Disclaimer : I don't own MFB.

On his way to TC

Kyouya had always known he would inherit the family business. The TC, his father's masterpiece, which he had built with his hands before turning into a major player on the international scene. In his mind, it was obvious: it was a big company, Tategami was right in the name and Kyouya was the eldest son. Everything was brought together so the TC would be his one day.

(In truth, Kyouya had learned that if his father had hoped to see him inherit his business, he wouldn't have entrusted it to him if he had not judged him worthy. Kyouya understood, even though he would never tell his father. However, he was relieved to have learned this after this ridiculous story with Spiral Energy. If he had known this earlier–for example, before the Wolf Canyon trial and his awareness–he-

Kyouya preferred not to think about it. In fact, he preferred not to think about the person he had been at the time. He knew he would have reacted like a temperamental brat who had been snatched the latest fashionable toy and he was terribly ashamed of it. He could only be happy to have met Ginga and to have rid himself of his Ptolemaic vision of the world.)

Going back to TC, since childhood, Kyouya had felt a mixture of pride and reluctance towards it. No. Not a mixture. Let's say he felt them alternately. One day, he was happy with the future where he ran this huge company, which bore his name. He was anxious to have hundreds, thousands, destinies in his hands. (As a child, he had underestimated the number of TC employees: it was closer to hundreds of thousands of direct jobs. He still had no idea of the total number of people who depended on it, even though he assumed it accounted in millions.) He had understood, with his father's explanations, that trade was a battlefield and he dreamed of sending his army to defeat his enemies. He already saw himself at the top of the world.

Moreover, his father had a lot of work to do. Kyouya was not likely to be bored–he hated boredom.

And no one could give him orders. The dream!

Other days–fortunately, quite rarely–Kyouya found boring his future laid so clearly in front of him. Grade school, middle school, high school, TC. People around him were wondering. Would they study or start working right away? Would they have a long career, or would they be doing odd jobs? Perhaps they would take the time to travel...

Kyouya had the answer to all these questions. He could join the TC without having to go through high studies–his father had been working in the field for years, which was worth a thousand times all the theoretical courses–and he would follow a long career there, until his retirement or death, whichever comes first. (He was very good at getting into trouble. A hint? Maybe.) He would travel around the world to sign or strengthen contracts. The future was unfolding in all clarity before his eyes, and he couldn't help but find it boring. Where was the mystery, the discovery, the novelty? Would he really spend his whole life behind a desk–from school to work?

Kyouya didn't allow either of these emotions to change his path. He was working hard at school and was doing well–he had to admit he didn't have to put in too much effort–saving him a lot of time by avoiding evening classes and catching up during the summer holidays. He could use his free time as he wants. His parents were not the kind of people who watched his every step of the way, who imposed strict rules. They trusted him.

Which his father had somewhat regretted when there had been this affair with Daidouji. The Tategami were not strict but "not to follow a stranger in a unknow place" was, of course, part of the Rules. Kyouya still had the ears echoing from the brawl he had taken. He hadn't been able to reply, since his father was right, which was–from his very objective point of view–the worst in this history.

The only reason that had prevented his parents from locking him up in his room until he reached majority was because Kyouya had learned. This misadventure–totally, desperately, his fault–had allowed him to become more mature. He had discovered a passion for which he was ready to make efforts–something he had never experienced before.

Kyouya thanked every day for meeting Ginga Hagane–so did his parents, certainly.

He hated to have lost to him and the memory of this defeat continued to irritate him. Until this duel against Ginga, he had never failed. He succeeded in everything he undertook, without having to invest much.

Even though his parents had never admitted it, they, on the contrary, were surely happy Kyouya had lost. Internally, Kyouya understood this defeat was an important stage in his journey. He saw all the benefits he had received from it–which didn't prevent him from resenting it, out of principle. Losing to Ginga, then facing the Wolf Canyon, had shown him his limits. His self-image had been shattered. He was still confident–after all, he was strong, persistent, courageous and intelligent–but he didn't see himself as greater than he was. Instead of positioning himself as superior to the rest of the world, he used his own means to improve himself and welcomed his results alone. He didn't need people to see his progress. He just needed to know how far he'd come to be proud.

Even though he still hated the bitter taste of defeat.

Working with Ginga had not only taught him to accept defeat–he had known others after him, even though none deserved his attention as much as this first defeat–and to make an effort to get what he wanted. It went further than that: Ginga had given him a glimpse into the lives of people outside the Tategami home.

Kyouya had always lived in comfort. He had never lacked anything, either materially or emotionally. His parents loved him. They accepted it as it was, without shame or desire to change him. He often argued with his father, but he had never doubted his love for him–and was it not for this reason he shouted at him so freely?

Kyouya had always had a roof over his head, food at every meal. He had pocket money and gifts. His parents celebrated birthdays and Christmas as they do in the West, with mountains of gifts–he was spoiled and he assumed it. He loved spending long afternoons in shops, especially when it came to clothing.

Not everyone had that chance.

Kyouya was not totally oblivious of the rest of the world. He knew that most people didn't live as comfortably as the Tategamis. Except it was one thing to know it intellectually, but it was another to see it with your own eyes. It turned what used to be a mere data into a reality.

Ginga first of all. When Kyouya had met his rival, he was an orphan–frankly, he thought he would have done better if he had continued to believe it–his father was a millstone that slowed him down. For one thing, it had been hard for him to run into someone who had no family to take care of him and who lived on the street relying on his own resources. Someone of his age. And, beyond the fact he had a debt to Ginga, and a revenge to take, he had gone to seek him at Koma because he was worried about him.

And, as if all this was not enough: tadaa! Ginga's father, if you could call him that, was still alive and had willingly inflicted these trials on his son. He had left him in the dark for a year, without worrying about anything that could have gone wrong: the hypothetical ill-intentioned adults against whom all the parents were placing their children in custody–at least Kyouya had believed it until then–and the certainly the ill-intentioned adults Ginga was pursuing. Among others.

Kyouya couldn't figure out how a parent could do that to their child. His parents would never hurt him that way. His father–though gruff on the edges–felt guilty about hurting him, and Kyouya had a lot of fun about it.

(There was this time, for example, when he was nine years old, Gaou was trying to lecture him about something really boring. So Kyouya said, in a tearful tone, that he knew that Kakeru was his favorite son anyway and his father didn't have to make it so obvious. His father started stammering, trying to reassure him when he was no good at anything that had to do with sentimentalism. Which made the situation funny, until mom Tategami came by and told Kyouya to stop bothering his father. This had earned him a new moral lesson from Gaou.)

Kyouya had not bothered his father this way after meeting Ryuusei Hagane. In the end, a loving parent wasn't something that everyone had. He was one of the lucky ones... and, realizing it, he had no more heart to bother his father anymore.

And, as if Ginga the walking tragedy were not enough, Kyouya had met Yuu Tendou and Tithi. People in precarious situations had multiplied in his entourage, highlighting how lucky he was.

In addition to these aspects Kyouya would be unable to classify–it was positive, in a sense, but all this awareness was exhausting–there was an undeniably positive consequence to his encounter with Ginga: adventure. His life had become much more intense. He would be able to do without situations of global crisis– he would prefer even, except that Ginga seemed to attract them–but the rest was perfect. He traveled around the world without a chaperone, even if he took advantage of his status to enjoy a minimum of comfort: the opposite would be silly. He was fighting. He did great achievments with his own strength. It was refreshing.

And, since he had this life, Kyouya no longer felt the slightest reluctance towards his future at the TC. There was nothing oppressive about this future, because he had an exciting life next door. He traced his own path because he was master of his destiny. In addition, the few times he looked into his adult life, he realized he could apply what he did at Beyblade in the corporate world. TC would be his. It would be up to him to decide its fate. He realized he would have the power to shape it in his image, to improve it. If there was one thing he had learned with Beyblade, thanks to his rivalry with Ginga, it was that the only limits were those he accepted and that his efforts were always rewarded.

Another thing Kyouya had learned was to adore the status of his family. They were rich. Technically. Except it was his father who created the TC and made fortune. Their status didn't come from a distant ancestor... which meant they were both too rich to hang out with the common and not enough to frequent high circles without attracting glances laden with contempt. Kyouya had never been ashamed of his father's journey. He didn't care what others thought.

In fact, he accepted himself fully. He never smoothed his personality. Whether people stood him or not, it wasn't his problem. If they didn't like him, they just can get lost.

This feature of his personality entertained him particularly when his father dragged him to receptions where business leaders met. TC was important. It weighed on international trade. They couldn't afford to ignore it, even though they despised Gaou Tategami's career, even though their conservative and narrow spirit made Kyouya unbearable in their eyes. They tried to keep to themselves all the contempt and disgust he inspired them so as not to offend his father. Kyouya pity-tell-me-what-is-not-your-heir Tategami. Kyouya-can't-you-keep-him-under-control?-Tategami. They may not have said it, but Kyouya could see it in their eyes.

However, Kyouya could remember a fool who had the misfortune to denigrate him in front of his father. Gaou didn't screw him up at the time, but his tone and posture became colder and sharper–freaking out people who didn't know him personally. Later, with skillful contracts, the man's company was integrated into the TC and he could only keep his place by a thread–because he had a family, in fact. He had felt it. Since then, no one had ventured to make derogatory remarks.

Kyouya liked his status, and after seeing how imprisoned Julian Konzern was by his status had shown him how perfect his situation was. He had all the advantages of wealth without the disadvantages. He was more than sheltered from need, had all the comfort one could dream of, without bending under the weight of his name and its history.

He had learned a lot on the way to TC and would continue. He would become a perfect leader.

He had no hesitation anymore.

This path was his.

THE END