Haha! It's me again (the village idiot), with another tale to spin for you lovely people. This was written almost entirely on impulse. o.O The idea just popped into my head quite suddenly one day, and I found it so amusing that I had to write it. I didn't think it would actually develop itself into something that I could continue and share, which is why the beginning of this (actually, it's more like all of it) is very nondescript and kind of coarsely written, I suppose. It gains some speed at the end, but I promise as Tyson and Kai interact more, it'll get less boring! So, I hope you'll give it a shot and after that if you think it totally sucks, well, tell me in a review. Enjoy, lovelies.
Warnings: Nothing, really. Obviously it's going to be shounen-ai, but it'll be sweet and fluffy. Um… Tyson's gonna say sexy a lot… and there may be some sexual references. I'm rating this PG-13 simply because I don't want this fic to be deleted again. Hopefully I won't have to rate it R just to keep it on this site, so like… don't report me! I've given you your warnings. XD This is AU, by the way.
Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade or any of these characters.
Chapter One
"The ticket window is open! Be caller number four right now and win!" The prerecorded message blared from the radio set at the maximum volume it could muster. Hilary sat at the kitchen table watching her friend Tyson madly press the speed dial button. He stuck the phone to his ear and crossed his fingers.
"Come on, come on!" he chanted. It rang twice before he heard a voice on the other end.
"Hey, who's this?"
"Tyson! Tyson Kinomiya! Did I win?"
"Well, well, Tyson, it's your lucky day. You're caller number four!"
"I WON!" he yelled at Hilary. "Oh my God, I won! I can't believe this! I've been trying for three days now and I finally—"
"Congratulations, sir! You've just picked up a pair of tickets with backstage passes to the sold-out Kai Hiwatari concert, and just in time! It starts tonight at eight."
"Yes! Thank you so much!" Tyson gushed. Hilary rolled her eyes as Tyson proceeded to give them his address and information, and then hung up. He turned to her with a huge grin on his face. "Can you believe this? I'm actually going to get to meet Kai in person. Me! Okay, what am I gonna wear?"
"Tyson, don't you think you're being too extreme? I mean, he's just a person," Hilary said reasonably. Tyson turned to her, his eyes wide.
"Just a person? Just a person? Hilary, I don't think you understand. Kai Hiwatari is not just a person. He is a rock legend."
"Elvis is a rock legend. Kai's only been famous for about a year or so. You don't become a legend in a year," she pointed out, arching a brow at Tyson. He stuck out his tongue.
"He's a legend in my book. But besides the fact that he can sing, dance, and play numerous musical instruments, he's the sexiest man alive."
Hilary snorted. "You have issues."
"Me and the other million people who think he's the greatest thing since sliced bread." Tyson grinned dopily. "But you are coming with me, right? Maybe seeing him in the flesh will change your mind."
"I doubt that, but yeah, I'm coming with. Really, Tyson, these rock stars are always so overrated. They turn out to be mean, self-righteous jerks."
"Kai is not self-righteous!"
She raised an eyebrow. "And you know this, how…?"
"You can just tell by looking at him! And have you ever even read his lyrics? They're so deep and meaningful. A bastard would not be able to write like that."
"How do you even know he writes his own lyrics?" she demanded.
"It says so right here," Tyson said, sticking Kai's self-titled debut album in her face. She snatched it away and flipped through the pages of the lyrics.
"Written by Kai Hiwatari," she read, unconvinced. "Yeah, I'm a total believer, now."
"Good. Now help me pick out something to wear."
"Where is Kai?" Michael bellowed, his voice carrying down the hall. People bustled past him, and he gritted his teeth at the lack of attention he received around the place. Being Kai's manager had next to no perks. The twenty-seven year old stomped down the hall to Kai's private room and was stopped by Tala, who put a finger to his lips and shushed him annoyingly.
"Would you stop yelling? Kai's taking a nap," Tala informed him disdainfully. Michael's eyebrow twitched.
"A nap? Now? Is he not aware of the fact that he's putting on a concert tonight? He has to practice!"
"Um, yeah, he knows that," Tala stated. Michael took a deep breath to calm himself, then pushed past Tala and knocked twice on Kai's door before opening it. He stuck his head inside and put his hands on his hips with a frown on his face.
Kai was perched in front of his mirror, intently filing his nails. He caught Michael's reflection and turned his head slightly. Michael scowled.
"I thought you said he was taking a nap," he said to Tala accusingly.
"I woke up," Kai said. Michael took off his baseball cap and ran a hand through his silky orange tresses with a sigh. Replacing his hat, he looked at Kai again. He sniffed the air suddenly.
"Kai…"
"What?"
"I can smell that."
"Smell what?"
Michael stomped into the room and stood beside the young singer. "Where is it?" he demanded.
"Where is what?"
"Don't play stupid with me, Kai! I've known you since you were in diapers; you can't lie to me. And you know you're not supposed to be eating chocolate. Especially now! You have a performance tonight. Hand it over."
Kai let out a soft sigh before pointing to his bed. Michael walked over and pulled the covers down, then looked underneath the pillow.
"An entire box! How many did you eat?"
Tala sauntered to Kai and shook his head. "Bad boy."
"Get me a smaller box next time," Kai whispered. Michael picked up the expensive sampler and stalked out, muttering under his breath. Tala floated after him.
Kai settled back down in his seat and was just about to resume filing his nails when there was another knock at the door, and it opened. Kai muttered a curse, wondering why they even bothered to knock if they were going to come in anyway. A girl with bright carroty hair and large round glasses came in with a clipboard in hand.
"Michael wants you in the sound room," she said. Kai heaved another sigh and stood.
"I'll be there in a minute."
"He specifically told me to tell you to come right away. And tell the others."
"I'm going," he said grumpily. "I swear, Michael needs to get a life."
She shrugged and walked out. Kai wandered into the hallway and headed for the sound room where he was sure Michael would give him a lengthy speech about nothing. He found Tala hanging around nearby and dragged him with him. He entered and Michael turned around right away, giving him a look.
"You look tired," he said.
"I look bored," Kai corrected.
"All right, sit down. I think a few reminders are in order."
Kai sat and rested his cheek against one hand, his eyes already glazing over before Michael even started. Tala wandered to the other side of the room and kicked his feet up on the table, resting his hands behind his head and closing his eyes. Kai scowled, envious.
"Now, Kai, you know that every one of your concerts are very important," Michael began. Kai nodded. "There are a lot of people out there who are expecting to see the famous Kai Hiwatari in action. You cannot disappoint them."
"I won't. Have I ever?"
Michael ignored him. "I hope you know that there are millions of people out there who wish they could be in your shoes. You are very lucky to have come this far, Kai. They don't have half the talent you do."
"Mm." I bet they get to eat chocolate whenever they want.
Michael eyed the younger boy. "And tonight I want you to dance around in a clown suit and kiss Emily in front of all your fans."
"Yep."
"Kai!" Michael stuck his face close to his. "You're not listening!"
Kai blinked. "I am. Uh… I missed that last thing."
Michael gritted his teeth. "I hope you know that you're downright exasperating sometimes. If you had anyone else for a manager, I'm sure they wouldn't put up with this kind of behavior."
"Hm. I'll think about that," Kai said disinterestedly.
"Anyway, listen up. There are some people with backstage passes for this concert, so afterwards you'll get to meet them and show them around and stuff."
"Great."
"Don't sound so excited," Michael said sarcastically. Kai frowned.
"It's always teenage girls who get their hands on those passes," he complained. "They gush, they squeal, they tell me they love me—"
"What'd you expect? They're called adoring fans for a reason," Michael pointed out. Kai blew out his breath irritably.
"Do I even have any male fans?"
"As a matter of fact, yes. Quite a few."
Kai gave him a look. "Well, why aren't they coming to meet me?"
"They're probably too shy. You know how it is with these people… would you go meet your famous crush and squeal all over them? They think they have an image to uphold."
"Well… damn."
Michael waved it off. "Anyway, I want to hear you practice a bit before tonight."
Kai looked around vaguely. "I feel like we're missing something…"
"Yeah. The rest of your band, you moron," Tala piped up. "Emily said you were supposed to tell them to meet us here."
"Oh. Well, I didn't." Kai shrugged. Michael glared at him. As he was picking up his phone, the door opened and Emily stuck her head in.
"Everyone's here. I knew Kai wouldn't get around to telling them, so I took the liberty to get them myself," she said. Michael smiled.
"Thank you, Emily," he said, glaring at Kai. Tala stood up and wandered over to him as the remaining members came in. Kai watched without much interest. Oliver entered first, their slightly eccentric keyboardist and synthesizer player. He was known for his odd fashion sense and was partial to long, expensive coats and feathery hats. He greeted Kai and brushed a sleek lock of his green hair away from his face.
"Bonjour!" he sang out happily. Kai smiled thinly. Oliver was French and could be quite annoying at times, but Kai couldn't argue with the fact that he was extremely talented once put in front of a piano. Enrique followed after him, his hands casually tucked into his pockets. He played the bass guitar and was generally a laid-back person. Everyone knew that he'd liked Oliver for years, but the French boy seemed to enjoy letting him tag along like a puppy, and Enrique didn't appear to mind.
"Hey," he said in greeting.
"We're all here," Kai said monotonously. Tala nudged him. "Oh, wait. Where's Rei?"
"It's nice to see how you know your members so well," Michael said sardonically to Kai. They waited for a moment. Enrique popped his gum loudly.
"Did he come with you?" Kai questioned finally. Enrique nodded and Oliver peered out the door.
"Rei! Get in here!" Oliver yelled.
"He's flirting with Mariah again, isn't he?" Tala asked. Mariah was Kai's chief fashion designer. Though looking at her own bright pink wardrobe for more than five minutes gave him massive headaches, she was a genius when it came to dressing other people. He heard giggling in the hallway before Rei appeared, all smiles. He thought Mariah was cute and she thought he was amazing because he could play the drums.
"Hey. What's up?"
"Thanks for deciding to join us," Michael said dryly.
"Now we're all here," Kai stated.
"Boy, you're sharp," Tala commented.
And so, practice began.
"I can't believe I'm actually going to get to meet him this is so cool oh my God!"
"Tyson! If you don't start behaving like a normal human, I'm leaving. You're embarrassing me," Hilary snapped. Tyson whined for a moment, then stopped when he realized that Hilary was ignoring him. They were standing outside, waiting in line to hand in their tickets. Tyson and Hilary had gone through everything in his closet before Tyson declared that he had absolutely nothing fit to wear for the concert. So, they had gone shopping and now Tyson was satisfied with his new outfit.
"You know, those jeans look exactly like the ones hanging in your closet," Hilary said. "That stupid red jacket, too."
"Hey! They're completely different," Tyson said, crossing his arms. "Why would I buy something that I already own?"
Hilary shook her head. "Maybe because you've been out of your mind since you won those tickets? No, wait, you've been crazy since you discovered Kai Hiwatari. I mean, honestly, Tyson, I can understand idolizing a celebrity, but this is ridiculous. You take it to a whole new level."
"You think he'll notice?" Tyson asked.
"Shut up." Hilary said. "What row are our tickets on?"
"The third!" Tyson squealed, going hyperactive again. Hilary sighed impatiently.
"You put his fangirls to shame," she muttered. "And that is not a compliment." She glared.
The line moved up and Tyson made conversation with another overzealous fan until they were at the front. They handed over their tickets and he practically bounced inside and up to the third row with Hilary dragging her heels behind him. The place was already packed with bodies dancing to the pre-concert music, and Tyson joined them with an elated grin on his face.
"I'd better get something good out of this," Hilary mumbled grouchily, sliding into a chair.
"All right, Kai, hold still," Mariah said, carefully leaning over him while applying black eyeliner to his lids. She had been primping him for ten minutes now and Kai was sure Michael was ready to throw a fit. Just as soon as the thought left his mind, the door banged open loudly, causing a startled Mariah's hand to jerk.
"Oh!"
"ARGH!" Kai clapped a hand over his left eye. "Mariah!"
"I'm sorry!" She turned around and glared at Michael. "Look what you made me do. He's supposed to be onstage in less than fifteen minutes, you lout! Don't come barging in here like that."
"Is he okay?" Michael asked.
"My eye…" Kai moaned. "She stabbed me."
"Oh, hush," she said, slapping his hand away and examining his eye. "It's a little red and watery, but that'll pass."
"We cannot have a red-and-watery-eyed-Kai perform out there." Michael said. Mariah pointedly ignored him and dabbed his eye with a pink Kleenex. She gently wiped away the makeup that was streaked below his eye. Kai winced.
"Now, if you'll hold still once more, you'll be ready to go," Mariah said, bringing up the eyeliner pencil again. Kai groaned, but obeyed. She finished with no casualties and stepped back to admire her work.
"You look absolutely ravishing," she said with a beaming smile. Kai scrunched up his left eye and blinked awkwardly.
"Can you see?" Michael asked with a frown.
"You're blurry."
"I told you, you'll be fine! Just wait a few minutes," Mariah snapped impatiently, shoving him out of his chair. "Get out. You're all done here."
Kai muttered under his breath as he stalked out of his dressing room. Tala was waiting outside.
"Hey, I heard you yell. What happened?" Tala peered closer. "And what's wrong with your eye?"
"Mariah stabbed me with her eyeliner," Kai grumbled. Tala stifled a laugh as Kai shot him a glare. He began to whistle innocently as they walked down the hall to meet the rest of the band.
"How's the crowd?" Kai asked finally. Tala grinned and gave him a thumbs up signal.
"It's full. Man, those people out there are screaming your name already." He clasped his hands together dramatically and spoke in a high-pitched voice. "Kai, I love you! Kai, you're so cool! Kai, will you marry me?"
"No, thanks."
Tala gave him a sly look. "You know, Kai, it's a shame a guy like you doesn't have a girlfriend."
"And where's your girlfriend, you hypocritical snake?"
"Which one?" The redhead winked. Before Kai could respond, Michael came up behind them and began moving them hurriedly along.
"Get backstage now! Come on, they're all waiting for you guys," he hissed. Kai sighed and allowed himself to be dragged along by Tala. Enrique was lounging around on an empty crate behind the curtains with Oliver standing next to him in a feathery black coat and a hat to match. Enrique was dressed casually, as usual. Rei kept peeking through the curtains.
"We've got quite a crowd tonight," Rei said with a grin, his teeth glinting. "I'm sure our front man won't be a disappointment?"
"Whatever," Kai said.
"All right guys, take your places. We're opening the curtain soon." Michael watched them as they went to their respective instruments. Kai walked to the microphone at the front and fingered it for a moment before looking back at Michael with a keen smile.
"Let's go."
"Hilary! It's about to start," Tyson said excitedly, grinning from ear to ear beside her. She nodded uninterestedly. The music stopped and the crowd hushed slightly, save for the whistles and excited chatter that hung over the room. Soft piano music began playing.
"That's Oliver. He's Kai's keyboardist, but he's also a genius on the synthesizer," Tyson said in a rush. Hilary looked at him.
"What, have you got his entire band memorized?"
"Of course! Hush, you're ruining the mood."
A huge wave of music suddenly blasted throughout the room and simultaneously, the curtains parted. The crowd went wild as fans began screaming, Tyson no exception. Hilary snorted and focused on Kai to see what was so great about him that had Tyson so smitten.
"It's him!" Tyson squeaked, grabbing her arm. She wrenched it away in disgust.
"What's your deal, Kai Hiwatari?" she muttered. "You've turned my friend into a crazy psycho."
Tyson stopped and just stood still, watching. The surging crowds around him went unnoticed as his eyes fixed upon his latest and deepest celebrity crush. The band was playing the song that had swept through the radio waves for weeks, holding the top spot over and over again. Kai hadn't even opened his mouth yet, but Tyson felt his insides melt as he gazed at him.
"Sexy, sexy, sexy," he chanted dreamily. "This is so cool…"
The music was echoing in his eardrums. Tyson knew every note by heart. He grinned in anticipation for Kai to start singing. He watched as the young vocalist lifted his head and smiled in a way that made Tyson feel as if he were the only person on earth. Then his face grew serious as he closed his eyes briefly and began the song.
People were screaming everywhere. The whole placed practically rocked with the dancing of hundreds of bodies, and combined with the beat that Tyson could feel in his kidneys, it was a general riot. Even Hilary couldn't bring herself to slouch down with a grumpy look on her face. She had to admit that Kai's band was really good, and Kai himself was putting on an outstanding performance. He wasn't like some of the other tattooed rock bands she'd heard lately who were convinced all you had to do to win fame was scream incoherently into a microphone and then begin trashing your instruments. Kai had an amazing voice and definitely knew how to perform.
Tyson threw his hands up in the air and began jumping up and down, belting out the lyrics himself along with everyone else. He was beyond joyful at the fact that the only thing separating Kai and him were two rows of seats, but no one was sitting down and Tyson imagined himself climbing over them and rushing onstage with a goofy grin. He glanced around and spotted concert security spread near the stage and decided that he would be better off just enjoying Kai's music from his current vantage spot. The song went on for a good five more minutes before it came to a smashing end, complete with Rei performing a masterful rollover on the drums. Hoots and applause were heard throughout the room. Tyson watched Kai wait for the loud ruckus to die down. He cleared his throat.
"Good evening and thanks for coming tonight," he began, his magenta eyes going over the sea of people before him. Tala's guitar emitted a loud screech at that moment, and he fumbled for a second before looking up and seeing Kai's glare.
"Oh. My bad," he said with a shrug. Kai could practically see Michael slapping his forehead behind the stage. Oliver adjusted his hat and tugged his dainty gloves up at the wrists. Kai turned back to the crowd and rested one hand on his microphone, which he had placed back on the stand.
"The next song I'm gonna sing for you guys is one of my personal favorites. It's kind of a slow song, and it's about someone really special to me, but I don't know who. I haven't met that person yet."
Tyson had stars in his eyes. "His words are so deep!" he said to Hilary. She frowned.
"Well, this is new. Here's a rock star who actually admits that he's never been in love before."
Rei struck up a soft tempo with Enrique joining him on his guitar while Oliver switched to the synthesizer, and gentle chimes graced the room. Kai took a breath and in a moment, his clear voice had the entire room mesmerized.
Tyson gazed up with adoration in his eyes. He knew he was being crazy at the level he took his crushing to, but even if Kai hadn't been drop-dead gorgeous, Tyson would still be one of his biggest fans, for the simple fact that just by watching him, his passion for what he did was plainly obvious. An idiot could see that Kai loved singing, that his emotion came straight from the heart.
The music increased, as did Kai's singing. Tyson sighed in contentment.
"I can't wait until I actually get to meet him…"
To Be Continued
Well, since writing out every bit of Kai's concert would be pretty repetitive, I decided to stop here. :D I hope I didn't confuse anyone with who all everyone is. As I said before, this is AU, so I'm just grabbing characters and giving them roles. Tell me what you thought.