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Warnings: Yaoi, Lemon(s), language, angst, violence, etc. and that cavity warning I mentioned before. Rated NC-17. This chapter: Lemony goodness! x2!

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Kali: Well, I've decided to do a little something to speed this story up. Even I didn't expect it to end up going this long!

Dryad: You?! O.o

Kai: Hn. You know she's got a big mouth.

Tyson: winces. Really, Kai. Do you have to be so…

Kali: anime twitches. …annoying? >_<

Kai: You love me anyway. ^-^

Everyone: -_-;;

Tyson: And modest, too.

Kali: ANYWAY…from now on my chapters are going to be a lot longer.

Dryad: Think of it as compressing two chapters into one!

Kali: Exactly. So without further ado…

Tyson: Kali doesn't own Beyblade!

Kai: You can try suing…but she doesn't own anything worth any money.

Kali: >_< Must you remind me?!

Dedication: TO GLAY! ^-^;; For the sketch that I used for my inspiration for the TyKa lemon in this chapter…and for allowing me to drool *coughs* I mean admire your art! Lol

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Pairs: Tyson/Kai, Rei/Max, others to be decided.

FYI: {telepathy}, //bit-beast speech aloud//, thoughts, normal speech

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Chapter 19

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Rei woke up slowly to a gentle stroking along his spine. Max was running a hand over his back, petting him like a cat.

The neko-jin lay sprawled on his stomach, his long raven locks spread out behind him. He sighed, purring in contentment and shifted a bit to get comfortable. Rei heard a soft laugh and felt Max's weight on the bed next to him move closer and a light kiss pressed to his shoulder - where a slash from a tree root had left a cut that Max and Kai had patched up the day before.

"Morning, my love. This cut's nearly healed." Max kissed it again. "It's hardly even a bruise now."

Rei smiled, purring louder at his mate's touch. "Hmm…" He opened his eyes and blinked sleepily at Max, whose bright blue eyes stared back. "Hi."

"Hi! How do you feel?"

"Not bad." Rei yawned. "Still sore and weary, I guess." He reached out and slid his fingers through Max's blonde hair. "Excited for the tournament today?"

"Yep. But I'm trying not to think about it." Max grinned. "My nerves are already buzzing."

"Want me to take your mind off things?" Rei purred, a wicked glint lighting up his golden eyes.

Max leaned in and pressed his mouth to Rei's in a light, teasing kiss. Rei's arm snaked around his waist and he rolled over onto his back, pulling Max with him until the blonde was sprawled over top of him, never breaking the pressure of their lips. When Max wriggled and made pleasant little mewls, Rei ran his hands up and down Max's arms and teasingly trailed fingertips over his sides.

"Ah…" Max gasped and shivered at the little thrills from Rei's touch, shifting against the body under him restlessly. "…Rei…"

"Oh Max." Rei broke away and ran his fingers through Max's mass of blonde hair again, gazing up at his lover's flushed expression. "I've missed you, sprite."

"I know what you mean." Max cuddled into his mate, rubbing his cheek against Rei's and burrowing his nose into his neck with a sigh. "I'm a little envious of Kai and Tyson. They're able to be with each other 24/7!"

"At least while we're on the circuit we can be, too." Rei nuzzled Max back, inhaling deeply and rubbing the inside of one leg against the blonde's hip, his mouth seeking out Max's again for a long, passionate kiss. "Mmm…yeah…"

"Rei…" Max moaned his name softly, pulling away and sitting up, panting just a little. "We shouldn't. You're still healing and you need your energy…"

"I'm okay, sweetheart." Rei smiled up at him reassuringly, lightly tracing patterns on Max's upper legs with his fingertips. "Honestly. And right now, I need you more than I need my energy. I want you, Maxie." His voice went low and dark, reflecting his desire for his mate.

"If you're sure…" Max leaned back down so they were chest to chest again, and captured Rei's mouth with his own. The groan he wrung out of Rei he chose to take as assent and he ran his hands up and down Rei's sides, making the neko-jin shiver as Max had earlier. In response to the sweet fire burning in his veins, Rei rolled them over again, plundering Max's mouth with his tongue and reacquainting himself with its interior.

Max made a needy noise in his throat, his own tongue tangling with Rei's and a quiet sigh issuing from him when Rei moved away from his mouth and kissed along his jaw and down his neck, nipping lightly and carefully here and there. Max clutched at Rei's shoulders and back as Rei's hands stroked and caressed bare skin wherever he found it. "Uhn…yes. Ah!" Max cried out, his back arching a bit in an effort to get closer to Rei's hot, wet mouth as it covered a taut, sensitized nipple and sucked. "Rei…more…"

After purring loudly and lavishing like attention on the other nub, Rei kissed and licked his way down Max's stomach, inhaling his mate's scent and pausing briefly to let the pheromones swim around in his head. Then he sat up and crawled back up Max's wanton form, kissing him hard for a moment before breaking away to ask, "Did you bring anything?" in a slightly growling voice.

Max pried his eyes open and blinked dazedly. "Huh? Oh…" He wriggled out from under Rei and shakily got up to go to his suitcase. Rei rolled over onto his back, watching with eyes gone molten gold and totally feline as Max dug out a bottle of lube and came back to the bed, crawling up so he straddled his lover's waist and could feel Rei's hard length nestle between the lobes of his butt. "This what you wanted?" He inquired, dangling the bottle in front of Rei's nose with a giggle.

"Yeah." Rei plucked it from his grasp and motioned for Max to turn around, which the blonde obediently did. This put him in an ideal position to see if he could drive Rei a little crazy and speed things up some. Max grinned and grasped Rei firmly in one hand, slowly pumping his erection and taking just the tip into his mouth, lightly running his tongue over the head that was already glistening with pre-cum. He heard Rei gasp and the purr increase to a steady rumble of pleased sound.

Then he felt Rei's slick fingers, obviously coated in lube, rub against his entrance and Max whimpered, wriggling slightly in eager anticipation and sucking hard at the sensations of first one finger, then another, then another being thrust into him, stroking deep and gently stretching him in preparation for something much bigger and harder than Rei's fingers.

"Ah, Gods! Max…" Rei moaned as his mate's mouth worked him up to the point of near release. "Shit! Stop, sprite! I can't take much more of that…" He removed his fingers and felt Max release his erection with a whimper of protest. "Turn around, my love."

Max quickly turned, taking the lube from Rei and using it on him impatiently then positioning himself and slowly sinking down onto Rei's weeping sex with a low, keening moan. Rei groaned, eyes narrowing with want and hands gripping Max's hips to keep him from moving right away as he filled his lover completely. Max, flushed with his passion and need, stared down at his lover, sapphire blue eyes gone dark and glazed over.

"I love you, Rei." He said hoarsely, bracing himself with his hands on the neko-jin's chest. "So much…"

"I love you, Max. With everything I am…" Rei replied, his voice little more than a growl. He held up one hand and Max took it, placing his palm to Rei's and letting their fingers link together and grasp tightly. Rei's other hand on Max's hip gripped and he thrust upwards, earning a tiny cry of pure pleasure from his mate as Max took the hint and began to move, at first up and down until the pace grew desperate. Then he simply rocked his hips in time with Rei's thrusts.

Moans, gasps, mewls, and the occasional cry filled the quiet of the room musically. The heat built up to the point of explosion and Rei tugged Max down to his chest, though the blonde needed little encouragement to do so, collapsing on Rei's chest and frantically seeking out Rei's mouth with his own.

With his own dripping erection trapped between them, the friction of their sweat-slicked bodies' movements added another stimulation that was too much for Max. He managed to moan out Rei's name and it was the only warning Rei got before Max cried out sharply and came hard, his release covering their stomachs. Rei wrapped both arms around Max s he shuddered and whimpered in ecstasy, the clenching and contracting walls around Rei driving him over the edge into his own blissful oblivion with a cry of Max's name.

They clung to one another for a while in recovery, panting with the effort to take air into their lungs and willing their frantic heartbeats to slow. After a moment, Rei began to purr, stretching a little under Max with feline satisfaction. Max smiled contentedly, burrowing his face in the pillow next to Rei's head and turning his head just a bit to the side to nuzzle his lover's neck. "Hmm…I needed that."

Rei snickered. "Feeling pretty good are we?" He returned the affection with a nuzzle of his own, trailing fingertips up and down his mate's sweaty back. "We certainly worked up a sweat."

Max sat up and grinned down at him. "It's a good workout, isn't it?" Rei laughed and pulled him down for a lazy kiss.

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Across the hall in another room, Kai was doing his very best to block out and ignore his lover, who was uncharacteristically awake first, and incessantly chattering with an energy Kai had no idea Tyson even possessed - especially at 7:30 in the morning.

"Kai! Come on! Get up! We need to go practice before the tournament, don't you think? Get up, get up, get up, get up, get up, get up, get up, get up, get up, get up, get…OOPH!"

He was cut off by a very hard WHAP to the head by a pillow.

"Tyson! Shut the hell up! It's too early for practice and it's definitely too early for your annoying energy!"

Tyson flopped on the bed next to him dazed and with ringing ears. "Ow." He managed to say.

Kai sighed and pulled the covers back up over his head, burrowing into the warmth of the bed intending to go back to sleep. Then he felt a chill blast of air as Tyson lifted the sheets and crawled in with him, cuddling up against Kai's back, an arm curling over his waist and a leg tossed over his hip. He sighed again and smiled reluctantly as Tyson brushed his lips over the nape of Kai's neck over and over. "Why are you awake anyway?" He mumbled.

"It's the day of a tournament, lover." Tyson replied between kisses. "I couldn't sleep. Nerves, I guess."

"Are you serious?" Kai opened his eyes, giving up on sleep altogether and capturing Tyson's hand with his own as it slowly drifted down his stomach. "Since when do you have nerves?"

He didn't see the Dragon's pout but he felt it against his neck. "I'm only human, Kai. I get nervous, too." He tried to move his hand again but Kai just clasped it tighter and held it over his navel.

"Well, it's news to me! Are you going to be like this before every tournament?"

"No. I don't think so. I just need to get back into it that's all." Tyson sighed. "Kaaaaiiiii…."

Kai felt something hard nestle between his butt-cheeks as Tyson pulled him closer and pressed every inch of bare skin along his front to Kai's back. The Phoenix let out a little groan and shifted his hips restlessly. "Tyson…you're bound and determined to keep me awake aren't you?"

"I've got all this energy…" Tyson moaned, doing his best to sound pitiful and sexy at the same time. "If I don't do something with it, I'll go crazy and drive you crazy too!"

Kai smothered a laugh and rolled over to face Tyson. "And I suppose you have an idea on how to get rid of that excess energy?" Kai traced Tyson's facial features with a finger, smiling at the wicked gleam in those midnight blue eyes.

{It's this or practice, lover.} Tyson ran a hand down Kai's side, across his hip and over his butt, rubbing his palm against the soft, smooth skin and leaning in so close they could feel each other's warm breaths on their faces. {You know you can't resist me.}

{I can resist you just fine, thanks.} Kai grinned. {You're just lucky I don't really want to resist.} He leaned in closer and rubbed his lips over Tyson's softly at first, then harder as Tyson's hands tangled in his hair, grasping the back of his head and holding him in place while his lover ravished his mouth.

{Ah…Gods!} Tyson moaned mentally and aloud as Kai's hands swept over his back and fingertips danced up and own his sides, leaving a path of heated nerves in their wake. The World Champion trembled at the rising heat that surrounded him, burned through his veins and threatened to explode in his mind. {Gods! Kai…I need this. I need you!} He gasped as Kai rolled them over so that he was propped up on his forearms above Tyson, gazing down into smoky blue pools with flamed eyes and panting slightly. {You make me burn…}

{It's always been you…} Kai returned, shifting until he lay between Tyson's legs and could feel his erection, already weeping and slicked with pre-cum, jab him in the pelvis. {I want…} Kai swooped down and kissed his mate hard, his tongue sweeping around the inside of Tyson's mouth and battling him for dominance. {Shit! You taste so good…} His thoughts were chaotic, their bodies rubbing and rocking against each other in all the right places making it extremely difficult to form coherent sentences through the hot, lust-filled fog in his mind.

{Kai!} Tyson moaned. {Lover, just do it already!} He demanded, sure he as going to explode if Kai didn't do something - anything - soon.

Kai broke the kiss to suck in much needed air and kissed his way down Tyson's neck, finding a good spot and biting gently, hard enough to leave a mark. It made Tyson cry out sharply and whimper with need. "Ty…lover, I can't. Not this time." Kai whispered in his ear, trembling slightly. "I can't explain it but this time I…"

"Shh…" Tyson pulled him up and kissed him again, trying his best to devour his lover's mouth, rolling them over again. {No explanations necessary, Kai.} He reassured the Phoenix, who relaxed slightly against him. {But I can't hold out much longer…} Tyson told him as he moved down to Kai's neck and marked him in return with his teeth, making Kai mewl softly.

Taking control again, Tyson pushed away from Kai and sat up, getting up to dig through his bag for a bottle of lube while Kai watched from the bed, blinking dazedly.

Tyson's dark gaze glittered with unrepressed need as he crawled back over to Kai, taking in his naked, muscular, sweaty form and flushed face and neck. "Fuck, you're so gorgeous, my love." He growled. Kai suddenly smiled wickedly at him, and Tyson made a strangled noise as he watched the Phoenix touch a finger to his own lips then slowly, tantalizingly trail that finger down his body.

Tyson's eyes narrowed as Kai circled one nipple with his finger, his lips parting on a quiet sigh of pleasure. He gripped the bedsheets in his hands, fisting them in his hands to keep from reaching out to the wanton display before him, sensing that Kai was up to something. {Are you trying to kill me? Or just drive me insane?} He licked his lips as Kai moved on to the other nipple, his back arching almost imperceptivity into the touch.

{Hmm…} Kai replied. He could feel his need rising as he watched Tyson watching him, those gorgeous eyes Kai loved so much glued to the scene he was performing for the younger teen. {I just wondered if I was as irresistible to you as you are to me…} Kai's smile widened as his hand moved lower and he traced the Phoenix tattoos on his stomach, Tyson's gaze following every movement. {Watch me, Ty-love. See how you turn me on…make me burn…} His hand slid lower.

{Oh…shit…} Tyson swallowed hard, twitching with the effort not to pounce on Kai. {Do it, Kai. Touch yourself…} His eyes nearly crossed when Kai's large hand wrapped around his equally large sex and slowly slid up and down, his hips jerking a bit and a low moan coming from Kai's throat at the touch. {Dear Lord…Kai…}

"Uhn…oh my…Tyson!" Kai fell back against the bed, his hand increasing speed and pressure. "Ooooohhhhh…"

"Fuck that's hot!" Tyson rasped, not even noticing that he'd reached for his own erection and was stroking himself as he watched Kai. He could also tell how close the Phoenix was to coming. "Kai! Stop! Don't come…"

It took willpower, but Kai managed to still his hand and move it away from himself. He whimpered and stared at Tyson with glazed crimson eyes. "Ty…I need…have to…uhn…"

Tyson shuddered at the blatant need that turned his lover's voice dark and hoarse, quickly using the lube on himself as he asked, "How do you want it, lover?"

Kai got up and rolled over, kneeling on all fours on the bed and offering his backside to the Dragon. "Hard and fast!"

Wasting no time, Tyson moved up behind him, grasping Kai's hip firmly with one hand and using the other to guide himself to Kai's puckered pink entrance. With one swift motion of his hips and a cry of pure pleasure he thrust into Kai hard, both hands holding Kai's hips still for a moment.

Kai cried out sharply at a small spike of pain at the sudden intrusion but it was quickly washed away by a flood of heat and pleasure as Tyson began to move until he was literally pounding Kai into the mattress. Kai began to moan in ecstasy, his arms giving out on him and making him drop forward face first into the bed. He reached out with both hands, grasping desperately at the sheets as his moans turned to pleading mewls of intense need, a fine sheen of sweat building on his skin.

Tyson continued to slam into his captain over and over, the slick, tight walls surrounding his throbbing length gripping rhythmically and driving him closer to the edge of release. "Oh fuck, yes! Mmmmaaaaaaahhhh…Kai! Soooooo g…goooood!" He wrapped a hand around Kai's dripping erection, feeling him near orgasm, and cut off the possibility of it just as Tyson gave one last thrust and came hard himself, emptying himself into his beloved Phoenix with a force that wracked his whole body, moaning Kai's name long and loud.

Kai felt him come and whimpered in agony at the throbbing, aching need for release. {AH! No! Tyson…I need to come…please!?} He was too far gone to care if he begged and did so as Tyson withdrew from him, his hand still cutting off any chance of an orgasm for Kai. {Please, love! Make me…}

Tyson released him and Kai collapsed to the bed rolling over onto his back with another whimper. "Hold on, my fiery Phoenix. You'll come when I want you to." He settled himself between Kai's legs once again and bent his head to take Kai into his mouth, swirling his tongue over the tip that was so swollen it had turned an angry red, glistening with pre-cum that leaked continuously. Kai's whole body shivered and his back came up off the bed, his head tossing back with a high moan that sounded suspiciously like a wail.

{Now, Kai!} Tyson decided not to torture his lover any more, preparing himself for what he knew was on the way. He could feel it through his link to Kai and with his powers. {Let go, baby, and come for me…} To give Kai a little nudge over the edge, he called on his powers, letting it surround them both in a blue aura, little frissions of static electricity sparking along every nerve ending in their bodies and swallowing them whole. {COME!}

"AH! HOLY FUCK! TYSON!" Kai yelled, unable to contain it and simply not caring if anyone heard him. His body shuddered once and, as he came, suddenly burst into a bright burning red glow as his power responded to Tyson's and swept over them, merging with the blue of Tyson's aura.

The World Champion gasped and sucked harder on Kai, milking every last drop of his essence from his mate as he basked in the euphoria that followed the power rush. Tyson let out a laugh as he came again, shuddering with the orgasm's force in response to Kai's release.

When he thought he could move again, he slid up to drape himself around Kai, nuzzling with affection and smug satisfaction. Kai just lay there, totally spent and dazed as their auras toned down and faded away slowly along with their frantically beating pulses and gasps for air.

{Oh…} Kai began.

{My…}

{Dear…}

{Gods!} Tyson finished. {That was…}

{Fucking amazing!}

{Hell, yes.}

{I don't know where that came from.} Kai mustered the energy to wrap his arms around Tyson tightly with a sigh of contentment. {But fuck!}

{Ditto.} Tyson agreed. He cuddled Kai closer and lazily licked a wet patch where he'd bitten his lover earlier. {Hmm…}

Kai pried his eyes open in surprise when Tyson began to purr - really purr - like a cat. Or a dragon. He thought with sudden realization.

"What's like a dragon?" Tyson inquired sleepily, his voice muffled against Kai's neck.

"You're purring, Ty-love. I think you're taking on some of Dragoon's characteristics."

Tyson raised his head and blinked down at him. "Does it bother you?"

"No! Actually, I kinda like it." Kai smiled softly as the purring increased in volume and Tyson snuggled back down. "We should take a shower, you know." He said after a while.

Tyson sighed. "Yeah. But I'm comfortable right here."

Kai chuckled and delivered a light slap to the Dragon's bare ass. "So am I! But we've got a tournament to prepare for. And we haven't had breakfast yet."

"I am kinda hungry…" A loud growling from Tyson's stomach agreed with that statement. "Problem is, I don't think I can move!"

"I guess we succeeded in getting rid of that excess energy of yours, huh?" Kai laughed.

"Oh…shut up."

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Rei and Max were just coming out of their room to go find breakfast after their shower when both bladers suddenly felt a blast of power that they quickly recognized as Tyson's from their teammates' room. They stopped in the hall outside the door and looked at each other, unsure what to do.

Kenny came running in from the suite's sitting room where he'd been hard at work preparing for the tournament that day. "Guys! What's going on? Dizzi got all excited! She said something about Tyson's power being used just now!"

"Yeah, Kenny. We felt it." Rei glanced at the door then back at Max. "Think we should check on them?"

"Uh…maybe. I mean, what if they're battling one of the Void's minions? We don't know when or where they'll strike next." Max pointed out, unsure.

"You're right, Max! I'll be right back. I'm getting my laptop." Kenny rushed away.

Rei turned to the door and lifted his hand to knock but froze when Driger said, {I wouldn't do that if I were you, Kitten.}

{What? Why?}

His neko-jin abilities allowed him to hear quite well, and when another, incredibly powerful energy joined Tyson's, Rei turned a little pink as his ears picked up - just barely - through the near-soundproof walls and door their captain's yell of "AH! HOLY FUCK! TYSON!"

Max frowned in concern, since he could feel what he correctly assumed was Kai's power, just suddenly explode. "Rei! I think we'd better…what? Why are you shaking your head and blushing?"

"Um…I think maybe we ought to just leave them alone for now, Maxie." Rei sighed and the blush deepened just a bit. He could feel their frantic heartbeats and a distinct sense of pure euphoria from them on the other side of that door. "They're…busy."

Max scowled - bless his innocent self - in confusion. "I get that, Rei! But they might need our help, and…"

Rei made a strangled noise and gently ushered his mate down the hall to stop Kenny from barging in, too. "No, Max. I really don't think so. Trust me. They're both fine."

Kenny was fighting with his power cord when they came in and looked up in near panic. "I'm coming! I just can't get this stupid thing unplugged!"

"Don't worry about it, Chief." Rei waved him off. "They're okay."

"But how do you…oh." Kenny noticed the pink staining Rei's face and how he refused to meet his or Max's eyes. "Oh." There was a pause…and then realization hit. "OH!" Kenny coughed and flushed, too, as Rei nodded ruefully and flopped down on the couch, pulling Max down with him.

"Would someone please explain to me what's going on?" Max demanded.

Rei leaned over and whispered something in his ear and Max blinked then laughed with a blush of his own. "Oh. Silly me."

"You'd think they could warn us or something before they do that." Kenny muttered, going back to his work.

Max giggled some more. "I don't think it was entirely planned, Chief."

"How are you feeling today, Rei?" Kenny asked, changing the subject.

"I'm fine, Chief. I might not be 100 % yet but much better than yesterday. I think I can blade today, too."

Kenny looked at him carefully. "Well, I wouldn't recommend it, Rei. You should sit today's matches out and rest. Kai can blade in your spot as substitute. He is one for the team as well as our captain, after all."

"I'm really okay, Kenny. I'm up to it! Honestly!" Rei tried to reassure him. He didn't want to be left out of the tournament.

Kenny sighed. "We'll see. Kai will decide anyway. If he benches you, though, you're sitting it out."

Rei frowned. He didn't like this at all.

Sensing an argument brewing, Max intervened. "We'll see how it goes, okay? So, Chief? Do you know who we're fighting first today?"

Kenny shook his head. "No. It's a random draw that's supposed to be posted at the Stadium soon. We won't find out until we get there."

"Oh! Cool! It's a surprise then!" Max smiled his trademark smile. "Great! It'll make it more interesting." He got up and went over to the little table to peer at Dizzi's screen to see what Kenny was working on.

Rei picked up the phone and called for room service, fairly sure that when Tyson and Kai surfaced from their room, they'd be hungry.

By the time the food arrived, the two teens had emerged freshly showered and appearing quite calm and relaxed. Kenny was immersed in data and blade parts and Max was helping him.

Max took one look at them as they sat on the couch (and joined Rei in raiding the food) and started giggling again.

"What?" Tyson asked, spoon hovering over a large dish of scrambled eggs. Kai arched an eyebrow at him when Max kept giggling then looked at Rei in question.

"How much sugar did you give him this morning?" Kai asked suspiciously.

Rei gave him a fang-filled grin. "None of the kind you mean." He replied waiting for Tyson to figure it out since he was sure the bluenette was already in Max's head looking for answers.

Sure enough. "ACK!" Tyson spluttered, spitting out his orange juice that he'd just sipped. He turned pink and stared down at his plate in embarrassment. "Oh Gods…"

Kai blinked as Tyson relayed the information, a small patch of red staining the bridge of his nose. "Okay. Enough Max! Quit laughing your ass off and eat so we can get going."

Still snickering helplessly, the blonde obeyed.

Kenny just ignored them all.

Rei kept on grinning, though. He had a personality trait that made him keep on poking at his friends when he really should have kept his mouth shut. "So, Kai? How much 'sugar' did you and Tyson have this morning?" The innuendo wasn't lost on Kai or Tyson.

Kai muttered something under his breath that made Rei burst out laughing. That set off Max again, who actually fell out of his chair and rolled around on the floor laughing.

Tyson looked over the arm of the couch at the blonde. "Cut that out!" He glared down at Max.

Kai set his empty plate aside and stared coldly at the chuckling neko-jin. "Max is insane. What's your excuse?"

"Just a hint for the future, guys: try to remember that even soundproof walls can't block all sound from a neko-jin's ears."

Tyson's head snapped over to stare at Rei and Kai's jaw clenched visibly.

"You…heard us?!" Tyson asked incredulously. "Seriously?" He glanced at Kai, who hung his head and was hiding his lobster red face - even more visible since he hadn't put on his triangles yet. Tyson's lips twitched and he couldn't stop the snigger that escaped.

Kai glared at him, eyes flashing fire. "It's not funny!"

Chuckling uncontrollably, Tyson put his plate on the coffee table and crawled into Kai's lap. "Oh, come on. Yes it's embarrassing but it's still funny." Kai scowled darkly at him when Tyson leaned in and whispered in his ear so the others couldn't hear him, "Besides. You did get a little loud when you came…"

"Shit." Kai wanted to sink through the couch, the floor, and right down through the ground he was so embarrassed.

Max managed to get up off the floor and go over to Rei, sitting next to him on the arm of the chair with a wide grin. "Okay. We'll stop teasing you, Kai. It's not a big deal. I'm just glad you and Tyson get along so well - and it's not often we have the opportunity to tease you about anything."

"Hn." Kai gripped the arm of the sofa, the only sign he was still peeved at them. He'd had to dig deep and dust it off a bit but he'd found his cold, indifferent mask somewhere and put it on as fast as possible.

Tyson, of course, could see right through it just as well as he ever could. {Hey…Kai?} He began, wanting to smooth things over.

{Leave me alone, Tyson.} Kai warned, picking the Dragon up and depositing him on the sofa next to him before standing and heading for their room. Tyson frowned, staring after him. The others fell quiet at the tension in the air. "I'm going to finish getting ready. We leave in ten minutes. Be ready or be left behind." Kai stated, icily, before disappearing down the hall.

"You know, he can be such a drama queen sometimes." Rei scowled. "He has got to learn to laugh at himself and not take everything so damned seriously!"

Tyson pinned him with a glare that rivalled Kai's in coldness. "Watch it, Rei. He's no drama queen. He may have loosened up a lot in the last few years and he may have gained a sense of humour, but there are still some things - emotions - that he hasn't learned to deal with yet." The Dragon stood. "Yes, Kai needs to learn to laugh at himself and loosen up a bit more. I agree. But he needs time for that. It doesn't come as easily to him as it does to us." He smiled wryly, though is dark azure eyes were still hard as stone. "I never thought I'd be the one lecturing anyone about patience, Rei, but in this case - when it comes to Kai - I have all the patience in the world and you, obviously, do not."

Rei flinched guiltily, even though he was still angry with Kai's departure - which he still thought was overly dramatic. Max looked about as guilty as Rei felt and when he reached for Rei's hand and squeezed it, Rei squeezed back in comfort and took his own from his mate.

"I'm sorry, Tyson. I guess I got a little carried away." Max sniffled.

"We're sorry." Rei amended. "I pushed his buttons and I did it knowing full-well he'd get mad. I shouldn't have and I don't know why I did it, but I'm sorry."

Tyson held up a hand with a sigh, his temper draining away fast and being replaced with concern over his lover, who he could sense was sitting on the bathroom floor with his knees drawn up to his chest, arms folded over them, and head buried in his arms. "It's not me you're going to apologize to." He said. Then he winced. "I poked at him, too. Look, I'll go talk to him - grovel if I have to. You guys just get ready to go, alright?" Tyson didn't wait for an answer he just strode off quickly.

There was a moment of silence that was broken by Kenny, who'd opted - wisely - to remain silent throughout the whole thing.

"No wonder those two are meant for each other." He said, quietly. He was a little in awe at the depth of Tyson's understanding of their captain.

"What do you mean, Chief?" Max glanced at him curiously.

"I think I see it, too." Rei said, meeting Kenny's gaze solemnly. "Tyson was right. I don't have the patience for Kai's emotions that he needs. Those two truly are two halves of each other's soul." His golden eyes widened in sudden realization. "They balance each other in every way possible, don't they?" At Kenny's nod, Rei groaned and smacked his forehead. "Agh! I can't believe I didn't understand that before! I'm supposed to be Earth - the element that's all about balance, for crying out loud!"

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Rei." Kenny shook his head. "You're still learning, just like the rest of us. Not even I can know everything."

"Um…I get this whole balance thing." Max frowned in thought. "But I still don't think I see what you meant, Kenny."

"I meant that there's no doubt that Kai and Tyson are a mated pair - life mates, soul mates, whatever. I see now that they were…I don't know…destined for one another, I suppose is the way to put it. Don't get me wrong! I don't mean that the only reason they're together is because Destiny put them together! There is always the element of chance that affects everything, and there's always choices involved that would have affected it, too." Kenny spoke as he began gathering up his equipment and Max and Rei tidied up the breakfast mess. "It's as Rei said: they balance each other. Light and dark, yin and yang, etc. etc. etc. They are the very embodiment of it."

Max smiled. "I guess you're right. They do kind of, don't they?"

Rei sat back down on the couch and Max joined him after rolling the breakfast cart out into the hotel hallway. Thinking about it all now, Rei had a sudden epiphany. "Hey, Chief?"

"Yeah?"

"You said Kai and Tyson were destined for each other, right? Ask Dizzi if she knows anything about that."

"I heard, thanks." The trapped Ether spirit's female voice spoke up before Kenny could open his mouth. "And I'm not quite sure what you want to know, Rei."

"Let me tell you what I think and then you and Kenny can tell me how far off-base I'm going here, okay?"

"Make it quick though. We've got a tournament to go to, after all." Kenny reminded him, glancing at the clock on his screen.

"I think that them being together really is destiny. And I don't just mean all of us being on the same team, having the four Sacred Elemental Spirits, Dizzi, and Drisana. You know - all that. Tyson and Kai love each other, we all know it. I don't think Destiny can say 'alright, this person and this person will love each other.' I do think Destiny can set things up and give us each the opportunity to find love and accept it - as well as return it. How am I doing so far?"

There was a pause before Dizzi said, "I think you're onto something, Rei. Finish it off, now."

Nodding, he continued. "Right. So basically, Destiny can't force us to fall in love or control our emotions but it can nudge us in the right direction." Rei looked at Max with a smile. "Max and I being together is evidence of that. And our roles in this fight with the Void…we've battled and won but we're still needed. It's not over yet. While Max and I love each other just as much as Tyson and Kai do, our relationship isn't quite the same, is it, Dizzi?"

Max frowned. "I think I see what you're getting at, Rei. Our getting together is like…a reward of a kind for doing what we were supposed to do - or maybe even a chance occurrence that worked out in our favour. But Tyson and Kai…that power we felt earlier…"

"Yes." Kenny sighed. "They are both incredibly powerful, strong individuals. Kai has power and a lot of it. Has to, after all, to be able to support and control two bit-beasts as powerful as Dranzer and Drisana are. He's probably the absolute best technical blader ever - but he doesn't have the emotional base or sheer stubborn will that Tyson has. The word 'can't' isn't in his vocabulary." Everyone chuckled a little in agreement with that statement. "Put them together and they are very nearly unstoppable, indestructible, unbeatable - in a word: INVINCIBLE. Almost. No one is perfect, after all."

"Yeah. But here's what worries me, Chief." Rei's expression became very grim looking. "They love each other, they balance each other, and they're the next best thing to invincible in battle together…but doesn't that mean that more is going to be expected of them? Does it seem to any of you that whatever Kai and Tyson are going to face in the battles we know are coming will be harder, more power, more clever…hell, just plain more dangerous than what Max or I faced?"

Max shivered. "Gods. That's a horrible thought." A sudden flash of intuition made him go pale. He could almost see… "You're right, Rei. Their fights will be harder. But…their battles will test their bond to the snapping point and beyond. And in that will the true battle between the Void and Creation be decided."

Kenny and Rei stared at him, shocked.

"How did you…?" Kenny gaped.

"It's his element, Chief. Water is connected to vision just as Air is to communication. Max's intuition allows him to see an occasional flash of the future in possibilities." Dizzi explained. "He could, if he wanted, focus his powers and get a full, clear picture of it."

"Wow." Max blinked his blue eyes in surprise. "What do you know? I'm psychic!"

His comment relieved some of the tension and made them all laugh.

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

Kali: @_@ ………….

Dryad: She's out cold. Overload…

Kai: Well, this chapter did get long.

Tyson: Is it really speeding things up?

Dryad: Take my word for it - it is.

Kai: Okay then. R/R!