Change the World
Chapter IV
Unexpected Disturbances

"You were seen," a low voice growled out, the darkened face glaring murderously at the glowing object he was crushing in his fist.

"I could not prevent it from happening. The boy has very strong senses." an even lower, rumbling voice sounded, only heard in the man's head.

"Of course! What did you expect? I also see no reason for you to have damaged him. You will most certainly be killed for marring the perfect flesh of his body, once he realizes his true power."

"I offer my sincerest apologies, my lord, but your plans may have very well been spoiled had he revealed his sighting of me to his companions. Especially the tallest of them. He is related to the one you have hired to help you, am I right?"

"That may be so, but you overestimate that one—Kai, I believe I've heard him called—and especially Lord Rei's other companions. They're absolute idiots."

The tone in the man's voice signalled the end of the conversation, and the glow from the object in his hand died down as the creature within settled. The beast knew that it was his master who was underestimating Kai, for he knew the teenager would be able to place the his origins as a bit beast and somehow figure out who his master was, leading to horrible problems for their plans. However, he didn't dare object to what the man had said, for he knew he wouldn't hesitate to snap his residing place in half.

The man stood up and walked over to a small desk in the corner of the room and placed what he was holding upon it. The sun lit up the object, and it was easily identifiable as a black and emerald beyblade. The sun also gathered its attention to the tall male figure, lighting up his handsome features. He had very light blond hair and pale blue eyes that had an almost icy sheen to them, and he wore a formal, form-flattering black suit. He muttered to himself as he stared out the window, formulating plans in his mind.

Just then, there was a timid knock on the door, before it opened softly, flooding the darkened room with light from the hallway. A head peeked into the room and searched for the occupant, finally resting their eyes on the man standing at the window.

"Aizawa-san, Master Hiwatari requests your presence in his office." the male voice reported quietly. Seeing the other male make no reaction, he repeated his information. "Aizawa-san?"

"I heard you the first time. Leave," the blond said angrily, not moving from the window.

"Y—Yes, sir."

He heard the door close and scoffed. Souitirou thought he could boss him around, did he? Well, Hisato would do some bossing himself.

"Ogama.¹ Take a break for a while, I have nothing else for you to do for the time being."

"Yes, my lord."

.x.

A good ten minutes passed with Rei simply sitting in the same chair in the dining room, unmoving. He hadn't even noticed it until he snapped out of his thoughts, but he had shed several tears. The proof was not only on his face, but on the table as well. He quickly wiped at his eyes with his hands and dried the tears off the table with his sweater sleeve, the fabric immediately absorbing the moisture.

... Should I follow him? But I don't want to disturb him. Everyone needs alone time... But what if something happens? Wait, what could happen?' the thoughts battled in Rei's mind, neither side seeming to win nor back down.

"Screw it," Rei said, rather abruptly, remembering Max talking to him before. He had to take chances if he wanted anything to happen, so take a chance he would.

The nekojin walked over to the coat rack near the door and grabbed his jacket before leaving the mansion. Pausing for a moment once outside, he put the warm material on and zipped up the front. He jogged to the end of the driveway and looked down both paths of the abandoned dirt road, not sure which one to follow. He looked at the ground and saw footprints heading down the right path; he recognized the footprint, and began down that way.

.x.

An aging man with long gray hair sat impatiently in a large armchair that was placed in front of a giant cherry wood desk, papers and other such things scattered across its surface. At the same moment he was grumbling to himself about someone being some rather rude words the door to his office opened, and in stepped the one he was grumbling about.

"Ah, Hisato," the older man said with a grin that couldn't be any more mocking.

"Souitirou. You summoned me?" the blond said, cutting straight to the chase as he took a seat in front of the desk, eyeing some papers, before his gaze settled on the elder.

"Yes. The men I sent out as spies have reported back that Rei and my grandson have left the mansion and will be catching up with each other shortly."

"Their other companions?"

"They have gone into town, and don't appear to be coming back any time soon."

"So, in other words, this is the perfect opportunity," Hisato's eyes glinted with excitement. Souitirou nodded, eyeing the other man in his sudden emotional change. "Send out some of your men to capture them both! It will work perfectly. You want your grandson, and I want my little god."

Souitirou nodded his agreement, and that was all Hisato needed before he abruptly stood up and walked out the door, closing it noisily behind him. The remaining man leaned back in his chair and let out a sigh.

"That man definitely needs some psychological help. I wouldn't be working with him at all if he wasn't paying me and presented to me the perfect opportunity to get my grandson back..."

He leaned onto the desk and pushed a hidden button and spoke into a small speaker. "Send out... oh, four should be enough. You know the address."

.x.

The slate-haired boy shuffled along, staring at the ground beneath him, lost completely in his thoughts. Of course, those thoughts seemed to consist only of a certain teenager. His mind flashed images of the boy as if of its own accord, taunting him. He saw a flash of long ebony tresses blowing freely in the wind, the sun reflecting beautifully off of each silky strand. He saw a sly smirk, a tiger-like fang peeking out from soft, delicate lips. He saw rich gold, leading out to forever.

Kai stopped suddenly, feeling like he was going insane. Finally he just screamed out, his hands reaching up to dig into his hair, his mouth wide as the loud noise tore through the air, becoming lost in the wind. He collapsed to his knees, staring at the dirt-covered ground beneath him. He couldn't take it any longer.

"Am I... in love... with Rei?" he choked out, his voice barely above a whisper.

He felt his heart clench painfully. It was true. He was hopelessly lovesick over the nekojin. He had tried so hard to ignore his feelings, refusing to call them anything related to the word love, but he had only been digging deeper into the emotional mess he was now in. He knew it now, and finally admitted to it.

He, Hiwatari Kai, was in love with none other than Kon Rei.

"I have to tell him." he said at last.

How ironic, it seemed, that at that moment Kai heard footsteps and looked over his shoulder, only to see the object of his desire running toward him, hand in the air waving to him. He saw those fangs peeking out as the boy smiled to him, and he saw the glint of the sun on his impossibly black hair.

"Kai! I was a bit worried," Rei said as he caught up to the other, who was still on his knees. "Are you okay?" he asked, looking down at him.

Kai didn't respond. He remained where he was on the ground and directed his gaze back onto the dirt, his long slate-coloured bangs covering his face. Should he tell him now? How would he phrase it? What should he expect? Thoughts buzzed in his ears so loudly that he could barely hear the nekojin as he kneeled next to him.

"Kai? What's the matter?" Rei said softly, worry escaping into his voice.

"Rei... I..." the eldest barely whispered, though Rei's extra-sensitive hearing caught the sound.

"What is it?" the golden-eyed boy prompted, leaning a bit closer to Kai, not knowing he was making things harder for the captain.

He took in a deep breath. "Rei, I..." he fumbled for the words, nearly grasping them, but unable to stop them from slipping away each time.

At that moment a very unpleasant noise broke through the air, causing both of the teens to completely forget what was going on. They looked up as the noise drew closer, identifying the disturbance as a helicopter nearing their location. Rei squinted at it, noticing a logo on the side, attempting to read it.

"Oh... crap." his golden eyes widened.

Kai looked from the helicopter to the boy beside him, giving him a questioning look. The flying object wasn't close enough for his eyes to read it.

"Biovolt Corporation... We haven't exactly made peace with them, if I remember rightly..." Rei said, unconsciously moving closer to Kai.

"Shit," Kai cursed rather loudly, immediately standing up and hoisting the other boy up with him. "Run!"

The slate-haired boy grabbed Rei's smaller wrist and took off at a run, heading in the direction of the mansion, though he wasn't sure that would be a safe place in the least. He kept looking up at the sky, measuring how close the helicopter was getting to them. Of course it was faster than them, but they had to at least try to run away.

Kai heard a whimper come from the other boy and glanced behind him, noticing Rei holding his stomach. He cursed in his mind, not knowing what to do. If they kept running like this, the nekojin's wound may reopen, which would not be good at all in their current situation. However, he didn't want to know who was waiting in the helicopter.

"Rei, can you hold on a little longer? We're nearing the mansion." the slate-haired boy asked, continuously glancing from ahead of him, to the threatening helicopter, to the nekojin.

"Y—Yeah. Don't worry about me, just keep running."

As the red-bricked mansion finally came into view, Kai was thinking things might be okay, only to have that train of thought crash as he heard a different noise come from the closing-in helicopter. Jerking his head upward to find the source of the noise, he saw the door on the side of the vehicle wide open, bringing several men with parachutes strapped to their back in view.

Rei, having not heard the unpleasant noise due to his aching stomach, noticed Kai staring at the sky with wide eyes and looked up himself. He nearly tripped and fell at the shock of what he saw. Four burly men were quickly descending upon them, air flowing underneath their open parachutes, allowing them to fall gently and safely on the wind, while the helicopter continued to hover above them.

"We can't get out of this without a fight." Kai said solemnly, slowing his pace to a jog and then a fast walk before stopping altogether. He instinctively stepped in front of the ebony-haired boy, shielding him as the men got ever closer to the ground. Rei's face turned crimson with a blush, the colour deepening as he noted Kai had yet to release his hand. He was thankful the taller boy couldn't see his face.

"I—I can fight, too." the nekojin said, winning his battle with the blush and forcing it away.

"Are you sure? I don't want your wound to reopen."

"It'll be okay. I can't let you take them all on your own." Rei said as he stepped beside the other.

There was no time for argument, as the four unknown men reached the ground, ripping the parachutes from their bodies and immediately rushing at the two teenagers. Kai and Rei got into their fighting stances, preparing for the clash.

The men evened out, two rushing at Kai, while the other two went at Rei. Rei went into a spin kick, landing a blow on each of his attackers' stomachs, knocking the wind out of them. He took advantage of their momentary incapacitation and dealt several more blows, ignoring the pain in his stomach. He continued to attack one man, not noticing the other recover from a punch to the face and run up behind him, grabbing him around the waist and attempting to hold him still. Rei kicked and flailed, trying to hurt his captor in any way possible. The free man came at Rei, trying to grab his legs only to be kicked several times in the head and chest. After another good kick to the back of his head, he collapsed on the ground, presumably unconscious.

Kai was making quick work of the other two men, easily dodging their punches. So far he had been hit twice, which only resulted in making him angrier and proving more difficult for the men to contain. He repeatedly thrust his fists at their faces, and then ducked down to trip them both with his leg. Taking the opportunity to see how the nekojin was holding up, he saw him in the clutches of one of the men, the other on the ground with blood slowly dripping from his nose and mouth. Kai felt himself growing livid at the sight of someone holding the other boy, obviously causing Rei pain even while several of his flailing kicks met their mark and returned the pain to his attacker.

The captain rushed over and kneed the bigger man in the back, making him cry out and automatically release Rei. Happy to be free, the nekojin wiped his forehead with the back of his hand before jumping into the air and kicking the bigger man in the face. Both the teenagers pounded on him until he also went down.

The battle wasn't quite over, it seemed, as the two men Kai had been fighting slowly rose up to their feet. They each took on one of the men, taking the initiative by running at them.

The crimson-eyed boy finished with the one man just in time to hear a cry come from the other boy. He whipped his head around at the sound and saw Rei kneeling in front of the much taller man, clutching at his stomach, pain clearly written on his face. Kai raced over and kicked the man in the side as he prepared to land another blow on the nekojin, causing him to lose his balance and fall over, hitting his head on the ground with a sickening thud. He didn't get up again, so the slate-haired boy went to Rei's side.

"Rei, are you okay?" The golden-eyed boy shook his head from side-to-side, face scrunched up in pain, indicating an obvious negative. "Let me see."

Kai took hold of Rei's arms and moved them to the boy's sides. His eyes widened slightly as he saw the shirt was bloodstained. He carefully lifted it up, examining the older wound slashed across the nekojin's stomach. It had reopened as Kai feared, and it was bleeding much more than it had before.

"You have shitty luck, you know that?" Kai mumbled, earning a short laugh from Rei. "Put pressure on it with your arms like you were doing before." he commanded as he lifted the other into his arms much like he had two days ago.

Kai walked as fast as he could with Rei in his arms, glancing over his shoulder occasionally as he heard the helicopter near. He was relieved to see the only other occupant, the pilot, jump out and attempt to drag the wounded men back into the vehicle, ignoring the boys. A hiss from the nekojin in his arms urged him to get back to the mansion as quickly as possible.

The slate-haired boy was relieved when he finally reached the doors to the temporary home that he was beginning to get quite sick of. He carefully grabbed the doorknob and hip-checked the door to get it open. He rushed into the living room and laid Rei on a couch before running back to the door to close and lock it, also setting the security alarm on, even though he wasn't sure that would help any.

Kai rushed to gather bandages and any other medical supplies the mansion stored within it, before going back to the golden-eyed boy. By the time he got back Rei had passed out, which he wasn't sure was a good thing; at least he couldn't feel the pain unconscious. He once again removed Rei's bloodied shirt, getting the feeling of deja vu as he cleaned and bandaged the now slightly wider gash. Once that was complete, and he was sure the bleeding had lessened, he carefully lifted the other once again into his arms to carry him up to his bedroom.

.x.

"How did this happen!" a blond-haired man bellowed, storming into the infirmary and almost knocking the nurse over.

"T—They overpowered us, sir." one of the four men laying in the infirmary beds stuttered, afraid of the clearly livid man.

"Overpowered you? You are four much older men! You were beaten up by two teenage boys!" Hisato exclaimed, throwing his arms into the air, exasperated. "Pathetic fools." he mumbled as he stormed back out, not wanting to look at the scene before him any longer. He headed for Souitirou's office a few halls away, prepared to take away some of the money promised to the elder.

Without knocking, the younger man flung open the door and glowered at the gray-haired man sitting calmly behind his desk.

"I demand you send out an entire squad right now! I will have that boy in my grasp even if I have to fire you!"

"Calm down. Your veins are popping, and it's most unbecoming." Souitirou said, never losing his composure.

"Excuse me? Who's paying whom here?" Hisato said as he put his hands on the desk to support himself.

"You overreact. Everything is falling into place. Don't you realize it yet? Those two are stronger than you think. We cannot capture them so easily. After their fight with the men I sent out, they are weakened. Now we are free to send more out, and this time they will bring those boys back with them." Souitirou explained, waiting for a response as the facial features of the blond before him changed to a less angered countenance.

"Fine. But this time, send out those other boys... That beyblading team of yours. If the rumours are correct, they should be powerful enough to capture them."

"Yes, the NeoBorgs. They will do the job, I am sure." Hisato nodded his agreement and left the room, wanting to gather his thoughts.

.x.

Kai sat in one of the heavily cushioned chairs, his head in his hands, deep in thought. Why had they been attacked? What did his grandfather want with him this time? He thought the old man had lost interest after he clearly stated he would not rejoin him and his pathetic company. It seemed that he also wanted Rei for something, otherwise all four of the men would have ganged up on himself, not split up.

Movement from the bed caught his attention and he glanced over at the sleeping boy. He had remained in Rei's room after he laid him down to keep an eye on him. Standing up, he strode over to the bed and examined the sleeping nekojin. He had a frightened expression on his perfectly tanned face, which made Kai's heart lurch. He was unsure as to whether he should wake the boy, but didn't have to debate it with himself long, as the golden eyes shot open of their own accord.

Rei let out a strangled cry as he bolted upright, his messily bound hair taking to the air momentarily with the action. He winced, placing his arms around his stomach. He opened his eyes and looked up as he felt arms gently pushing him back into a laying position.

"Lay down. It hurts because your putting pressure on it sitting up." Kai stated calmly, in a tone uncharacteristically quieter than usual.

"Kai... What's going on? Why... Why were we attacked?" the raven-haired boy questioned quietly, stuttering slightly.

"I really don't know, Rei. I wish I did."

A somewhat uncomfortable silence followed Kai's words, until he again broke it. "So, er... Are you hungry?"

"Um, a little." the nekojin replied.

"I'll make dinner, then."

Rei watched intently as the blue-haired boy slowly stood up and made his way across the room to the door. He opened it silently, but didn't exit through it. Instead, he paused and looked over his shoulder, his crimson eyes boring into Rei's.

"Rei?"

"Y—Yeah, Kai?"

"I... I love you." he said, and continued his escape from the room, walking silently down the hall, leaving an utterly stupefied nekojin in his wake.

--------------------

A/N: AAAAHHHH. I had a lot of trouble with this chapter, but I am REALLY hoping that since I am now past it, things will be better. I feel like everything was too rushed, and I hate the last scene, but I can't think of anything to make it betterrr. x.X; I hope it's okay, and at least half-decent enough to sort of make up for such a long wait... Guuuh. ((dies))

((dies laughing)) The spellcheck wanted me to change 'beyblading' to 'bobsledding.' Oh, yes, I see the similarities in the sport! XD

Thanks:

TigerRain a.k.a Tara: Awww, you flatter me too much! XD; I'm sorry the DBoys/NBorgs aren't in this chapter like I said... v.v; But they WILL come in, most likely next chapter. I do have them woven into the plot now, just for you. :D Thank you sooo much for just sticking with me! ((hugs to death))
Ravenstar: I'm so glad:D AHHH NOOO! ((tortured by just the thought of such heinous crimes)) NOOOOO...! o.o;
Forfirith-on-a-sugar-high: Thank you:D I really appreciate that! X3
Zoutou Ivanov: Yep, aaaall brand new. XD Just don't kill me 'cause the new chapter is now over. ((sweatdrop)) I knooowww! I wish I could hear that. XD Though I think my friend has discovered Kai's secret job... HE SINGS FOR WESTLIFE! XDXD In the song 'Unbreakable', oh my god there's a verse where you can just swear it's Kai singing... ((cracks up everytime she hears because of its total sappiness)) Oohh, Trinity is a pretty name. :3
kero-chan39: Aww, thank you! I did and I will again! XD
Lao Rei Fan: That it is, that it is. XD I'm glad you like it! Gaaah, I know... There's TyKa EVERYWHERE! o.o I don't like TyKa, so it saddens me. XD Evil G-Revolution and its making Kai and Takao seem like a canon couple...
devilburns: Thank yoouu! There will be morrre. XD
Angel Spirit: I hope this was enough KaixRei for ya! XD I thought it'd be cute having Kai just blurt it out at the end here... Hope it came out okay. ((big sweatdrop)) Well, now you know about the creature! XD Ohh, the plot thickens... ((strokes imaginary beard)) Aww, such kind words! ((blushes)) ((would do the eyes-closed happy face if didn't chop it out in the preview thing))
TNTiggris: Bawk, nice word. XD ((wonders if you're an intelligent chicken)) Mmm, chicken is yummy... ((stomach grumbles)) Aww, now I'm gonna hafta go 'n eat you. ;.; XD

1: Japanese for "scythe"... Yeah, how exciting. XD