I dedicate this story to Sora-chii

The Secret Spring

"Oh Kai. It's beautiful!" Hilary exclaimed with a touch of awe. They had gone into the famed Chūgoku Mountains ranges to the beautiful surrounds of Mount Okura. It was remote enough that they had to use Kai's company helicopter to get there.

The lovely hideaway was a former temple being restored to its heyday glory. Kai looked at it with a satisfied glint in his eyes. It would take awhile for the restoration to be fully completed but it was going to be worth the cost and wait.

His friend and confidant Tala hurried towards them. Tala gave him a slight nod while the others took in the beauty of the surrounds. Kai shared a small smirk with the red haired blader. Everything was in place. Tala hadn't changed much from the youth he had once been. His hair, build and height were the same. And 'just the way' Tala liked it.

Tyson was the first to notice the red headed Russian. "Tala!" he exclaimed happily and charged towards his old friend and rival. The blunette pulled him into a bone crushing hug much to the older bladers discomfit.

Everyone shared a smile and shake of the head. Nothing seemed to have changed. Tyson was still the happy go lucky charming person he had been when he had been when he was a teen. Max, Ray and Hilary followed after the exuberant man more sedately as they went to greet Tala.

Kai stood back a bit and studied the group of people he called friends.

Ray and Max hadn't changed much from the teens they had been physically. Max's blonde hair still stuck out at crazy angles and he grown to a reasonable 5.10" in height. He was still slender but had the physique of a swimmer. Max had matured emotionally and mentally though. He was not as prone to his sugar highs as he once had been.

Ray was still the same confident and contained person he had been years ago. He had grown to be slightly taller than Max at an even 6 feet in height. Unusual considering his Chinese heritage but he as he had pointed out his father had also been unusually tall. He had a lithe fighter's build and the grace of a cat in his movements.

Hilary had turned out into a mature and confident young woman. Not as quick to chastise Tyson for what she had laughingly called his many transgressions as a teen. Her hair was pulled away from her face into a sleek ponytail. With her hair pulled away from her face it gave her a much more relaxed and friendlier look, Kai decided. Her engagement to Kenny had caused a bit of stir amongst the group especially since all of them (excluding Tyson) were aware of how much she had been in love with the blunette. As she had quietly confided to Kai not long ago, it had been very much a one sided affair especially considering who Tyson was 'in love with', that had peaked his curiosity no end. Not that she was unhappy to settle for Kenny she had quickly stated. Kenny was much the better choice and very much the one she could see spending her life with.

Kenny had not been able to come much to their disappointment. He was currently tied up in the Australian arm of the company he worked for. He was going to fly in for a couple of days for a quick catch up before heading off to South Africa with Hilary for another solid months work.

Tyson had not grown much to his dismay and the amusement of his friends. When they teased him about his height he was quick to tell them that good things came in small packages or that it was quality over quantity. He had lost the puppy fat and had turned into quite a striking young man. His navy blue hair now reached to the small of his back and was barely contained by the thick hair tie. His skin had a golden brown tinge to it from hours working in the sun as well as developing muscles.

"C'mon Kai!" Tyson called looking quizzically at the older man. Rolling his eyes slightly Kai went to join the group as they made their way into the main courtyard.

Kai gave his new office an appreciative look. "You've done well Tala. It's better than the plans you presented me with." He said coolly.

Tala shrugged his shoulders slightly. "It was nothing." was the calm reply. Icy blue eyes met crimson squarely.

"Is the onsen finished?" Kai asked quietly as he moved over to the desk, lightly running a hand over the dark mahogany wood.

""The workers are just finishing the clean up this afternoon. It will be ready for use tomorrow. They will begin on the lesser buildings as well." Tala stated eyeing Kai warily.

"Good." Kai replied turning his attention back to the redhead. "Could you please see how the others are settling in and inform them about dinner?"

"Of course." Tala said politely; with a small nod of acknowledgement he walked out the door with relief.

Kai returned his attention back to inspecting the room. The wood panelling on the walls matched the desk and the floorboards. The wallpaper above the panelling was an elegant emerald green. A floor to ceiling bookcase covered the right side of the room. It was only half-filled with books at the moment but would make an impressive showing once it was complete he decided with a small smirk. The newest addition to the room had been the floor to ceiling window behind his desk. The view from it was breath taking and showed the beauty of the mountains surrounds.

A tentative knock on the door made him start slightly. A nervous looking Tyson smiled almost shyly at him from the doorframe. "Hey." He said quietly.

"Tyson." Kai acknowledged taking the opportunity to study the blunette admiringly. It had taken him a while to admit the feelings he had for the younger man were more than platonic and that nothing more could come of it had been hard but he had dealt with it. When the blunette had admitted to his close friends a few months ago that he was gay it had stirred the feelings that had lain dormant for so long. And they wouldn't be denied a second time.

Tyson squirmed under the intense gaze of his former teammate and friend. "Kai?" he asked tentatively. It resulted in the older man snapping out of the daze he had been in. Kai motioned for him to enter the room. Reluctantly he did; this was obviously Kai's special room to escape and work in.

"What seems to be the problem Tyson?" Kai asked him moving to the safety offered behind the desk.

"N-nothing. I just wanted to see if you wanted come for a walk with us. One of the builders Yuki, told us about this great little trail you can follow that leads to this ledge which overlooks the valley below. He says the view is absolutely spectacular." Tyson said excitedly; his eyes glowed with enthusiasm.

Kai hid a smile. Tyson still had the ability to meet new people and make friends instantly he mused. "I'm going to have to decline today. I have some work I need to finish before I can join in." He said regretfully.

"Oh." Tyson said disappointment evident in his voice. "Maybe next time then."

"Yes. Maybe next time." Kai agreed. He saw the sad smile that Tyson gave him. He felt bad. With a small shake of his head to clear the feelings, he walked over to the door and closed it. Time to work.

"He's not coming. He has work to do." Tyson said quietly to his friends. It had been so long since he had seen Kai and now...well it was best not to dwell on it. Pasting a fake smile on his face he said brightly. "Let's go! Yuki said it's a great walk!"

Max, Hilary and Ray shared a smile as they followed the blunette down to the trail. He was still the same old Tyson.

Kai put down the last paper with a heartfelt sigh. It had been a long afternoon but he had finally finished the work that needed to be done before he could 'kick up his heels' as his butler Niles liked to say. The others hadn't returned yet which meant the discussion with Tala would be safe from interruption.

He rang the intercom. "How may I help sir?" Nile's deeply cultured voice rang over the speaker.

"Could you please ask Tala to come to my office Niles? And make sure when the guests arrive back that they are suitably entertained before dinner?" Kai asked distractedly.

"Of course Mr Hiwatari." Nile's replied and the intercom cut out.

Kai had finished his studies at the prestigious University of Cambridge. Through chance he had met Niles and offered him employment. A fiercely intelligent and loyal man, his caustic wit was just the relief Kai needed from the fawning fops that were part of Biovolt Corporation upper management echelons. He was steadily replacing these idiots with people he could trust and rely on to do the job properly instead of worrying about their ridiculously enormous pay packets.

Tala was his right hand man and one of the few people he trusted completely and was the only person he trusted enough to help complete his coup de grace. As the years progressed they had become firm friends.

A polite tap at the door interrupted his musings. "Tala, please come in and shut the door behind you." Kai said quietly. The red head took the initiative and locked the door behind him; Kai nodded approvingly.

"News first." Kai stated calmly leaning back in his chair.

Tala smirked and dropped into the leather armchair in front of the desk. "They settled in quickly and as you would probably know went for a walk. The master builder has informed me that the onsen is ready for use and would like to show you around mid-morning when the crew stop for a break. He would also like to give you a tour of the outer buildings and go over the plans with you."

"Good work Tala. I knew I could count on you." Kai said seriously. "I didn't expect you to be able to get this place on its feet until early next year at the latest."

"Thanks." Tala said squirming a little under the praise. "The master builder informed me that if you had wanted to build anew then it would have taken a lot longer but because you wanted to primarily restore ...Well you can see the results we have had. You picked a magnificent spot. There is no one around for miles."

"It's the reason why I chose it. Very little chance of someone 'accidentally' finding this place." Kai said with a smirk.

"So how are Bryan, Spencer and Ian coping?" Tala asked with an answering smirk.

"Bryan has already managed to intimidate three of the biggest idiots into quitting. One of the more ... outspoken ... managers threatened to hand in his resignation if I didn't get rid of Spencer, because 'he was incompetent and has no understanding of how to run a business'. There was also a near mass exodus of the board when I told them that Ian, Spencer and Bryan were now vital members. I also informed them that you are now the vice president of the company. They hadn't realised that the prat that held the position had offered his resignation because of Spencer and that I had accepted it. You would have loved it. Within a month of making them board members they have managed to turn everything there upside down." Kai's smirk got wider and wider.

"Vice president huh?" Tala said with a groan. "Why couldn't you have made Bryan the vice president?"

"Because you can deal with people in a polite but nasty way. Bryan just tells them were to go and while it may have its uses is not conducive to being a good vice president. Bryan is the new ... relationship manager." Kai stated calmly.

Tala roared with laughter. "Relationship manager? Bryan. Bawhahaha. That's the best thing I have ever heard. You're having a laugh right?"

"No. He's the best person for the job. He will keep them on their toes while I am gone. Bryan's the only one who will be able to keep them at bay while I enjoy a little peace and quiet for awhile. And I thought you may want to have a little 'rest' before coming back to deal with the changes that are going on."

"You're too kind Kai." Tala said after regaining a little control.

It had taken awhile for the former Demolition Boys to become completely comfortable with each other. They were in a weird way like a dysfunctional family. Very dysfunctional, Kai mused. They only trusted each other and knew that they could let their guard down in each other's presence. Tyson had insisted on keeping in contact over the years so the relationships that he had formed with the Bladebreakers hadn't deteriorated. While he didn't get to see these guys as often as he would have liked it meant that now that his position was secure enough he could make time to catch up with them and leave his 'family' to hold down the fort in his absence.

A polite knock at the door had Tala jumping up to unlock it. He opened the door to find Kai's stoic butler Niles. "Dinner is being served gentlemen in the formal dining room." The older gentleman bowed politely before whisking himself away to get the guests.

"Shall we?" Tala asked with a raised eyebrow. With a smirk and a nod Kai followed his friend closing the door on his new office behind him.

Tyson followed his friends into the room quietly. He glanced at Kai feeling self conscious in his new clothes that Hilary had insisted he buy before they left to come here. Tugging slightly at the collar he flushed when Tala shot him an amused glance.

Kai studied the others with interest as they entered. Ray wore a white shirt and black trousers with his black slip on shoes. Instead of the wrap his long black mane was normally in, a neat simple braid hung down his back. Max wore a white shirt with vertical blue stripes as well as dark blue jeans. His blonde hair was as messy as ever. Hilary wore a pretty green maxi dress with white slip on shoes; her hair long brown hair was pulled back into a simple ponytail with two tendrils framing her face.

Kai shifted his attention to the last member of the party as Niles showed them to their seats. Tyson's hair was also pulled back into a braid and judging from the neatness probably either Hilary or Ray had done it. He wore a pale blue shirt with navy pants. It looked really good on him Kai thought admiringly.

"Dinner is served lady and gentlemen." Niles broke through the captive spell that Tyson seemed to have placed on him.

Tala just gave him a knowing smirk before turning his attention to the food being dished up.

"So. You enjoyed the walk then Tyson?" Kai asked quietly after everyone had been served.

"It was fantastic! The scenery was absolutely beautiful too. You and Tala should come with us next time. We thought that we could have a picnic lunch or something out there." Tyson said with enthusiasm, eyes glowing with excitement.

Hilary gave the blader an indulgent smile and turned to ask Tala a quiet question while Max and Ray began to chatter away about their lives. Tyson continued his enthusiastic recount of the afternoon's events between bites of food much to everyone's amusement. Kai used the opportunity to study his younger dinner companion to his hearts content.

A movement out of the corner of his eye made the Russian look up. Ray caught his eye and nodding to Tyson gave him a wink and a smirk. Kai paled a little before recovering and giving the raven haired blader an icy scowl. Tala, Hilary and Max shared a quick smile. Tyson looked around confused at the sudden silence and caught the Russian's scowl.

Embarrassed he became quiet and looked down at his food incorrectly interpreting the irritated look. Alarmed Kai asked the blunette a question about his life only to be met with a monosyllabic answer. Seeing the withdrawn Tyson Hilary quickly asked Kai a question about his life giving the blunette a quick kick underneath the table. He pasted a fake smile on his face and kept his attention on his food. Kai answered the questions from his other companions while shooting Tyson concerned looks.

After dessert had been finished the blunette excused himself and disappeared to his room. With an exasperated sigh Hilary got up and fixed Ray with an irritated look. "Tyson has been a bit sensitive lately for a very good reason. Next time you want to make a dig at Kai do it in private where Tyson won't misinterpret the reasoning. As much as this is all Ray's fault Kai I do recommend you talk to him. Maybe leave it until the morning while I sort him out. And after Kai has finished you need to apologise to him Ray." The brunette said with piercing looks at the pair. Ray squirmed in his seat and agreed reluctantly after she gave him a fierce scowl while Kai clenched his jaw and nodded his understanding.

Hilary stalked out the door while Ray sank low in his seat. Sensing impending problems Max quickly absented himself claiming tiredness. Tala lent back in his chair amused by the drama that was about to unfold. Kai just glared at the Chinese blader, arms folded across his chest.

Ray looked sheepishly at Kai. "Look. I'm sorry about upsetting Tyson but duuude. Tyson? Never saw that coming. " he stated with an evil smirk. Kai paled a little but gave the raven haired blader one of his best death glares.

Tala just snorted with amusement. "That obvious huh?" the red head replied teasingly.

"Stay out of this Valkov." Kai snapped turning to glare at his friend.

Ray gave a hearty laugh. "We knew before he did. Tyson is probably the only one who hasn't worked it out."

Kai sat there and blinked rapidly for a few seconds. "You all know?" he asked horrified.

"Sure do." Ray replied cheerily. "And here's the thing. No one cares. The only thing we ask is don't hurt him."

Kai just have Ray a look.

"So Ray…what's been happening with your old team?" Tala asked quickly deflecting the possible situation.

"Tyson." Hilary chided gently. "He wasn't scowling at you it was directed at Ray."

"How would you know that?" A muffled voice asked. The blunette had his face buried in the pillow and back turned his friend.

"Because you didn't see how upset he was when he realised that you thought he was angry with him. Ask Max or Ray." She replied.

He rolled onto his side facing her. "You're sure he wasn't angry with me for 'babbling'?"

"You weren't babbling and he was happy that you enjoyed yourself. You know how to read Kai." She scolded lightly.

Tyson blushed. "It's just been so long since we've seen each other." He said plaintively. "I'm worried I am going to bore him."

"Tyson. Just be yourself. No one could ask for anything more." Hilary said with a smile hugging her best friend.

"You're a good friend Hilary." Tyson said returning the hug.

"I know." She said smugly. Tyson just groaned face palming.

"So are you going to go and talk with them?" Hilary asked with a serious face.

"Not tonight. I will apologise tomorrow." Tyson answered. "I am very tired."

Hilary took the hint turning out the light as she left. He rolled onto his back and looked at the ceiling.

"How do I tell Kai?" he asked himself. Pondering that thought his eyes began to droop as exhaustion overwhelmed him.

End of Chapter One

So people what do you think?

Storm xox