Chapter three up and running! Let's get to it!
Kai – Disclaimer: She doesn't own Beyblade. You all should know this by now.
WARNINGS FOR CHAPTER: The first part will contain a light lemon. I won't go into detail as I did in the last chapter of Shoot-up, but it will still be there. I'm gonna try more for a limey side and hope I get it right! Wish me luck, and if not, enjoy!
Others, just go for the next scene change. Don't know what the symbols are? Look at chapter one.
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CHAPTER THREE – CALM BEFORE THE STORM
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Kai sighed, rubbing a finger on the bridge of his nose in order to calm himself.
In the background, Tyson and Jet were currently arguing about who would be making tomorrow's dinner. Tyson loved Jet's lasagna so much that he wanted to taste more of the dark wolf's cooking, but the being wouldn't have any of it. He tried to reason with the dragon, but nothing proved to work. Even Kai had thrown in his two cents when the argument started progressing in the early stages. Now, it was only a matter of time before someone's fist connected with the other's face.
"Tyson," Jet tried one last time to reason with the dragon master, "I cannot cook. That lasagna dish is the only thing that I've been able to make in my entire lifetime! Kai does the cooking at home!"
Tyson shook his head, not believing the wolf for a moment. "You're gonna cook tomorrow 'cause Ray's going out with Lee on their anniversary dinner and no one else is gonna cook." He folded his arms over his chest, not backing down one bit.
Jet sighed and was about to try again – if not knock some sense into the navy haired blader – when a voice rang out across the room.
"Goddammit, I'll cook!" Kai cried from his position on the couch. He already had a headache, and he didn't need those two to make it worse.
Jet looked at his koi for a moment. Kai never volunteered to cook, except at home – not that he was given much of a choice. He instantly felt guilty, seeing the phoenix's brow crease and watching him rub his left temple idly. He had a headache, and they weren't making it any better. He sighed, relenting. "How about we just order something? I'll pay, so no worries."
Tyson seemed to get the hint and muttered a small okay as he went over to sit with Max.
Jet sighed again, rubbing his head and looking around. Tala had left earlier, needing to make a phone call to Bryan and the others and then retiring to bed. Ray and Lee had left, too, going to their own rooms for the night. Brooklyn and Hiro had left earlier than Tala, needing to get the supplies ready for the trip ahead the next day. That just left him, Kai, Tyson, Max, and Kenney. He glanced at the clock, noticing the late hour. Going over to his koi, he ran a hand soothingly through the unruly slate blue locks that, over the years, had turned to a darker shade of almost gray. Kai sighed, leaning into the gesture.
"It's getting late," the wolf stated, watching as crimson orbs looked up at him. "I think we'd better get going to our room for the night. Got a long day ahead of us tomorrow." He smiled at the phoenix.
Kai nodded, getting up and leaning into the arms of his fiancé. He muttered a "Goodnight" to the others as he let Jet lead him towards their room.
He entered the darkened room, eying the suitcases on the floor near the window where the others had dropped them off. He glared at them, not feeling up to rummaging through them for his nightclothes or anything else for that matter.
Jet smirked, knowing fully well that his lover did not want to deal with unpacking. He stepped forward, after closing and locking the door behind him, and wrapped his arms around the slim waist. He nuzzled his nose in the phoenix's shoulder, looking to comfort his distressed koi. Kai sighed and leaned back into him, his eyes fluttering closed for a little bit.
"Feel better?" Jet asked softly after a few minutes had passed. Kai nodded sluggishly and tilted his head back to capture his wolf's lips in a quick kiss.
Well, it was meant to end there, but Jet had other ideas.
Kissing his koi again, he deepened it thoroughly, slipping his tongue through the pouting barriers that were his phoenix's lips. He never could get enough of his fiery partner. Running his hands up and down the taunt stomach, he heard Kai moan as his hands slipped underneath his shirt. He felt upwards with one hand and teased one of his koi's nipples while the other hand caressed the stomach a little before unbuttoning the form-fitting jeans and slipping through, teasing the skin underneath.
Kai moaned again and rocked against the hand, breaking off the kiss as he tilted his head to the side, but that just gave room for the wolf to attack his neck. He gasped lightly at the sensations that his lover's hands and lips were giving him, throwing in an occasional tongue in the process.
"What do you say we forget unpacking and do it tomorrow when we come back after the tour?" Jet asked, his voice switching to that husky tone that seemed to radiate lust as his tongue slid into Kai's ear quickly, sending jolts of shivers down the teen's body.
Kai moaned his answer as they made their way to the bed, discarding their annoying shirts along the way. Taking off the pants was part of the fun.
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The darkness around the figure seemed to swallow him as he watched the two in the bedroom. He glared at the darkened figure on top of the other. He was going to prove a nuisance later, he had a feeling. If only they could separate them, then it would be much easier to overtake the phoenix.
Then that would leave three more to go.
The figure smirked at the thought of having the fiery bird writhing underneath him, but first, he needed to separate the wolf from his "claim."
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Tyson stretched as he watched the bright sky up above. Everyone seemed to be on better terms today, and for that, he was grateful. He stole a glance over at one of his favorite couples. Kai and Jet were holding hands and reading something in one of the brochures about the place. They seemed to be better, normal even. That was a good sign.
He smiled as his dad came up over the hillside with Max's mom, Judy, and his grandfather.
"Yo, little dudes!" Grandpa called coming over to them.
Everyone replied with hello's as the three finally stopped in front of them.
"Well," Bruce started, a broad smile on his face, "what do you kids say about going down to the ruins today?"
"Would we ever!" Tyson commented, giving his dad a brief hug in greeting.
They all headed towards one of the buses that would lead them to the dig site. There were two just like the day before with the same BBA logo on the side.
"Hop on, kids!" the driver said as Tyson and the rest of the G-Revolution team climbed on with Kai, Jet, Lee, and Tala in tow. Both elder Grangers climbed on with the Majestics right behind them. The others would be on the other bus.
"So, Jet, Kai," Robert started as he felt the bus begin moving, "how have you two been? Haven't seen you both in a long while."
Jet smiled at the purple haired blader. He and Robert had developed a friendship after the incident four years ago and had remained friends. "We're doing good. We've just been busy with school, and Kai here has been busy with the school he volunteers at."
Tyson's head popped up with Max's blond hair right beside him. "You volunteer at a school, Kai?"
The phoenix blushed a little, feeling a little out of place. "It goes along with my major. I help the teacher at one of the local elementary schools teach math when I'm not in classes."
Ray smiled softly at that. Kai had always had a talent with kids. "You have fun, don't you?" he asked, his smile widening as Kai's blush deepened.
Jet took the hint. "Does he ever!" He threw an arm around his phoenix's shoulders and smiled. "You should hear the stories he comes home and tells!" His smile widened at some of the memories. "Not to mention, you need to see him in action. I hate to brag, but Kai's a real natural at it."
"Jet!" Kai mock-glared at his koi, cheeks deep red that matched his eyes.
The wolf couldn't help but think how cute his fiancé looked when he blushed.
Everyone burst out laughing at seeing Kai's uncomfortable state.
"So, Kai," Oliver asked, "what kind of stories is Jet referring to?" He was curious. Had the stotic captain of the once-Bladebreakers gone soft, or had he actually become human?
Kai blinked, not knowing what to tell the green haired youth that sat across the isle of the bus. He could see out of the corner of his eye that both Grangers were gazing back, interested as well. Hell, the whole bus was looking at him.
Jet nudged him with an elbow. "Go on, Kai, tell them about Jason and the others. You know you want to." He blinked. "Which, by the way, I didn't get my normal story the other day before school let out." He pouted, hoping Kai would relent and tell a story.
Kai groaned. There was no way that he could deny that pout.
He sighed. "Fine."
To his surprise, everyone cheered and moved closer to hear him. Even the Majestics were interested. Oh, well, no backing out now.
He took a breath. He'd never told anyone other than Jet about his time at the school with the kids. "Well, the other day, Jason and Caleb were having an argument, as usual."
-FLASHBACK-
Kai sighed, hearing the squabbling through the door. No doubt it was Jason and Caleb yet again. Those two got along like an angry cat and rabid dog.
He opened the door, taking in the scene. Mrs. Mickenly was standing in between the two children that were no older than six. She was trying to calm them down without having to send them to the principal's office for the third time that week.
Kai strode over to one of the other children, Madeline – Maddy for short. "So, what's the reason this time, Maddy," he asked softly, gaining the girl's attention.
She smiled in greeting but then frowned as Caleb stated something that made Jason even angrier. She sighed. "Everything was fine until Mrs. Mickenly was going to assign a reading assignment," she murmured, looking up at Kai again. "Caleb started complaining, getting on everyone's nerves, and then Jason told him to stop complaining. Then they started fighting again." She kept her gaze on the tall teen. "I think Caleb's in a bad mood."
Kai smiled down at her. She really was older than she should be – well, mentally, that is. He set his backpack down on the floor and made his way over to the two kids.
He watched them for a few moments before bringing his forefinger and thumb to his mouth and whistling, the shrill sound stopping the children and causing them to look up at the teen. He frowned at the two. "Jason, Caleb," he said.
Jason immediately looked guilty. Over the past few months that Kai had been volunteering at his school, he had come to look upon the older teen as an older brother. Jason was in foster care, and his parents weren't exactly the nicest people in the world. When Kai found out, he had told him that if he ever needed to talk or even just hang out, to call him, and he did, every time.
Caleb, however, didn't understand why Kai was looking at him with that stern glare. He didn't do anything. Jason was the one that started it. "Kai," he started but the older teen interrupted him.
"I don't care who started it," he said, stepping up to the boys and giving his best glare that had always stopped Tyson and Daichi's arguments. "I'm finishing it."
Jason nodded and turned to Caleb, stretching out his hand. He understood that he was wrong in causing an argument and didn't want Kai – or anyone else for that matter – mad at him. "I'm sorry, Caleb."
Caleb looked at him, down at his hand, to Kai, and back to the hand. He sighed and nodded, shaking the other boy's hand. "I'm sorry, too."
Everyone clapped, glad that the fighting was over, even Mrs. Mickenly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Yay! Once again, Kai comes out the victor!" Julie, another girl in the class, cried, jumping up and down before hugging Kai's leg.
Everyone laughed at that, even Kai as they all headed towards their seats.
Mrs. Mickenly stopped Kai before he could go and grade some of the papers that he was supposed to do. She smiled, "Kai, would you mind teaching the kids the math lesson today? I have a meeting I've got to go to."
Of course, she was lying, but that was beside the point. She knew Kai would be able to handle the students, and to be quite honest, she was excited to know what kind of style Kai would be teaching.
Kai gaped at her as she readied her purse. He was not expecting the offer so soon. He had been only volunteering here for the past seven months. Normally, teachers wouldn't let anyone else teach their class unless they had been working there for close to a year or two.
He nodded, still slightly mute as the teacher repeated her question. She smiled at him and left, leaving the class in his capable hands. Of course, she would be watching in the office since all of the classrooms had video cameras installed.
Kai stood there for a moment, running a hand through his hair before glancing at the teacher's math book. It was opened to the lesson page of subtraction. The kids were only in first grade. So, it made sense.
Biting his lip for a minute, he turned back to the class, an idea in his head. They were to learn the subtraction of seven that day. This was going to be fun.
"Okay, kids," Kai started, sitting on the edge of the desk, "I'll be teaching your lesson today." He stopped as some of the kids started cheering. "Today, we're going to be learning about subtracting with the number seven." Some more groaned. He smiled. "Don't be like that. You sound like Tyson's stomach when he's hungry."
They laughed. Everyone knew that Kai and Tyson – the World Champion beyblader – were friends, and the slate haired teen referred constantly to Tyson's eating habits to get the kids to settle down and laugh a little. Math was taught at the end of the day for these kids, and everyone wanted to go home.
"So, can anyone tell me what you all learned yesterday when subtracting with sixes?"
Jamie raised his hand. "Six minus two is four!" Some of the students laughed. Jamie was the class clown that always managed to crack up a few of the students.
Kai smiled at the bluntness. "Yeah, that's right. Well, today, we are going to learn about sevens." He moved to the board and picked up a marker. Uncapping it, he wrote the terms seven and one down. "Okay, you all know that when you subtract one to any number, you get the number before it in the sequence, right?" A few nodded. "So, when you subtract seven minus one, you get?"
"Uh," a few students said.
Kai sighed. He thought a minute, before getting an idea. "Okay," he stood in front of the desk again and picked up his bag, bringing out his old beyblade – he never went anywhere without it. "Say, your mom gave you some money to spend in a beyblade shop." That immediately got the class's attention. Kai knew these kids were completely obsessed with the sport. "She gave you seven dollars to buy an attack ring." He took off his attack ring to show the class. "The attack ring is on sale for one dollar. When you pay for the ring, the clerk gives you how much money as change?"
Jason's hand shot up. Kai nodded and the kid spoke, "You get six dollars back."
Kai smiled. "That's right. Remember, when subtracting – or even adding for that matter – with one, you always get the number before or after your original number." He wrote the numbers one to ten. "Two minus one is one." He circled the number behind the two, then he moved up. "Three minus one is two, and so on."
Rainey's hand shot up. "Can you give us some more examples with seven?"
Kai nodded. "I was getting to that." He erased his circles but kept the numbers. Moving to seven, he pointed at it. "Okay, this is seven right? This is the amount that your mom gave you to spend at the shop." He wrote the word defense ring. "You see a defense ring that is worth five dollars. When you pay it, you get how much in return?"
He saw some of the kids count back five from seven. "Two."
Kai nodded. "Good, now let me show you a trick when you are subtracting five. Do you see the points on the number five? Two up on the cap, one on the dip here, and two on the curves of the five. Those are your five points. Now, starting at the first point, count backwards from seven. Seven, six, five, four, and three. Since you started with seven, you take the number after three, which is two, and there is your answer."
He saw some of the children gape up at him in the realization.
He smiled. "Okay, let's use another example." He launched his beyblade to spin at his feet. "Say that your blade is losing in battle. It started out spinning around the dish ten times before you attack your opponent, but since you are losing speed, it is spinning around the dish seven less laps. How many laps is your blade spinning?" He demonstrated this as his blade mimicked the way that it would spin in the dish.
"Three!"
Kai nodded.
Throughout the rest of the class time, he kept referring to beyblading for the kids. Knowing that Mrs. Mickenly gave mini-quizzes at the end of the day, he had to write up a few problems for the kids.
He was surprised, though, that almost everyone was finished within the first five minutes of the ten that he gave. He smiled, eyeing the stack of finished quizzes beside him as he regarded his class. "Well, you all did great today," he smiled, completely and utterly proud of the kids. "We still have a few more minutes until the bell. What do you want to do?"
Mickey's hand shot up as Kai called on him. "Will you teach us math tomorrow?" he asked hopefully.
Kai shrugged. "I don't know. It depends on if Mrs. Mickenly will let me," he answered truthfully, though he desperately wanted to.
"Can we play a game?" Heather asked, blue eyes bright.
Kai smiled. "Okay, how about Heads Up Seven-Up?" he asked. "Only, my way."
They nodded energetically.
"Okay, I want you all to close your eyes and lay your heads down on the desk, no peeking." They did that. "I'm going to ask you all some math questions and tap some of you on the shoulder. Those that I tap can sit up and look around. The students sitting up will be the answer, but they cannot say anything yet. I will repeat the question three times. When I stop, the first hand that I see from the students with their heads down will be called upon. When I say your name, state your answer. If it is right, you'll get a little surprise at the end of the game, and we start over again with a new problem. If you get it wrong, the someone that is sitting up will give the answer." He looked around the room. "Understand?"
They nodded their heads, and the game began.
Kai was amazed that every kid answered his questions correctly. He did examples from that day's lesson and previous lessons, and no one got an answer wrong. All too soon, though, the bell rang and everyone got their backpacks to leave.
Jason came over to him as everyone left the room.
"Something the matter, Jason?" Kai asked, bending down to the child's eye level. He was worried and hoped that the boy's home life was doing better.
Jason bit his lip and shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry about fighting with Caleb earlier, Kai," he admitted, small teardrops at the corners of his eyes.
Kai sighed and set a hand on the boy's head. "What happened this time? I thought that you were going to ignore him?"
Jason sniffed. He didn't want Kai to be angry, but he had to tell him. Kai said that if anything ever happened again, he had to tell him, and the teen would take care of it.
"Jason," Kai prompted, crimson eyes soft. He was really caring for the boy, even though he wouldn't come right out and admit it.
The brown haired boy sniffed again. "Barlow was mad this morning and hit me when I wouldn't finish my milk, and I was upset when I came to school, and Caleb was in a bad mood, too, and I thought that he was going to hit me, too . . ." He stopped, the tears already streaming down his face. Kai could already make out the faint bruise that had developed since that morning.
Kai brought the boy in his arms, hugging him as the boy started sobbing. Barlow was Jason's foster father and was often drunk. He was an angry and abusive drunk, too, which put the child in danger. Kai had been trying for two months to get Jason out of the man's house, but the guy was an ex-police officer, and one didn't go against one cop without the entire police department on your hide.
But this was the last straw. Barlow's actions were starting to affect Jason outside that home life. The fact that he thought Caleb was going to hit him made him lash out in an attempt to defend himself. He needed to get the boy out of that house now, no matter what.
"Jason," Kai said after the boy calmed down, "I'm going to call the agency and talk to them. If I can get them to get you out of that house, and I talk to Jet, would you mind staying with us until we can find you a permanent, nice home?"
Jason gazed up at Kai with bright blues that matched the sky beautifully. "Really?"
Kai smiled and nodded. "Really. It might be a while, but I'm sure Jet wouldn't mind having you around." He winked. "Maybe you can help his cooking skills?"
Jason laughed and launched himself to wrap his arms around Kai's neck in a firm hug. "I'd love to stay with you, big brother!"
Kai smiled at the nickname that Jason had given him a few months ago.
-END FLASHBACK-
"WHAT?!" Jet cried, causing the phoenix to flinch. "When were you planning on telling me?"
Kai sighed, rubbing his ear as it rang in pain. "I had planned on telling you that day, but Mr. Dickenson called, and we were busy packing. Then, with what happened yesterday, it slipped my mind."
Jet sighed, understanding. He smiled at the phoenix. "I'd love to have that little tyke live with us," he said, wrapping his arms around the teen.
Kai smiled. "I know, but like I said, I've got to contact the agency first."
"We'll help you, Kai!" Tyson offered as well as everyone else.
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It took them a little bit longer until they finally reached the dig site, but just as everything was going okay, things started taking a drastic change.
Kai tensed, feeling eyes watching him, but everywhere he looked, nothing was there. Jet stood beside him, growling and feeling the eyes as well. Tala and the White Tiger X team were also on guards with Ray standing in front of them protectively, Lee beside him.
"Something the matter, guys?" Bruce asked coming up to stand in front of them.
The other teams were there as well, Hiro and Brooklyn on guard.
That's when the ground shook violently, shifting underneath them.
Screams across the place rang in Kai's ears as he tried to hand on to Jet, but that seemed to be more difficult than he originally thought as he felt his hands let go of the teen's shirt.
Then, the ground gave way underneath them.
"Jet!" Kai called as he fell.
"Kai!"
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Dark eyes laughed in the shadows as he watched the scene. The bitbeast beside him chuckled as the earth gave way underneath his onslaught. He watched as the phoenix fell, becoming separated from his wolf.
"We'll wait a little while before attacking," he told his spirited companion. The being nodded, a sadistic smirk on its ugly face.
'Soon, little phoenix, your soul and body will belong to me.'
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Well, that's it for this chapter. I'm sorry if it seemed a little rushed, but I'm gonna be busy for a while and had to finish this one. This chapter is like a fill-in until the next one!
NEXT CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS
The gang's separated. Jet tries to get in contact with Kai but finds out that the phoenix is hurt. He has to rely on his enemy Brooklyn to help Kai with his injuries and help get him out of the cave, but with Kai hearing a familiar voice, things prove quite difficult. Then, things take a drastic turn in revealing a new – and yet familiar – face! Then, the "watchers" are revealed as well as their bitbeast as they try and take Kai. Can Jet and the others come and rescue the phoenix and the others before it's too late? Or will this new evil prove too much for them and their newly-found friend?
Stay tuned, and READ AND REVIEW!!!!!!!!
Ja Ne, peoples!