Authors notes

okey pokey, well I had grand ideas for this story but the more I read it the more I don't really like it. Ah well, lets see what you guys think. I'm pretty new to Beyblade so if you look closely at some of the issues of timing and such a lot of this doesn't match up. If there's anything glaringly obvious and you have ideas of how it can be better, pweese inform me i'd love to have some feedback and ideas. Zhopais a rude word- I think arsehole but don't quote me. And my sister told me about this Russian saints day thing-crazy the lot of them. Anywho...here we go!

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The Bladebreakers were a team. Every team has an objective and every person on that team has their own place, their own purpose in the scheme of things. It is often not a conscious action, and many people even resist it…but in doing so, do they not simply become another role?

Tyson and Max, they were the ones that kept everything moving. Often with too much confidence, they ploughed their way through life as superstars. Kenny, the Chief, was the brains behind the thing. Always carrying Dizzara, he was forever updating, making sure the rest were as fully equipped as possible. He also tried to instil some concept of strategy in Tyson's brain. Rei, generally in the background but always noticed nonetheless. Put simply, he took care of them; provided a buffer and a shoulder, he offered calm and practical advice. But there were many faces to Rei and he still knew how to have a good time. Kai, well, he was Kai. He somehow held them all together and directed the team's mad rush to brilliance to make it somewhat more stable. Without him they were just a bunch of kids who had some skill at blading.

You see? Everyone has a part to play, but sometimes, when people are not always who they pretend to be, it's not quite as simple. And that is when things start to fall apart.

Kai

Of all the people in this newly formed team, Kon is the only one who acts remotely his age. Probably had something to do with growing up in an isolated village I suppose. The rest I would happily jack-knife into pieces. And believe me, I have the capacity.

Currently, I am leaning against the wall in the main room of the hotel we are staying at, trying to keep my cool. After years at the Abbey, I have become used to total efficiency from myself and others, or else. So, as you can imagine, the fact that Granger isn't even up yet is really starting to rattle my chain. Tate is laughing at something he mumbles sleepily, but he can hardly talk. Last time I saw him, blondie was walking around half in his pajamas, half out and with his hair looking like it had not been brushed for months. The Kenny kid is slumped at the table, eating some kind of cereal.

It is nine am, and I am still not training. There will be blood shed soon, I swear it.

I step into the dark room, noticing that it has already been converted into a pigsty. Walking up to the bed, Tate falls silent and steps away. He is still . not . dressed.

"Get your clothes on right now or I will personally rip your tongue out. And then I will make you eat it."

Sounds implausible, hm? It's not. They taught us at the Abbey. As I recall, Tala has a particular gift for it. Though that may be because he enjoys it so much. (As a side note, having a sadistic psychopath as my best friend is actually rather entertaining. It makes for interesting games of trivial pursuit back in Russia. Don't ask.)

Anyway, back to the babysitting that is my life until further notice.

Seizing the covers, I pull them swiftly off the lump on the bed. It squeals and shouts something about cold.

Cold? You want cold, try jumping in freezing cold water, in the middle of winter, in Russia because it's a saints day. You don't know the meaning of cold, you worthless slug.

I tell him so. I also tell him that if he does not get up this instant, I will teach him the meaning of cold by filling a bath with water and ice, dropping him in it and holding him under until about five seconds before he dies. I will then lock him outside naked.

He gets up quick after that and I retire once again to the main living area. Kon has put all the breakfast things on the table, which should speed things up a bit, and is cleaning his and Kenny's bowls.

"Are you having breakfast, Kai?" I just glare at him for a few moments.

"I've already had it." He nods and puts away the now clean and dry bowls.

Actually, I have already run around the block a few times, had a shower, got completely ready and then had breakfast. All before seven thirty. Considering that, I'm quite surprised that I was so civil to him, if you don't count the tone of my voice, which was far less than "civil". I stand by the door, arms folded and watch as the rest of the pack file in for food. After several, disgusting minutes they're finished and we head outside. At last.

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I can't do this, I really can't. Not without seriously injuring anyone, anyway. Little bastards, lazy, no good zhopas…I could go on but the words in my head at the moment are a bit more colourful. My fists and jaw are clenched and I can feel a raging headache starting just behind my eyes. I have just witnessed the worst training session of my life and I really need to hit something. The hotel has a gym down in the basement. Nobody ever really goes there and, the piece de resistance, it has a punch bag. Holy mother of God, I am in heaven.

It's dark, most of the light bulbs have blown and nobody has been here to notice, and there are no windows. I step towards the punch bag in the middle of the room. It is connected to the ceiling by a thick chain, so I know I can give it all I've got if I want.

The first punch releases a little of the tension in me and I am relieved when I sink back once again into the familiar rhythm of my martial arts training. I'm growing calmer, but I am still angry and dangerously so now that I'm letting go of control a little. I hear someone come down the basement steps, and without breaking pace I decide that it's Kon. He is calm and pleasant when he speaks to me. Neutral.

"I think it concedes."

I glance at him questioningly.

"The bag."

I give it one final punch that makes the pin in the ceiling creak ominously and turn to him, crossing my arms across my chest.

"What do you want Kon?"

"Rei."

"What?"

" My name's Rei."

Ok, he's irritating me now. I go back to punching. He doesn't react, just sits on a bench by one wall, watching. Now that is another thing to add to the long, long list of things I cannot stand. I can't have people watching me when I was expecting to be alone. Their presence is like ants crawling over my skin.

Soon I am standing over him, towering over him since he is still seated.

"What do you want Kon?"

He isn't fazed. I don't know whether to be pissed off, but since I am anyway I may as well keep it up. He is leant back slightly, leaning on his hands with his legs crossed and he looks so relaxed I find myself wondering what it would take to intimidate this kid.

"Mr Dickenson wants a word; he wants to know how things are going with training and all." I snort slightly.

"Incidentally, how is training going do you think?"

I look at him coldly for a few minutes. That doesn't make him run away or even flinch so I resign myself to answering.

"Crap. I would have imagined you would be able to tell that."

This kid is ok; he knows the meaning of discipline even if only in a fairly liberal, olde worlde sense. At least he does what I tell him, and quite well at that. It's the other two I could rip to shreds right now. He shrugs.

"Seemed alright to me. Though I can see how the way we act could get on your nerves."

We? I don't mind you! Unless you're being irritating of course, like you are now. Instead of saying anything, I use the towel I brought with me to dry the sweat on my body and slip my shirt back on. I walk past him up the stairs and he follows almost silently.

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"Hey Kai! Pass the salt would you?"

I keep eating; there's no way I'm gonna reply to that.

"Kai? KAI!!" Argh, I think my eardrums just burst!

Suddenly a forearm reaches across my plate, lightly tanned and with white bindings wrapped around it.

"Here you go, Ty."

"Gee, thanks Rei. It's nice to know some people are considerate." Don't try sarcasm kid, you don't pull it off.

"Hey, Maxie, why don't we go to that fair tomorrow?"

"Yeah! Lets go after lunch. You guys up for it?" He looks around hopefully and he's surprisingly cute when he does that. They spend a few minutes coaxing Kenny into it, helped by Rei.

"Yeah, it'll be fun. Come on Chief, you can help me make sure these guys don't eat too much sugar."

"Yeah, alright." He looks up towards me now, I'm not sure whether to glare at his glasses or where I estimate his eyes should be.

"Kai, you want to come?"

"No."

"But Kai-"

"I said no."

Suddenly another, kindly voice cuts in.

"Now, now Kai. I for one think it would be a good idea. Team bonding as such. "

As If I don't have enough to worry about, the most important man in professional Beyblading has just walked through the hotel room door behind me.

"With all due respect Mr Dickenson, I'm not going." I can but try.

"And why not?" Why not? Because I'm not five. Hell, I didn't go to funfairs even when I was five. I'm about to say no again when I see the look on his face. When Mr Dickenson has that look, you know he'll just carry on until you give in to anything. I may as well just get it over with. I can bugger off by myself anyway.

"Whatever."

"Good, but remember that you all have to stick together."

Crap

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Ok, so right now I'm stood in my usual pose, watching the spawns of hell jump and skip onto a ride guaranteed to make the computer nerd throw up. Blondie shoved his candy floss into my hand before I could refuse and now it's sticky and the sickly smell of far too much concentrated sugar is wafting up to my face. The smells of greasy food and unwashed bodies mix with it and the hundreds of colours mix and swirl before my eyes until it seems as though this is a psychedelic dreamland where all the vendors are actually monsters in disguise and at twelve o'clock each night, the whole place is alive with satanic laughter.

The ride starts with a doubtful grinding sound and Kenny is gripping the handle bar in front of him as though the little scrap of metal can save him from certain death. I could say I would miss them, but I avoid lies wherever possible. My sadistic thoughts are echoed when a voice behind me states,

"I have first dibs on Dizzara." I'm not even going to honour that with a reply. Then I smirk.

"Fine. I get Dragoon."

"Deal."

Rei comes to stand in front of me, grinning slightly. Then he sobers up, glancing worriedly up at the screaming brats on the ride.

"How do you think we're getting on? Are we improving at all?"

Not really. Wait, no, he is. And I suppose Max is getting slightly better too. And I suppose Tyson is at least giving it a go now… They're all up on time now…What the hell?! What's wrong with me?

"You are." Too nice. "A little." He cracks a smile.

"That's good to know, I suppose. So you're not completely dismayed at my poor skills then?"

He's teasing, that's obvious. But then, there is just a little glimpse of insecurity. I should just give him one of my non committal answers, since the last thing we need is for him to get as pig headed as Tyson. But I can't; he is a good blader. I've seen better and he could do better himself with more training but when he reaches his potential he will be a pretty dangerous opponent. So I shrug.

"You're a fine blader, Kon. Just keep up with training and do what I tell you and I can guarantee success."

"You know Kai, that's the most you've ever said to me in one go." As I glare at him, he just shrugs it off, walks over to Kenny, who is kneeling to one side and rubs his back as he throws up, just as I predicted.

Granger's voice cuts into my head painfully.

"Dodgems! Come on guys." He and Max run off with Kenny following slowly. They're joking about and slapping each other on the back as they run off to the ancient, gaudy ride. The whole place is like it; old and rusty, repainted countless times. It evokes images of blurry, laughing faces spinning forever and ever; the people and the paint jobs change but it is essentially all the same. Perhaps, when I was younger, I saw the magic in these places too but now I see only run down old death traps, for lukewarm terror.

"You look as bored as I feel."

"Hn."

We talk all day, or rather he talks. I don't know why, but we no longer annoy each other; perhaps because I no longer expect him to shut up and he no longer expects an answer. After a while I actually become interested and though I still don't talk much, I know he can tell that I'm interested. He's actually quite funny and I laugh a couple of times. This is very different from my friendship with Tala and Brian, which is more to do with a mutual will to survive and a shared hatred of everyone else than anything. But we're friends. Yeah, I do have friends, and they're great. Though I admit that we're not on the best of terms at the moment.

Soon, we all head home and, surprisingly, I had a pretty good time.

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Over the next few weeks, I begin to see Rei as a team mate rather than someone I have to baby sit. For a start, he knows how to take care of himself. He is filled with enthusiasm for the sport and his own improvement in that field, which I always appreciate in people. But he isn't just out to better himself; he works to aid the team. In this short time, he has become a bit of a parent to the younger ones; he breaks up fights and soothes hurts with just a few words. I have often heard Kenny remark that even his presence is calming. As for me, he has become someone who I often spend time with. He and I are the two adults, taking care of the children. Well, in my case beating some sense into them but that's irrelevant.

The other day, I was putting my coat on when Max asked where I was going. I impatiently told him my plans of taking a walk through the park. Then Rei got up from the sofa and announced that he would go with me; he was tired of being cooped up inside. I warned him that it was raining, the very reason that he was inside in the first place, but he just looked at me strangely and said he would wear a coat.

I shrugged; whatever he wants to do is no problem of mine. So off we went, we walked in silence and it was comfortable. He didn't seem to mind that I was anti social and didn't want to talk. When we came to the large pond, he stopped me with a hand on my arm. I jumped slightly but he didn't notice as he had already turned away. Then he produced a plastic bag from his pocket and I realised he had brought bread. I arched my eyebrow slightly and even I was put off to hear the mocking tone of my voice.

"Feeding the ducks?"

Of course, as per usual, he didn't even blink an eyelid; just started tearing bits of bread off the soggy, rain clogged lump in his hand.

"Yep. What's your favourite animal Kai?"

Where did that come from?

"Uh, why?"

"I'm just interested. There's no need to be so anti social, you know."

For the first time ever he sounds frustrated, moody even. I don't really know what to make of this and I figure that it can't hurt.

"Phoenix, for obvious reasons. But I also like wolves and similar animals like mountain lions. One of the reasons I like wolves is because they remind me of someone."

He paused for a moment in throwing the bread but then carries on, if a bit slower.

"Mine's cats. Again for obvious reasons. There's a bit of a theme going on in my village for tigers so I suppose it's inevitable."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why is there a theme?"

Suddenly, he laughs and when he turns around, there is such affection in his eyes I swallow hard. He looks so happy and serene, even with the rain lashing his coat and his exposed legs and water dripping from stray strands of hair.

"You're kidding, right? You're not. Oh Kai, are you blind or something? Look." He pulls the hood of his coat back a little and fingers one of his small pointed ears. Then it all fits together in my head. The ears, the teeth, the feline features. Holy shit, he's a cat!

Wait a minute, I've heard about this. Neko jin; part cat. He's chuckling and I imagine the look on my face is priceless. Suddenly, I hear him laugh loudly and realise with horror that I accidentally spoke my thoughts. Specifically 'kick me if I'm wrong but I thought cats didn't like water'

"Part cat, you idiot. Honestly, humans." He's just teasing me, I know. I snort.

"Come on, lets get back before they set the place on fire or something." He throws the remainder of the bread into the pond and follows. He's slightly shorter and I have without thinking started walking my quick stride so I slow down. That way he doesn't have to almost run to keep up. We must make a strange pair, if only because we are walking through the muddy park in the pouring rain. I taller, in a thick black coat, hands jammed into my pockets and head down, he shorter, in a paler coat with his hood thrown back as he allows the rain to beat on his upturned face and soak his hair. He is smiling happily, content in the world and I feel a pang of sadness that I do not seem to be able to achieve that. But then I'm happy that I am here to witness this moment, which is surely so important though for what reason I'm not sure. In this moment, beneath the dripping trees and with the beat of the rain in the background I smile and am content to be here, with Rei.

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We have many more moments like that and I come to crave his company, though I will not admit it to myself. Not yet.

At the moment, it is late at night and he is curled up on the sofa next to Max after watching a movie with the guys. They are sat around, talking quietly. I hear Max.

"Look guys, he's so sweet." It's true. Rei is curled up on his side, propped up on pillows and with his hands loosely fisted in front of his face. One touches the very tip of his nose while the other rests against his lower lip. He really looks like a cat right now, especially with his long hair in its binding curled around his feet. I don't want to wake him but he can't sleep here all night…

"Max, give me a hand." He scrambles up behind me. I slip my arms beneath Rei's shoulders and knees, shift him slightly. "Put his head on my chest. That's it." I know I'm being unusually civil but I don't want to wake Rei.

I stand slowly and he shifts in my arms, grips my shirt sleepily with one hand and mumbles something in Chinese. I step carefully over the kids on the floor and Max rushes forwards to open the door to his room. I nod at him in thanks. Gently, I place the boy in my arms on the bed. He takes a deep breath and then settles down. I spend a few frustrating minutes trying to open his traditional tunic, since it won't be comfortable to sleep in. Then my hands are brushed away and Kenny efficiently undoes the complicated clasps. I slip it from his shoulders, leaving him in only his trousers. I then lift the cover over him and he curls up beneath them, for all the world a little cat. Then, I feel an uncontrollable smile bubble up inside me as he quietly purrs. I'd had no idea he could do that but it was absolutely adorable. Brushing a hand over his forehead, I whispered.

"Goodnight Kitten."

Closing the door behind me, I ran a hand through my hair.

"Bed time, children." Without a word they got up and moved to their respective rooms. As Max closed the door I heard, as always,

"Goodnight Kai."

He always said it, but he had long since stopped waiting for an answer. Without turning I said, quietly,

"Goodnight Max."

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