Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade

He smiled brightly when he saw them, the short freckled girl with her tall, lean cousin. He greeted them with as much enthusiasm as was expected from him and soon the two teams were seated around the wooden table.

Max couldn't blame Charlie for his own incompetence, he understood that. She had won fair and square against him, and he had seen her prowess, she'd almost gotten Tyson too. There was no need for him to feel ashamed, or at least that's what he told himself while he sat next to Angel Wings.

"Yo Tyson!" Ryan exclaimed after the pleasantries were done with, "I still don't know why you called for an urgent meeting. What's up?"

Tyson grinned broadly at that.

"Guys!" he exclaimed, his tone as if he was about to announce something potentially dangerous, "I got an inside information about the semi-annual championship!"

"Semi-annual championship?" Everyone asked, perplexion written on their faces.

Max stayed silent, energy draining from his body at the mention of another championship. Why, why did this have to happen?!

"Yeah," Tyson answered, brushing the tip of his nose with his forefinger, grinning like he always did when excited, "It's about to be announced in two weeks, and they have a twist!"

"Twist?" Charlie exclaimed, "What twist?"

"It'll be a tag-team tournament. In the sense that we can only compete in pairs and not as a team."

Max blinked at that. Tag team… Bladebreakers had five members. One person would have to either quit or find a member outside the team. Well… he was relieved. He had gotten an excuse to not participate, to ponder on his position on blading, and to just… just deal with his feelings.

"That's a cool twist!" Ryan exclaimed, "I'm looking forward to this!"

"But why are you telling only us, Tyson?" Charlie asked, confused.

"Well, I was thinking whether members of our two teams could partner up."

"What?" Kenny cried out.

"Well Tyson, I'm definitely not partnering with you because I'm gonna beat you!" Daichi said, jumping to his feet.

"Tyson… I don't know what to say," Ray muttered, looking concerned, an emotion not shared by others.

"Are you kidding me?" Charlie said, jumping to her feet too, "I'm totally down for this!"

"Yeah," Ryan nodded, "I mean, the two of us make a decent team, but I'd like to know whether I can work with someone else."

"I knew you'd like my idea!" Tyson grinned.

"I do!" Charlie said, clapping her hands in excitement, "Can the two of us team up, Tyson?"

"That's exactly what I was gonna ask," Tyson smirked, "Of course Charlie, our power will be unbeaten!"

"Unbeaten, hell yeah!"

"I could team up with Daichi," Ryan said, "If he's okay with it."

"Yeah let's make a team Ryan and show the two of them!"

And that was it. Two teams were already for a tournament that wasn't even public yet. Max briefly wondered how Tyson knew this in the first place, but he didn't ask because he didn't want to attract any attention to himself. He quietly got up and left the room, stepping into the neatly kept garden, his pale fists clenching his blade.

He should just leave. Nobody would want to make a team with someone like him, someone so worthless, so weak. Without even noticing it, his legs were dragging along the street, taking his body away from the dojo.

He was soon home, and was glad to see that his dad wasn't there either, leaving him alone with his thoughts. Ray was staying with him and would be back soon, but he needed to be alone.

Tossing his Beyblade with a barely hidden contempt and hatred for himself, he went into the bathroom to have a shower. As the warm water trickled down his bare body, he shut his eyes, and his mind reminded him not of his sorry state, but of the moment he had emptied his heart to his captain. His mind replayed the scene in his mind, Kai looking concerned, Max telling him how he felt, the younger boy throwing himself into the older's arms as he cried his heart out, and… and he remembered how Kai had stroked his back, told him he was better than what he believed, told him that he believed in him.

Kai was never that gentle with anyone.

Without even realising it, Max was in tears again, but this time, not due to his own worthlessness but at his friend's kindness. Max knew how hard it was for Kai to show his care, but he did it anyway. Max, while being carried away by emotions, had made him uncomfortable and had probably even upset him.

He never wanted to upset him.

Max didn't know what bond he had with the captain, but it hurt him to upset him, not just in recent times but ever since he met him. Probably, he thought of Kai as an inspiration, a role model of sorts. Maybe he thought of him as a mentor. Or maybe… maybe it was something else…

He wiped away his tears, chiding himself for thinking about this again. Turning off the shower, he dried himself with his towel and wrapped it around his waist, his hair still wet, but he could dry it in the room.

As he opened the door and stepped into the room, his body froze, as if he had stepped into a glacier. He felt horribly exposed but also rooted to the spot.

There, in front of him, was Kai, just sitting in his chair and looking into his eyes.

"You ran off from the dojo," Kai said as he got up, picking up the hair dryer as he did so. He motioned at Max to come closer, and almost in a trance, the younger boy did just that.

The captain turned on the hair dryer, the hot air blowing into the younger boy's hair, and he felt much better as Kai moved the dryer around to dry him as quickly as he could. Max relaxed in his chair, sighing even as Kai placed his warm hand on his exposed shoulder, still drying his hair.

"Why did you run off?" He asked again, voice still gentle, still unlike him.

"I didn't think I was needed in that meeting."

Max kept his voice stable at that, but it was already coming back; all the emotions, the negativity, the events, everything. And now, he felt cold despite the warm air.

"I wasn't needed there either," Kai muttered, "It seems Tyson just wanted to see how he works with players he doesn't know."

"Who are you teaming up with?" Max asked, both curious and dreading the answer. He didn't even know what he dreaded, but Kai could have that effect on people.

"I don't know."

"Ray?"

"No. Not him."

Max was surprised at that. Kai didn't want to team up with Ray? But wasn't he the one he got along with the best? After all, Ray was the only truly matured guy in the group, at least in the most apparent sense.

Kai placed the hair dryer on the table, and soon the room was deadly silent, so silent that Max could hear the ticking of the clock, almost as if it were a bomb ready to explode.

"Will you be participating?"

"I-I don't think so Kai… you-you already know why…"

Kai didn't say anything on that, except placing his warm hands on both his shoulders. It was at that moment that Max realised that he only had a towel covering him up, and Kai had probably noticed that too. The younger boy's face flushed with embarrassment. Why, why did he put himself in such awkward situations around the captain?!

Kai didn't comment on his blushing face though. He tightened his grip on his shoulders, and gazed into the mirror in front of him, his eyes meeting Max's reflection's orbs, gaze intense.

"Can you do it one last time? For me?"

The younger boy's jaw dropped. Kai was asking him to play for him?! Why?! Why did he care so much?! This behavior was so unlike him that Max was truly dumbfounded.

"Tell me, Maxie."

"I will…"

The words left his lips before he could even think things through. He didn't know why he said it, all he knew was that he regretted it. But… but Kai had asked him to do so… for him. He had already faxed so much humiliation and pain… what more could he lose in this tournament?

"Then I will team up with you."

"What…?"

Kai smirked at his, his strong hands gently sliding down his bare arms, stopping only when they reached his hands. Max sighed at this but all the captain said was, "You need to build more muscle. We'll start training tomorrow at 6."

"But-"

But Kai didn't wait a second longer. He released his hands and walked out of the room, leaving a rather bewildered Max behind. The younger boy was unsure of everything, and the enormity of the situation finally dawned on him.

"Why… why…?"

Hey guys! I know it's an old story and I should've updated but I hope you enjoyed this chapter! This story might soon turn into an M rated fic, but let's see about that. Please drop in a review!