Beyblade Fan Fiction ❯ Endure ❯ Happy Boys & Girls ( Chapter 3 )

Authoress' Notes:  @__@ Yeesh. Long chapter… I really have to learn to quit writing such long ones. *sweatdrops* Anyway…reunion chapter! YAY! ~_^

 

Warnings:        Yaoi, adult language, angst, & probable lemons.  Specific warnings will be given each chapter if relevant.

 

Disclaimer:       I do not own Beyblade, its characters, or anything else to do with it.  I do not own any of the songs from which I borrowed to make chapter titles. They belong to whomever they belong to (which isn't me!). I own only the OCs that will appear in this fic.

 

Pairings:        & nbsp; TyKa, Rei / Mariah, Max / ?, Kenny/Hilary, Tala / ?, others TBA.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Chapter 03: Happy Boys & Girls

 

~ Tyson ~

 

“Man…I'd nearly forgotten how tiring that long flight can be.” Tyson let out a huge yawn and stretched his arms up over his head, following with Rei behind Kenny and Hilary as they got off the plane at the Edmonton International Airport. “At least we're finally here.”

“Actually, we have about another hour and a half to two hour drive yet, Tyson.” Kenny informed the bluenette. “There's supposed to be someone here from the BBA to pick us up in a BBA bus.”

Tyson made a face and slumped. “Wonderful. I was looking forward to a meal and crashing for a few hours.”

Rei laughed. “I'm with you, pal. I could use a bite to eat.”

“Over there, guys.” Hilary pointed ahead of them. “I see food stands and things over there. We could grab some snacks or something for the ride.”

“Let's get our bags first, though.” Kenny advised as they got in line to go through customs. Tyson nodded and waited as patiently as the could for his turn.

They got through without any troubles, the customs officer all smiles and welcoming. After spending ten minutes at the baggage carousel to pick up their luggage, the group went looking for food.

As they approached the seating area, they heard a familiar voice cry out, “Tyson! Hey, Tyson!”

The bluenette blinked and he was suddenly glomped by a blonde blur. “Ooph! Max?!” He exclaimed, staring at his old friend in shock. “Oh my God! I didn't know you were going to be here!”

“Yeah! Kenny told me in his emails that we all got scholarships! I was so excited!” Max grinned, his mega-Watt smile brilliant. He looked at Rei and grinned more. “Hi, Rei!”

The older blader grinned back, flashing fang. “Hey, Maxie! How's it goin'?”

“You guys knew? And no one told me?” Tyson demanded, hands on hips. Kenny smiled and shrugged.

“I didn't tell anyone, Tyson. I wanted it to be a surprise.” He informed his best friend. “I'm sorry.”

Tyson laughed and gave him a sheepish look. “Nah. It's okay, Chief. It's a good surprise.”

“Good to see you, Chief! And Hilary, too!” Max glomped them both in greeting, tossing an arm around each of their shoulders.

Hilary giggled and gave him a brief one-armed hug in return. “Great to see you, too, Max.”

“Oh! Rei! The White Tigers are already here.” Max looked over at the raven-haired teen. “They got here this morning an hour before the All-Starz and I did. Lee said to say hi.”

Rei nodded. “Great! I figured they'd get here before I would.”

“The All-Starz, too? Wow…” Tyson smiled, a rare, genuine smile that didn't happen as often as it used to. “It is a regular reunion, huh?”

“Yep!” Max agreed cheerfully. “I think it's going to be really great having everyone together again. And wait `till you see who the university has brought in to run Spirit Hall!”

“Spirit Hall?” Hilary tilted her head curiously at him. “What's that?”

“It's what the residence on campus is called where we're all going to be living while we're here.” Max replied. He motioned for them to follow him. “Come on! We can go get your stuff stored on the bus while we wait for the last group to come in.”

“Wait! I gotta get food first!” Tyson dropped his bags next to Hilary's and dashed off.

“Me too. You guys want anything?” Rei asked. Kenny shook his head, and Hilary thought for a moment.

“Just a soda or something, please, Rei.” She finally decided.

“Alright. Be right back.” Rei hurried after Tyson.

While they waited, Kenny gave the blonde a curious look. “So who's the last of the group to arrive?”

“Well, I only know that the flight is coming in from London, via Toronto. Our BBA rep/bus driver wouldn't give me names.” Max made a face. “I think the idea is to surprise us at the `meet your neighbours' gathering that's supposed to be tonight.”

“A party?” Hilary asked.

“Not quite.” Max shook his head. “Just a brief ice-breaker kind of thing. Although…” a mischievous grin crossed his face. “A party is something we should definitely keep in mind for a later date, don't you think?” He winked.

“Yeah! Definitely!” Hilary laughed

A man in a driver's uniform with a BBA logo on his hat came up to them then. “Hello, everyone. You must be the students from Japan.” He tipped his hat in greeting. “I'm John, and I'll be driving all of you to campus.”

“Nice to meet you, John.” Hilary returned.

Max looked over her shoulder. “Oh, good. Here come Tyson and Rei. How much longer until the next group arrives?” He asked John.

“Yes, about them…I just got a phone call to tell me that the flight was delayed in Toronto because of some technical difficulties.” John replied. He looked a little confused. “I'm not sure how, but someone of that group is chartering another plane. Well, however they're managing that, I've been told to take your group to the university and return for the others. By the time they get here, I'll be back to meet them.”

“I guess we'd better get moving then, hadn't we?” Kenny picked up his bags and one of Hilary's as Tyson and Rei rejoined them - food in hand.

“Hey guys!” Rei handed Hilary her soda.

“Thanks, Rei!”

“We're heading out, Tyson. The flight the next group was on was delayed in Toronto.” Kenny told them.

“Yeah? Okay.” Tyson shrugged and juggled his food, picking up his bags.

“Let me help with those.” Max grabbed one of Tyson's and one of Rei's so they wouldn't be trying to balance everything with their food. “Oh! And this is John. He's our bus driver.”

As a group, they followed John to the BBA bus and loaded all their bags before boarding it and grabbing seats.

Rei sat across from Hilary and Kenny on one side of the bus, and on the other Tyson sat across from Max.

“I love these tour buses.” Max declared, settling back in his seat. “They're so comfy and it's easier to have a conversation when you don't have to look over the back of a seat.”

Tyson nodded in agreement, still munching. He swallowed, took a sip of his soda, and said, “They're nicer than I remember.”

“Yeah…those were the days, alright!” Max had a reminiscent look on his face.

“Yeah.”

The bus started moving and the two old friends fell into a companionable silence, watching the scenery of the wide open, green countryside of their new home.

Sometime later, Tyson glanced over and saw that Kenny, Hilary, and Rei were all asleep. He chuckled quietly, catching Max's attention. The blonde made a questioning noise, and Tyson pointed.

“Heh. It's been a long trip for all of you. Can't blame them.”

“I'm too wired to sleep.” Tyson admitted. Max nodded.

“Hey, Tyson…” Max hesitated. He didn't want to bring up the subject if it would upset his friend, but at the same time he wanted to let Tyson know that he'd been thinking of him since he'd learned about Tyson's grandfather, and to express his sympathy.

“Yeah, Max?” Tyson tilted his head to the side in question.

“I just…I was very sorry and sad to hear about Grandpa.” Max finally managed to say. Tyson sighed and gave the other blader a tiny smile meant to reassure him.

“Thanks, Max. I know.”

“I'm sorry, Tyson. I didn't want to bring it up and make you sad. But I didn't want you to think I was insensitive either.”

“I know. I appreciate it.” Tyson glanced over at the others again. “I couldn't have better friends than all of you. I don't know that I could have made it without all of you.”

Max's smile was sad. “I wish I could have been there, too. I didn't get Kenny's emails until I got home from this camp I went to with the All-Starz. By then it was too late.”

“You were there in spirit. Don't worry, Max old buddy.” Tyson opened his bottle of water and took a quick drink. “I still miss him - and probably always will - but I'm okay. I have school to look forward to, now, after all.”

Max nodded. “Yep! Me too. Still, if you need to talk or something…”

“I know. Thank you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

The bus trip only took an hour and forty-five minutes. Max was grinning from ear to ear when they finally pulled up in front of a large, eight-story building - only one among several large buildings and wide open green, park-like spaces.

“Wait until you guys see Spirit Hall.” He remarked as they disembarked. “Heck, wait until you see the campus! It's really beautiful.”

“So you've already unpacked, Max?” Rei asked, taking his bags from John as he unloaded their luggage. “Thanks, John.”

“Not really, no. I'll get around to it.” Max shook his head. “I wanted to check things out first, and then come and meet all of you at the airport.”

“I can't wait to see it. You'll have to give us a tour, Maxie.” Hilary smiled.

“You bet, Hil!”

A new voice spoke up, startling the group with its familiarity.

“Welcome to Spirit Hall, Bladebreakers! It's really great to see everyone again!”

“Zeo!” The group (minus Max, who just grinned) chorused.

“Dude! What are you doing here?” Tyson dropped his bag and held out a hand to shake his former rival's. “How are you, Zeo?”

“Hey, Tyson!” Zeo laughed and gave his friend a giant bear hug. “I know it's a surprise. I was a little surprised, too, when Mr. Dickenson asked me to take up this job.”

“Job?” Kenny inquired, shaking Zeo's hand in turn.

“Meet Spirit Hall's student liaison and residence coordinator.” Max declared, clapping the aqua-haired teen on the shoulder.

“That's me.” Zeo grinned, rolling his eyes. “Basically, it's my job to keep an eye on the residents of Spirit Hall, deal with their problems, and take care of them, etc. Think of me as your parent away from home.”

“No offence, dude,” Tyson made a face. “But no thanks.”

The two grinned at each other.

“The day's full of surprises.” Rei smiled. “It's just great to see everyone again, too.”

“Well, come on! I'll take you up to your suites, and give you the info-speech I'm supposed to. No use standing around out here, right?” Zeo gestured for the group to grab their stuff and follow him.

The front lobby was designed to look more like an oversized living room, with comfortable looking chairs and couches set up near a fireplace that wasn't on. In one corner, near the elevator doors and a hallway, was a desk made of metal and what appeared to be glass (but was probably either plastic or pexi-glass). Zeo stopped at the desk for a moment to grab a pile of large envelopes and a little, hand-held computer device that looked like a Palm Pilot. Then he took them to the elevators.

“Okay…so I have an envelope for each of you.” He said, passing them out. “Inside, you'll find a student handbook - which is like a book that has all the rules and stuff in it - as well as a booklet with rules specific to Spirit Hall regarding visitors, parties, etc.” Zeo pushed the `up' button for the elevators. “And there should be some information pamphlets on the city with stuff about shopping, businesses, and whatever, and coupon books for all kinds of stuff. You'll also find a welcome letter from Mr. Dickenson, and a key card that's about the size of a key-tag that you can hook onto your keys for safe keeping and easy use.”

“Cool. I take it the security is pretty tight on this building?” Kenny had found his and was examining it.

“No. Well, no more than an upscale apartment building, really.” Zeo shook his head and stepped into the elevator that arrived first. The others followed, and after the doors shut and the elevator began to move, he continued. “If you should lose that key-card, be sure to tell me immediately so I can change the codes and get you a new one.”

“We'll take good care of them, Zeo.” Rei assured him.

“I know! I just have to give you the speech, you know?” Zeo shrugged. “Anyway, on the main floor, down that hallway you saw before we got on the elevator, you'll find the gymnasium and weight training room. In the basement there is an Olympic-sized pool and full facilities. The second floor is the Beyblade training facility with two standard, competition-sized beydishes. On the third floor you'll find my suite - should you need me - and the common room. That's where we'll be holding the ice-breaker meeting later this evening, by the way.”

The elevator stopped and they got off. Zeo led them down the long hallway and stopped at the first door they came to. “Okay. You're all on this floor - eighth - and this would be Kenny and Hilary's room, I believe.” He consulted his little computer device. “Yep.”

“They actually allow co-ed dorms?” Hilary blinked.

“Well…not normally. They make exceptions, however, for siblings, married couples, or soon-to-be-married couples such as yourselves.” Zeo smiled, winking. “Plus, Mr. D knows all of you so well, and he knows there won't be any trouble from you. He trusts that you're all responsible adults by now, anyway.”

Kenny blushed and looked at his fiancée. “I don't mind if you don't, Hilary.”

“Of course not. Just don't expect me to do all the cooking and cleaning, Kenny.” She warned him. The Chief hastily shook his head.

“Wouldn't dream of it, my love.”

“Oh yeah! Hey, I meant to congratulate you both earlier but I totally got sidetracked.” Max glomped them with a whoop. “So congrats!”

“May I borrow your key-card, Chief?” Zeo asked. Kenny handed it over. “I'll show all of you how it works. It's pretty simple. You just slide it into the slot here,” he demonstrated by sliding the tiny key-card into a slot on the wall next to the door knob, and a little green light above the slot lit up. “And voila! Unlocked.” Zeo pushed open the door and flipped the lights on inside. “There you go, you two.”

“Wow…I wasn't expecting student residence to be so spacious.” Hilary observed, impressed.

“When the building was being designed, they decided that it was an investment to make the residences of Spirit Hall more apartment-like and less dormitory. In fact, all the residences on campus are like mini-apartments, though not quite as large as Spirit Hall.”

“Still…it's great!”

Smiling, Zeo looked back at the others. “Well, let's leave them to explore, unpack, whatever, and get you two into your own homes, shall we?”

“Yeah! I can't wait to see it, now.” Rei nodded with enthusiasm.

“It's really great, Rei.” Max told him. “I hope you don't mind having a roommate, though.”

Rei blinked. “No, I don't mind.” He frowned. “Or should I?”

“I'm your roomie!” Max grinned, and Rei laughed, ruffling his blonde hair affectionately.

“Oh, well, then I don't mind at all. We get along just fine, after all.”

“My thoughts exactly.”

Zeo led them to the next door, this one on the opposite side of the hall and down a little from Kenny and Hilary. Max opened the door and led Rei inside.

Tyson followed Zeo to the end of the hall to a third door.

“And this is your suite, Tyson.” The teenaged cyborg declared. “Your roommate hasn't arrived yet, but don't worry. I'm pretty sure you two will get along really well when he does arrive.”

Tyson raised an eyebrow at him and unlocked the door. “Who might that be?”

Zeo winked. “It's a surprise. But I will tell you that we know him, and that he's come a very long way - both as a blader, and a friend.” Zeo clapped Tyson on the shoulder. “I'm off to take care of some other stuff before the meeting tonight, though. I'll see you later, okay, buddy?”

“Yeah. Sure thing, Zeo.” Tyson watched him head back down the hall to the elevator, then turned to go into his new home and explore.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Walking into the suite, Tyson was struck by the spaciousness of it.

“Geez. This place doesn't do anything small, does it?” He said to himself. The area in front of him was one large room - a kitchen with a small table in a dining area, and a living room. Off the living room, Tyson could see a balcony beyond sliding glass doors. Along the far wall from his position at the door, there were four doors. Two were open, and Tyson kicked off his shoes then went over to inspect the rooms beyond. The first was a storage closet, the second a bedroom, and the third was the bathroom. Tyson went into the bedroom, ignoring the fourth door, which he assumed was the other bedroom.

Dropping his bags on the bed, he ran a hand through his hair as he recognized the boxes stacked on the floor as his own. “Well, I guess they got here alright. Hopefully, nothing got damaged on the flight over.” He looked around, spotting another door near the closet. He went over and opened it curiously, revealing the bathroom. “Cool.” Tyson shut the door again and looked around.

The room was about same size as his own at home. There was a double bed, a dresser, a bedside table and lamp, a desk and a small bookshelf above the desk. All in all, it seemed quite comfortable.

Deciding to begin unpacking his boxes, so he at least had some clean clothes for the next day and maybe a book or something to keep himself occupied, Tyson went over to the stack of boxes and dug in. In the first, he found his manga, a few books, his Beyblade equipment, and the framed photos he'd chosen of his family, his team, and of his friends back home. He left the pictures on the desk for the moment, intending to find places for them after he had everything else put away.

He found his clothes in the next box, and carried it over to the closet to hang things up later. In the next box was his stereo and CDs, which he immediately began hooking up and setting up so he could at least have music to listen to while he worked.

Tyson was cursing his discovery of no hangers for his clothes in the closet when his doorbell caught his attention. He backed out of the closet and went to answer the door.

It was Max. “Hey! Aren't you unpacking?” Tyson asked the blonde. He stepped aside to let him in.

“Nah. I don't feel like it. And Rei had to go see Mariah.” Max laughed, and rolled his eyes. “You know those two.”

“Yeah.” Tyson shook his head wryly. “Well, you're welcome to keep me company while I unpack, then.”

“Sure!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

At 8 pm, as the sun was only just beginning to set on the horizon, Tyson and Max stopped by to get Kenny and Hilary and the four went down to the third floor common room for the ice-breaker.

“I'm so excited to meet your old friends!” Hilary exclaimed as they stepped off the elevator.

“Yeah! You'll like them, Hilary. They're great!” Max grinned as they entered the common room. “Hey, everyone! Let the party begin! We're here!”

The others in the room turned to look at the new-comers and laughter and greetings filled the room. There were some new people that others hadn't met yet, though, and introductions were in order. Zeo proceeded to introduce everyone by team: the White Tigers, the All-Starz, the Saint Shields, the former Team Psychik, and finally, the new people. There was a pair of twins, brother/sister team, named Julia and Raul who called themselves F-Dynasty. And there was two members of another new team, Barthez' Battalion, Miguel and Mathilda.

Just as Zeo was about to introduce the Bladebreakers, the doors to the common room swung open and another teen (about the same size as Dunga or Gary) strolled in casually, ears plugged with earphones that were connected to the Discman attached to his belt at his hip. He pulled one out and looked around the room at everyone with a total lack of interest.

“I'm here.” He announced, his gaze lading on the All-Starz. “Did I miss anything important?”

“We're introducing ourselves, Rick. Where have you been?” Michael demanded with a glare. Rick shrugged indifferently and ignored the question.

“I guess not. Well, I'm Rick, and I'm from New York City. I'm the best blader around, and I suppose I'm supposed to be one of these guys…” he pointed at the American team. “But I don't do teams. I'm out of here. I need a nap.” He yawned rudely and walked out again, plugging his ear again.

After a moment of stunned silence, Eddy spoke up. “Uh…sorry about him. He's not that bad, really…he's just…new.”

“He'll warm up to everyone eventually.” Zeo agreed. “Now, as I was saying…these are the Bladebreakers! That's Max, Rei, Kenny, Hilary, and of course, Tyson!”

“So you guys are the famous Bladebreakers, huh?” Miguel nodded at them in greeting. “It's a pleasure to meet you. I look forward to blading against you sometime.”

“Likewise, Miguel.” Rei returned.

“Hey, wait a second…” Dunga suddenly said. “You're one team mate short.”

“Yeah…where's Kai?” Emily asked.

Just the mere mention of his name made Tyson freeze in place, carefully schooling his face to show no sign of what he really was feeling. Max and Rei looked at him, then at Kenny and Hilary, then back to everyone else. They'd noticed the sudden change in their friend, and wondered at it.

“We don't know.” Max finally replied, his usual genki spark fading a little.

“None of us have talked to him or anything for a really long time, now.” Kenny informed them sadly. He was watching Tyson out of the corner of his eye, knowing perfectly well just what Kai meant to Tyson after all this time. The brunette wanted to hug the World Champion when he saw the tremor in Tyson's hand as he reached for his glass of soda.

“He's fine.” Tyson said, no real inflection in his voice to betray his chaotic thoughts. “You know him…he doesn't know the meaning of the phrase, `Keep in touch.'”

“Actually…” another voice broke in. “I do. I've just been…incommunicado, of late.”

No one had heard the doors open again, admitting two tall teens laden with baggage. One was Kai, and when Tyson turned slowly to stare in shock, he felt the room spin and his heart stop briefly before it suddenly started to pound, making him a little bit dizzy. There was the one person he wanted to see most in the world…after all this time…

“Kai!” Their team mates chorused with excitement and welcome, jumping up and running over to him. He cracked a smile and held up his hands to ward them off.

“Whoa! Hold it right there! The first one of you to glomp me gets tossed off a balcony.” Kai shooed them out of his personal space. “That goes double for you, Mizuhara.” He gave the blonde a quick glare of warning.

Max grinned sheepishly and scratched his head, but gave heed to the warning.

“We're so glad to see you're okay, Kai!” Hilary gave him a quick pat on the shoulder in greeting before planting her hands on her hips. “But where the hell have you been!? And why haven't you called or something?!”

“It's a long, long story, Hilary. One that I promise I'll explain later, okay?” Kai glanced over his shoulder at the other teen. “Look who else is joining us, guys.”

Kenny blinked under his hair in surprise. “Tala!”

Zeo came up behind Max, smiling slightly. “And that's the last of us. The reunion's complete!”

***********************

Authoress' Notes: Guah… @__@ My hands are killing me. Okay! So they're finally together again! But…now comes the fun part: explaining himself to the team, and most especially to Tyson. ^__^ Stay tuned, and please R/R!!!!