A/N: I got the inspiration for this at school (I'm not in school, I'm a teacher) and kinda just started getting on a roll with it. First time I've written something that isn't really centric to a couple or pairing for a while, but yeah! There won't be any pairings in this, though I'm sure hints could be taken, as they are in the show. Do as you will! Don't know why I decided to start this late at night, but oh well!

Disclaimer: Beyblade is the property of its respected copyright holders. I'm making no money from this story, though goodness knows I could use some...!

One: Game Changer

The BBA Beyblade World Championships.

A chance to test your skill to its limits and see how far you can go. An opportunity for glory and for showcasing your talent.

As a three-peat World Champion, it's something I always look forward to with relish. And now that the restructuring of the BBA is complete, just over a year after the BEGA Corporation tore it down, I know that the declaration for the next World Championships is just around the corner.

To get to face my friends in the Stadium again is something I'm looking forward to. We've trained together and worked together so hard in the past year, but I know they'll go back to their home teams and that we'll be rivals once again. At first, it all had hit me hard, and I saw their departure as a betrayal, but thinking back on the amazing matches we had last time, I'm kinda glad they're defecting again. Just to feel that rush. To prove my worth as the Champ.

Kai, I'm relying on you to bring your A-game. I expect a repeat of the last final, and I'm expecting just as much fight from you as ever before!

"Oh, hush up, Daichi!" Hilary scolded loudly as she sat with the shorter youth in front of the television. "We won't be able to hear the announcement over your loud voice!"

"I'm impatient!" Daichi moaned just as loudly, half-flailing as he did so. The year and some that had passed in between the Justice 5 Tournament and now had done little to extend the length of the young one's patience. It had barely seen him climb a few inches in height. "I just wanna hear about the tournament now!"

"Relax already, Daichi!" Tyson interjected as he got himself comfortable on the couch beside his American friend Max. "Any minute now, Mr D will announce the new tournament and the new format and you can calm down!"

"Any minute now isn't soon enough!" the shortest in their company wailed, rolling backwards to lie flat on his back, glaring at the ceiling vehemently. Obviously whatever was above their heads had, temporarily, become the focus of young Daichi's ire, because the frustration that was being leveled at it was rolling off of him in waves. Tyson understood his impatience, but he was at an age now where he knew that patience truly was a virtue. All good things to those who wait and all that.

"It's starting!" Hilary half-squealed with excitement as a series of camera flashes started to go off intermittently at an empty seat in front of about five different microphones. Coming into view shortly afterwards was the short, bald, elderly gentleman known as Mr Dickenson, the Chairman of the BBA. He seated himself before the microphones before clearing his throat and beginning to speak.

"Good afternoon," the ageing man began, looking every inch the calm, composed man he always was at these press conferences. "Thank you very much for your attendance, and for your patience. I know it has been a long time coming, but I am here now to present to you the layout for the next BBA Beyblading World Championships."

"It's really happening!" Max grinned from ear to ear, exchanging excited looks with Tyson. They'd only been waiting for this announcement for over a year now! Ray sat with his friends, watching on with equal investment in the outcome. Kai was seated further away from the others, attempting to appear disinterested in the unfolding events but unable to deny his curiosity. They were finally going to announce when he'd next get his chance to face Tyson in the stadium.

"With the BBA's financial future secured, and with the organisation now built stronger than before, we feel that now is the best time to announce the return of the World Championships, to commence this summer, with the regional qualification heats beginning in May," Mr Dickenson continued, his audience both in the press conference and out of it rapt. "While we always endeavor to make the sport of Beyblading as exciting for the players and spectators equally, we feel that, with this being the first World Tournament since the Justice Five incident, we should return to the roots of the game. So it has been decided that the format for this year's championship will be a standard three-on-three battle system. At any time, at least four players are required on any one team, with at least one alternate to step in should the need arise, though an alternate is not, by any means, necessary to compete."

"Sweet!" Tyson exclaimed, smiling over at Ray and Max in turn. "Looks like you guys are gonna have every chance of getting to battle me again at the Worlds!" The Chinese and American bladers both smiled back at their old friend, glad that he understood what they were all thinking. The G Revolutions wouldn't be reuniting under their last-seen format for this championship; Ray would return to White Tiger X, Max would go back to the PPB All Starz and Kai would, inevitably, return to the Blitzkrieg Boys. Anything for a rematch with Tyson.

"We have decided, by default, that the BBA G Revolutions will qualify automatically in order to defend their title," the elderly gentleman resumed his speech. "I have yet to speak with them as to the format of the team for this year, but as soon as I know, you will all be informed." Another flurry of flashes and clicks came as a barrage of questions began to fly towards Mr Dickenson.

"So, you guys will need to qualify in your own areas," the bluenette grinned. "Whereas I'm gonna get to go through anyway!"

"We are going through!" Daichi jumped to his feet, pointing at Tyson. "Like it or not, Tyson, you share that title with me! So I have to defend my title too!"

"Alright, alright..." Tyson laughed softly, holding his hands up to Daichi. "You and I will be a team. Chief, you in with us?" Their collective gaze turned on the young Beyblade genius, who sat huddled over his laptop whilst still observing the press conference. Some things just never changed, no matter how much time passed.

"S-sure, why not?" Kenny flushed slightly at the offer, still surprised that Tyson could consider him to be on any par with himself. "But that still leaves at least one open spot and then one possible alternate..."

"If we got desperate, we could always ask Hiro, I suppose," Tyson mused aloud as his thoughts moved on to his still AWOL older brother. "Though how I'll find him to ask him is anyone's guess... I haven't seen him since BEGA went under, but I suppose he's ashamed to show himself after that..."

Kai found his glance wandering over to the others as he overheard the comments about Hiro. It went without saying that the Russian-born Beyblader's feelings towards the older Granger were frosty, at best, but even with that taken into account, he knew that Hiro had defected for the purpose of presenting Tyson with the next hurdle to overcome, in the same way that he had defected to continue the powerful rivalry between himself and the younger Granger. The battles they had were the ones Kai felt he lived for, and he couldn't escape the buzz he felt every time they threw down in the dish. The kind of buzz you could only get from a truly worthy opponent.

"Well, the timing is good," Ray broke the silence that had unknowingly descended on the group. "My flight back to China is in two days, and then we'll have about 3 weeks to prepare for the Regional qualifications."

"I'm back to New York tomorrow night," Max quipped, setting aside his empty soda can. "I gotta admit, I'm gonna miss us all being together again! But the thought of getting to contest for the championship again is just too much of a lure!"

"Can't wait to see you guys in the stadium!" Tyson beamed. "So you guys had better qualify!" He turned his gaze over to their quiet friend, offering him a kind smile. "You too, Kai, though with your skill and how you work with the Blitzkrieg Boys, I can't imagine qualification will be difficult for you! I'd say it's a foregone conclusion!" Kai responded with an simple shrug of his shoulders, not even opening his eyes to look over at his former teammates. They'd expected as much of a reaction from him, though, and laughed softly.

"I'm gonna run over and see my dad," the blonde pushed himself up onto his feet. "Heard he got some new bases and attack rings into the shop, so I'm gonna check it out. That and I should probably spend more time with him before I go back to New York."

"I think I might tag along," Ray smiled, getting onto his feet as well. "Been a while since I've seen your dad, Max, and I wanted to check out that new equipment. Then I've got some business of my own in China Town."

"Cool," Max beamed brightly. "I'll be back later, okay Tyson?" he looked over to his dear friend who nodded, returning the smile.

"Sure! I'll still be here! Gonna talk strategy with Kenny and Daichi!" Dragoon's master responded, shooting knowing looks to his two teammates. Daichi returned the look with ferocity; Kenny was a little less eager. With this, Max and Ray departed, prompting Hilary next to get to her feet and leave, citing that she had to get home and make dinner. It wasn't long then before Kai disappeared without warning, though no one took his coming and going in an ill-meant light. Kai was just someone who came and went as he saw fit. There was no chaining him down to anything or anyone.

"Uuugh, we're out of snacks!" Daichi groaned, taking hold of his ankles and rocking back and forth on crossed legs. "That Max ate all the good stuff! What do we do now?!"

"Try not to lose what's left of your mind, Daichi!" Tyson placated him, his response clearly laced with a barb. This had the desired effect and the shortest one was effectively riled, his wrath only contained by Kenny holding him back. "I'll go out and get some more snacks. There's a convenience store three blocks over; it won't take long, I promise!" The baseball cap-clad teen clambered to his feet, dusting down his charcoal grey jeans before padding out of the room and to the door, ignoring the indignant calls from his teammate demanding he go back and face him and Strata Dragoon in the dish. Slipping into his shoes and pulling the velcro across, he headed out of the dojo compound and started off down the street towards the closest convenience store, the Lawsons three blocks over. There was a main road to cross to get to it, but there was a crossing that made the trek convenient enough.

Standing waiting at the crossing lights, the Lawsons directly across the street from him, gave Tyson pause to reflect over everything that had happened over the past year and a half. The time had strengthened the bonds between the G Revolutions as friends, so Tyson felt more secure than ever that, they could be on different sides, but they would always be the closest of friends. Rivals in the stadium, best friends out of it. Even the remarkably anti-social Kai had managed to get entangled in the mess, and Tyson couldn't help the smile that crept over his features as he thought of how close they'd become in recent times. They were able to relate to each other best when they were opponents, and it was also the time when they were the most connected. Though socially speaking, he was far more compatible with Max, the midnight blue-haired teen honestly felt that he was closer to Kai, through all they'd endured together. They were two strong players who were able to create a world all their own when they battled. His skin tingled at the thought of encountering such a battle again. The light turned green to cross, and Tyson stepped out onto the crosswalk.

The sound of a revving engine and the screech of brakes came to the ears of the World Champion far too late.

And just a block away, down an alleyway, scratching the ear of a coarse yet affectionate stray kitten, a tall Russian-born Beyblader, the master of the phoenix Bit Beast Dranzer, brought himself up to standing when he heard the sound of a speeding car hitting something.

"This is just unprecedented..." Mr Dickenson sounded distressed as he paced about the small waiting room in Bay City General Hospital. "The tournament is but a couple of months away, and now the World Champion may not be physically able to defend his title..."

"I think the main concern is for Tyson's physical state, whether he's going to be okay..." Hilary interjected, looking worried herself. She'd been halfway home when she'd gotten the call from Kenny that there had been a serious accident and Tyson had been badly injured and she'd sprinted straight to the hospital without delay, calling her parents on the way to let them know what was happening. She was playing with her fingers, the digits interwoven tightly, sliding between one another in a tense fashion.

It was all over the news already: Beyblade World Champion knocked down in apparent hit and run. Condition unknown, suspected critical. At the time of the incident, Kai had been the closest to the accident site and had been the one that the EMTs had requested to travel with Tyson to the hospital, with the older teen having pushed through the crowd to check Tyson himself prior to the arrival of the ambulance. He was sitting in the waiting room, away from everyone else, looking as indifferent as always, though as Max and Ray stole glances at him occasionally, they swore they could see flickers of concern behind usually impassive lavender eyes. What had surprised them all the most, however, was that Tyson's normally vocal grandfather had been painfully silent the whole time he'd been in the waiting room with them. The old man hadn't uttered a word, the worry for his youngest grandson painted painfully across his rapidly-aged features. He seemed to have lost years of his life within minutes of sitting there, waiting to hear about his grandson's condition. Before long, a grim-faced nurse entered the room, her gaze meeting theirs.

"You all here for Tyson Granger?" she enquired, though she surely already knew the answer to that. Everyone bar Kai got to their feet, with the older blader merely turning his attention to the others. "My name is Sally James; I'm the nurse assisting Dr Holden with young Mr Granger."

"H-how is he?" Tyson's grandfather finally spoke, his voice hoarse and weighed down with dread and worry. "Is he going to be alright?"

"He's suffered some very serious injuries," Nurse James responded, her grim expression set firmly across her rather plain features. "Thankfully, there's no swelling or bleeding on his brain, but he does have a broken arm, a dislocated shoulder, several cracked ribs and a minor fracture to his fibula. This is going to take weeks, if not months, to heal fully..." The news sat with those present like a bag of rocks, causing Max and Kenny to slump down back into their chairs, the shock plastered over their paled faces. They knew what this meant, just as well as anyone else did:

Tyson would be unable to participate in the World Tournament.

This was going to break his heart, but physically Tyson just wouldn't be able for the demanding training schedule, especially with a broken arm and dislocated shoulder. If he could even travel for the matches, that could be classed as miraculous. While the injuries were not life-threatening, they were enough to inflict a heartbreak on the young men in the room. There would be no rematch with Tyson at this year's World Championship, and it threw everything up into the air like dandelion fluff on a breeze. If there was no Tyson to compete against, no ultimate goal of defeating the reigning champ to attain, was there a point in the tournament at all?

"Is he awake...?" Kenny found himself finally able to speak, though his words were obviously forced out of his lips.

"Not at present, no," Nurse James responded. "He's resting. Initial x-rays would suggest that no surgical procedures are necessary, which is good with regards to his recovery time, but it doesn't diminish the seriousness of what he went through. I know well enough that he's expected to Beyblade in the upcoming World Championships, but there's no way. It's impossible. Completely inconceivable."

"That would be a twist no one would expect..." Ray spoke up softly. "The world champ unable to participate through injury... This isn't what anyone wants at all... Poor Tyson..."

"He can't have visitors right now," Nurse James continued. "But please come back in the morning. He should be conscious by then and he'll be okay to receive guests. I'm sorry I don't have better news for you... Please, excuse me..." and with that, the nurse excused herself and left them to their thoughts as they attempted to process this news.

"Nothing to do but go home and come back first thing tomorrow," Hilary broke the lengthy silence that hung heavy between them. "I know we're all worried about him, but we're forgetting that this is Tyson we're talking about! He's stubborn as an ox and strong as a lion! He's going to pull through and he's going to be fine!"

"Hilary's right!" the unusually quiet Daichi leapt up, invigorated by Hilary's words of encouragement. "Tyson can't check out yet! He still has to be beaten by me! He can't bail out on me!" His reaction earned a small ripple of chuckling from the group.

"We'll be back first thing, Grandpa," Kenny reassured the elderly gentleman. "I'm sure he'll be awake and grumpy by then!" With heavy reluctance, everyone started to get to their feet and file out of the waiting room, seeing no purpose or benefit to Tyson in staying, hoping that a little sleep and some food would help to bolster their spirits to help deliver the bad news to Tyson come morning. And goodness knows that was going to be a bitter pill for the champ to swallow.

The morning's dim light filtered slowly into the white hospital room, spreading muted tendrils through the blinds and onto the face of the sleeping world champion, who stirred begrudgingly with a low groan of pain.

Why in the world did everything hurt so much? His head was pounding, his whole side was swamped in agony, from his shoulder to his foot, and he felt strangely nauseous. Deep brown eyes slowly began to take in their new surroundings and the memories began to come flooding back.

Oh yeah, he'd been in an accident. Some half-insane street racer had bowled him down like a skittle and left him in the street for dead. He remembered seeing a lot of faces peering down into his that day, but he knew that Kai's face had stood out the most, mainly because he was the last person he had expected to see in that situation. No one ever seemed to know what the master of Dranzer would do from one minute to the next, so it shouldn't have surprised him that he'd show up in such a place at such a time. He'd hoped for someone a little more sympathetic, but the older one's stability was always helpful in stressful situations, and yesterday had certainly been trying.

Slowly, he shifted himself to get more comfortable, wincing in pain as his left side continued to throb in an alarming way. When that idiot had hit him, he had to have been doing at least 70mph. How he wasn't dead was a mystery to him, though he liked to tell himself that Dragoon would always protect him from serious harm. Hilary would say it was his hard head that had protected him. Stupid Hilary.

"You shouldn't be doing that," a familiar voice floated into the world champion's ears, causing him to look towards its source, his gaze meeting with a pair of amethyst-hued eyes set into the calm face of his old friend. "Want to cause more trouble than you already have?"

"Kai...?" Tyson's voice was weak and hoarse to his own ears, and it surprised him to hear it. "Why are you here...?"

"I drew the short straw," Kai responded flatly, though the truth of the matter was quite different. He knew that the others would drag out telling Tyson the truth for as long as possible, so he figured he'd get to the hospital first and just put the truth right out there. Better ripping the band-aid right off in one go than taking it off slowly, little by little, and prolonging the necessary suffering. "I got picked to tell you the bad news."

"Bad news...?" Tyson asked slowly, sounding obviously confused. "What bad news...?"

"That you're out of the World Championships," Kai stated. His delivery was blunt and straight-forward; there was very little point in beating around about it. "Your injuries are too severe. You'd fall too far behind in training, so it's been decided that you're out."

"W-what...?" the news hit Tyson like a ton weight, the shock and heartbreak playing out evidently across his features. He had planned on this being his final shot at championship glory before taking up retirement to teach the next generation all he knew about the game and create the next incarnation of the G Revolutions. Now he lay in a sterile hospital bed, that ambition shattered at his feet by the coldly-delivered news from his friend and former teammate. "That's... I..."

"Tyson, you need to be serious about this," Kai spoke again, some agitation starting to flare in his tone. "You probably can't even hold a launcher, let alone stand up, so it's a physical impossibility for you to compete. You need to grow up, accept it and move on." Tyson was about to bite back with a bitter retort until he took in his friend's general appearance. Gone was the weighted white scarf that had become part of the older Beyblader's physical self over the years; he stood now in a dark shirt under a black jacket, loose dark pants and boots, and his hair seemed unkempt, his face drawn and tired. If Kai Hiwatari looked like this, he could only imagine what his more expressive friends actually looked like. They had obviously been through an ordeal themselves in worrying about his well-being; going out to compete as he was would only serve to stress them out further and would make the situation worse in the long run.

"... Fine," Tyson finally spoke to fill the silence. "I get it. I'm not defending my title..." a heavy sigh escaped the champion's lips before a sudden idea hit him. "But Kai... you could defend it for me, couldn't you?"

"... You're kidding..." a slate grey brow raised as he critically appraised his injured friend, thinking perhaps he had been hit on the head after all.

"No, Kai..." the bluenette affixed his warm brown gaze onto the Phoenix. "The title belongs to the G Revolutions, and you're one of the G Revolutions, right? You could defend our title; take the captaincy and fight to defend it..."

"... You can't be serious," Kai state flatly, his mouth set into a grim line. "I didn't come here to defend your title in your stead, Tyson..."

"But I'm asking you to, Kai..." the younger's tone became pleading, his face contorting with pain as he attempted to shift again, causing the older of the two to roll his eyes slightly and move forward to press a button at the side of the bed, which Tyson quickly discovered controlled the level of morphine entering the IV in his arm. Soon enough, the warm, numbing effect of the painkillers washed over him like a summer wave lapped over sun-heated sand. It was blissful. "You're a good leader; you can build a team and take us to the top again... You did it before, I know you can do it again..."

"I'm not a leader, Tyson," Kai ground out, trying to emphasize his point but beginning to feel that it was a hopeless cause. "I want to be champion myself. Why would I throw that away to help you defend your title, when your absence leaves it open?"

"Because I know you're a good person under the bravado, Kai," Tyson reasoned, taking a chance in appealing to Kai's long-dormant sense of humanity. "You've never let the team down before and I don't think you're going to start now. Your goal is to battle me, but I'm not there for you to battle, so what have you got to lose in helping me?"

My pride? Kai thought bitterly, but he kept the words locked in his mind. There was no point in them being said here; they would serve little to no purpose. A sigh of frustration and Kai turned on his heel to exit the room, ignorant of the desperate look that the younger one was giving him as he left. Walking down the corridor from his friend's room, the Russian-born young man found himself with a great deal to think about. Was there really anything to lose in helping Tyson? Was defending a title he didn't feel he had earned something he wanted to do? Would his own sense of pride stop him?

Like it matters... Kai groaned internally as he got into the elevator. Nothing matters. I know what I'm going to do. I'm not changing my plan. I've made up my mind.

A/N: It's SO hard to keep Kai IC when writing fanfiction, has anyone else found that? I watched all of G Revolution through again (thank you, YouTube!) to reacquaint myself with the characterizations of the characters, but I'm not sure how loyal to Kai's personality I'm going to be... Well, it's fanfiction; certain artistic liberties can be taken, surely! It's been a very long time since I've written for , so I hope you all like it! Until next time, stay excellent!