Title: Tears I Cried

Author: eternal radiance

Email: [email protected]

Rating: pg13 for language and character death

Pairings: K/Ty, R/Ma, Ta/Ty friendship

Summary: something in Tyson changes, but not for the better and when Kai's training techniques go too far, has he really lost Tyson forever? He'll have to get through the overprotective brother first.

Author's Notes: new muse! The story just popped up… while I was sleeping… Strange how it always does that… The story title is from a Kenshin OVA song called Tears I cried. Really nice piano piece, I wanna learn it!!! But can't find any scores to it, and writing it myself is hard… I've tried… Oh yeah, last thing. This is during the first season, and before the second. And Ren is there cuz… well, I like Ren! He's cool!

Disclaimer:

~ change of POV or time gap

"speaking"

'thinking'

(author's note)

flashback

dream

Tears I Cried

By: eternal radiance

            "Come on, Tyson!"

            The Bladebreakers watched as the grey blade wobbled slightly before regaining its balance. The Bladebreaker leader, the almighty Hiwatari Kai, stood on the other side of the rink, his long bare arms across his chest and an impressed look on his face.

            "Can't take it, can you, weakling?" He taunted the blue-eyed and navy blue-haired boy before him, on the other side of the rink.

            Fists were clenched tighter, the nails digging into the pale skin, almost drawing blood, as the teeth also clenched slightly. But then other than that, there was no change in the expression in the eyes or face at all. Nothing that told the leader his teammate was trying, or at least following orders.

            With one hard shove, the blade flew across where the blue-haired boy caught it effortlessly. He started to turn away, avoiding the shocked looks on his teammates' faces. He froze in his spot when Kai started to talk though.

            "Why are you still here then, if you don't train?" Kai demanded, coldly. "This team doesn't need someone useless like you. So why the f*** are you still here?"

            Without turning, Kinomiya Takao answered his captain with a soft but raspy voice. "I don't know…" Then he left the ring, left the training and most of all, left his teammates.

            The others stared after the fading figure of their teammate.

            "Holy crap…" Ray Kon (his name's not Japanese, so the last name doesn't come first… unless you were to take it in actual Chinese characters…) swore under his breath.

            The blonde, Max Tate just stared after his usual genki-like teammate and best friend. He had never seen or heard of Takao being a quitter at anything, especially not in blading. The blue-haired boy was always so enthusiastic about it, even if he hated training, when they could just go out and look for worthy opponents to battle. Against.

            'Takao's not like that. He would never not have a heart to beyblade.' (O.o double negatives now, hehe) Max though to himself. Then he wondered how much he actually knew his best friend now. Now that he thought back to it, ever since Ray and him had gotten together, he had spent less time with his best friend, and more time with his boyfriend He'd been so occupied with his love life that he completely forgot about the friend who had always supported him, and even more, the friend who had set him up with Ray and actually got the two together.

            'Takao, what happened to you?' Max thought sadly. There had to be something more then just him ignoring the blue-haired boy that brought Takao down so low. There just had to be something else. But what?

~

            Kenny watched the blue-haired boy leave. Takao had been his first friend, before the Bladebreakers were formed. He remembered the first and not the last time Takao had saved him from harm. That time when Kai captured him. He hadn't even thought for one bit that Takao would have the power to match Kai's Dranzer. He had never known that Takao owned his own bit beast.

            Kai and Takao. They were both forces to be reckoned with. But while Kai was like ice, Takao was like fire. (O.o I'm mixing up bitbeasts now, but it sounds better this way…. Just continue to read) Takao was the one to melt down the icy exterior Kai had, he was the one that always brought hope to the other Bladebreakers, and also hope to other bladders all over the world.

            Kenny sighed. 'I guess I really do spend too much time in front of my computer.' He'd been so busy, he hadn't had the time for his first friend, preferring to adjust their stats and to find new bladders to blade against.

            He looked over to the rest of his teammates. What was Takao not telling them? What were they missing?

~

            Ray looked around at his teammates. Kenny and Max were both staring from where they had been standing or in Kenny's case, sitting in front of the computer. Then he looked over at their leader. There was an almost sat, lonely and longing look in those fiery red-crimson eyes. They were fixated on the door which Takao had left our of. Their leader almost looked like a lost puppy.

            Then it hit him. How could he have been so blind? A few days ago, he'd seen the same look in Takao's eyes: the look of longing, with the emotion of hurt and fear. It'd only been there for a short period of time, but it had been there nonetheless.

            How could he have been so blind? Kai was falling for Takao, just as the blue-haired boy was falling for his leader. But because of appearances, they couldn't just drop everything and be together. Kai was never going to drop his mask and exterior and Takao, he'd never drop the friendly and genki façade. And the way that Kai treats Takao all the time, everyone always thought that the red phoenix hated the wind dragon. How ironic was it that they'd fall in love?

            It was so predictable and no one had suspected it. And now the hateful words Kai just spoken about Takao being useless and no good to the team, it would only serve to drive the usually happy boy away. But Takao had never taken them to heart before, so what was different now? Ray had never seen the blue-haired boy give up on anything, especially not proving his skills in blading. Kai's words wouldn't have only served to ignite the fire behind Dragoon's attacks.

            The Chinese blader reached over to pull his own boyfriend closer to him. He'd have to have a talk with Kai about this. If Kai was yelling more at Takao, perhaps he had no clue how he felt inside, or maybe he was trying to deny it. Either way, Ray was not going to let it affect the team. He wasn't going to stand by and watch the team fall apart because of this. Not when they'd been doing so well in rankings.

~

            Kai was shocked. There was no other word to describe how he felt. He felt odd inside, almost as if it was snowing, and he had been drenched in cold water. 'What Is wrong with me?' Kai yelled at himself. It was something he'd never felt before. How could that brat make him feel so…. incomplete? So sad and lonely. Why was he feeling this way? He didn't care about the clue-haired boy, did he?

            Kai stared at the door. Thoughts running like light speed through his mind. Ok, so maybe he cared a bit about the blue-haired boy. Just a bit and only because Takao had been the one to pull him out of icy walls he had built to protect himself from his grandfather.

            He could still remember the day when Takao came back for him, even shedding tears over him. He'd never seen Takao cry before and when he did see those tears that one time, it seemed almost like an angel from heaven was crying for him.

            'Waitaminute! – angel?! Takao doesn't look like an angel!' His mind screamed to himself, but his heart knew the truth.

            He was falling for the blue-eyed angel.

            'What do you mean 'falling for'?' He yelled at himself for even thinking such a thing. Hiwatari Kai did not fall for anyone and especially not some stupid, loudmouth, annoying, cute, beautiful br- 'CUTE?! BEAUTIFUL?!'

            'Let's face it. You love him, you want him,' the other part of him sang. (To the tune Sandra Bullock sings at the end of Ms Congeniality.)

            'I do NOT!' Kai yelled back in his head, ignoring the fact that he shouldn't really be talking to himself in his head in the first place. It was usually a sign of madness (O.o among others)

            'You do!' The voice taunted. 'Why do you think to first thing you think about when you wake is how Takao is? Why do your eyes always seek him out when you step into a room? Why do-'

            Kai blocked the voice from his mind as it continued on its rant. He had heard enough and now that he thought about it, it was all true. He really did look for Takao after walking into a room. He did think of him every morning and night and during the day. He did spend most of his time training with the blue-eyed, blue-haired angel.

            The thought of it just made him sad though. Now after how Kai had treated him, Takao would never like him back. Not after all these taunts and insults.

            Kai looked over at his teammates, where Max was wrapped in Ray's arms and wished that it were he with his arms around Takao.

            Takao will cool down, and he'd go and apologize, even if Hiwatari's don't apologize to anyone. He'd do it for Takao.

            'I'll talk to him later.' Kai promised himself.

            "What are you standing around for? Ray against Max, Start training!" He ordered suddenly. He himself picked up his blade and launched it back into the ring he had battled Takao in and ordered Dranzer to follow his orders.

            'I'll talk to him later…'

~

            "Are you sure you want to do this?" Mr. Dickenson asked the blue-haired, blue-eyed boy who was currently shoving clothes into his suitcase. He was sitting on the bed, watching Takao throw his clothes around.

            "I have to." The wind dragon said, no emotion on his face.

            The owner of the BBA nodded sadly and rose from where he had been sitting. "Your flight leaves tomorrow morning. I will have a vehicle waiting for you at 7:30am." He reached the door and opened it, pausing at the door to say a few last words. "You'll have to tell your teammates yourself."

Takao nodded, but he no intention of telling his teammates anything. They'd find out eventually. In the corner of his eye, he watched Mr. Dickenson walk out of his room and quietly shut the door. He sighed and plopped down on his bed, trying to blend into the blankets and bed covers. His hand snuck up to his chest and he took out the small locket at his throat. The locket his grandfather had given him a long time ago.

Opening it up, he stared at the small picture inside. It was a picture of his grandfather and two boys with blue hair; one shade darker than the other. They all looked a few years younger. One was Takao and the other was his older brother, Ren. (Yes Takao's brother is actually called Ren, and he's not named Ren cuz my bf is…) There were so happy to be together, all of them were sprouting huge grins that seemed to run in the Kinomiya family.

Takao sighed again. He missed his big brother, who had to go to America to work again enough money to support both his grandfather and his younger brother in Japan. But eh dojo needed the most money. The place was pretty big for a 2-person house and took up lots of space. Even between Takao's meagre winnings and his grandfather's teachings of kendo, they didn't make enough to pay for the house. So Takao's brother was forced to find a better paying job.

With a snap, Takao closed the locket and placed it back inside his shirt, the cold metal over his heart.

He slipped under the covers of his bed, snuggling in the warmth of the blankets but inside, he was still feeling cold. His mind wandered to his teammates and he wondered how they would react when they found him gone. He knew that Kenny, Max and Ray would be sad. So would he, as they'd been the few really, really good friends he'd had for a long time. Then a certain grey-blue haired, crimson-eyed boy popped into his mind.

Takao has had a crush on him for a while now. He had no clue how it shad started, but it just did. Everything about his leader was perfect. Too perfect for him. Takao knew that there was no way the grey-blue haired boy would ever like him back. They were so different. And they were practically enemies as well.

If Kai did like someone, it would've been Ray. If the Chinese boy hadn't matched perfectly with Max, Takao would've said that Ray and Kai would've made the perfect couple. Ray was the only one out of all of them that Kai could get along with.

He sighed once again and pulled the covers over his head. Kai would never like him back. He'd probably have more luck with Tala than the Bladebreaker leader.

The blue-haired boy turned in his bed, his back facing the door. His eyes closed. 'Might as well get some sleep…' He thought, slipping into the darkness that threatened to pull him in.

TBC….

Eternal: la di da di da… I know I shouldn't write up another fic, but… just couldn't help it… It just came to me a bit ago and I just had to write it all down. So here it is! Review please!