Chapter 7

russle: Mariah as the common enemy? Certainly complicates things as they're going to all meet up again soon. _

Senko-sama: Thank you #^_^#

Hijiri Hitokiri Battousai: Sometimes small fights escalates into large blowouts. _

Desi2: Engage the brain? I like that. As for the closing the door thing, I think it reflects a degree of control, and I've found that there are times that closing a door can be more painful than slamming it

Castles in the Sky: Well, you learn something new everyday. If you ever see anything that doesn't seem right should I ever get around to writing a girl/girl, give a buzz, okay? And no, I will not be writing Mariah/Emily. Those two hate each other for real that it's just not right to write them as a couple. And yes, arguments are natural. I never fought with my ex-boyfriend. Probably one of the other reasons we broke up. Not healthy not to fight.

phoenix of order: Kevin's emotionally weak at the moment, so anything, no matter how small, will get him worked up

Ashla: I'm actually going to cover that later in this fic, but as an advance: the Seme is the dominant member of a relationship, while the Uke is the submissive. Otherwords, the Seme is usually the one on top that goes inside the Uke who is on the bottom. That help?

Rayz Kitten: Hello, was that commented about a certain authoress directed at me? *blinks innocently*

the tigris: Heh heh. :p

Chibi Wingzero: OC romances can be good, depending on the author and the story. But yes, they need to be in moderation, and there are way too many. And, um, what's CYOA?

Avril Fan: Chapter 6 was horny, how else can you describe it. :p

Time to introduce yet another character.

Kevin walked along the street, the crowd different to that it had been in the morning. He sighed, wandering pointlessly and feeling a twinge of homesickness as all he saw were endless mountains of steel and glass. He had grown up surrounded by nature, spending a fair amount of his childhood climbing the trees and mountains, fishing in the river, or just wandering with no real destination.

He smiled faintly at the memories of his childhood. Everything had been so uncomplicated then, so carefree and innocent. He remembered the endless competition between Ray and Lee in everything that they did. He chuckled as he remembered on one occasion they had been gathering water at the river, Gary fishing as Ray and Lee took up the buckets. Ray had taken but one bucket, filled to the rim while Lee tried to outdo him, taking up two and balancing them. He had gotten but three steps before the weight had gotten to him, sending Lee stumbling backwards before he fell back into the water, causing Kevin, Ray, Gary and Mariah to burst out laughing.

Lee had only been seven, Kevin four, and yet the memory was still vivid in his mind.

Yet another talent of Kevin's: a vivid memory. Nearly all neko-jin had the ability to remember details easily, but Kevin almost everything said or done. If what his book said was right, it was not uncommon for one gifted with a strong danger sense to also possess a vivid and cunning mind, but he saw it as a curse.

He could remember every detail of what Mariah had done to him. He could remember every insult Lee had ever sent his way. Kevin could remember his own emotions at the time, and those emotions rekindled at the memories just as strong as they had been at the time of the events. Yes, Kevin was strong when it came to the past and the present, whereas Lee was gifted at the future.

Kevin bit his lip, wondering if when Lee looked to the future, Kevin was in it, or if there was someone else-

"Yo Kev!"

Kevin blinked, turning as he came out of his revere, smiling faintly as he saw the other stepping quickly toward him. "Well look what the cat dragged in. I thought you'd be home sulkin'."

"Nah. Mr D called me to the office. Wanted to show me something my dad had found out about Dragoon while he was on his current dig." Tyson scratched the back of his neck, looking around. "So what you up too?"

"Just wandering."

Tyson shot him a curious look. "You and Lee aren't fighting, are you?"

"No, not exactly." Kevin shrugged and sighed. "We… haven't really been getting along well of late. Lee's been… well, grumpy."

"Yeah?" Tyson looked around them again. "Max called last night. He's going to be back in a couple of days so maybe the three of us could meet up. What do you say?"

"That'd be cool." Kevin raised an eyebrow. "So Lee's not invited, eh?"

"Nope. Just us 16-year-olds."

Kevin poked him in the ribs. "You're 15."

"Rub it in." Tyson spotted what he was looking for: a group of kids their own age blading. "Check it out. Let's go give them a run for their money, what do you say dude?"

"Sounds good to me." Kevin crossed his arms over his chest, smirking. "Though they won't stand a chance against the #3 blader in all of China."

"Yeah, I heard about that. Congratulations man." Tyson grinned. "You might be #3 in China, but I'm #1 in Japan."

Kevin shot him a wry look. "Only cause Kai has registered himself as a Russian these days."

"You heard about that?" Tyson smirked. "I just think Kai's afraid of me."

"Doubt that. Now he has to go up against the Demolition Boys to get his ranking, and everyone knows Tala and Bryan will be hard to beat."

Tyson nodded his agreement. "Mr D tells me Bryan took Tala down in their match."

"No shit?" Kevin frowned. "How bout Max? Which country is he registered to these days?"

"He's stickin' with Japan, though he could go for America. It's where he was born after all." Tyson grinned. "Aw man, I can't wait for him to come back. You do realise he's been gone over a month."

Kevin smirked. "Bet you guys got real good at phone sex."

Tyson shot him a sly look. "We might have."

They slowed, joining the group of teens as they battled it out in the dish they had set up on a crate. One boy seemed to be on a good run, his teammate herding their opponent's blades toward him so he could wipe the floor with them. As the battle ended, one of the boys looked up and gaped, nudging his friend who followed his gaze.

"Oh wow."

The others turned, taking in the two, the boy who had been winning grinning as he rubbed his hands together.

"Sweet. If it ain't two little Championship bladers. What do you say, boys? Care to have a little fun?"

Tyson snorted, looking to the side. "What do you reckon Kev? Think they're worth our time?"

"Not really, Ty. They're so inferior. However…" His fingers closed around Galmon as he smirked. "Been a while since I bladed on the streets."

Tyson nodded his agreement, hand clutching Dragoon as he looked at the teen. "Challenge accepted."

The boy nodded, gesturing to the dish. "We're playing teams of two. But to even things out, the whole lot of us will take you two on. What do you say?"

"Sounds fair to me." Tyson readied his blade, grinning. "Bring it on."

Sorry, but I'm afraid I won't show you this Beybattle. Besides, I think you know how it's going to turn out…