Passion

Rei gave a mental sigh of relief as the sun peaked over the horizon. He had been awake all night but luckily he had slipped in unnoticed early that morning. It would postpone the lectures from Mr. Dickinson for at least a little bit.

He stretched as he saw the beybladers filing in. He hoped at least some of them were worth his time or this tournament would be a waste.

“Damn,” the hiss came between his lips as he caught sight of the familiar blond hair. What was the captain of the Silver Wolves doing in this tournament? That’s what he wanted to know.

Rei jumped over the railing, landing with absolute grace as he chased after the inu-jin into the locker room, only to feel his stomach sinking.

“Have fun last night Rei? I was surprised, the addict you are,” a grin flashed over his lips as he leaned against the wall.

“I didn’t do anything Joey, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Not from lack of trying!” Brown met gold as they blazed in anger. “Do me a favor pussy. Stay away from Tyson.”

“He yours?” Fangs glinted slightly in the light, familiar with the threat of a challenge. He had never been denied what he wanted and he wasn’t ready to start now.

“No,” a snort came from Joey as he shook his head. “I’ve got my eyes on some one else. I just don’t want you to get your grubby paws on him.”

Rei took that challenge, flashing a grin that said ‘just try and stop me’. He saw a flash of the rust brown beyblade that he was so familiar with. “You think you’ll actually win with that piece of junk?”

“Iru’s never let me down,” a slight smile touched Joey’s lips as he turned around, away from Rei. “See you in the dish!”

Rei gave a tight grimace at that. The last thing he looked forward to was a possibility that he could end up on the same team as the inu-jin.

Joey knew his best bet would be to avoid Tyson altogether. He knew that if his friend saw him at the tournament he would not be able to keep his secret, and that was something he wished to keep.

Soft brown eyes focused on the floor as he wrenched his hands, his nerves once more getting the best of him. His mind however was on the night before, of Kai arching and panting above him as he slammed into his body hard, the memory of the crimson eyes staring intently into his soul.

Even the memory made his heart pound as he picked up Iru, trying to forget about it. It was one time. He had had a lot of one night stands. This should be no different. But it was for some strange reason. He couldn’t forget that night no matter what he tried to do.

Shaking his head he focused on the match ahead. His best bet would be to be pitted against Kai in the qualifying round. That would avoid a lot of hassle however it wasn’t likely. And with Rei as part of the tournament his chances weren’t looking very good at all. He knew that Iru didn’t stand a chance against his Driger. Not from lack of skill of course, but lack of a bitbeast and quality beyblade.

He needed to focus on taking Kai down. Rei was just a nuisance that he’d deal with when the time came.

Stretching slightly he yawned, heading towards the dish. It was time to go. His eyes flickered around, focusing on one after another. Across from him he recognized one of Tyson’s new friends. Kenny… he thought that’s what his name was. Just his luck.

The chances of Kenny recognizing him were just too high however if he drew out that would bring even more attention to him and he would lose his best chance to face off against Kai. That was the most important thing here and the only thing that mattered right at the moment. He had been given so much and only this one thing had been asked for.

“Bladers, at your ready,” inserting the ripcord into the launcher Joey took a deep breath, his eyes lingering slowly on each opponent he would have to go against. None of them except for Kai really mattered in the end but Joey knew he couldn’t underestimate anyone.

“3… 2… 1… Let it rip!”

The sounds to the side of him were identical to the sound of his own ripcord against his launcher, launching his beyblade into the large dish. Everything was going well and he was holding his own, no one a match for his skill. Blades from amateurs lay in the dish or scattered to the sides however he knew it was not all his doing. With brown eyes narrowed he saw that a familiar beyblade had entered the fray. Dranzer…

Well, it was about time.

It didn’t take long for the others to lay scattered until Joey noticed Kenny’s beyblade, bouncing from one side to another. A snort escaped him as he rolled his eyes at the pitiful looking spring. In his mind there would be no conquest and it was proven when Dranzer crashed against the beyblade, ripping it in half.

Joey’s own hands clenched tightly as Iru continued to make its way across the dish, spinning in place to hold up its defensive wall. It was nothing compared to the new beyblade Kaiba had given him but he dealt with it nonetheless. If he could defeat Kai with Iru, then he would show the world Kuroiryu.

As he watched the rust red beyblade skid across the area there was a slight wince that the inu-jin couldn’t hold back when Dranzer struck with full force. The amount of speed and energy it had was outstanding and this fact made his heart clench. Iru wasn’t a strong enough beyblade to hold up to such a beating. Inwardly he cursed himself for not using Kuroiryu in the first place. He would have had to tip his hand earlier but it wasn’t worth being cautious if he lost this.

Glancing up the red eyes bore into him, studying him intently. Joey clenched his hands tightly as he looked upon his opponent. He knew he had to defeat him if he was to succeed in finally helping his team prove himself.

Striking back Joey gave a slight growl, muscles tensing. As the two beyblades crashed together there was a slight wince as he watched the two go on the attack. Deep down fear clenched at him, knowing that this power was not something he could match with just Iru. He should have used Kuroiryu even though he had told him not to.

There was another strike and Joey gasped as Iru was crushed, the pieces falling to the bottom of the dish. Dranzer continued to spin as Joey lifted his gaze, growling slightly.

“This is what you deserve, an amateur facing me,” Kai said as his eyes fell on the inu-jin who gathered the pieces in his hands and retreating. He had lost…

He couldn’t believe it. Hurrying back to the locker room his hand clenched, pulling the bitchip from the beyblade before dumping the pieces. As Joey stood there he pulled open his locker, hand running over Kuroiryu. He knew he had to win his next match or never be able to show his face in shame.

His hand encircled the beyblade, spinning around as he heard the soft footsteps behind him. Muscles tensed as brown eyes landed on golden. Stepping forward his fingers clenched around the shirt collar, staring down at the neko-jin standing behind him.

“Kon…”

A flash of fangs and a hand reached out, landing on Joey’s shoulder before the blond shoved it off him.

“Don’t touch me!”

“Temper…” Rei said as he reached up and tried to pull off the hand from his collar. His hand wrapped around Joey’s, the inu-jin shoving Rei back against the wall.

“What are you doing here?”

“Same thing as you… I suppose,” there was a shrug of shoulders as he leaned back against the wall. “Mr. Dickinson invited me. And you?”

“What does it look like?”

“It looks like you were beat,” there was a smirk and a flash of fangs as the hand slowly released Rei, the blond turning away from him as his muscles tensed, not saying another word before storming off. Holding his coat closed he stalked off, refusing to say anything. He didn’t want to deal with Rei, or anyone else right now. There was only one thing on his mind. Home… he wanted to be home.