My conscience: WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!?!? YOU HAVE 2 TESTS THAT YOU HAVE TO CRAM FOR!!!!! YOU CAN'T START ANOTHER CHAPTER!!!

Me: Oh, shut up...I've had a rough day. Let me have some fun now! ^_^

My conscience: oooOOOooohhh!! You are soo going to hate yourself later...

Me: *rolls eyes* whatever...

Minkdonk: Oh you betcha, I'm going to blackmail you all until I go straight to hell!! MWHAHAHAHAAH!!! -______-; yes...anyways, you go ahead and beat up that fat bully!! GET'EM WHERE IT HURTS!!! ^________^;

Shinzui: I'll think about that idea...it's a pretty good one. Thanks for the suggestion!! I'll see where I can put it...

Okay!! Without any further interruptions, lets start the fic!!

Disclaimer: I don't own beyblades in any way at all.

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Until You Catch Me: Chapter 6



"Not so tough after all, you little twerp." Dai Mao sneered.

"ARRGH!!! GET OFF ME!!! I CAN'T BREATHE!!!!" Kevin continued to plea for mercy while Dai Mao continued to sit on him.

"HUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! So, who's the better of the two now??? You puny little leprechaun." Dai Mao continued to gloat, not noticing the foot that was coming directly at his head.

SMACK.

Dai Mao fell to the ground almost instantly when Rei kicked him in the head. A split second after that, Rei rolled the large boy off of Kevin. Not wasting any time after that, Rei dragged the dazed little boy a few yards away from the still winded Dai Mao.

"Ugh...Rei?" Kevin was having a hard time seeing from the lack of oxygen the flowed in his body.

"Are you okay, Kevin?" Rei asked while making a quick check to see if any bones were broken.

"Y-yeah, just give me a sec." Kevin mumbled before leaning more heavily into Rei. Rei immediately thought that Kevin had lost conscious and instinctively pulled him closer.

"Wrong move, Kon." Dai Mao growled dangerously while he awkwardly heaved himself up from the ground.

"Why don't you pick on someone a little bigger than Kevin?" Rei asked while his eyes narrowed dangerously to slits.

"Pah. That little thief needs to be taught a lesson, and I'm going to give it to him." Dai Mao scratched his nose and gave a cocky grin. "And I'll bull doze through you if I have to."

"Yeah? Well let's see you try." Rei stood up and took a fighting stance.

The bigger boy shook his head at Rei's actions.

"Tsk, tsk. When will you learn? You see this Rei?" Dai Mao held up what looked to be a...(gasp) half eaten cake. "This will be you and Kevin when I'm done." He threw the cake down on to the dirt and began grinding it with his foot.

... ... ...

The was a moment where nothing happened...



... ... ...



Then suddenly...





"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! MY CAKE!!!"

Gary suddenly came from out of nowhere and stared wide eye at the now destroyed dessert. His anger reached a record peak as he glared at the other large boy.

"You are going to *PAY* for DESTROYING my cake!!!!!" Gary gave a blood curdling battle cry before charging at Dai Mao.

Dai Mao's face was that of pure terror. He looked as if he would piss in his pants at a moments notice! With a whimpering yelp he ran off in fear for his own life. Rei and Kevin, who was still on the ground, both watched as the two big boys ran off in record speed.

"Ooookay. That was interesting." Kevin muttered while gingerly getting up. He brushed the dirt that collected on his clothes and plastered his carefree smile on his face.

"So what do you want to do now, Rei?" Kevin asked innocently like nothing had happened. Rei shook his head.

"You're stupid, you know that?" Rei was a tiny bit angry because Kevin was so hot headed in the situation.

"Hey! He was the one who thought my apology wasn't good enough for him!"

"Since when did you apologized to him!?!?! You HARDLY apologize to anyone who pisses you off. And even if you did, only an idiot only invokes an angry bastard that's THREE TIMES your height!!!" Kevin's rebellious look in his eye flattered when Rei suddenly exploded. It was very rare when Rei loses his cool, and it was also quite scary.

"Okay, so I HAD TO apologize to him in the classroom, but it still counts." Kevin argued back. "And so what if I almost became a pancake?!?!?! I could've made him so embarrass, his fat ass wouldn't be able to hide his purple face!!!!!"

"Well, that didn't happen did it?" Rei glared at the still overconfident thief. "Instead, you got so cocky that you practically swimming in your own words!!! Why can't you learn to hold your tongue?? It wanders around with a mind of it's own!!! It's going to KILL you one day!!"

"So what!? It's not like anyone would-would actually *care* about what happens to me. Geez, Rei! Why don't you get a life, and leave me alone!!" Kevin glared challenging Rei.

Rei was about to say something, but stopped. There were way too many things going through his head. That protective feeling was practically screaming, 'YOU IDIOT!!! I CARE! CAN'T YOU SEE!?!?!?!'. Not only was that voice screaming in his head, but another, more irrational part of him cried out, 'You want me gone, FINE!!' And yet another voice in his head told him to back up and look at this situation in a calmer state of mind. Rei gladly listened to the last voice, seeing that it was the only one he really understood. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself down...or at least he did his best to calm himself down.

"You should really think before you speak. You mouth has a mind of it's own!"

"No it doesn't!" Kevin shot out. "I meant every single word I said."

"Listen to me, Kevin. I want you to calm down and think about what you just said. You just told me to get a life and leave you alone. Is that what you want me to do!?!? Cuz if that is what you really want, then I will, and you can get beat up as much as you want for all I care. And I will refuse to talk to you or even acknowledge your presence ever again!"

"..." Kevin glared intently on the ground as if willing it to give him a good comeback, but he was too angry and hurt to think of one. Then he suddenly he spun away from Rei and stalked off angrily away from the school.



Rei felt panic and guilt wash over him immediately as Kevin retreated away from him.

Oh, he REALLY did it this time. What the hell was he thinking!?!?!

//Tsk, tsk. You really blew it this time.// A low voice echoed in Rei's head. Unlike all those other voices in Rei's mind, this one was different...It was louder and it wasn't his own voice... This voice had a low growl to it... Yep, definitely not his...

/What the heck!?!?! Who are you?/ Rei asked (mentally of course).

//Don't tell me you've forgotten your own bit beast!//

/Driger?/ Rei's eyes grew big with surprise. /How is this possible!??! You're a bit beast!/

//I'll explain later.// Driger hissed in urgency. //You have to stop him and apologize!//

/Huh? Right now? ...Why?/ Rei didn't know what to do. Here was his bit beast, talking to him nonetheless, and it was ordering him to apologize to Kevin! ...How do you like them apples? ((inside joke))

//YES right now!! And what do you mean 'Why'?!?!?! Do you really think it would be wise to let him out of your sight? With his life falling apart at the moment, he might take it to the extremes and commit suicide!// The tiger roared with worry. It was kind of funny when you think about it...a mystical beast worrying over a petty mortal.

/I-I doubt he would...he's not the suicidal type./

//Then do you really wish for you both to separate on such bad terms?//

/.../ Hell no! Of course Rei wouldn't want that. It wasn't like him to leave his friends in the dust when they most needed him. Not yet, anyways.

/Okay then./

//Then go!//

/But...I don't know HOW to apologize to him.../

//Just tell him the truth...Make haste, Rei. He's almost out of sight!//

'The Truth...' Rei nodded before dashing after the younger boy who was still storming away in the distance.

"Kevin, wait!" Rei ran up to Kevin who had surprisingly stopped in his tracks when his name was called. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you. I-I got carried away."

Kevin kept his eyes glued to the ground. His angry expression faltered a fraction.

"Look, I-I don't like seeing you get hurt... You're my friend, so you mean something to me... A-and when Dai Mao punched you I...I guess I kinda got scared..."

Kevin's head snapped up to face Rei.

"Scared? Why would you be scared? You're NEVER scared! Especially not of humungous fat bullies who like to squish small shrimps like me." Kevin waved his arms about to emphasize what he was saying. A hint of admiration slipped through his humorous façade that made him seem a lot younger than what he really was.

"I wasn't scared of Dai Mao!" Rei explained quickly. How could Kevin even think that Rei was afraid of the bully?

"Then what _were_ you afraid of?" Kevin stared at Rei questionably, which made Rei a little uncomfortable... How was he going to explain this?

"I-I was afraid for you..." Rei spoke in a soft, slightly embarrassed tone.

"You were scared...for me?" Kevin's voice was so quiet that Rei barely heard it.

"Of course I was! I mean, with your dad's beating, then the burns, now this, of course I was scared! Geez Kevin. Don't you know that your friends care about you?"

Kevin was surprise. He couldn't believe it! Nobody really stood up for him during a fight before. Well, maybe that was because Kevin never fought in front of one of his teammates, but still. It was shocking. He unconsciously lowered his gaze as this new discovery sunk in.

"The only person who ever was afraid for me is my mom..." Kevin admitted. A frown formed upon Rei's face. He grabbed Kevin's shoulders gently so that he wouldn't hurt the bruises that were hidden beneath the layers of clothing and stared directly into Kevin's eye.

"Kevin, all of the White Tigers care about you. You have to remember that."

"Everyone, including you?"

"Yep, including me. We don't like seeing you, or anyone in our team getting hurt. Ever! I hope you remember that."

Suddenly, Kevin's eyes felt hot, and everything was going blurry when an old wishful thought flew through his mind...

"I-I wish my dad cared about me..." Kevin lent into Rei so that the world wouldn't have to see his tears.

"He use to... when I was smaller. He never would hit me, o-or yell at me. He would only sometimes yell at my mom when the disagreed with something."

"Kevin..." Rei held on to Kevin tighter as small sobs jolted through the smaller boy.

"Then, one day, my mom and dad had a huge fight! It made my dad really sad... The next thing I knew, he left to find work outside the village. Just like your dad..."

"I always knew that he would come back one day... and I was so happy when he did!... but he was different. When he came back, he was really sad. He always had this far away look, and he yelled at me and my mom all the time. Then he started drinking, and hitting my mom. Now he always hits my mom, and she's not strong enough to hit him back."

"Going out of the village changed him, Rei! I-I wish that he never had gone! Then maybe he wouldn't hit my mom so much, or yell at me all the time, or... or hit me."

"Oh, Kevin... whatever happens, your White Tiger friends will always be there for you- I will always be there for you if that helps any."

Kevin shook his head, and hugged Rei harder.

"You're the best friend I know!" He blurted out. Rei blushed despite himself.

"I'm not THAT great, Kevin." He fondly wiped some of Kevin's tears away with his thumb. "Let's get going, or people might think we're weird hanging out at the school for so long.

Kevin nodded and brushed the remaining tears away and made sure his bangs were in check.

"Let's find Gary before he turns Dai Mao process meat." Rei muttered.

So off they went, out of the schoolyard and onto the street. They stayed in companionable silence for a while until...

"Rei?"

"yeah?"

"You know when you asked if I wanted you to leave?"

"Yep?"

"I just want you to know that I never want you to leave." Kevin grinned which made Rei grin (It's infectious!!). Suddenly, Rei didn't want to leave the village anymore. Nope, he wanted to stay and make sure Kevin was safe and overall, happy.

"And you know when you told me to hold my tongue cuz it wanders around?"

"Yeah... what are you getting at?" Weird thought bombarded Rei suddenly as he held back a blush... 'Bad usage of language... note to self, be more careful while speaking-hey! Wait a sec!!! WHY AM I THINKING THESE THINGS ABOUT KEVIN!?!?!?!'.

"Well, I found that quite insulting and now I must punish you for that RIGHT NOW!!!" Kevin grinned confidently. A tint of red now graced Rei's boyish features...

"Um..."

Kevin grinned mischievously and gave an evil chuckle.

"Rei, I'm going to have to drive you insane with my special song...It's my favorite song for..." Kevin paused to take a deep breath.

"THIS IS THE SONG THAT NEVER ENDS!!! YES IT GOES ON AND ON MY FRIEND!!!! SOME PEOPLE STARTED SINGING IT NOT KNOWING WHAT IT WAS, AND THEY'LL CONTINUE SINGING IT *FOREVER* JUST BECAUSE..."

Rei groaned... He knew Kevin was going to sing this for hours on end... It WAS after all, his favorite song...

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Me: AHHHHHHHHH!!! I'M SUCH AN IDIOT!! IT'S SO LATE NOW!!! AND I DIDN'T EVEN STUDY!!!!

My conscience: Your fault. I can't say I didn't warn you...

Me: $hit!! I'm going to fail my tests!! I'm going to FAIL!!! *bangs head on keyboard*

My conscience: *turns to you, the reader* Please review. It would really make my impulsive side happier after she gets her failing marks tomorrow. Knowing her, she would probably be banging her head on the walls... So PLEASE review and make us happy!!! *looks pitifully at her counterpart*