Hi everyone :D

Here it is, the final chapter. Don't worry, there are no shocking revelations in this one XD Just a quiet little conclusion.

And the next person to say 'I KNEW IT WAS KAI' gets kicked. I would have liked to see all your faces if I had deliberately NOT made it Kai! -.-

And here are my final review thank-you's (sniffle):

Thank you to gliitch, Destiny Quill, PRETTY AS A CAR CRASH, SchoolBoredom, Nameless Little Girl, Sakana, Yurii Savinov, Tuli-Susi, KrisSk8Gurl, Lola Clarkson, d0n'th8m#cz.u.a!n'Tm3, TouchOfChaos, SinaIvanov, hunt4me, Slightly Sinister Sinestra, In Darkness Is Light, RyuuKai, pessimist, Dark Dragon – Fire Fox and Winterblazewolf. You guys rock. ;-;

And now…the chapter! Please read and enjoy! (Sobs in a corner)

Chapter 15

26th November

It snowed a little today. Sadly I couldn't go out and frolic in it like a demented 7-year old because I was stuck in school.

Yes, I was in school.

I will write that one more time just to confirm: I was in school today. Even though I didn't want to be. I still went, and I still sat through every class.

Thus, that brings us up to at least five months in which I haven't skipped a day.

There was summer vacation somewhere in between, admittedly, but still. Five months. Pretty good.

So it's been a year now since The Accident. I won't pretend it isn't still hell, trying to deal with it all. And grandfather is as uncaring as ever. But it's ok. I'm getting there.

I finally finished that painting today. Tala wouldn't stop pestering me until I told him what it was all about. I swear, he's like a parrot or something, always squawking in my ear.

Anyway.

That first painting I did, back in the summer…the person in it, they didn't show up in the mirror. I wasn't really thinking when I painted it, so I don't know if it really means anything, but it if did then I guess it would mean that, back then, I felt like I didn't really exist. Like…I was here, but I wasn't here. I couldn't be seen. And I suppose it was true. I was hiding, in a way.

You should have seen Tala's face when he tried to get his head around that one.

So this new painting…the layout is different, but the scene is mostly the same. It's a person in front of a mirror. The room is different too, though. It's…nicer. And orange. I've gotten used to the orangeness. But in this picture, the mirror is broken. Because what's in the mirror doesn't matter any more. In the mirror, there was 'nothing', there was a 'non-existence'. I don't look in the mirror now and see a different person. I'm still the same as before. But all the pretence is gone, mostly. So I broke the mirror. Well, I painted it broken. Because the mask is broken…right?

So, Guidey, I wonder how much fun you've had reading my crazy thoughts for the past few months? Have you gone crazy too? And I know you've been reading it. It's your job, obviously you've been reading it. Don't worry, I don't actually think you wear a wig. I guess I'm just spiteful…I like making people insecure.

But don't you think I could stop writing this now? I had to write it because I was 'screwed up', right? I was struggling. But I'm better now. Haven't you noticed? I'm coming to school all the time. I've got back up to a grade B, on average. Tala's helping me catch up on the stuff I missed. I'll be getting A's again soon. Just you watch me.

So maybe we could bring this little soul-searching exercise to a close? Over the past few months I've actually forced myself to write seriously in this thing, and get out all the bad stuff. And sometimes Tala and I talk about it. I mean, I yell at him and he puts up with it.

So I don't think I need this any more. I hate to admit it, but I've grown kind of attached to it lately. But if I can put it away, that'll really mean I'm not so messed up anymore. So-

The book was plucked from his hands.

He scowled and whipped around to face the thief.

Tala stood there, his usual teasing grin on his face, dangling the notebook in front of him tauntingly.

"Hey, Kai," he said, "I found your diary."

"Very funny," he replied, rolling his eyes, "Give it, you idiot."

"Fine, fine," the red-head said in poorly-concealed amusement, handing it back to him, "I needed to say it. I never said it at the time, when I found out it was you."

"That doesn't mean you have to say it every day now," he complained, hastily scribbling down the end of the entry and stuffing the notebook in his bag.

"Doesn't it?" he questioned, one eyebrow raised.

"No," he said firmly.

Tala never changed. Five months later, and still refusing to give up on him.

He'd always be grateful for that.

He'd never say it, but inside he'd always be grateful.

"Anyway, hurry up," the red-head ordered, giving him a little shove, "We've got training to do."

"But it's freezing," he whined, hugging himself in a futile defence against the biting cold.

"Don't be such a baby."

Tala was the only one who ever saw his remotely childish side. And if he ever told anyone about it – rather like the day he'd discovered that bloody diary did indeed belong to him – he would die a slow and painful death.

"But why?" he grumbled as they walked towards the playing fields, "The soccer season doesn't start until February."

"All the more reason for me to try and get you into shape now," Tala said, "I mean, with that sloppy trial you only just made the team…you really need training up."

"Hey," he glowered, punching his arm.

"Ok, so I'm kidding," he laughed, "But come on, we can't just leave the training until the end of January. We'll have forgotten everything by then. We need to keep practicing."

"Whatever," he said, though he could see the sense in this, "But I don't see why it's just me. Where's the rest of the team?"

"Are you joking? You really think any of the other guys would come train on a day like this?"

"Then why do I have to do it?"

"Cos you just like me that much," Tala grinned, ruffling his hair as they stepped onto the frozen earth of the pitch.

"You wish I did, Tala," he said dully.

He remembered the look on the other's face the first time he'd called him by his first name. It hadn't been a conscious decision – it had just sort of slipped out. He'd been thinking of his as 'Tala' for a while before that, and one day it had just come out his mouth. The extent (and volume) of the red-head's delight at this improvement had almost caused him to revert to 'Ivanov' again, but not quite.

"So how's life anyway?" Tala asked suddenly, "Anything happened recently?"

Kai thought for a moment. He looked first at the waiting red-head, then at the frozen soccer pitch, which really wasn't appealing to him right now.

"Well, that depends," he said finally.

"Depends?" Tala repeated, raising an eyebrow, "On what?"

"On what you want," he said with what he knew was an infuriating 'I-know-something-you-don't-know' smirk, "You can choose. We can practice soccer, and probably die of pneumonia, or we can have another of our little heart-sharing talks. Your choice."

Tala glowered at him for a moment. He gave his most innocent look in return, knowing he'd get his way. Before, during that whole fiasco with the diary, it had always been Tala who had been sort of in control of the situation and deciding what they'd do. Kai had been so taken-aback by it all that he'd just found himself going along with it. But of late he'd brought himself back up to speed and had learned just how to wrap the red-head around his littlest finger. He supposed that had been one of their 'break-throughs', one of the things Tala had had to learn. Kai is manipulative. Kai gets his way.

"If we walk through the park and the coffee stand's there, it's cappuccinos on me," he added, applying the persuasion tactic just to deliver the final blow.

Tala sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Well, how could I say no to that?" he said, batting him over the head as if to say 'Yeah, you win, brat'. Kai didn't hit him back. He never did, if he was winning.

They turned away from the soccer pitch with its sprinkling of snow and instead headed towards the park, where so many of their early encounters had taken place.

And they walked, and talked, and did indeed get some pleasantly hot coffee. Like friends would.

Well…they were friends, right?

"And to think…" Tala mused as they wandered along, "It all started with a diary."

"Very poetic," Kai replied dryly.

"I've been wondering, though…" he said thoughtfully, "You know you said your original plan was to just wait for me to lose interest in the diary, and then take it back?"

"Yes…?"

"How come, when I did decide to give up, you told me to keep it?"

Kai shrugged, but his face had gone faintly pink, whether from the cold or embarrassment he didn't know.

"I don't know," he said, "I guess I thought I could…trust you with it. And I didn't need it. As you know, I was fortunate enough to have a second one."

"So basically you'd warmed to me a little?" Tala suggested, teasing smile back in place.

"Very, very little."

"Hah. Sorry, Kai, your frosty verbal barbs don't work on me any more…cos I know you don't mean it."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, that's so."

"…Whatever."

And, like friends, they walked on.

It was a very anti-climatic ending XD I just typed it, and then sat staring at the screen like 'Oh. I'm done.'

Not very exciting!

Anyway, there you go, Fiver has written a whole story! It's finished:D I hope you all liked it. And thank you to everyone who read and reviewed this story from start to finish.

I'm pretty sad now. I have new fanfics almost ready and raring to go, but they're not Beyblade, so the chances are that a lot of you guys won't have much interest in them (sad face).

Oh well. I hope at least some of you follow me as I nervously break into my new fandom! XD

Ah…what is that fandom, you ask?

Well I think I'll let that be a surprise ;D Unless I've mentioned it somewhere before…I don't think so.

The plan is to write all or most of my new fics before posting them so people don't have to wait so terribly long for updates (like you poor people did) but…I'm impatient. They'll probably appear sooner rather than later. Previews will be put on my profile at some point :D Please check them out!

But this story is officially over now…so it's time to say…adieu! (Sob) Once again, thank you so much to everyone who reviewed. I'm so happy (and shocked) at the number of nice reviews this story got. You guys are great!

Until my next story appears…

Fiver x