Well, I'm back with the . . . what . . . ninth chapter?! Cool!

Ray- Yep. Congrats!

Arigatou!

Ray- Kai still asleep?

Yep. Auron's still in the closet. And I still haven't found out who opened it! rubs head in frustration

Ray- I'll do the disclaimer and you can get back to your investigation.

Arigatou!

Ray- Disclaimer: She doesn't own Beyblade.

Abduction

Chapter 9

-Ray's POV-

The bus ride to the meeting wasn't too bad, considering that Tyson hadn't made us deaf, but he did cause Kai to have a headache. Again.

"Tyson!" I cried over his loud voice as he sung "Yankee Doodle Went to Town," a song Max had taught him, over and over again. He stopped and looked at me.

"Yeah, what is it, Ray?"

"[[Tomare!" I yelled over the loud music. "And turn that damn music OFF!"

"Oh, sorry." He pushed a button on the radio and the music automatically turned off. Sitting down, he began to quietly talk to Max and Kenney beside him. I guess he figured that he should do what I said, considering I don't cuss unless it's driving me up the wall.

"[[Yare-yare . . ." I turned back to Kai, who was sitting beside me looking at my face as if I had grown two heads. "Nani?" I asked shrugging my shoulders. He shook his head and leaned it on the back of the seat. "You OK?" I rubbed his shoulder and squeezed it lightly.

He nodded and sighed, leaning into my arm, letting his head rest on my shoulder. "[[Hai, but my head hurts a little, and my legs are aching again."

I winced at that. Kai was supposed to take it easy for a while. He wasn't supposed to walk too much, run, or even beyblade for at least a week, or until his legs started getting better. The doctor said that the bruises on them were also internal as well as external, causing him more pain than what it should. So, he was supposed to take it easy for the next week. Also, he had taken a sharp blow to the head at some time and when he gets headaches, they're like ten times worse than normal.

I wrapped my arm around his own shoulders, squeezing him tighter into me for support. "It's gonna be OK. Don't worry."

I felt his head move slightly in a nod as a small sigh escaped his lips. "I know, Ray," he said quietly, sighing again and letting his head rest heavier on my shoulder. I squeezed him again and placed a soft kiss on the top of his head, the slate colored hair tickling my cheeks and nose.

We sat for a long while in silence, even Max, Kenney, and Tyson had become quiet. I suddenly felt Kai's breath become more even and slower. If he wasn't careful, he would end up falling asleep. 'Let him sleep for now, at least until we get to the building,' I told myself. 'He didn't get that much last night.' The image of Kai tossing and turning under the sheets up until one o'clock this morning passed in front of my eyes as he fought against his nightmares. I rested my own head on his and began watching the scenery pass by outside.

-At the Meeting-

We strode cautiously into the waiting room of the BBA building's fifth story. Kai and I went to sit on one of the couches by the window. He rested his head on my shoulder and sighed. I think his headache has gotten worse.

Tyson, now on sugar that him and Max were eating on the way here (when I thought that they were being quiet), bounded up to us. "Hey, guys!" He smiled his annoying goofy grin. "You OK, Kai?!"

I felt a sharp intake of breath coming from my koi as he brought his hands up to his ears and whimpered slightly.

"Tyson!" I hissed quietly, wrapping my arms protectively, but gently, around Kai, bringing him to sit in my lap. "He has a headache. Can't you be quiet for one day?" I started rocking him back and forth as my phoenix tried to relax some.

"Oh, sorry," Tyson said quieter. He looked at me with sympathetic eyes. "Is he gonna be OK?"

I shook my head. "We'll have to wait and see." He nodded and went back to where Max, Kenney, and Hitoshi were standing.

My attention was soon turned back to Kai as he sighed again against my chest. My hand found its way from his shoulder to his hair, lacing my fingers through it smoothly and soothingly. He sighed again and nuzzled his head against the nape of my neck, closing his eyes and resting for a bit. I could feel the warm breath each time he exhaled, it curling around the base of my neck, making my skin tingle.

I almost jumped when I felt something in my other hand. When I looked down, I realized that one of Kai's hands made its way to mine, his fingers curling around my own. I had to suppress an unexpected moan as his free hand grabbed my thigh to steady himself on my lap. Images of what he had done to me before we left flashed through my mind. Oh, I wish we could be there instead of here. It'd be a lot easier on Kai. And a lot more fun than waiting in a waiting room for a dumb meeting, mind you.

"Ray, is something wrong?" my phoenix's soft voice soared to my ears.

I shook my head and moved into a more comfortable position, where my head was now resting on the window behind us. The moment didn't last long, though. Like it ever did.

"Ray!" a shrill voice called out, causing my eyes to snap open in an instant. My body jerked, making Kai fall off my lap with a yelp.

"Mariah!" I cried. Her pink form bounded over to me.

"How are you, Ray?!" she screamed, hugging me. I felt my cheeks flame with a humiliating blush.

"Umm. Fine. Mariah?"

"Yeah?"

"You're kinda stepping on Kai." I looked down at the older teen in the floor as he lay on his back with Mariah's foot planted on his chest.

She looked down. "Oops. Sorry, Kai." She jumped off of his chest, causing a muffled oomf to come from his lips.

"Ow!" Kai cried as she accidentally stepped on one of his hands.

"[[Gomen nansai!"

I sighed as Kai picked himself up off of the floor and sat down next to me, rubbing his now . "What are you doing here?" I asked the White Tigers.

Lee laughed. "We were invited to participate in this new tournament. I thought you guys were invited too. Weren't you?"

I inhaled sharply as I caught site of Kai's pale and shocked face, all interest of his hurt hand disappeared. "Sort of. We kinda didn't have a choice in the matter."

Lee cocked his head to the side, but was interrupted by the door opening to reveal two other sets of teams coming for the meeting. The All-Stars and Majestics.

"Oh, shit." I turned my head back to Kai. He was shaking all over. "He's going to bring everyone into this . . ."

"What do you mean?" I asked. The others, after they had exchanged greetings, looked over at us.

-Normal POV-

Before Kai could answer Ray's question, the door opened one last time to reveal one more team, with the trainer of the team in front. Kai's breath caught in his throat as the memories of each and every face pushed its way into his mind. Especially the man in front.

They came to the middle of the room, smirking like there was no tomorrow as their eyes never left the phoenix's.

Kai stood up with Ray and the others on shaky legs, making the man in front chuckle.

"Looks like another reunion, boys, huh?" he asked giving Kai a sideways smirk.

Ray glanced at the phoenix. Kai was shaking uncontrollably as the fear of this man washed over him.

The man walked over to the shivering teen and placed a hand on his cheek. "There is no reason to be afraid, young Phoenix. I thought you weren't afraid of anything?" he whispered in his ear.

Kai flinched before the man could go father, causing him to growl slightly but then smile once again.

"No matter. Since everyone is here, we might as well start this meeting, huh?" His eyes never left Kai's as he said each word.

Ray frowned and stepped beside the phoenix protectively. The man chuckled again and moved to the conference room door, opening it and stepping inside, his team behind him.

Lee came over to Kai and Ray. "What was that all about, guys? Do you know him?"

"Unfortunately, yes," the tiger's voice hissed as he caught a side-ways glance at the phoenix. "You gonna be OK, Kai?"

Kai had to gulp one or two times before answering in a tone that gave no hint of fear. "Yeah, Ray. I'll be fine. Let's just get this over with." He started following the dreaded team that had called them all there, the others following him.

They each took a seat, Kai and Ray making sure that they both sat together and far away from the man called Auron.

Ray could finally get a good look at the man that had tormented and raped his koi. He had short black hair with silver and white streaks rolling down the sides and the back, giving the tiger the impression of being older than forty, though his young face indicated that he was in his mid-thirties. His eyes, though, were darker than night, glazed over like a black onyx, looking at them with hatred and control. He was definitely "counting his chickens before they hatched," as the saying goes.

"Well, let's get this meeting started, shall we?" Auron said, folding his hands together in front of him, letting them rest lightly on the table. He looked at Kai and smiled as the phoenix looked away, avoiding his eyes.

"Yes, let's," Robert said. "You said in your letter that you had an idea for the tournament. Something people normally wouldn't think of."

Auron's gaze never left Kai's face as he nodded. "I want this tournament to become a Combat tournament instead of Beyblading."

The room suddenly became quiet and the air still as everyone took in the news. Then one loud-mouthed blader had to open his mouth, his growing tiger rage showing.

"COMBAT TOURNAMENT?!" Lee yelled, slamming his fists on the table as he stood.

"Calm down, young White Tiger. I will not tolerate yelling," Auron said calmly, his gaze moving towards the angered lion as Galeon grew more furious by the second.

"NO! Not until you take that crazy idea out of your head about making this tournament into a combat tournament!" Lee cried.

Ray was about to say something to calm his old friend down when a loud cry echoed throughout the room. His eyes quickly darted over to the shaking teen beside him. Kai shook violently as the shock of electric currents ran through his body, his violet eyes glazed over with pain and distant from the world, his arms wrapped around him.

"Kai!" Ray reflexed, his hand attempting to lay upon the phoenix's shoulder when a gruff, but calm voice stopped him.

"I wouldn't touch him if I were you," Auron said. "You'll end up getting shocked as well."

Ray glared at him, not believing what this man was doing, but looked back down as Kai's quiet voice interrupted his thoughts.

"[[Iie. It's OK, Ray. I'm fine," his said, sitting up, his breathing ragged, his body trembling.

"What the hell?" Lee started but stopped as Ray's golden orbs turned their glare at him, ordering him to sit down and be quiet. He reluctantly obeyed.

"Now that everyone has calmed down, can we please get back to business?" the man asked, looking at everyone in the room.

Robert looked from Kai's bowed head to the man's dark eyes. "Why do you want to make this a combat tournament?"

"I want to bring it back, and by making this a combat tournament, I believe that people will want to bring it back as well."

Ray glanced at Kai. The phoenix still wouldn't raise his head as the meeting went on. Ray guessed that if he did, Kai wouldn't be able to blade in the tournament after his outburst. The tiger was about to whisper something in his koi's ear when the gruff voice cut him off.

"Blade Breakers, you may be wondering, though, what you all have to do in this," Auron said, looking at each member of the Beyblading Championship team as they all glared at him, even Kai had raised his head slightly. "Here's the deal, if you win, I let Kai go and disappear forever. You will hear nothing of me ever again. Unless, if you lose, Kai will die. You see, also, in that little arm band, I have placed a very toxic poison. One that, as soon as it enters the bloodstream, the host has, at the most, fifteen minutes until death, unless they have the antidote. Which I have." He held up a small vial in his large hands, indicating that he was on top of the game.

Ray's golden eyes slit, taking in the threat while the other beybladers, with the exception of Kai, just stared at the man. 'How dare he do that! Why would he, he's already got us on the edge of this whole thing,' the tiger wailed in his mind, a fang appearing from beneath his slightly upraised lip.

"I have a question," Kenney said. "Why did you want us to forfeit that charity match?"

Auron chuckled at the question. "To see if you actually cared about your captain to the extent that you would follow any instructions I would give you, no matter how dumb."

The rest of the meeting was spent in silence as the rest of the bladers sat quietly, forcibly agreeing to everything the man said.

-After the Meeting-

The other team that held all the cards had left earlier, leaving the Blade Breakers alone with the All-Stars, White Tigers, and the Majestics to explain what was going on.

Ray and Kai sat in the very back of the waiting room, near the window where they were sitting before. Ray kept his gaze on his koi, ready for anything that came out. Anything.

Kai sat rigid, his muscles tense and unwilling to relax. His lip sat bleeding as he was biting it earlier to keep himself from hollering out against the wishes, endangering his friends, and himself.

After a while, the others came over to them, the whole story of what had happened just a few days ago stuck and fresh in their minds.

"I don't . . . I don't know what to say," Robert started.

"It's still not too late . . ." a small whisper sounded. Everyone looked towards Kai. His shoulders now shook, trying to keep the tears of helplessness from falling.

"Nani? What is it, Kai?" Ray asked quietly, placing an arm around the older teen, looking to comfort him. Surprisingly, the gesture was thrown off in a hurry, startling Ray.

Kai kept his head down as he said the one thought stuck on his mind. "It's still not too late for you to back out. I know there is a way for you all not to participate in this. Please, don't endanger yourselves for no reason."

"What do you mean, 'no reason'?" Michael said. "Kai, we're gonna enter this tournament so that there'll be a better chance at demolishing the idea of combat. We're not backing down out of this. Right?" He looked around him at the other teams, gaining nods. "See?"

Kai sighed. He knew that they would say that. Why he even gave the idea of backing out to them, he would never know. He knew better than that. He stood up on shaky legs, still a bit wobbly from the electrocution earlier. Walking over to the phone that sat on the wall next to the door, he picked it up and dialed a number automatically.

The others just watched Kai talk in an unknown language into the receiver. After a few minutes, he hung up, one hand still on the phone. Ray stood up and made his way over to his koi, waiting for an answer to a question that he whispered in the phoenix's ear. After a while, Kai whispered back an answer and turned to where he was now facing the other teams, his eyes clear now and ready to say something that he had been planing.

"Who'd you call, Kai?" Tyson asked, the others nodding at his question.

"An old friend of mine. He and I were partners when we entered the Combat Blading Championship a few years ago, when I had banned it. His name is Ryan, and he's really good. Probably even better than me."

"Why do we need him, though, Kai?" Kenney asked.

"Because, for a while, I won't be able to teach you guys how to combat battle. Ryan will have to start teaching you." He sighed and rubbed his arm under the metal band. It was still sore, and he wished he could sit down, he was getting tired.

Ray must have noticed this because he asked, whispering in his ear, if Kai wanted to sit down. The phoenix nodded, letting Ray lead him over to the couch.

"Kai?" Tyson asked as soon as the phoenix sat down. "When is this Ryan guy gonna be here?"

Kai looked up at him. "He should be here about noon tomorrow."

"Cool! So, we're gonna meet him at the airport tomorrow and then go out for lunch!" Tyson smiled, already deciding where they were going to go, and what he was going to eat.

"The bus should be coming any minute to get us," Mariah said looking as Kai rested his head on Ray's shoulder. She had guessed a while ago that Ray and Kai had something together. Just by the way Ray kept staying near the stotic captain, lending him support, and the way he had let Kai sit in his lap earlier was a big give-a-way. He hadn't ever done it before, so that's why she came to the conclusion. "We're gonna go downstairs to wait on it. Come on, guys." She led the others out of the room, giving the two lovers time to talk.

Ray sighed as the door shut behind them. Looking back at Kai, the tiger spoke softly. "Are you OK, Kai?"

Kai sighed himself and sat up straighter, looking at his koi's golden eyes. "Hai, I'm fine, Ray. I'm sorry for throwing your arm off earlier. I know you were just trying to offer me some comfort." He shook his head. "I'm really sorry."

Ray shrugged like it was no big deal. "I understand. You were worried about the others and you really didn't want to be touched right then. I probably would've done the same thing in your shoes." He smiled and placed a kiss on the teen's cheek. "Now, you haven't eaten today. So, as soon as we get back to the hotel, I'm going to make sure no one interrupts us this time. I'm going to make you my special dinner, and then we'll just play around. How does that sound?"

Kai looked up at him and smiled. "Only if I get to be first this time."

Ray blushed at the comment. "Oh, alright. But first we eat. I don't know about you, but I'm hungry."

Kai laughed as Ray's stomach growled. "Ok, Ray. Arigatou."

"For what?"

Kai leaned over and captured Ray's lips with his own. "For everything. [[Aishiteru yo."

"Aishiteru yo[[koibito."

End Chapter Nine+

[[tomare - stop [[hai - yes [[iie - no [[Yare-yare - Thank goodness

[[aishiteru yo - I love you [[koibito (also known to others as koi) - lover

Wow! Another chapter down!

Kai- yawns Yep. I'm surprised you got this done.

Hardy-har-har . . . Oh, well, I'm not gonna deal with your sarcasm today. It's my day off of school, and I'm eating my lunch. Mmmmmmmmmm. Spaghetti O's . . . I'm 16, but it doesn't matter. No matter how old you get, Spaghetti O's still taste good! takes another bite

Kai- I have to admit, they're pretty good. For spaghetti-sauced noodles in the shape of o's.

Here, try a meatball!

Kai- No, thanks. I'm not hungry.

Oh, well. eats meatball Goooooooooooooooood!

Kai- Did you ever find out who opened the closet?

Nope. Still working on it. But right now, Spaghetti O's! takes another bite

Kai- sweat drops Oh, well. R&R readers.

Oh, by the way . . . THANK YOU FOR ALL THE REVIEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SAYONARA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!