I Can't Lose You

by EchidnaPower

A week after Tyson's battle against the evil bit-beast Zeus and his trapped blader Brooklyn, the world is slowly making its way back to normal. Kai managed to survive and is recovering in the hospital, and Tyson is getting some much-deserved rest. But when Kenny comes to tell Tyson that Hilary has quit the team, he loses it, and goes to find out why. My first Beyblade story. TyHil.

Hey gang, so yeah, I'm dabbling into yet another fandom, one that I never expected to, to be perfectly honest. But after binge-watching the entire original Beyblade trilogy (plus the movie, did you know there's a movie?), I was struck with inspiration for at least a couple of stories. This one I wrote here, and a sister story that will be out soon.

The dub was incredibly cheesy, but I still prefer it over the Japanese version in this case, especially if it's true that Kai died at the end of the series. This story strives to take some of the Japanese influence and change it to how I would want it to go. Kai will be the main focus in the sister story, but right now, it's time to focus on Tyson and Hilary, my OTP for the series. Hope you all enjoy, and let it rip!

I own nothing except the story.
_

The work of a three time beyblading champion was never done it seemed, whether it was training to keep his skills sharp, meetings with Stanley Dickinson over how the new BBA should be run, or checking on one of his best friends in the hospital after his close brush with death.

That last one in particular was perhaps the most sobering of all. Kai Hiwatari, the one person who Tyson genuinely looked up to as a blader, and even privately considered to be even better at the sport than him – though he would never admit it to anyone – had faced the hardest challenge of his blading career and almost hadn't lived to tell the tale.

After the battle with the demonic bit-beast Zeus and his "chosen" blader Brooklyn, Kai reached the end of his rope. He'd gone above and beyond what any normal beybattle would have demanded of him, and while he did succeed in inspiring his friends and ultimately saving the sport of beyblading from becoming Boris and BEGA's outlet for world domination, he'd knowingly pushed himself to the point where his body and spirit simply didn't have the strength to go on.

Only the intervention of Ozuma and the Saint Shields, along with Kai's bit-beast Dranzer, had managed to bring the silver-haired blader back to the land of the living, and with nothing more than sheer will and the blessing of his sacred bit-beast, Kai had summoned the strength to reappear and support Tyson during his own battle with the totally unhinged Brooklyn, and offered up the strength of him and Dranzer to help Tyson and Dragoon defeat Zeus once and for all and cleanse Brooklyn's troubled soul.

After that, Kai had soon passed out once more, and while Tyson and the purified and undoubtedly happy Brooklyn finished their beybattle the way it was supposed to be done, the recently awakened Tala of the Blitzkrieg Boys and Mr. Dickinson carried Kai to the hospital where the star Russian blader could complete his recovery properly.

It had already been a week since that day, and Kai was still looking extremely weak. No surprise, Tyson figured, considering what he went through and what he gave to do it. Truth be told, it was a miracle Tyson himself hadn't had to go to the hospital after the beating he'd gone through during his battle with Brooklyn. Instead, Tyson had simply – though narrowly – defeated the gifted beyblader and managed to set him on the path of finding his true blading spirit. Without Zeus to augment his strength and ultimately battle for him any longer, he had a lot to catch up on, but with friends like Garland, Ming Ming, Mystel and Crusher, Tyson was sure he would meet Brooklyn in battle again someday.

But until then, he was more than willing to rest and recover for a while longer. A whole week after the battle took place and he was still beyond exhausted, especially with the planning of the new BBA taking place. Thankfully, he finally had some time to himself, and he intended to make the most of it with a nice long nap.

"Hey Tyson!"

Or so he'd hoped.

"Ugh, Kenny, can't you let a guy sleep in peace?!"

"Sorry Tyson, but I've been meaning to talk with you for a while now, and I've only just gotten some time to come and visit you." the bespectacled boy said as he took off his shoes and plopped himself down next to the exhausted champion. "After all, being a consultant for the formation of the all new BBA isn't exactly a position to be taken lightly."

"Yeah tell me about it." Tyson yawned and turned over onto his side so his back was facing Kenny. "Just tell me what's up so I can get some sleep, saving the world from a demonic bit-beast isn't exactly a walk in the park either ya know."

"Yeah, I hear ya." Kenny opened his laptop and immediately got to work. "It's times like those I really wish Dizzi was around…until I find a way to fix that old laptop, we're on our own."

Hearing the sadness in Kenny's voice, Tyson opened his eyes and frowned a bit, and he turned over to look his friend in the eyes. "You'll figure it out someday Chief, I know you will. You just haven't had a lot of time to tinker with it and get it up and running again, what with all the drama with the Bladebreakers breaking up and then BEGA, it's just been one crazy situation after another."

Kenny relinquished a small smile, "Thanks Tyson." With that reassurance, Kenny got back to work and started typing. "So what I wanted to talk to you about was your new training regimen. After all, now that you've mastered the prototype Hard Metal Beyblade, it's time to start making improvements on the design, which of course means you'll have to practice even more to master the extra speed and power that would come with it."

"Training already?!" Tyson groaned and covered his face with his hat. "C'mon Chief, gimme a break with that. Couldn't you have come to tell me how awesome I was and that I deserve a month off? You've been hanging around Hilary for too long, it's her job to nag me about training, not yours."

Kenny suddenly stopped and gave a despondent sigh. "Tyson…" the boy said sadly. "Hilary quit the team too."

Tyson shot up from his position and grabbed Kenny by the lapels, rage flaring in his eyes. "That's not funny Kenny, I've already had my fill of people leaving to go their own way, making jokes about Hilary when we both know she's the most loyal person in the world is a low blow."

"I wish I was kidding!" Kenny shouted back as he ripped Tyson's hands off of him. "But the day after what happened with you and Brooklyn, she hasn't been around and no one's seen her since that day!"

"Then something must have happened to her!" Tyson jumped up to his feet, "Come on, we'll search the whole district, put out an Amber Alert!"

"Tyson," Kenny sighed again, desperately trying to keep his emotions in check. "Nothing happened to Hilary, it's not a conspiracy, she just quit. She left a note for me that said she was thankful for everything we taught her and everything we did for her…but she just can't do this anymore."

The three-time champion sobered and looked down at his friend who was starting to heave from the raging emotions in his heart. "You're serious, aren't you?"

All Kenny did was nod. First Max and Ray, then Kai, and now Hilary…it was just too much loss too soon.

"Did…did she say why?" Tyson received a shake of Kenny's head. "Do you know why she didn't tell me?" Another shake, and that got Tyson to growl as he clenched his fists in frustration. "Well what did she say?! It can't just be a random goodbye, that's so anti-Hilary that it's not even funny!"

"I wish I had the answer Tyson! But I don't!" Finally Kenny let loose and began to weep over the loss of yet another friend and teammate. "For whatever reason, Hilary has decided she doesn't wanna be a part of the team anymore! That's all I know!"

As he watched his young friend sob on the wooden floor of the Granger family dojo, Tyson clenched his fists tighter until they cracked, and he glared at the doorway as his heart raged with unbridled emotions of every kind. "She can't get away with this, if the wicked witch of the ninth grade is going to ditch us after all we've been through, she needs to explain herself first, even Max and Ray gave us that much!"

"Tyson no!" But it was too late, Kenny watched as Tyson put on his shoes and burst out of the dojo at a full sprint, leaving Kenny alone until Daichi walked in wondering what was going on. "This isn't going to end well at all."

"She can't do this to me, she can't!" Tyson fumed to himself as he pushed his way through crowds of people. "After all we've been through, after all we've accomplished, it just doesn't make sense!" Images of Hilary's time with the team as she went from hating Beyblade to being the assistant coach flashed through his mind as he ran. "Hilary used to hate blading with a passion, but once she started hanging around, she came to realize exactly what it meant to us and so many others around the world. Why after all this time would she just now decide to up and leave us? She doesn't even blade, so it can't be to join another team…did I finally push her too far somehow?"

Tyson finally reached his destination, and he took a few minutes to catch his breath as he stood in front of the Tachibana household, where he knew he would find answers to his questions. He didn't care if they came from Hilary or her family, but he was determined not to leave until he got what he came for.

Slowly making his way up to the front door, Tyson suddenly realized what he was about to do, and he found himself second-guessing himself. Manners weren't his specialty by any means, but he knew enough that if he didn't approach this carefully, he'd get kicked out. This wasn't Kenny or Max's house, this was Hilary's…this was a girl's house.

"Great, now I gotta make sure I come off as a gentleman or I'll never get within 100 yards of this place ever again." Taking a deep breath to steel himself, Tyson raised his fist and gently rapped on the door, quickly taking his hat off for courtesy's sake. Minutes later, he was greeted by a woman who could only be Hilary's mother. "Um, hi Mrs. Tachibana, I'm Tyson, a friend of Hilary's."

"Oh that's right, aren't you the one who Hilary told me stopped whatever it was that happened a week ago? Something about an evil bot beast."

"Bit-beast, actually." Tyson flinched a little and grinned sheepishly after he realized he'd corrected Hilary's mother. "Sorry about that, um…do you happen to know if Hilary is home right now?"

The brown-haired woman gave a small smile and gestured for Tyson to come in, and she closed the door once the young teenager was inside. "Hilary should be upstairs in her room, now you make sure you leave the door open, it's not that I don't trust you, but it's best to remove any potential temptation you know."

"Uh, sure I guess." Tyson turned around and his face scrunched in confusion. "What is she talking about?" Making his way up the steps, Tyson looked around until his eyes caught a slightly open door. Figuring that must have been Hilary's room, Tyson opened the door and he was soon shocked by what he saw.

"This place isn't spotless!" the champion blader couldn't help but take notice of the numerous books and pamphlets laying around, some opened and some not. That alone was incredibly uncharacteristic of Hilary, but then he saw what the subject of all those books were. "What? 'Beyblade for Dummies,' 'Blade Construction Guide,'" he picked up another book and thumbed through it, his eyes growing wider and wider as he saw instructional drawings of how to blade, ranging from stance before battle to how to catch the blade safely after battle. "Hilary's…learning to blade? But…then why would she leave the team?" he looked at the front page. "She checked this out of the library yesterday!"

"T-Tyson?!"

The boy jumped and dropped the book like a hot beyblade, leaving it to hit the desk with a loud thud. "Hilary! Hil! Hi!"

Hilary's dumbfounded expression quickly morphed into one of rage as she stomped towards him and shoved him out of her way to get to her desk. "Grandpa Granger never taught you manners Tyson? Don't you know you shouldn't enter a girl's room without permission?"

"Your mom told me you'd be in here."

"Really?" Hilary scoffed without turning around to face him. "Well then it looks like I'll have to have a little talk with her after this, now please leave."

"Talk? Talk! That's right!" Tyson screwed on a determined expression as he remembered why he'd come in the first place. "You and me need to have a talk of our own Hil, what's up with you just up and leaving the G-Revolution like that, after all we've been through you ditch us like we're nothing?!"

"Guess Kenny finally told you huh?" Hilary sighed. "Look, I just don't wanna have anything to do with blading anymore, alright Tyson? It's as simple as that."

That answer just riled Tyson up even more. "I never thought you'd stoop so low as to straight up lie to my face, not only are you still involved with blading, you're trying to learn how for yourself! I saw all those books!"

"They're old books Tyson." Hilary growled.

"Wrong, they're new and the one I just dropped was checked out of the library yesterday, almost a whole week after that note you left Kenny, which by the way broke the kid's heart." He stepped closer to Hilary and loomed over her. "What's really going on Hilary? Why did you quit?"

Hilary tightened her hands into fists as they rested on her desk, her petite form hunched over in an attempt to shut Tyson out. "You just wouldn't…understand."

Tyson lurched back and gasped; a vision of Brooklyn saying those exact words and then blasting him and Dragoon away with a burst of dark energy flashed in his mind, and the blader relaxed his stance and stepped away from the agitated girl. "You're right, I don't."

"Huh?" Hilary raised her head and finally turned to look at Tyson, who had turned his head away and was looking off to the side, until suddenly he looked her in the eye again.

"But you're not talking so how will I find out?" Tyson reached for his blade. "Through battle, that's how!"

Hilary responded with a deadpan stare. "Really? Tyson I'm not going to battle you, I don't even have a blade."

"Well, if you came back to the G-Revolution, Kenny could make you one."

"No!"

"Why not?!" Tyson groaned when Hilary turned back around to face her back to him. "I don't know what's gotten into you Hilary, but all I'm trying to do is find out! If you wanna leave, then fine, but you can't stick with us for two years and then expect us to be okay with it without some kind of explanation! A truthful one!"

"It's not just a stupid game."

Tyson stopped ranting when he heard Hilary's murmur. "What'd you say?"

"I said it's not just a stupid game!" Hilary turned around and glared at the champion blader, who looked positively stunned by her statement. "In the beginning I thought beyblading was just a game with spinning tops, and then I learned that it's more than that, that it's a very real and popular sport, with a background that goes beyond even our history books…but even then, I always saw it as a game first, a game that you had to practice like any sport, but still just a game."

"I'm not following Hil, what's this have to do with why you quit the team?"

"I'm getting to that you jerk!" Hilary huffed and tried to regain her composure. "Then the whole thing with the Cyber Bit-Beasts happened a year ago, and it suddenly became more real, there were groups looking to steal your bit-beasts to try and take over the world! But even if they succeeded, you guys were still relatively unharmed...emotionally compromised maybe, but not physically hurt...except for that one time…"

"Hilary, is this about Kai?"

The girl sucked in a breath and fought to maintain her composure, but flashbacks of Kai and Tyson and their bruised and battered forms invaded her mind. "When Kai passed out and then I learned he'd almost died because of what he went through against Brooklyn, I realized then that blading really wasn't just a game, it was potentially a matter of life and death! There didn't need to be any outside influences to add danger! I just…I couldn't…and then you…"

"Hil?"

Hilary choked a sob and ran back over to her desk, leaning over it as she desperately tried to reign in her emotions. "Please go Tyson."

"No." The blader's determination returned seven-fold, and he walked over to the petite girl, grabbing her shoulders to turn her around and look her in the eyes, which he could see were brimming with unshed tears. "Hilary, beyblading can sometimes get dangerous, this isn't the first time we've had to face that truth. But no matter what, we push through and come out on top. Brooklyn was the toughest battle either Kai or I ever went up against, but we both won our battles because we stood together as a team, and that includes you!"

"Tyson please."

"Would you just listen for once?!" Tyson exclaimed in exasperation. "Whether it was Black Dranzer, Cyber Bit-Beasts or dark versions of our own bit-beasts, we won because we're a team. Yes there's danger, and yes we've been hurt before, that's what can happen in any sport. So why now after all this do you decide that you don't wanna be a part of the-"

"I can't lose you!"

Tyson jerked back at her shout, and for a moment his brain stopped functioning. "You…you can't…huh?"

Hilary turned back around and wrapped her arms around herself as her tears finally started to fall. "Tyson, when I found out Kai almost died from fighting Brooklyn, yes I was worried for Kai, but I was more worried for you!"

"Me? Come on Hil, I'm the champion for a reason ya know!"

She turned around and snarled at him with tears rolling down her cheeks. "Would you get off your high horse for like five seconds and realize that just because you're the champion doesn't mean you're invincible?! Wake up Tyson, Kai almost died, died! Do you not realize what 'died' means?! And then you had to go up against Brooklyn next and I just…just…just forget it, okay?! Just get out!"

Tyson just stared in awe at the girl in front of him who was panting from her emotional outburst, and it suddenly dawned on him exactly what she was trying to say, a revelation more shocking than when he saw the vision of the young and lonely Brooklyn in the sky. "That's it, I get it now."

"Get what Tyson?" Hilary sighed in exhaustion, but she quickly gained another burst of adrenaline when Tyson started walking towards her. "What are you doing?"

"I understand Hil." He smiled at her softly and wrapped her up in a hug, one that she fought to get out of…for a few seconds. "You were afraid for me? I gotta say, I'm touched Hilary, I really am."

"You're way too pleased with yourself right now." The girl mumbled.

"Why shouldn't I be?" Tyson grinned down at her. "It's not every day I find out that Hilary Tachibana actually cares about what happens to me."

"Of course I care you idiot, if I didn't care I wouldn't have stuck around for as long as I did."

"And you left because you couldn't stand to watch me risk my life anymore."

"It sounds so sappy when it comes out of your mouth."

"Hil," he pulled back a little to look her in the eyes again. "I know we usually get on each other's last nerve, but I want you to know that I appreciate what you've done for me and the others these past two years. You were there for me when they weren't, you helped keep me in check, and you did your best to keep me humble when I got too big for my own britches."

"Which the way you eat, it's a miracle that's not a literal statement."

"Ha ha, very funny." Tyson felt a slight lift in his heart when he heard her giggle, though he couldn't really understand why. "Hilary, you mean a lot to the G-Revolution, not just as a manager, but as a friend too. If you're not there, who'll keep me in shape? You think Kenny can handle my bullheadedness?"

"Hiro can do it."

Tyson scoffed. "Hiro, Jin of the Gale, I dunno what to call my brother anymore. Besides, I haven't seen him since that day I battled Brooklyn. Even Kai was never that good at disappearing." He looked down at her again. "No Hil, it's gotta be you. Please, will you come back to the team? We need you…I need you."

"I'm just scared Tyson," Hilary sighed in resignation and allowed herself to hug the blader back in a search for comfort. "It seems like every time we take down an enemy, a new one shows up that's even more powerful and even more dangerous. Brooklyn and his bit-beast nearly took both you and Kai out forever, who knows who'll come next? What if…what if the next one turns out to be the one that actually kills you? I can't watch that happen, I just can't."

"That's why we train Hilary, we train to get stronger and better at blading, that's why Kenny logs hours and hours into trying to come up with the best way of improving our beyblades, and why he hasn't been able to sit down and spend time tinkering with Dizzi's laptop and get it working again. Yes we train to try and compete for the championship, but it's because of people like Boris that we need to stay at the top of our game, because the world needs us." Then Tyson gasped in realization. "That's why you're trying to learn how to blade, isn't it? You wanna help!"

Hilary groaned. "Why did you have to choose today to use your brain huh? Why aren't you this smart in school?"

"School's boring, you're not."

"I'm trying to think about how I should take that, as a compliment or an insult."

"I meant it as a compliment." Tyson sighed. "I can't make you come back Hil, but I'm glad I know why you wanted to leave now. But you know, if you really wanna learn how to blade, I'd be glad to teach you."

Hilary snorted a laugh into Tyson's chest. "You mean like you 'taught' me how to see bit-beasts?"

"Hey in my defense, you were being super annoying that day, and you and I weren't exactly best friends at the time."

"I know…I'm glad that's changed though. I have to admit, my life's been full of adventure since I became your friend."

"Exactly!" Tyson finally let Hilary go, although he strangely regretted doing so. "So whaddya say Hil? How would you like free one-on-one lessons with the world's top-ranked beyblader?! With my help, you'll be whipping Daichi's sorry monkey-tail in no time!"

Hilary couldn't help but laugh. "How about we work on beating Kenny before I try to go up against Strata Dragoon?"

Tyson's eyes lit up. "So that means yes? You'll come back?"

Hilary smiled. "You talked me into it…besides," she scuffed her floor with her heel and looked up at him bashfully. "I didn't really wanna leave you guys, I just…I guess I was trying to hide from the idea that you'd get hurt."

The champion blader chuckled a bit at that. "Tell ya what Hil, from now on, I'll do my best to try and avoid situations like that if I can."

"Really?" She clasped her hands together. "You'd do that for me?"

"Sure. I can't promise I'll be able to avoid every challenge that comes my way, I'm still the champion after all, but I'll try my best to not just jump headfirst into battle if there's possibly another way."

"I suppose that's the most I should expect." She beamed at him. "Thank you Tyson."

Seeing her smile brought a certain warmth to Tyson's heart. She didn't usually give him that sort of look, but whenever she did, it made him feel good. "Well, now that that's settled, guess you can return all those lame books," he started walking towards her desk. "You won't be needing those anymore."

"Oh no you don't!" Hilary blocked his way with her arms spread out. "Just because you don't like to read doesn't mean those books are lame, they were written by some of the finest beybladers in history, and there's a lot of knowledge in there that I'm willing to bet even Kenny doesn't know."

"You're seriously doubting the Chief? The ultimate beyblade guru?" Tyson put a hand to his head in dramatic fashion. "I am surprised at you Hilary."

"Very funny." She rolled her eyes and smirked. "Don't get me wrong, Chief may be a genius with blades, but there's always more to learn, and it always pays to do your own research."

"Remember when I said you weren't boring? I take it back."

"Uh huh." Hilary rolled her eyes again before getting serious. "Just give me some time to catch my breath, okay Ty? I promise, I'll be back at the dojo soon, and maybe I'll even bring some of my finest cooking with me!"

Tyson sweat-dropped and painted on the best smile he possibly could. "Greeeeat." Quickly deciding it'd be best to make a hasty retreat, preferably before he threw up on Hilary's floor just from thinking about her food, Tyson turned to leave. "Well Hil, I better get going, Chief is probably wondering what's going on, but he'll be thrilled to hear you're still on the team!" he stopped for a moment to look over his shoulder. "And just so you know, I'm glad you changed your mind...because...I don't think I could lose you either."

The girl smiled and watched as Tyson started walking out, but with a loose fist over her heart, she suddenly came to a decision. "Tyson wait!"

"Yeah?" when he turned around, he was face to face with the beaming Hilary. "What's up?" The next thing he knew, her lips were against his cheek, and his ears suddenly erupted into flame from the tender contact.

"Thank you."

With that, a flushed Hilary Tachibana gave the stunned champion a gentle shove out her door before closing it behind him. He slowly raised his hand to his cheek, where he could still feel the lingering tingle of Hilary's impromptu kiss. "She…kissed me…" his stunned expression started morphing into a wide grin without his permission, and his heart began to race in excitement he'd never felt even in his most intense beybattle. "Well...guess things are gonna get a lot more interesting around here, and I can't wait!"
_

A/N: There you have it! I don't care how hooked on blading Tyson is, one thing that he never got during the whole series was some good old fashioned affection from a pretty girl, so here's how I think Tyson would react by the time the end of G-Revolution rolls around and he's matured. Both he and Hilary went from enemies in V-Force to the best of friends in G-Revolution, and I could always sense there was SOMETHING there that got overridden by the focus on beyblading...which makes sense, I mean it IS called Beyblade for a reason.

But in any case, be on the lookout for the sister story starring Kai, it probably won't be the last time I dabble into this fandom with a one-shot. Let me know what you thought by typing something out in the review box, and until next time, LET IT RIP!