You will all be pleased to know that I have at last managed to conjure up what can definitely be called a plot. Yay for me! Oh, and yay for my reviewers! I do indeed love you all muchly.

Just to clear things up, this is setabout a year and a half, maybe a bit more,after GRev. The last chapter took place around five months before this one – so Kai, after having trained for three months in Russia, has been with Tyson, Hilary, Kenny and Daichi for the past two or so months. Max has been in America, and Rei has been in China, but this chapter will see the beginning of a reunion! Stay tuned for more!

This chapter is set almost immediately after the first one, and CONTAINS THE BEGINNINGS OF A SHONEN-AI RELATIONSHIP. Like it or leave.

I don't own Beyblade, and I'm making no money. All I'm actually doing here is indulging my way-too-active fangirl mind…

Chapter Three

Voices from the Past

The sun was setting, and we were walking home together, side-by-side, our slow footsteps scuffing the cool concrete of the sidewalk, our shadows falling blurred and stretched, drifting along beside us. My hands were jammed into my pockets, my left fingers curled comfortably around Dragoon, and every now and then my arm would brush at his. We'd been spending a lot of time together recently, and it had mostly been blading, but it had been fun. He's not a big talker, and I am, but we're used to that by now.

I'm still not over him just disappearing like that, though. Those were the worst three months of my life. I thought he was dead, for crying out loud! Every time the phone rang, I rushed to grab it. One part of me would hope that it was Kai, but another small, frightened part of me was terrified that it would be Tala's voice saying, "Tyson - there's been an accident…"

I used to make Daichi battle me every single day, in the hope that when Kai came back, I would be able to beat him with my eyes closed, and make him sorry that he'd ever tried to vanish on us. I used to get Kenny to look over Dragoon practically every other second, making sure that everything was in the best possible shape. I think I went slightly crazy. Not having my best friends around was one thing, but at least I knew where Maxie and Rei were, and heard from them on a regular basis. From Kai, I heard not a peep, and it was creeping me out.

Then he just turns up one day, a little before New Year, with a note from Mr Dickinson asking us to let him stay at the dojo. I had considered punching the dude out for that, I really had. He didn't even act like he'd done anything wrong – just waltzed in and acted like he owned the place. I didn't speak to him for ages.

Even so, we'd taken to hanging out more and more in the weeks since he'd come back. He still managed to demonstrate his utter contempt for me almost every time he opened his mouth, but I still managed to get under his skin almost every time I opened my mouth, which was really, really satisfying. Annoying Kai should be an art form, it really should.

And now we were walking home in the last hazy warmth of the setting sun after a hard day of blading, a little wind blowing up around us and making me shiver.

"Man, I'm hungry!" I yawned, kicking at a pebble. "Can we get something to eat?"

"If you want," he said, tonelessly.

"Cool. This way!"

I ran on ahead a little way, cut across through an alley, and found that little corner shop I always visit. Believe me, I know where all the restaurants are. I ordered – well, just about everything on the menu – and sat down outside at one of the little tables opposite Kai, who had already snagged a seat and was leaning back in it. He must think he looks so cool like that, all nonchalant and devil-may-care and whatever. Well, he doesn't fool me anymore. I know for a fact that Kai is, deep down, just as human as anyone else. I have solid, undeniable proof. It involves what he said exactly three minutes and forty-one seconds before the New Year. I made a careful note of it so that I would be able to mark it down as an Historic Moment in Time.

Remembering it, I grinned, and dug into a plate of sausages. One of these days, when he'd completely forgotten every last sentimental and overemotional word he'd said, I would spring it on him and use it to blackmail him, and watch him squirm. That would be fun.

I looked up to see him sipping slowly at a bottle of spring water. His eyes met mine, and he frowned. "What are you smirking at?" he asked, resentfully.

I popped a handful of French fries into my mouth and chewed them thoughtfully. Should I tell him? Oh, why not? It would be good for a laugh. My mouth full, I said, "I have a secret."

"Good for you," he said, dourly, and took another small sip.

"It's a really, really embarrassing secret," I told him, gleefully. "Guess what? It involves you."

He went very, very still, and shot me this small, unreadable look across the table. Our eyes met for less than a second before he dropped his gaze and began to stare very intently at the plastic bottle. Stiffly, he said, "Oh?"

"Uhuh," I said, nodding. "Do you remember that little New Year's Eve party we had?"

He gave a small grunt, which I supposed meant 'yes'. I guess it would actually be kind of difficult to forget. I still don't know how Daichi managed to get to drunk.

"Do you remember what happened when Hilary sent you to find me?"

"You were asleep outside," he said, grudgingly. "For some stupid reason, she was afraid you'd miss the countdown."

"Yeah, well, that's what you thought. For your information, I was not asleep!" I said, triumphantly swigging down some soda.

"What?" he asked, sharply.

"Aha! Oh, I've got you now, Kai!" I exulted. "Me and Daichi and Kenny had been playing hide-and-seek, remember? And I'd hidden out in the garden? And Hilary sent you to look for me 'cause I was going to be late? And that old cat from next door was hanging around, and you stopped to say hello to it?"

He was blushing furiously. Kai was blushing! This was too good. "Save it, Tyson. I'm not interested," he barked.

I grinned, and reached for the ice cream. "I think you will be. Let's see, now – you were talking to the cat, and I was hiding in that big old tree. I was right above you the entire time. Bet you didn't know that, hey?" I paused, enjoying how he was trying to keep his face straight, and said, between mouthfuls of chocolate sauce, "Does Kai wemember what he said to the wittle kitty-cat?"

"No," he said, firmly.

"Are you sure?" I goaded.

"Yes."

"Ah, now that's a shame. Luckily, I remember exactly what you said," I told him, and, fishing a cherry up from a pool of melted ice cream, popped it into my mouth.

"That's nice. Hurry up. We're going to be late," he said, and got up and began to stride off down the street. Heh. He was embarrassed! Well, after what he'd told the cat, I couldn't blame him…

I slapped the last of my allowance down on the table, grabbed at the milkshake's polystyrene cup, and ran after him, chuckling happily to myself. I said into his ear, "The first thing you said was, 'He's so annoying!'"

"Go away," he said, pulling his jacket closer around him and speeding up.

I darted after him, falling into step beside him. "Then you said, 'It's just like him to wander off. He's so inconsiderate.' Now, that's when I started to get cross, 'cause I figured you were going to be all rude again, but then you sat down, I think, and you started stroking the cat, and then you said, 'It's hard to believe that I actually missed him.'"

He kept his face turned carefully away, but his usually-pale skin was still fiercely pink even in the greyness of dusk.

I took a long, gurgling sip at my milkshake, and waited for the brain freeze to subside. I was drawing this out. I've always loved teasing him – I still do. Maybe it's a bit mean to get on his nerves so much, but you can bet that if he ever found something that really annoyed me, he would do it non-stop. He's so funny when he's pissed. I can look at him and see how he's trying to stop himself from half killing me – and at the same time, I know he'd never really hurt me. I used to be almost afraid of him, afraid of what he'd do for power, but these days, ninety per cent of the time I'm pretty sure that he doesn't really hate me.

The other ten per cent?

That's when I just have to trust him blindly.

Luckily, I don't have a problem with that at all.

"Do you want to know what else you said?" I asked at last.

He said nothing.

I continued happily, "You said, 'Tyson's like that, though, I guess. He's the sort of person you have to like. He's loud and he's rude and he's immature, but he's loyal and caring and strong, as well. He never gives up.' Yes, Kai, you said that, and there's no point in denying it. You called me strong! I heard you!"

"Obviously I was drunk," he muttered.

I waved the milkshake around excitedly. "You admit it!" I yelled. "Finally! You admit that I'm not useless!" I slurped at the remainder of the drink jubilantly before chucking the carton away into the nearest dustbin I saw. "Of course, you did say one other thing," I said, after a while, wondering if I should bring it up.

"Don't say it," he said, warningly, looking up and realising that we were almost at the dojo. The relief in his face was obvious. Damn. Should I really mention this last bit? It had been pretty – well, intense. I hadn't really believed my ears when I'd heard him say it. I'd always figured that he hated me. It was weird to know that he actually did care, even if only the littlest bit – weird, and oddly comforting.

See, I care about him a lot. I mean, I'll think about him, and it'll feel like I really and truly could do anything he asked me to do – just for him. He's very special to me. I mean…gah. I can't explain it. I just…really, really like him. He's tough and headstrong and stubborn, but he's a good friend to me. I love his eyes. I love the way sometimes, just sometimes, after a really good battle, he'll give me this small, tired, wistful smile. It's so quiet and rare that it's almost like a secret between the two of us, like a special present he's been saving just for me, and it makes me feel dizzyingly, dazedly happy. I love how he'll just laze around for hours on the hillsides, chewing on a piece of grass and smiling up into the empty air. He looks so peaceful and happy then, and it's really nice to see him looking happy. It makes me happy. I love how…oh, you get the point. There's a lot to love about Kai.

As we walked slowly through the gates, I said, quietly, "Yeah, well, it wasn't much. You just…you said that…that you liked how I never gave up, and that I'd never given up on you, and that you were never going to give up on me, either." We were standing on the front porch by this time, and I paused with one hand on the door, suddenly wanting to continue the conversation. Seeing that I had stopped, he turned to look at me, his arms crossed over his chest, defiance and determination on his face.

"What other nauseating comments did I reputedly make?" he asked, lifting his chin a little, keeping his gaze firmly on mine.

"Dude – you're shaking," I said, frowning.

"It's cold," he said, steadily.

"Yeah, but – not that cold…and you've never complained before…"

"What did I say, Tyson?" he snapped, and this time there was a definite break in his voice. It kind of reminded me of that time at the airport, when I'd been saying goodbye to him, and I'd been so sure that I had heard defeat and almost disappointment in his voice. It was like – there! I had it. It was like he was cross with himself. That expression on his face was almost identical to the one he wore when he lost a battle. It was like he'd somehow betrayed himself…only this was much worse…

"Kai?" I asked, suddenly worried. My hand had shot out impulsively to rest on his upper arm, my fingers coming into contact with the cloth of his jacket, and unconsciously slipping under the sleeve just the littlest bit, so that I felt cold, smooth skin. "Kai, I'm sorry if I…it was just for a laugh…"

"What did I say?" he asked again, his voice low and intense.

I swallowed. "You said that you would always look out for me." He was shaking violently now, and my fingers were pressed deep into his arm. My throat was very dry as I spoke the final words in a whisper. "You said that you'd do anything for me."

"I would," he burst out in a strained, furious undertone, his eyes burning into mine. "If you don't know that by now then you're stupid, Tyson."

"You never said you would," I said, stupidly. I was suddenly feeling very jittery. Was that adrenaline shooting through my system? Why was my heart suddenly beating so quickly? I was horribly aware of my fingers still resting on his arm, but I didn't want to jerk them away, because that would look like I was embarrassed, and the only reason I would be embarrassed would be that I…

"So what?" he asked, fiercely, his eyes glittering darkly in the blue light of evening. His hand had leapt through towards my face, but stopped halfway, hanging in midair, trembling erratically. "You're…you…you're…Tyson…" His breathing shaky, his hand slowly moved further towards me, jerkily. His fingers brushed my jawbone with a whisper-soft touch that sent tickling, tingling sensations zipping through me, and then his hand was pressed up against my cheek, his thumb fitting snugly into the hollow under my chin, his little finger splayed across my lips. I could hardly breathe, I swear. The look in his eyes was electrifying: ferociously protective, and quietly, tenderly yearning. My entire body was bursting with fearful, dizzying delight. A small part of me was saying, "What the…?" The rest of me was fighting an insane urge to laugh my head off. I moved my hand further up his arm, finding the skin of his neck and stroking it gently with curved fingers, suddenly very much in love with how soft and cool he felt.

"Kai…" I began, not exactly sure in the slightest what I was going to say. "Dude, we…" His hand slipped into my hair, and I forgot how to talk. That same look was in his eyes – like he was disgusted with himself for being weak – but it was overshadowed by another look, one that was very like a painful, powerful hope. We had managed to get much closer together than I remembered having been before, and his other arm had somehow curled itself underneath mine, so that we were held loosely together, our bodies warm against each other, while the quiet, indigo twilight pressed in around us. I could feel his hot, quavering breaths brushing my lips, and I suddenly realised that if I didn't move now, something would be lost forever; I pushed my head forward in a sudden rush - and my lips met empty air.

His arms were rapidly pulling themselves back from mine, pushing me away from him insistently, desperately – and as I looked up, I saw why. Hilary, shadowed against the buttery-yellow light from within, had slid the door open, and was standing looking curiously at us.

"You're late," she said, sniffing indignantly. "And if I know Tyson, he's probably gone and spoiled his appetite with junk food…now he won't eat his dinner and it'll be all wasted…"

"Ah, Hil, you know me!" I said, way too brightly, forcing a laugh. "I'll eat anything and everything you put in front of me."

"Yes, well, that's probably true," she grumped, and glared at Kai, who was presumably standing behind me. I was too shaky to check. What the hell had been going on back there? Had we been about to…? If I ignored it, it would hopefully go away. Damn, that had been scary. "This is your fault, Kai. You should have made him come home sooner."

"It's not my fault he can't take care of himself," I heard him say caustically, and he padded past me through the door, having quickly removed his shoes. Hilary jumped back quickly as he passed, his scarf flaring out behind him, then grinned wickedly at me.

"Guess someone's in a bad mood," she said, chuckling. "Hey, come in, alright? You must be freezing. Plus, we've got a surprise for you!"

"Uh…what kind of surprise?"

I hadn't taken two steps inside when I was attacked by something excited and blond.

"Tyson!"

"Maxie!"

There was Max, my oldest friend, almost seventeen now, his smile as wide as ever. He punched me happily on the arm and ruffled up my hair. I threw my arms around him and had fun trying to strangle him. "It's so good to see you!" he squeaked.

"How come you're here?" I asked, releasing him. "I thought you were going to stay with your mom!"

"I was," he said. "But my dad just got this awesome new place by the sea, and he wanted me to come check it out, and I wanted to see you guys, so my mom said it was OK. She was really nice about it. Oh, this is going to be great!" He grinned up at me, laughed, and hugged me again.

"Why didn't you tell me in your e-mails?" I asked him over the top of his head.

"We wanted it to be a surprise," he explained.

"We?"

"Yeah, Rei as well – oh, I didn't tell you!"

"Tell me what, you bonehead?" I almost yelled. "Where's Rei?"

"Oh, he's still in China, but he'll be flying in a couple days from now. We're going to meet him at my dad's place. That's the whole point, you see. I'm inviting all the Bladebreakers to come stay with us for the next few weeks! It'll be the best! It's this huge house, they just built it, and it's right near to the beach…"

"We're going on vacation!" Daichi shouted excitedly, bounding through the door and jumping up onto my back. What with Maxie hugging me from the front, and Daichi trying to pull my head off from behind, my legs kind of gave way, and we landed up in a bruised, tangled heap on the floor, laughing and fighting and yelling madly. I could hear Hilary sighing and tapping her foot, and I sat up, pushing Daichi off me, and said, "Hey, Hil, what was that about supper?"

"Boys," she muttered, and stomped off towards the kitchen. She's the sweetest little thing, she really is. Following her with my eyes, I saw Kai, leaning against the doorpost, and grinned across at him. I figured the sooner we forget whatever had almost happened out there, the better.

"Hey, Kai!" I called. "We're going on vacation!"

"So I heard," he said, acidly, showing no sign of anything except his usual scorn for anyone but himself.

"Ah, you can at least be a little excited about it!" Maxie said, pouting up at him. "Geez, Tyson. You still haven't managed to teach him to smile?"

"Nope," I said. "Hey, you need to be human to smile, remember?"

"Kai's not human?" Daichi asked, sitting up.

"'Course not, Daichi!" I told him. "He's an evilcloned mutant from beyond the solar system."

"Cool!"

Kai chose that moment to stomp off in a huff. Hey, I hadn't been expecting much else. He was Kai, after all.

"Same old Kai," Maxie sighed.

"Yup," I said happily, pushing Daichi off my foot. "Everything's back to normal."

Yeah, I made use of Kai's little habit of talking to animals again. You know, like how he ALWAYS talks to cats, and how there was that one very random shot of him hanging out with a camel when they were in Cairo? Hey, it's cute, and it made the plot go along more easily.

I know that I tend to describe Kai's smile a lot, and this is because my sister, who is deeply, deeply in love with him, shrieks with joy every time he does actually smile. So it's kind of stuck in my head…which is not a bad thing…because Kai smiling is very adorable…unbelievably adorable…absolutely unbelievably adorable… (brain dissolves into mush)

The idea so far has been that the first two chapters were trying to set the basic tone and give a vague background, as well as mentioning details that would be important later on. Now the plot has begun to exist, and so things should actually start happening from here. I put a lot more effort into this chapter, and it's definitely been the best so far in my opinion, but it's not my opinion that counts – IT'S YOURS! Please feel free to tell me what you think of all this! Just click on the friendly little button at the bottom of the screen. All reviews be greatly appreciated!