I did promise to post sooner due to the shortness of the last chapter. Expect the next one sometime next week.

Notes: The name Susumu is the actual name of Kai's father taken from manga volume 3. Of Kai's mother, I have no idea, so I chose something I thought was appropriate.

Some of you have enquired as to where I got my manga from, and I'll say this: I was lucky. I've searched everywhere in town (Birmingham, England) for the manga, in each of my comic shops, and upon visiting 'Forbidden Planet' last time, there happened to be one Beyblade manga left in the whole shop… which just so happened to be about Rei.

I believe it was destiny. +Loves Rei to absolute pieces+

And about his parents… well… to be fair, going on what I've seen of the manga, his parents are pretty normal too. In fact, his father is quite a noble sod, something which I will explain more deeply later on.

coughs+ Okay, on with it, I know.

(Part 3)

An hour and a quarter later, and they touched down in Moscow, Kai waking from his feigned nap, which had, thankfully, shut Rei up for a bit. They quickly transferred from helicopter to car, which was, again yet another display of wealth, a gleaming black Mercedes complete with unformed chauffer.

Rei took a moment to absorb the detail of his new transport before climbing in sliding across the cream leather seat just in time to avoid Kai plopping into his lap as the other nonchalantly flopped down besides him, once again looking entirely displeased with their mode of travel. They sat in silence for the remainder of the fifteen minute journey, Rei choosing to stare dazedly out of the window, watching as inner city became suburb, the dull and lifeless greys of town blurring into the fresh green of pristine lawns and decorative trees.

It was obvious that they were drawing closer to the Hiwatari abode when the houses they were passing seemed to morph into the size of small palaces and the lawns seemed to become moderately sized parks, so it was unsurprising when they turned off the main road and past open gates and began travelling along a neat driveway, which Rei himself, would have classified a 'small road'.

And then they had stopped, Rei shivering, the cool breeze hitting him as the door next to him was opened up. He shot a quick look back to Kai, and seeing the total lack of amusement on his face, decided not to tell him that he had changed his mind and wanted to go back to their hotel. Hesitantly, Rei slid across the seat once more, and moved to stand besides that open door, perfectly still as he scanned the home of his lover's parents.

It seemed to him to be a behemoth, daunting, leering, ready to tear him apart at a moments notice. It was beautiful too, a truly stunning masterpiece of engineering and architecture, leaving Rei feel small, and a little unclean. As if he was not worthy to look at such a place, let alone go in. After all, he was nothing more then an orphan from a small and remote village in China. He would probably be seen as uncivilised by these people.

The bang of a car door caused him to start and whirl about only to find himself confronted with soft red, the same scarlet which he usually drowned in, unusually gentle with sympathy. Within seconds, Kai was behind him, arms wrapped tenderly about his waist as he buried his face in his neck.

"It's okay Rei, we can still turn back if you don't want to be here, I understand why you're nervous," his voice was softer then usual, a sure sign that he was worried about his neko-jin lover. Rei felt both touched and guilty simultaneously, and, though he was sure that he'd regret it in a few moments, he shook his head.

"You sure, kiddo? You know that I'm not going to be angry with you if you don't want to go in." Kai prompted.

"It's fine, really," Rei responded, stepping out of Kai's gentle hold and turning around to face him, "I think we should go in now, we've been out here for too long and I want to at least try to make a good impression."

He smiled, though he and Kai both knew that it was forced. "All right." Kai nodded and strode forwards, taking one of Rei's hands in his own as he passed, entwining their fingers together in a sweet and comforting action, though Rei had a suspicion that the hold was also there to prevent him from fleeing at the very last moment.

"Honestly though Rei, all you need to do is be yourself, when we're done with the introductions I'm sure that you'll calm down a bit, so don't worry your sweet little head about it so much." Kai muttered, trying to reassure his fellow blader as they made their way up the little set of steps leading up to the main doors, and into the house itself.

Kai continued in his hurried pace, wanting to get the coming trauma over with, Rei trailing behind, half dragged as his gaze roved over the ornate decorations and the copious design of the meeting hall, beginning to feel very much out of his depth.

Far too soon for both of their tastes, they stood at a simple oak door which, Rei guessed was most likely the last barrier between himself and the room that contained his team-captain and lover's parents. He swallowed heavily, trying to force down the nauseous churning in his stomach.

Kai on the other hand raised his fist, his knuckles rapping on the polished wood as he heralded their arrival. A single tremor running down his arm caused him to pause in the action of turning the door handle his palm had settled on, alerting him to the fact that his beloved little tiger was shaking. Cursing silently to himself, he gave Rei's hand a comforting squeeze, guilt surging through him for suggesting this in the first place, and opened the door.

The room was beautiful, complete with various hues of red and gold, offset with the deep mahogany of various decorative items. Kai stepped onto the rich, wine carpet, nodding once to the two occupants of the room, seated in lavish armchairs in front of the fire. The woman brushed her short silvery hair from her eyes as she looked up from the book settled comfortably on in her lap.

"Kai!" She cheered with a wide smile, immediately rising to her feet to greet her son. In response, the man seated on the other side of the room looked up from the programme he was intently watching on the widescreen television, his expression breaking into a smile as he too, rose from his chair and ambled over towards the youngest Hiwatari.

The woman, which Rei predicted with an educated guess to be Kai's mother, hurriedly made her way over to his Russian companion and threw her arms about him, a delighted smile upon her face. Not far behind was the one Rei presumed to be Kai's father, who regarded his wife and son with a small smile upon his face.

Rei watched silently as the scene unfolded before him, a slight pang of sadness adding to the nervousness that was gnawing at his insides. The feeling of not fitting in more then doubled as his doubts rose and he chose to huddle just behind his boyfriend, a little out of sight so that he could remain unnoticed.

"Happy seventeenth son," the boy's father addressed him, nodding his congratulations as his smile grew. Kai nodded in return, as formal as always.

"I thought that your friend was coming," Rei gulped from his hiding place when he heard the female voice speak up again, sounding almost disappointed at the thought that her son's 'special friend' couldn't make it. Kai frowned and, turned a little to his side so that he could glance at the other teen, before Rei was made aware that the shadow protecting him moved away, as Kai stepped aside, announcing the Rei's presence. He froze in place as two pairs of eyes settled upon him, having only just been alerted to his existence and sent a quick, nervous glance to Kai, trying his hardest not to look too desperate. Kai smiled a little, his sympathy clear in his ruby eyes and cleared his throat, turning back to his parents.

"Mom, dad, this is Rei Kon, my team-mate, best friend and partner, both in the Beyblading and the relationship sense," He spoke first, trying to clear as much of the air as he could in one go. Rei blushed and inwardly grimaced at Kai's choice of words. He dragged his gaze up from the floor to meet with intent gazes of his love's mother and father, fully aware that they were scrutinising him, measuring him up and trying to get the best impression of him possible from his appearance.

"Hello," he spoke, his voice soft as he tried to keep the strain from his tone, causing the two adults before him to cease in their open staring. The male of the two stepped forward and holding his hand out in a peaceful gesture, smiling a little when Rei met him halfway, clasping his hand in return in a light grip. Upon closer inspection Rei found that Kai's father bore the same characteristic maroon eyes as his lover. He also noticed that Mr. Hiwatari's hair was a deep blue, easily mistaken for black, even at that slight distance. Once the formal greeting between man and boy was over with, Kai's mother shuffled forwards and placed her hands on the Rei's shoulders, startling him into freezing on the spot, terrified of her reaction as her gaze tried to penetrate his.

"Hmmn, wide, innocent eyes, an honest face and he's cute as a button," She grinned after a moment's pause, Rei blushing at her choice of words, "It's lovely to meet you Rei," the silver haired women smiled warmly at the flustered blader. Kai rolled his eyes at his mother's peculiarity and subconsciously raised his arm, draping it around Rei's shoulders, drawing him closer in a protective gesture.

"Well if you hadn't guessed all ready, Rei, this is my father; Susumu Hiwatari, and my mother; Alexia Hiwatari. As I'm sure you can tell, my mother is where I get my Russian blood from," Kai explained simply, causing Alexia to frown in response.

"Well dear, you were born in Russia," she replied. Kai huffed at his mother's slightly ditzy nature.

"Yes, I am aware of that mother, I was simply stating where I got my ethnicity from, not my nationality. There is a difference between the two. Really, how did you become a scientist?" She rolled her eyes in a very 'Kai-like' action at her son's words.

"Really Kai, could you try and be a little friendlier, it is your birthday you know," she sighed and in that moment, Rei couldn't help but feel that beneath the playful banter, there was a definite undercurrent of unease.

Kai shrugged and keeping his arm rested across his lover's shoulders entered the room fully, bringing Rei with him as he moved to sit on the plush, cherry leather settee across from the seat his mother had previously occupied. Rei watched as Mr and Mrs Hiwatari reclaimed their seats as he himself was pulled down to sit next to Kai on the couch, their eyes intently fixed upon him.

Rei gulped, trying to calm his nerves as an awkward silence filled the room, everyone unsure of how to proceed from the initial introductions.

This was going to be a very long day, of that, Rei was sure.