I'm sorry, sorry, sorry! I was caught up with a proverbial mountain of homework and had no time to update. I'll try my best to be regular. Thank you for your patience!

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade, nor a fancy mansion like Kai's. *sniff*

A Secret To Be Told

Chapter 10: Welcome Home, Master Hiwatari

The next hour passed fairly peacefully. Max, Kenny, Tyson and their respective future counterparts as well as Ray and Hilary, were sitting in a semi-circle on the rug, watching intently, along with Alex and future Hilary - who were seated on a nearby sofa - as the grown-up Kenny and Max studied and discussed the findings on the bespectacled boy's laptop. Adult Ray had left to help Mariah with Rin, who had woken up about ten minutes back and was wailing inconsolably at the top of her lungs, forcing her parents to take her outside in an attempt to distract her with the flowers in the garden. Kai kept his distance from the group, standing with his back against the wall a little further away, though listening to every word of the ongoing discussion.

Another half an hour passed before the sitting room door swung open once again and a tall man in a black dress shirt and grey slacks, with two-toned slate and black hair and cold, yet striking lavender eyes strode in, stopping to examine the group of teenagers sitting on the floor, who stared back at him in astonishment.

"Huh….looks like you weren't kidding," he said, glancing at his wife who simply rolled her eyes as if to say "Well, duh."

"Yo, Kai!" shouted both Tysons at the same time, causing the adult as well as the teenage Kai to scowl at them.

The future version of Kai was a few inches taller than his teen self and his hair, though still styled in the same unruly manner, was cut a little shorter, making him lose the "been training in the wilderness" look, though certainly not entirely. He also looked as fit as ever, biceps and pectorals discernible under his rather tight-fitting shirt – which was unsurprising, considering how particular Kai was about always staying in top physical condition.

He turned back to the rest of the group. "Did you guys figure out how they got here?" he asked, addressing Kenny in particular.

Kenny nodded. "We've analysed the data and it seems quite certainly due to the activity of some untamed, ancient beast spirits which were possibly trapped in the stone tablet they picked up," he said." – but as to how we can reverse the events or send them back" – he exchanged an uneasy glance with the other adults present – "…..that's a bit of a problem."

"Ideas?" Kai prompted.

"We thought first about trying to track down the beast spirits responsible by tracing the energy signature – even though the tablet seemingly just vanished, we can still hope to find the spirits if they were set loose," said Max. "But we honestly have no idea about their powers and might end up sending these guys to some other timeline…"

"Yeah, we already agreed, we'll pass on that," said teen Tyson quickly.

"It's too risky," agreed adult Kenny. "The second option is that we artificially recreate the bit-beasts' energy exactly and reverse the signal wavelengths in the negative – I'll need a little more time and research to be certain of the exact procedure – and that will get them back home."

"Isn't that something like those cyber bit-beasts?" asked adult Kai with a small frown.

"Sort of – but we'll only be recreating their energy, not the bit-beasts themselves," said Kenny. "The only thing is, we need to be a hundred percent accurate – you remember how much trouble 's scientists had with controlling the beasts' energy? Though it's not impossible, it's definitely complicated and will take a fair amount of time, to say the least."

Kai groaned. "Great. So that means we're saddled with these brats for a while."

"Hey!" protested teen Tyson, springing to his feet along with an offended Daichi. "Who're you calling brats, you grouch!?" they demanded together, while teen Hilary sat up on her knees as well, putting her hands on her hips and glaring at Kai indignantly with a "Hmph!"

Adult Kai shook his head. "Whatever. As long as I don't have to put up with them too much."

Adult Tyson smirked at this. "Actually, Kai," he drawled. "You might find that a bit difficult, since till we manage to get them back… they'll be staying with you."

Kai turned sharply to glare at Tyson. "What did you say!?"

The teenage Tyson jumped in to taunt Kai as well. "You heard," he said smugly. "We'll be camping here for as long as it takes to get back, so you better get used to having us around."

"Absolutely not," said Kai. "I see no reason for you all to stay here – there's enough room at the dojo. I would have thought you would prefer to stay at your own house, Tyson?" he commented, narrowing his eyes at the blue-haired teen.

Tyson's smug look faltered as he cast a furtive glace at adult Hilary. "Uh…I really think I'd rather not…"

The grown-up Kai gave a low growl of frustration. "Stop being such a spoiled brat," he snapped. He already had enough headaches listening to the board members and executives complaining and arguing non-stop and was in absolutely no mood to put up with a teenage Tyson and Daichi running around the house.

"Come on, Kai – be a sport," said Alex, a twinkle of amusement in her eye as she watched his expression sour further and shoot her a half-hearted glare.

"Please, Kai?" Teen Max put on his best puppy-dog eyes, making it impossible for the future version of their friend to ignore. "We won't bother you at all….you wouldn't turn us away when we need your help would you?"

"Tch," Kai grimaced; trying, yet failing, to ignore Max as he amped up the cute puppy look, and hopeful little sparkles and bubbles seemed to appear around him. Damn you, Max! Giving me those eyes - you cunning, guilt-tripping little…

"Fine," He finally relented, unable to stand the overdose of cuteness, much to everyone's relief. "They can stay. But"- he turned to face the teenagers, glaring at them, clearly annoyed. "You must behave yourselves – particularly you two," he pointed at Tyson and Daichi. "That means no running around, yelling and shouting, breaking things and being a nuisance in general. Got it?"

"What are we, five?" grumbled Tyson.

"Mentally, yes," said Kai with a smirk. He continued speaking before Tyson could open his mouth to retaliate. "Furthermore, my bedroom and study are strictly off-limits to all of you - including you," he said, looking at his teenage counterpart, who simply arched an eyebrow."So I better not catch any of you in there or else"-

Whatever threat Kai was going to deliver was cut short by the return of Ray and Mariah with the now peaceful Rin.

"Kai! How're you doing, old friend?" greeted Ray with a wide smile. "I didn't think I'd have the opportunity to visit again so soon."

Kai simply offered him a curt nod of acknowledgement.

"Hi Kai! Long time no see! Boy, you sure did miss a lot over here today, didn't you?" said Mariah with a cheeky grin.

"Hey, Mariah." Kai looked down to smile at Rin, who was laughing and trying to reach out to him. "Hi, Rin."

"How come he's nice to Rin but not to us?" grumbled Daichi, earning an elbow from Kenny.

A bit of an abrupt ending this time.

Hope you liked it, and don't forget to rate and review, peeps!