he called softly, and the big beast emerged, looking down upon his distraught partner. Rei smiled weakly, burying his face in the white tiger's fur. The pair stayed like this, wordlessly for a long time, both beast and man taking comfort in the other's presence.
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The next week passed by, pretty uneventfully and Rei watched Kai carefully, both when they were training and when they weren't. Rei was quiet about it, didn't attract attention to himself, and the week leading up to Kshkin'ah went by in a blur.
All was fine and dandy until at last, Rei got a look at the tournament roster.
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"Shit," Rei cursed when he looked at the opponents registered in the tournament. Seeing as Kshkin'ah was a round robin, he knew he would be facing all competitors at least once. The reason behind the curse was that not only where there triple the amount of competitors this year, but many of the names were very familiar.
"I can understand the White Tigers being registered… but Enrique? Johnny? Micheal? Damnit, most of the teams at the worlds have at least one person entered in Kshkin'ah this year," Rei groaned, peeved beyond redemption. Castia just smirked at her little brother's expression.
"At least you know their blading styles. You do remember that the style the use to blade is usually similar to their fight style," Castia said, a big smile on her face. Rei growled at his sister.
"You know how I get in the ring Castia. I don't want to hurt them sis, but I have to do my best to win this thing to keep the respect the elders gave me," Rei explained to his sister. The barely bridled anger was clear in his voice. He did not like outsiders to partake in such a traditional ceremony. Castia just sighed and pulled her brother into a hug.
"Rei, don't be afraid of hurting someone. That's what the officials are there for. It's their job to stop the match if someone is greatly out matched and you know that," Castia said, gently stroking Rei's back.
"I know. I still don't want them to see me out of control," Rei whispered against his sister's shoulder. Castia shook her head and lead her brother to his bed, sitting him down in front of it. Gently, she began to unwrap her brother's hair from it's tight binding, and once unbound, Castia took a brush from the bedside table and began running it through Rei's long tresses. Rei immediately began to purr and Castia giggled quietly.
"So, what's been up with that captain of yours? You've been watching him closely lately, you interested or something?" Castia asked, ever intrusive on her little brothers life.
"Shut up. I'm having enough trouble trying to figure out my own thoughts, I really don't need your thought spinning in my brain too," Rei growled, sending his sister a quick glare over his shoulder. Castia smirked.
"You are such a little baby, I was just asking! Besides, I seem to remember that little incident not too long ago about a certain blader…" she said teasingly. Rei blushed brightly at that.
"It was a crush. Nothing serious. Besides, I was younger… more easily influenced," Rei justified. Castia just rolled her eyes and stood.
"Get some sleep. You have your first battle in the morning," she said as she walked out of the room, shutting the light off behind her.
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End chappie three! Wow, thank you to all that have taken the time to review, It means a lot to me.