This will be the second-last chapter of this fic unless you want another chapter after that. A lot of people think Daichi's a mongrel now... actually, I think he's awesome, and he wasn't supposed to be the 'bad guy' in this fic at the beginning, but things change... snaps to you if you know who it was supposed to be. And don't kill me for the beginning of this chapter...

This chapter contains a bit of Rei/Mao, so if you don't like, skip over it. It's not essential to the storyline. Just don't go 'Eww! Rei/Mao!' and say I didn't warn you in your reviews.

Anyway, thanks for all your reviews, threats and suggestions! You guys rock.

Warning: Manga storyline-based.

-X-

"Hiwatari, can you leave the hotel room without getting into some sort of fight?"

Mahogany eyes twitched towards the speaker. Tala scowled at the ex-Bladebreaker, and Kai blinked placidly.

"Fight, Ivanov?"

Tala grinned sarcastically, and placed his hands on his hips. "Hiwatariyour bottom lip is bleeding."

Kai's eyes widened very slightly, and he ran his fingers along his bottom lip, feeling the sweat on his fingertips sting the cut from where he had violently bitten down on his bottom lip just fifteen minutes before, and being reminded of the event made his nerves return at full speed. He'd carelessly shoved the note under the door and had been wandering throughout the hotel until he'd found his way back to the Demolition Boys hotel room, and hadn't given it a second thought, until this moment... the cleaners could take the letter as a piece of rubbish and throw it out… and then the cycle would start all over again.

Either that, or he'd have to tell Tyson to his face. Neither option was desirable.

Kai broke out of his thoughts and once again faced Tala, but he froze rigid on the spot when he saw what Tala was doing. The redhead was slowly, cautiously reaching out, towards Kai's face, his thumb extended. He was moving as if Kai was a dangerous animal.

The only part of Kai's body that moved was his eyes; he wanted to pull away but he was frozen in place, unable to move, as though his whole body had just been encased in ice. Kai felt trapped; his breathing faltered as Tala drew his thumb across his bleeding lip, smearing the droplets of blood across his gloved finger. The Russian teen surveyed the stain the blood had caused on the fabric for just a moment, before letting his arm drop to his side and taking two cautious, slow steps back. Kai was breathing so fast that he was almost hyperventilating; he looked strained, and felt as though he'd just swallowed a large block of ice and it was now making its way uncomfortably down to his stomach.

Kai took one rigid step back towards the door, then rapidly spun around, gripped the door handle and ran out of the room.

Tala sighed, shutting his eyes and letting himself relax. He flopped down on one of the four couches in the lounge room that he and the other Demolition Boys shared, and surveyed the bloodstain on his thumb amusedly. The stain had spread a bit, and now covered almost the entire tip of his thumb. Despite himself, Tala grinned down on the stain, and then found that he was looking towards the door. He tugged the material off his hand, and realized that the fluid must have seeped through the material and onto his skin. There was tiny droplet of blood on the tip of his thumb, and it rolled down his finger, and across his palm, where it finally came to rest in the middle of the boy's hand.

'What goes on inside your head, Hiwatari Kai?' Tala paused, his fist clenching slightly, making the drop of Kai's blood disappear into nothingness. Remembering when Kai had gone out earlier that day, and being almost sure about whom he was actually going to see, Tala shut his eyes, letting a barely distinguishable sigh escape his mouth… 'But then again, I don't think I was ever going to be the one to understand you…'

Kai continued to run down the hallways of the hotel, having no idea where he was actually going. He saw a flash of pink beside him but he pushed past whoever it was, knocking them to the ground. Someone called his name, but he didn't stop; he had suddenly felt claustrophobic in the hotel; he needed to get out into the fresh air and clear his thoughts. The taste of his own blood was still fresh on his tongue; Tala's touch had done nothing to halt the blood from flowing.

Rei stood, stunned in the middle of the hallway. He'd known Kai for three years, yet he doubted he'd ever seen the older boy panic quite like that. He'd seen him get stressed during battles, get angry at Tyson and the rest of the team for eating too much, not following his instructions, not concentrating during training or actual battles, and for many other things… but he'd never seen him run like that, with such panic on his face…

A groan broke Rei from his contemplation; he looked towards the floor and realized that Kai must have knocked Mao off her feet; she was rubbing her temple in a bemused manner, staring after Kai with an expression of sheer shock on her face, and sitting flat on her backside.

"Are you alright, Mao?" Rei asked, grasping the pink-haired girl's hand and pulling her to her feet.

"I'm fine Rei, but..." she looked towards the corner Kai had disappeared around. "I don't think Kai was."

"I have to agree," Rei said, tightening his grip on Mao's hand. "It's not like him to panic like that..."

Mao nodded in agreement. "I hope he's alright…"

Rei grinned. "I do too. I don't Tyson could live without Kai, if anything happened to him." He draped his arm around the girl's waist lightly. "I don't what I'd do without you."

Mao blushed, and the two continued to walk down the hallway towards their hotel room, unaware that a pair of chocolate brown eyes was watching them.

Tyson sighed and shut the door of his hotel room once again, having just opened it seconds before to see Rei telling Mao how much he cared about her. Nearly everything he saw reminded him of his predicament in some way; he ran his fingers through the front of his hair, looking world-weary.

'Kai and I could be like that, if I wasn't such a coward…'

-X-

Kai was on the roof of the hotel, feeling the cool breezes rush across his skin. He had found his way out here after walking blindly around the hotel for about ten minutes. He was actually doing that a lot lately; the staff must have thought he was insane. This place had a calming effect on him at this time of day; the sunlight was submitting its place to the night; the sun was casting its final rays of light across the horizon, the moon was already drifting across the sky lazily, and stars were scattered across the dark blue heavens.

He always enjoyed coming up here at this time, usually to get away from Tala's constant prying. Tala's apparent affection for him was beginning to concern him, and apparently, he was no better at making someone face rejection than he was at admitting what he felt. When it came to the redhead, Kai felt blank; he felt nothing for him at all. Then again, the Russian did at least show some of concern for him, whilst Tyson seemed to be avoiding him…

Being out here didn't help; the dark blue sky, the calming and cool breeze brushing across his face, and the dark red of the horizon fading into the dark. Somehow, all of this reminded him of Tyson in a way.

Kai heard the creak of the door that lead back down to the hotel behind him, and he chose to ignore it. No one was really worth the effort anymore; he felt that ever movement he made exhausted his energy. The wind picked up slightly and his brow furrowed. It sent his scarf flailing out behind him wildly, and he grasped at it irritably, trying unsuccessfully to get it to lie flat against his back. After a few more tetchy swipes at the loose material, Kai gave up, letting the scarf fly wildly around his body.

It was at that point that the fabric stopped fluttering around his head, and he felt a sharp yank backwards from whoever was holding cloth. Kai's head snapped around and a scowl replaced the calm expression that had previously been on his face, but his mind went utterly and blissfully blank when he realized who it was.

Tyson grinned, dropping Kai's scarf and blinking tiredly. "Good evening, Hiwatari. Long time, no see."

-X-

"DAICHI!" Kenny shouted from the small office-like room they had decided would be their 'strategic research centre' as Kenny called it, or 'where Kenny lives', as Daichi liked to call it.

"What do you want, Kenny?" Daichi asked without much concern, not looking up from the extra large hot chocolate fudge and marshmallow sundae he had convinced Room Service to bring him an hour after dinner was actually finished.

"I need Tyson to test out Dragoon before Monday's matches! Can you do and find him for me?"

Daichi looked shattered, and then his eyes fell to the half-finished ice cream sundae in his lap. "Can't I just finish my dessert first?"

At this point in time, Kenny emerged from the small room where he worked and clenched his fist. "Is the match on Monday or your stomach more important?"

"… Do I have to answer that?" Daichi whined, collecting the chocolate fudge that had stuck to the side of the glass bowl with his spoon, and then shoved the whole lot into his mouth.

Kenny stormed over to the short, redhead boy and snatched the ice cream bowl from him. The bespectacled boy then tipped the entire remaining contents down the kitchen sink, washing the bowl with a small portion of water from the tap.

" What are you doing?!" Daichi thundered, running over to the small kitchenette with tears streaming down his face. "Look what you've done to my sundae!"

"Serves you right for putting your stomach ahead of your team," Kenny said huffily, placing the now empty and clean bowl on the drainer beside the sink. The shorter boy then proceeded to shove Daichi towards the hotel room door. "Don't come back until you've found Tyson!"

The door was slammed behind Daichi, and the beyblader sighed heavily, as though the entire weight of the world had just been placed on his shoulders. "Okay, might as well start from the top and go down," he murmured, itching aggressively behind his ear. Daichi then began to head toward the exit that led to the roof of the hotel, dragging his feet as he went.

-X-

"So Kai… how have you and the Demolition Boys been getting on?"

Kai and Tyson were leaning against the railing that guarded the perimeter of the building's roof, gazing out upon the blazing, flickering neon lights of the city they were staying in. Until this point, they had been caught in a peaceful, comfortable silence whilst occasionally stealing glances at one another, and Kai wondered why Tyson had suddenly broken the peaceful atmosphere, but he figured that he should answer the boy's question. He considered telling Tyson about Tala's bizarre displays of affection towards him, but what can out of his mouth was, "We've been getting on alright."

Tyson turned towards Kai and grinned at him, causing a light heat to rise to the slate-haired teen's cheeks. "Daichi's been driving Kenny up the wall, but other than that, we're going okay."

Kai felt the corners of his mouth tug upwards at this; Daichi could probably drive the most tolerant person in the world to suicide.

There was silence for about half a minute more after that, and the two boys fell back into a trance caused by the glittering city lights. Tyson sighed; he'd wanted to ask Kai ever since he had left him, and now seemed like the right time for it…

"Kai?"

"Kinomiya?"

Tyson smiled rather shyly, and took in a lungful of air before continuing. "I've been meaning to ask you, and I know it's a little belated, I suppose…" Tyson once again paused, Kai turned to look at his ex-teammate, the look in his eyes prompting Tyson to continue.

"Kai, why did you leave the Bladebreakers for the Demolition Boys?"

Kai's gaze softened very slightly. "Kinomiya…"

"Don't worry Kai, you don't have to soften the blow for me or anything, because I think I had something to do with it…" Tyson laughed half-heartedly, and then continued. "I mean, I'm sorry if I did anything to make you leave, but…" Tyson looked Kai straight in the eye, and Kai could see that Tyson was pouring his heart out to him. "I really do miss being on a team with you. I mean, I miss Max and Rei too," Tyson added hastily, realizing how it must have sounded, and then realizing he'd wanted it to sound that way in the first place. "And I have to admit, when you hit my hand away like that, at the GBC qualifiers, it kinda hurt my feelings…"

"Tyson…" Kai whispered, now listening to the midnight-haired boy intently for any hint that he may have found his letter after all.

"Kai, I really did miss you after you left!" Tyson was almost shouting now, and sounded like he was bordering on being hysterical.

"Tyson, calm down! You speak of nothing!" Kai placed a hand upon Tyson's shoulder, and the younger boy reached up to slap it away. His hand, however, came in contact with Kai's lip, and Kai immediately felt a warm, thick taste spread across his tongue. His hand left Tyson's shoulder, and he ran the tips of his fingers across his lip. Sure enough, Tyson had reopened the cut on his lip, and it was now bleeding again, but certainly not as much as before. The salt in the sweat on his fingertips stung the sensitive flesh, and he hissed softly, trying his best to lick and wipe the blood from his lip.

The soft whisper that had escaped Kai's lips had been enough to make Tyson turn around and look at the two-toned teen with concern. He immediately noticed the red smear of blood on Kai's fingers, and his stomach jumped with guilt.

"Kai, did I hurt you?"

Kai shook his head, whilst still trying to stem the bleeding. "It was an old cut."

Tyson's brow furrowed in concern, and he shook his head. "I'm sorry, Kai. Let me have a look at it for you."

"Kinomiya, you aren't my mother," Kai said, wiping at the small incise hastily, yet nothing would stop it from bleeding that little bit.

At this time, Tyson grabbed Kai's shoulders and repositioned him so that they were able to stare directly into each other's eyes. And without warning, the world seemed to freeze in its spot. The wind ceased to blow, there seemed to be no sound coming from anywhere, and the lights of the city seemed to pale in comparison when compared to the glowing looks on their faces.

Tyson slowly reached up, and drew his index finger across Kai's bottom lip, and this time, the dual-haired boy did not flinch, or feel uncomfortable at all. Tala's touch had made him feel as though he had been frozen to his very core, but Tyson's touch made his soul ignite with heat he'd never experienced before; this felt like the right thing to be doing with Tyson, the one he loved. Kai's breathing slowed and keeping his eyes open suddenly became a strenuous task as Tyson's finger traced across his cheek, smearing his face paint the slightest bit. Tyson's hand was now roving towards his hairline, and smoothing a strand of hair back from his ex-team captain's face delicately, Tyson feel that a huge burden had been lifted off his shoulders when he was with Kai. The stress of beybattles, competitions and challengers suddenly left him, and he felt free.

Kai's mouth was rapidly going dry, so he licked his lips, and realized that the cut had stopped bleeding. This became a minor thing, however, when he felt Tyson's callused fingers slide up his neck and to the darker part of his hair. Kai gulped as he felt Tyson's grip on the back of his head tighten, and their sudden closeness made him want to fidget in anticipation.

"Kinomiya..." Kai breathed, looking down upon the younger boy with hunger on his face.

"Yes, Kai?" Their gazes met, Tyson's eyes like melting chocolate delving into Kai's rich crimson stare.

Kai took a chance and pressed his face towards Tyson's, and the world champ's eyes drooped lazily shut and he parted his lips slightly, begging for Kai to kiss him. Kai gave in to his desire and let his eyes close too, but not pausing for a moment to consider anything else. He was with Tyson, he could feel his warm breath brush across his lips and cheek, and all else was irrelevant. They were so close…

"Tyson!"

Kai's eyes shot open that the speed of a bullet train and he swiftly broke his embrace with Tyson, who was seemingly stunned; either by his name being called, or by Kai's sudden withdrawal. Daichi was leaning against the exit door, a rather supreme expression on his face.

"Gee, if you didn't want company, you should've told me before you went barging out of the hotel room."

Tyson felt colour rise to his cheeks and he faltered, looking back at Kai for an instant, but not really knowing what to say.

"Kenny's looking for you," Daichi commented matter-of-factly, scratching under his nose animatedly. "I think he wants to discuss strategies."

Tyson nodded, and strode slowly towards the exit door. Daichi moved to the side of it like an armed escort, and ushered Tyson back into the hotel. The world champ glanced back at Kai, and flicked his fingers into the air in silent goodbye, but he paused at the top of the stairs. "Daichi, aren't you coming?"

"In a second, Tyson. I have a bone to pick with Hiwatari here," the redhead boy stated conversationally, and Tyson nodded and began the journey back down to the hotel and the real world, and it seemed so strenuous to know that he'd just lost a chance to be with Kai… but perhaps, if he was lucky, and perhaps even a little cautious, there would be a next time…

-X-

Kai regarded Daichi, who had not moved since Tyson had left.

"Sumeragi, tell me what you want, or leave me be."

Daichi grinned, and stuck his hands in his pockets. "Hiwatari, I have something that may interest you."

Kai's eyebrows shot into his hairline skeptically, and he rolled his hand around in the air in a 'get on with it' gesture.

Daichi pulled a small, crumpled piece of white paper out of his pocket and waved it around in the air triumphantly. Kai frowned for a minute, confused, until the terrible realization of what the piece of paper actually was. And sure enough, he could just make out his own smudged, uneven scrawl written across the front of the document.

Tyson's Letter.

Daichi grinned at the look of horror plastered across Kai's face, apparently enjoying every minute of it.

"It's amazing what you can just find lying around, Hiwatari."

-X-

Notes: The next chapter shall probably be the last, and it probably won't be up for at least a month or two. I have to stay at my mum's place for the next four weeks, and I'll only get time to write on weekends when I visit my Dad's. So please understand that the next update might be a little later than this one. However, one thing that would help me along is a nice review… thanks for reading!