Disclaimer: I do not own the idea of fancy spinning tops, sexy anime characters or a penis...yeah I'm running out of ideas for these...

Hello guys, nice to see you all here again. Life is shitty, but thankfully there's fanfiction! Huge thank-yous to Little A Granger, Tyka's Flower, CorynOfHoole, Demons of the arch angel, chibiduo and Violet Hiwatari for reviewing!

I hope you enjoy the tournament guys!

WARNINGS: SO MANY WARNINGS. Except for lemons...there's no more lemons for a bit.


"Are you ready yet Kinomiya?" Kai asked, impatiently tapping his foot, waiting at the front door for his tardy roommate. He was dressed in his usual battle outfit, the only difference was the scarlet phoenix pendant that hung around his neck.

"Yeah! I'm just looking for my hat!" came Tyson's voice from up the staircase.

Kai cast his gaze around the room, his eyes settling on the aforementioned cap. "You left it on the couch!"

The bluenette came running down the staircase, Dragoon in hand, and into the living room and put on his lucky hat. "Alright, let's get this show on the road!"

They climbed into the car and once they had pulled out on the driveway and were on the main road Tyson said, "I'm so excited to see the new stadium! I'm sure the chief has tech-ed it out to the max! Have you seen it yet?"

"No."

Tyson gaped at him, "Awww, sweet! It's going to be a surprise for both of us then!"

"Hn." Was all the Russian responded with, but on the inside he was excited to see the stadium as well. All he knew about it so far was it was about 30 minutes from where they lived, which was nice because for once they didn't have to be situated in some kind of hotel. Being able to sleep in his own bed every night was not a luxury he was going to take for granted.

Soon they arrived and their mouths dropped. Everything was gold! Golden pillars, golden steps, but what stood out against the gold was the massive, extravagant, terrifying, realistic-looking red phoenix that was perched on the roof. It's wings were spread and it looked like the bird was releasing it's battle cry before going on the attack. It was a perfect rendition of Dranzer.

"Wow, you gotta hand it to the chief, when he comes through he really comes through."

"Yeah." Kai stared at the stadium for a moment longer with pride. So worth the money.

"5 minutes until registration closes!" a voice came over the speakers.

"5 minutes?!" Repeated Tyson, his face turning white.

"Stop worrying. The booth is right there." said Kai, nodding over to the table that was right in front of the building. They registered and had their blades inspected.

"Opening ceremonials will start soon, please enter the stadium through the doors on your left." said the woman.

He duo walked down the long corridor and came to a steel platform. "I guess this must take us tot he stadium." Tyson observed, "Isn't this a little showy for the preliminaries?"

"That's because this isn't the preliminaries, those were held weeks ago."

"WHAT?!"

"Seriously, do you ever check your e-mails?"

"Um...for my work account. Usually Max or Kenny just tell me these things."

"Well lucky for you, despite the format change, the winners and the runner-up from the previous tournament were given a bye. This is the actual tournament."

"With the 50 best bladers from around the world, right?"

"Hn. Look at that, you do listen."

Tyson chose to ignore that jab. "Why didn't anyone tell me about the preliminaries? I would have been there to cheer everyone on! Now I have no idea if everyone is even here!" there was anger in his voice.

"Take that up with them."

Their conversation ended as the platform started rising and butterflies started dancing in the World Champion's stomach. Another year, and this time he had to prove to everyone that he could win with no one standing next to him. They reached the top and a stadium full of people greeted them. As people cheered and shouted his name, a surge of adrenaline surged through them and he started waving at them all enthusiastically. This is where he belonged. He soaked up the adoration from his fans, acting like every bit of the champion that he was.

Next to him, Kai stood stoic, strong, detached. The Russian had the reputation of being the unpredictable badass. A true wild card. Seeing the rivals standing side-by-side as equals made the audience go crazy and their cheers became a loud roar.

Tyson took the opportunity to look around the arena. All of his friends were here! Ray, Max...even Kenny! They were all divided up into pairs on similar platforms like the one he was standing on, and were placed in a circle around the arena. Wow, Kenny really had gone all out while he was designing it! Suddenly the lights dimmed and the centre of the arena opened up and another platform ascended and standing on it was the Director of the Beyblade Association himself: Mr. Stanley Dickenson. The crowd hushed.

"Hello and welcome to this year's World Championship! It's so wonderful to see so many new and old faces here today!" The man said enthusiastically, "To be honest, we not entirely sure that there would be a tournament this year, but thanks to former World Champion, Kai Hiwatari, and Beyblade Mechanic Specialist Kenny Saien, Hiwatari Industries and the BBA Research Facility were able to team-up and design and build this spectacular state of the art stadium! The major difference is that we now have a special energy absorbing glass to make everything much safer for spectators, in case any beybattles get out of hand. We hope to have many more tournaments to come!"

The audience roared in applause, Mr. Dickenson waited a few moments, then continued.

"Now this year, as some of you already know, there will be some format changes. Our preliminary rounds determined the top 50 bladers in the world, which are all here today. All bladers have 3 strikes, with the exception of Ray Kon and Max Tate who have 4 after displaying exemplary sportsmanship in a wildlife challenge earlier this year. If a player loses a match, unable to battle or are late for a match- they lose a strike. Once a player has run out of strikes, they will be disqualified. Throughout the tournament there will be opportunities to win back strikes until we reach the top 10. Because of the sheer number of players, each match will only be a single-battle. In the event of a draw, neither player will lose a strike and they both will advance to the next round. Any questions?"

No one spoke.

"Then I declare this tournament officially open! Your first match is now!"

"Now?!" cried out a few players as the 25 platforms ascended until they were 50ft in the air, they then split apart to reveal a steel beydish. The protective glass cage rose up and encased the arena.

Tyson's heart pounded as he into his rival's eyes. He wasn't expecting to face Kai so soon.

"Everyone!" Shouted Mr. Dickenson.

"3..." All bladers readied their launchers.

"2..." Kai and Tyson's muscles twitched as they locked into a heated gaze.

"1!"

There was a chorus of "Let it rip!" as 50 blades flew into the air and connected. But as shock waves shook their bodies and rattled their teeth, dark images surfaced in Tyson's mind.


He was back on the island. The severed arm in his left hand, Kai's bloody, lifeless body slumped against the tree in front of him. He had done this. He had killed his best friend! He took a step back and his body fell into darkness.


When Kai saw Dragoon slow down, he looked up and saw the far away look in Tyson's eyes and the look of terror on his face. Something was seriously wrong. He watched Tyson take a step back and his heart stopped. A fall from this height could be deadly!

The next 3 seconds felt like an eternity. Tyson's foot slipped over the edge and Kai's instincts were sent into overdrive. As Tyson slowly fell back, Kai ran forward and leaped off the platform. With a cat-like grace, he caught Tyson in mid-air and deftly did a front flip. He landed on his feet with the boy safe in his arms. He looked into Tyson's eyes, and they were blank and his face was contorted in fear. This wasn't good. Picking up Tyson bridal-style, he headed towards the nearest exit.

"Wait! What about the battle?!" asked DJ Jazzman.

"Let the officials handle it!" he snapped. Once they were out of the arena, he took Tyson to an empty locker room and away from prying eyes. "Tyson. Tyson snap out of it!" He shouted, shaking the boy. When he didn't get a response, he did the only thing he could think of. He punched Tyson square in the jaw. Hard.

The teenager hit the floor with a loud 'thud'. "Ow! What the hell dude?!" He demanded, rubbing his cheek. He looked around the room. "Wha? What happened? Wait! Our match?!"

"Over." Relieved that Tyson was back to his old self, the former Captain walked over to him. "What happened out there Kinomiya?"

Tyson scratched the back of his head nervously. "Um...nerves?"

Kai punched him again.

"Bullshit. I've seen you nervous and unfocused. Your blading gets erratic and sloppy, but you don't zone out like that. Don't lie to me!" he growled.

Tyson sighed. He really should've known better than to try and fool his former captain of all people. "I don't know. One minute I'm all ready for the battle, and the next all I can see is blood and darkness everywhere. Y-your arm. Your b-body." His voice started cracking as he tried to hold back his tears.

Great. Tyson had PTSD. Something that couldn't be cured with magic tears. "You were fine battling everyone at the house?"

"Yeah. I-I guess it doesn't affect me with anyone else." Tyson panicked as he watched Kai turn around towards the door. "Wait! Where are you going?"

"To see when our next match is. You can still battle." he took a few steps then paused. "Tyson, I would die for blading. I would die to see that place again. Wouldn't you?" He walked out.

Sighing, Tyson laid down on the uncomfortable, hard bench and stared at the ceiling. His arms hung limply at his sides, his fingertips brushing against the ground. "That place, huh?" He closed his eyes and tried to picture it, but all he could see was Kai's broken body. A tear slipped down his tanned cheek.

He suddenly felt something brush against his hand and he looked over. Dragoon was spinning next to him, it must've followed Kai here. "Dragoon, buddy...I just don't know what to do." The blade emitted a bright blue light and a cool power flowed through the boy's body. Tyson opened his eyes and gasped. He was there! He was back in that place where the universe was spread out before him, but it was a
little different than he remembered it. "Is this your memory Dragoon?"

"Yes Tyson." The ancient beast answered.

Then teenager watched in fascination as he looked down on himself and Kai laying down on the beach. Then he saw something that he didn't get to see before. He watched Kai wake up and looked over to him and smiled. An actual smile.

All the dark, gory images seemed to pale in comparison to the light of that beautiful smile, and slowly, retreated back into the dark depths of his mind. Tyson looked at the breath-taking sky.

That's right. It didn't matter what they had to overcome, whom they had to face or what life has in store for them. He and Kai had made a promise. Kai had been the one who died and he was still fighting. It would be an insult to him if he just gave up here. He would find a way to burry the memories and move on!

A timid knock at the door broke him out of the memory. Dragoon retreated back into the blade and returned to his master. "Come in."

The door burst open and Tyson found himself being attacked by yellow. "Oh Tyson! You had us all so worried buddy!" He heard Max say as he squeezed the life out of him.

"I'm fine Maxie, really." He managed to choke out. The American pulled away and Tyson saw Ray, Kai, Kenny and Hilary in the room as well. "What happened anyways?"

"You seriously don't remember?" asked Hilary in disbelief.

Tyson shook his head. "Not a thing."

"You fell off the platform! If Kai wasn't there to save you, you would've been seriously hurt!" she exclaimed.

"Kai saved me?" he looked at the enigma who stood against the wall with his arms crossed.

"Yeah, he totally threw the match!"

"She's right buddy." confirmed Max, putting an arm around his shoulder. "You and Kai both lost a strike. It wasn't just you guys though. Two of the matches ended up with someone being sent to the hospital. Those matches ended with strikes as well. The officials are really tough this year."

"Sent to the hospital? Are they okay?!" shouted Tyson in alarm.

"It really doesn't look good." said Ray solemnly, "One of them fell off the platform. The really sickening thing was their opponent didn't check to see if they were okay or anything."

"...Was it anyone we know?" questioned Tyson.

"No."

Tyson and Kai exchanged a look and nodded.

"It's best that we don't take these bladers lightly." said Kai, "Unless you're 100% prepared for the match, just forfeit."

Everyone looked at the enigma in shock, before it all started to sink in. In the end, it was better to lose a strike than to go up against something that they couldn't handle and wind-up in hospital for the rest of the tournament

"So what's with no one telling me about the preliminaries?" asked Tyson, changing the subject.

"Oh, that's because they were held in different countries on the same day." explained Kenny. "We all knew that you would want to cheer everyone on, but this way you didn't have to play favourites and focus on your own training."

"So who's all in?" asked Tyson.

"Basically everyone from the last tournament plus 11 unknown bladers and Gin of the Gale."

"What?! Hiro is in the tournament?"

"Yeah."

"Heh, I can't wait to show him my skills." he looked around the room. "Hey. Where's Daichi?"

"Did someone say my name?" The group looked over to see the red-head burst into the room, but he looked different than when they had last seen him a few months ago. He was nearly as tall as Max and his face had lost some of its baby-fat. He wore a torn white muscle shirt with a blue vest over top, his pants were ridden with holes but at least the pant legs were the same length now. Everyone's mouths dropped. Daichi looked hot! "Jeez Tyson, you're in the stadium for 2 minutes and already stirring up trouble. You attention hog!"

"Arg! I am not an attention hog!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

Everyone sighed as the pair argued. "Somethings never change." muttered Hilary.

"Hey, isn't it almost time for the next match?" asked Ray.

Tyson and Daichi froze mid-fist fight. "Alright let's go!" cried the pony-tailed teen as he ran out of the room.

"Try not to fall off this time!" sneered the child as he ran after him.

"Arg! I can't believe I missed you!" shot back Tyson as he ran down the hall.

Kai smiled softly. At least Tyson's confidence was still intact.


OK, not bad for a first chapter right? Not too dark, still easing you lovely people into things :) Please leave a review telling me what you thought!