Disclaimer: All copyrights of Beyblade with its characters and setting belong to Takao Aoki. No copyright infringement intended.

I am on a roll here...

Chapter Three

"Are you guys working in here or goofing around?" asked Hiro.

Tyson and Kai were all wet from flinging mop water at each other. How or why they were doing it, they couldn't even figure out, and Hiro wouldn't want to know why.

"To perfectly justify my case I was robbed of a normal childhood," said Kai matter-of-factly. "Tyson on the other hand, I think he still hasn't grown out of the phase yet."

"Oh really? You make wise cracks now?" Tyson flung his mop at Kai again, which ended up sending droplets of water at Hiro.

"Guys, really." Hiro gave them one stern look but was heard laughing as he went back into the house.

Two days after meeting again, Tyson and Kai had set to work in restoring the dojo to its former glory. It was riddled with dust, but it wasn't enough to stop the dojo from opening.

Tyson was happy to let Kai deal with the numbers. All Tyson needed to do was check their inventory and tell Kai what they needed. With most of the equipment too old and worn out, Kai figured that they needed a brand new set. Their only problem was cost and how much they were going to need. They debated on keeping the equipment that was the best condition out of the pile and hoped that the members willing to join wouldn't mind buying their own equipment. Kai mentioned something about hooking up with a store and making sure that they get a good insurance to replace any future damaged equipment.

"That way the students don't need to pay even more money just to replace or repair their broken equipment," explained Kai.

"What about the uniforms?" Tyson asked. Kai grimaced as he reviewed their numbers again.

"We'll have to order those in after getting their sizes," said Kai. He ran his fingers down the list and cursed rather loudly after getting halfway through.

"What is it?" It was unexpected to hear a rather graphic word come out of Kai's mouth.

"From what your budget is to the expenses we need to make I made an error in the calculations." Kai scratched his head, ruffling his very long bangs. Tyson noted that Kai's hair was in a small ponytail since they started their rejuvenation of the dojo. It looked like a good style for Kai, but his bangs were still too long. He could barely see Kai's eyes.

"I wish I could help," said Tyson glumly. Kai frowned but his face brightened, as if an idea came to him.

"Actually, you can," he said. He grabbed a blank sheet of paper and scribbled down a name and address. Folding it, he gave it to Tyson saying, "This is the address of this number-crunching whizz I hired previously. He's the son of one of our shareholders and when the supervisors thought I wasn't taking things seriously I hired him to straighten out a confusion over our accounts a couple years back."

"What was the problem?"

"You probably heard about that case with the embezzler. Unfortunately for that guy I was in the same city as him at the time." Kai returned his focus to the list and began sorting all his notes in neat piles. Tyson's mind whirred. Kai's been living a reckless lifestyle and he was eager to learn more about it.

Tyson looked at the paper with the address. Hiromasa Yamakawa, it read. The address was nearby Tyson's old high school so he had no problem finding out where it is.

"I'll be back in a bit," said Tyson.

"Is his place nearby?"

Tyson wheeled around to gawk at Kai, jaw hanging.

"You've never checked?"

"I was halfway around the world when I met him! Give me a break!" Kai threw up his arms and resumed drying the floor in Tyson's place.

Laughing, Tyson put his shoes on and left. It was snowing lightly with a cool breeze that made Tyson shiver. He contemplated on taking the transit to Hiromasa's house, but there wasn't enough change for a return trip in his pocket.

Only about five minutes out of his area did Tyson realize that he entered a very rugged part of town. There were gangs of young teenagers battling it out right in the middle of the street, with small children being hurried by their worried parents to escape the battles. Beyblades were being launched everyway Tyson turned, a couple coming at him at short notice. Had he not moved in time he was sure he would have received two egg-sized lumps on his face from the impact. Taking refuge at a bus stop where a group of bystanders stood in fear in a huddled group, Tyson answered his ringing phone, pondering what on earth could have caused this unrest.

"Hello?"

"Tyson?" said Kai frantically on the other end. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know that that area was going through some violence."

"How'd you know?" Tyson raised his voice to overcome the shouts from the gangs. A woman screamed, alerting him that some delinquents thought that fighting with beyblades became insufficient for combat. Many now held nailed bats and dented pipes in their hands. Tyson hoped that the red tint was rust and not dried blood.

"Hiro turned on the TV just after you left," explained Kai. "I just finished with the dojo and thought about catching up to you, but I couldn't find you anywhere on the street. Then the news started reporting fights occurring at a street nearby Yamakawa's house happening right now."

Despite the worry that Tyson could hear in Kai's voice he was unexpectedly calm, compared to how Kenny or Hilary would freak out. He recalled Kai mentioning witnessing genocides during his travels… What has he seen in the last five years?

"Well, I'm at a bus stop with a few bystanders right now," said Tyson. He looked at them, huddled together and trying to find a way to escape the madness. A small kid was amongst the group, crying. A teenage girl and her friend were on their cell phones, holding them up as though they were recording the whole thing.

"Hey, are you two sending a live feed?" asked Tyson. The girls jumped at being addressed by him, but one of them nodded. To Kai he said, "I have an idea. Are you watching the TV right now?"

"Yeah. You got captured in a shot. Unintentionally, I think," said Kai.

"You've got an idea on how I can worm my way around this?" asked Tyson. There was a long pause. Tyson flinched at more screams because the delinquents armed with weapons began to attack each other. From one end of the street he saw another group of delinquents coming up. The one leading them looked familiar.

"Hey! It's Nagi!" said Tyson and Kai at the same time. Tyson looked at the teenage girls behind him. A man asked if the two girls had called the police yet, which Kai heard. According to Kai there was a blockade leading to the street that was caused by even more fighting and an accident with a bystander.

The other delinquents seemed to recognize the Blade Sharks and several of them scattered. However, those armed with both beyblades and weapons saw an opponent within the Sharks. Things were about to get worse before they got better.

Nagi knew what was coming. He told two of his Sharks flanked on his right to take the advance. Neither pulled out a launcher, instead pulling on gloves. The gloves had a thick layer of metal stuck to where the knuckles would be, with rounded points for each knuckle. With their bulk Tyson could only guess that they were a defence meant to counter the armed delinquents. As soon as they moved into motion smaller built and more agile looking fighters jumped out of the now protective-looking formation of the Blade Sharks. They quickly took down any weapon-armed fighter the defensemen were too preoccupied to take care of.

Nagi directed his team like a troop at war. His best launchers were in the heart of the battle while the others worked at dispelling the quarrels spread out over the rest of the street. Nagi showed himself to be a very impressive blader, weaving his bey in and out of tight spots and knowing how to quickly unbalance and take-out his opponents. As soon as the Blade Sharks came the fighting ended just as fast. Tyson felt his throat crack as he tried to call himself out of his stupor.

"Kai, did you call him?" he asked once he found his voice. The bystanders behind him were just as silent.

"No, I've been on the phone with you the whole time, haven't I? The news anchor said that the fight started only minutes before I called and I was too worried about you to call anyone else."

"Well it's a good thing he came because—wait, you were worried about me?"

"Don't sound so stunned," retorted Kai with the same irritated tone Tyson remembered him having, "I've seen too many friends get attacked from just the religion they have to the colour of their skin. It's a cruel world out there Tyson, we have the benefits of luxury."

"Alright! But who called him? I'll call you back as soon as I get to Hiromasa Yamakawa's house. I have a feeling the cops would want statements from all of us, but I feel like they can come find me afterwards."

"Hope you have a good explanation for leaving the seen."

"Hey, I'm the former champion of Beyblade! People are going to want a piece of me no matter what I do or say."

"Methinks you have stories you have yet to tell me."

"Right," laughed Tyson. "How about a fair trade? You tell me your stories and I'll tell you mine."

"Deal. Now get our young accounting friend and get back here before you get caught in another fight."

As soon as Tyson hung up he noticed the young boy from earlier staring at him intently. He sniffed a few times and his face was lined with dried tear tracks. He was frowning and Tyson was curious.

"What's wrong little guy?" asked Tyson. "You okay? Look—the fighting's all over."

"I'm not little! I'm ten!" cried the boy.

"I'm sorry," said the boy's mother. "He's knows you from TV. You're Tyson, the former Beyblade World Champion." At the mention of his name and old title people turned to him, shocked that he was standing with them the whole time. At the same time delinquents with a speck of consciousness all snapped their attention to him. The most able were ready to pick up their fallen beyblades, ready to challenge him.

"Why didn't you take Dragoon out and finish them off?" asked the boy.

"Sorry, kid, it's been five years since I've spun a blade. I would have caused more trouble than fix anything." He smiled sadly, even willing to add that he wished that he could have brought Dragoon with him.

"Hey! You better not even think about challenging him!" yelled Nagi. He walked up to Tyson, returning the fear of the bystanders who've forgotten what had happened only moments ago. "And just drop it, kid," Nagi turned to the boy. "Tyson's no blader—not anymore. He doesn't even have Dragoon with him." He turned behind him and raised the volume of his voice once more, "And that means he can't even accept any of your challenges since you're all hot-blooded enough to take him on without wasting another damn second!" At that the kid scowled at Tyson and when he caught the little boy's eyes he saw anger in them. Anger and a mix of sadness. Tyson didn't know what to make of the situation and couldn't spend another moment thinking about it. As the bystanders dispersed, Nagi demanded his attention, asking what exactly Tyson was doing on Shark turf. This area was Shark turf? But it was so close to Koma High!

Tyson explained that Kai had sent him to look for a kid whose father was a shareholder in the company. He didn't want to go into detail, but vaguely explained their situation over starting the dojo. Nagi demanded a name and, hesitantly, Tyson gave it.

"Yamakawa? Oh, I know him. In fact, I'm just about to meet him. Hey guys!" Two of his lackeys approached him and he instructed them to keep an eye on the delinquents who were still awake. He turned to Tyson and signalled him to follow, moving swiftly and stiffly, as if ready for a delinquent to pounce.

Nagi knew his way around the neighbourhood, mostly because it was Blade Sharks turf, but also because he knew who Hiromasa Yamakawa was. Tyson was aching to ask questions, mostly about how and why the Sharks quelled the fight. Daichi seemed to make a huge point on saving Koma High from the Blade Sharks. Could it be that they were the Sharks in charge before Nami got hold of the gang? Yet Daichi recognized them and they recognized him as the 'hero of Koma' over being associated with Tyson…

He would have crashed into Nagi if Nagi hadn't said that they were there. The Yamakawa house was surprisingly small. Tyson expected that a shareholder would have a moderately sized house, but it turned out that Hiromasa Yamakawa lived in an apartment complex.

"Er… nice place?" he said. Nagi laughed.

"Not the person to say it to." He led Tyson up the stairs and walked down the row of doors before reaching the one at the very end and knocking.

"Masa," greeted Nagi. The door was only slightly open with a person's nose and mouth visible from the crack. Tyson could only hazard a guess that it was Hiromasa and not a sibling. "Kinomiya's here to talk to you. Something about that guy called Kai Hiwatari." Hiromasa Yamakawa closed the door and the sound of chains being pulled back was unusual to Tyson. What could warrant the boy from taking such measures in abnormally high security?

"And the fight?" asked Hiromasa, finally opening the door to let them both in. His voice was soft and quiet.

Hiromasa lived alone. It was an apartment with a multipurpose room; a single room used as a bedroom, living room, and dining area. Tyson could tell that Hiromasa lived alone because the floor was filled with clutter and the kitchen sink was filled with empty ramen cups and dirty dishes. Not a soul asked Hiromasa who was at the door.

"Didn't they say so on the news?" asked Nagi. "It's been dealt with, my guys are making sure that the delinquents remain in place until the cops arrived."

"Right. You can go," said Hiromasa.

"But wait—!"

"Leave, Nagi. There's a time and place for everything. Now go," urged Hiromasa. His gaze was fierce and it was enough to move a delinquent like Nagi. Nagi raised his hands and shook his head, firmly shutting the door behind him.

If it were Tyson five years ago he would have tried to fill the awkward silence with inappropriate remarks, like commenting on Hiromasa's very scientific looking contraption, which sat on his desk. The screen of his laptop was riddled in code and diagrams Tyson couldn't make heads or tails of. Scanning the room even further Tyson noted that there were no photos of the Yamakawa family or Hiromasa's friends.

"Hiwatari sent you here?"

"Yeah." Tyson was startled by how direct Hiromasa was. He looked like a first year middle school student with a height above the average for his age pool. His eyes were reproachful, the black threatening to suck any person staring into them into a black hole. His glasses were rectangular and scarily caught the sheen of the light, obscuring his eyes from view. His dark brown hair looked oily with locks lying limp by the sides of his face.

"Are you going to tell me why?" His directness was fairly offensive. Tyson didn't like the commanding tone in Hiromasa's voice. He could go two ways in this conversation: aware and considerate—speak only when spoken to and answer questions being asked. The second option was to snap back and demand some respect. Tyson was twenty—this kid was barely thirteen! So he decided to go for option tw—

His cell phone rang, forcing Tyson to hold his tongue as he glared at Hiromasa to answer it. Hiromasa was smirking, as if anticipating Tyson's outrage.

"What?" Tyson answered viciously.

"I knew it," came Kai's voice. "Were you about to yell at him?"

"Yes, Kai. I was. You have excellent timing," said Tyson sardonically. "Jeez, it's a wonder you liked him, he reminds me of you."

"He doesn't take bull from anyone. Tell him what he wants to know, not what he needs to hear. You'll be out of there faster and with likeable results." Kai sounded like he was about to hang up when he added, "and just because he's a jerk that doesn't mean I like him." It was enough of a comment to make Tyson laugh and change his mind about his approach. The smirk playing on Hiromasa's lips; he was anticipating Tyson's immature response and Kai's intervening.

"Kai needs your help with some numbers," Tyson finally answered.

"Business or personal affair."

"Personal. He's helping me—"

"I don't need the details," said Hiromasa sharply as he raised a hand to halt Tyson's words. "Just give me your name and address."

Before long Tyson was out of there and rapidly marching through the streets. He found himself taking a detour and walking by the old river where the beystadium still stood. Kids were playing with it and Tyson caught a young teenager lying on the grass next to a girl. He guessed they were on a date and distanced himself from them before he sat down to look at the setting sun. The sunset was always something to watch from that spot. He was sure Hilary admired it too, and wondered what other things she would like.

"Mind if I join you?" asked Kai, coming out of the blue. How did he know Tyson was here? But then that just mean that Tyson was predictable.

"Got bored?" Tyson said, paying him no mind as Kai sat next to him.

"I was hoping for a spin." Kai held out Tyson's Dragoon and launcher, the ripcord wound into place. Tyson laughed; how useful it would have been to have had it when the gangs started fighting.

"You got Dranzer with you?" Tyson asked. Kai laughed.

"What's the point of taking a spin when I don't have Dranzer to relive the good old days?"

They continued to watch the sunset in silence, the number of playful children dwindling with each passing minute. Soon it was just Tyson and Kai with an empty beystadium. The boy and the girl, who was now sitting up with her knees under her chin, were still where they were. The boy hadn't moved from his eagle-spread posture since Tyson had got there.

"Look at it, so empty," said Kai. Tyson caught him eying the beystadium hungrily, his hand gripping Dranzer tightly. The metal clinked from his grip and Tyson soon found himself gripping Dragoon just as tightly.

"Yeah. You kind of almost feel sorry for it," added Tyson.

"I wonder how it's been since we stopped Beyblade."

"Me too. I wonder if it saw that new champion use it as a practice stadium and a place to grow as a strong blader."

"Much like with you?" Kai asked, looking at Tyson with raised eyebrows. Tyson smiled.

"Much like with me."

Kai looked around and rubbed his free hand on his pant leg. He mumbled how there was barely anyone around, just the boy and the girl to their right. The street was practically empty. Tyson figured why not, they should at least do something eventful with their day. Kai made a point in saying that the day was eventful, just not in the way they expected.

"That Hiromasa kid's a jerk," blurted Tyson. "He makes the old you look like a teddy bear."

Kai laughed again as he heaved himself up off the ground. He started walking towards the stadium, placing Dranzer into place on the launcher. He stopped and looked at Tyson over his shoulder.

"You know you want to," he baited in an almost singsong voice. Tyson grinned. There was no way he could have refused if Kai was around!

They made for the stadium at a run, beyblades in their launchers. With a leap they grabbed the ripcords and pulled, crying in unison the eponymous, "Let it rip!" Their beyblades clashed and their spirits were running high.

"Dragoon!" Tyson urged.

"Go, Dranzer!" mimicked Kai. Their gazes locked, eyes both filled with fire.

"I knew it!" they heard Hilary cry from the top of the hill. They ignored her and commanded Dragoon and Dranzer to clash onward.

"Ah, the rematch of a lifetime!" said Ray satisfactorily, following behind Hilary as she rand down the steps. Tyson was surprised to hear him—he'd thought Ray had gone back to China.

"Heh, you two have an audience over there," said Max. Max? Was he in Japan for the winter break then? Tyson heard Daichi laugh and caught him jumping down from the top of the hill.

"Are you kidding me? If this whole place was full of people these two would have battled anyway!" he cried arrogantly, including a confident sniff.

"They probably bullied a couple of kids to get out of their way," teased Kenny, who found himself a spot on the steps. Tyson saw that he even brought his laptop with the rotating camera. Old habits really do die hard.

"No way—we were ready to go home if it hadn't gotten dark—damn it, Dranzer, move!" cried Kai, wincing as Dranzer was nearly forced out of the ring. Tyson gave a confident 'hah!' before making his own remark.

"And if those kids hadn't gone home either! Whoa! I don't think so, Kai! Get 'im, Dragoon!" He growled and punched the air before him as he urged Dragoon to go on the offensive.

They all whooped and cheered; the others unable to keep down their delight and pick a favourite. Daichi had Strata Dragoon with him, but he felt it unfair if Ray and Max couldn't join in. They didn't mind and Tyson was glad that they were okay with watching him and Kai battle it out.

Tyson felt the urge to call on Dragoon's spirit when he remembered Dranzer was no longer with Kai, that the bit beast had been set free. Kai saw his hesitation and had Dranzer give Dragoon a very forceful nudge.

"I'm fine with it," he said with a solemn smile. "I'll try and turn the odds in my favour with my own power, and with the strength Dranzer left behind."

"So be it—Go! Dra-goon!" The bit chip glowed and they heard the roar of the great dragon and the rumble of thunder in a cloudless sky. There was a bright light illuminating the night sky. This battle was no longer covert; anyone passing by would be immediately intrigued. Tyson didn't care if he was seen. He felt horrible for how the little boy stared at him with so much hate. Tyson couldn't be beyblading champion forever, but that didn't mean he had to quit the game altogether. It was in his blood, it was a part of his being, and Tyson believed that Kai, Ray, Max, Daich, Kenny, and even Hilary felt the same way. Beyblade was a big part of their life, and like old habits, they couldn't really throw them away.

Kai and Tyson roared to their heart's content, willing their beyblades to clash with all their might…

But there was no victor. There was no knowing if Kai could have been able to overcome Dragoon's power and won. The girl sitting next to the boy screamed as the boy, who was intent on seeing the battle through, suddenly collapsed and lay breathless on the grass. At that moment a black van veered off of the street and tumbled over the head of the girl and straight into the river with a deafening crash. Tyson and Kai were forced to recall their beyblades to investigate what had transpired before them. Hilary and Kenny were already upon the unconscious boy, trying to revive him. Tyson and the others were more intent on seeing if the people inside the van were all right and were inches away from the water when the back doors were blown off of their hinges. One nearly hit Hilary and Kenny as the door bounced off of the hill before falling over the dish. The other door was sent into the street above, luckily landing in an empty street. Tyson couldn't see if Hilary was okay because the next moment a bloodcurdling roar came from inside the van. Two bodies in black suits were flung out and figure jumped out before Tyson.

It was a man with his hands bound by something similar to a straightjacket. The bounds were clearly breaking as the man urged his strength to overcome his restraints. Tyson could see that the man's strength was inhuman as he withstood a tackle from another two black suited men from inside the van. The man shook them off and tumbled toward Kai, who tripped on his retreating steps and fell on his backside. The man tried to say something, but the sound of his heavy breathing showed that he was reaching his limits.

"K-Ko…" the man tried to say in something that vaguely resembled Japanese.

"What?" Kai stammered, too shocked to understand what was happening. The man broke a hand out and tried to reach for Kai, but the two men the man shook off were upon him and started to pull him away. The man had enough energy to resist, but it wasn't enough to break free of their hold.

"Don't mind him," said a suited man who came out of the driver's seat. To see him walk out of it without a scratch was unnerving. A woman walked down the steps and past them with a large gun in hand. "This is just a very disobedient monster. We'll be on our way."

"Not… a monster," growled the mysterious man defiantly. He jerked violently when he saw the woman approach with the gun. His hair was a mess, wet from the sweat he expelled in his attempted escape. The moonlight captured the sheen of his hair, how eerily it resembled the night sky. Tyson could see one of his eyes and he wondered if it was just him—the eye gave off a weak yet eerie glow and it seemed to train on one person: Kai.

"What?" Kai stammered again

"I'm… Daemeon. Daemeon Fenryr—augh!" The woman got close enough to shoot the gun into his neck, knocking him out. The man called Daemeon was quickly hauled away to a van that waited on the street above. Tyson felt the urge to follow, to discover what exactly was going on, but Ray grabbed his wrist and gave him a stare.

"We can't," he said softly.

"But…" started Tyson.

"Tyson," Max looked sad and frightened, and sympathetic as his eyes urged Tyson to stand down.

"But guys!"

"Tyson, we can't," spat Kai coldly. "It's none of our business and out of our hands. What's more important," he faced Tyson with a capturing gaze, "is that we get that kid to a hospital right away. We'll talk about this later, I promise." Tyson was amazed at how strong Kai was being, especially when Daemeon had targeted him out of all of them. Was it someone from Kai's travels whose identity Kai couldn't reveal or couldn't remember? Tyson shook his head. He had to ignore those ponderings for now. What was important was the boy, who he last checked wasn't even breathing.

"What's you're name?" he softly asked the young girl. She was crying in fright at what she just saw.

"Hi-Himika," she hiccupped. "This is my brother, Takeru. P-please, save him!"

"Don't worry," Kai said, lending a hand for her to take. His voice was soft and gentle and easily coaxed the girl to take his hand. "We'll help you. We'll save him." She seemed to doubt his words when she looked up at him, but that same captivating gaze he gave Tyson wiped all doubts from her mind. "We'll save him. I promise."

Rarely have a read I fanfic where the actual event of beyblading was involved. This was refreshing, like revisiting my childhood. Wow, I feel old already-has it really been five years?

Hope you enjoyed this as much as I did.