Title: Change the World
Author: Megan G. aka Toady-chan
Rating: T (may rise to M later on)
Genre: Romance/Action/Adventure
Series: Bakuten Shoot Beyblade
Pairing(s): Kai/Rei, Takao/Max, One-sided MOC/Rei
Summary: Rei is crushing on Kai, but is too shy to declare his feelings. Then something happens that stirs up... well, everyone, and lives are in danger. Will it be too late, or will love prevail?
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except unrecognizable characters such as Hisato Aizawa.
Notes/Warnings: Shounen-ai, language, violence.
Status: Incomplete

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Change the World
Chapter I
Fangirls and Sunsets

A mass of ebony-coloured hair captured the lithe frame of a young teenage male who was sleeping quite soundly. If one listened closely they would be able to hear a quiet purring sound emanating from the figure, who also had a small smile upon his lips. As the minutes slowly passed the sun began to take control of the sky, sending the moon and the stars on their way, and once it had detached itself from the horizon its rays sought to awake the boy. Shining through the open window and engulfing the teenager inside, it fulfilled its morning duty as eyes as equally golden as the sun itself fluttered open blearily.

For a few more moments the teen lay on his stomach, the way he had woken up, adjusting to the light and the fact that he would have to leave the warm embrace of his bed. Yawning widely and revealing his feline-like fangs to the waking world, he slowly rolled over onto his back and sat up, pushing the loose hair out of his face and behind his pointed ears. As he stood up and stretched, the persistent rays of the morning sun explored every inch of the lean body it could reach: the tanned skin, the tensing muscles beneath it, every curve reachable that wasn't hidden by a pair of black silken boxers with the image of a white kitten sewn on the side.

Glancing at the clock he noted it read just after six in the morning, his usual waking time. He never quite understood why he was always up so early, it just seemed to be in his nature; though, given the chance, he'd have little naps throughout the day.

The golden-eyed boy ran a hand through his knee-length tresses, which he had been growing since he was little, before striding over to the window. Crossing his arms on the ledge, he gazed at the golden sunrise with his eyes that rivalled its beautiful hue. He allowed his mind to wander, ignoring his messy hair for the moment as the breeze played with the dark, silky mass.

His thoughts brought him to a month ago when he was in Russia for the beyblading world championships with his four teammates. Flashes of his battle with a certain lavender-haired boy with pale skin danced in his head. Thinking back on it, he remembered that it hurt like hell. It surprised him that he actually pulled off the win; Boris was one tough opponent, but he thanked every god or goddess or holy being he could recall for it. This also made him think of how, currently, if he moved a certain way a surge of pain would course through his body. He assumed it to be a remnant of the damage, but he kept it to himself, not wanting the others to worry about him. And honestly, he didn't much like hospitals, so he tried his best to avoid them unless absolutely necessary.

Shaking his head lightly to rid him of those thoughts, the boy went to his dresser to pull out his clothing for the day. Satisfied with his usual attire—a Chinese-styled tunic with a red sash and baggy black pants—he walked into the bathroom adjoined his bedroom. He laid the clothing on the countertop and picked up his hair brush to set to work on the task of taming his long hair. He stared back at the golden, feline-like eyes in the mirror, running the brush with great skill through the knotted strands, thinking about where they were now and why they were there.

He and his teammates were currently residing in a mansion, though he wasn't sure why; perhaps just to make them more comfortable, but he would have been comfortable enough in a hotel room. Though, that would probably cost more money than just having them stay in a home that was already owned by the man that had invited them there in the first place.

It made him feel rather uneasy not having his beyblade at hand, but he tried to push it away. Daitenji-san had explained to them how he had been good friends with Aizawa Hisato, a man he used to work with and hadn't seen in a very long time. The two of them had worked closely in a high-tech lab, designing and developing better and better beyblades, when the lab had been forced to close down due to financial issues, and the developing partners went seperate ways in search of better work. When they met up again, Daitenji-san was thrilled. Hisato had asked Daitenji-san if he would be allowed to do some research on the BBA Revolution's beyblades, telling him in great detail how very interested he was in them. Daitenji-san had agreed in his joy, though the nekojin would have preferred their mentor ask them first. Something about that man didn't feel right to the boy, especially the way he treated him; Hisato seemed to favour him out of the rest of his team, paying more attention to him than the others, as well as giving him the largest bedroom.

So far they had been here, in Canada¹, for three days. The rest of the team didn't seem to mind, albeit the captain didn't seem thrilled, but did anything ever excite him? Apparently the tests would take three weeks at most. That seemed like an awfully long time to him, but Kyouju would have said something if that wasn't normal, considering he knew more about technology than the rest of them.

The golden-eyed boy realized that he had been in thought a rather long time, and his hair was smooth and completely knot-free. Tying his red yin-yang bandana across his forehead, he contemplated what to do with his hair. Remembering they were to go out and around town today, he decided it best to put his hair in its usual white wrap to keep it tamed. After that task, he set about to complete his usual morning routine.

.x.

A light knock at the bedroom door sounded, causing the raven-haired boy to start. His eyes flitted to the clock, before tilting his head to the side in a curious manner at the door. Since when was anyone else, aside from Kai, awake before nine o'clock? It was only just after seven-thirty.

"Rei? Are you awake?" came the unmistakable voice of the blond member of the team.

"Yeah, I'm awake," the nekojin said, as he ventured to the door and opened it for his friend. "What are you doing up so early, Max?"

"Well, I didn't sleep that well last night, and with Takao snoring I just couldn't get back to sleep once I woke up." Max explained before smiling. "But, hey, now I can help you make breakfast!"

"I'd appreciate the help," Rei smiled back, before thinking over what the blue-eyed blond had said. Raising an eyebrow, a small knowing smile forming, he asked the question even though he already knew the answer. "How did Takao's snores reach your room?"

"Well... er..." he fumbled, a pink tint creeping its way across the soft skin of his freckled cheeks.

"It's okay, I know." the ebony-haired boy chuckled and winked at him. Max and Takao had an apparently secret relationship going, and Max had slept in Takao's room last night. It wasn't that hard to figure out, with all the little looks they gave each other.

"You know? Was it that obvious?"

"Just a little. But it's no big deal." he smiled reassuringly at the blond boy. "Shall we make some breakfast?"

His only response was a nod and a smile as the blush slowly left Max's face.

.x.

The occupants of the kitchen were silent, though the kitchen was not. Honey eyes scanned the contents of cupboard after cupboard above the counter, releasing them carelessly which resulted in a banging noise. The sound was doubled as baby blue eyes done the same with the lower cupboards.

"Hmm... How about some eggs, bacon, and toast?" Rei asked, standing in front of the large fridge with an egg in his hand.

"Sounds good to me." Max nodded and went to get the bread.

A little while later, while the raven-haired of the two was frying an egg and his companion was tending to the bacon, the blond spoke up.

"Hey, uh, Rei?"

"Hm?" he replied simply, not taking his eyes off of the eggs as he flipped one.

"Well, um... Do you... you know, like Mao?" this caught Rei off guard and he looked quizzically at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you like Mao? Like, in a love way." Max asked curiously, meeting the amber gaze.

"Er, I don't really like girls like that." the ebony-haired boy replied, the pink blush returning for a second visit, though this time upon slightly darker flesh, as he turned his head back to the food.

"Hey, you know that's okay with me, buddy!" the blue-eyed boy said with a big smile as he patted the other on the back. "So, do you have a crush on anyone?"

At this, Rei couldn't help but worry his friend was turning into another Takao. Instead of answering, the pink colouration deepened, and the other teenager just pressed on.

"Who then? Lai? Kiki? Gao?" Max blinked after he repeated the last two and couldn't suppress an odd face which made Rei laugh.

"No, none of them."

"Hmm..." the blond thought more, completely forgetting about the bacon. "Don't say Chief."

"Not him, either." Rei laughed again, and pointed out the fact that if his friend didn't flip the bacon over now it would burn.

They both went back to cooking, the nekojin popping the bread into the toaster just before the eggs were ready and while the bacon cooled. Max arranged the plates, cutlery, and napkins, while Rei buttered the toast and followed him to the table shortly afterwards.

"I wouldn't think you the type." the blond said suddenly, lips holding a sly smirk, which was almost scary to see on the usually hyper boy.

"The type? The type to what?" Rei blinked at the other confusedly.

"The type to fall for the broody kind."

The golden-eyed boy was sure he turned a hundred shades of red at that and looked away, distracting himself by getting glasses for the orange juice.

"I got ya! It's Kai you like!" Max exclaimed as he bounded into the kitchen after his blushing friend, acting more like his usual self.

"Shh! I'd rather you didn't tell the whole household, thank you." Rei said in a voice just above a whisper as if to emphasize how important it was to be kept quiet.

"Sorry. But still, I think you two would make a cute couple! You just have to make the right moves. Kai's a tricky one."

"How am I supposed to know if he's even into guys? For all I know, he could have his sights set on some girl that could make him happier than I ever could." Rei said, sounding disheartened as he flopped into one of the chairs in the dining room.

"Well, for starters, you don't think like that." the blond said as he rubbed his friend's back. "We'll find a way, trust me."

At the reassuring smile Max gave him, he couldn't help but feel slightly better. Leave it to the blond to make the best out of any situation.

'I wonder what would be the bright side of a situation where you were stranded on an island at sea? ...Wait, he'd probably say how he wouldn't have to go far for a swim on a hot day.' Rei mused, chuckling to himself at that.

.x.

Breakfast was eerily quiet that morning. At least, Rei thought it was. At one point he and Kai had made eye contact, and it was difficult for the nekojin to keep his blush hidden. After that, all sound seemed to cease existence. Currently, he was back in his temporary bedroom, reading a book he had brought—until he was interrupted, that is.

"Hey, Rei, you in there, buddy?" was heard after a couple of knocks on the door.

"Yeah. It's open, Takao." the golden-eyed boy responded, as he placed his bookmark back in his book and sat up, the door then opening to reveal the navy-haired 'blader.

"The car is here that's gonna take us into town. Meet you downstairs?" said boy informed.

"All right, I'll be there in a second." And with that, the door was closed once again.

Rei glanced at his clock before standing up and stretching, noting it was the exact time the car was to be arriving; he hadn't even realized what time it was. Opening the door and leaving his quiet retreat, he strode down the hallway and down the stairs, his bare feet silent on both the hardwood and carpeted floors. He was greeted by smiles on Max and Takao's faces, Kyouju nowhere to be seen, and Kai leaning against the wall beside the door in his usual arms-crossed, eyes-closed stance.

"Chief's waiting for us in the car." the blond informed as Rei reached the bottom.

He nodded and went over to the mat by the door where their shoes were kept and slipped his own on. Trying as hard as possible not to stare at the captain, he ventured outside after the rest of his team. The car wasn't what he had expected, and he had to blink to make sure it was really there: a black stretch limo waited for them in the driveway. It looked brand new by the way it shone, and was complete with a friendly-looking male chauffeur smiling and nodding at them from the driver's seat.

"Awesome ride, isn't it?" Takao exclaimed, happily diving into a seat and playing with the sunroof, Max soon to follow.

"It sure is. This just to take us into town?" Rei questioned as he got in, followed by the ever-silent Kai.

The mansion they were staying in was about a ten minute car ride outside of town, surrounded by beautiful land covered in well-kept grass, flowers, and trees.

"Mr. Aizawa did say he wanted us to be as comfortable as possible." the shortest team member reminded them as the vehicle drove down the long driveway, for once not having his laptop open.

"Well, he's got Takao comfortable!" Max laughed, gesturing to the Dragoon keeper, who was halfway out of the sunroof, hooting and hollering.

That was pretty much how the rest of the ride went: Max and Takao goofing off with the sunroof, Kyouju and Rei exchanging some words here and there while admiring the scenery, and the stoic bluenet silent but watching the scenery from his own window.

When they actually got into town, they had the choice of either taking a tour in the limo or going around on foot and being picked up in a couple of hours. They decided it best to go on foot, considering the amount of energy Max and Takao needed to burn off. Roughly an hour had passed, and they had already explored quite a few different places. Rei had to admit, it was quite different in Canada than Japan or China.

Quite suddenly, three high-pitched squeals brought their attention to three girls who were standing a few feet away from them, looking absolutely dumbstruck.

"Am I hallucinating...?" the one with long blonde hair said, mouth gaping open.

"I don't know about you, but I must be in a dream. Somebody pinch me!" exclaimed the tallest one, who had long brunette hair. "Ow! Hey, what was that for?" she said while rubbing her arm and looking at the third girl, who had raven hair.

"You said to pinch you." she shrugged before staring back at where the BBA Revolution stood.

"Um, guys? I think we have a fangirl alert." Takao said, unsure of what to do. They simply remained where they were, rooted to the spot.

"I think there's only one way to see if we're really seeing what I think we're seeing." the blonde said to her friends.

"I agree." the brunette replied.

"Charge 'em?" the dark-haired questioned with a bright smile.

"YEAH!" they all squealed together, and ran at the five teenage boys, who weren't able to move before fangirl speed kicked in and they were attacked. Well, Rei and Kai were, at any rate.

"Oh my god! It's really them! Can I have your autograph!" the tallest one said, blinking her brown eyes in a puppy-dog way at the nekojin, who wasn't sure what to do as the blonde girl was also hanging off him, blinking her own brown eyes in the same fashion.

"Um... All right. But I don't have any—" Rei was cut off in mid-sentence as both of them produced a poster and pen.

Beside the raven-haired boy, Kai was having trouble shaking off the other girl, who was staring starry-eyed at him with her own brown eyes.

"If you don't give me permission to glomp you, I'll do it anyway!" she said in the cutest voice she could muster.

Kai could only get out a "hn", before he was knocked to the ground, being nuzzled by the girl. He easily managed to get her off of him, but she stayed glued in front of him, insisting he give her his autograph.

"If it'll make you go away, fine," he said at last, snatching the poster and pen she held out for him. "What's your name?"

"Naomi." she said in a dreamy tone.

Beside her, the other two were getting as many autographs as they could on anything but their own bodies from Rei. Kai glanced in their direction for a brief moment, a single emotion flitting into his eyes, before being concealed under the mask of his usual pissed-off-ness.

"Megan, right?" the nekojin confirmed, signing the tallest brunette's shirt.

"Yup!"

"And Meg?" he asked the other when he was finished with Megan's shirt, who looked like she was about to faint.

"Yeah!" the blonde, Meg, said in an excited tone.

As soon as he finished with her shirt, she ran to get the captain's autograph and ask him something as Naomi went to get Rei's.

"Does Yuriy really look as hot as he does on TV?" Meg asked while Kai signed a few things for her. At this she received an odd look and no comment. "Can you give me his phone number?" she asked again, completely unfazed by the silence. She only got a somewhat angered "no".

After a few more minutes of talk, squeals, signing, and camera flashes, the three girls were off again down the street, acting almost as if they were drunk. They looked rather strange with shirts, pants, shoes, posters, notebooks, purses, and photos all autographed and being ogled over as they headed for wherever they were going.

"That was rather scary." the ebony-haired boy commented, receiving an agreeing nod from the captain.

"Speak for yourselves." Takao said, looking rather annoyed. The girls had asked for everyone's autograph except Takao's, the blonde even asking Kai to sign Yuriy's name on a few things since he knew him.

The rest of the exploration went rather well, and as if it wasn't inevitable, they ended up at a restaurant the navy-haired of the group had chosen. Actually, none of them seemed to mind, except Kai, but it was hard to tell what he thought of anything. Canadian cuisine was rather good, Rei thought as he took a bite of something called "poutine".²

.x.

It was going on five-thirty in the evening when they got back to their temporary home, and everyone was exhausted. It felt like they explored the whole city, and it was a big city, though whether or not they actually did they weren't sure.

Max and Takao went for a nap, but Rei only heard one door open and close so he wasn't sure if much napping would take place for a little while. Kai went out back to do his own thing, and Kyouju went to the silence of his room, mentioning something about doing some laptop upgrades. Rei was also headed to his room, but once he caught sight of the sun slowly setting, he didn't plan on staying there for long. Grabbing his book, he exited into the backyard and slunk over to a beautiful weeping willow tree, where he nestled himself under it in the dewy grass. He couldn't see any sign of the slate-haired captain, but there was a thick group of trees farther out, so it was possible he was in the solitude of that area.

Setting his attention back on the sunset, it was hard to concentrate on his book at all. The way the colours melted into each other was breathtaking; pastel blues and pinks, purple-blues and orange-reds combined around the golden sun, setting the remaining clouds on fire, the velvety sea of the night sky slowly appearing to douse the flames.

In the dense group of trees, mahogany eyes were studying just how close of a hue the setting sun and a pair of feline eyes belonging to a certain nekojin were. Those eyes... Something about them was just so amazing. Shaking the thoughts out of his mind, the teen turned around and walked further into the trees.

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AN: Well! I'm glad I finally got this chapter revised. I'd just like to say my replies to the ones that reviewed the last chapter of the other version of this fic.

Thanks:

Jay Kamiya: Yes, I do so love that song as well. :3 I'll try and get them together as soon as possible, believe me. I love that stuff as much as you do. XD
Ladyfiction: Yep, 'tis a classic one can never get tired of. And hopefully it'll be better written this time around, y'never know. ;3 ((laughs)) I can just imagine Rei staying up just to watch InuYasha. Ahh, if I can fit that in, I'm gonna. XD
Sarcasmcat: Thank you so much, I really do value your words. I love your stories, even if I don't review them... ((sweatdrop)) I get lazy, I gotta stop doing that. I feel bad afterward, if that counts for anything... XD;
I luv Kai: The wrath of an annoyed teenager with crazy muses isn't good. ((eyes widen)) I would know, for I am one sometimes. Though, I don't have a muse... ;.; I must find one...
Platinum Rei: If you love InuYasha, then you should know it IS InuYasha. XD Mwahah. I'm glad you like it. :D
TigerRain a.k.a Tara: The song is called 'Change the World', this fic is named after it, and it is sung by V6. Yes, hopefully the NeoBorgs/Demolition Boys will be in the fourth chapter... I will attempt to squeeze 'em in there. I already have a plan. ;3
devilburns: Thank you! Sorry it's not soon... It's like, almost a year after you reviewed... ((falls over)) But, I WILL finish this story! ...ONE DAY!
Leiko1: I would be absolutely flattered to have my story on your site—that is, if the offer is still there. ;3 I'm glad you like my story that much. :D
TNTiggris: Well, it's updated now at last! X3 Well, sort of. First chapter revised, then the second chapter will be revised and put up, then the third, and then the fourth shall be written and follow shortly. :3
lakura: Yep, that it is. XD Thank you very much. :D
Zoutou Ivanov: ((wonders what your idea is)) You'll find out in the fourth chapter for sure. ;D ((nods)) I shall continue as fast as my mind and fingers work! ((nods again))
hoggerwarty: (You reviewed the first chapter, but it's still a new review, so HI! XD) In a sense, yes. ;D I'm glad you like it. :3

I thank you all very much for being patient with me (I hope you are, anyway... ((big sweatdrop))) and for just reading my story! I appreciate it all so very much. :D

- Toady-chan

1: I so couldn't help myself. ((cough)) ((lives in Canada))
2: Poutine is the codename us Canadians use for our secret weapons of mass destruction! WE WILL GET YOU! ((cackles)) ((coughs)) Stupidness aside, poutine is a... I think I read it's actually a French thing, but it's yummy food we got over here. It's hot French fries with this really good gravy and cheese curds on them. X3 Gah, now I want some.