Beyblade Fan Fiction ❯ Majesty ❯ Chapter 03 ( Chapter 3 )

Authoress' Notes: Well, after the more or less depressing nature of the last two chapters, I figure it's time for some fun and TyKa moments! ^______^

Dedication: To Glay - as a peace offering on the issue of Tyson's hair in Running Scared;

To Ranma - cause you wanted more so fast and were in need of a fix;

To Jen - just because! Lol

And to all my loyal reviewers for this fic and RS - because I love hearing from all of you!

Warnings: See chapter one if you're worried about it.

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or anything to do with it. Only this fic and its OC's (if any).

Pairs: TyKa, ReMa, Hilary/Tala? or Kenny?, Lee/Mariah, others to be decided.

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Chapter 03

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After three nights of hard riding, just as Kai had predicted, they reached the borderlands between the Empire and the western kingdom of Oceanus - a merchant kingdom on the sea whose capital was Marchantia, their destination.

Kai led them past border patrols and Imperial soldiers stealthily on that third night, just before dawn. And - as a precaution - rode on for an extra half a day so that when he finally allowed them to stop they were now safe and well into Oceanus territory where the Emperor couldn't follow - for now.

The prince knew - even if the others did not or chose to pretend otherwise - that their freedom wouldn't necessarily last forever.

Checking the money situation, Kai came to the conclusion that at least they could rest in warm, sheltered inns with comfortable beds from now on, since they'd spent little of the money on supplies thus far.

Hilary was overjoyed because this meant she could finally take a proper bath.

Tyson hid it well, adopting an attitude that resembled Kai's own 'I could hardly care one way or another', but he secretly was looking forward to a bath nearly as much as his cousin was.

"I'll see you boys later!" She waved, dancing off down the hall in a bathrobe that covered her from neck to feet and carrying a towel and bar of soap. "I'm going to enjoy this." The brunette girl disappeared into the women's bathhouse.

Kai left Dranzer in the room he was sharing with Kenny and Tyson guarding their belongings and silently followed the other two teens outside to the men's bathing area - an outdoor hot spring. The place was empty since it was the middle of the afternoon and Kai was rather grateful for it. Why? Because it meant he wouldn't have to worry about other people and being…ugh…sociable.

Kenny, not really embarrassed to be naked around either of them any longer (with Hilary not around anyway), slipped out of his robes and gingerly slid into the hot water, wincing because of his wounds, and sat down with a sigh, relaxing as he hadn't in…years.

Tyson, who apparently had no inhibitions whatsoever (or was too eager about his bath) dropped his robe in a flash and was in the water in seconds, heading for the deepest part so he could sit with the water up to his chin and be totally immersed in the soothing heat. "Oooooohhhh yeah. That's so much better!" He practically moaned, leaning back against the rocks and closing his eyes with a happy little sigh.

Kai had watched him silently, the brief glimpse he'd gotten of the Kinomiya's very muscular, golden skinned body not nearly enough for his tastes but just enough to go straight to his groin and turn his brain off for a moment. To avoid being caught blushing and to calm himself down, he turned away and picked up Tyson's and Kenny's bathrobes, laying them over a long wooden bench then setting three towels he carried down and grabbing the soap and hair solution. After a quick glance to see that Tyson and Kenny were both not paying any attention to him, he shrugged out of his robe and slid into the water where he immediately began scrubbing clean. I'll relax later. He decided. For now I just want to stop smelling like sweat.

When he was done, he passed the stuff to Kenny and sat back, letting the hot spring water seep into his sore muscles from the hard riding and relaxing as much as he ever allowed himself to.

Tyson cracked open one dark blue eye and observed the fiery young prince surreptitiously. Gods he's gorgeous - even if he does change moods more frequently than Hilary does. I don't understand him most of the time, yet I feel like I know him. He sighed and shifted to get more comfortable. He burns hot one minute, warming up to us, talking to us, loosening up a bit - and then the next he's freezing us out - usually the second he realizes he's opening up to us.

And why is it the last few days of travelling with him has made me want more? Made me want to get closer, to understand him, touch him…kiss him? Tyson felt his face heat up and hoped if either Kenny or Kai saw it they'd attribute it to the hot water. Damn that Hilary! Why does she have to be right? I am attracted to him - incredibly, amazingly… He fought back a whimper. …painfully attracted to him. Tyson wriggled uncomfortably in his spot, closing his eyes again and trying really hard to relax again and to not slide through the water and indulge himself. Give it up, Tyson. Kai would probably kill you himself if you tried anything.

While Tyson was tormenting himself, Kai was pretty much doing the same from a few feet away, observing Tyson through his eyelashes to appear as if his eyes were closed. He noticed that the other teen was staring at him then watched as a sudden blush spread over the bridge of the bluenette's nose and across his cheeks, making Kai a) wonder what Tyson was thinking while staring at him and blushing, and b) want to slip over and put himself out of his misery by taking what he so badly was beginning to need - a long, deep, passionate kiss from those delectable pink lips. Kai let out a mental moan of frustration and slouched, sinking further into the water.

Kenny, perfectly oblivious, was nearly falling asleep. Yawning, he pushed himself out of the water and went to dry off and put his robe back on.

Kai looked over at him. "Go take a nap, Kenny. We'll wake you when it's time for supper."

"Thank you…Kai. I will." Kenny smiled his thanks. Kai waved it away.

"Hn. Oh, and hand me that other bottle of hair solution, would you? This one's empty." Kai took the full bottle from Kenny and with a slightly wicked glint to his eyes, winged it at Tyson.

The bottle landed just in front of the bluenette splashing him in the face with hot water. Tyson spluttered and blinked in annoyance. "Hey!"

"You might want to use that, Tyson. If you don't you'll be sleeping outside in the stables." Kai informed him.

"What?! Why?!"

"You smell." Kai stated simply. "Like sweaty horses, actually."

"Urk!" Tyson glowered at him but couldn't really argue with him about it so he set the bottle to one side and raised his hands to try and remove his hair band that held his hair back in a ponytail.

Kenny smothered a giggle at their banter and slipped away quietly. Interesting. Maybe Tyson will be the one to capture my Master's heart. Life would never be boring for them, that's for certain. He mused on his way back up to the room.

Kai watched Tyson struggle with the band for a few minutes then rolled his eyes and commanded, "Come here, you idiot, and let me take it off before you rip out your hair."

Perfectly amenable to that (for more than that reason) Tyson dropped his hands and obeyed. He stood chest deep in the steaming water and turned around, his back to Kai and felt the other teen's long, nimble fingers brush against his skin as he lifted the ponytail and carefully worked at pulling the tie out of the wet hair. Tyson suppressed the need to shiver at the heat that Kai's fingers invoked on his nerves, focusing his eyes on the water in front of him and swirling a fingertip in it to make tiny whirlpools.

Pulling the last of Tyson's blue hair from the tie and tossing it over his shoulder in the general direction of their robes and towels, Kai automatically began finger-combing the tangles out himself - without even realizing what he was doing. It just felt…natural somehow, and he couldn't deny that he liked the feel of those soft strands slipping through his fingers. "Next time, take the ponytail out before you get your hair wet, Tyson. Less tangles that way." He said quietly, his voice distant but holding a warmth that Tyson had never heard in it before. "This would be easier if I had a proper brush."

The bluenette smiled and let his eyes close, enjoying the attention immensely. "Sorry." He murmured. "You're doing a really good job though."

"You have really nice hair…" Kai replied, his voice turning husky. "It's nearly as soft as Dranzer's feathers."

"I'll assume that's really soft." Tyson sighed, unconsciously leaning back into Kai's touch lethargically. The movement seemed to snap Kai out of his near daydream state and he froze, dropping Tyson's hair as if it had shocked him and slowly backing away as he realized what he'd been doing and what he'd said.

"Yeah. Uh…you'd better wash it, and…I'm going to…go." Kai, supremely flustered, was out of the water and into his robe before Tyson could register his disappearance and turn around. He blinked up at Kai from the water, steam curling around him and his hair draping over his back and shoulders to float around him on the surface. "I'll be back later." Kai croaked and fled.

"Kai! Wait! What did I…do?" Tyson tried calling out to him, but he was gone before he could finish the question. He gave a frustrated, confused growl and scowled, grabbing the hair solution and vigorously rubbing it into his hair, all the while cursing himself for becoming a lovesick fool over someone who would never in a million years return any affection.

He'll never want you, Tyson, so give it up. Tyson ordered himself savagely. Concentrate on getting to Max and Rei's where it'll be safe instead. He ducked under the water and rinsed out his hair then surfaced and got out, pulling on his robe and towelling his dripping hair dry.

Lightning flashed, followed by a crash of thunder and Tyson looked up, having not even realized that it had gotten cloudy and darker out. He sighed miserably. "Great. Perfect weather to match my mood. The Gods are probably rolling around up there laughing their asses off at me."

There was another flash of lightning and Tyson sighed and stood, turning to go in before he got rained on.

And came face to face with a pair of huge, fathomless electric blue-grey eyes and a fearsome, majestic looking sinuous body and head.

"AHHHHH!!!!" Tyson screamed in shock, falling backwards over the wooden bench.

The creature made a startled noise and dove beneath the bench to hide in fear.

Tyson sucked in a few breaths to calm his frantically beating heart and sat up, looking under the bench curiously. Despite the darkness, he could just make out the shape of the creature, and, of course, he could see its strange, beautiful eyes. "A dragon? All the way out here? How in the world did you manage that?" The eyes blinked at him and Tyson slowly reached out his hand, palm up. "I'm sorry I screamed like that but you startled me. You can come out, dragon. I won't hurt you." He said, trying to coax it out. "I'm Tyson, of the Kinomiya clan."

The dragon poked its head out from the bench and studied Tyson for a moment before sliding out completely and giving his offered hand a nudge with its head and a questioning sound that sounded suspiciously like a mewl. Tyson smiled and pet the dragon lightly, eliciting a definite purr. He giggled as the dragon slid into his lap and curled around his waist, chest, and shoulders, settling in comfortably. "Hi! You're certainly friendly aren't you?" Tyson stroked his new friend's coils and stood up, staggering a bit under the added weight. "So do you have a name or do I have to think one up for you?"

The dragon seemed to smile at him and Tyson felt the tip of its tail tapping on a spot on the lower right side of Tyson's back. The bluenette tried looking over his shoulder to see what it was but then remembered the tattoo of his family's crest that he'd received when he turned five years old. "My tattoo? That's the Kinomiya family crest. It's a dragon, too, actually." The dragon nodded and made an inquiring mewl. "What? I don't…oh! You want to know its name?" More nodding and Tyson laughed. "It's Dragoon, my family's Guardian sent by the Dragon Gods themselves to protect and watch over the land…"

At that point it dawned on him what the dragon coiled around him was trying to say. "No. Way." Tyson stared into Dragoon's eyes and felt the truth of it deep within himself. "Holy…crap."

Dragoon gave a chuckling purr and rubbed his cheek against Tyson's affectionately.

"Ah…I guess this means you're coming with us, huh? I mean, not that I'd leave you here all alone or anything, but…" Tyson groaned and slowly began making his way back to the room. "Wonderful. And how am I going to explain you to the others? This is so not my…year." He lamented, quietly stepping into the room where Kenny was curled up asleep on one bed.

Dranzer squawked at him and he looked over and waved. "Hi, Dranzer." Tyson greeted the firebird, putting a finger to his lips and pointing at the lump on the bed that was Kenny. The phoenix ruffled her feathers and angled her head at him - no, wait…at Dragoon - curiously. Dragoon regarded her gravely in return and uncoiled himself from Tyson, seeming to float over to her with liquid smooth movements through the air.

Tyson's jaw dropped as Dranzer cooed at Dragoon and he purred in answer, coiling up on the pillow and raising himself up to meet her eye-to-eye where she was perched on the bed's headboard.

"Uh…I take it you know each other?" Tyson observed weakly. Dranzer chirped something and Dragoon purred louder. Tyson sweatdropped heavily and occupied himself with getting dressed, finding his clothes had been laundered by the inn's staff while he'd been at the hot springs - since he was being ignored anyway.

"I don't even want to know." He muttered to himself. Once dressed, he walked over to the window and sat on the window ledge, one knee brought up to his chest and the other leg dangling carelessly off the edge. Tyson stared out the window, watching the storm as it began to rain heavily on the other side of the glass.

Kai…where are you now, anyway? Why did you run off like that?

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The crimson-eyed teen haggled with the goldsmith fiercely until he got an acceptable offer for the gold band of a ring with no stone in the setting, taking the money and concealing it before leaving the shop to go on the hunt for some new clothes for himself and his travelling companions.

After all, they hadn't had time or opportunity to pack a suitcase before they left.

On the other hand he wasn't looking forward to trying to find some suitable garments for Hilary. What the hell do I know about female clothes anyway? Kai glowered to himself as he stalked down the street to find a tailor's shop and a dressmaker's if he could. And all that other stuff girls seem to care so much about. People were sidestepping out of his way and giving dual looks of glares mixed with nervousness at the scowling teen's own expression. Kai continued on, taking no notice of anything or anyone around himself. He was just too immersed in his thoughts to care.

Damn you, Tyson! Why do you have to be so bloody beautiful? And so open and…and…likeable?! Maybe I saved your life and got you freedom but by all rights you should hate me! Agh…it's probably your affiliation with dragons. Kai pushed open the door to the tailor's and strode in, deciding to find Kenny's clothes first since the poor kid had none at all - that fit. Those creatures are reportedly overly friendly. I mean, what other explanation is there? First, I'm talking to you as if I've known you my entire life, then I'm relaxing and letting my guard down around as I've only ever done with Dranzer, and then I'm… Kai cut himself off, the way he'd been all but petting Tyson earlier in the baths still vivid in his mind.

"May I be of some assistance, sir?" A man who Kai assumed was the proprietor of the shop stepped up beside him unobtrusively as Kai examined some clothes on display.

Kai set aside his chaotic thoughts and got down to business. He left the shop and the tailor extremely pleased nearly a half hour later, several large bundles of clothes wrapped carefully into easier to carry packages in his arms.

His next stop was the dressmaker's, who turned out to be a seamstress married to the tailor across the street - not that Kai really cared. Explaining as patiently as he could (re: lying through his teeth), he told her that all their luggage had unfortunately been lost over the side of a bridge and swept away by the river their hired coach had been crossing when said coach hit a bump and tipped precariously.

The woman was immediately sympathetic and out of sympathy for the Lady who had lost all her clothes and possessions, gave Kai a discount of half-price on all his purchases - out of the goodness of her heart, of course.

I can't believe she bought that lame excuse. Kai muttered to himself as he left the shop completely laden down like a pack mule with packages and boxes. Hilary better not complain about anything or I swear I'll toss her off a bridge.

He made his way back to the inn, dashing from sheltered spot to sheltered spot to avoid getting wet since it had begun to pour rain while he'd been in the dressmaker's.

Kai struggled up the stairs of the inn with his purchases and kicked on their room door (since he couldn't knock or open the door himself with his hands full), fervently hoping someone was in there to let him in.

"Who is it?" Tyson's voice answered suspiciously from the other side. Kai suppressed a shiver and growled out his name.

"It's Kai, Tyson. Let me in."

"Door's unlocked, Kai." Tyson replied, his voice muffled by the door.

"Open it, please." Kai ground out, emphasizing the 'please'. "My hands are full."

"Oh! Well, why didn't you say so?" Tyson demanded as he swung the door open quickly.

Kenny, woken by Kai's kicking on the door, rolled over and sat up, rubbing at his eyes. "What's going on?"

"It's just Kai, Chief. No worries." Tyson reassured him, stepping aside as Kai trudged into the room blindly (he couldn't see over the heap of stuff in his arms) and kicked the door closed behind himself.

"A little help, Tyson?" He demanded. Tyson began pulling packages off the top of the pile and setting them on the foot of the empty bed.

"Geez, Kai. What the hell is all this stuff? Did you buy out the town or something?"

Kai's brow furrowed and he set down the remaining stuff with relief. "No-o." He replied, drawing out the vowel in annoyance. "I bought all of us some extra clothes since we've all got practically nothing but what we rode out of town with." Kai selected a couple of packages and turned to drop them on Kenny's lap on his bed. "Here Kenny. It's not much but it's got to fit better than what you're wearing now."

Kenny blinked at the bundles of clothes in shock, then stared up at Kai with surprised gratitude. "Thank you…Kai. I…you didn't have to spend what little money you have on me, a mere servant! I'd have been fine in these clothes…" The little brunette babbled. Kai just shook his head and patted him on the shoulder.

"No, Kenny. You need the clothes just as much as the rest of us do." Kai turned to pick out the things he'd chosen for Tyson as he spoke. "And you aren't as servant anymore." He handed a few more packages to the bluenette who was standing near the window watching him with an expression that said he was trying to figure out something about Kai. "Here. They fit me skin tight so they'll probably be perfect on you."

"Uh…thanks, Kai." Tyson took the bundles and set them aside, carefully beginning to unwrap them to see what the other teen had chosen for him. "I don't suppose you got me a new hair tie?"

Kai looked at him then, for the first time since he'd walked in, and sucked in a breath. If he'd thought the midnight blue-eyed Kinomiya was beautiful before, now he was nearly divine with that mass of blue-black hair draped around his shoulders in waves having dried since Kai'd been gone. Oh Gods…

Unaware that he'd gone silent and still, staring at Tyson with fascination and wanting to reach out and run his fingers through his hair - again - Kai swallowed and jumped almost imperceptibly when Kenny coughed and took the packages for Hilary from Kai's hands, saying, "I'll deliver these to Miss Hilary for you, Kai."

"Oh…ah…thank you." Kai flushed and tore his gaze away from the unearthly beautiful teen.

Only to land on Dranzer, who was still perched where he'd left her, dozing peacefully, and…

"Where the hell did that dragon come from?!"

Tyson's head snapped up from examining his new clothes and winced, speaking quickly. "He and I sort of ran into each other as I was leaving the bath house, Kai, and I…"

"So you brought him up here? Tyson, you can't keep a pet dragon." Kai waved his hands in the air expressively. "We don't know where we're going or how long we'll stay when we get there. Not to mention it's very dangerous out there in the open for dragons these days…"

Kenny, sensing a storm brewing that had nothing to do with the one outside, slipped out to take Hilary her new garments and let Kai and Tyson battle it out. A quick glance at the two creatures made him sort of hope Tyson would win and get to keep the dragon.

Especially when he could have sworn it winked at him just before he closed the door.

Tyson glowered darkly at Kai, insulted at having his family's Guardian called a 'pet'. He reached up and swept all his hair out of his face and pushed it over his shoulders to hang down his back instead. "His name is Dragoon, your Highness," Tyson said mockingly. "And he is no more a 'pet' than Dranzer is!"

"That's entirely different!" Kai asserted, bristling indignantly. "Dranzer has been with me all my life and I could no more leave her behind than I could cleave off my own arm."

"I've got news for you, Hiwatari - I can't lose Dragoon for the same reason." Tyson stood angrily, marching up to Kai and going head-to-head with him. "I may have only just met him for the first time in my life but I know who and what he is. If it had been just any old dragon, I'd have helped it find a safe place to get out of the storm and gone one my way. But as soon as I learned his name it was all I needed to know." His face settled into a stony, stubborn mask, his blue eyes glinting and stormy with anger and the passion of his emotions. "Dragoon stays with me. If you don't like it - tough. When Hilary, Dragoon, and I leave tomorrow, it can be without you and Kenny. You've done more than enough for us already and I'll repay you someday for it, but I have no wish to be a burden on you."

Kai fought down the moment of despair and sudden loneliness he experienced at the idea of Tyson leaving him. He looked over at the two creatures, both of whom were now watching the two humans argue with interest. Dragoon didn't appear to be all that remarkable-looking for a dragon. Whatever it was that made him so special - enough that Tyson was willing to separate from Kai and Kenny over the issue - Kai couldn't see it in the dragon's appearance.

"Is he really that important?" Kai finally inquired softly, not really understanding where Tyson was coming from but accepting that there seemed to be a reason for it.

Tyson felt his anger deflate at Kai's unsure tone and sighed. "Yes. He truly is." He laid a hand on Kai's arm and Kai looked down at him. "Listen…I would tell you why he's here and explain all this if I could, Kai. Please believe me. But in truth I haven't figured that out yet. I promise that as soon as I know, you'll be the first to find out." He gave pleading eyes to Kai. He didn't want to leave the prince (and Kenny) but he would if he had to.

Kai stared into those eyes and was lost. He closed his own for a moment and when he opened them, said, "Alright. Dragoon stays. But he's your responsibility, Tyson. Understand?"

The bluenette's smile and vigorous nod was contagious and Kai couldn't help smiling in return.

"Oh! I have to tell Hilary! She hasn't met Dragoon yet!" Tyson's eyes sparkled with excitement and he waved the dragon over. "Come on, Dragoon! I think you'll want to meet my cousin."

The dragon made a curious mewling sound and rose upwards, uncoiling himself and seeming to stretch a bit before weaving through the air sinuously toward Tyson. Kai watched in amazement as he curled himself around Tyson's upper body comfortably and laid his head on Tyson's shoulder with a content purring. Tyson ran a hand over Dragoon fondly and headed for the door.

He paused with his hand on the doorknob then turned, ran back to Kai, and leaned up on his toes to brush his mouth across Kai's lightly for a small kiss.

"Thanks, Kai. I promise you won't regret it." He said. Then he fled, his cheeks flushing and his lips burning from even that brief, simple contact.

He left a stunned Kai standing there alone with a comical expression of disbelief on his face.

Which was soon followed by a smile and an inflamed hunger in Kai's crimson eyes as hope was sparked.

Dranzer, who'd remained silent the entire time, finally gave her opinion in a series of trills, chirps, and squawks that sounded suspiciously like she was laughing at him.

Kai gave her a half-hearted scowl. "Oh stop that." He grumbled, blushing bright red under her knowing gaze. "You shouldn't be laughing, Dranzer. You seemed to be quite friendly with Dragoon, you know." He added slyly. She gave him an embarrassed squawk and he chuckled.

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"Hilary, it's me. Can I come in?" Tyson asked, knocking on her door.

"It's open, Tyson." She called back.

He went in and smiled when he saw the disaster that had occurred in her room. Items of clothing were everywhere. It reminded him of her old chambers back home whenever she was preparing for a festival or something.

"Did a tornado touch down in here?" He asked teasingly, grinning when she stuck out her tongue at him.

"No. I'm just going through all my new clothes with Kenny's help. He went to see if he could find me a pair of scissors, some thread, and a needle." Hilary held up a green gown and shook it lightly to get the wrinkles out. "I'm going to make a couple of tiny adjustments to one of these wonderful dresses that were a bit too small." She blinked when she saw the dragon curled around him. "Where did your new friend come from, Tyson? He's a fine looking dragon."

Tyson smiled and introduced them. "You'll never believe it, Hilary, but I would like you to meet the Kinomiya clan's Guardian, Dragoon."

The dress fell from her hands and her mouth dropped open.

"No way."

"Way. Dragoon, this is Hilary."

The dragon purred a greeting, not removing himself from Tyson. He did, however, nudge the bluenette forward with his tail and Tyson obeyed, walking over to Hilary and stopping just in front of her after bending down and picking up her dress.

"I…ah…it's an honour to meet you, Dragoon!" She finally got her wits back and curtsied low to the dragon.

At that moment Kenny returned, followed by Kai.

"It's getting late and they're serving the evening meal to guests downstairs right now." Kai stated, his gaze flickering around to each of them but landing and lingering on Tyson, who pretended to be avidly interested in Hilary's hair ribbons (stealing a deep blue one for himself) to avoid the heated look in Kai's crimson eyes. "Shall we go?"

"I could use a good meal." Hilary agreed, oblivious to the tension between Kai and Tyson. "Oh, and thank you so much for the gowns, Kai! And the hair things."

He shrugged. "You are welcome. They're all right? If you need something else, just say and we'll…"

"It's all wonderful!" She laughed, amused at his awkwardness. "You did very well."

"Ah…thanks." Kai straightened and gestured for them to follow. "Let's go people, before it's all gone."

Tyson dropped Dragoon off to stay with Dranzer in their room, promising to bring the dragon something to eat when he returned, and they all went down to the evening meal.

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Authoress' Notes: Ah…the TyKa moments! *squeals* Gotta love 'em! Please R/R!