Author's Note: Yay for author's notes! Heeheehee, just thought I would say that there's only one chapter after this until the dramatic conclusion! (Yay!) Hehe, I felt like calling this chapter 'Of Drugs, Denseness, and Girlfriends,' but somehow resisted. You'll find out why I wanted to call it after you read. I feel like I've crossed some sort of line with Kai. Or at least some sort of line of political correctness. Probably have. And I've probably insulted a bunch of Mariah haters, Kai fans and Rei fans. But I really want to finish up Kai's arc before the big conclusion, and Mariah is one of my favorite characters and pretty smart, and I figure that she would cross some of the lines that I have presented for her. All in all, I'm a Mariah fan (hey, she's one of the best beybladers around, she even beat Rei, Max and all the other rejects). I think that it's just really too bad that in this story she couldn't take a bigger role as a beyblader. Sigh. Oh man, maybe I should stop blabbing. You probably want to read the story. Oh wait, just one more note: I'm finishing up this story by the end of Winter Holidays. Promise.

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade. The song I used for this beybattle is Underdog by Audio Adrenaline. I thought this song fit better than they beyblade ones. Oh, the last two lines are from a beyblade song, can't remember which.

It's Just For Fun, Right?
by Shadou-sama
Chapter 17 - Is There A Little Something Going On?

Beyblade fans from all over crowded into the stadium for the first round of the final matches between the Bladebreakers and the Demolition Boys. They chattered away, weighing the strengths and weaknesses of each participating beyblader, or just falling into the habit of 'Kai is the best!' and 'No way, Tala could easily kick his ass!'

The referee began his introduction and the audience finally noticed two figures standing at the dish. "Wow! Kai versus Bryan!"

"Kai can so win!"

"Nuh-uh, Bryan's invincible!"

"Shush! They're starting!"

Bryan and Kai stood at the podium, waiting for the referee to start the match. Crimson eyes met lavender, striking fear in the other whether they chose to admit it or not. Kai's friends and teammates waited on baited breath. Bryan's teammates were stolid, well, those that bothered to show that is. Only Spencer and their teacher advisor stood at Bryan's back.

Kai's eyes wavered, focusing on the Demolition Boy's dugout and noticing the lack of support. Mentally, he shook his head. They wouldn't bother to show the kind of 'friendship' that they had shown in school. They didn't care how Bryan did, only if he won, which they must be cock-sure of him doing.

"Each match has a different bowl, sponsored by Chou's Teriyaki! This dish..." the cover on it slid away, revealing a metallic-colored bowl that rose. Nothing remarkable, except for the two lengths of steels crossing each other across the dish, melded to the dish just below the rim. "This is the Catwalk Dish! If you can run like a leopard and balance like a jaguar, you can master this dish!"

"Maybe," Kenny said as he stared at the dish, "just maybe we should have let Rei handle this one."

"Kai can handle it," Tyson said, "no problem."

"We just have to have faith," Max added. "Faith in Kai."

"At the ready," the referee called. "Three! Two! One! Let it rip!"

The launch scores were up. Kai dominated Bryan by 280 RPM. But neither Kai or Bryan knew that, as their concentration was on the two spinning beyblades balancing on the steel cross. Not a second was wasted before Dranzer and Falborg rushed at each other, hitting a blow against the other, bouncing each other back and trying it again.

After only half a minute of this, they managed to bounce each other off the rods and into the main dish. The blue and the purple beyblades raced around the circumference, slashing at each other. Sparks flew in every direction.

"Wow, they're really going at it," Hillary commented, popping up between Kenny and Tyson. They jumped away at the girl's sudden appearance, and fell over.

"How did you get through security?" Tyson asked, rubbing his head.

"Easy," Hillary said. "Kai gave me a pass. How's he doing?"

"Taking a lot of damage. I'll have to repair his beyblade after this battle. It better not be the same in the other two or I'll be doing that till the cows come home," Kenny said. "But luckily, Bryan's fairing the same."

Dranzer smashed into Falborg, driving it into the side of the dish. Chunks of the bowl flew out into the center before Bryan was able to release his beyblade from the phoenix's talons.

The two beyblades were about to go for another round-about-smashing fest when the purple beyblade ran into one of the chunks. It ricocheted off of the steel cross and slammed straight into Kai's stomach.

The two-toned haired beyblader dropped to one knee, his arm clutching his injury and nearly drawing blood as he bit down on his lower lip in frustration for showing such weakness. If he had Black Dranzer... No! Dranzer was more than enough bit-beast for any opponent.

Not missing a beat, Falborg slammed into Dranzer, sending the phoenix out of the dish.

The referee talked into a walkie talkie, while Kai got back to his feet, holding his beyblade in a clenched fist. "And the winner is Bryan of the Demolition Boys! Can Kai come back to win?"

"What! That was totally a foul!" Hillary cried out, as the Bladebreakers jumped to their feet.

"Sorry, kid, but it was ruled it an accident," the referee said, after covering his microphone. "There's no evidence otherwise."

"The same trick he pulled on me," a low voice said behind them. They turned, to find it was Mariah. She clenched her fists. "Next he'll use the air itself to hurt Kai."

Rei remembered the match, when Shadra had shown her true colors, and in hopes of holding the match up he spun around and started heading to the dish. Too late.The beybattle was already in progress.

"Dranzer!" Kai summoned, and the phoenix appeared in her infinite glory. Her sheer radiance lighted up the stadium, and down below, many a maintenance man ran to turn the air conditioners on full blast.

"Falborg!" Bryan called. The crowd held a baited breath. But nothing happened.

Kai grinned. "Is your bit-beast out of batteries?"

Bryan closed his eyes, smirking. Kai's right arm guard sliced open, falling to the ground, tattered, as his hair and scarf swayed. The audience was shocked. But Kai kept his grin. His theory was correct: Falborg was a wind type bit-beast and his special ability was to able to blend in to the air. Bryan used this ability to attack the beyblader, weakening his opponent rather than their beyblade. And the neatest part of all, it was perfectly legal as they couldn't prove that it was Bryan that was causing the damage.

The wind continued to twirl around Kai. It shredded his other arm guard and sliced his arms open. But still, Kai stood as still as stone, his attention on the two beyblades constantly attacking each other in the dish. He could withstand it. He would.

"What's going on?" Hilary asked.

"Aaaahh!" Kenny moaned, typing furiously on his laptop. "Falborg is invisible!"

"So that's how he did it," Mariah said, looking down.

"We have to stop this match!" Rei said.

"No!" They all turned to look at Tyson. He pointed to Kai. "Look at him! He's got a plan."

On the podium, Kai smirked. Blood ran down his forehead, blinding him in his right eye. "Dranzer, Fire Arrow!"

Flames erupted from the blue beyblade along with the phoenix. Carried by Falborg's wind, it covered the entire beydish at once. The wind subsided, the flames disappeared, and all that was left were one spinning beyblade and one burnt beyblade.

Kai collapsed.


"He's coming to," a voice said. He couldn't see it, he didn't know who it belonged to.

"Don't crowd him."

"Shhh!"

Kai opened his eyes. Surprisingly, he was lying on top of a bench in his team's locker room. It had seemed more cushioned than that... oh, they padded it with towels. His teammates, and several of his other friends, crowded around him despite the second voice's order.

"How do you feel?" Hilary asked. She was holding his hand. He let her.

He didn't answer, instead using his free hand to feel his forehead. Bandages covered it. Shouldn't it hurt more? he asked himself. He noticed that Rei was holding a tiny empty bottle and needle. Oh, he was drugged.

"Amnesia's out of the question. He's ignoring us like he always does," Tyson said, smiling.

"When he starts talking to us, then we should worry," Max said, joking along with Tyson. Kai noticed that Max's smile only made it to his lips.

"I guess we should inform them of our forfeit," Kenny said.

Kai sat straight up, tipping a little because of his spinning head. "No," he said.

"You can't beybattle now," Tyson said, as the boys tried to push him back down. Unfortunately, Kai was stronger than them and, because of the drugs, couldn't feel any pain. He overpowered them and made it out the door before Rei and Mariah could catch up.

"It's suicide Kai," Rei said, managing to walk a step behind his team captain. Mariah was two steps behind him.

Kai stopped and spun on his heels, facing Rei. He pulled the golden-eyed boy into a deep kiss. Mariah's own golden eyes widened. The others managed to catch up during the kiss and their jaws dropped.

Kai finally let Rei go. "Now I can die happy," Kai said before continuing on his way.

"What is in this pain reliever?" Emily wondered, eyeing the unopened bottle she had brought in case Kai needed a little 'persuasion'. Nobody had an answer; even the receiver of the kiss was stuck. Except for Mariah.

For her, all the puzzle pieces fell into place. Kai trying to hide his face every time Rei praised him, the locker room incident her boyfriend had told her about, the doodle of the two kissing. It wasn't Shadra, it was Rei.… Kai was gay.

I am so weak and I'm so tired
It's hard for me to
Find enough strength to feed the fires
To fuel my ego

By the time the team and friends came to their senses and raced after their team captain, Kai already stood at the beydish, ready to fall over. Bryan looked smug. The last match had already begun and Falborg was trouncing Dranzer. No wonder, with Kai's mind muddled with morphine.

What was worse was that now Rei and everybody knew how… disgusting he was. Liking another guy. His friends would desert him, or pity him. Kids who wouldn't dare to look at him before would torment him. Forget about competing on the team next year, much less captaining it. And oh yeah, his grandfather would kick him out of his house.

Mariah, her pink pony-tail swaying dramatically, quickly assessed the situation.

And consequently all my pride
Has all but died
Which leaves me
Down on my knees
Back to the place I should've started from

"Rei, tell him," she ordered, with one hand on her hip.

"Tell him what?" Rei asked, absolutely confused.

"That it's okay," she said.

"Tell him what's okay?"

"Argh!" Her boyfriend was so dense! Lee would know what she was talking about!

"Dude, that it's okay that he's gay," Tyson said. Geez, even Tyson got it and he was named the densest student in the history of the school!

Been beat up
Been broken down
No where but up
When you're face-down
On the ground

"What?" Rei asked.

"Don't be such a homophobe, Rei!" Mariah said. "Tell him or I'll tell him something!"

"Eh?"

Mariah grumbled. She strode up to the platform and tugged on Kai's baggy pants. Insensitive from the drugs and his thoughts, not to mention the beybattle, the pink-haired girl nearly dragged him off the stage before he realized she was there.

"Rei likes you," she said.

Kai gained a look she had never ever seen on him: confusion. "Huh?"

So, Rei wasn't the only dense one around. But at least Kai had the pain relievers to blame. "Rei likes you, so if you want to do this kamikaze beybattle then win it for him!"

I'm in last place
If a place at all
But there's hope for this underdog.
That's the way, uh huh we like it
That's the way, uh huh we like it
They call me the underdog!

Kai's slightly glazed eyes told her he understood although he didn't say anything, which he never did anyway so it was all good. She sent him back to the beybattle and was retreating back to her friends when she overheard her boyfriend.

"I'm not a homophobe! I just don't think it matters," Rei was telling his friends. "A person's sexual orientation is their own business, and I don't think he should get treated any differently because of it."

"Glad to hear it," she said, patting him on the back. "'Cause I just told Kai you like him."

I'm in this race to win a prize
The odds against me
The world has plans for my demise

"What!" Instead of looking like a cat, Rei now looked like a fish.

"And that he should win the beybattle for you," she said, smiling brightly.

He looked downcast, his lips set in a firm line. "I have the one girlfriend in the entire world that tells other guys that I like them," Rei mumbled. "Why couldn't I have an overprotective one that yells at me every time I glance at another girl?"

"I am that type," Mariah said, her face still cheerful. "But Kai's not a girl."

But what they don't see is
Is that the winner is not judged by his small size
But by the substance which he picks to
Run the race his mind's already won

"Look at him go!" Hilary whooped.

Dranzer fought back, bullying Falborg now instead of the other way around. The phoenix cornered the wind bird onto the cross. Sparks flew as Bryan's scowl grew bigger. That little brat had already taken one win, and with the promise of two hundred lashes from Boris, he wasn't going to let Kai take the third match.

"Falborg!" Bryan summoned. The tornado-speed wind thrashed at Kai's numb body. Kai's scarf was torn right off his neck. (One of the fan girls caught it in the stands, and shrieked happily.) Huge rips tore into his shirts and pants but luckily for him, his underwear was left alone. Long, clean lacerations were sliced into his bare skin, and crimson blood flowed down, soaking his clothes and the ground.

Been beat up
Been broken down
No where but up

Up in the stands, at the very top, leaned Tala and Shadra, watching the sadistic display. Their faces held no mercy, no shock like the audience's. They seemed completely relaxed, now that they were out of the watchful eye of Boris.

"Dranzer!" The red bit-beast emerged from its bit and tried to grab its invisible foe with its sharpened beak. Kai closed his eyes, letting it all wash over him. He missed his scarf. His neck was cold. Wait... he could see something. He reached out and snatched the air. It struggled, but when Kai opened his eyes again he found himself holding a shimmering light blue scarf, the color of the sky complete with clouds. The wind was gone.

When you're face down
On the ground
I'm in last place
If a place at all

Kai smirked and wrapped the scarf around his neck. "Can you win without your evil tactics and your bit-beast?"

"Yes," Bryan said as the scarf tightened around Kai's neck. It choked him, and his hands flew to his neck trying to pry the cloth off. "You fool. That scarf is my bit-beast."

The cloth shape shifted back into its original form and returning to its place above the purple beyblade, though none but Kai and Bryan could tell.

"Fire Arrow!" Kai ordered. The blue beyblade spun forward recklessly at the other blade.

"Falborg!"

A gush of wind blew up a considerable amount of dust and forced Kai to cover his eyes. The wind died, an attack ring hit the ground, and the team captain blinked twice before looking at the results.

Always up and Always down
To me... this is the only game in town!

Falborg was still spinning, but wobbling considerably. Dranzer was no where to be seen.

"And the winner is Bryan! The Demolition Boys take the first match! Can the Bladebreakers come back to win the second?"

Shadra and Tala leaned to opposite sides as the blue beyblade whizzed between them. It hit the wall behind them, falling to pieces before it even hit the floor. Shadra reached down and grabbed the one undamaged beyblade part, slipping it into her pocket. Below, Kai's teammates were forcing him into an ambulance, with varying success.

"Should we go?" Tala asked.

"Either to the suite or walk in the streets," Shadra said.

"Boris won't miss us," the red-haired boy said.

"Too busy rewarding Serkowsky," the black-haired girl said.

"Two hours before my match."

They walked out into the street unnoticed to wander around the city.

To be continued...