A/N: So, here comes to sequel some of you have been asking for… I hope you like it, but first things first: the disclaimer.

I STILL am not out of my mind enough to think that I actually own something concerning Beyblade, so you can forget about suing me.

Alright then, lets get to the story.


Seven-years old Igor Petrova's heart was beating so hard that he feared it might burst as he ran across the small, almost abandoned park in Moscow, in hopes of meeting his friend again. His spiked, chocolate brown hair was completely messed up as he finally stood on a small hill, and his huge brown eyes lightened up as he saw the familiar figure sitting on a bench not too far away.

He's finally back!

Smirking cunningly, he begun sneaking towards his friend, trying to scare the other like every single time. But once again, the other boy couldn't be surprised.

" Trying to scare me again, Igor?" the other boy inquired in Russian, sounding amused.

Smirking widely, Igor took a seat beside his friend. " Yeah". A comfortable silence fell upon the two as they both drifted into their thoughts.

To anyone they made a weird couple. Where Igor was just barely seven, the other was much older, in his late teens. The boy – who still hadn't given Igor his name although they'd somewhat known each other for over ten months – had grey, almost silvery, spiked hair. Igor was sure that the hair had once held shine and glory – just like the boy – but now fell almost limply. The blue face-paint couldn't quite disguise how pale the boy's skin was. But what confirmed Igor that something bad had happened to his mysterious friend were his eyes. They held a strangest shade of auburn, and somewhere in their depths burned a hint of a fire stronger than anything Igor had ever seen before. But… They were almost blank, held such pain and sadness that Igor couldn't even understand it. Many times he'd asked his friend the reason to his sadness, but the other would always firmly refuse to tell him anything.

But that didn't matter that much to Igor. After all, the boy's past wasn't the reason Igor had became friends with him. At first, for almost two months, the boy had watched him practise blading – or at least trying to do so. Then, slowly but surely, the strange, stoic boy had became his trainer – and his only friend. It was like they were two lonely souls that had by some weird coincidence found each other.

" You are late today", the older boy finally broke the silence.

Igor pouted. " Well you haven't even showed up for the past two weeks!" he complained, speaking in Russian as well. Just then the sleeves of the other boy's long black jacket shifted slightly, and he noticed the thick, pure-white bandages covering his friend's both wrists. He frowned. " Are those battle-injuries?".

The older boy pulled his sleeves to cover the bandages again, and gave a faint half-smile. " Yes, I guess you could say so".

His frown deepened. " Are you okay?".

The boy's burgundy eyes were almost gentle as he looked at Igor. " Yeah, I think I will be".

Igor wanted to ask more, but knew that it would only irritate his friend and ended up giving a simple nod instead. Another silence fell upon them.

" I am sorry, Igor, but I can't stay for long today. But…". The older boy took something from his jacket-pocket and offered it to him. " I wanted to give you this".

Looking at the offered gift, Igor couldn't help but gasp. It was a beautiful, brand-new, midnight-blue blade with black stripes.

He took the gift like a piece of finest porcelain, and looked at his older friend in awe. " How…?".

The other smirked. " I heard that Sergei-guy broke your blade in your latest match. Figured out you needed a new one. It's an upgraded version".

He blinked and beamed. " Thank you".

The older boy replied with a simple smile. Suddenly, they both saw a red-haired boy with coffee-brown jacket standing at the nearby edge of the park, looking at his friend expectantly.

His friend's smile faded, and the boy gave him an apologetic look. " I'm sorry, but I have to go now. I'll see you later, okay?".

" As long as it's sooner than after two weeks", he replied.

With small grin, his friend got up and walked up to his friend. He watched them until they were out of his sight, then decided to go and train with his new blade. After all, he wanted to be at his best when his mysterious friend would decide to turn up again.


Kai and Tala walked silently for a while, enjoying the beautiful autumn-morning.

" I still don't understand why you're hanging around that kid", Tala finally broke the silence.

Kai shrugged. " He's going to be a great blader one day. Besides, he's much less annoying than most people around".

Tala arched an amused eyebrow. " Are you hinting something, Hiwatari?".

Kai gave his friend the most innocent look he could possibly muster. " Who, me? Never!".

Considering the past eleven months Kai had spent in Russia, living in Tala's small apartment, the conversation was a huge progress. It gave at least some hope that the old Kai Hiwatari still existed somewhere deep down.

However, no matter how much Tala would've wanted to carry on with the harmless, happy chit-chat, he knew that some things had to be discussed. Some serious things. " Have you thought about what Dr. Rezchnig suggested?".

Kai's face darkened. " You mean if I've considered calling them… her?".

Tala nodded. " Yeah".

Kai seemed something between angry and sad, refused to meet Tala's eyes. The grey-haired boy shook his head resolutely. " No. I am not calling her". The boy sighed. " We've talked about this dozens of times, Tala! I left to give her a chance to be happy. I am not going to ruin it now!".

You have no idea of how much your ruining her life with this ridiculous hiding!, Tala wanted to scream out loud, but managed to stop himself. He knew that shouting would only make things worse, make Kai distance even more.

" How do you know what she wants if you don't even ask?" he inquired carefully, choosing his words cautiously.

Kai seemed almost desperate as the boy finally looked at him. " Tala, please don't. I don't need that right now".

Swallowing his screaming thoughts again, Tala nodded. " Okay".

Kai gave a faint smile. " Thanks".

Kai was thanking Tala of much more than just letting him be, actually. During the past eleven months, Tala had pretty much been the only one who'd kept him at least slightly in his senses. Forced him to eat and shower when a particularly bad day stroke, talked to him, listened to his endless choruses of cries during the dark hours of night… Kai knew very well that he'd been far from the easiest possible roommate, but Tala had coped with him anyway. That meant a lot to him, especially considering their colourful history.

Tala plainly smirked. " No problem. But you're gonna pay me some serious amount of rent as soon as you're back on your feet, you know that?".

Kai rolled his eyes. " Good 'ol Tala".

" Oh, shut it Hiwatari. You're living in my place, remember? Piss me of and you're living with Igor faster than you can say 'Dranzer'".

" Like you'd ever kick me out", Kai smirked. " Admit it, Ivanov: you've become accustomed to me living with you".

After that another silence fell upon them, and Tala took a quick look at his friend. Sadness immediately filled his heart. During the conversation, it'd been easy to forget that Kai wasn't exactly okay. But now, when the Phoenix had drifted back into his thoughts again… It still frightened him to see his friend's before so fiery eyes completely blank and lifeless.

It was 'bout time to do something about it. If Kai wasn't willing to save himself, Tala would have to do it for him.

END OF CHAPTER.


A/N: So, do you think this story deserves a chance to live for another two chappies?

So long (for now)!