Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade blah blah blah…

Chapter 5: One for All and All for Three

"We have to slide down that thing?!" Tyson's outbursts have returned as we all look down the giant hill. I had mentioned it on the first day here but the intensity of it was a lot higher when you were standing at the top being told that we were racing down it.

They had hoses and two of those slip-and-slide mats leading down the great hill to the bottom, where a huge mud pit (that was supposed to be avoided) awaited us. Those not quick enough to get out of the way before hitting the mud had points deducted from their final score. It was the first time we were playing a sport that actually involved the possibility of getting a little messy.

I was still sporting a beautiful black eye, courtesy of the "mean girls" and was hoping to not make any more beauty marks on this trek down the hill, which had the potential to be really dangerous if not done properly. It was becoming more a light brownish blue but was still hard to look as if I caught myself in a mirror.

I was doing well at pretending it wasn't there and acting like I didn't notice the way people couldn't stop eying it when they talked to me.

Ah, the troubles of war.

The incident with Kai was still plaguing me as well. I suppose it wasn't really an incident because it didn't really have any repercussions but it was still unresolved and I felt somewhat exposed having it remain as such. I had practically asked Kai if he had feelings for me, or if he COULD have feelings for me, which was just like asking a rock if it could swim

The answer being an obvious 'hell no' but in asking it, I had put myself and my own feelings way out there. He hadn't ACTUALLY answered because before his pondering (possibly confused) mind could react or respond the nurse had returned to check the rest of my wounds and he had been ushered out.

Max and Tyson had visited to bring me some dinner before lights out but it was a quiet night with no visitors after that. I had been released the next morning with a cold compress and a few aspirin but was not doing so badly after the initial headache had subsided a little.

Kai had seemed to ignore everything, or not realize what I had been asking, because he was STILL acting as if nothing was different. His 'outsider' attitude was really starting to get to me since it only seemed a problem when I actually WANTED him around. I had hoped I could at least apologize and brush the question under the rug so things could be less awkward for me but I hadn't had a chance to approach him yet. He had been at breakfast but with Tyson there it was hard to get a word in edgewise.

I had been anticipating that since all the groups were participating in this particular event that I would have some time to catch him. The boys were the only ones participating in this game, for obvious reasons, but he seemed to be nowhere in sight.

Max, sporting a similar scrape, except higher and much less prominent (totally covered easily with a band-aide), was trying to decide if he could belly flop down the hill instead of coasting it the easy way. Sliding and remembering to throw the bean bag might prove difficult from an angle so close to the ground though. Silly Max...

Tyson, after seeing my lovely new look, had decided that from then on we were going to stand up for ourselves and throw back whatever we could to put those girls in their place. This had gotten us some wearied looks but after a day of blinding pain (and humiliation), I was ready for my own retaliation. It probably wasn't what Tyson had in mind but I had my own way of getting even. If my run-ins with Bryon had taught me anything it wasn't to feed fire with more fire. My plan was a little unfinished but I had plenty of time to work out details. And it would distract me from vexing over my other prominent thoughts.

"It looks like fun Tys! Just give it a try. Maybe you'll find it a new challenge," I smile, counteracting the effects of my injury on interactions.

"Where's Kai? Why doesn't he have to do this? I have had my share of fun with mud already…" Tyson huffs, reference his shoe ordeal.

Update on that, since I'm not sure if I have before. Tyson had let the mud dry so he could break it off more easily but had to borrow a shoe from the lost and found while he waited. He had been running around with mismatched shoes for three days before his was finally able to be used. Which made me smile a little but I was still angry that I only had light walking shoes and we were in the woods.

I ended up borrowing a pair of boots that Max had brought since he liked to over-pack and had three pairs. I swear if he were a girl, the world would be in need of bigger houses. That boy has everything! Threefold.

"He had an altercation earlier and was sent to see somebody," Max explains. "It wasn't anything serious though so I am sure he'll be out soon."

"What did he do?" I took a sudden interest, finding it odd that this was the first time Kai had had any type of 'altercation'. It seemed well placed in the timing category.

Was he avoiding me after all? He had seemed pretty normal at breakfast…

"Well he…"

"Enough chitchat boys. Get to your marks!" Chris bellows, ushering everyone over to the mats. My curiosity (and questioning) would have to wait until a better time.

"Come on Tyson, I bet you can't beat me!" Max tries to get Tyson to lighten up again when he realizes that he's up first and starts to gripe again.

The games begins.

As crazy as it sounds, the game was actually quite challenging and fun at the same time. I wouldn't go putting it on my list of things I would choose to do willingly for fun, but all-in-all I was happy that we got to do it and I had managed to avoid the mud for the most part so I wasn't completely covered in it.

Max had slipped and fallen a little too hard his second time around and managed to knock over one of the goals before skidding into the mud so Tyson had ended up beating him after all.

Once the first plunge had been made, Tyson had become all gung-ho about continuing. He even grumbled when we were told it was time to go clean up in the showers and change. So all of us were corralled into the showers and then off to lunch.

After lunch was our break before dinner so the three of us had all gone to our usual free time area, the game room. A lot of the areas were filled at first so we were off to the side, sitting at a table and waiting for something to open up while discussing what we had planned to do about our "problem".

"I say we forget about them. We only have two weeks left. I don't want to end up in the hospital because we decided to mess with the wrong people." Max always seems to be the one trying to avoid unnecessary turmoil. Which seems ironic to me since he also seems to be the one most involved in it. Maybe that's why he chooses to avoid it if he has a choice.

"Two weeks is a long time Max. You might end up in the hospital anyway if we let them have their way!" Tyson interjects.

If you hadn't guessed, they were back to the subject of the girls and their vendetta against us.

As if on cue, the three of them enter and scare some unsuspecting boys away from the air hockey table. Nicole catches my eye and winks but not in a cutesy 'I think you're swell' kind of way but in a 'looks like I got you good' way.

I bury my face in my arms, which are crossed on the table.

"Don't hide Ray! That's a sign of weakness!" Tyson taps me to get me back involved. I growl a little and roll my eyes, burying my head lower. Tyson was trying to get us all killed. I could just feel it. "I'm gonna go show her right now!" He gets up and before Max or I can grab him, he stalks over to the air hockey table and slaps his hands down. This not only gets their undivided attention but everyone else's in the room as well. "Hey! What makes you think you can just push everyone around?!" he demands. Sarah eyes him critically before crossing her arms and sticking her nose up.

"And who do you think YOU are?" she asks casually. Already the room has quieted to see what might happen between the two of them. Max rushes over and I reluctantly follow, hoping (and praying) that this wouldn't end how I expected it to.

"I challenge you to a game. If I win, you leave us alone. If you win, we'll leave the camp." Uh-oh. From the look on her face I think she knows something that he doesn't.

She smirks. Suddenly this seems rather nostalgic…

"Okay. But not right now. It's been a long day and we're busy…" she snubs him and I can see him physically shaking from annoyance. Max puts a firm hand on his arm and pulls him back a bit. Tyson growls and throws his hands up.

"Fine. Tomorrow. Same time, same place. I'll even let you choose the game." Bad idea. Bad, bad idea… How did he expect us to leave the camp if we lost? We can't exactly steal a bus or something. She is highly amused and seems to accept the challenge, further sealing our fate. Seriously. What is he THINKING?!

"I have a better idea," she cooes. "I'll give you until Friday so you boys can prepare. Friday is the Capture the Flag game. The whole camp plays, boys verses girls, you know." She shrugs in a manner to indicate that this was common knowledge. "If you win, we'll leave you alone. If we win, we get anything we want from you. I wouldn't want to see you boys have to walk all the way back to wherever you came from. Something tells me you'd get lost." She makes a similar 'hn' movement to how Kai does and looks to Tyson for confirmation. Yeah, definitely nostalgic.

This idea seemed much fairer than his idea and less confrontational on our part, so I was begging him with my eyes to accept it. We would just have to figure out what this "Capture the Flag" thing was in detail… But with a little team work, I knew it would work to our advantage. Nobody could beat us as a team.

Tyson withdraws and nods.

"Agreed. Truce until Friday then." Tyson holds out his hand to confirm the acceptance.

She smirks again, completely ignoring the gesture.

"Well…I never said that." With the most devilish smile as her only answer, she tilts her head for her friends to follow and they all move to exit. "If you make it until Friday, I'll even throw in a little something extra." A snort. "Later boys." And they're gone. The room lets out a unanimous sigh of relief and a group of boys who Tyson had made friends with, flock to him.

"You have no idea what you just agreed to!" one of them gushes. They all spout out similar responses and quickly explain that in the 7 years that those girls had been attending this camp, they had never lost the Capture the Flag game.

Ever.

Remember my experience with a volleyball? Apparently this Capture the Flag game consisted of many more incidents like that. Some boys had even been air-shipped home because their injuries were so bad. They had all been deemed accidents so the group leaders hadn't done anything to stop the girls, but all the boys knew it was them.

This was going to be fun…

Makes you wonder why they didn't remove the event altogether. Apparently it was some sort of tradition and in a contract or something. I dunno, some weird technicality. And what might be our grave.

I thought this camp was supposed to be a vacation!

Tyson doesn't seem the least bit concerned as he has taken over the air hockey table and challenged Max and a few other boys into a 'first lose, first out' competition. Which didn't seem such a bad idea. I stood watching for the first few battles but decided to switch in after seeing how much fun they were all having. It was better than worrying over what to expect from the girls or where Kai was.

Wait, I had never asked Max what had happened again. Now was my chance since it was me against him up next.

"Hey Max, you never finished telling us what happened to Kai," I kindly remind him as he gets ready to take his first shot. He smiles and jumps up.

"Oh yeah! You guys will find it pretty funny!" As our game starts the curiosity builds.

"Why don't you just tell us already?" Tyson chimes in, his interest peaked as well.

"I have a better idea." Uh-oh, is it those girls again? They sounded more like…

"Kai?!" Tyson and I exclaim together. "How long have you been here?" Tyson continues. The blue-haired boy approaches the table and a few of our onlookers vacate, not being as interested in him as we were. He shrugs.

"So, what's the idea?" Max asks, getting in a hit while I had been distracted. Curse him!

"I'll tell you the story if you beat me." We both stop our game to look at him.

"Is it really that bad? It's not like you to be shy, Kai," Max goes on. Him being the only one who knows what happened, I assume the challenge wasn't meant for him anyway. But it was a bit odd. I twist my face into a thinking look and take a step away from the table.

"You want to battle the both of us?" I question as Tyson looks just as thoughtful.

"Well you know, the more you build it up like that the more I wanna know. I'll take him if you're not interested, Ray." Tyson grabs my handle before I can object. Kai nods and takes Max's.

"It only counts if you both win," he announces, taking his position opposite Tyson.

"First one to 12 wins," Tyson explains, just in case he was uneducated in the dynamics of air hockey. "Winner moves to the next round. But you better watch out Kai, it's almost dinner time so I want to get this done quick!" As if to prove his point, Tyson scored the first 6 points uncontested.

From watching Kai's movements he seemed to be calculating something, or figuring it out. I was a bit baffled by this since Kai wouldn't usually start something that he wasn't completely familiar with. I had assumed he had known how to play but I suppose there was always a possibility that he had never done so before.

After the 7th point for Tyson, he started to get his bearings and scored 4 without Tyson even blinking. But it was a little too late because Tyson's lead was ultimately what kept him ahead. They ended up 12 to 10 in the end. When Tyson scored the final 12th point, EVERYONE was surprised. Kai's quick movements were hard to follow but Tyson was quick to adapt to them well. Having battled Kai before he had already known what to expect out of the other boy.

"Good game, Kai! Now spill it!" Tyson pats him on the back and lets his arm linger for a few moments before Kai smirks and shakes him off.

"I said, it only counts if you BOTH win," his challenge extends to me as our eyes meet. I send him an inquiring look as I am trying to decide what his end game is. Having had Tyson to warm up, it wouldn't be so easy to beat him now. There had to be something else to this little game of his.

"What do YOU get out of this?" I ask as my other two friends are cheering me on with their excitement.

"You can do it, Ray!"

"Lose and find out," he replies slyly.

I don't like his tone. It is sending shivers down my spine and I am not quite sure I want to find out where all this is going.

Did this also have something to do with what I had asked him yesterday? Had he gone from avoiding me to openly wanting me to humiliate myself?

Kai wouldn't do that…would he?

Hmm, there was only one way to find out.

"I won't lose that easy," I regain some of my courage as I try to think of the different things this could mean.

For the first time in months, looking him in the eyes was not making me want to swoon or hide or anything remotely fleeting. It could have been my recent realizations or it could have been the challenge itself. It was quite dynamic for anything I would have thought to do. He was trying to tell me something. But what? And was losing the only way I would find out?

I couldn't just lose. That would be stupid and obvious. I had to try my best to show him that I wasn't just playing games either. Even more so, that I wasn't willing to be played with if it meant he would exploit me. For some reason, seeing him toy with me in this way made me more angry than afraid.

Somehow, I think he was betting on that.

The game wasn't easy by any means. In fact, neither of us scored for a good ten minutes. People actually started to lose interest and leave as it grew closer and closer to the dinner bell. Tyson even yawned and seemed to lose interest himself, which was strange for him since he was always pumped up about competitions.

We were too evenly match.

"I say first one to score wins and we'll call it a day," Tyson yawns again. Max laughs and a few of the other boys who were still hanging around shrug as if in agreement. The puck is on my side so I hold it and meet Kai's eyes as if to ask him if that's fair enough. He holds my gaze and I think I catch a glint in his eye as he's scheming something new.

"I don't mind. But that raises the stakes quite high don't you think? Think you can handle it, Ray?" He tests me to see if I am still paying attention to what he had laid on the lines here.

It was true that leaving it up to one point-one win that anyone was at a higher disadvantage, but he was at the same disadvantage. It was also true that in the past, and even right now, he had shown himself formidable but I felt I had more to lose in this situation than he did so my will to fight had to have been stronger. Either way, I wasn't about to let him think he could win just by intimidating me.

"Game on." I narrow my eyes and concentrate as I start the game all over again.

Oddly enough, it's the dinner bell that distracts me for the split second that Kai needed to gain his advantage. If it had been planned one second sooner or one second later, I would have been the one smirking and crossing my arms as I claimed the victory. Instead, I'm cursing and hating myself for losing my concentration so easily.

"Awe, good game anyway, Ray! Now let's go eat!" Tyson takes off like a bullet with Max in quick pursuit after giving me a comforting pat on the back.

How did I let this happen? It was just a game over some stupid story but for some reason I felt like I had lost something so much bigger. Every challenge with Kai in these past few months had felt like that. Like he had some ulterior motive. Something that he was getting out of me but wasn't letting me in on. Why was he testing me?

I sigh and put my paddle down.

"What is it that you want, Kai?" I ask, still beating myself up a little.

I am ready to take my punishment with as much dignity as I can.

I wait to hear something devious like announcing my love for him in front of everyone or becoming his personal servant for a week. Or something spiteful like leaving him alone from now on or forcing me to do something that would make me uncomfortable. I hadn't thought Kai to be much for spite but the way he had gone about challenging me with those looks and digs, I wouldn't put it past him now.

What I hadn't expected at all what was actually came out of his mouth.

"Hit me." I look up from my brooding to send him the most puzzled look I could ever make.

"W…What?" I glance around the room to see if anyone else had heard him, and perhaps to confirm my insanity, but the room is somewhat empty now. Those that happened to be staggering behind the others are not paying attention to us.

I turn back to him and his look is unwavering.

"Hit me," he repeats.

Okay, I didn't hear him wrong.

I shake my head, incredulous.

"No way. You can't be serious."

"Come on, Ray. You made a deal with me. I expect you to follow through."

"You ARE serious? What the hell is wrong with you? Why would you ask me to do THAT?" The rising of my voice does attract some of the lingering people and he ignores my questions to look away and start his own way to the door.

"I'll be waiting for whenever you are ready." He sends a small wave over his shoulder as he exits the room and leaves me standing there, still contemplating what the hell just happened.

None of that made sense AT ALL. And even following what I knew about Kai, there was no reason to believe that this was legitimately what he had been after with all those prods. Just what was he up to?