I did it! After all this time, I actually went and completely revised WAY! I'm happy. It's basically the same at the core, but much more descriptive. And less childish. Definitely less childish. Hope I don't disappoint! Oh! And I did a little research on Tyson's mom, so I changed some things around at the end. Enjoy~ 3

A typical morning flourished in Bey City, waking the few who remained asleep within the confines of the Kinomiya Dojo. While waiting for the stragglers to drag themselves out of bed and finish the task of waking themselves up, one Kinomiya Hiro was nursing a cup of coffee in the light and airy kitchen of their ancestral home while accompanied by his elder grandfather, known merely as Gramps. Although Hiro was the younger of the two, he was dressed more conservatively in black PJ bottoms and a plain white shirt; his light blue hair pulled into a low, loose ponytail while his short bangs brushed the tops of his eyebrows and framed his reddish-brown eyes. Gramps, on the other hand, was dressed more extravagantly in bright yellow shorts and a pink shirt with the word "Yo" proudly emblazoned across the front. His dark eyes glowed beneath his bushy brows and his iron-colored hair was tied back in a similar fashion to his grandson's; he, however, was drinking a cup of jasmine tea. It kept his mind sharp, or so he claimed.

Slowly, the teenaged members of the beyblading group known as the Bladebreakers walked on slow feet towards the direction of the living room; there, they plopped themselves unceremoniously onto the couch or took the time to actually make it to the far wall to lean on and cross arms to watch the rest. The only one who had been up for any significant amount of time was the short genius of the group, Kenny. Or, as he was better known: the Chief. He had been tinkering with something since very early that morning and was eager to test it out, but he needed his guinea pig, AKA Tyson. The laziest member of their world-renowned team. "Has anybody seen if Tyson's awake yet? I need him to test run Dragoon's upgrades," the short boy was sitting on the floor whilst leaning on the couch; his nimble fingers rapidly dancing across Dizzy's keyboard, the bit-beast interjecting comments of her own to the commands the bespectacled boy was entering. Statistics were a very serious business to him. From his spot by the wall, Kai opened his fiery eyes and scanned the room, also noticing that the navy-haired 'blader was, indeed, missing.

"He might still be sleeping. Have you tried his room, Chief?" Rei asked from his perch on the couch, where he was amusing himself by watching Max try to set up Tyson's newest gaming console so he could play some of the games scattered around the entertainment center. He shifted his cat-like eyes to the genius and focused his attention on him; he wondered if they should barge into Tyson's bedroom and soak him with ice-cold water, that usually did the trick. "I actually did, now that you mention it. He wasn't there, and his bed was made, too," now the techie frowned and looked away from Dizzy's screen, wondering why he hadn't mentioned it when they had all gathered in the living room. Max's bright gaze immediately zeroed in on him and he spun his body away from the console he was sitting in front of. "Are you serious? Tyson, the never-up-before-one-on-a-saturday Tyson Kinomiya? The guy that has sleeping as his favorite hobby in the world?" His round face adopted a disbelieving look as he heard something that might have been interpreted as a snort from Kai's direction; except everyone knew that Kai was never amused. Ever.

A frown worked its way onto the nekojin's face as he realized that nobody actually knew where their friend was, nor why he was up before the rest of the team. "It's really not like Tyson to be up this early and not be eating or trying to give Max sugar," Rei shot a questioning glance at Kai, for which he received an imperceptible shake of the dual-haired head. Kai pushed away from the wall and started to head in the direction of the kitchen, where he knew the two older Kinomiya men were discussing current events. The teenagers all knew that was just the excuse they used when they wanted to gossip about mundane things, but they said nothing and left the two alone in their fantasy. He knew the other three would follow so he wasn't worried about having to actually speak, since either Ray or Max would do the real asking. The captain wasn't disappointed, as Max immediately went to Hiro's side and tapped him on the shoulder. Hiro had been about to answer some comment of Gramps' but stopped when he felt the tap of the boy's hand; he turned his upper body in his seat so he could see the Bladebreakers gathered in a circle around him, each with a different degree of curiosity on their faces.

"Hiro, do you know where Tyson is? He's not in his bedroom," the blue-haired man instantly tensed, shooting at his glare at his grandfather. Gramps merely stared impassively back, taking another sip of his tea and standing to leave the room. Sighing, Hiro shook his head and turned his attention back to the adolescents demanding answers from him. "You guys should leave him alone for today," he had looked directly into Kai's crimson gaze as he said this, and then looked at the rest of the boys in turn. "He needs to be by himself for a while," he turned his face away again, letting his bangs shadow his eyes and hide his expression. But the boys would not be deterred, apparently. "Why?" Rei's brave query made the Champ's older sibling tense his posture, the muscles in his back clenching to make him sit still.

"Today is the anniversary of our mother's death," he drained the rest of his coffee and abruptly stood, shoving his chair away with the backs of his knees. Poor Kenny had to jump back to avoid being bashed by the back of the wooden chair. The teens looked on silently as the young man left the kitchen and went in the direction his grandfather had gone but moments before. While the belief within their group had been that Tyson's mother was off with his father had just been smashed into little pieces, they wondered what had happened to her. And, more importantly, when. There was a slight flurry of wind that signified the flapping of Kai's scarf as he walked out of the kitchen to walk through the living room and head out the back door. He had a faint idea that Tyson might be somewhere in the woods behind the dojo. His stunned teammates looked after him, nearly burning holes into his back as he walked away from them. "Am I hallucinating, or does Kai look kind of worried?" The Chief's tone was faintly incredulous, and both Rei and Max's faces echoed it. The former White Tiger, however, had a knowing gleam in his slitted eyes. :Good luck, Kai.: He, too, turned away from the younger two and headed into the living room, but he instead settled himself comfortably into the soft cushions of the couch. "Come on guys, let's find something to watch on tv."

Max and Kenny shared a glance and both shrugged, figuring their cat-like friend probably knew something that they didn't. They also made their way into the living room and amused themselves with finishing the set up of the game console and wondering how long it would take for their team captain to find their missing best friend.

Kai had managed to get slightly disoriented in the forest only a few minutes after walking into it. The place was bigger than he thought it would be, but then he remembered that it had been around longer than the Kinomiya Dojo; therefore it was not surprising that it was easy to get lost once the edge of the trees was left behind. His crimson eyes were narrowed in annoyance as he still had found neither hide nor hair of one Tyson Kinomiya, and he was wondering if his feeling that the younger boy was in the forest was wrong after all. The captain's oh-so-wonderful imagination had been supplying him with a hurt and unconscious navy-haired teen lying somewhere, hurt or worse. And even more in which he was running away, fear clouding those sapphire eyes of his. :I swear, Tyson, you're impossible, even when you're not around: He felt a stir in his chest in the general vicinity of his heart, but he refused to acknowledge the fact that it was concern and fear, not wanting to admit to the feelings he knew he'd been having towards the World Champion in the past few months. If he ignored them long enough, they would go away, right?

It was after he knew lunch time had passed that Kai decided he'd take a break from Tyson-hunting, he was tired and hungry. The captain noticed he'd managed to reach the ancient core of the forest, where the oldest and most majestic trees had dug their roots and continued to bask in the rays of the sun, reaching their limbs towards the sky in wordless adoration of life. He knew there was a pond nearby, cool and clear of any pollutants that permeated other bodies of water nearer to the city; it was clearly visible in the distance, and he quickened his pace, eager to reach the comforting water. In the back of his mind, he remembered Tyson speaking of this place, about the wildflowers that grew at the edge of the water and released their sweet scent into the air. Once he was past the barrier of trees, he closed his crimson orbs and took a deep breath, basking in the aromatic air that entered his lungs. Opening his eyes, he looked around the clearing and was startled to see the very object of his previous search, calmly sitting whilst facing the hypnotic reflection of sun on the still liquid. "Tyson," his voice had decided it would be best if the slender youth did not hear him; his posture was slightly hunched and the captain knew his knees were drawn to his chest. But he knew he could not stay silent and hidden for very long, the navy-haired teen always had a bit of a sixth sense. He always knew when he was being watched.

The world champ's shoulders tensed as he realized he was no longer alone in his haven and he turned his head, a glare clouding his stormy eyes. The teen refused to acknowledge the fact that his captain's heated gaze made his heart race, and turned away from him again; his eyes firmly glued to the water. But every fiber of his being was acutely aware of the approach of the one that sometimes kept him up at night, although he knew Kai had no idea of how he affected the slightly smaller teen. "Go away, Kai. I don't really feel like getting yelled at today," his voice was rather dull and uninterested. "You can yell at me all you want tomorrow at practice, but I'm not showing up today," he cursed quietly when he felt tears prick the corners of his eyes; yet he refused to let them fall. Tyson didn't want to seem like a weakling before the one person whose approval he most desired. :I'm confused, Mom. Why did you have to go?: He nearly jumped out of his skin when there was suddenly a warm arm wrapping around his shoulders, pulling him into the strong chest of his Russian comanion. A faint dusting of pink appeared on his cheeks.

"What are you doing?" His voice was no more than a mere whisper, but Tyson knew he was perfectly audible, as the arm around him tightened imperceptibly. "Why did you leave without telling anyone, Kinomiya. The team is worried," the older teen debated with himself but decided to keep speaking. "Hiro told us what today is," he prepared himself for a violent outburst; but was surprised when none was forthcoming. Instead, he felt the delicate teen pull himself away mentally, stubbornly ignoring his captain's word and presence. "You know you don't have to cope alone. You've got your friends, your teammates," the younger of the two still refused to tear his eyes away from the water; so Kai reached his hand out and took hold of the champ's chin, forcing his face to turn towards himself. Those stormy eyes the Russian teen so admired were clouded with pain and confusion and other emotions that appeared and disappeared too fast to be deciphered, the blue overshadowed by gray. "You've got me, Tyson," he barely caught the slim teen's gasp of shock at his given name being used before his lips were pressed carefully to the soft and supple ones of the younger teen.

Tyson experienced a brief moment of surprise, his mind telling him that this had been what he had longed for since he'd admitted to himself he was potentially in love with Kai. Then he sighed and allowed the larger teen to take control, allowing his mind to forget his pain and troubles; if only for a moment. He felt the Russian shift both their positions so the world champ was turned sideways in his lap, both hands cupping his cheeks to allow for a closer press of lips. He kissed back slowly, tenderly, and didn't hesitate when he felt the elder's tongue tentatively ask for entrance to his mouth. Parting his lips, he felt the pink muscle enter and immediately slide along his own and then explore, mapping out every contour and crevice of his mouth. His captain pulled away and pressed their foreheads together, looking directly into his eyes with those fiery irises that could burn with the intensity of a challenging bey battle; except, they were now determined and warm.

"Why do you make me feel like this?" Kai's voice was slightly hoarse and breathy, causing the younger to shiver imperceptively with its the near-indeterminable growl. Standing, the Russian pulled Tyson up to wrap him in an embrace. "Even when you're sad, I feel strange around you. I want to make you happy again but never know how to do it," The navy-haired teen sucked in a breath and did not look up to meet his eyes. Not yet. He felt the captain sigh and plant a kiss on his forehead, dismissing the question for the moment. "Tell me about her," he didn't have to specify who the 'her' was; they both knew. Dragoon's partner stiffened slightly, but a hand rubbing soothingly on his back made him relax. After a few more moments of debate, during which the dual-haired teen kept tracing patterns on Tyson's back so he would not withdraw into himself again, a slightly shaky breath was taken and he knew he would be ok.

"I never actually knew her. She died when I was only four months old," Kai frowned and tightened his arms around his teammate, offering comfort and support. "She got sick. At least that's what Hiro and Dad told me when I was old enough to ask," he barked a bitter laugh. "I used to hate her when I was little. . . I always thought she didn't want me so she'd decided to go away somewhere and not come back," sad and stormy blue eyes peered up through equally dark bangs, silently asking for forgiveness for something he had no control over. Kai sighed, planting a short kiss on his lips. He received a small smile of thanks and the other 'blader continued. "She wasn't there when I needed her. When I was hurt or sick, it was always Hiro or Gramps, Dad had taken off after she was buried; apparently I look like her or something. But I still mourn her, and go away for a while to talk to her," a blush blossomed in his cheeks and the captain chuckled, shaking his head.

"It wasn't your fault she died, you know that," he received a hesitant nod and he rested his chin on the top of Tyson's head, wishing the ever-present hat would come off; but he was too comfortable and their combined warmth felt too comforting to break away. Eventually though, Kai pulled slightly back and took hold of the younger teen's hand. "We should head back to the dojo. Before they decide to send out a search party," Tyson laughed, his happy demeanor back. HIs eyes still held a trace of sadness, but they turned warm when he looked at his captain; and his heart contracted, sending a faint pulse of electricity down his spine. "Yeah, and we can give Maxie some chocolate and sic him on Rei!" Their fingers laced together, the two left the peaceful clearing and headed back in the direction of the Kinomiya's ancestral home, unaware of the single ray of sunlight in which danced faint specks of sunlight. They solidified briefly into the figure of a woman smiling serenely in the direction her son had disappeared to, but then she was gone. Nothing but a single strand of long, navy colored hair remained; soon that, too, was gone, sinking into the bottom of the pond.