I blame it all on Catty and Korimi. It's all their faults. ALL THEIR FAULT I TELL YOU!! ...although.. Untold Truths is an awesome fic, I don't recommend reading it if you don't want to fall head over heels for Kai and Rei... and Tala for that matter. (stomps foot and crosses arms like an impudent child) ITS NOT FAIR! (glare) anyway... I'll write now, before I go on to actually kill my dear, wonderful, scary, obsessive, influencing friends. (innocent grin)...

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Catty and Korimi were torn between amusement at Kai's discomfort, and anger at Liz for deliberately doing this to him. Liz just leaned up against the counter next to Chris, giggling insanely every few seconds. Rei hung back warily, fearing for his sanity almost.

Chris was hitting on Kai, who remained frozen and disturbed.

"So, darling, what are you doing Friday?" Chris asked.

"Kai," Catty broke in, wrapping her arms around his neck, "Is spending the evening with me." She said possessively. Chris looked vaguely crestfallen.

"What are you doing, Chris?" A voice spoke up from behind them. "Hitting on other guys again? It's a really good thing I think you're cute." Kai, Rei, Catty and Korimi froze. That voice was TOO familiar.

"Oh, hello Tyson, love. I was just foolin' around, koi! Honest!" The four slowly turned to face their teammate, Tyson. Their jaws dropped in horror at the sight that met their eyes.

Tyson stood there, dressed in drag with outrageous makeup. His hair was loose, but the side was pulled up with a flower clip. The four, without warning, bolted. Liz collapsed in giggles.

"I'll let you two make up." She said, still giggling. She skipped off to locate her new victi—err... friends. She finally found them hiding in the bookshop.

"What are you doing here?" She asked innocently. The four were sitting in the manga section, trying to look casual, holding various volumes, but they were all (save Kai) visibly shaken. Kai was, well, Kai about it. She stood, apparently immersed in a Rurouni Kenshin manga, but his eyes weren't moving at all.

Catty looked up.

"The drag queen? We know him..."

"Oh, Kami! I'm never going to look at him the same!" Tyson groaned. Liz grinned and plucked a copy of the Art of War off a nearby shelf.

"Shame, really. Taco's not that bad a kid. Well, unless you catch him on a weird day. Like today. On normal days he just fine. Really, really, incredibly annoying, but he's okay. Weelll... actually, he's really annoying. And that's about it." Liz concluded, returning to her book.

"Umm..." Was her response. She giggled, slid The Art of War back onto the shelf and picked up "Into The Shadow Realm", a fictional autobiography by King of Games, Yugi Moto.

"Shall we move on?" Catty asked. "I don't want to stay in one place too long."

"Yeah. Let's go." Korimi said as they replaced their manga. Liz set her book on the shelf and followed them out, still erupting into tiny giggle fits here and there.

"So where to now?" Korimi asked. "We've done everything of interest."

"I don't know..." Rei replied. "Arcade, maybe?"

"Sounds good to me!" Catty said. They group made their way to the arcade, a darkened room full of smoke effects, blaster sounds, music, ad more flashing lights than Las Vegas. It was enough to give anyone a seizure.

"Hey, they have that new Beydish installed!" Rei cried happily, making his way over to the blue steel bowl. There were a few people who were gathered around it, watching the current battler's blades whirl around. With a sudden crack, one knocked the other clear out of the dish and halfway across the room. The battlers shook hands, the loser chuckling sheepishly. Quite suddenly, the small crowd noticed Rei standing there.

"Hey! Guys, it's Rei Kon!!" One kid cried. His four companions sweat dropped as Rei was mobbed by people asking autographs and Beyblading tips.

"Hey, settle down! Come on, guys! Calm down, please!" Rei was saying, trying in vain to get the crowd off him. Catty and Kai were watching in concerned amusement, while Korimi was shoving her way through to get to her boyfriend. She hugged him protectively, snarling at the girls who tried to get close. This didn't really deter the guys though.

Liz, through it all, was sitting on the floor laughing her head off.

"Unstable, that one." Kai remarked, before returning his attention to the mass before them.

(#)(#)(#)

Will Rei make it out of the mob alive? Or more to the point, will any of them make it out of the mall with their sanity intact? Hehehehe... tune in next time for......me asking why the heck I'm announcing this stuff like I have a loyal following of dedicated viewers who actually would tune in. Can you tune in to a fic? (sighs in confusion) in any case... Why the heck do people say RR at the END of a fic? You've read it already, you just need the second R! so... TR! (think and review) (grins)