Mei: Oooooh boy… n.n It's been a long time, hasn't it? Hehe… Um… :dodges rotten mangoes and sour ostrich eggs: I'm really sorry about the wait guys. Second semester started at my school and there has been so much more homework for this term

.-;; I've been really busy and stuff, and I did have a major writer's block!

But I'm past the block now, at least, I hope so (: So I can start updating my stories again… I know it's been months and months… oO;; I don't even know if anyone's still reading them -.-;; I'm kinda stuck on my other two chaptered fics, so they might be on hold for now. Sorry! I have a new one planned though n.n I'm so bad about finishing fics x.x

Big thanks to everyone who's reviewed and liked this fic! (: Sadly, I'm too lazy to personally answer reviews anymore… v.v

DISCLAIMER: Don't own. Don't sue. Okay?

WARNING: Contains yaoi, shounen ai, slash, boys love, homosexuality, whatever you want to call it.

Chapter Four

Kai was seriously beginning to regret having fallen asleep at that picnic table. He was now sitting in Ray and Max's tent – which he was finding rather uncomfortable given the fact that there only seemed to be one sleeping bag (and it really didn't help that Max was sitting on Ray's lap)– listening to the blonde teen talk endlessly about their little plan to set him up with Tyson.

Ray spared the elder blader the occasional sympathetic looks, but Kai found the neko-jin's attention was mostly consumed by combing his hands through Max's hair. Kai had always known the two were together, but he'd never seen them so open about it before. It was making him feel awkward.

"So Kai, what do you think?" asked Max excitedly, "Does that sound like a good idea? I think it does-"

"Breathe Maxie," said Ray fondly.

Kai really didn't want to answer. In fact, he really didn't want to discuss his love life at all, but Max and Ray, who were conveniently sitting right in front of the tent's only exit, didn't seem to be giving him much of a choice.

"It won't work," he said quietly, hoping to get this over with as quick as possible.

Max exchanged a look with Ray, and raised an eyebrow, "Really? Why wouldn't it work?"

Kai really did not like the way Max was grinning, and although he tried to say his next words firmly, his voice wavered and became barely audible, "He likes Hilary." He nearly winced at how he sounded, but even though it hadn't come out with quite the effect he'd intended for, it still got the point across. One would think that Max would've stopped grinning, at least.

But he didn't, "I've already thought about that, Kai," said Max confidently.

This time, even Ray seemed shocked. He flashed Max an urgent look as if to say, 'You have?' and Max glared back at him in reply, 'No, but he doesn't need to know that!' This silent exchange wasn't completely lost on Kai, but the conversation was. It became rather eerie after a good ten minutes had passed without either of the two boys saying a word. If Kai hadn't known any better, he would have thought they'd been communicating telepathically.

Whatever they were doing, they were obviously distracted, and Kai used the opportunity to dart in between them and the door. He unzipped the tent and crawled out.

"Hey!" called Max, he and Ray had finally snapped out of their glaring match.

Kai smirked - he was free! He waved coolly to the couple before turning and walking away.

Max moved to go after their stubborn leader, but Ray held him down, "We don't need Kai to be in on the plan to make it work, Maxie."

The blonde was thoughtful, "Hey, you're right. Chief and Emily weren't in on it…"

"Exactly."

Neither of them said a word about Hilary. They were two excited at having found someone else who was like them. In Max's mind, if he could get Tyson and Kai together, then he and Ray wouldn't have to hide their relationship anymore…

And of course neither of them realized that everyone else already knew.

Kenny was becoming annoyed. Normally he really didn't mind Hilary's company, in fact, he usually found it quite enjoyable. In some ways, she was easier to talk to than Tyson. His best friend had a tendency to interrupt him, and pay little attention to what he was actually saying. But Hilary was a good listener. Whenever he was talking to her, he knew he had her complete undivided attention.

However, there were times when he found her to be very overbearing. Like now. The brunette was sitting beside him, leaning over his shoulder to readthe screen of his lap top. She would persistently point to various things on the screen and ask "What's that, Kenny?" While he normally didn't mind explaining the various beyblade technologies to her, he found her constant questioning to be very irritating.

It could have had something to do with the fact that Kenny didn't actually want to be researching beyblade statistics at the moment. While building and studying the tops was his hobby, everyone needed a break from it once and a while. They had other things to do, like play games, go to school, have a social life…

Or in Kenny's case, e-mail his girlfriend.

It was something he couldn't very well do with Hilary reading everything he was typing.

"So Kenny, what are you doing now?" asked Hilary, for about the tenth time. Kenny scowled beneath his bangs, wondering when she was ever going to get bored of this.

"I told you already," he ground out tolerantly, "I'm researching a new base material for Tyson's Dragoon. It took a beating in his last tournament."

"Doesn't it always?" asked Hilary, rolling her eyes.

"Well, he does push himself hard to win. Tyson is very competitive."

"They all are," grinned Hilary, referring to the boys on the team. She pointed to the screen again, "What's that Chief?"

Kenny could feel his patience wearing thin, "I've already told you!" he snapped, "It's the new base I'm working on for Tyson's beyblade!"

"I see." Hilary didn't say anything after that. Kenny continued typing on his computer, feeling a little guilty. The silence stretched on uncomfortably, only pierced by the repetitive clicking of the keys on Kenny's lap top. Eventually Hilary stood up.

"Well maybe I should go now," she said quietly.

"Alright," said Kenny, he didn't turn around. He felt bad, wondering if he had offended her, but didn't bring it up. He didn't want to start a discussion which would cause her to stay longer.

Hilary bit her lip, although Kenny didn't notice, "Well, bye."

"Bye."

She stood for a few more moments in silence, watching as he typed away at his research. Then she finally turned away and left the tent.

Finally! thought Kenny, feeling a little bad, but brushing it off. He shut down his program and logged onto the internet. Now he could finally talk to Emily.

Kai had always been a rebel. It was pretty blatant for anyone to see, not only because of his attitude, but because of the clothing he wore. Most children born into aristocracy did not go running around in sleeveless shirts, baggy pants, and spiky gelled hair, with blue shark fins painted on their cheeks.

Since Kai was a rebel, it was only natural that he did not like being told what to do. In fact, he loathed it. This was all very logical if one considered that he had been raised by his grandfather, who was about as dominating as men come. One could probably assume that Voltaire Hiwatari had been rather strict with his young grandson.

So obviously, when young Kai, who has been cooped up all his life, following orders from his grandfather, and forced to train and work, gets out into the real world, he's not going to want to listen to anybody anymore, is he? It won't matter if their advice makes any sense, because it's the principle which counts. It doesn't matter if what they're telling him is for his own good - like staying away from a rickety, old, worn-down tree house that would probably break the moment any substantial weight was placed on it. Oh no, Kai's got to be a rebel, so no matter what anyone tells him to do, he's not going to listen to them.

Needless to say, Kai was feeling rather stupid about himself, at present. Not only because he'd been silly enough to climb the tree house, but also because he now found himself incapable of getting down. There was one thing which Kai hated more than being controlled. Being incompetent.

He had to admit, the tree house had had a nice view. When he'd first climbed up, he'd been pretty pleased with himself. It was quiet and peaceful up there. But he got bored of it eventually. Besides, he had to keep an eye on the other boys. They would probably get themselves into trouble, as they were prone to do. Especially Tyson. Not that he cared or anything, it was just that Mr. Dickenson would accuse him of being irresponsible if he let anything happen to them. Yeah… that was it.

He'd considered jumping down. He'd never been afraid of heights. In fact, he rather liked climbing to tall places, such as the rooftops of buildings, and high cliffs. However, he was soon discouraged from the idea when he noticed the overgrowth of branches surrounding him. It didn't look like it would be much fun to land on one of those. There didn't seem to be anywhere clear of branches, he was bound to hit one if tried to make a jump. Besides, it was rather high…

He could always climb down he supposed. He didn't like the idea, as he had never been as good at climbing down as he had at climbing up. But it seemed to be his only option. The ladder was shot, so he had used the branches to make his way up. He'd just have to use them to make his way down.

Maybe Tyson would come along, and Kai would miraculously discover a way to jump down. Then he would, of course, despite the height of the tree, and land magnificently, amazingly, fantastically on his feet, without a single injury. And then Tyson's eyes would go all bug-eyed like they usually did when Kai jumped from some high place or avoided some large falling object without moving. And he would go, "Oh, Kai! You're so strong, and so brave, I love you so much!" and then he would drag Kai off to some secluded corner where they would have a hot, passionate make-out session and-

"Hey Kai!"

Kai blinked, having been rudely interrupted from his fantasy, "What?" he huffed, glaring down at the person who would dare to interrupt his daydream.

It just so happened to be Tyson.

"What are you doing all the way up there?"

Kai turned away, feeling a heated blush creep up his cheeks, and not wanting Tyson to see it. "None of your business," replied the elder teen grumpily.

Tyson's voice sounded concerned, "Are you stuck?"

Kai said nothing, feeling his face heat up even more. This was a lot less glorious than the scene he had been imagining. Personally, he preferred his daydream.

"Kai?" called Tyson. Out of the corner of his eye, Kai could see the younger boy moving closer to the tree, "Do you want me to get you some help?"

"No," replied his captain, stubbornly refusing to look at him. He could imagine that his face was about as red as a ripened tomato, "I can climb down myself. I don't need any help!"

The other boy's voice seemed uncertain, "Okay… Are you sure? Hey, I can catch you if you fall."

Kai fumed, giving an indignant snort, "Save it, Kinomiya. I don't need your help!" he forced himself to stop blushing, and went over to the edge of the tree. He picked the side he figured would be easiest to climb down, and started. He could feel Tyson's anxious eyes on his back, watching his every move. It made him just a little self-conscious. Concentrate, he told himself firmly, don't do anything stupid. Especially in front of him. One foot down, and then the other. Make sure the branch was strong enough to support his weight. Then grab another branch…

He was doing well. It made him cocky, and he started to climb faster. He had almost made it to the ground when he lost his footing. Much to his humiliation, he let out a strangled yelp as he slipped, he struggled to grab a branch on his way down, but before he knew it, he was on top of Tyson, having knocked the younger boy over with the force of his fall.

Tyson looked slightly winded, but he caught his breath quickly. He raised a hand almost unconsciously, and brushed a leaf out of Kai's silky hair. "Are you all right?"

Kai blinked owlishly, feeling his cheeks tinge pink again. He turned away angrily, "Of course I'm all right, idiot!" he snapped, "Don't touch me." He glowered at the surrounding forest, feeling quite embarrassed.

"Um… Kai?" asked Tyson after a few minutes of silence.

"What?" came the impatient response.

"… Are you going to get off of me?"

Kai's face reddened, yet again. He'd never known it was possible to blush so much in such a short period of time. He pushed away from Tyson angrily and brushed the dirt off his pants, "Hmph."

"Uh, thanks," said Tyson, also standing up and scratching the back of his head.

Kai glared at him, "I hope you know that this was all your fault."

The blunette gawked, his jaw dropping open, "My fault!" he asked incredulously.

"Hn." Kai turned and stalked off moodily, leaving a very confused Tyson staring after him.

Mei: There we go! Another chappie done. (: I think this fic should be done soon. One or two more chappies… (I know I said the same thing last chapter T.T but this time I really mean it!) I'll try to work on my other two chaptered fics this week, but I don't know how much I can get done on them. I'm majorly stuck with SG, and WTSF is kinda iffy -.-;;

Anyways, please review! I love reviews, they make me all happy like a kitten with catnip, y'know? Um… maybe I should cut back on the sugar, hehe… Flames will be used to heat up my cinnamon bread. Gotta love the cinnamon!