Make a memory

Yes! It’s true! It’s not a one-shot anymore ^^” I couldn’t help but continue the story. No song used in this part, I didn’t think it’d be necessary. This part will be centered mainly around Kai, Takao and Gou. Makoto will be introduced in the following part, which I still have to write XD

Sidenote: I haven’t read the manga, I only learned about the existence of Gou and Makoto through the internet. Therefore I can’t really say if this is a spoiler or not, but I don’t think so. Enjoy ^^

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade, nor the characters etc. I do not make money out of this, I write purely for fun.

Part II Make a memory

Kai groaned as the blankets were pulled away from his body. “Lemme sleep.” he mumbled, hardly audible.
“And here I thought I was difficult to wake up.” teased Takao, softly tickling Kai’s feet. The dual haired teen instinctively pulled his legs closer to his body. He cracked an eye open and stared at Takao.
“Morning.” he yawned after having remembered what had happened the night before. He glanced at the alarm clock, his eyes widening. “Takao. Love. Did you just wake up before seven?” he gawked. “You never wake up five minutes before wherever you need to go!” said the former team-captain sitting up, stretching himself.
Takao grinned. “I guess I’ll never stop surprising you.” he teased. “Now get dressed. I’m making breakfast. You want some?”
Kai nodded, yawning slightly again.

Takao, already having washed himself and already dressed, made his way to the kitchen and started preparing breakfast. He could here Kai rummage through his closet, and saying something that resembled “I still can’t believe it he woke up this early...”

Takao giggled. He felt good. Having slept next to his lover had done miracles, and even though the both of them still had a lot to talk about, it just felt right. No matter what would happen, he would stay with Kai for the rest of his life.
Suddenly someone rang the doorbell. “Hello?” called a female voice.
“One minute!” called Takao. “I’m coming.” he added before Kai could even monitor what was going on.
“Takao, who are you talking to?” asked Kai, combing his hair while he made his way to the kitchen. When he didn’t see the blue haired teen he suddenly realised that he had heard the doorbell. And the only one to come by this early a day was...

“Takao! Wait!” called Kai, dropping the hairbrush, speeding to the door.
“...Good morning...” stammered Takao, looking at a blond haired woman with a look a like, miniature Kai standing next to her.

Damn-- hissed Kai inwardly.

The woman, noticing the tension between both men, spoke. “I don’t have much time; I’ve got a meeting in fifteen minutes. Can you watch Gou today?” she asked Kai, watching her watch, emphasising the fact she was in a hurry.
Kai nodded. “Sure. When will you pick him up again?”
“Somewhere later this day. I’ll call.”
“Okay. Come on in Gou. Breakfast is almost ready, or have you already eaten?”
The boy shook his head. “I just woke up. Mom pulled me out of bed and carried me along.” said the boy, still in pyjamas.
“See you later Akahana.” said Kai, closing the door after Gou made his way to the kitchen.
He leaned against the door and sighed, looking Takao in his eyes.
“I meant to tell you Takao. If I had known he would come today I would’ve told you yesterday.”
“Daddy! Can I have a sandwich with peanut butter?” called Gou from the kitchen.
“Sure buddy. Just don’t make a mess.” called Kai back.

Takao was silent. He didn’t know what to say, he didn’t know where to start.

“Look, Takao. I...Akahana and I...it was nothing, only once. I did not love her, and I still don’t. I’ve never stopped loving you Taka.” assured Kai, holding the bluenette’s hand. Takao, staring into nothingness, focused his attention to the crimson eyes staring at him.
“Kai...I...”
“Daddy! Can I turn on the television?” called Gou, interrupting both men again.
“Don’t you have school today?” called Kai back.
“No.” called Gou back, too wishful to Kai’s liking.
“Forgive me Taka love, but I need to call Akahana, just for a second.”
Takao nodded. “Sure. Afterwards I have something to tell you, okay?”
Kai nodded, reaching for his cell phone.

“Akahana, sorry for bothering you so soon but I need to know if Gou has school today or not.”
“He hasn’t. The teachers have some sort of teacher-study-day. The whole school is off.,” answered Akahana. “I should’ve told you...,” she said on an apologising tone.
“It’s fine. See you later.”

“Can I turn on the television now?” called Gou again when the boy had noticed Kai had finished his call with Akahana.
“Go ahead, but get dressed first. There a clean clothes for you in your bedroom.” said Kai, focusing his attention on Takao again. “What is it you wanted to tell me?” he asked.
“I...” Takao reached in a pocket of his pants, getting out his wallet. He got out a picture and showed it to Kai. “I’ve got a son too.” he said averting his gaze.

Kai stared at the boy on the photo. He didn’t seem much younger than Gou, and he could certainly see he was Takao’s son. They were like two drops of water.
“His mother is Naomi...kinda the same story as you and Akahana.” added Takao softly.
“He is with his mother for two weeks, in Japan.” explained the bluenette. “Normally he stays with me. I teach him myself, so he’s not bound to schools, so he can travel along with me.”
“What’s his name?” asked Kai, giving the picture back to Takao.
“Kinomiya Makoto. Naomi named him. I wanted him to be called ‘Kai’ but she wouldn’t have it. ‘I gave birth to him so I get to decide his name’ she said.” quoted Takao.
Kai grinned. “I’m glad she named Makoto the way she did.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because, if you’re willing to, having two Kai’s living in the same house is highly annoying.” teased Kai, but was dead serious at the same time.
Takao’s eyes widened and shined. “Do you really mean that? Can Makoto and I live with you and Gou?” said the blue haired teen in somewhat disbelieve.
“Of course. I don’t want to miss another second of you.” said Kai hugging Takao gently.
“Oh Kai.” said Takao crying tears of happiness. “Aishiteru.” he whispered.
“Ore mo da.” (Me too) said Kai, carefully letting go of the blue haired young adult. “Shall we have some breakfast now? You don’t want to get late for your lectures today.” the dual haired man teased.
“You’re no fun.” said Takao smiling. “Let’s hope Gou didn’t eat all of the peanut butter.” he added teasingly.

“Gou, do you want something to drink?” asked Kai walking into the living room, after having had breakfast together with Takao. They’d talked only little about how things should go from now on, other than that Takao needed more sweets for breakfast present.
“Soda!”
“No soda in the morning.” said Kai somewhat sternly. “Coffee, Tea or Milk.” he added.
“Tea.” answered Gou. “With lots of sugar!” he added.
Kai sighed. “Takao, could you make him some tea? I just remembered I need to send a couple of e-mails before half past eight.”
“Sure.” said Takao disappearing in the kitchen again, not long after reappearing again with a steaming mug of tea.
“Here you go.” he said smiling, giving the cup at Gou. “I put in five sugar cubes.” he added whispering, making sure Kai couldn’t hear.
“Really? Cool!” reacted Gou, jumping from the couch. “Thanks....who are you anyway?” added the child.
“Gou! Manners!” called Kai from behind his laptop.
“Sorry Dad. May I ask your name sir?” asked Gou, trying to sound serious.
Takao grinned. “No need to call me sir. Kinomiya Takao. Nice to meet you Hiwatari Gou.” said the blue haired teen, ruffling the boy’s hair.
“Kinomiya? I thought you looked familiar. You’re Makoto’s father, aren’t you?” asked the young boy.
Takao nodded. “That’s me. But may I ask how you know Makoto? I don’t remember seeing you before...” the bluenette said, sitting down opposite of Gou.
“We bladed together a couple of times. He’s pretty good!” said Gou. “I beat him though.” he grinned.
“Gou!” warned Kai again. “The story you told me was that you almost lost to Makoto...” said the dual haired man a bit teasingly.
“Yeah...well...it doesn’t matter! I won.” said the boy nervously. “Can we go somewhere today dad?” he added changing subject.
“I...” Kai was caught off guard. He eyed his lover.
“No need to ask permission from me Kai.” said Takao sitting down on the couch, smiling. “I’ll be away most of the day to give lectures, remember?” he teased.
“Sure. Where do you want to go?” answered Kai, closing his laptop and approaching his son. He sat down between Takao and his son.
Just when Gou wanted to answer Kai’s phone rang.
“Sorry. I have to take it. Hold your thoughts Gou.” said Kai apologising as he stood up and made his way to the phone.
“Hiwatari Kai. Good morning.” He answered.
“...”
“Ah, Mr. Dion. Yes, the receptionist told me you’d called. How can I help you?”

While Kai finished his phone call, which took quite a while, Takao had sneaked up behind Kai. As soon as the dual haired man hung up, he attempted to scare Kai, but failed miserably. Kai turned and kissed the bluenette instead. “You’ve got to go to school.” he said, sounding just like he was team captain again.
“I know.” whined Takao. “How did you know I was trying to scare you?” he asked grinning.
“I know you Takao. That’s all. Now you should go or you’ll be late.” Kai said, giving Takao a small kiss. “I’ll pick you up from school this afternoon, all right?”
Takao nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”
“Takao-san...” interrupted Gou. “Why do you need to go to school? You’re the same age as my dad, aren’t you?” wondered the boy.
“Actually, I’m one year older than your dad.” said Takao somewhat teasingly. “But I’m not going to school to learn, I’m going to give some guest lectures.”
“Oh.” said Gou, nodding in understanding. “What time does the lecture end?” asked the boy.
“Two thirty.” answered Kai before Takao could. “We’ll pick him up at two forty-five.”
“Anyway...” interrupted Takao. “I’ll have to go if I don’t want to be late. See you this afternoon.” he said smiling as he made his way to the elevator. “Aishiteru.” Takao said before closing the door behind him.

“Aishiteru?” echoed Gou. “...Dad...?” asked Gou, already somewhat surprised by their kiss, and now ‘aishiteru’... Even though he wasn’t that old yet, he had an idea about what was going on.
Kai sighed inwardly. “Sit down on the couch son; I’ve got something to tell you.” Kai said while quickly disappearing in the kitchen, and returning with some sweets, giving some to Gou. The boy happily accepted, not realising his father just wanted him to eat the sweets and be silent while he explained the situation.

After Kai had explained the situation to Gou, using some simple examples, not going into details, Gou didn’t really know what to say.

“...”

Kai sighed. He never thought it would be easy to explain it to his son, and he’d preferred Gou being a bit older, but he couldn’t change the fact that he had to tell him now. ‘Please, say something kid... The silence is making me nervous.’ thought Kai, somewhat restless. He had absolutely no idea how Gou would react on the fact that his father was gay. Somewhere he was afraid Gou would see him as some sort of monster or something like that.

“...”

Gou still hadn’t said anything, he just stared at his father, his mouth slightly open, as if he was going to say something, but he couldn’t do so. The boy was struggling to find the right words to say.
Suddenly though, Gou plunged himself into his fathers lap, and curled his arms around the man’s waist. “I love you dad, no matter what. I like Takao-san. I don’t mind...I...”
Tears sprung in Kai’s eyes. He hugged his son back. “Shh, calm down buddy. It’s alright.” ‘It’s alright.’ he thought, closing his eyes and leaning back into the couch, smiling softly.

Instead of going somewhere, Kai and Gou spend the rest of the day doing nothing, except for some video games and order lunch. They ate while watching TV, Gou cuddled into his father’s lap.
“Dad?” asked the boy after a couple of minutes of silence, safe for the sounds the TV made.
“Hnnn?”
“...How long is Takao-san going to stay?”
Kai looked down at his son. “I don’t know.” he said ruffling the boy’s hair. “At least another night I think. He’s got to go to school tomorrow too, but afterwards I don’t know where he’ll be going.”
“Does he have a big company with offices all around the world like you, too?”
“No. He travels along the world to give lectures about the history concerning ancient spirits. His father is an archaeologist, and his brother was one too, but he works with the BBA in Tokyo now.”
“Cool!”
“Did you finish your last sandwich? It’s about time we go and pick up Takao.” said Kai, taking a last bite of his own sandwich.
“All finished!” the dual haired boy said, jumping on his feet.
“Not yet. Wash your hands before we go first. I’ll clean up.” Kai offered. It wasn’t often that Gou was this hyperactive active when he’d been dragged out of bed by his mother.
‘I guess he really does like Takao...Let’s just hope Makoto will react the same...’ Kai thought as he picked up the plates and a couple pieces of bread and made his way to the kitchen. He almost bumped into Gou, who was going to the hall to grab his coat and take on his shoes.
“Hurry daddy!” the boy said impatiently.
“Comin’. No need to rush. We have half an hour to walk just a few blocks.” He called to his son nicely. He reached for his apartment keys and slipped into his sneakers. No need for his office cloths when he wasn’t planning on working today.

Downstairs, he chatted with the receptionist for a couple of seconds, telling her to patch the most important phones to his cell, and to tell the others to call back later on.
“Will do sir. Have a nice day, you too Gou.” she said, winking.
Gou shuddered. For some reason he had never really liked that woman. Kai, knowing Gou’s dislike for her, gently took the boys hand and pulled him along. “Let’s go. We don’t want to let Takao wait now do we?” he said smiling. Gou nodded and followed his father.

When both of them arrived at the university, the lecture hadn’t ended yet. Kai opted to wait outside, but Gou was too excited to do so.
“But daddy! I wanna see the university from the inside!” he said with puppy dog eyes.
“You’ll see the inside of a university when you’re old enough. No need to rush it. It really isn’t something special. Just a building.”
“Aww, pretty please? Dad?” Gou said, trying to look as cute as he could, hoping it would persuade his father taking him inside.

It worked.

“Alright, but stick close to me. There are a lot of students in there, I don’t want you to get lost.”
Gou nodded. “Of course.” he said with an ear-to-ear grin.
Kai asked the janitor where to find the college room. After being told the way both Hiwatari’s searched the school to find the right room. Gou couldn’t believe what he was seeing. There were so many rooms, and even more people. Even though he lived in New York for quite some time now he still couldn’t get used to a big group of people. While making their way to the right room Kai heard some whispers.
“Isn’t that Hiwatari, from the blade breakers? His son looks just like him when he was younger, only without the face paint!” whispered several students to each other. “And isn’t Kinomiya Takao here too? Giving a lecture about something?” added another. “I wonder what both of them are doing her in the big apple?” “His son is absolutely the most adorable boy I have ever seen!” said one of the girls. “I’ve never heard that he had a son...” mused another one. “Do you think he’s married? He’s still so young...” “Claire, he’s got to be twenty-six or so. The last world champion ship he participated in was ten years ago!” corrected one of the other girls. “Isn’t he loaded with cash? I mean, being CEO of Hiwatari enterprise and all?” asked another teen.
Kai tried to ignore all the whispers, but Gou got curious. Kai had never told him he’d participated in a world champion ship. Gou didn’t even know Kai had bladed when Kai was younger. He pulled his father’s sleeve.
“Dad? Did you practice a sport when you were younger? Those people seem to know you from somewhere...” Gou asked softly, afraid he was asking a wrong question.
“I bladed, just like you, only my whole life was about blading. There wasn’t a day without me training. I never told you, but I was the second of the world, ten years ago.” said Kai, his voice hinting an apology.
“Whoa, cool! I want to be a professional blader, just like you dad!” said Gou excited.
Kai sighed. “That’s why I never told you. I don’t want you to live your life as I’ve done. You have to go to school, find a job. Blading is just a hobby”
“But dad...” protested Gou.
“Not now son. We’re here. Do you want to go inside?” asked Kai, changing subject quite effectively.
“Yeah!”
“Okay, but be quiet. Takao is the teacher now, and the students need to listen to him. You can’t say anything, okay?”
Gou nodded.

Kai opened the door and let Gou go in first. He followed and silently closed the door behind him. They were in the back of the room, Takao standing in the pit, students gathered in a circle around him.
Takao, having heard someone enter the college room, looked up and smiled. He continued with his lesson though. Kai and Gou went down about half way the stairs and sat down, a couple of chairs above the students. Kai patiently waited for Takao to finish, and meanwhile he tried to keep Gou calm. The boy was too excited for his own good. He couldn’t sit still, and Kai often had to keep his own hand in front of Gou’s mouth to prevent him from speaking. He sighed. ’I should’ve known Gou would be this excited...’ he thought, whishing they’d waited outside instead of entering the room.

Takao finished his lecture with giving the opportunity to come down and ask questions. Some students who didn’t have questions and were making their way up to leave the room paused when they saw Kai in the room. The students present at the lecture had signed up for this lecture either because they were interested in the ancient spirits, in the beyblade world better known as bit beasts, or interested in archaeology. Takao had given each student his autograph before starting the lesson, because he knew that if he waited to the end, everyone would come down just for his autograph and leave thereafter. He really wanted to teach the students something, and he thought this would be the best way. What he hadn’t expected though, was that Kai would come into the classroom himself.
“Hiwatari Kai?” asked one of the students carefully.
“That’s me.” answered Kai, raising an eyebrow.
“Kyaa~” reacted one of the girls, making all other students look her way.
Kai suddenly felt very conscious about the fact that he was being stared at. It had been a while since the last time he had been in a crowd and stared at.
“May I have your autograph?” asked one of the boys, holding out a card with Takao’s autograph already on it.
“I’m your biggest fan!” cried another teen. Soon all students were lining up for Kai’s autograph instead of wanting to ask Takao questions about what he’d just told. Takao sighed, and signalled Gou to come down, away from the ’mob’ that was after Kai.
The dual-haired ex-blader sighed, but signed all cards with his autograph, beneath Takao’s.
Gou happily made his way down, escaping all the students.
“Are you as famous as dad?” asked Gou, who’d seen Takao’s autograph on all cards.
Takao raised an eyebrow. “As famous as your dad?” he echoed.
“Yeah. He told me, on the way here, that he was the second of the world in beyblading, ten years ago! Isn’t that cool?” said Gou, seemingly glowing with pride.
Takao chuckled, earning a confused look from Gou.
“What? What’s so funny?” the boy asked.
“I was the one your father couldn’t beat Gou. I was the world champion ten years ago.” Takao said smiling. He was surprised Gou’s eyes didn’t pop out of his head and his chin didn’t reach he floor. “You’re kidding.” the youngster said in disbelieve.
“I’m not. Ask your dad...when he’s finished signing another dozen autographs or so.” teased Takao.
“Do you still blade?” asked Gou, not knowing if he should believe Takao or not.
“Not professional, but I do spar with some old friends so now and then. Do you want to see my blade?” added Takao, reaching in his bag.
“You bet!”
Between the high-pitched screams and squeals of the girls, Kai called to Gou: “Mind your manners Gou!”
Gou mumbled a sorry, but his gloominess disappeared as soon as he saw Dragoon.
“Wow!” he said his eyes shiny. “May I hold it?” he asked politely.
“Of course.” said Takao, handing his blade over to Gou. The boy observed it from all sides, and was even tempted to ask if he could open it to see the inside.
“You’re blade looks a lot better than mine.” he said, reaching for his own blade in the pocket of his pants, and showed it to Takao.
Takao immediately recognised it as Black Dranzer’s blade, but he sighed of relieve when he saw that Black Dranzer’s bit wasn’t installed in the blade. “No worries Gou. You have one of the strongest blades in the world. Be careful with it, and you’ll find out eventually.” Takao said, not mentioning Black Dranzer. If Kai hadn’t told his son about the fact they’d been in the blade breakers, it wasn’t his place to tell him about Dranzer’s counterpart.

After having signed all the cards with his autograph, Kai was suddenly asked an interesting question by one of the students who was still waiting.
“Kinomiya sensei...” he started, using Japanese, because the lecture had been in Japanese, “He told us he’d brought his blade along, but he refused to blade, because there was no-one present who could give him decent competition...Did you perhaps bring your blade?” asked the young man. “We’d love to see the previous number one and two blade against each other.”

Kai was taken off guard with that question. He always carried Dranzer with him, but he hadn’t expected someone would ask him to blade against Takao.
“I’ve got Dranzer with me, yes.” answered Kai. “But I didn’t bring my launcher, and besides, I do not want to ruin this university.” he teased.
“No worries!” reacted one of the girls. “We’ve got an official dish in the back of the school. Roofless.” she added smiling. “We have all seen the footage of the last fight, but we were all too young to be present at that time. Please, Hiwatari-san. We would really love to see you two blade.” she said, bowing. The other students followed her example, making Kai gawk. He eyed Takao, who shrugged. “I don’t think we’re going to get away with not blading.” he said, making his way to his lover, taking Gou along. He pretended as if the both of them were just friends, not lovers, and laid his hand on Kai’s shoulder. “What do you say, team-captain. Shall we give these students a fight they’ll never forget?” he asked somewhat teasingly, his eyes sparkling. It had been a while for both of them since the last time they bladed. For Kai it had been ten years, for Takao somewhat less. He bladed Max and Rei so now and then.

Kai sighed. “Sure. If I can borrow someone’s launcher, and leads us to the dish, Takao and I will blade.” he answered, earning even more squeals and cheers.

After arriving at the dish Kai got a feeling of déjà vu. Takao and he had often bladed while still at school, and somehow this felt the same, even though they were ten years older, and no longer professional bladers.
“Gou, I don’t want you to be standing too close to the dish. Stay behind me, always, you understand?” asked Kai, bending through his knees and looking his son in the eyes.
Gou gave a questioned look.
“This is important for me to know son. Stay behind me at all times.”
“Sure dad, if you say so.”
Kai ruffled the boy’s hair. “Good boy. Did you by any chance bring your launcher?” he added. Gou shook his head. “Nope. Sorry. I did bring my blade though...”
“No need. I’ve still got my own. Thanks for offering though.”
One of the other students who bladed for fun handed his launcher to Kai.
“You can use mine.” he said smiling. The youngster reminded Kai of Max somehow. The teen was small, just like Max had been, ten years ago, and had the same intense eyes, only his were green, instead of the ocean blue eyes Max had.
“Thanks.” said Kai, reaching for Dranzer in his left pocket. He took her out and quickly scanned the blade to check if it didn’t show anything disturbing. There was nothing wrong with the blade, so he clicked it in the launcher. Even though the launcher was a bit lighter than his launcher was, it felt familiar, having it in his hands again. Meanwhile Takao had already readied Dragoon and was waiting for Kai.
“We need a referee!” noted Takao. It was silent for a couple of seconds, none of the students felt like being a referee between two heroes. Suddenly though a parachute came down, with someone familiar dangling beneath it.
“Dj Jazzman?” reacted some of the students surprised. Takao and Kai blinked, wondering the same thing: ’How did he know? I wonder how he always does it?’
“Hiwatari, Kinomiya, It’s been a while!” Jazzman said while he positioned himself at the side of the dish. “I hope you’re not going to blow up the university though.” he added grinning. “If it does, you’ve never seen me since the last championship you participated in, alright?” he added teasingly.
Kai shrugged.
“Sure Jazzman.” said Takao. “We’re ready!” he added.

“Okay. Ladies and gentlemen of this university!” he said into his microphone, somehow causing the whole university to hear him speaking.
“This is a great day for beyblade fans who’ve followed the championship ten years ago, or missed it. The then champion, Kinomiya Takao, and his former team captain, Hiwatari Kai, are at this university. You should all feel blessed for having two great men like them present. Currently, they are impatiently waiting for my sign to start. Come to the blade-dish if you don’t want to miss another great battle!” he called to the school.

It didn’t take long before more students started to gather, teachers running after their students, some as excited as their students, some cursing beyblading.

“Three, two, one, LET IT RIP!!!!!” called Jazzman, and both men did. Both blades clashed while still in mid-air, and plunged down, continuing their attacks as soon as they landed. Sparks were already flying off the blades, and they hadn’t even started being serious yet.
‘Ooh’s’ and ’Aah’s’ went through the crowd, making Takao and Kai grin. ’If they’re amazed now, just wait and see!’ thought Kai, grinning somewhat evilly. He wasn’t planning on letting Dranzer out just yet. He could feel that he and the firebird were still a bit rusty, and he wanted to be a little bit more in control before unleashing Dranzer’s power.

Takao felt somewhat the same. Even though he’d bladed not that long ago, no-one had ever been able to blade against him on the level Kai could. He felt the adrenaline rush through his body, and was yearning to get stronger and defeat Kai. He knew though, that it wouldn’t be easy, even though Kai had been out of the picture for a while. The former team captain had always been strong, no matter the conditions he fought in.

Takao’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of clashing blades. Dranzer was steadily winning ground. Takao eyed Kai, seeing the smile on his lover’s face. “I’m not going to make it easy for you Kai!” he said.
“I don’t expect you to. Give me all that you’ve got!” answered Kai, making Dranzer attack. Dragoon did the same, and both blades clashed so hard that the ground shook.

“There you have it people! Even though both of them haven’t bladed against each other in years, this battle is starting to resemble their last battle in the world champion ship, ten years ago. Let us hope the ending will be different, for the university’s sake!” commented Jazzman, earning laughter from the still growing crowd. It seemed like everyone in the neighbourhood, student, teacher or not, was starting to gather to watch the match.

Gou watched in awe. He’d never know his father was this skilled a blader, and he couldn’t have ever imagined so many people would want to watch his father and Takao blade. He felt the ground shake, and hesitantly took a step back. He now understand why his father had told him to stay behind him at all times. He couldn’t see much though, and carefully made his way to Dj Jazzman. He figured he would be safe if he stayed with the DJ too.

Kai, seeing Gou leave behind him, lost his focus for a split second. Takao and Dragoon noticed it and took the opportunity to attack. They came at Dranzer with such speed that if Kai didn’t focus quickly again, he would be knocked out of the stadium. Kai noticed though and called upon Dranzer just in time. His blade started spinning in the opposite direction, fast, and a red glow surrounded it. Suddenly Dranzer burst out of her chip, and collided with Dragoon head on, pushing the dragon back into the scale. The sudden outburst of the phoenix had caused a flow of energy, which went right from the dish to the spectators, and even further. Some windows sprung, and many students couldn’t keep standing. Gou dropped on his knees, and DJ Jazzman hold his arm behind the child to prevent him from sliding back. Even Takao and Kai were having trouble standing on their feet.

Takao, realising he wasn’t going to win if he didn’t call forth Dragoon, did so. A blue light overshadowed the red glow of Dranzer, and Dragoon appeared. Both blades circled a couple of times, not trying to hit each other, before both Kai and Takao initiated their attacks again. Another wave of energy was emitted and the students who were still standing fell on their knees or butts too. Only Kai, Takao and DJ Jazzman were still standing.

Meanwhile DJ Jazzman continued his commentary. “I don’t know what you guys are feeling, but this feels like a déjà vu moment to me!” he said, eying the crowd before focusing his attention on both bladers again. “Don’t repeat your last battle gentlemen. The BBA stadium was to be destroyed after the world championships anyway, this university isn’t!” he warned, but Kai and Takao didn’t even hear him. They were too caught up in their match. Familiar feelings were rushing through their bodies. They couldn’t get enough of the match.
“I do hope someone is monitoring the fight though.” DJ Jazzman added randomly.

“Don’t worry about that!” called someone, sounding out of breath. That someone managed to pull Takao and Kai out of their personal moment for a few seconds as the recognised the voice.”
“Kenny?!” both of them wondered, straying from the dish for a moment, seeing their chief running towards them, Rei and Max following behind the brunette.
“We felt the shockwaves from the other side of New York. We came here as quick as we could.” explained Max while Kenny opened Dizzy and started monitoring the battle, while in the meantime checking the blades’ statistics. “Don’t let us distract you. Concentrate on the battle!” added Rei.

Both Takao and Kai did as they were told, they concentrated on their blades again, which were both spinning on one spot, seemingly resting. For no reason, or so it seemed, both blades started attacking again. Takao and Kai weren’t concentrating on their blades anymore, but were watching the fight between Dragoon and Dranzer itself. They couldn’t care less about the blades. They’d missed seeing their bit beasts, and it seemed Dragoon and Dranzer had missed fighting each other too. If you knew better you could see that both spirits were more playing than fighting each other.

Max grinned and whispered into Rei’s ear: “Our plan worked. Just look at Dragoon and Dranzer. They wouldn’t be this relaxed if Takao and Kai weren’t together again!” he said optimistically.
Rei nodded. “I think so too!” he said happily. “I’m glad I don’t have to feel guilty anymore about letting those two meet again.” he said smiling.

“This is amazing!” cried Kenny suddenly. “Even though Kai hasn’t blade in ages, his power has barely diminished!”
“And Takao’s?” wondered Max.
“He seems stronger than the last fight I monitored.”
“No wonder.” said Rei smiling. Max and I are hardly competition to him.” he teased.

After another ten minutes, Takao and Kai were starting to get tired. They’d started to breath heavier, and the speed of their blades started to drop a bit. Not much, but enough to make both men realise that they had to finish their fight before their power decreased even more. They wanted to end the fight with a big bang. Not literally though, they didn’t feel like destroying the university because of a long needed match.

Gou studied his father thoroughly. He wondered why he was looking above instead of watching his blade. Gou, not having too much experience with blading just yet, couldn’t see bit-beast yet. Kai had once told him about some spirits which rested into some blades, but he’d never seen one before. He looked up, and eyed DJ Jazzman, who was also looking up, instead of looking at the blades.

When Dragoon and Dranzer initiated both of their final attacks though, Gou started to see a blue and a red haze, circling each other. When both attacks collided, he suddenly saw a blue dragon and a red phoenix, which resembled his father’s bit in his blade surprisingly.
“Wow!” he gawked, earning a glance from DJ Jazzman. He covered the microphone with his hand and said: “So you can see them now too? I can’t wait until you’re as strong as your father!” he said smiling.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, don’t blink! It seems like both blades are charging and ready to use their last attack. Takao, Kai, don’t overdo it.” teased Jazzman.
Takao grinned sheepishly, and Kai...was just Kai. He didn’t really care what happened to the university. He just wanted to finish the battle. He didn’t care if he won or not.

And then both blades clashed, emitting such a shock wave that the ground shook again. A bright flash blinded the crowd, the sound wave preventing the crowd from hearing what happened with the blades. After the light had disappeared and the sound had gone, they didn’t hear anything. Anything at all. Both blades had stopped spinning and lay next to each other in the dish.

It was a tie.

“...” was DJ Jazzman’s reaction.

“...” the crowd didn’t know what to say.

“Daddy!” Gou was the first to react. He sped up to his father, who’d just dropped to his knees. Takao had done the same.
“Daddy! Are you okay?” asked the boy concerned.
“I’m fine. Don’t worry.” said Kai, sitting down cross legged. “Could you get Dranzer and Dragoon out of the dish?”
“Sure.”
Meanwhile Takao made his way to Kai, after he’d managed to gather the strength to stand up again. He reached out his hand to pulled Kai on his feet.
“That was amazing!” he said, his eyes glistering.
“Let’s finish this at my apartment, later today.” offered Kai, giving Takao a small hug, not wanting to show their affection to the public just yet.
“Sounds like a plan.” said Takao grinning.

“This is amazing!” cried Jazzman, breaking the silence. “The dish is still in one piece, the university is still standing, and there is no winner yet! Care for another go?” he asked, approaching both men. “You two won’t be able to rest until one of you has won.” he said out of the microphone. “And when one wins, the other will train and challenge the other again.” he said grinning.
“Sorry Jazzman, this was quite enough blading for today. We’re not the world champions we once were, anymore.” said Takao. “...Is that a grey hair under your bandana?” said Takao teasingly suddenly.
Jazzman froze. “Well, uh, I guess you’re right. Notify me again when you decide to blade again!” he said and disappeared in a cloud of white smoke.

“How does he do that?” wondered Takao, Kai, Gou and all spectators. It was silent for a couple more seconds before the crowd busted in cheers.
“That was one hell of a battle!”
“I can’t believe it! I blinked!” cried another.
“...Wow...”
Takao grinned, Kai smiled and took Gou’s hand.
“Let’s go home.” the dual haired man said. He playfully pulled Takao’s hair. “If you promise you’ll behave I’ll cook you something.” he said, playing his role of ex team captain.

Gou watched to men in surprise, not understanding what was going on. He shrugged it off though when he heard that Kai was going to cook himself. Some might not think so, but Kai was an excellent cook, and in Gou’s opinion a much better cook than his mother. When Gou was with his father though, they often ordered dinner instead of cooking it themselves, just because of the time and effort it took to make something decent.
“What are we going to eat daddy? Could you make something special?”
“Sure.” said Kai smiling gently. “Takao will eat everything he’s given, so that won’t be a problem.” he teased. “Chief, Rei, Max, care to join for dinner?” asked Kai. “My treat. I’m cooking.” the dual coloured haired man said while making his way out of the university.
“I’m sorry, but we already have plans.” said Max apologising while clinging himself to Rei’s arm.
“Kenny?” wondered Kai.
“Some other time, I’ve got a lot of work that needs to be finished.” said Kenny smiling gently. “I’ll give a call somewhere this week.”
Kai nodded. “See you all later then!” he said smiling while he, Takao and Gou took a left turn back to Kai’s apartment, and Rei, Kenny and Max went their own ways.

After having arrived at the apartment, Gou seated himself on the couch and turned on the television. Kai disappeared in the kitchen to check what the refrigerator had to offer.
“Gou, what do you want to eat?” called Kai, knowing that whatever he had to cook, he had to do some shopping anyway.
“Spaghetti!”
“What’s special about spaghetti?” wondered Takao, having heard Gou’s earlier question for something special to eat.
“Dad can make anything special!” said Gou happily.
“Is that so?” asked Takao to Kai. “I’d never thought you’d be a cook.” he teased.
“I’m not. I just mix whatever I’ve got at that moment, that’s all. But don’t tell Gou, it’ll break his heart.” teased Kai back.
“...”
“No, really, I’m not really that good of a cook. I just like to try stuff.” answered Kai honestly eventually when he saw Takao’s dazzled look.
“I think the first is more believable.” said Takao, cautiously stepping backwards, knowing Kai would come after him.

The dual haired man did so, and chased him through the living room. Takao disappeared on the balcony, quickly closing the sliding glass door behind him, sticking out his tongue. He knew Kai could open the door whenever he wanted, but if he hadn’t changed too much, Kai wouldn’t try, and just let Takao wait outside until Takao thought it to be safe. Then Kai would take action.

Kai didn’t do so though. After a while he also made his way on the balcony and called Takao. “Gou and I are going to go to the supermarket. Care to join us?” asked the dual haired man smiling while he embraced the bluenette from behind. Said person was leaning on the railing and was admiring New York from above.
“New York looks different from ten years ago...” he mused.
“It hasn’t changed much, really.”
“We have, haven’t we? We’re not the reckless teens of ten years ago anymore.”
“Teens, no. Reckless, perhaps.” teased Kai. “What made you think about that?”
“Nothing.” replied Takao, turning so he would be facing Kai. “Shall we do some shopping? I’m starving!” he replied with an ear-to-ear grin. Kai ruffled the bluenette’s hair and pulled him inside.

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~

“Man, I’m stuffed!” sighed Takao as he let himself fall on the couch.
“Takao...” complained Kai from out the kitchen. “I’m trying to teach Gou some manners here. You’re giving totally the wrong impression!” he said somewhat teasingly.
“Sorry.” said Takao giving an apologising smile when he saw both Hiwatari’s come from the kitchen after having packed the dish-washer. “It’s just you’re a great cook. I haven’t eaten this good in ages!” complemented Takao.
“It wasn’t that special...” defended Kai, who still wasn’t used to receiving praise.
“It was!” disagreed Gou. He plunged himself next to Takao on the couch and just lay there, wasted.
“Gou, get up. I need to sit too, and I don’t think you want me to sit on you.” said Kai somewhat sternly, sometimes wondering if he was the only one trying to raise him properly. He sat down next to Takao, and Gou cuddled himself in his lap.

He hadn’t really spoken to Akahana in a few months, other than the occasional question if he could watch the boy, or the question from Kai to her if he could have Gou over for a while, just because. Sometimes Kai wondered if Akahana wasn’t busier with her work than he was.

According to Gou she hardly ever took the time to cook properly, and often Gou would wake up alone, with a note on the refrigerator. So now and then she’d leave money for Gou to order some pizza, and she wouldn’t come back until the day after. Kai was worried, but he couldn’t really do much. The judge had decided long ago that Akahana had to be the one to care for Gou most of the time, for at that time she had a part-time job and enough time to take care of a child. When Gou turned two though, she was offered a full-time job, which took more than the nine-to-five weekdays. Even though Kai had to travel a lot, he had more spare time to watch over Gou. He was prepared to give up more of his office time for Gou.

Akahana rarely did.

She often ‘dumped’ Gou at Kai’s, going off to who knows where. Kai had reason to worry, but he didn’t feel like going to court again. Gou was old enough to understand what would be going on, and he didn’t want to boy to go through the turmoil. Gou understood that his father and mother weren’t together anymore, but he’d never known that both of them had never really loved each other. Akahana and Kai had agreed from the moment she got pregnant that they would never tell their child. Kai was worried though that Gou would find out himself one day, and blame him for not trusting him, and in the worst case, would never want to see him anymore.

But he didn’t have to worry about that just yet. Being just eight years of age, Gou was pretty much oblivious to the adult world and their problems. He didn’t need to know a reason for everything. Yet.

Takao noticed Kai spacing out. He hadn’t seen his former team captain spaced out for a while, and he knew that Kai would have a legitimate reason for it. It wasn’t easy to get Kai worried, but if he was, it wasn’t easy to clear his mind.

“Kai?” Takao said nudging the man softly. Meanwhile Gou turned on the television.
“Hmmm, yes?” reacted Kai, his thoughts still with Akahana and Gou.
“What are you thinking about?” wondered Takao.
“Nothing you should worry about.”
“You obviously are...” commented Takao.
“It’s nothing...Just something between Akahana and me, that’s all.”
“How do you two get along? I mean, how’s your relationship?” asked Takao suddenly.
“We only have one thing in common, our love for the little squirt in my lap...” teased Kai, tickling Gou.
“Hey! I’m not a squirt!” he complained, but when Kai stopped his tickle assault he focussed on the television again.
“What about you and Naomi?” added Kai. He’d wanted to ask about it for quite some time now, but he’d never found the right moment, nor the right words. Takao had already broken the ice, so he figured it would be alright to ask about it now.
“About the same as you. Gramps is fond of her, so we see each other quite regularly. We’re friends, I guess.” answered Takao. “If I had given up on you I think we still would be married happily at the moment, but I just couldn’t forget about you, and that broke our love...Or something like that.” added Takao, not really sure of his words. He’d never really talked to someone about his feelings about Naomi, but one thing was sure. He loved no-one more than he loved Kai.
“Does Naomi know about us?” asked Kai.
Takao nodded. “I told her just after we’d slept together, just before she found out she was pregnant.”
“How did she take it?” wanted Kai to know.
“Really good actually. She said she’d already suspected something like that... What about Akahana?”
“...Let’s just say I’m happy that she doesn’t know martial arts. I guess she could’ve killed me in anger when I told her. I guess she really was into me, I never really noticed.” said Kai lowering his eyes, looking at Gou. He smiled when he saw that Gou had fallen asleep while watching the TMNT(x) “I’m gonna take this squirt to bed. Perhaps we should too?” wondered Kai, taking his sleeping son in his arms and made his way to the boy’s bedroom.
Takao nodded. “I’ll go ahead.” he answered disappearing in the bathroom.

After having tucked Gou in bed, Kai returned to the living room. Takao was sitting on the couch in one of Kai’s spare pyjamas with a steaming mug of tea, waiting for the dual haired man. He’d also prepared a mug of tea for Kai. Said teen settled himself next to Takao and leaned into him. Both of them didn’t say anything for a while. They just enjoyed each others company without a kid spying on them.
“It’s gonna take some getting used to, being together again, but now with our sons with us.” said Takao, blankly staring at the television.
“Hmm.” was Kai’s only reaction, not wanting to think about possible upcoming problems just yet. “Let’s go to bed.” he said after having finished his tea. “I’m pretty sure Gou’s asleep by now.” the dual coloured haired man said giving Takao butterfly kisses on his exposed shoulder. The pyjama top he was wearing was one size too big for Takao, even though the bluenette was taller than Kai.
Takao made a purring sound. “Sounds like a plan...” Takao said. “Isn’t Akahana coming anymore? She said she’d come to pick Gou up...” he suddenly added.
“If she’s not here before eight o’clock, then she won’t be coming. Don’t worry. I’m used to it. I’ll bring Gou to school tomorrow morning, and Akahana will probably show up again just about dinner time tomorrow with some lame excuse.” Kai said slightly irritated.
“You want to have custody of Gou, don’t you?”
Kai nodded. “But I guess that’ll be impossible unless I can prove that she’s not a good mother.” he added sighing slightly. “Let’s just go to bed and forget about all this, and just focus on the two of us.” the former blade breaker team captain said with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
“I can’t wait.” purred Takao back while they chased each other to the bedroom.

TBC

Part three will be coming in time. I wanted to introduce Makato in this part, but I guess things changed a bit, I added a bit more than I intentionally planned. I don’t know when I’ll be updating again, I hope soon, but school is really killing my spare time. I’ll try and update as soon as possible.

I don’t know yet how long the story will be, I haven’t really got something planned to make it a long story, but perhaps if the plot bunnies will come and bug me, I’ll make it a on going story. I can’t promise anything though.

Reviews feed me by the way! Feed me, feed me! I haven’t eaten in an eternity XD


(x) teenage mutant ninja turtles