Hello!
This fanfic is dedicated to Shae, a very dear friend of mine who loves Kai. I hope you like it.


"Go! You can do it!"

"Give your best!"

The crowd roared with cheers, inviting strength into the boy's trembling legs and air into his tightened lungs as his brave eyes kept pointed as arrows to his idol, and now rival, standing calmly and imposing at the other side of the stadium. Kai was among the fearest opponents one could ever defy, not only because of his long proven power and experience, but also because he was merciless. It didn't matter the prize, the protocol nor the goal - as soon as he climbed the stairs to a stadium and committed himself to a battle, he would not fight lightly nor underestimate his enemies whether they were veterans or beginners. The boy knew that that mild smile in the gray haired lad's partially covered face would quickly turn into a piercing gaze, blazing as his own blade, as soon as Blader DJ gave the signal.

Up to now, the All-Japan Development Tournament has been a success. A warm and smart idea that visited Mr. Dickinson's mind after he had a proper conversation with Daichi, the newest component of the renowned world champion team G-Revolution. As he bitterly realized after attentively learning the boy's roots and analyzing the overall Beyblade scenario, although famous and widely played worldwide, Beyblade was not exactly a sport for everyone. From a true blader were required fighting spirit, competitive blood, cleverness and teamwork, but the sport itself required resources. It required a proper blade spinning on a proper surface, and both in turn required regular, expensive maintenance. While bladers from the capitals and largest cities had at their disposal some good infrastructure to enjoy and invest into the sport, people living in the borders, distant villages and forest areas would count only on the rough floor and nature itself as their stadium.

The tournament's main goal was to gather the money and investment that would aid BBA to bring said infrastructure to such areas. By expanding through the country, it was expected that even more players would surface, hidden talents would be uncovered, the fans would be pleased and the industry would keep spinning. It would benefit the fans and the market. The winning team would be immediately eligible to compete in the Japan World Championship Qualifiers to be held in the following year without the need of previous qualification, hence it was a good opportunity for new teams to join the competitive scenario. Dickinson kindly asked the former members of G-Revolution that were still in Japan to participate because it would be good for propaganda, and a good opportunity for Kenny and Daichi to practice and gain further experience should they play in the main hoster. At some occasions, participants whose team has shown good team play and performance during the matches would be able to choose one opponent from any team to battle against. Most of them would pick Tyson - the charismatic, soft and encouraging world champion. And others, like this one fellow challenger, would go for a more extreme challenge and choose Kai.

"Come on kid! Teach this arrogant buffoon a lesson!" Tyson cheered heartedly from the bench.

"A lesson about bad choices I say," a bored Daichi commented, spread around his seat like a bag of potatoes and picking on his ear. "That kid is about to get smacked good. What's the fun in that?"

"Oh Daichi, he is going to duel the idol he admires." Hilary explained comprehensively. "Very few beginners have this opportunity. It can be inspiring for some."

"Meh, if you say so...", he croaked, "I'd rather stick to an autograph than having my butt kicked live on TV."

"Sensible as a T-Rex...", she sighed. "Alright, Daichi, so tell me what did you feel when- eek!"

A sudden explosion and pieces of debris hitting her face made her squeak and shrug. The boy's brown beyblade had been thrown from the stadium and hit the pillar violently just beside her. She opened her eyes to see it stuck inside a small crater there, wrapped in smoke and defeated.

"Dude, you are so mean. You could have taken it a little easier, you know," Tyson scolded his partner as he watched him leave the stadium unconcerned while his opponent still processed what just happened.

"He would never forgive me if I did that," he reasoned as he unexpectedly made his way to the exit instead of the bench.

"Kai, wait! There's a cut on your cheek," Hilary warned him to no avail, as the lad was already opening the doors and disappearing beyond them. "Kai! I'm talking to you! Why the rush? ...Aaand he's gone, again."

"I hope he misses inspection and that buff Chad from the reception comes for him again," Tyson smirked sadistically while retrieving the blade from the pillar and turning to return it to the boy himself.

"Oh, yes, the inspection..." Some of the new safety rules that have been added to the official tournaments' program since the previous championship, after Barthez Battalion's disloyal strategies had finally come to light. It was required from all competitors to submit their beyblades to inspection before and after official duels, making sure that all of them were regular and held no unauthorized gadgets or gears. Penalty for not attending the inspection was applied to the offender's team as a whole, with recurrence ultimately resulting in disqualification. She sighed and stood up, ready to hopefully catch up to him. "Geez. I'm gonna warn him."

...

She yawned and stretched, feeling the tiredness gathered during the busy morning already weighting on her body. There were no signs of Kai to be seen wherever she went, so she visited the lively cafeteria for a cup of coffee at the very least.

"If Kenny and Daichi lose points because of him, I swear I'll give that rascal something to think about," she grumbled to herself before taking a good and calming sip. "No, Kai knows the rules and would never do anything that would harm his team. Guess I'm worried for nothing. Yeah."

"...Why did I come after him, after all?"

She asked herself.

Hasn't she learned that lesson already?

The brown haired girl sighed, decided to forget that matter and return to the arena. She paid for the coffee and, as soon as she stepped back into the halls, she heard it - very faint and distant, but undoubtedly Kai's voice nearby.

She followed the unmistakable sound to the next corridor.

"Kai! Finally I've found-"

She quickly froze in place, intrigued by that picture a few meters ahead of her. At the end of that empty corridor, away from the lively crowd and seemingly relaxed, Kai was standing right in front of a giggling girl, close enough from her for some personal chatter which Hilary, due to the distance, could not distinguish. A new friend? How unexpected of him. Filled with curiosity, the brown haired girl slowly ducked back behind the corner from which she just came, hiding herself while trying to listen to them. Apparently, judging by her uniform and the laptop below her arm, it was just some BBA employee. The girl herself seemed quite excited, lively talking to him while he listened and eventually nodded in acknowledgement. Yet, he seemed focused on her and distracted enough to not notice his brown haired colleague at the end of the corridor. Usually, Kai would be quick to detect stalkers in his surroundings even in the middle of a crowded park.

"Oh..." She felt a mild bite in her heart.

Which soon turned into a punch when the boy closed his sharp eyes, opened one side of his jacket and carefully removed a small bouquet of pink flowers that was hidden inside it.

And

gently

gave

it

to

the

girl.

The couple turned around and made their way together toward the end of the corridor, the employee happily hugging the bouquet against her chest and the blader serious as always, leaving a mummified brown haired girl behind.

...

Tyson almost broke his finger on the can opener when he saw what seemed to be an icy, flat and bloodless pale version of Hilary basically floating back to her seat.

"Hilary?! What's up? You seem like you have seen a ghost," the boy inquired worriedly.

"Pretty much that," she muttered, thinking if she should really share such private information on such a private person with the team. The words eventually left her lips by themselves. "Guys... I think Kai has a girlfriend, or something like that."

"Haha, good for him, he's officially an adult now," sassy Tyson took a deep sip from the soda can. He finished processing the information and spat it all back. "What?!"

...

Meanwhile, at some office...

"Thank you Kai, that's exactly what I was looking for," the girl explained softly while hugging the flowers like some otherworldly treasure. "The tea made from these petals is one of the best natural analgesics, I'm sure they will aid Mr. Dickinson greatly with his back pain. How much did they cost?"

"Nothing. They weren't easy to find, though" the blader retorted while approaching the exit door. He stood there, facing the ground and thinking for a second before saying. "Let me know if he needs anything else."

"Got it. See you." She waved at his back as he left and then fixed her giant and shiny glasses on her face. "Aw, he's such a gentleman~"

...

And suddenly no one talked about inspection or the threatening Chad anymore.

Five more intense battles took place before the crowd and lively chatters started to vanish inside BBA.

At the end of the afternoon, as the skies slowly darkened and the Sun made way to the night to come, only the most faithful fans, the staff and some teams intending to use the training rooms stayed at the large building.

"Is that her?" A skeptic Tyson asked while raising his face a little bit over the low corner of the glass window, enough for him to spy intently at the girl sitting at a computer desk inside the Technical Department's front office. "She seems... inoffensive."

"Yeah, I swear I saw them near the cafeteria. Flowers, giggles and all," Hilary confirmed, ducking beside the world champion, but now somewhat confused.

"You little gossip!" Daichi smirked before a clenched female fist greeted his forehead.

"No way!" A revolted Tyson ranted, almost spitting fire by his ears. "The World Championship is just in a few months! We can't afford to have Kai distracted now! What is he thinking?! ...Hilary?"

Unaccustomed to the sudden silence, especially coming from the brown haired girl who always had something to add in such complex occasions, he turned to the side to find a strange and sorrowful shadow numbing Hilary's features. She seemed deeply lost in thoughts, the brown pointy bangs partly covering her eyes.

"Hey, why the long face?" He asked, uncomfortable at that rare sight. "You know, I'm pretty sure it's just a misunderstanding. Maybe he was just being nice to a staff member and all. Kai matches girlfriend like macaroni matches... baby diapers."

"Do you think so? As you brilliantly remarked, he's a grown-up now. We all are..." She muttered, as if for the first time since hitting adulthood she had realized the true weight and the many developments of that fact.

"Of course! Don't worry, he won't slack off and we will win the next championship as well, you will see!"

"Why are you all so worried about Kai?" Daichi suddenly inquired. "You sound like we are gonna lose without him! Well I'm part of this team too! And unlike him, I've never abandoned you guys for whatever reason. I'm pretty sure I am capable of replacing him anytime!"

"Aw, is that jealousy?" Tyson patted the boy's head.

"On a second thought..." She plunged back to her deep thinking for a moment, her gaze briefly escaping from the girl to the other side of the office, where a poster of the renowned and powerful gray haired blader with his fiery Dranzer lay, his imposing picture easily eclipsing the other champions depicted in other posters around. "Kai is just something else, isn't he...? He is so charming, so selective with his companions, born in a wealthy family and has so many fans in every corner of the world. He can choose alright. I always thought if he ever committed himself to someone it would be quite an exceptional beauty. Like a model, a princess or a TV star."

And that lass at the computer desk was far away from that. She looked like someone who had woken up in a hurry and put on the first change of clothes that her hand managed to pull out of the closet. She was quite overdressed inside a winter version of BBA's uniform, perhaps due to the powerful air conditioner running wild inside the office, and was certainly not skillful in matching colors at all. Her light brown hair was imprisoned in two long and fat braids lying by her shoulders, as if she hadn't had enough time to dry it after washing it. She had her fingers spanking the keyboard and her giant and shiny glasses glued to the LED screen like a dog locked on a bone.

"Oh well, Tyson must be right, I've probably seen things wrong. Let 's go home boys," Hilary took Tyson by his arm and moved away from the window, inviting the others to do the same. For a brief moment her mind had been freed from that wild story and she could easily picture those wonderful noodles that should have been already waiting for them at Tyson's house.

"Hey guys! Get out of there! Kai's coming!" Kenny suddenly came running from the other corridor. The little scientist was in charge of watching the halls and warning his stalker friends should anyone approach.

At the boy's alarm, the group quickly left the office's window and ran to the end of the corridor, turning around the corner and hiding. Four pairs of big and curious eyes sprouted from the corner and watched intently the following events.

A telephone rang somewhere inside the Technical Department. Suddenly brought back to reality by the loud noise, the girl checked on her clock, left her seat and went to the back of the office to pick up the call. As silence reigned over the empty front room, the gray haired blader finally made himself visible and reached the hall, soundless as a shadow. He stayed somewhat distant from the door and windows, his stern carmine eyes analyzing the place as if making sure that no one was inside. Then he proceeded to enter the office with utmost discretion, leaving a small, carefully wrapped white package at the girl's desk before departing as silently as he came.

When the employee came back, sorting some files and evidently tired, she stumbled upon the package. At first surprised, she took a wide look around, finding no one else inside the office, no traces of the package's original owner. Then she finally opened it, revealing a small and mostly welcome dinner box.

It even had a small egg yolk on top of the rice.

"There! See? I told you," Hilary muttered.

"It's true! The sneaky bastard," Tyson snarled.

"So he brought her food," Daichi tilted an eyebrow. "What's the big deal? He brings food to cats all the time."

"It's different, Daichi. She's not a stray animal. In human's customs, food means much more than compassion," Kenny explained with that old godly patience of his. "When someone brings food to another, it means that the person is wishing that the other stays healthy and happy. It means that the person cares a great deal for the other."

"Maybe it's her birthday?" The redhead added.

"He never gave me any birthday present, let alone food," jealous Tyson complained with reason. "And I love food."

"You never gave him anything either," Hilary sadistically observed.

"Well forgive me for not being as half as rich as he is! Plus..." The blue haired world champion scratched his neck as he suddenly realized something. "Hey, yeah, I don't even know his birthday." And another. "Or what he likes, aside from beyblading."

"Scarfs!" Daichi suggested.

"That's because Kai is a very private person. And this is another reason why we shouldn't be snooping around in his affairs like this, guys. It's disrespectful." Kenny explained again, this time with that mature seriousness that never failed to capture and keep the group's attention. "Come on, let's go home. There's still plenty of training for me and Daichi to do, if we still want to win this tournament."

"You are really focused on leaving the bench a little and joining us at the battle stadium, aren't you Chief?" Tyson let his hand fall supportively on his friend's shoulder as he proudly acknowledged him. "A blader that has the knowledge and the practice! Imagine how much of a dangerous opponent you would be. You could even come close to defeating me."

Kenny giggled and blushed, flattered nonetheless. As the team slowly directed it's attention to other matters and left the Technical Department's vicinity, Hilary still stopped to gaze one last time at the lone light brown haired employee beyond the glass windows, the latter visibly pleased by the gift. A discreet bittersweet smile emerged in the former's face.


Stop being so cheap Tyson.