Me: thankyou everyone who reviewed!

Kai: she enjoys reading all of them

disclaimer: only own Anya and new OC

"Thanks for taking me home," Kai said stiffly.

"No problem..." Miguel hesitated. "Kai, you know that you can talk to me…right?"

"Yeah, thanks," Kai said, "I'll see you around." Miguel nodded and waited until Kai closed the door to his house to leave. When he turned the corner into an alley, he slammed his fist into the brick wall. He had been so close!

"I'm sorry, Miguel," Kai whispered. "But I can't tell you…" He stalked up to his room gloomily, not caring about the concerned looks that Spencer and Bryan were giving him or the raised eye brow that he got from Ian. He kicked his door open and slammed it.

"What happened to him?" Ian asked.

"Do you think it has something to do with Miguel?" Spencer asked.

"I'll call Tala," Bryan said. Spencer sighed and closed his book. It was obvious that he would be the one talking with Kai. He went to the younger boy's room and knocked on the door.

"Kai? Can I come in?" Spencer asked. When he didn't get an answer, he pushed the door open and closed it behind him. He saw Kai staring at a pendent he had received when he had broken his old one when he had first come to the abbey- the second one given to him by Tala.

Flashback

"Kai, what happened?" Tala asked, seeing the boy's bloody hands and several pieces of broken glass embedded into his skin.

"He broke it…"

"Who broke it?" Tala asked, glancing at Spencer who had moved to get the first aid kit from the bathroom.

"Boris," Kai sniffled. Tala gently eased the younger boy's hand open and took the tweezers from Spencer.

"What did he break?" Tala asked, hoping to keep Kai talking so that he wouldn't notice the pain that would inevitably be caused by taking out the shards that had been embedded deeper then he thought.

"My pendent," Kai said. Tala sighed and looked at Spencer for help. Spencer shook his head and once he was done over looking Tala's handiwork on getting the glass out, he dipped a cotton ball in alcohol and dabbed it on Kai's wounds. The younger boy hissed slightly and bit his lip.

"Hey, don't bite your lip," Tala scolded him gently. "You might make that bleed to."

At night time, he heard Kai sniffling. He got up and lifted the loose floor board up, pulling up a box. He opened and pulled out something he thought he'd never feel comfortable with giving away.

"Kai…" Tala whispered.

"Tala?" Kai whispered back, turning to face Tala.

"Shh, shh, sit up," Tala whispered. "Here," he loosened the string since he hadn't worn it for almost two years and put it around Kai's neck.

"What is it?" Kai asked.

"It's a pendent," Tala said.

"But it's yours…it says 'brother'," Kai said. "I can't-"

"And now it's yours," Tala said. "You're my little brother now, Kai. So it's yours."

"Who gave this to you?" Kai asked.

"My older brother," Tala said. "Now as your older brother, I'm giving it to you."

End Flashback

"He lied to me…" Kai said. 'And I lied to him- I still am,' he thought silently in head.

"What do you mean?" Spencer asked.

"A few days ago…I asked him if he remembered…" Kai said. "He said 'do I remember what?' Before that, he always used to answer 'remember what, little brother?' Or something like that… then I went into that antique store that he likes to go to and the lady said that Tala said, 'Johnny's the best thing that happened to him since his little brother.' He lied to me- he does remember…"

"So the big problem here is that he lied to you?" Spencer asked. Kai sighed and nodded. "Well, tomorrow, call Miguel and apologize for acting like the enigma that you and I both know you were being. You don't need to tell him if you don't want to but you do owe him an apology." Kai nodded, not actually processing the idea in his head and Spencer know that but it didn't stop him from trying.

"Alright," he said, not having really paid attention to what Spencer was saying.

"Get some sleep," Spencer said. "I know you're tired." He gently eased the pendent out of Kai's hand and placed it on the desk. He helped Kai get under the covers and tucked them up to his shoulders. Just as he was about to exit Kai's room after turning on the lights, he heard a soft voice.

"Spencer?"

"Yes, Kai?"

"Do you think he meant to lie to me?"

"I doubt he'd ever hurt you on purpose, Kai," Spencer said. "I'm sure he was just having a bad day."

"So how'd it go?" Bryan asked.

"Miguel has nothing to do with it," Spencer announced.

"Well I could've told you that one," Ian said, "he's upset with Tala."

"Were you eavesdropping?" Spencer asked.

"No- it's so obvious," Ian said. "If it had something to do with Miguel, Miguel wouldn't have walked him up to the door, just the gate because there's something that makes him want to protect Kai. It has to do with Tala because he kicked the door open and he always kicks Tala when he's mad at him. Probably something about being Tala's little brother."

"Yeah, apparently Tala didn't say something about remembering that he was his little brother," Spencer said.

"How old are you again?" Bryan muttered.

"You're just jealous that I'm a genius," Ian said. "You gonna tell Tala what's going on or do I have to do everything myself?"

"Gimme that phone, brat," Bryan said, snatching the phone out of Ian's hand and pressing the speed dial for Tala's number.

"Hello?" Tala answered.

"Guess who,"

"The muffin man?"

"Try again,"

"The cookie monster?"

"Tala…"

"You're me?! Agh…" Tala said sarcastically then he said louder then he needed too to Johnny. "It's Bryan."

"I heard that!"

"Well duh, if I didn't want you to hear it, you wouldn't have heard it," Tala said, rolling his eyes. "So what's up?"

"Kai,"

"What's wrong with him? Is everything okay?"

"You're what's wrong with him. Do you remember a certain conversation with him… let's say a few days ago?" Bryan asked. "Having to do with being him being your little brother?"

"Ah, I didn't…" Tala moaned. "But that doesn't usually make him act like… is he pouting in his room?"

"Ah, hold up…what? Oh, Spencer just put him to sleep," Bryan said. "Here, you talk since you seem to know everything."

"Tala? It's Spencer,"

"Kinda figured. So what's up with the boy?"

"Well he went to that antique store-"

"The one Anya owns? Great, now I'm really dead…she told him that one sentence, didn't she?"

"The one where he said that she said, 'Johnny is the best thing that happened to you since your little brother'?"

"That's the one," Tala grumbled. "He's not going to be mad aobut the best thing part but the brother part... Now he knows that I remembered…I was just in a bad mood- that's all. Man, I never thought he'd find out about that… I gotta go…I'll take care of it when I get home."

"Come home before tomorrow. I told him to make plans and apologize to Miguel," Spencer said.

"What does Miguel have anything to do with this?"

"He was with him when he found out and Kai kind of cut him off from his world,"

"Alright," Tala sighed. "Bye."

"What's going on?" Johnny asked.

"Well remember a few days ago when Kai threw the books around the library and I was pretty pissed?"

Flashback

"Tala, are you-" Spencer frowned.

"Don't want to talk about it!" the red head shouted.

"What've you got for me" Johnny asked.

"About your boyfriend?" Ian asked. "It'll cost ya."

"How much?"

"Twenty bucks."

"You still owe me five,"

"Fine, fifteen,"

"Is the info any good?"

"Not really,"

"Then you'd better give me a discount," Johnny said.

"Fine, twelve. Final offer,"

"Alright, spill," Johnny said, placing the twelve dollars in the younger boy's hand.

"Well...I'm guessing it had something to do with the White Tigers...most likely Mariah since he did say that he was spending the day with Rei and Claude since not very many people, outside of a few exceptions of beybladers, know that they're dating and it'd be less suspicious if only Tala was there," Ian mused. "She probably tagged along and caught them together and blamed Tala for them getting together and turning Rei gay..."

"Lemme guess, you got them together?"

"You'd never think I'd play matchmaker now would you?"

"I wouldn't have believed it unless I saw you with my own eyes," Johnny said.

"Well you did," Ian said. "Before you and Tala got together, you saw me getting Hiro and Spencer together...or rather, just giving them a push in the right direction."

"Planting a bomb under Spencer's foot so he would trip and land on Hiro and accidentally kiss him is not 'a push in the right direction'- its a push on the way to death!" Johnny shouted. "Kai, watch where you're throwing the freakin' books!"

End Flashback

"It's kind of hard to forget…"

"Well anyways, he usually asks me 'Tala, do you remember?' and I say 'Remember what, little brother?' but this time I said, 'do I remember what, Kai?'" he sighed. "Now he thinks I lied to him but I was just in a hella bad mood and I was taking it out on him…"

"So he's upset because you didn't call him little brother?" Johnny said slowly.

"Yep,"

"And he's not upset because you're more attention to me because you used to pay more attention to him?"

"He can be childish but he's not that childish," Tala responded. "But its kind of wierd that he'd get so upset about just that...unless..." 'Unless something really did happen that day in town those what...so many years back?' he thought.

"Well then what the hell are you waiting for?!" Johnny burst out.

"Uh…sorry?" Tala said weakly. "Wait, then what's the reason why you've been moody? I was on the phone with Robert for forty-five minutes trying to get him to tell me why- dang it! Wasn't supposed to say that…"

"I was not moody!" Johnny bristled. "I thought that Kai was going…I thought he was going to take you away from me!" Tala's eyes widened and he pulled Johnny into a hug.

"I'm not going anywhere…" Tala whispered, running his hand through Johnny's hair. "I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you if you let me but you have to trust me when I say that Kai is apart of my life only as a brother."

"I…I just wanted to hear you say it but you seemed so concerned with other things and…and…" Johnny sniffled.

"Hey, it's alright," Tala said. "I'm sorry, I should've been paying more attention to you…then maybe it wouldn't have come to the point where all the people in the park are looking at us weirdly because they think I did something to hurt you." Johnny cracked a smiled and pushed Tala's shoulder.

"So what are we going to do about Kai and Miguel?" Johnny asked. "We can't just wait for Kai to take action…That could take days even with Spencer and your prodding."

"You know what…you're right," Tala said thoughtfully. "But we're not going to do anything."

"We're not?" Johnny asked, looking doubtfully at Tala. "Who are you and what have you done with my Tala?"

"Oh, alright we are going to do something but we have to wait until my birthday and your dad's masquerade thing," Tala said. "We know that they won't attend the dancing lessons because of their hurt feelings and Kai doesn't like to express his feelings or rather, isn't sure how to."

"So why do we wait until both of those days?"

"In three days worth of time- well, actually two and a quarter since its sunset now… that will be my birthday, so we'll invite Miguel and…" Tala proceeded to tell Johnny his plan as they began to walk home.

Kai sighed and hugged his pillow tightly. Just like yesterday, it seemed he had met Tala's only surviving family as far as he was aware of when it was actually about a year before he started the Blade Sharks.

Flashback

"Hey- hey kid!" Kai felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to punch whoever who had touched him but when he saw spikey red hair and blue eyes, he froze.

"Tala?" he said subconciously. He shook his head. Upon closer inspection, this boy was older then Tala by perhaps three years, his eyes were a darker shade of blue and not Tala's glacier colored eyes. Their hair was spikey but Tala's was spiked more then this boy's.

"No, I'm his brother, his older brother- Mikhael," he said. "Listen, where'd you get that?"

"He gave it to me..."

"Is he alright? Is he alive?"

"He's alive but I don't know if he's alright..." Kai said, inching away from the older version of Tala.

"But he is alive?" Mikhael asked. Kai nodded. Mikhael sighed in relief and smiled at Kai. He put a hand on his head.

"Will you keep an eye on him for me?" he asked. Kai nodded, not exactly sure where the conversation was headed. "Thanks...Just keep him alive for me, okay? And don't tell him about today... it'll break him if he knows that I'm out of that rat hole and haven't come for him..."

"Why haven't you? Gone for him yet?" Kai asked.

"I don't have any money to support him," Mikhael said. "I'd do it in a heart beat but we'd both be dead within a week's time... I can't have him dieing on me- he's all I got left... but now I can see he has someone else that he needs to live for."

"Kai, we're leaving now!"

"C-coming grandfather!" Kai said. Mikhael grabbed his wrist.

"Promise me, Kai. Promise me you won't tell him," Kai nodded, unable to say no to the pleading blue eyes that reminded him so much of Tala's.

"I promise," Kai said.

"Kai!"

"Coming!" Mikhael let go of Kai's wrist and watched as the little boy ran to his grandfather, his eyes dawning with recognition when he saw who the boy's grandfather was.

End Flashback

"Why can't I tell him?! Why can't I tell him his brother's alive?!" Kai groaned, burrying his face in his pillow. "Why...?"

"Miguel, you okay?" Claude asked.

"Yes, no, maybe, I don't know!" Miguel said frustrated. "Where's Reath?"

"Matti has him," Aaron announced. Miguel nodded and headed into the living room.

"Hey, Matti, can I take him from you?" Miguel asked, smiling softly.

"Sure, go ahead…" she said. "Miguel, are you okay?"

"I'm fine…why?" Miguel asked, picking the kitten up with one hands.

"I don't know…you just seem…different," Matilda said.

"Maybe it's just your imagination," Miguel said. "I'll be in my room."

"Do you guys think it's my imagination?" Matilda asked.

"Nope, in fact, I think it's a certain beyblader name Kai Hiwatari," Claude said.

"Oh…boy problems…" she sighed. "Poor Miguel…"

"He's not a girl, Matti," Aaron said.

"I know that,"

"So you can't say 'boy problems' and sigh like that," Aaron said as if it was the clearest thing on earth. Matilda blinked innocently and went into her room. Claude looked at Aaron weirdly and shook his head at him. He then went into Matilda's room to help her with the plan he knew she was going to orchestrate.

"What'd I say?" Aaron asked to no one in particular, scratching his head in confusion.

Me: Was that reason why Kai was upset a little too childish?

Kai: YES! You really couldn't think of anything else, could you?

Me: Nope...please review and tell me what you thought!