Author's Corner: Hahah... so I suck at updating things. XD;; But! That's alright, because you've got another crappy, short chapter. :D I've got a plot now too!! So don't you worry, this is actually going to go somewhere instead of aimlessly meandering along before I suddenly decide that 'Oh hey, this really should do something,' and no, I won't tell you what the plot is... you'll have to figure it out yourself. You might be able to get me to give you hints though... if you ask nicely. ;3
DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of Beyblade so none of the characters in this story belong to me. The characters sitting in the cafe/walking on the sidewalk/standing in the background belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Kazuki Takahashi and CLAMP, respectively. :D
Ah, the ol' times
An uncomfortable silence stretched over the table in the hotel restaurant where they all had congregated after Ray brought Kai back.
"So, uh," Kenny started, "What… have you been up to, Kai?"
"Living."
"Done anything… interesting lately?"
"Not anything you would appreciate or understand."
"Heh…" Kenny paused. "It's uh, awful nice of you to take care of that kitten…"
"It reminded me of someone."
"Who?" This time it was Tyson who spoke up, stuffing a roll into his mouth.
Kai seemed to grimace. "Certainly not you."
"Tyson, don't you ever stop eating?" Kenny frowned at the other young man, adjusting his glasses so that they sat correctly on his nose.
"I can't help it, I'm still growing!"
Max laughed. "The only thing still growing on you is your stomach!"
Ray leaned back, a vague smile on his face as he watched the atmosphere relax; it was almost visible. Kai seemed to still have his same intimidating air that had ruffled Tyson's feathers when they first met, but it only took a few taunts from the others before things seemed to fall back into place. The only thing that had changed was that everyone was older. Their personalities mashed the same way they had before, and Ray was reminded of the old times. The battle of wits that Tyson never realized that he was in until after he had lost, Kenny's frantic opinions and Max's laughing over it all, it was all part of the group they had been in.
"So tell us," Max leaned forward and grinned, "is there a special lady that you've got Kai? Is that who the kitten reminds you of?"
Tyson snorted, "Please. Even if there was a girl that was interested in Kai he'd end up chasing her away with that scary look on his face."
"I guess I'm not trying hard enough." Kai's fingers gently stroked the kitten's head. It was sleeping in his lap, purring so loudly that Ray could hear it from across the table.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means you're still here, I need to try harder so you get scared away, Tyson."
The black haired man the comment was directed to grit his teeth and growled, "Is that the kinda gratitude we get for coming all the way out here just to find your cold ass?"
"I didn't ask to be found."
"That's right, you conveniently forgot to tell everyone where you lived."
"Now now, Tyson, we shouldn't be getting so upset over something so little." Max laid a hand on the other's shoulder, holding him in his seat before he leaped across at Kai. "We were the ones to barge in unannounced." He smiled at Kai. "Just thought it'd be good to see you again, Kai. It's pretty obvious you're doing well."
Kai leaned back in his chair, letting his crimson eyes move away from Tyson and over to Max. "Yes. I am." He paused for a moment before adding, "You seem to be doing well as well, Max."
"Yeah!" The blond grinned widely, "Mum and dad have been taking good care of me! I went over to the States for a while, to check out mom's new technology. Beyblade might have died down over the years, but the world is still growing. They've got quite a few new products."
Kenny took this moment to pipe up, "Beyblade hasn't died down, really, it's just on the back burner right now. According to my calculations it should be making a comeback pretty soon again. Just like everything else has."
Tyson snorted and slouched in his chair. "Even if it does die completely, I'm still the champ and always will be the champ."
"Of course, Tyson." Max chuckled, reaching forward and taking a roll. "But it's been so long since we've been in a tournament… I almost miss it. If it weren't for all those little kids taking over, I'd still be there, letting it rip." He smiled. "I still use Draciel, but it's not the same, you know? Not without you guys."
"Yeah well, I can do without all of you." Tyson once again opened his big mouth. "I've been doing just fine and using Dragoon on a daily basis." He smirked.
"Yes well, Tyson, you teach kids how to blade. Of course you use Dragoon all the time." Kenny sighed, pushing up his glasses.
Max blinked in surprise, looking over at Tyson. "Wait, you teach kids how to blade? Why didn't you tell me this earlier?"
Tyson fairly beamed, "Yeah I teach kids… and it wasn't that important to talk about. But hey, I've gotta earn a living somehow."
"You're actually making money off that?" Kai sounded unimpressed.
"Yeah, at least I work for my money." Tyson shot back.
The Russian just gave a faint smile, unperturbed by the insult.
"How many times have you lost to those kids, Tyson?" Ray asked, his voice finally joining the company of the others; a grin was settled onto his face much like that of a satisfied cat.
"Lost?" Tyson sputtered, "I don't battle the kids! It would be an unfair advantage… unless of course they want to battle me. And then I never lose. Besides, I'm the World Champ! There's no way I'd lose to some scrawny brat."
Ray laughed, "That's some love you've got for teaching…"
"Hey, there's nothing more satisfying than knowin' that I'm teaching those kids how to battle like I do." The brown eyed blader smirked, jamming his thumb into his chest.
"Diving right into a match with no thought about how you're going to win isn't exactly the best thing to be teaching kids." Kai raised an eyebrow. "Unless you're actually using your head? Then again, I'm not sure if that's a better prospect or not."
Tyson looked as if he were about to eat Kai's head off before he clamped his mouth shut with a scowl. "Y'know Kai, sometimes I wondered what you were up to these five years we were apart, but now I know! You've been honing your 'cold ass' technique."
"You guessed it, Tyson." Kai let a thin smirk stretch over his mouth, remembering why he hadn't left any of them a way to contact him. He had forgotten how much the group had irritated him, particularly Tyson. His eyes were drawn to Ray has the other laughed, the smirk turning into an undisguised frown.
"It's just like it used to be, isn't it? I forgot how well we got along." Ray beamed at all of them, as if this was the most amusing thing in the world.
Kai raised an eyebrow. This was getting along? He hated to think of the cat-like man's definition of not getting along.
Max spoke up next, "Yeah, this is great guys! Just like the old times." He smiled, having finished his roll just before speaking. "We should do this more often, I missed you guys." He flashed a grin and whipped off Tyson's hat, placing it on his head.
"What we really should do," Kenny clattered away on his computer, "is put you guys back in a tournament. Now that would be fun."
"Are you kidding?" Tyson snatched his hat back, "We'd demolish the other teams! It wouldn't be fair to them." He grinned.
"You're right, Tyson, with our stunning good looks and celebrity status, we'd sweep through the competition like taking candy from a baby." Max leaned forward, his famous smile still sitting on his face. "It would be fun though, to do that again."
"Well," Kenny wheedled his voice in slyly, "there is another tournament coming up soon… you know… you could defend your places as World Champs."
"Really?" Max leaned over Kenny's shoulder and let his blue eyes skim over the page that the other had up. "Oh wow! It's way more fancy than what we had before!"
Tyson leaned over Kenny's shoulder again, eagerly drinking up the information on the website. "Oh man! That would be totally fun. We should do it guys! Defend our place, get back to the top and-"
He was silenced as Kai suddenly stood up, his chair clattering back. The man stopped and gave each of his past teammates the same cold, crimson stare that had stopped many others in their tracks before turning to leave.
"Kai?"
He looked back to settle his gaze on Ray for a moment before turning away again. "You forget, it's been five years. We're not teammates anymore. I have my own life to run, and you all have yours. It's time you stop looking back in the past and grow up." With that, Kai swiftly moved from the café they were sitting at, leaving the group staring after him.