Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade and I'm not making any money on this story…
Author's Notes: OK, really sorry for the huge delay, but I got an equally huge load of schoolwork and some tests…*sigh*… Anyway I hope people still read this… This chapter is dedicated to Stacey! Who ahh defended this fic from someone who I guess tried to flame me. I'm still grateful for that Stacey!! Hope you guys like this chapter.
Impossible
I woke up when the sunlight filtered through the hotel curtains and drifted over my face. Reaching out to turn the alarm off before it sounded, I stayed in bed for a little longer than necessary. The room around me is warmly lit, and the sheets are more comfortable it seems, than the ones in my own house. Maybe it's all this seaside air rushing through the slightly open window, and the rising sun that makes everything feel so... relaxed- but even with those pleasant things, I know that they're only the conventional explanations of my comfort. I know the real reason. It's the same reason for all my feelings…
The clock on the bedside table tells the time, and I slowly sit up, resting by back against the headboard. It is in times like these, that memories of you always come back to me, Tyson. When I first get up in the morning, or when I'm getting ready for the night, you always seem to be the first thing I think about, and the last before I go to sleep.
I close my eyes and one of my favourite memories appears for me like a movie on a projector screen, replayed so many times and so very old, but I can still recall each and every detail…
It was in this same city, your hometown, and many years ago.
You turned around and looked at me, your face the picture of confusion, but you were so gorgeous… I was stunned. Those midnight eyes were wide, and a single strand of hair was falling into your face. Did you know how perfect you were? Maybe you did…but maybe, when you looked in the mirror all you saw was a regular boy- tanned skin and a slightly round face… the magazines probably wouldn't call you irresistible… yours is a certain type of charm after all… but to me, you were. You were perfect in every way that mattered, and I was envious so often because of that, and I was in awe at the same time. You raised an eyebrow at my silence…
And somehow, in that single moment, I forgot how to breathe…
And I would have stopped breathing if you asked…
And then the moment was over, because you had turned around and started talking with the others once again, and you left me more confused than you had been when you first looked at me.
Maybe… there is a world out there- one in which we both felt this way about each other. One in which I was not alone in my feelings…One in which you were not getting married to a girl who has never done wrong to you, as I have.
Why do things happen the way they do?
Maybe it is fate that pulled us together and wove this love inside of me, keeping me tied to you. Maybe it's fate that this story does not finish the way I want it to, and with you tied to another. I used to think I wanted that- I thought I didn't want this love. But there are certain people that we give in to… certain people we can't help but smile at a little bit differently than everyone else. I'm glad that that person for me, is you.
I slowly pull back the covers and get up from bed, heading towards the bathroom.
It's funny how love is just four letters strung together by an invisible thread to form a word- something that is used in and out of speech or text… but a single word would not convey just a fraction of what the feeling is. Is that why there are so many songs, poems, or stories written about love?
It must be, but I think that out of all those queries about love, nothing could ever capture and retell the feeling as wonderful and powerful as the one I feel for you.
I'll always feel this for you.
****
Hours later, at the Granger family dojo, the Bladebreakers had assembled in the small cluttered attic, going through the repair supplies that were already there. As it was, the pickings were pretty slim- a half empty can of paint and a few broken floorboards were all they had managed to come up with. Tyson had decided that clearing out the actual dojo could wait a bit, because, well he knew everyone must be aching from all the hard work- Kenny said that Tyson had probably decided to move on because the world champion had complained of hardly being able to move when he woke up.
Tyson had gone downstairs for something and Ray and Max had taken seats on some old wooden chairs. Kenny had sat cross-legged on the floor and Kai was, as usual, leaning against the wall.
"So will it be a traditional Japanese style?" Ray asked curiously.
"It's going to be an American style wedding." Kenny told him.
"Why's that?" Ray asked.
"It's cheaper!" Tyson called out from the bottom of the stairs. The thumps of Tyson's sneakers against the strong wooden stairs were heard, and then the husband-to-be appeared in the attic doorway.
"If you're going for cheaper you could always just wear some shorts, a t-shirt and that baseball cap instead of a tuxedo." Max joked.
"No, no, wait, you forgot something!" Ray joined in. "He'd have to wear some knee high socks and carry his Dragoon Blade up to the alter too, for good luck of course."
Tyson gasped in mock outrage. "Hey!! There's nothing wrong with knee high socks!!"
"Yeah…" Kai spoke up from his place leaning against the wall. "And that's why you were the only one who wore them."
Tyson turned to the owner of Biovolt. "Quiet you." He said, and then turned back to Ray and Max. "And… what's wrong with bringing Dragoon with me?"
"Don't tell me you were actually gonna do that!! I was just joking!" Max's eyes bugged out in awe.
"Tyson!" Kenny slapped his forehead.
"Uhm," Ray sweatdropped and scratched his head. "Well, actually, I don't think there's anything wrong with it really."
"Cool!!" Tyson brought his hands up and adjusted his red baseball cap. "And for your information, I am wearing a tux." He groaned. "Not that I want to."
"This is something I gotta see." Ray snickered. "You're 23 and you still dress like a kid."
"Aw c'mon." Tyson rolled his eyes. But it was true. The young adult was wearing some dark grey jeans and a plain white t-shirt topped off with his baseball cap. Compared to Kenny's professional vest and shirt, Max's button down shirt and slacks, Ray's neatly pressed Chinese shirt, and Kai's casual black blazer, Tyson still wore clothes more fitting for the young teen he had been ten years ago.
"Will you ever grow up?" Ray smiled.
"Probably not." Tyson replied, sticking his tongue out and crossing his eyes making a funny face.
Max and Ray burst out laughing, and Tyson grinned while Kenny shook his head.
"At least your style has improved." Kai stated. Liar. He thought to himself. You liked the socks… they turned you on. Not that Tyson wasn't attractive to him now. If it were possible, Kai found anything Tyson wore to be appealing. Personally… he liked the fact that Tyson was still the same like this… It only proved to him that time could not dull Tyson's personality. Tyson was Tyson. Immovable, unbeatable, impossible…
"TYSON!!!!!!!" Grandpa Granger's loud rickety voice bellowed up the stairs and the Bladebreakers jumped in surprise.
The former world champion groaned. "YEAH????" Tyson suddenly shouted back.
Ray held his ears. "I forgot I'd have to get used to Tyson's volume again…" The Chinese man said to Kenny.
"I'm still not used to it." The Chief stated.
Grandpa's reply was just as loud. "TYSON, YOUR LADY'S COME TO VISIT!!"
"Naomi?" Tyson asked perking up.
Quiet steps approached the top of the stairs, and Naomi smiled short black hair framing her face, appearing much like Tyson had in the doorway.
"Hi everyone!" She waved at the four young men then turned to her fiancé. Tyson smiled and leaned against the doorframe.
"Hey, I thought you were going to the dressmakers?" Tyson asked.
She nodded. "Yes, I just stopped by to tell you that I'll need you to pick me up at around 6:30pm from the shop, please. My mom needs the car, and the bus won't pass by for another two hours after that." Naomi explained.
"No problem, we have to go out and get some supplies anyway. When we're done, I'll come get you with the car." Tyson grinned at her, and Naomi put her arms around his shoulders in an almost hug.
Across the room, the small touch was no comfort to Kai. A spike of jealousy ripped through him. Get your hands off him…Kai thought irritably, and despite his need to keep his anger in check, he shot a glare at the girl.
Naomi glanced past Tyson to the others and visibly tensed. Kai let his face carefully become neutral again, wondering if she had caught his piercing look…
Naomi's hands quickly darted off of Tyson's shoulders and she stepped back, reaching up to adjust the strap of her purse uncomfortably. She glanced at her wristwatch.
"Um, well…my bus into town is going to leave pretty soon. I'll see you later?" Naomi asked.
"Yeah, of course!" Tyson nodded enthusiastically, and Naomi smiled, bowing slightly before descending the stairs once again.
The pony-tailed blader pushed himself off of the doorframe and turned to Kenny, Max, Ray and Kai. He eyed the small pile of supplies for a moment.
"Okay Bladebreakers!!" Tyson grinned and made a fist. "It's time to go shopping!!!"
"Shopping?" Max asked.
Kenny sweatdropped. "Count me out."
"Your call Chief." Tyson said good-naturedly.
"We'll never get all the stuff we need unless we split up." Ray said analyzing the pile of repair supplies.
Tyson looked over at Kai. "Well, then we'll split up. Ray you and Max'll buy some of the stuff, and me and Kai can get the other half."
Kai started slightly at that, and looked over at Tyson, their eyes meeting briefly before Max, Ray and Kenny stood up causing them to break contact.
Max gave a thumb's up. "Gotcha!"
"Great!! I'll make us some lists of what to buy!" Tyson pumped a fist in the air then bounded down the stairs.
Ray shook his head bewildered. "Where does he still get that energy from?"
Kenny smiled quirkily. "Eh, well I'm afraid that's an unsolved mystery." The Chief started down the stairs as well. "I've got a bus to catch too!" He said.
Max and Ray followed. "Max and I can walk you to the stop then." The Chinese blader offered.
"Might as well!" Max agreed, then turned around and gestured to the silent figure still leaning against the attic wall. "You coming downstairs too, Kai?"
Kai slowly made his way over to the staircase and followed Max and the others downstairs.
Max looked back at him and grinned slightly, whispering so the others wouldn't hear. "Looks like you've got a date with Tyson today, huh?"
"Shut up." Kai rolled his eyes, but couldn't help the feeling of elation at the blond's words. A date…? Kai thought. Well…maybe…
****
Ray, Max and Kenny had headed in a separate direction than Tyson and Kai because of the location of the bus stop, but that hadn't been a problem since the Bladebreakers were bound to meet up again while getting the repair supplies.
Ray had noticed some differences in the owner of Biovolt that were… surprising to say the least. Kai hadn't protested against splitting up to go shopping with Tyson… and the fact that he was going shopping at all was in itself something of a milestone. Ray never thought that Kai would be one to volunteer help like this, even for beyblading, and this was for a wedding.
Kai had even been almost amiable with them this morning; well he had been, until Naomi showed up…
And speaking of Naomi…
Ray looked down at the computer whiz who had just said something to Max about Tyson's fiancée.
"Chief… about Naomi…Was she having a bad day?" The Chinese blader asked.
The Chief shook his head. "Nope, she's like that all the time."
"Really?" Ray's eyebrows shot up. "I don't understand it, yesterday she looked so sad, and today she left in kind of a hurry- that's a little strange isn't it? I mean, shouldn't she be happy? She's getting married in a few weeks!" The Chinese blader exclaimed.
Kenny's eyebrows furrowed in thought, and then replied. "Naomi didn't have a lot of friends, I think. Plus, she was really quiet- you know, actually, Tyson's helped her open up."
"Ah! Hey Chief! Here's the bus!" Max pointed to the public transit coming down the street. The bus pulled up at the stop, and the mechanical door swung open with a hiss.
The Chief got out his bus pass and waved. "See you later guys!"
"Bye Chief!" Ray waved.
"Yeah laters!" Max chimed in, and they watched the bus pull off heading towards the university that Kenny worked at.
Ray frowned slightly and Kenny's words echoed through him. He looked at Max. "Naomi sounds a lot like someone we know…"
Max looked back with a small smile. "Yeah, strange huh?"
"More like a coincidence." Ray replied, eyebrows raised.
"Thought ya didn't believe in those." Max commented thoughtfully.
"Seeing… is believing I guess." Ray said and crossed his arms loosely.
Max nodded knowingly. "So you can see it now, huh?"
Even though the blond hadn't said it out loud, Ray knew what he was talking about. Max had told him a long time ago about what his thoughts on Kai's feelings concerning Tyson were. The Chinese blader had been completely astounded; he hadn't noticed anything like that. But then he had begun to think about it, and the more he thought, the more he realized that maybe Max was right. Kai was in love with Tyson. And maybe it was possible that Tyson had been attracted to Kai once as well.
This was a problem. Not only did it bring dangerous feelings into light, but also someone was bound to get hurt, that was… if Kai decided to do something…
"What do you think Kai will do?" Ray asked, concern in his voice.
"I don't know. Kai is almost as unpredictable as Tyson sometimes, y'know?" The blond said.
"Yeah." Ray shook his head. What a dilemma Kai must have found himself in. Trying to push away the worry he felt for the situation, Ray changed the subject. "Okay… so now we're doing the shopping." He said.
"How much stuff do we have to get?" Max asked.
Ray took out the folded list and scanned it over. His eyes widened and he groaned. "Aw no! We've got a lot of stuff to buy."
"Paint, floorboards, nails…" Max read the items. "Hey I could've sworn this list was shorter before…" The blond frowned in thought.
"Looks like we're in for a long day in the shopping district of Japan!" Ray announced, then sighed and replaced the list in his pocket.
"Maybe we should figure out where we can find a hardware store first…" Max suggested.
"You mean you don't know where one is?!"
"Hey I've been in America!"
"I've been in China!"
"Don't worry…" Max said cheerfully. "I'm sure we'll get the shopping done easily."
The blond coach and the Chinese blader rounded a corner onto a busy street, and promptly gasped. There were hundreds of small shops and venues all packed together all the way down the street and it looked like it continued that way onto the next street, and the one after that too. Multitudes of people were walking up and down, buying from the vendors.
Ray and Max looked at each other.
"A…very long day of shopping…" Max said.
"Easily." Ray agreed.
****
On another road, away from the bustling shops of the inner city, the two other members of the Bladebreakers were standing by a little park.
"Which shops are the best places to buy these items…?" Kai wondered aloud.
Reaching over, Tyson deftly snatched the piece of paper from Kai's fingers and crumpled it, tossing it into a nearby trashcan. He dusted his hands off on his red jacket.
"We won't be needing that!" The pony-tailed blader smiled devilishly.
Kai's face was priceless. He stared at Tyson, his mouth slightly agape before he hastily looked away and cleared his throat. "Why?" He asked.
"I put all of the stuff that was on our list, onto Max and Ray's, heh heh…" Tyson grinned evilly. "This way, they're gonna buy everything and we won't have to do any shopping!"
"You thought of this by yourself?" Kai asked, floored by Tyson's craftiness, and also confused by it. "I'm impressed. So then, what will… we… be doing today?" He asked.
"You haven't been in this part of Japan for a long time." Tyson stated matter-of-factly. "I figured we could take a walk around the place, y'know, to get you caught up."
Kai ran a hand through his bangs self-consciously then shoved his hands into the pockets of his black blazer jacket. Caught up… He thought agitatedly, avoiding Tyson's eyes. Maybe like a date… A small blush appeared on his cheeks because he couldn't stop the thought.
"You up for it?" Tyson asked.
"I…Yeah." Kai said. "…Let's go."
So they went to all the old places in Bay City, Tyson's hometown. Tyson even showed him where he had gone to elementary school, and then the high school he had attended. Up and down the streets they walked all morning, talking and remembering. Kai could not believe he and Tyson were doing this, and to think that he had been happy about just being able to have the chance to simply go to a store and buy supplies with Tyson… They fell back into the tentative friendship that had developed all those years ago during the World Championship, but somehow it seemed closer than before.
They stopped for lunch at a small Japanese pizza shop, then Tyson insisted on buying some ice cream from a shop keep's stand. Tyson had gotten double chocolate chip. Kai had gotten strawberry.
The hours felt like seconds, and pretty soon the sun was beginning to set as they reached the final place on Tyson's list of 'catching up'- The bridge over the river. And for some reason, Kai felt as if they had come full circle…
****
They, whoever 'they' may be, have said that years pass by like water under the bridge. It's strange to think that we're standing on that bridge. This place that never seemed to change, no matter how much took place around it.
You glanced at me and spoke, "Hey Kai, remember way back when we first met? It was here!"
Yes, it was.
Tyson…How could I forget?
It's another one of those memories that I know by heart, because even then, I think I knew there was something about you that would someday end up being important.
I remember how…
You were standing there and your shadow stretched out behind you so far that it touched the edge of the concrete supports of the bridge. It was your eyes that had managed to touch me. Somehow you held my gaze, unlike all those underlings and cronies in my gang, you looked straight into my face. You weren't afraid of what you saw. I noticed that the sunset had turned your eyes to fire and your spirit seemed to spread out and then it rose around your form in pillars of colour. You looked like… like a human Dranzer descending down from that burning sky, that running leap, and I couldn't wait to beyblade against you.
The sky was red, but some of it was still blue and… we were together in that sky. The sun had taken a little longer to disappear that day…
Just like now.
Only, now, things are so different…
****
The two former Bladebreakers stepped off of the bridge and onto the heavily trampled dirt path on the slope of grass above the river. Tyson chatted casually with his former team captain.
"You've got a business to go back to, right?" Tyson questioned.
Kai nodded slightly. "And you?"
"I dunno…" Tyson kicked a stone in his path. "I thought I'd try and get into college. Naomi and me are applying. You know, get a degree- in small business maybe."
"Planning on running the dojo?"
"Yeeah, it seems like the best thing to do. Too bad they don't offer Beyblading as a subject!" Tyson punched the air. "I'd be like a PHD in that by now!"
Kai couldn't help but smirk. "For you to get a PHD in that, I'd have to be the one teaching the class- no one else would pass you for sure."
"Wha!! Hahah!" Tyson laughed, bumping his side against Kai's and briefly putting an arm around the taller man's shoulders. Kai's heart fluttered madly, and he was slightly shocked at himself. That joke. The joke had rolled off naturally- he hadn't even had to think about it. When he was with Tyson, everything was so…
How had he lived his days without this man? How had he made it through all those years without being near to Tyson, hearing his voice and seeing that smile? His life before was just a shadow compared to what only a few days with Tyson had made it. And at that moment, to Kai, the wedding was the farthest thing from his mind- nothing else mattered. It could start raining or snowing, or anything and he wouldn't be upset at all. As long as he was here with Tyson, and it was just the two of them, just two people walking along the river as the sun began to set.
Their arms brushed against each other as they walked, sometimes drifting slightly apart but then they were side by side right again, close enough that once Tyson's hand even touched Kai's…
Impulsively, Kai spoke, keeping his eyes trained on the dirt path. "You've changed a lot." He said, and looked up.
"Really?" Tyson's eyes bugged out and he looked at Kai comically.
Kai looked away and snorted in amusement. "Well… not much."
"You," Tyson grinned and poked Kai in the shoulder before putting his hand in his jacket pocket. "You haven't changed at all." He finished.
Kai gave him a look. "Did you forget that you told me I'd changed? It wasn't too long ago." He pointed out.
"Oh yeah…Okay, so maybe you've turned over a new leaf." Tyson relented. "But!! Think of it this way, you're just a different side of the same person."
"So I'm still bitter and cold?" Kai asked, and folded his arms, slightly put off, but Tyson could see the slight smile on the taller man's face.
"Kai Hiwatari can make fun of himself!? Has the world ended!!?"
Kai frowned in spite of his resolve not to, and Tyson laughed. The two slowly melted back into comfortable silence, until it was Tyson's turn to speak up. "Back then, I knew you didn't mean to be that way."
"Back then." Kai nodded replying, knowing what Tyson was referring to.
The World Championships… And before that. Everyday in those first few years so alone, so far from the love he had known wasn't supposed to happen, and would never work out… he had regretted his attitude and the choices he had made. But there was nothing that he could do about it- the past could not be changed, and Kai wondered sometimes if the future was any different. And yet, here was Tyson, extraordinary Tyson, no one quite like him, saying that he understood… and that he didn't hold his past actions against him…
The shorter man beside Kai suddenly chuckled, the sound sending a pleasant shiver through the owner of Biovolt's form. Tyson was looking around them, and down the steps leading to the level of the river with a sweet smile on his face.
"Yeah…" The former world champion said softly, seeming to talk more to himself than to Kai. "Back then… when we first met here…" Tyson's voice suddenly regained it's vibrancy and his blue eyes gazed up into Kai's auburn ones. "Y'know, when I first saw you… you looked like some kind of tall, dark, handsome stranger coming to beat me up…!" He joked, and grinned, a dimple appearing in his cheek.
Kai stared at the shorter man in complete disbelief.
"Hey don't look at me like that!" Tyson complained, then another one of those smiles appeared. "You were all shadowy and shady-looking. You…" The longhaired man closed his eyes briefly, remembering, and then opened them once again. "You were in front of the sun, so that's why, I guess."
"If you say so." Kai replied, still surprised.
"Yeah…actually, it was kinda like you are now." Tyson pointed out. And he was right. They were walking down that same dirt path beside the river, and the sun was casting its last dying rays, brilliant reds and oranges, behind the owner of Biovolt, throwing some of his features into darkness.
At those words, Kai's footfalls slowly came to a halt and Tyson stopped walking as well. Tyson watched curiously as Kai took a few steps around him until he was behind the former world champion, and the fading light from the sun now illuminated his form.
Kai lifted his head and looked into Tyson's eyes. "And… what do I look like now?" He asked, his voice quiet.
Tyson was studying him, and it was as if he could see right through into Kai's very being- As if he could see all the loves and hates and the emotions bottled up inside. He knows. The thought shot through Kai like a fire in his veins, creating waves of an indescribable feeling. He knows what I feel for him… But then, how could Tyson not? It was all there if Tyson wanted to find it; he could see the truth written on his face. He has always known…Kai thought longingly. Tyson… what's the use in hiding this… if you can already see? I… A hundred unspoken ideas flooded through his mind. Run away with me Tyson… Kai thought. We could go somewhere no one would find us… It could be just us…like this, forever; you're the only person I need. So lost in his thoughts, Kai almost missed when Tyson spoke.
"You look like a good man…" Tyson finally answered, those eyes carefully looking into Kai's own and then he turned away and gazed at the water, sounding hesitant. "You look like…" He paused thoughtfully. "A… best man actually…"
"I…What?" The owner of Biovolt's eyes widened and he froze.
"Well, y'see…Kai," Tyson started again, "I was kinda wondering…well, I hadn't really thought about it too much before, but for the wedding, I- that is… I'll need a best man."
Kai's mind whirled, not able to process one thought before another. The wedding…his marriage. And he wants me to be…Tyson no, don't ask me to…Kai's shoulders tensed in anxiety.
At Kai's silence Tyson's face fell slightly, but then a weak grin slide into place. "Do you not want to do it?" He asked.
"I…" Kai's shoulders relaxed, and he felt some of the unwanted tension of the question melt away. I can't say no…
"Tyson…If you can't find anybody else-"
"I don't want it to be anybody else." Tyson cut in with a small smile.
I can't say no… Kai thought. Looking into that face, that same face that had haunted him for the better part of his life, Kai's defences crumbled. If this is the only way I can be beside you at that alter then… I'll do it. He thought. If there's anything left I have to give you… then I give you this Tyson. I'm yours in any way you want…Aloud, Kai nodded and replied softly, "Then I'll do it."
Tyson's face lit up in a dazzling smile, and the sun setting on his features gave him such a glow, that Kai could only think that he had done the right thing.
"You mean you will!?" The pony-tailed man exclaimed happily. "Kai, thank you, this means a lot to me! Just heh," Tyson brushed his bangs out of his eyes. "Don't say anything too bad about me in your speech!"
"Tyson…" Kai looked at the other man, this time not trying to hide his love. "That's impossible."
****
At a street corner, the sun had gone down completely, and it was dark as she dialled the number that she had come to know by heart.
Inside the quiet home, the phone rang.
It went unnoticed by Ray and Max who had gone to the dojo to pack things away, and Grandpa, who was snoring in front of the television as it played the local news station.
Naomi set the payphone back on its receiver and collected the quarter that she had paid with. Looking at her watch once more, she sat down on the bus stop bench.
Watching as the cars passed by, Naomi's quiet self-reassuring words were swept away in the nighttime traffic.
"Something…very important must have come up…"
****
To be continued…review please!