Mei: Hi! I'm back (yes I changed my name – Dark was nagging me and it was getting annoying)

DISCLAIMER – (see previous chapters)

Warning: Shounen ai (yaoi/slash/boyxboy/homosexuality - you get the picture) Also extra warning -- This chapter contains scenes of extreme sappiness and should not be viewed by people with a low OOC tolerance. You have been warned. ;)

Max: Aw man, you're going to make me cry again, aren't you?

Mei: ::smiles sweetly:: Oh… We'll see…

..::Chapter Five::..

"Well, I hope you're pleased with yourself, Tyson!" said Hilary, standing just outside her door in the hallway.

"How was I supposed to know it would go so badly?" the boy asked defensively, I never intended for Max to get drunk!"

"Well he did! And you should have known that he would! Depressed people often drink to drown their sorrows, Tyson!"

The navy-haired teenager fumed, "Well I didn't know that!"

"Well, I guess you're dumber than you look!" snapped Hilary, "You should stop meddling with them Tyson, you're only making things worse!" With that, she opened the door to her room and slammed it shut.

"No one asked for your opinion," Tyson muttered, but he still felt guilty. He should never have tried to interfere with Max and Ray. As Kai had said, it wasn't his business.

He trudged back to his room. Normally he would always stop at Kai's first, but he didn't feel like facing his boyfriend right now. The incident with the bartender was also fresh in his mind.

However, Tyson was out of luck, because Kai was waiting for him outside his room.

"What? Are you here to tell me how much I messed up? Well, you can save it, because Hilary's already told what an insensitive jerk I am," the younger boy unlocked his door and pushed it open forcefully, making it slam into the wall. Kai followed him silently.

Tyson threw his jacket on the bed angrily and waited, but Kai said nothing. He glared at his Phoenix impatiently, "Well? What do you want?"

"Nothing."

"So why are you here?" snapped the dragon impatiently.

"Because you are," Kai stated simply, walking over to the window.

Stormy eyes narrowed, he didn't have time for Kai's little games, "Stop talking in riddles! Why are you here?"

"The sky sure is pretty tonight," said Kai softly, he turned around, "I never knew it could be so pretty before you showed me…"

"Have you ever stopped to watch the sunset, Kai?" asked Tyson dreamily, pointing at the array of brilliant colors.

"No," came the cold reply.

"Never?"

"It's pointless."

If the younger boy was bothered by this statement, he didn't show it, "You should Kai, come here."

"Will it shut you up?" asked Kai, annoyed.

"Just come look at it," said Tyson cheerfully, dragging Kai over to the window.

Kai looked out the window, and said nothing. He had to admit, the view was quite breathtaking. The sunlight spashed across the sky leaving it in streaks of pink, red, orange and some defiant traces of the original blue.

"It's beautiful," whispered Tyson wistfully, "… Just like you…"

The dragon's expression softened, remembering that. He had been so embarrassed when he'd realized that he said the last part out loud, but thinking back, it was actually a good thing that he had. Because after that, he'd been so flustered that Kai had managed to worm those three little words out of him, and that had been the start of their relationship.

It didn't stop him from being annoyed though, "What does that have to do with why you're here?" he asked.

"Do you feel bad about what happened tonight?"

Tyson's temper flared up again, "What kind of question is that? Of course I feel bad! The whole thing was my fault! I should never have bothered. I just made things worse! Hilary told me not to, you told me not to, and I didn't listen! I just had to go and screw things up," he stopped his rant and sat on the bed, "I messed it all up, some friend I am," he muttered.

Kai turned back to the window, "Do you really think so? What you did tonight – I would never have done."

"You don't have to rub it in!"

Kai sighed and cast a glance at the midnight dragon, "You miss my point. I would never have tried to help them, if it wasn't for you. Do you see what I'm getting at?"

Tyson snorted, "If you're trying to make me feel worse, it's working."

Kai ignored him, "I would never have cared if it wasn't for you. You've always cared a great deal about people who are close to you – so much that you go out of your way to help them, no matter what the cost to yourself… That's why I love you."

Tyson looked up at his lover, touched. It was rare for Kai to say things like this and when he did it made Tyson feel truly special, "Are you saying that what happened tonight… might have been a good thing?" he asked tentatively.

"It may not have been a good thing – in the sense that Max probably won't be in any shape to blade tomorrow – but I think Ray realized something tonight. He realized just how much he hurt Max. It's likely he'll want to fix it."

Tyson's heart flipped hopefully, "You mean, they'll get back together?"

"Uh… I didn't say that," said Kai hesitantly, not wanting to get the younger blader's hopes up.

"Oh," said Tyson dejectedly, "That's okay!" he added cheerfully, "I have another plan to get them back together again!"

Kai sighed inwardly – this kid never gave up… I think that's why I love him, he mused.

"You're going to help me, ne?" it was more of a statement than a question.

Kai smirked, "You still owe me for last time, remember?"

Tyson's face fell, "What? After all that, I still owe you? That's not fair!"

"All's fair in love and war, my dragon. Besides, now you also have to atone for that scene you made with the bartender. It was embarrassing," Kai regretted the last words almost as soon as he said them.

Stormy eyes narrowed at the mention of the bartender. The very thought of anyone trying to steal his Kai made Tyson livid, "I didn't make a scene!" he shouted, "Besides, how come you didn't get rid of him yourself? Do you like having other men come on to you? Is that it? I bet it is, you seemed really upset when I told him to bug off," he crossed his arms, feeling slightly guilty at the hurt look on his boyfriend's face.

However, it was soon replaced by a pointed glare, "I was handling it my own way! I don't need you to fight my battles, Tyson."

The younger boy sighed, he was too tired for this argument. It was almost four in the morning. Besides, there was nothing Kai could do to stop him from being jealous and over-protective. He was always going to be. Tyson smirked inwardly and sent Kai a mischievious smile.

"You know, love, you really are the woman in this relationship."

Kai was caught completely off guard, "What?"

Tyson smiled as his Phoenix's confused, and slightly offended expression, "You're so feminine! You're like a mother hen, 'don't make a mess', 'don't be late', 'be more mature', 'don't make a scene'," he smiled, imitating Kai's various warnings.

Kai rolled his eyes, "Good night, Tyson."

"Hey!" cried the younger boy, "Where are you going?"

"Where do you think I'm going? To get some sleep."

"But-"

"Good night." Woman of this relationship, thought Kai with a bemused smirk, I'll show him… He still owes me that punishment.

He went into his room and pulled out the uniform box. He took out the order form and made a few… corrections. Then he scribbled the return address and sent it down to the post office. Tyson was in for a surprise.

::-::-::-::-::-::

The world champion woke up bright and early the next morning. It was the first day of the Spanish tournament, and he was stoked! He raced downstairs to meet his team for breakfast… Only to discover that they were less than excited. Scrap excited, they weren't even happy.

Hilary was still angry with him, although Tyson wasn't surprised. The girl could really hold a grudge. It got annoying, but in a way she wasn't much different than Kai. He could either be patient and wait for them to get over it, or he could apologize his ass off and they would forgive him.

Kenny was sitting as far away as possible from Ray and Max mumbling something under his breath as he typed away on Dizzy. Tyson briefly wondered how his small mousy-haired friend had taken last night's scene. He could recall the smaller boy fainting, but he wasn't sure if it had been from shock or fright.

His eyes fell on his blonde friend and he felt a pang of guilt again. The younger boy didn't look like he had gotten any sleep the previous night. His eyes were baggy, his hair was messed up and his t-shirt was on backwards. His head was in his hands, occasionally dropping suddenly as he nearly fell asleep. Ray stood a little ways off, watching Max anxiously, an expression of guilt and pain that nearly mirrored Tyson's own.

Kai wasn't there.

Tyson knew he was coming, but he wished his boyfriend would hurry up… He had no one wlse to talk to. Not that Kai would talk to him in front of the others, at least not civilly, but anything better than the uncomfortable silence he was having to endure.

His prayers were answered (sort of) because Kai did come and break the silence, "No uniforms for us," he told them, smirking.

Hilary was disappointed. She'd been looking foreward to seeing the boys in these "uniforms" Tyson and Kai had told them about, "How come?"

"Oh… They had to make a few corrections… So I sent it back."

Ray rolled his eyes, "You made up those corrections, didn't you?"

"So?" asked Kai. He noticed their youngest teammate, resting his head on the table and looking half-dead, "Go to bed, Max."

The blonde's head shot up, "What?"

"I said go to bed, and get some sleep. You're in no condition to blade today."

Ray looked out the window guiltily, and Tyson's eyes focused on the floor while Hilary glared at both of them. Kenny became increasingly interested in his typing, muttering slightly louder, although they were still unable to hear him.

"But… Who's going to take my place?"

Kai sighed, "Me. Who else? Now, go upstairs."

Max blinked and stood up slowly, wobbling slightly he made his way out of the restaurant and towards the elevator. After that the silence returned, longer and far more tense than it had been before, each boy avoiding the other's eye and Hilary glaring at them all (except for Kenny).

They were momentarily saved once again when the bus arrived prompting them to have a short conversation with the driver about where they were going and how they planned on winning the tournament. Then it was back to the eerie silence. Tyson glanced out the window wistfully. This was going to be a long day.

::-::-::-::-::-::

"Welcome to the Spanish Beyblading Tournament!" shouted DJ Jazzman standing in the center of the stadium, beside the dish, "This is a very special tournament because it is the first one hosted by Miss Abigail Dochstader! Our new BBA chairwoman! And rumour has it, Mr. Stanley Dickenson's ex-wife…"

Tyson's head snapped up, "Ex-wife?" he asked in disbelief.

"Don't waste your time worrying about it," said Kai, "It's probably just a rumour – and none of our business."

Tyson sighed and stood up. He was first up t battle. Normally that would have been Max, but since he was out they'd changed their line-up slightly.

"First up is out current world champ, Tyson Kinomiya of the Bladebreakers!" called Jazzman. Cheers erupted from the crowd and Tyson did his best to smile back and look cheerful, waving as he stepped up to the dish.

"Now, the Bladebreakers haven't been in many tournaments recently, have they AJ?" asked Brad Best.

"No, Brad, they haven't. It's truly a treat to have them here in Spain! Say? Where's Max?"

"Hmm… I don't know AJ. Wonder what happened to him?"

Tyson tensed slightly at the mention of his best friend's name. He hoped they would go and ask them where Max was, it would be too difficult to explain.

"Tyson will be fighting against Cleo from the Egyptian team!" cried Jazzman, pointing towards the other side of the dish. A short dark haired girl stood across the dish, her eyes narrowed in determination. She was dressed mostly in white and had dozens of large dangling gold bracelets, necklaces and rings.

"Yeah, the Egypt team hails from Cairo, near the Nile, and they're relatively new to the scene," said AJ Topper, showing Cleo's stats.

"How good is she chief?" asked Hilary curiously.

"Well, she doesn't look that powerful," said Kenny uncertainly.

"I wouldn't jump to conclusions," warned Dizzy, "Looks can be deceiving. Check this out, Chief," the stats appeared on the screen.

"Ahh!" cried the small boy, paranoid as usual, "I have to warn Tyson!" (AN: Sorry, I'm not very good at beybattle scenes, so it'll be a bit rushed.)

"3… 2… 1…" DJ Jazzman counted down, "Let it rip!"

"Oh no…" moaned Kenny, realizing he didn't have time to warn his reckless friend.

Cleo smiled cockily as Tyson attacked, "Think you can beat me, huh?"

"Of course," Tyson replied smirking, "I am the world champion!"

"Well, consider your crown stolen! Isis! Attack!"

"I can't look!" cried Kenny, burying his head in his hands.

There was a huge flash of light. Most of the crowd couldn't tell what it was, but Tyson could see it was her bit-beast… The Egyptian goddess Isis… Whoa… It must be powerful…

"Dragoon!"

There was a shockwave as the two blades collided, one flying out of the dish from the impact.

…Or not.

"Tyson is the winner!" proclaimed DJ Jazzman, initiating elated cheers from the Bladebreakers' fans.

"Is it over?" squeaked Kenny.

"Oh calm down," said Hilary.

"Yeah, you'll give yourself a migrane!" quipped Dizzy.

"Next up is Ray Kon from the Bladebreakers vs. Nefertiti from the Egyptian Team!"

Ray stepped up to the dish looking determined.

"Oh no! I don't have any stats on her!" wailed Kenny.

"Don't worry," said Hilary reassuringly, "I'm sure Ray will do just fine."

She was proven wrong however. Ray started out doing fine, but when his opponent called out her bit-beast "Ra" things started to go downhill for the Chinese blader.

"Drigger! Attack!"

Nefertiti laughed at his vain attempts as she continued to dodge his blade, "Ra! Sandstorm!"

Uh oh… thought Ray, trying desperately to find a way to escape the sea of sand that her blade was spewing out.

"Looks like Ray's in trouble," said AJ Topper.

"Drigger!" cried Ray as his blade was thrown from the dish.

"And Nefertiti wins the second round!"

Kenny frowned, "That's not right! According to my stats, Ray should have slaughtered her!"

Kai stood up, glaring at Ray, "Dare I ask, what that was?"

"Oh, get off my back Kai," snapped Ray, "Everyone can have an off day."

Tyson nodded remembering Max and the night before, "He's right, give him a break Kai," he said, knowing he might be the only one able to reason with the older boy.

Kai was not in the mood, "That wasn't a difficult battle Ray, you could easily have won if you were paying attention!"

"Ooh, looks like team captain Kai isn't too pleased with Ray's loss," commented Brad. Although he couldn't hear what Kai was saying from up in the stands, the looks on both teenager's faces made it pretty obvious they were arguing.

"Well, if you're so high an mighty you'll win and we'll have nothing to worry about!"

Tyson grabbed Kai's arm trying to stop him from retaliating, but Kai shook him off, "If you didn't have your head in the coulds wondering how your ex-boyfriend was doing – which is entirely your fault, by the way – then you would've been paying attention!"

"Kai!" gasped Hilary, "That wasn't very nice!"

Apparently she hadn't known the Russian blader long enough to know that he was rarely "nice", but it was the first time in almost two years that Kai had said something that mean to any of them and Tyson was in shock.

Kenny however had had enough, and finally snapped. He'd spent all night trying to convince himself that the scene between Max and Ray had not happened. He'd spent all morning muttering the denial to himself over and over, but he just couldn't ignore it anymore, not when it was continuously dangled in front of his nose.

"How can you guys even be gay?" he cried out.

The rest of his team and Hilary turned to look at him in shock.

"It's sick! It's wrong! Boys aren't meant to be with other boys! They're meant to be with other girls! And vice versa!"

Tyson stared at Kenny looking crushed, as if he were a four-year-old who had just been told that his mother didn't want him anymore, "But Kenny, you can't really think that…"

"What's it to you? Are you gay too? Do you guys have a little threesome going?"

Tyson flinched, looking hurt.

"Or maybe Kai's in it too, and you have a foursome! You guys are sick! STAY AWAY FROM ME!!"

"Kenny!" cried Hilary, but the small boy turned and left at a dead run.

"Well… I dunno what happened down there, but one of the Bladebreakers has left the building," said Brad Best.

"Did I hear him saying something about Tyson being gay?" asked AJ Topper.

"Eh… Well you must have been hearing things, because I didn't hear it."

"Oh… Well, I'm gay."

"…Oh… I didn't know that… about you…"

"And I… I really like you… Bradley…"

"… Ahem, on with the show! Next up is Kai Hiwatari of the Bladebreakers (rumour has it he's the grandson of the notorious Voltaire who tried to take over the world at the world championships two years ago!)"

"You sure know a lot of them rumours, don't ya Brad?"

"Well, hehe, one must keep up with the news, right?"

"Yup, although I'd feel a little sorry for Kai's opponent anyway, because the captain of the Bladebreakers looks pissed."

"Make that extremely pissed. But I'm sure Anubis can handle it. He's one tough cookie!"

DJ Jazzman held out three fingers and began counting down, "… Let it rip!"

However the match was over in nearly ten seconds as Kai wasted no time calling out Dranzer and slaughtering his opponent, who had absolutely no time to counter-attack.

"I knew Kai was angry… Let's make a mental note never to make him mad!"

"You got it, AJ… I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of his wrath!"

It was another awkward silence for the Bladebreakers on the way home, this time short two members as Kenny hadn't shown up (apparently he'd taken a taxi back to the hotel). Added to that, Ray and Kai were not refusing to speak to each other, not that either of them was much of a chatter, but it still annoyed Tyson to no end. Hilary glanced worriedly back and forth between the two, feeling a sense of loss at the whole situation. When had things gone so wrong?

Mei: Aaahh! I'm evil, aren't I? Ah, don't worry, the mystery of the Spanish champions will be solved next chapter, by none other than Maxy's mother Judy Tate! =) Oh… That's not what you were worried about? =( You were worried about how Max was doing? Eh… Well, that might not be resolved next chapter, hehe… =)

Tyson: I never knew Kenny was a homophobe!

Ray: How come Kai was acting like a girl on PMS this chapter?

Kai: Girl on PMS?!? ::glares darkly while making up list of ways to slaughter Ray::

Mei: ::sighs and explains:: Kai was having a very bad day because a) Tyson was upset, therefore upsetting him.

Tyson: Awwww… That's so sweet!

Mei: b) He was annoyed at having to beybattle (even though he did feel sorry for Max)

Max: =) Everyone loves me!

Mei: c) He really WAS angry with Ray for losing, he just overreacted a bit because he was stressed.

Kai: Who wouldn't be? ::goes back to his list of ways to kill Ray::

Mei: d) He didn't get any sleep the previous night and e) (dun dun dun!) His coffee machine was broken! He didn't get ANY coffee that morning! (the horror!!)

Ray: -.-;; Ask a stupid question…

Reviews:

Thank you to Angel V, Koaxor, Fireie Gurl, Animegirl171, Feelin Glayish, Enchanted Crimson Rose, Darkarc, SetoKaibaWheeler, F.A. Star Hawk, Tyka-Forever and Winged Wolves for reviewing! Me really loves all your reviews! They so nice, make me feel specials, yup!

Star Hawk – No, Ray doesn't think! =P

Ray: Hey!! That's not nice. =(

Mei: =) I know. Yeah, I'm cruel to Maxy… Methinks Maxy fans are gonna kill me soon…

Darkarc – Me loves KaTy! =) Tis the best… I actually don't really like RayMax, but writing it is… I dunno, it's a lot of fun =) Yes, me has very bad grammar… May be why I didn't do to well on stupid English exam -.-;;

Crimson – Me will ignore the "even though YOU are better" comment… YOU are better! Way better! I have read all your fics so I know! Yup!

Tyson: What happened to ignoring that comment?

Mei: Oh… Right. Never minds then. Me will not persist with argument. You know, I was laughing my head off when I wrote the drunk Max scene! I thinks it was funny, me glads it came across as funny. I thought the chapter was getting a little too serious, that's why me tried to make it funny =) And yes, I LOVE tormenting Ray… I don't know why… Maybe it's my way of getting revenge on all those KaiRay fics out there .

Glay – Of course Ty and Kai are okay… O.o Me could never break them up, they is too kawaii to break up! … =) That's why I had Max and Ray break up =P Me is glad you likes it =)

Tyson: Stupid bartender… Oughtta kill him…

Mei: O.O Whoa… getting a little violent there…

Fireie Gurl – I know…I'm starting to hate myself for what I'm doing to Max… -.-U

Max: I'm starting to hate you too!

Mei: You're not supposed to hate anyone! You're the cute adorable loveable sugary Maxy!!

Max: -.-;;

Destiny: Tune in next time for more Ray torture! And max angst! =)

Ray: Hey, it's not MY fault people write all those KaiRay fics! Why punish me for it?

Mei: … ::starts ticking off reasons on her fingers:: It's fun, I think it's your fault, it's fun, it discourages the idea of Kairay in my stories, it's fun, it makes people hate you, it's fun…

Ray: -.-;; Okay okay, I get the point. You hate me.

Mei: Awww! I don't hate you Ray-kun! ::gives Ray BIG big hug:: I just don't like it when you steal Kai from Tyson, that's all. =)

Ray: O.o

Tyson: Hehe… Anyway – reviewers will get the remainder of Max's candy! =)

Max: Not if I can help it! ::tries to finish the rest of his candy before people can review::