DISCLAIMER: Of course I don't own Beyblade. Get real.

WARNINGS: Yaoi, slash, shounen-ai, whatever you may call it. Boy-on-boy, girl-on-girl, the works. If you can't stand the homosexual stuff back away now.

SUMMARY: Tala's Bey-Dating Association: Finding dates for busy bladers since 2007.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey all. I'm finally back with the second chapter. It's kinda short, but I thought if I posted it, I'd finally stop fiddling with it and move on. I really suck at chapter-fics. lol.

Thanks so much for the reviews so far. I'm glad you guys like it. :) But, anyway, onwards...


Matchmaker's Hell: Ray and Mystel

"So you know what to do?" one dark figure asked another dark figure in the dark undergrowth of one of the many abandoned warehouses scattered around Bay City. It was not as private as he would have liked, but it seemed everyone was having underhanded dealings tonight.

"Yeah."

"Good," said the first figure, taking a small box-shaped device out of his cloak pocket and handing it to the second figure. "Take this. It'll keep you anonymous."

The second figure prodded the device curiously. "What's this thing supposed to do?"

The first figure smirked and handed the second figure a compact mirror. "See for yourself."

The second figure gasped. "Holy shit, Tala! Where the f-?!"

"Shh! Carlos! No names!" Tala hissed, covering Carlos' mouth with his hands while casting his eyes around the area suspiciously. He grinned nervously and waved at the Yakuza thug glaring at him from the other side of the building. The man had been nice enough to share the space with him, but he didn't want to push his luck. He mouthed a 'sorry' then dragged Carlos around the corner.

Once out of sight, he whacked the other boy upside the head. "Stupid! I thought you were professional." Kai really wasn't exaggerating when he had told him how useless this guy was. "If you must know, I made it. Now, do we have a deal?"

Carlos was back to staring at himself in the mirror. As if by magic, his features had transformed. His skin had paled and aged infinitely, stuck in a scowl no matter how much he gaped in wonder, and his black hair was now purple. He looked vaguely familiar to himself, but he couldn't quite place why. It didn't feel real, but it sure as hell looked real.

This shit was too cool to pass up. Not to mention the pay. Speaking of…

"What about my money?"

Tala handed him a white envelope full of bills. "Half now, half when you're done."

"You got it."


Mystel awoke that morning to the ringing of the phone on his bedside table. It had interrupted a pretty great dream, but Mystel was not one to be grumpy for long, especially with who was on the other line.

"Hey, Ray!" he greeted, bouncing out of bed and onto the hotel balcony. "What's up?"

The sun was high and bright over the city. The air was cool and fresh and smelled like autumn. He'd bet the breeze on the roof was amazing. With a happy sigh, he leapt off the balcony railing and headed inside to get dressed.

"Are we still on for later?" asked Ray on the other side.

"Of course. I hope you've improved from last time." Mystel laughed. "Though I'm pretty sure that's not gonna help you."

"Very funny," Ray said. Mystel could almost hear him rolling his eyes. "Do you, uh, wanna grab breakfast before we battle?"

"Sure!" A huge grin spread across Mystel's face. "I'd love to!"

"Great!"

Mystel bounced eagerly on his toes as they arranged a place and time and said their goodbyes. In no time flat, he was dressed and out the door, humming a random tune to himself as he rode the elevator to the ground floor of the hotel and strolled out onto the crowded sidewalk. He made sure to check the road extra cautiously before he set foot off the curb – he'd been having bad luck with cars lately.

Smiling when he found the road clear, he started his trek across the street to the café. He smiled as he spotted Ray waving at him through the window and waved back.

Suddenly, there was an all too familiar screech of tires to his left. He saw Ray's head dart around, eyes widening in horror and followed his gaze. A black Honda was currently speeding towards him, its tyres smoking.

Mystel barely had time to think. He jumped straight up in the air, clearing the car's front bumper just as it would have hit his legs, landed nimbly on the roof, then bounced off just as quickly, backflipping onto a nearby lamp post.

He shook his head as he watched the car careen recklessly around the next corner and disappear, shaking his head and chuckling ruefully. That was the third time this had happened in three days. What a weird week.


"What is with that kid? I'm paying good money for this," Tala fumed as he glared through his binoculars.

"Who cares? I'm bored. When are we gonna eat?" Daichi whined at his side, staring boredly into the distance, wriggling a finger in his ear.

"Tch." Tala wasn't sure why he was letting the runt tag along with him. He knew it was a bad idea beybattling with him that one time. Now he couldn't get rid of him. "Shut up, kid, you might learn something."

"Why do we need to hit Mystel with a car, anyway?"

"For the fiftieth time, Daichi!" Tala was this close to ordering Carlos to run over Daichi instead. "The near-death experience will shock Mystel into taking a chance with his fragile young heart and go after Ray, meanwhile the shock of nearly losing Mystel forever will make Ray realise how much he really loves him…"

The way Tala saw it, after hours of pacing his room, waiting nervously for that one phone call that would tell him whether Mystel had lived or died –never mind Ray wouldn't even be on any list of numbers the hospital would have- Ray wouldn't be able to take it anymore. Needing to see Mystel's sweet face one last time, if this were to really be the end, he'll run to the hospital in the pouring, thundering rain, heedless of the water plastering his clothes to every boyish non-curve of his body.

"Mystel!" Ray cried in Tala's imagination, long, black hair dripping water all over the hospital room floor, wet skin glistening in the pale moonlight that bathed the room as he rushed to the sleeping blond's bedside.

Mystel's eyes slowly slid open, peering blankly into the darkness. "Ray… you came."

Ray took Mystel's hand in his and tenderly kissed the back. "Of course I came, my love. I had to see you."

Mystel's eyes widened. "But… but, what about Max?"

"Forget Max! It's you I love! I can't believe it took me this long to realise! I love you, Mystel!"

A soft ocean of violin music swelled through the open window, riding in on the soft summer breeze as hearts and flowers sparkled in the air and the two boys stared into each other's eyes.

"I love you, too, Ray."

"…And then they'll share sweet kisses under the pale light of the midnight moon until some bitch nurse kicks Ray out." Tala sighed happily, solely in satisfaction of being right, of course. "It's a perfect romantic beginning!" Or so he guessed. He didn't really have a romantic bone in his body.

Daichi stared at him blankly.

Tala cleared his throat. "Anyway. Then Max can run to Rick all heartbroken from getting dumped, get some manly comforting and bam! Four beyblades with one Wolborg." Tala grinned. "It's my most brilliant plan ever. Estimated sixty-nine percent chance of success." It wasn't really, but Tala liked to be modest about his abilities.

Daichi looked unimpressed. "Why do you care? We're not getting paid for this."

"Excuse you, when did this become a partnership?"

"Hey, I help you all the time!"

"Since when does being a pest count as helping?"

"Um…excuse me," a soft voice cut through their bickering like a fog horn. If Tala had been a lesser man, he would have jumped as high a mile as Daichi. Luckily, he'd known she was there the whole time. Really. "Tala?"

"Yes?" he asked, glaring coolly at the girl with the pink hair and shy smile.

"I… I-I need your help… Please?"


Back at headquarters, Tala leaned back in his chair and waited patiently for Mathilda to build up the courage to make her request. She kept toying with the hem of her shorts and glancing at Daichi who was slouched on the other chair, picking his nose.

"Oi, Daichi, get lost! You're making her uncomfortable."

"You can't make me leave. I'm as much a part of this as you are!"

"As if. Get out of here. The adults are talking."

Mathilda watched with wide eyes as Tala stormed over, grabbed him by the scruff and tossed him unceremoniously out the door. Flicking the lock closed, Tala dusted off his hands, a job well done, and strolled back to his desk.

"Better. Now, what's the problem?"

"I… I like s-someone, b-but…"

"Say no more. You've come to the right place. At the BDA we guarantee you one good date or half your money back. Minus tax and administrative fees." He moved on to the task at hand, quickly, before she could question that part. "So, tell me, who's the lucky girl?"

Mathilda blushed and ducked her head. "H-how did you know?"

"I'm just that good." Tala smiled smugly, leaning back in his chair. "So who is it? I don't have all day."

"I-it's… it's Julia… from F-Dynasty? She… I really like her, but…"

But Tala was already plotting in his head, a plan so crafty, so subtle, so ingenious that Julia wouldn't even know she was being played. She'd be in love before you could say 'Circus Freak' and Tala would be keeping his 10000 yen, thank you very much.

"Tell me," he said, cutting Mathilda off mid-ramble. "How's your karaoke?"