Kai: Cut the nonsense and start the chapter!
RTC: Why is it always you that cuts me off? Anyway, disclaimer please!
Max: Ray-Tiger-Cat has been trying to buy Beyblade, but then she realized she was broke. So she still doesn't own it, people!
-----
Rebirth
"Mama, are you ready yet?" came Amie's voice. "I want to see the dress!" Kari emerged from a room in a pretty kimono and gave her daughter a nervous grin.
"How do I look, Sweetie?"
"Awe, Mom, it's beautiful! I'm sure Tala will love it! Hey, now that you're getting married, do I have to call him 'Dad'?" Ten years had passed since Kari had adopted Amie and she and Tala were finally getting married. The ceremony was still a few days away, but Amie, now a teenager, could not wait to see her mother's wedding dress, which was a brilliant blue kimono. Kari wanted to wear her mother's wedding dress, and her mother had been quite proud of being half Japanese, so she'd worn a kimono.
"Hmm, that depends on you. I'm sure Tala wouldn't force you to, but I don't think he'd mind either," Kari replied, fingering her engagement ring. 'He's such a romantic at heart. He proposed to me over Valentine's dinner, which he cooked, and it was all so unbelievable! I still can't believe I'm getting married to him!' Kari thought. "A lot has changed."
And it was true; they had all finished school and had careers that they loved. Most of the were working for some branch of the BBA, which was now headed by Hiro, now that Mr. Dickenson had retired. Their personal lives had changed greatly too; Hiro and Mary Anne had two children, who were just as spunky as their parents, Tyson and Hilary had gotten married the year before and were expecting a child, Ray and Mariah were engaged, Max had found the courage to ask Emily out and were now somewhat serious, and Kenny and Daichi were still single.
"So, when is everyone arriving?" Amie asked.
"They should all arrive in Tokyo within the next two days and then they'll probably rent cars and drive here," Kari replied. She and Amie had moved away for a while when Kari was in university, but ultimately missed Japan too much and returned. The others mainly lived in their own countries, but would frequently visit Japan. Tala was still in Russia, but he'd be moving into a new house along with Kari and Amie after the wedding.
"Ding dong!" the doorbell chimed and Kari dashed to answer it. When she opened it, she found Ray, Mariah and Lynn on the front step.
"It's gorgeous!" Mariah squealed and pulled Kari into a hug. Poor Ray had insisted on carrying all the luggage and coughed to warn them that he might drop the bags at any second.
"Oh, sorry Ray! Come in!" The house was pretty small, but only Ray, Mariah and Lynn would be staying, so it was alright. Daichi would be at Tyson and Hilary's, as they, and Kenny could not part with their hometown, and Max and Emily would be living at Max's dad's place. Tala's stuff was at Kari's, but he would be staying at a hotel for a few days.
"So, how are things going with you lately?" Ray enquired after they'd settled into the living room and Amie and Lynn had taken off to catch up.
"Pretty good. Amie's growing up ridiculously fast-I swear it was just yesterday that she was playing with dolls, and now she's learning to drive and starting to date! And the business is running well too. Who's have thought I could have transformed Grandfather's," she paused, as if to get a horrid taste out of her mouth, "companies into a successful detective agency to investigate creeps like him and make sure that they aren't hurting people?"
"Yeah, it's pretty amazing what can happen in a few years' time with a lot of hard work," Mariah agreed.
"So, are you nervous about the wedding?" Ray wondered.
"Not really. Tala's always been there for me, and I think I had a bit of a crush on him for years before we started dating," Kari grinned, happy that life was finally settling down.
A few days later, Kari was racing through the house like an insane person.
"Oh my God, when are those flowers supposed to get here? And has anyone seen my lipstick? I bought it yesterday and now I can't find it!"
"Calm down Mama, all your make up is right here. I put everything together so that when that hair stylist/make up artist gets here, we wouldn't have to be searching for anything."
"And the flowers will be here in half an hour, remember?"
Two hours later, Kari was staring into the eye of her fiancИ. There were some words coming from the priest, but she wasn't listening. Looking around the room, Kari spotted all of her friends and many bladers that she'd heard about from the others. The only person missing was Kai. 'I want to be happy, but I can't forget him.' Little did she know that Tala was thinking along the same lines.
'This is too weird. I'm marrying my best friend's sister, and he isn't here to watch. Man, I could really use his... unique perspective right about now.'
Before they knew what was happening they were married, and after about a million photos, were off on their honeymoon.
"Do you still miss him?" Tala asked later that night.
"Yeah, sometimes. Like today, I really wanted him to be here, but obviously that's impossible. I don't think I'll ever truly stop missing him, even though I know he'd be happy if he could see us now."
"I know what you mean; I still miss him too. I was just standing there wishing for him to magically show up or something. He was my best friend for so long. I'll bet he's watching over us now."
"Yup, and he's probably screaming at us to stop yakking and kiss already. I swear he's tried to set us up a few times," Kari said with a grin. Their lips met and they knew they were in love.
"I love you, Kari..."
"I love you too, Tala." At that moment they felt at peace, as they continued to kiss passionately.
---
"Tala, I hate you!" Kari screamed several months later. Tala stepped back, looking perplexed.
"Don't worry, that's normal," the nurse said with a grin, "Most women shout that to their partners."
"Come on now and push," the doctor ordered.
"Don't be upset, we're right here for you," Tala said, squeezing his wife's hand reassuringly.
"Come on Mom, you can do this!" Amie shouted from the hallway, where she'd been forced to stay.
"Alright then, just one more big push and this little guy is coming out!" the doctor encouraged.
A few minutes later, a shrill cry filled the room.
"Awe, he's beautiful," Tala told Kari as the doctor cleaned up their son.
"Can I come in now?" Amie asked impatiently. In all honesty, Kari had been worried about how she'd react to a baby in the house after being an only child so long and after being adopted, while the new baby would be Kari's own flesh and blood. But she needn't have worried; Amie had been thrilled.
"Sure!" Tala called.
"Thanks Dad!" she'd exclaimed. Tala had also adopted Amie after the wedding, so he was now her legal father. Amie entered just as the doctor was finishing up.
"He's so cute!" she proclaimed after just one glimpse. She gave Kari and Tala a hug and the doctor handed the baby to them. The three of them, all having horrific childhoods, looked at him and swore his life would be better.
"He looks just like you, Kari!" Tyson pointed out later that day. The whole team was together- Tyson, Hilary and their son; Ray, Mariah and their daughter; Max and Emily; Daichi, still a bachelor; and Kenny, whose girlfriend wasn't there as she didn't want to intrude.
Looking at the baby, you could see that Tyson's statement was true. The baby had slate black hair, crimson eyes (like Kari's, when she wasn't wearing her lilac contacts), and some of her features.
"No, you know who I think he looks like?" Max asked as Ray took a turn holding him.
"Tala?" Daichi guessed.
"Well, he does have some of Tala's features, but no, that's not who I meant, no offence Tala," Max replied.
"None taken."
"You mean..." Ray said, passing the baby to Tyson and the baby promptly began to bawl with an expression that clearly showed that he didn't want to be near Tyson.
"Kai!" they all exclaimed with a laugh.
"He's even got a bit of that death glare there!" Hilary remarked.
"And he doesn't care for Tyson either," Kenny kidded.
"Hey!"
"He does look like you! Already looking grumpy!" a person said, bobbing outside the window.
"I resent that," Kai shot back, while Lizzie dissolved into laughter.
"You know I'm right!"
"In your dreams! Anyway, it looks like they'll finally be alright, don't you think?"
"Yeah, they're at peace. Took them long enough too. But we're still going to watch over them, right?" she replied.
"Hn." Kai put his arm over her shoulder and they shared a kiss.
"So, what are you going to name him?" Mariah asked back in the room. Tala and Kari exchanged glances.
"Well, how does Kyle Andrew Ivanov-Hiwatari sound?" Tala suggested to the others.
"We wanted to give him the initials K.A.I. to always remind us of him because, in a sense, this little guy is like him coming back to us.
"That sounds perfect!" Max said enthusiastically.
"Yea, why do I see him getting into just as many... situations as Kai? Ray asked jokingly. They all stared at the new baby and felt that a part of the hole in their hearts-Kai's hole-was being filled. True, he would never replace his uncle, but he would bring them final closure.
And above them all, Kai's spirit watched his nephew and grinned. "A new beginning to a sad end."
-----
RTC: (Cries.) It's over! Can anyone believe it? And can anyone believe that I got through this whole fic with a short title and one word chapter titles? (Did anyone even notice that?) Okay, so I'm a bit proud of that, so sue me.
Kai: So, does this mean I'm finally free?
RTC: What do you think?
Kai: (Groans.) Alright, I'll just go back into your brain and sulk.
RTC: So what did everyone think? It's been a very long time since I started writing about these characters, but I think Lizzie and Kari and the others won't be in my writing much anymore, so I'm kinda sad. I don't think I'll be writing anymore long stories-probably just oneshots and I have ideas for two short multi-chaptered fics. I guess I'm too stunned to really write much! I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I liked writing it. Please review! And as always, if you want to keep in touch, feel free to include that in your review or in a PM and I'll give you my email address, okay?
Ray: You can shut up now.
RTC: Great, now this muse cuts me off too. Bye everyone!