A/N: Hey guysss. Next chapter. Woo! Don't forget to review if you like/don't like/are hungry!

Chapter Eight

There was banging. Why was there banging? And a voice. Where was he? There was banging and shouting and a room he did not recognise, and on top of that it was dark.

"Wuzza wugh?" Said Kai's brain, trying to fit everything together and failing.

"Wake up, wake up! Training time!"

It was Tyson. He was gleeful.

"Sonofabitch." Said Kai's brain, remembering the previous evening. Tyson as acting leader. Celebrating the team's reunification with alcohol and awkward silences. Being persuaded to stay over the night, since it was so late.

"I'm co-o-o-o-ming in!" Sheesh, he was practically singing now. He burst through the door as Kai was extracting himself from the fold-out bed in yesterday's crumpled clothes. He tried to glare at the fuzzy, bouncy ball of energy in front of him, but his tired eyes were only able to squint in the sudden light. All in all, he was thoroughly dishevelled.

"Daaaw, Kai! You're so cute when you're still asleep!"

Ignore, ignore. Can't murder him on the second day.

"What time is it?" He said hoarsely, trying to direct overhanging hair away from his face. It didn't work. He felt like Sadako from The Ring. Only blue and far more annoyed.

"Training time! Off you go, Kai, twenty laps 'round the block, and then we'll see about some crunches."

The groan this statement elicited was luckily absorbed by a yawn. Tyson would not get that satisfaction. Instead he nodded and lurched off outside. Tyson followed, watching him from the dojo entrance and flashing a mocking thumbs-up every time he passed. It didn't seem like any of the others were awake yet. This was obviously special treatment intended just for Kai.

By the twelfth thumbs-up he was in serious pain. His legs were heavy from the last ambitious jog undertaken, and a night on the ancient Granger family futon (springs shot to hell from Tyson and Max jumping on it, undoubtedly) had killed his back.

God, did he really used to do this every day? Haha, poor Tyson. Kai remembered how angry the other boy used to be during their morning sessions. He could sort of sympathise now that the roles were reversed.

Double take – him, sympathise with Tyson? The notion made him recoil. He didn't want to be like that. Loud and undisciplined and way, way too upbeat about every damn thing.

Funny; it was probably a blessing in disguise. Tyson's obvious revenge tactic might have irked him at first, but it was almost certainly a good thing that he was being such a slave driver. An insurance policy, if you like, on Kai's pact with himself. Tyson wouldn't let Kai get away with giving up. And talk about motivation – every lap pushed him a little closer to attaining his previous level and a little further from being the kind of softy who could empathise so easily with Tyson. Shudder.

By now, his lungs were acerbic and muscles torn like so much over-stretched fabric. It was getting hard to articulate any thought beyond 'Ow'. Come on, Kai, bring it on. Remember this pain? You used to love it. It was your world. Pure life ripping its way through your veins. More pain meant more life, and he pushed through to embrace it like he once had.

The grim enjoyment clearly showed. Tyson glowered and, winded though he was, Kai found the breath to chuckle. Only eight more to go.

He spent breakfast trying not to vomit from all the exercise. Apart from being embarrassing, it would have killed the mood a bit, which this morning was showing signs of improvement. Max and Tyson were having a pancake-eating contest while Rei, laughing light-heartedly, barely managed to fry them in time (let alone make some for anyone else) and Kenny stood torn between joining in and telling them off. No-one noticed Kai nurse his black coffee, lifting it to his lips just to inhale the life-restoring aroma. Which was fine.

Eventually a pancake ceasefire was declared, and the bustling kitchen settled down.

"So what's the plan, Boss?" said Max.

Tyson leant back in his chair, surveying them over arched fingers.

"Hmmmm..."

"It's Nationals in a month, Ty." Rei reminded him.

"Training, you say?"

"Well, I meant we'll have to submit paperwork for that soon."

"Very well, young Rei, training it is!"

"Er, Tyson I-"

"First I reckon we need to see where Kai is at."

"Okaaay, well I guess that sounds sensible. What did you have in-"

"Battle Royale!"

"A four-way battle? Seriously?" Kai said, deadpan.

"Yeaah, Battle Royale!"

It was a bloodbath. Only metaphorically. Or so Kai thought, until his beyblade was knocked out (first again, damn it) and cut his hand as he caught it.

The Chief dragged him inside as the others continued battling and insisted on dressing the incredibly minor wound in a proper manner. So Kai was made to sit on a chair in the kitchen holding out his hand like a five year old, hearing the whoops and shouts outside while Kenny sorted through a first aid kit.

"This might sting a bit." He warned, dabbing with an antiseptic swab. For such a small cut, it hurt like a bitch, but Kai watched unflinchingly as the younger boy wiped away dirt and drying blood. When it was clean, he cut an elastoplast to size and with gentle pressure pressed it to Kai's palm.

"Kenny." Kai held onto the boy's hand, stopping him from turning away as he finished. He looked past the thick spectacles and hair, into what he hoped was the region of his eyes. "Thanks." Swallowing thickly, Kai hoped it was sincerity rather than unease the Chief would see. As leader, he had never really acknowledged the non-beyblading portion of their team, but granted a fresh start he wanted to change that. Kenny was clever and helpful and his forgiveness was worth as much as that of the others.

"You're welcome, Kai."

Kai let go of his hand, and they went back outside together.

Emerging back into the bright courtyard they could see the battle was finally over, and Tyson was throwing punches at the air while the other two lay tired in the sun.

"Aha! He returns! Let's go again!"

"Aww come on Tyson, give it a rest. You won, already." Max said, stretching out.

"I know; I'm waiting for you guys to get your game on! I ain't even breaking a sweat yet!"

Rei waved a hand nonchalantly, not opening his eyes.

"Hey, I'm team leader! You can't shoo me. Besides, Kai's holding out on us."

It was true; Kai had not been faring well at all. The poor performance was likely down to fatigue and the fact that facing three world champion finalists wasn't an easy task for anyone, or so he reasoned, but there was still a feeling of deeper dread in his gut.

He smiled and tried to ignore it.

"That I am, Tyson."

"Come on then, bro! Let's see some Fiery Chicken Badassery!"

Kai resisted the tugging at the corners of his mouth. Where did he come up with this stuff?

"Patience. You need strong foundations to build a house, and you need sound fundamentals to be a pro. And I'm not just referring to myself."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"He's calling you lazy!" Rei shouted, not even pretending that this was a quick break anymore and actually sunbathing.

"More complacent." Kai arched an eyebrow. "And maybe not just him."

"Oh snap! Rei, you gonna take that?"

Rei stuck out his tongue and unbuttoned his shirt. "You two have fun smashing each other to pieces. Kitty needs to work on his tan. Gosh, it is nice to not have so much responsibility for once."

Kai rolled his eyes. Nationals in a month? They were doomed.

The next few matches went much the same way. That is to say, badly.

"Not good enough! Drop and give me forty!" Tyson grinned.

Daylight was waning and Rei had covered up again in a black pullover. Watching from the porch that overlooked the courtyard, a little incredulously, as without objection the blue-haired boy obeyed and sank to the ground. Kenny poked his head out of the door to the house (where he and Max were taking their turn to make dinner) to see how things were progressing in the fading evening light, and he too stopped at the very strange sight.

"I take it back, Rei." He said, troubled. "This is lunacy. He's gone mad with power."

"Bit of an exaggeration, Chief, but I hear you." He waved and signalled Tyson over. "Don't you think you're being a bit harsh?" The Neko-jin asked when he'd jogged over.

"What?" Tyson turned and all three of them stared from the doorway at the young man working against the earth, alone in the night. "Naah. I don't think so? He used to do this sort of thing to me all the time, remember?"

"His arms are properly shaking." Max whispered to them through the adjacent kitchen window.

"It was sort of funny at first, but I think we've gone too far." Rei said, trying not to be patronising. "For all we know he's going along with it as a sort of self-punishment, and that's not healthy."

The colour drained from Tyson's face. Obviously, he thought it was only a bit of a game. He hadn't intended to bully anyone.

"Aw man, I feel like a douche."

The blonde leaned further out the window to pat him, unleashing a cloud of condensation at the same time. "Don't sweat it. But dinner's almost ready, why don't you all come inside and we can forget about it?"

"'Kay." A dejected nod. "I'll go get him."

The others left and Tyson approached the sole remaining occupant of the courtyard, his expression guilt-ridden.

"What... have you done... now?" Kai asked breathlessly, between push-ups. The pre-emptive question knocked Tyson out of an apparent reverie.

"Huh? No, nothing."

Kai snorted, and wasn't going to say anything else on the matter except that Tyson was still standing there wringing his hands and trying to broach some subject or other.

"Well, what?"

"Er, Kai, stop that for a minute, would ya?"

"Negative Captain, still got... another 15 to do." Subtle mockery but Tyson had something else on his mind, and either didn't notice or didn't care.

"Come on, Kai."

Nope, Kai thought. He was in the zone, and he was pretty sure that if he stopped the endorphins would wear off and his arms would crap out.

"As leader, I demand that you stop and talk to me a sec."

Here we go.

"Oh... well if you demand it..." He did two more rebellious push-ups, and then rolled onto his back, folded his arms, and fixed Tyson with an upside-down stare. It was partly bravado and partly because he was about to seize up.

"Look, it's..." He went red. He actually blushed. "I'm sorry. It was childish to make you do all this. I know it must be hard to try and pick it all up again after quitting for so long, and I realised I'm just being bitter and stupid."

"Don't feel sorry for me." Kai snapped, with more venom than he'd meant. Poor Tyson looked taken back. Kai rolled back onto his stomach and resumed the push-ups where he'd left off, muscles in vehement agony.

"I just want us to be friends again. You don't have to do that..." Tyson trailed off, confused that his apology had gone so wrong.

"I do if I want to be good. You were right, whether you meant it or not. I need to be better."

"Um, but food is up..."

"I'll be right there." He said curtly.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his captain reluctantly slope off. So what if his feelings were hurt? The ends justify the means. Kai was determined to give this his all, for the good of the team.