Change the World
Chapter III
Wordless Communication

Two days after Rei's encounter with the half-creature and he was deemed well enough to go about on his own. The blood loss caused him to be weak for quite awhile, but everyone helped him with things that he needed—even the captain, surprisingly. Though the wound was healing nicely, it was evident that a scar would remain, a lifelong reminder of a horrifying experience. Everyone continued to question him about how he had received the wound, but he stuck to his branch story. He would not risk his friends.

Currently, the nekojin was sitting at the large oak dining table, sipping some hot chocolate while looking about the room. Exactly how, Rei wasn't sure, but Max had convinced Takao to help him make lunch for everyone. He was concerned whether or not it would be edible, or whether there would even be enough for everyone by the time they were done, but at least he didn't have to cook. The golden-eyed boy could hear the whistling of the blond while he made the food, the sound stopping only to be replaced by scolding directed at the navy-haired 'blader. The team captain was presumably in his room, as was Kyouju. Or he was, anyway, Rei thought, as the small boy was spotted walking down the stairs, laptop under one arm.

"Hey, Chief," the ebony-haired boy said cheerily, after taking a sip of the steaming liquid in his mug.

"Hi, Rei. How are you feeling?" the brunet replied, just as cheery, while seating himself across from the Driger 'blader.

"Oh, a bit better than earlier, thanks."

"That's good to hear." Kyouju said with a smile, before turning on his computer.

After a few more moments, a loud "Takao!" was heard, and the two at the table looked at each other with raised eyebrows. After another moment, Kyouju's typing recommenced. As Rei finished his drink and set the empty mug in front of him, he decided to ask the smallest member of the BBA Revolution what he had been curious about.

"Hey, Chief?"

"Yes?" he paused typing once again and looked over the top of his laptop at the other boy, who was staring into the bottom of his mug.

"That Hisato... Do you think he's trustworthy?" this caught Kyouju off guard. He hadn't really thought about the man.

"He seems nice enough."

"I guess. But I just have this weird feeling, like he's not who he claims to be. Speaking of which, what kind of tests could he be running that would take three weeks?"

"Well, various tests could take such a long time, especially depending on the equipment. Not having Driger is bothering you, isn't it?"

Rei nodded and another silence followed, this time the keyboard remaining still.

"What do you think? Why would Daitenji-san even accept to that without asking us first?" the nekojin looked up at last from his empty mug to look at the younger boy in front of him, who in turn looked at his fingers that were laced together on the table in front of him.

"I'm not quite sure myself. Daitenji-san did say he knew Aizawa-san, but that they hadn't seen each other in a while, so I assume in his joy at meeting him again he accepted without thinking. But even so, I don't think it was a good idea for Daitenji-san to separate the team from their bit beasts and beyblades, no matter who the person was that asked."

They were interrupted from further conversation by a certain blond and bluenet emerging from the kitchen at last, each holding a tray. One contained a rather large plate of different kinds of sandwiches, while the other held various drinks.

"Lunch is served!" Max said cheerfully, setting down his tray as his love followed his example. "Should someone get Kai?"

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Rei asked warily, taking note of the idiotic grin on the small blond's face. "I—I should save my strength, remember?" he stuttered in an attempt to not have to face the captain alone. He was rather shocked when Takao joined in the grin and raised an eyebrow. "You told?"

Max nodded sheepishly.

"I made him." the Dragoon 'blader said to save his Max from harm. Kyouju was left clueless, and settled for eating a sandwich quietly while watching the exchange.

"Fine," the raven-haired of the group sighed heavily, before getting to his feet and heading for the giant carpeted staircase.

The dark blue material was soft and springy underfoot, though the teen wasn't concentrating on the feel of the carpet, nor the smooth surface of the banister that supported him. He was somewhat surprised when he found himself already at the captain's bedroom door, not having paid much attention to the change in his surroundings.

He took a deep breath, not really wanting to do this in case he would be disturbing the older boy, but raised his hand to knock anyway. The sound of his knuckles hitting against the fine wood echoed around him, before the door was opened and he was greeted by the slate-haired boy, expressionless as ever.

He was wearing a tight, dark blue turtleneck sweater and a pair of baggy black jeans, which was proper clothing considering autumn was approaching and with it the colder weather. Rei himself was wearing his usual baggy blue pants, though a midnight blue sweater similar to Kai's replaced his usual Chinese-style shirt.

"Um, lunch is ready, if you wanted any." Rei said, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Hn. You should be saving your strength. Why didn't one of the others come to inform me?" The golden-eyed boy shrugged. He would have been more shocked if Kai hadn't been showing that he cared that Rei was hurt lately, though whether accidentally or not he didn't know.

They walked in silence back to the dining room, where conversation was rather loud among the three teammates already digging into lunch. They sat down on opposite sides of the table, both still silent, though the eldest was always that way. The conversing teenagers didn't seem to notice the nekojin's sudden quietness, but a pair of dark red orbs did.

.x.

Max and Takao made their way up to Rei's room an hour after lunch, knocking politely on the doorframe. The door was left open so it would be easier for the raven-haired boy to call if he needed anything. The injured boy was laying under the warm silk blankets, a book propped open on his chest that gently rose and fell with his breathing. His golden eyes averted from the book to the door at the noise, and smiled to let his friends know they were allowed to come in.

"How you feeling?" Takao asked first, seating himself on the edge of the bed.

"Will everyone stop asking me that every hour?" Rei raised an eyebrow as he spoke, but let it drop as he explained that he was fine. Takao grinned sheepishly at Rei, knowing that he was the one that repeated the question most. Max only chuckled.

"We were going to go into town with Kyouju to do a bit of shopping, and were wondering if you wanted to come?" the blond said as he also sat on the bed.

"Nah. I'm just going to stay here." The baby blue-eyed boy grinned, and Rei raised an eyebrow again. "Something amusing?"

"Oh, nothing. Just that Kai's staying here, too."

"Your point?" Max rolled his eyes at the nekojin.

"Stop playing dumb." he poked Rei in the side, which made him jump slightly; the ebony-haired boy was very ticklish.

"Look, both of you. If I couldn't say anything to him before, then I'm certainly not going to when I feel like this."

"That's what he wants us to think. He's going to trap Kai in his room and seduce him or something." the navy-haired of the three whispered into his love's ear, though Rei heard it perfectly fine and sent a glare Takao's way. Takao grinned while Max didn't bother suppressing his laughter.

"I think it best you get going before I hurt you." the amber-eyed boy said with a dark look, though it was evident to someone who knew him well that he was joking.

"We're going, we're going. Want us to buy you anything?" the Draciel 'blader grinned again.

Rei thought for a moment before he grinned back. "If Takao doesn't eat it all, something sweet would be nice."

He laughed as Takao sent his own glare at him, before leaving the room in a pretend huff, quickly followed by a laughing blond who nodded at his request.

Shortly after the teenagers had left their temporary home, the same limo and chauffeur that had driven them to town a few days ago picking them up, Rei found himself unable to concentrate on his book any longer. It was too quiet without the loud noises of talk and laughter and the television downstairs for him to stay focused on the selected reading material. Deciding to clean up a bit since he felt too restless to be in bed any longer, the nekojin swung his legs out of bed and ventured down the staircase with the silence of a hunting tiger. He looked around the dining room, figuring his teammates had left their dirty dishes there, which was indeed where they were.

Typical, Rei thought. But then, it gives me something to do.

He gathered up the dishes and took them to the kitchen, setting them down carefully in the sink. He didn't trust dishwashers to get things fully clean, so he didn't spare a glance at the one neatly installed under a countertop. He turned the taps on and the sink began to fill up with warm water. He added some dish washing soap to the liquid, before rolling up his sleeves and waiting for the sink to fill up.

.x.

Endless red pools belonging to a certain seventeen-year-old bluenet stared unseeingly at the white ceiling, his mind filled with so many thoughts that he felt it might explode if one more dared to venture in. Finally, the eyelids closed over the mahogany orbs, moistening them and hiding them from the world. He needed to get his mind off of things, and a walk sounded nice at the moment, considering it was a rather nice day if one subtracted the cold.

The teenager sat up and left the warm confines of his bed to saunter over to his wardrobe to change. He slipped on his usual pair of dark blue cargo pants, but opted to put on a dark red long-sleeved. He walked into the adjoined bathroom and ran a brush quickly through his two-toned hair; he may only be going for a walk, but that was no excuse to look like he just got out of bed.

Closing the bedroom door behind him as he went out into the hallway, Kai decided to see if Rei wanted anything before he left him. Striding down the hallway to the nekojin's room, he noticed that no one occupied the bed. He called the boy's name, but got no response, so stepped into the room. He wasn't in the bathroom, so in the unlikely manner he was hiding under the bed, Rei was not in the room.

The captain strode back down the hallway and to the staircase. For an unclear reason, he suddenly found himself staring at the banister and remembering how Takao had tried sliding down it when they first got to the mansion, and ended up falling off halfway down and getting a bad case of rug burn in a not-so-comfortable place.

Shaking his head lightly to rid him of that thought, the teen headed down the staircase. When he reached the bottom, a wonderful sound filled his ears. Recognizing the voice, Kai's curiosity grew. He had never realized Rei could sing so beautifully, and suddenly found himself wishing the younger boy would do so more often.

The voice was a bit higher than usual of a male, though that was quite possibly what made it so beautiful. The notes were like the pure tinkling of a wind chime, caressing his ears and leaving him wanting more.

"I want to change the world..."

The slate-haired boy walked silently to where the melody was coming from—which turned out to be the kitchen—and peeked in. There was the raven-haired nekojin with his back facing him, singing while he done the dishes. Not wanting to be seen and have the song stop, Kai turned and leaned against the wall beside the entrance to the kitchen, listening with his eyes closed. There was something odd about that song. He felt like he had heard it before, but where?

The singing stopped and a slight chuckle was heard. "I know you're there, Kai."

Kai's eyes shot open and he blinked. How did he know...?

Rei came out of the kitchen to stand beside Kai, grinning at him while he dried his hands on a towel. "You like my singing?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Hn. I just came to see if you wanted anything before I left." the captain replied monotonously.

Rei's grin wasn't as wide after the reply, but he was still smiling. "I can manage. Thanks, though. Where you going?"

"A walk."

"Ah. ...Clear your mind kind of walk, or sight seeing walk?"

"Clear your mind."

Rei nodded and an awkward silence followed. Kai had yet to look Rei in the eye, and this upset Rei. Had he done something wrong?

"You should rest when you're done." the Dranzer 'blader broke the silence.

"I've had enough rest for a while. I'll be fine." the bluenet didn't reply, just nodded while looking directly in front of him.

Damn it, what is wrong with me? It's kind of hard to take a walk when you don't move away from the kitchen door! Kai berated himself in his mind. After another painfully long moment he finally managed to get his frozen legs to work, and headed for the door. As he reached it, he grabbed his jacket off the coat rack and shrugged it on. Just as he was about to turn the doorknob, though...

"Rei?" Kai called, not even sure how he spoke the name, and turned around to look in the direction the boy had been.

"Yes, Kai?" Rei replied, also turning to look in the other's direction.

In that instant, fiery mahogany met shining gold, fire met another kind of fire, and both were unable to move, or even blink. The red orbs let the emotionless mask slide away and they shone brighter, filled with emotions suppressed for so long. The golden orbs seemed to light up even brighter at the sight of the other eyes, never expecting to see such things coming from them, but ecstatic at the sight. Time seemed to stop altogether, if it even existed at that moment. So much was told to each other in that instant, yet so little compared to what both wished to share.

As they say, however, all good things must come to an end; and like that saying, the wonderful moment was halted as both blinked their eyes, and the owner of the red pair turned and left through the door, closing it gently behind him.

The golden-eyed boy felt as though he might collapse if he didn't seat himself, so quickly headed for the nearby dining table and sat in one of the cushioned chairs. Resting his elbows on the table's surface, the nekojin put his forehead into his hands and stared unseeingly at the shining wood beneath his gaze. His mind held an image of those fire-filled pools, so unlike what he was used to, but he would gladly get used to what he had just seen. Rei wasn't sure what to think; For all he knew, the emotions that flooded through him in that instant could have been completely one-sided, but he really wished he was wrong in thinking so.

Meanwhile, outside, the bluenet was leaning against the giant front doors, staring wide-eyed at the bright blue sky. He had succeeded in confusing himself even more than he was in his room, something he had not planned on. Why had he even called Rei's name in the first place? He kept thinking everything that happened over, trying to find out what had happened. Though the real answer was so simple, he refused to accept it. What he had to admit, however, was that he got dangerously lost in the golden depths, and yet he wanted to again. Everything that was happening right now was so foreign to him and happening all at once, he was afraid he was going to have a breakdown soon. Kai forced himself to be strong and took a deep, shuddering breath. He stuffed his pale hands into his coat pockets and began the walk he had originally set out for, needing it now more than ever.

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A/N: Yes, yes, I've been re-editing the chapters (again). You have permission to throttle me. I just wanted to say here that I thought it would be safest if I edited out the lyrics I originally had in this chapter, because, you know, I really really don't want this story to suddenly get deleted because of two bits of lyrics. D: (You know, I still find it funny that my songfic has yet to be deleted, and it's been up for, like, ever. XD; Maybe I should take it down so I don't get in trouble, hm?)

Thanks:

Ravenstar: Actually, they ended here, but yeah... ((big sweatdrop)) XD I promise you and everyone else who reads this, I WILL finish this fic if it takes me the rest of my life! Which it won't... I hope. XD I'm really glad you're still sticking in there, I really appreciate that. :D
devilburns: And another update to follow shortly after this! X3 ((typetype))
Zoutou Ivanov: Thank yooouu:D I like your penname, by the way. XD

- Toady-chan