Thanks once again for all your input and reviews, guys; soon I'll have fifty reviews! So many people support Rei and Mao's destined romance! Beyblade is the rightful property of Aoki Takao. I hope you enjoy this... slightly romantic chapter.

-X-

Was it really a foolish thing to be feeling friendship for Mao? Rei had wondered this since he had first met her. At first he had only assumed that he was showing her what most people would have considered to be 'friendly concern'. However, judging by her flustered reaction to him touching her, she apparently felt rather uncomfortable about the whole situation. He sighed softly, causing his loose hair to flutter madly across his face, and then continued searching for something to pull over his bare top half. He didn't want to wear anything to tight, so as not to put any unnecessary pressure on his wounds, and unfortunately, he had already outworn most of the clothing his father had owned when he'd been alive. He eventually decided on a shirt that wasn't as dilapidated as most of his other attire, but almost exactly the same as every other shirt his father had owned; white, high-collared, button-down, long-sleeved. Although it was quite true that he was desperate for new clothing, he would walk around completely naked before he would even think of wearing his mother's old clothes, most of which were pattered with gold and silver flowers and bright pink in colour.

Rei slipped his shoes back on and swiftly headed towards the staircase, not wanting to keep Mao waiting any longer. Before he headed out the front door to meet her, however, he did a quick once-over of his kitchen to make sure there were no scraps he could spare. When he found none, indeed barely enough to feed himself let alone his pets; he walked to his front door and opened it slowly, so as not to surprise Mao. It was a good thing he took this measure too, because she had been sitting on his front doorstep with her back against the door. Mao twisted her body around to look at Rei, and he grinned guiltily.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting..." he trailed off as Mao shook her head.

"No, I was fine here... it's always good to have some time to yourself to gather your thoughts."

"I have a lot of time for that," Rei grinned, the corners of his mouth tipping only just enough for Mao to notice. He stepped around Mao's still-seated form and offered her his hand. Mao regarded Rei for a moment, debating on whether to display such trust in him. However, the offer must have lingered a little too long for Rei, who took at step back, and mumbled, "I should have known you wouldn't need my help."

"No, it's not that..." Mao paused as she hauled herself back onto her feet, whilst groaning softly with the effort. Once she was righted, she continued, "I'm sorry that I seem so distrusting, but..." her cheeks coloured to a pale shade of pink, "My brother is starting to question our relationship."

Rei's answer to this was a blank look. Mao refused to meet his eyes and decided to rephrase what she was saying. "He suspects that we're having... intimate relations."

"Oh?" Rei responded, suddenly taking off towards the nearby stream. Mao sniffed indignantly and jogged to catch up to him; she was actually surprised by how much energy was in his pace, considering that she had stressed that he had to take it slow.

"Oh? Oh!" Mao snapped, catching up to him and walking by his side. "Do you know what happens to me if I'm found to be having an indecent relationship with a man?"

"Considering that you continually remind me that you're not allowed to love..." Rei stated evenly, his gaze fixed on what was directly in front of them, "I don't think it would be too pleasant."

"I would most likely be hanged," Mao said softly, and Rei's eyebrows twitched upward.

"Really? And of the man?"

Mao smirked, despite herself. Rei noticed this from the corner of his eye and stopped dead, turning to face Mao, who was now stifling giggles. "What are you giggling about, Mao?"

Mao pointed downwards, and Rei frowned. "I apologize, but I don't think I'm quite sure what you're referring to..." Mao replied by pointing directly to Rei's groin, and he felt heat rush to his face, but quickly drain away when she made a 'scissors' gesture with her middle and index fingers.

"Snip, snip," Mao said, opening and closing the gap between her fingers for emphasis. "Now do you understand?"

"Loud and clear," Rei replied hollowly, while looking rather pale.

"Now that I think of it, in the worst cases of fornication, the man would also be put to death," Mao mused, reaching up to adjust the bow in her hair thoughtfully.

"Death would be better than the former, I think," Rei replied. Noticing Mao's doubtful look, he added, "You'd have to be male to understand."

Rei seemed to be quite traumatized after this, so Mao tried to take his mind off the idea of castration. "So, where exactly are we headed?"

"A field not too far from here... just across the stream. Not really that far, when you think about it... though I am glad that you decided to accompany me."

"Well, it certainly beats going back to the village and facing the usual tribulations," Mao grumbled. Rei laughed softly, and kicked at a small, rounded stone amongst the grass.

"Well, it's certainly nice to know you'd choose me over work, at the very least."

Mao flushed uncomfortably. "I... really didn't mean it like that," she stuttered, vaguely wondering to herself exactly how much she did value Rei. She had only known him for a short while, but he was already one of the best friends she'd had. However, that wasn't really saying much, as her only real friend growing up had been her brother. But still, her mind eased when she realized how easy it was to talk to him about her life, and everything that had happened to her. He seemed well at-ease with her situation, as he was hardly one to judge on the quality of one's life.

"Well, how did you mean it?" Rei questioned, curious to find just how seriously she took her work. Mao had seemed fixated on her work, but perhaps it was really only a façade... she didn't seem like the sort of person who liked her life mapped out before her. He noticed her unsure look, and he smiled at her, reassuring her of his intentions. "Mao, do you honestly think I have anyone to tell? If you don't really enjoy it, I can assure you, I don't really enjoy anything about this village either."

"Well... I suppose the honest truth is that I really do hate it here," Mao sighed, intuitively wringing her hands against the front of her dress. "The people here are extremely self-absorbed; I don't doubt that you were the first to sincerely thank me for helping you. They rely on Lee, and myself yet they treat us so rudely and distrust us. They believe that we practice in the dark arts and sometimes makes patients worse off than when they first came to us..." her previously nervous expression was being replaced with a scowl. "Sometimes people are beyond saviour; nature simply works like that. But, of course it's not the general track of life, it's my evil brother, and me, the little witch." Rei was watching her with interest, and Mao suddenly became aware that she'd started ranting like a madwoman. "Well... to sum it up, if it wasn't for my brother being here and wanting to stay here, I would probably run away."

Rei frowned, nodding his head slowly whilst processing what Mao had just told him. He also sighed; he didn't realize how much she actually hated being here.

"Like you, I would probably be one thousand time happier if I didn't live here..."

"Then why don't you leave?" Mao interrupted.

"Because I, also have family ties to this village. Not like ancestry, and pure blood and all the other things they despise me for not having," Rei said quickly, drowning out Mao's attempted response. "This village holds for me, the final resting place of my parents; the only memories I have of them are in that house. And even if I did leave, where would I go? I cannot return from where I came from, and I would probably be as welcome in the other villages around here as I am in this one."

They reached the stream. It wasn't particularly wide; if you took a running jump, you would definitely make it across, unless you jumped like some form of turtle. As Rei had made the journey so many times before, he knew perfectly well that he could make it across with very little trouble. However, due to his change in circumstances, namely the injuries on his back, he suddenly became doubtful of his ability to make the jump. He glanced over at Mao, who was staring at the stream with a rather dubious look on her face.

"Do you think you can jump over?"

Mao glanced over at him and tried to smile. However, she just ended up looking strained. "I used to jump over this stream as a child. I'm sure I can do it now." Of course this was approximately a decade ago when she'd been wearing pants, not an ankle-length cotton robe. But there was really no need to mention that; she liked to think she was a strong woman and that she could take care of herself.

"If you say so," Rei replied, a slight smirk on his face. Mao bristled at him and Rei laughed, walked to the edge of the watercourse and eased himself down to sit on the banks of the stream. Mao watched with interest, and then suppressed a surprised gasp and Rei dropped into the water and out of sight. A few seconds ticked by, and Rei emerged from the water, violently shook his hair out of his eyes, and proceeded to stand to his full height, leaving half of his body submerged.

"How deep is it?" Mao called over the sound of the water.

"Only up to my waist," Rei looked over his shoulder at Mao, surprised by her concern.

Mao's relief suddenly turned to anger. "Then why in the world did you allow your entire body to submerge? You scared the life out of me! And you've got your bandages all wet! I just replaced them you know, and I didn't bring enough to do them again! Totally inconsiderate..."

"Mao, shush," Rei said, laughing at Mao's snarly expression. "You sound like my wife, grumpy that I didn't push my clothes in the wash basket."

"How chauvinist," Mao sniffed and folded her arms grumpily. "Not all women wash clothes and cook meals, you know."

"And not all women..." Rei started, reaching the other side of the bank, "... Would stand on a river band and grumble about gender equality, while someone was waiting for them on the opposite bank. You know that most women do such things, but you're unique and control your own life, which is probably why I like you." Rei was so busy hauling himself out of the river that he didn't notice the violent shade of pink that descended on Mao's cheeks at his words. "So Mao, are you going to be coming across?"

Mao nodded and judged the distance between where she was currently standing and the other side of the brook. It was about one-and-a-half-metres across, two at the very most... but could she still jump that far? She was positive that where she had played as a child, that the distance had been smaller. The river had probably broken it down over time, anyway...

She took a few large strides backward, keeping her eyes fixed directly in front of her. Once she had mentally encouraged herself to the best of her ability, she began running towards the river as fast as her legs could carry her. She kept focused on the opposite bank, and when she reached the edge of the side she was on, she used it as a foothold to propel herself forward and towards Rei. However, it quickly became apparent that she hadn't quite got enough forward momentum, and she hit the opposite edge of the river roughly, teetering precariously on the edge until Rei grabbed her shoulders and pulled her towards him. She overbalanced, still unsure of her footing, and crashed into Rei's chest with a large, wet slapping sound. Rei grunted from the extra force, but managed to maintain his footing.

For a moment, Mao remained petrified and clung to Rei's waist, scared that she'd once again lose her balance. Rei remained quiet the whole time, desperately trying to ignore the way Mao's breath was fanning across his stomach. Mao suddenly became aware of the compromising position she was in, and broke away a little too suddenly; this time Rei did lose his balance, and fell backwards, landing flat on his behind.

"Ah, I'm sorry!" Mao said, kneeling down next to Rei, whom was still wincing from the impact. "I'm so clumsy."

"No, it's fine," Rei said, forcing a grin to appear on his face. "Just give me a little more warning next time you want to push me over for any reason."

Mao nodded whilst trying to ignore the implications she kept hearing in whatever he said. She offered him her hand, and he took it. Once he had been dragged back onto his feet, they continued on their way, vaguely aware that their hands were still clasped together...

-X-

"Are we almost there?" Mao asked, looking at the thick boundary of trees that was looming before them.

"Not far now," Rei murmured back. He started forward, whilst upholding his gentle grip on her hand. Perhaps it was her fear of what was behind the trees, or simply to show that she was ready to follow after him, but for some reason or another the grip upon his hand was suddenly tightened, her hand fitting into his snugly.

He pushed through the thick foliage, holding the branches back for Mao until she was far past the paths they took to swing back into position, and warned her of particularly precarious parts of the forest, where it was easy to trip. Mao could see the light from the other side of the trees gradually becoming easier to see, and suddenly, the thicket of trees did end, and Mao was momentarily blinded by the sudden brightness. Dropping Rei's hand in order to rub at her eyes several times, Mao blinked over and over again, until the patterns dancing in front of her eyes subsided. She opened her eyes, and was briefly stunned by the site.

Rei had brought her to where couples from the village were traditionally married. Of course, Rei had no way of knowing this, and even she had not seen it before, as only the couple getting married, and their immediate families were permitted to set foot in the clearing. However, there seemed to be fewer and fewer marriages in the village as the popular gradually dwindled, and she would have heard if a couple were engaged to be married, so being in this place posed no immediate threat.

It really was a beautiful place; its beauty probably would have been greatly magnified had it not been so overgrown from mistreatment. The grass had overgrown, and gradually yellowed from lack of water. The trees were gnarled and covered in silvery moss, and compared to the rest of the village there seemed to be a very noticeable lack of wildlife.

Rei had crouched down in a small patch were the grass had completely rotted away, and was making soft coaxing noises at the back of his throat. Mao stopped admiring their surroundings and was suddenly interested in what he was doing.

"Why are you..."

"Don't you know?" Rei grinned, looking up at her briefly. "I'm calling my pets."

A disturbance suddenly erupted in the grass, and began to head in Rei's direction. A small cat suddenly appeared in the bare patch of ground, its tail rigid in the air with happiness, a deep purr rumbling in its throat. Although the predominant colour of the animal's coat was white, it was streaked with black at random intervals on its abdomen, tail and ribcage. It had large green eyes that suddenly locked on Mao, giving a look-over to the unfamiliar person.

It took one step closer, sniffed the air, and gave one contented meow. The feline then rushed back to Rei, who was seated in the clearing, with its tail still in the air, and begin rubbing violently against the boy's moist shirt.

"So, who's this?" Mao asked, once Rei had stopped laughing, and making futile attempts to stop the cat from expressing its appreciation for him.

"He's Driger," Rei said simply, and Driger sat contentedly in Rei's lap and shut his eyes, content now that he knew Mao posed no threat.

"Driger? After the guardian of the village?" Mao asked, surprised.

"I once heard some of the villagers say that the White Tiger, Driger gives good things to his people, if they are good themselves. He's the best thing that I've received from this village, so he's named Driger," Rei shrugged. "I can't really come up with a better explanation than that."

"No, I see what you mean," Mao replied. "But... when you invited me here, you said pets, not singular pet."

"Aah, the other's a bit shy... even around me. While I've known Driger for about three years, she just showed up out of the blue about two weeks ago. I was actually trying to get her to trust me more when I was attacked, dragged to the village and… well, you know the story from there. Wait, here she is!" Rei exclaimed, pointing to the small, ginger-coloured figure that had just poked its head out from the grass. Large electric blue eyes peered cautiously at Mao and Rei, and as the small animal emerged from the bushes, Mao could see the evident difference between the two cats. Driger seemed stockier, whilst the female was thinner, lankier.

Mao crouched down next to Rei, and slowly held her hand out for the cat to sniff. The ginger feline approached her slowly, sniffing her fingers cautiously, before deciding Mao was indeed to be trusted, and brushing her cheek along Mao's fingers.

"She likes you," Rei commented, scratching Driger behind the ears.

"Does 'she' have a name?" Mao asked, gently grabbing the cat by the scruff in order to bring it close enough to pet.

"No, actually," Rei said sheepishly. "I couldn't think of one. Perhaps you're better at giving names than I am... can you think of anything?"

Mao frowned, looking down upon the orange female, whose darker-coloured rosettes were now more noticeable, in the light. What was the perfect name for her…? Suddenly, an idea jumped to her mind. It was a little strange, but Rei had asked her opinion…

"How about Galux?" Mao asked, running her hand along the length of the cat's spine.

"Galux? Why Galux?" Rei asked, interested by the strange name.

"My ancestors... were not from this village; the White Tiger village and my ancestors' tribe joined when my parents were very young, only newborns probably, by a marriage between the son of the leader of this village, and a daughter of a village elder from my parents' tribe, the Minx. Galux was the Minx Tribe's sacred animal, but because the woman was from our village, we had to take Driger as our emblem."

"So technically, we're both outcasts..." Rei murmured.

"The Minx tribe's ancestry are supposed to be treated with the same respect as any villager by law, but as you have probably gathered, this isn't so…" Mao trailed off and shrugged, looking sheepish. "So, that's why I think Galux."

"Well, I think Galux is a good name for her," Rei nodded. "Good thing you came along; I couldn't keep calling her 'she' for the rest of her life." He plucked a long stalk of grass from the ground, and flicked it about just in front of Driger's nose. Driger's tail flicked back and forth violently, and he slunk off Rei's lap and crouched alongside of him, ready to pounce at any other movement.

Rei laughed softly and waved the grass in front of Driger's face, before letting it flick forward and catch the cat on the nose. This was too much for both cats, apparently, because Driger leapt forward, clawing violently at the air as he tried to get a grip on the flimsy plant; but he failed miserably every time. Galux jumped off Mao's lap, catching the pink-haired girl off-guard, and watched the fluttery object with some interest, with eyes wide and tail swishing back and forth violently. She finally made her move, and jumped out to pin the grass under her paw. Rei smiled and gave a sharp yank on the stalk, pulling it from her grasp. After that, Galux just seemed to take the same kamikaze approach as Driger.

"What do you feed them?" Mao asked, suddenly noticing Rei hadn't brought any food with him to feed the small cats.

"If I have any scraps to spare, I bring them for them to eat. But I didn't have any this time... so presumably, they survive the way any cat would in the wild; by hunting."

'Well, that would explain the lack of wildlife I noticed earlier…' Mao thought, watching Driger's sharp claws rake at the grass once again. Watching Rei laugh and play with his pets gave him a vague, child-like innocence that she felt herself drawn to… she had never been allowed to have pets as a child, and seeing Rei happy, with the two small cats seemed to ease her mind; at least he wasn't totally alone all the time …

"Mao…" Rei started, dropping the stalk of grass for the cats to tap lightly with their paws. They quickly lost interest once they discovered it didn't move of its own accord.

"Yes, Rei?" she asked, staring into his eyes, noticing they were full of sincerity…

"What was your childhood in the village like? Sorry if I seem nosy," Rei said, immediately noticing Mao's doubt. "But I really would like to know…"

Mao sighed. "Are you ready for a long story?"

Rei nodded, and watched her attentively. "As ready as I'll ever be."

Mao paused for a moment, trying to decide where to start. "Well when I was growing up, my brother Lee was really my only friend…"

-X-

"Urgh, and then there was this dopey girl called Chun-Mei… Dong-Mei… something to do with flowers anyway," Mao stated bitterly, causing Rei to bite on his bottom lip to prevent peels of laughter escaping his lips. Mao really was an amusing girl…

"Anyway, she always tried to play with my hair, and put it up in pretty bows…" Mao scowled. "She would always say 'why won't you put your hair up, and let it look pretty Mao? You have such pretty hair, you'll never get a husband if you wear it all scruffy like a boy's…' I told her I didn't want a husband, and she told my parents, who gave me a stern talking-to, let me tell you..."

The two people were splayed haphazardly next to each other in the grass, staring at the sky. Rei was scratching Driger's ears, albeit vaguely, as he listened to Mao. Driger was perched on his lap, purring so deeply he almost sounded like a car engine. Galux was stretched out next to Mao, cuddled into the woman's side for warmth. Mao's arms were tucked comfortably behind her head, and her legs were crossed comfortably.

"And this Something-Mei girl had this irritating green-haired cousin called Kiki… little snoop, always putting his nose where it didn't belong! Thankfully, their families left the village when the sickness that killed my parents came to the village." Rei was surprised by the lack of emotion in her voice as she recalled her dead parents. "Did your parents get sick too, Rei?"

Rei's brow furrowed and he stared intensely at the sky. "Yes."

"I'm sorry, then…" Mao said softly. "I didn't really care about my parents at all… it sounds very selfish, but to me, they were the symbols of my future life as a housewife," Mao grumbled. "Their deaths seemed… totally unremarkable to me."

"I understand… maybe the only reason I grieved for my parents so was because I really had no-one else…" Rei said softly.

Their conversation reached an uncomfortable pause. Mao stared vaguely at the sky, and for the first time in hours, noticed the darkening colours, and the sun just about to start disappearing under the horizon.

"Ah! What time is it?" Mao yelped, sitting bolt upright and startling Galux in the process.

"Not sure… late afternoon sometime. Why?" Rei asked.

"I told Lee I would be back by midday!" Mao said, hauling herself to her feet. Rei also stood up, but not before giving both cats a final, affectionate pat.

"So, you're in trouble?"

"You have no idea," Mao groaned.

"Well, I'll walk you back to my house, and you can make your way back from there," Rei said, offering her his hand again. She took it, and he guided her back through the thick boundary of trees around the hidden glade. They made the majority of their trip in silence, but once they reached the stream, Rei dropped Mao hand and stared directly into her eyes, which made heat rise to her face, but not quite enough for him to notice in the failing light.

"We can't have you almost falling in again," he said in a faux-honourable tone, and Mao rolled her eyes. "So I'll carry you across the stream."

This time, Mao was sure Rei noticed her flushed face, but he didn't say anything about it. "Are you sure? I mean, I am perfectly capable of getting across by myself…"

"Oh, cut it. If I wasn't there, you would have been behind-first into the stream," Rei smirked. "So I'll help you." And with that, he's walked over to Mao and scooped her up in his arms bridal-style. Mao shrieked, partly because she was surprised by his sudden move, partly because his left hand was resting on her upper thigh, and partly because he'd simply jumped into the stream without any warning. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck to keep herself from falling.

Mao felt Rei's warm, soft breath fan against the top of her head in a low chuckle. "Scared?"

"Of course not…" Mao said, looking carefully at the water below her.

"Sure. I believe you," Rei said, with a trace of sarcasm. Mao sighed and tried to ignore the way her heart was thudding in her chest. And whenever she felt Rei's skin against hers, she became very aware that her racing heartbeat definitely wasn't from fright.

Once they reached the opposite side of the stream, Rei released his hold on her slowly, and she allowed him to ease her back onto her feet. Mao found herself stifling a yawn, and Rei smiled at her. At his gentle, affectionate grin, Mao felt her heart leaping into overdrive once again.

"Come on Mao. Not far to go."

They walked back to Rei's house side-by-side and once they reached the structure, Mao felt obliged to thank him for his kindness.

"Thank you, Rei," she started, not quite sure where to finish.

"It was really no problem; it was nice to have some company," Rei smiled.

"Because your bandages got wet today, I'll come back tomorrow and replace them," she said, fully aware that she was making an excuse to see him. Perhaps he knew it too, because his gentle grin widened at the proposition.

"Sounds good to me. I'll be here all day," Rei said. "Thanks for keeping me company today, Mao." And with that, he leaned forward slowly, and gave her a tender kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you tomorrow," Rei finished, and he quickly disappeared around the front door of his house.

Mao, with her face as red as a tomato, placed the tips of her fingers to the place where Rei had kissed her. And, ashamed to admit it as she was, she couldn't rid herself of the damning blush on her cheeks all of the way back to her home.

-X-

And this is where the romance starts! Their relationship in this fic is rather delicate… but they're destined lovers, and once you find the one you love, they say you know from the start that they're your soul mate… I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I know what you're thinking; "only on the cheek?" Well, keep in mind that if you review, in the future this will change…