Beyblade Fan Fiction ❯ Majesty ❯ Chapter 08 ( Chapter 8 )

Authoress' Notes: When I get hit with inspiration, it comes in the form of a titanium plot mallet wielded by my muse Dryad. In this case, anyway. ^_^ So I've been busy concentrating on getting more of this fic written so I'm not swamped with it. Hence the delay in updates. I call this the "get some answers but get twice as many questions" chapter.

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 it's OC's (if any).

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

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Chapter 08

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Tyson sat watching with interest as Kai frowned in concentration, using the bright, flaming red feathers he'd collected from Dranzer to add the finishing touches to his arrows.

"Those are really pretty, Kai."

"Hmm…" The prince made a noise to show he heard, carefully splitting another feather.

"How did you manage to collect so many from her?"

"I didn't really. She's been keeping any that she lost for a nest - something I reminded her she doesn't really need right now." Kai shrugged. "She's a bird so nesting comes naturally."

"And she just gave up her supply? Because you asked her to?"

"Well, that and I reminded her that she has a perfectly good one at home that will still be there when we get back." Kai set one arrow aside on the growing pile and began another. "So how about we have that discussion while I do this?"

"Um…okay. Just so you know, though, beloved…" Tyson trailed off.

"What?"

"I don't have all the answers yet, either."

"Fair enough."

"What would you like to know first?"

Kai thought about that for a moment. "Start with why you didn't just tell me who Dragoon was to you and your family before." He finally said, sounding a little hurt, even though he tried to keep it out of his voice.

Tyson sighed and looked down at his hands. "I'm sorry, Kai. I should have told you. It's just…" He paused, searching for a way to explain it so he wouldn't further injure Kai's feelings. "At first I was a bit shocked myself to discover who he is. And then…I guess I was trying to protect not just Dragoon but all of you also." Tyson looked up, his stormy blue gaze meeting the prince's own burning crimson one. "I know Dragoon is what the Emperor and/or Boris was after. I didn't know why but I thought if no one but Hilary and I knew about Dragoon then if anything happened to either you or to Kenny then you couldn't be forced to tell anything because there was nothing to tell. Kai, I don't know what Dragoon is here for or why he's chosen to come to me and reveal himself at this time. I mean to ask him soon and perhaps then I'll understand everything better."

"Alright. I uses I can accept that. I can't say I wouldn't have done the same had I been in your place." Kai nodded and picked up another arrow. "What about this new transformation of yours? Any ideas about that?"

"I do have one, actually." Tyson sighed and leaned back in the soft pile of straw and hay he was lounging in. He and Kai were sitting in the loft of the stables just outside the apartment. "Here's a little family legend for you, Kai:

"The story goes that when the Dragon Gods first claimed our lands for their own and their chosen people, the Clans, they appointed one family in particular that would for all time be responsible for protecting both the land and the people - and also the Gods' kin - dragons. The family was given ruler-ship over the Clans in order to accomplish this. That family was my ancient ancestors - the Kinomiya clan.

"However, it's also told that the original clan leader and his direct descendents had a secret that only the Dragon Gods knew and that the Gods themselves were keeping that secret for a future purpose only They knew of. And in the nature of legends and secrets, whatever it is, the knowledge of it - even within my family - has been lost after so many centuries." Tyson fiddled with a piece of straw. "Maybe this is the secret."

"Maybe. But why keep something like that a secret? I mean, there are other demi-human peoples out there so why would a dragon demi-human be any different?" Kai wondered. He finished the final arrow and began placing them in his new quiver. Max was in his workshop working on the prince's new longbow.

"I don't know. It'll be one of the things I ask Dragoon about, though." Tyson yawned. "Hey, Kai?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you." Tyson said softly, flushing a little and not meeting Kai's eyes when he looked over in surprise.

"For what?"

"For protecting and helping us escape, for getting us here and accepting my friends as so few had back home." Tyson told him. "But also for all your patience with me and…and for not laughing in my face when I…demonstrated my feelings for you so boldly." The Kinomiya blushed hotly.

"You don't have to thank me for that, my dragon." Kai set aside his quiver of arrows and went over to his lover, sitting beside him and pulling Tyson into his arms so that the bluenette was situated half in his lap. "We're connected somehow, Tyson, even if I don't fully understand the connection or what I feel just yet. And you have gotten closer to me than anyone ever has - Dranzer not included. You somehow see past the exterior me no matter how hard I try to keep you and everyone else out, and you make me feel again." As he spoke, Kai undid the ribbon holding Tyson's hair back in its customary ponytail, running his fingers through the silken strands to comb out tangles and kinks. "I should hope that by now you've realized I'm much more open-minded and tolerant than my grandfather is."

"Yeah. I know. It's just…you're an Imperial Prince, Kai, and as such you have an obligation to uphold the laws of the Empire, don't you?" Tyson snuggled in and couldn't help purring quietly at Kai's attention. He didn't know why Kai liked his hair so much but he wasn't going to complain.

"Technically, I suppose. But I've never been one for obligations - especially when they're unjust, discriminating, and just plain stupid." Kai smirked. "I plan on doing a lot of revising of quite a few laws when I take the throne."

Tyson smiled up at him, lazily switching his position some so that he was stretched out lengthwise beside Kai with his head resting in Kai's lap. He closed his eyes and continued enjoying the way Kai played with his hair, his purr increasing to a steady rumbling of contentment. "You'll make an excellent Emperor, beloved. Your people will love you."

"We'll see."

There was a long moment of companionable silence, where Kai was thinking about all the changes he would like to make in the Empire and where Tyson contemplated the questions he wanted to ask his family's Guardian later. Suddenly a thought struck him and he opened his eyes, sitting up and giving his would-be mate a slow, languorous kiss before breaking away.

"You have a thing for spontaneous kissing, don't you?" Kai decided, trying to regain his breath and calm his pounding heartbeat.

"Hmm…and you have a thing for my hair. We all have our little quirks, beloved." Tyson winked at him. "And something just occurred to me."

"What might that be?"

"You can't refuse to sleep with a dragon anymore, can you?" The bluenette grinned.

Kai flushed and ran a hand through his dual-shaded slate black hair, feeling a bit embarrassed about that comment he'd made rashly. "I'm sorry I said that, Kinomiya. I didn't really mean it. I was confused and flustered and I guess I was trying to push you away."

"It's okay, Kai!" Tyson laughed and threw his arms around Kai's shoulders, winding a lock of slate hair around a finger. "I'm only teasing."

"I know." Kai curled his arms loosely round Tyson's lower back and waist. He leaned in and brushed his mouth across his dragon's briefly. "Did I mention that you're an extremely beautiful dragon, Kinomiya? Sexy, even." He smiled wickedly at Tyson's slight blush from the compliment.

"You are the sexy one, Hiwatari." Tyson sighed dreamily, running his hands up and d own Kai's chest. "All those wonderful muscles you've got covered by that tasty, creamy skin of yours." He ducked his head and kissed back along Kai's jaw to the sensitive spot behind his ear. "Decorated by all your scars…beautiful." He nipped gently, earning a shiver and a small moan. Kai tossed Tyson off to the side into the pile of straw and followed swiftly, covering the bluenette's body with his own and dipping his head to capture Tyson's mouth in a deep, thorough kiss.

The two ended up rolling around in the hay as they each tried to take control of the situation in a quite serious make-out session, succeeding only in getting straw everywhere - including some very uncomfortable places in their clothes.

At one point, when Tyson had somehow managed to pin the elusive prince, allowing him to attach himself to Kai's neck again, they got interrupted by a loud clearing of someone's throat and a smothered giggling laugh.

"I didn't know you liked straw so much, Tyson!" Max grinned as Tyson sat up, glowering at him and pulling the straw out of his clothes. "You look like a scarecrow!"

"Oh…shut up, Max."

Snickering, the blonde held up his project. "As hilarious as this is, I have two reasons for coming up here. The first is for Kai, who I assume is the body trying to hide in that pile of hay and who you're sitting on, Tyson." Max set the bow on a bale. "Your bow is finished, Kai. Feel free to test it out and let me know if it needs any tweaking."

There was a muffled grumble that sounded like, "Sure. Thanks."

Still grinning, Max continued. "The second reason is to tell you Lee and Mariah are here, Tyson. They're anxious to see you again so get fixed up and come on over to the house." He turned to climb back down the ladder to the stables below. "Don't take long, though! If I have to come back out here…"

"Okay! Okay! We'll be there in a few minutes." Tyson huffed. He looked down at his flushed and flustered lover. "Well, it was fun while it lasted, huh?" He said wistfully, climbing off Kai and sitting next to him, pulling straw out his hair and searching for his hair tie.

Kai sat up, gingerly removing hay from various places in his clothes and hair. Rather than answer Tyson, he gave an embarrassed grunt and commented gruffly, "I can not believe we just got caught making out and rolling around the hay loft of a stable like a couple of horny teenagers!"

Amused, Tyson responded wryly, "We are, beloved. It's not like any of the others are going to have a problem with our relationship, you know."

"But it's so undignified! I'm royalty! You're royalty!" Kai moaned, absently helping Tyson pull the straw from his mass of blue hair. "Worse yet, I was on the bottom! What's Max going to think of me now?!"

That made Tyson snicker and get a smack upside the head from Kai for it. "Ow! Aw…come on, Kai. Who really cares what Max thinks of you? He won't think any less of you just because of something trivial like that. Besides, it's no one's business but ours who is seme or uke."

Not really able to argue with that, Kai just sat there and pouted. The Kinomiya found that to be entirely too adorable and irresistible, and so he crawled up and kissed the prince again, trying to coax him into a better frame of mind. Kai couldn't resist long and melted, kissing back compliantly until Tyson pulled away and got to his feet. He held out his hands to Kai and dual-haired teen allowed him to pull him to his feet, too.

"You still have straw in your hair, Kinomiya." Kai observed, following close behind as Tyson went into the apartment, after grabbing his new bow and quiver of arrows.

"Well, take it out, please!" Tyson complained, digging through his meagre belongings.

"Leave it down." Kai suggested, running his fingers through it quickly, searching for more straw. "It wouldn't hurt my feelings if you did. I like it down."

"If I did that you wouldn't be able to concentrate on anything else, beloved." Tyson snickered. "Your fetish for my hair would be to distracting."

"I can't help it." Kai defended himself, though not disagreeing. "It's so soft, and it smells good." He circled his arms around Tyson from behind and buried his face in Tyson's hair at the crook of his neck, inhaling deeply. "You smell really good. Like rain…"

Tyson smiled, hugging Kai's arms to himself for a moment and purring happily, then releasing Kai and stepping away, sweeping his hair back into its ponytail again and tying it with another ribbon he'd found - white with blue trim. Kai gave a disappointed sigh.

"Come on, beloved. We'd better get over to the house before Max comes looking for us." Tyson took Kai's hand firmly in his and headed for the door.

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When they reached the house and went inside, they found their friends in the living room with Lee and Mariah. As they entered, everyone looked up and the pink-haired female neko-jin gave a cry of delight.

"Tyson! Oh, how good it is to see you after all this time!" She stood and gave him a light hug. "We were all so worried about you when we heard about the surrender of the Dragon Clans."

"Yeah. Hilary and I were lucky, Mariah. We just barely escaped with our heads." The Kinomiya said gravely. "Thanks to Kai, here."

Mariah and Lee turned their very feline-shaped eyes on the Imperial prince and he kept a carefully neutral expression on his face, even though he was a little unnerved by the scrutiny.

"I didn't really believe the rumours we heard when we finally made it through the pass." Lee shook his head. "But I guess that one was true. The Emperor's grandson has gone into exile - a refugee because he helped two prisoners escape."

"I'm going back." Kai stated, meeting Lee's gaze unflinchingly now. "I intend to put right my grandfather's wrongs as best I can."

"And I'm helping!" Tyson added.

Lee nodded and extended a hand to Kai, who accepted it, shaking firmly. "You both have the support of the neko-jin tribes, should you need it."

"Thank you." Kai gave him a regal inclination of his head. "But I hope to work something out that will not require that."

"We can hope." Mariah agreed. "The bloodshed and sorrow must end."

"Sit down, guys. Rei went to change Tabi." Max gestured for Kai and Tyson to take a seat as Lee and Mariah sat back down.

"Thank you for the bow, Max." Kai said gratefully. "I haven't tested it, yet, but I doubt I need to. It looks just right."

"Heh. You're welcome, Kai. But please…test it out anyway?"

"If you say so."

"You know…" Tyson mused thoughtfully. "It was going to ask you to forge a sword for me, Max, but I guess it would be pretty useless now, huh?"

"Well…that would depend on what you can do as a dragon, Tyson." Kenny replied slowly, thinking about it.

"Oh. Yeah, good point, Chief."

"Dragon?" Lee inquired.

"Takao is the true Kinomiya." Hilary informed both neko-jins. "He shifted last night. He's a storm dragon."

Both stared at Tyson, goggling, and he blushed and frowned at his cousin.

"Must you? I do answer to 'Tyson' still, you know." The bluenette complained.

"Your name is Kinomiya Takao and that's what I shall call you." The brunette replied stubbornly, crossing her arms. "Everyone else can call you 'Tyson' if they are familiar with you personally."

"I give up!" Tyson tossed his hands up in the air in defeat. "Whatever you like, Hilary."

She smiled a little in smug triumph.

"That's amazing, Tyson." Mariah finally murmured, awed. "Congratulations."

"Um…thanks."

Rei appeared carrying his daughter and followed by Dragoon and Dranzer. "There you are! I let these two in. They were at the kitchen door and making all kinds of noise. Didn't you hear it?"

Tyson allowed Dragoon to coil around him and stroked his Guardian in apology. "No, we didn't. I'm sorry, Dragoon."

{It's fine, Takao.} Came the silent reply, coupled with a light purr.

Dranzer settled on the settee's back behind Kai, nuzzling his hair with her beak as he stroked her soft feathers. "I apologize, too, Beautiful." He added, smiling as she cooed at him.

"I see that's another rumour that's true." Lee observed. "You really are a Phoenix Lord."

Kai and Tyson looked over at him with twin expressions of puzzlement, asking at the same time, "Phoenix Lord?"

"We had heard that the prince in exile also had a feathered companion - a phoenix." Mariah explained. "There's an old belief among the neko-jin tribes and many other demi-human peoples that some few people have an affinity with the ancient creatures. We call them Phoenix Lords - or Ladies." She paused thoughtfully. "Come to think of it, I haven't heard of any such person for a very long time, nor have I seen a phoenix in years."

"Dranzer has been with me for as long as I can remember." Kai shrugged. "Haven't you, Beautiful?" He rubbed her head fondly.

"Still, it's interesting." Lee mused.

"Anyway…" Mariah held out her arms to Rei. "Do I get to hold my niece or not?"

Rei grinned and carefully placed Tabitha in her arms. "Of course, Mariah."

"Oh! She's so pretty!"

Lee leaned over to look at the chibi. "I see she's a true neko-jin - just like her father. And what a tail!"

Rei rolled his eyes. "Like you've never seen a chibi before, Lee. You've got five of your own."

Tyson blinked. "Five? Wow, Lee."

Mariah smiled softly and Tabitha made happy baby noises. "I had two sets of twins - two boys and two girls - and just seven months ago I had my youngest, another girl."

"Goodness!" Hilary gasped. "That must keep you incredibly busy, Mariah!"

"It's not that bad. The twins are a challenge sometimes, being the mischievous little kits that they are."

Everyone laughed at that. Even Kai cracked a smile.

The group visited for the rest of the afternoon then said goodbye. Since Lee and Mariah had come to help Rei with giving birth but had been delayed because of the landslide in the pass, and since they had seen that Rei (and Max) and the chibi were fine and under good care with Hilary and Tyson there, the couple decided to hurry home to their own children.

"Take care, everyone, and please be careful when you go back to the Empire, Tyson." Mariah gave him a quick hug and shook Kai's hand.

"Yes. And don't hesitate to call on us for help if you need it." Lee reminded them, shaking both their hands before taking his lifemate's and waving. "Come home and visit soon, Rei. Everyone will be delighted to see you."

"I will, Lee. Safe journey home!" Rei called after them. He watched until they were back on the main road then turned around and clapped his hands once decisively. "Okay people! Let's go back in and I'll whip up something for the evening meal." He declared, shooing them all back into the house.

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After another of Rei's most excellent meals, the six friends, Dragoon (who coiled up on a chair near the hearth), and Dranzer (who perched on the back of that same chair), spent a quiet evening together discussing the previous night's events. Tyson explained all that he had already told Kai and Max, Rei, and Kenny listened avidly.

"Despite all that," Kenny sighed. "There are still so many questions left unanswered. For instance, why did Dragoon suddenly decide to reveal himself now? What is really going on?"

"And if Tyson's transformation really is the Kinomiya family secret then what has occurred that the Dragon Gods have decided to finally reveal it?" Hilary added.

"I would ask." Tyson decided, glancing over at the dragon. "But it's going to be awfully cumbersome for me to ask, get an answer, and then really whatever he tells me to all of you."

"Maybe there are some things we shouldn't be asking, Tyson." Max pointed out hesitantly. "The Gods have their reasons, right? Perhaps we should just have faith."

"If it were just about me, I'd be inclined to agree with you, Max." Tyson ran a hand through his bangs. "But this is about not only my family but the Clans as well - not to mention the Empire and Kai." He looked at his lover and their gazes met and held. "Because of that I think we deserve to know the Gods' plans for us so at least we can understand whatever it is that's required of us."

"I suppose." Max intoned, doubtfully.

"So, how do we go about getting those answers?" Rei asked, rocking Tabitha in her cradle with his foot.

How? When Dragoon rose up off his spot on the chair, stretched and yawned, then gave Dranzer a questioning mewl. Everyone looked over at them and the firebird cooed something at him in return, ruffling her feathers.

"Dragoon? Is something wrong?" Tyson asked. The dragon looked at him and gave him a negative shake of his head.

And then there were two sudden bursts of soft light - one electric blue and one intense burning red. As Tyson and Kai watched in surprised shock, they could barely see the outlines of the their companions' forms begin to morph into new figures, stretching out and elongating into human-like shapes.

When the light faded away, the dragon and phoenix were gone and in their place were two child-size people. The man was dressed all in blue, so many different shades of it in the materials that no one could even name some of them. He had pure white hair that was short, wild, and spiky and he had Tyson's eyes. The woman wore…well, Kai wouldn't call it a dress, more like robes. Several flowing robes of various shades of reds, oranges, golds, and yellows that looked like she was wearing fire itself. Her hair flowed in auburn waves all around her just past her shoulders, and Kai stared at her, looking directly into eyes that were like carbon copies of his own. He didn't even notice when Tyson's hand covered his own and gripped tightly.

Tyson stared at the two - as did everyone else - and he couldn't help inquiring tentatively, "Dragoon?"

The Kinomiya's Guardian smiled and nodded once very regally. "I'd have been surprised if you hadn't recognized me, Takao."

"Ah…"

"Dranzer?" Kai could hardly believe his eyes - and yet at the same time he was hardly surprised, for some reason, by the transformation. "You…you're…beautiful." He finished lamely.

She laughed and tapped Dragoon on the shoulder, nudging him aside. "Be a gentleman, dragon, and allow the lady to sit."

"Lady? What Lady?" He teased, but moved aside so she could take the chair.

"So…ah…what's going on?" Tyson managed to get out. Kai patted him on the hand, giving silent support. "I mean…my transformation was crazy enough…"

"Well, Takao, you were complaining about having to repeat everything I told you so I decided this would be the easiest and fastest way to explain everything."

"And you are going to explain everything, right?" Kai asked, looking at Dranzer.

"As much as we can, Kai." She responded.

"Then…" Kai hesitated. Tyson glanced at him and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. Encouraged, the prince continued. "Why haven't you ever done this before? Transformed, I mean."

"It wasn't necessary. I could watch over you perfectly well as a phoenix, after all. And I didn't want anyone to know who I really was before it was time - not with Boris skulking around." Dranzer's fiery red eyes flashed and she scowled darkly. "First chance I get I'm going to fry that man to a crisp!" The fire in the fireplace flared up suddenly at her words and Kenny, who had been sitting closest to it, yelped and moved away quickly.

"Temper, temper, sweetness." Dragoon warned, rubbing her shoulder soothingly. "Calm down, now, before you send the house up in flames."

"Please don't." Max begged, wide-eyed. "We really like our house." Rei nodded fervently in agreement.

"What do you mean by 'who you really are'?" Kai wanted to know, eyeing her suspiciously. She huffed and flicked Dragoon's hand off her shoulder.

"Stop that. I'm fine." Dranzer complained. "What I meant? Well, I'm obviously not an ordinary phoenix, am I?"

"I never thought you ever were ordinary, Dranzer." Kai informed her.

That made her smile, pleased at the compliment. "Dear boy! Thank you for that. As I said, I'm not a normal phoenix. I have had many forms and many names over the years, you see. 'Dranzer' is the human equivalent of a human family name, I suppose one could say."

"I see. So who are you, then?"

"Because the rest of my family - as has Dragoon's and those families of two friends of ours, as well - have permanently gone away from this world, I have only one name now."

"So it's just Dranzer?"

"Yes."

Dragoon heaved a sigh. "It's still rather lonely here without our families. But at least we have each other and our friends, Driger and Draciel."

Rei's golden eyes went even wider than before - if that was possible. "That's the name of my tribe's Guardian God."

"The very same." Dragoon nodded. "Oh. He said to pass along his fondest congratulations on the birth of your kitten, there."

"Um…thank him for me?" Rei requested weakly, stunned beyond belief.

"Draciel…that name sounds familiar to me, as well." Max gasped suddenly. "That was the name of the ancient sea turtle whose shell inspired my ancestors to create their first armour!"

"That would be her." Draciel grinned.

As Tyson listened to this, he began to put some things together and in a burst of logical intuition, exclaimed, "You're Gods! All of you!" Then he went pale and began to tremble in reverent awe. "Dragoon…you're not just the Kinomiya Guardian sent by the Dragon Gods…you are one of the Dragon Gods!"

Hilary gasped and promptly fainted. Kenny caught her before she fell out of her seat and propped her up with cushions, fanning her with his hand.

Dragoon gave his human an absolutely delighted grin. "Very good, Takao! I always knew you were a bright child!"

"Rei…we have deities in our house." Max said incredulously. The two looked at each other in shock. "Do you have this sudden urge to clean the entire house from top to bottom? Or is that just me?"

Kenny continued fanning Hilary, who was slowly coming to again. Kai's squire, despite being overwhelmed by the presences of such…high beings, did what he did best in such circumstances where he found himself around people of higher status than himself - he kept silent, out of the way (but within calling range should someone require him to do something) and observed.

Even Kai, with all his training to be the next Emperor, was feeling wholly inadequate with the situation.

"Well…" he managed to rasp. "It does wonders for my ego to learn I've been watched over all my life by a Goddess."

Tyson laughed, a little on the hysterical side. "You don't need an ego boost, Kai. Can I do like Hilary and pass out now?"

"Don't you dare."

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Authoress' Notes: ^_^ I know. I'm evil. It just gets better and better! Thank Dryad for the wide array of plot twists. LOL Please R/R!