Beyblade Fan Fiction ❯ Hallowed ❯ Part 05 ( Chapter 5 )

Authoress' Notes: Ah…I know it's a Halloween fic, but you know me. *sweatdrops* My muses are enthusiastic when it comes to plots… onto Part 05! Oh! And belated Happy Thanksgiving to all of you American neighbours…

Disclaimer: Don't own! Don't sue!

Warnings: Yaoi, language, fluffiness, etc. FanFiction. Net readers: if you're looking for the NC-17 version of this fic, go to either my homepage (see my bio), Only TyKa Hotness, Mediaminer. org (FireKali), or Aff. Net (Yami FireKali) - though I haven't gotten that far yet…sorry about that.

Pairing: TyKa! Hints of ReMa and Kenny/Hilary, too.

~ Hallowed ~

Part 05

"This…" Pant. "…is getting…" Pant. "…ridiculous."

Kai made a breathless noise of agreement, leaning over with his hands braced on his knees as he sucked in much needed air. They'd managed to get out of the cemetery and all the way back to the old district and its main street - running the entire way.

"Ugh." Tyson groaned, leaning against the wall of one building. They'd put some distance between themselves and their captors, and had (they hoped) lost them by weaving in and out of alleys and taking side streets. When Kai had finally called a halt in hopes of having lost them permanently (or at least long enough for he and Tyson to rest and regain their breaths), he'd pulled Tyson into the first convenient alley and stopped.

"You okay, Kinomiya?" Kai asked, straightening up.

"My legs are killing me and I'm starving. So no." Tyson responded, rubbing his stomach. "It's not far to the hotel, at least. Do you think we can make it?"

"I don't know. But we're going to try." Kai went to the end of the alley, sticking to the shadows and avoiding the light from street lights nearby, and peered out cautiously, checking the street up and down. "But not yet. There's a group coming this way and they're still dressed in those weird clothes."

"We'd better hide or something, Kai, until they've gone past." Tyson beckoned his captain back into the alley and looked around. "Behind these old crates will have to do."

Kai waited until the group coming up the street were only a block away before he slipped back into the alley and joined Tyson behind a stack of wooden crates piled against one wall. They waited in silence, listening to the approaching footfalls of their pursuers, and the low murmur of voices that gradually got louder the closer they got.

"…have to find them." One of them was saying. "Mayor Rockman is already really pissed off at us…"

"It wasn't our fault!" Another protested.

"If they try to get back to their hotel, then we'll catch them and everything will be fine. There's still time yet." A female voice pointed out.

"For now, we just keep looking…" the voices began to fade and when they couldn't hear anymore footsteps, Kai and Tyson cautiously came out from their hiding spot.

"Great. So they know where we're staying and they're waiting for us. What do we do now?" Tyson felt like banging his head against the wall. "And did you hear what they said about the Mayor? What was that all about?"

"Yeah. It sounded like he's the one running their little group." Kai ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "I still say we go for the hotel. Even if they did leave a couple of people there to wait for us, we should be able to sneak by somehow and get our stuff, then sneak out again."

"Okay. If you say so. I don't know much about being all stealthy so I'll just follow your lead, oh my captain." Tyson grinned cheekily and gave Kai a mock salute.

The phoenix rolled his eyes and gestured for Tyson to follow him. He checked the streets again and found it empty - making him wonder how late at night it truly was for a moment before he simply dismissed the curiosity as unimportant right then - and turned back around to give the dragon an all-clear.

"It's safe. I think we should make short dashes from alley to alley, just to be on the safe side." He said quietly as he turned. "Okay, Kino…"

He was interrupted by Tyson suddenly spinning him around to face him and somewhat roughly pushing Kai back up against the wall, leaning up and in to crush his mouth to the older teen's in a needy, passionately rough kiss. Kai's mind went blissfully blank for a moment and he gave a small sound of lust before opening to the demand of Tyson's tongue and found his mouth being thoroughly, deeply explored. Tyson's fingers dove into Kai's hair and gripped the soft strands, his body moulding to the older blader's perfectly as he drew Kai as close as he could. A shiver ran through each of them and Kai circled his arms around Tyson, not wanting to ever let go of the bishonen who was giving him such pleasure from such a simple thing as a kiss.

The sudden fire that had blazed through his system a few moments ago began to slowly reduce down to a steady, manageable burn and Tyson lazily broke the kiss, taking a few parting nips and softer kisses before he buried his face in Kai's neck and rubbed his nose against ivory skin and the silken cloth of Kai's scarf. He gave a purr of pleased contentment when he felt Kai's hands languorously slide up and down his back and shoulders.

"As much fun as that was…" Kai began then cleared his throat to get rid of the hoarseness in his voice, making the dragon chuckle knowingly into his neck. "Kinomiya, we have to go."

"I know, Kai. But I just had to kiss you again. I couldn't stand it." Tyson brushed his mouth across the pulse in his captain's neck and dragged his kips up to Kai's ear to whisper darkly, "I finally had a taste of you and I find I want more…I crave you."

Kai's eyes nearly crossed and he squeezed them shut, a wave of lust flooding his senses and mind at Tyson's words and the definite emotion behind them. Taking a deep, shaky breath, he let it out on a sigh and returned the younger blader's admission with one of his own.

"You might crave me but I am addicted to you. You intoxicate me, Tyson." He growled in an equally dark voice.

"Hmm…" Tyson smiled, feeling just a bit giddy, and nuzzled Kai again affectionately. He raised his mouth to give the phoenix a couple more soft kisses before reluctantly pulling away - though he did slip his hand into Kai's and squeeze, interlocking their fingers tightly. "Come on. I want out of this weird town so we can concentrate on satisfying our cravings."

"Gods…" Kai wanted to whimper at the tightening in his pants. "We're going to have to talk about this, you know."

"I know. And I promise we will, Kai. Let's just get out of here together in one piece, first."

Kai nodded in agreement and just as they turned to leave the alley, a loud crash came from behind them.

Startled, they looked over at the trash can that had been knocked over and saw a familiar set of piercing green eyes of a distinctly feline shape peering at them from the darkness.

"Phew. Just a cat." Tyson breathed a sigh of relief, laughing nervously. "Scared the pants off me though."

"Yeah."

"Merow?" The cat meowed at them and padded over to Tyson, weaving in and out of his legs and rubbing up against them, purring loudly. The bluenette looked down at the cat in amusement and crouched down to pet it.

"You look really familiar, Kitty." Tyson said. Kai studied the cat for a moment and leaned casually back against a wall, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Isn't that the cat from the weird stone you were in yesterday?" The captain asked. Tyson blinked up at him in surprise then looked back down at the cat.

"Nicodemus?" He inquired tentatively. The cat stared up at him in return and blinked slowly at him, meowing loudly in answer. "What are you doing way out here? Maggie must be worried about you."

"Uh…Tyson?" Kai frowned, sure he knew what his younger team mate was thinking. "In case you've forgotten, we're being chased by freaky people in robes. We don't have time to return a stray cat to its home."

"I haven't forgotten." Tyson rolled his eyes and picked Nico up. "But I don't want to just leave him here, either."

"You are such a sap, Kinomiya. That cat has probably roamed around these streets and alleys just fine on his own many times before. So just put him down and let him go his way while we go ours…preferably before we're caught?"

Before Tyson could do that (grumbling under his breath about it), Nicodemus jumped down himself. The black cat padded off into the alley, then stopped and yowled in a demanding sort of way while staring hard at the two teens. They just looked back blankly then at each other - as we clueless humans usually do. Nicodemus yowled again, going back over to them, rubbing against Tyson's legs a couple of times to make sure he had the bluenette's attention, then running back up into the alley and stopping to wait - or at least that's what Tyson thought he seemed to be doing.

"Uh…I think he wants us to follow him, Kai." The dragon scratched his head and glanced at the phoenix with a shrug.

"Are you feeling okay, Kinomiya?" Kai peered at him closely. "You want to follow a cat?"

"Merow!" Came another, impatient yowl. Tyson made a sweeping gesture in Nico's direction as if to say, "See? He's saying I'm right!"

"Come on, Kai." Tyson grabbed his hand and dragged his captain along, toward the cat. "My curiosity is peeked now."

"Tyson!" Kai protested vehemently, but not enough to dissuade the bluenette it seemed, because he just kept following their feline guide. With a sigh of extreme exasperation, the older teen chased after the younger, who chased after the feline. "I swear…if we get caught because of this…"

"Yeah. I know."

They didn't have to go far, though, before Nicodemus came to a stop in an alley behind a very old building. A light next to the back door of the building flicked on and the door opened, revealing none other than Maggie.

"Oh, good! I'm glad Nico found you. Come in, please." She ushered them indoors, her feline familiar darting in ahead of them and disappearing inside.

Once inside, Maggie closed and locked the door behind them before leading them up a set of stairs. There, they found themselves in the living room of a small apartment.

"Welcome to my home." Maggie smiled, gesturing for them to have a seat. "I live above my shop."

"Um, forgive me for asking, Maggie, but what's going on? And how did you know we were coming?" Tyson asked, thoroughly confused. Kai just crossed his arms and watched her warily.

"Well, I was deep into my mediations and my rituals for the day - for Samhein - and I got a sudden sense of danger. So I did a quick scrying and managed to see that what I sensed was near the both of you." The petite woman explained, moving to her kitchen area and preparing a kettle of water to boil for tea as she spoke. "I wasn't sure why you seemed to be in danger but I believed you could handle it yourselves with the help of Sacred Dragoon and Sacred Dranzer."

Kai grunted and said, "Of course we could. And did." He didn't believe the hocus pocus tale for a second. It only made him sure she was involved in their troubles somehow.

"But then I saw an awful lot of people running around in strange, hooded robes and I really began to worry - it wouldn't have seemed so out of place a few hours ago, but at this late hour?" She pointed at an old grandfather clock standing in a corner. It read 11:21, which gave both bladers a bit of a shock. "I thought it was a little late for anyone to be running around in their costumes as they were - back and forth, up and down the street out front. So I sent Nicodemus to find you and lead you back here to safety. I want to help you figure out what's going on."

"Well, we have no clue, really. We'd decided to go see a movie, to waste some time before the trials that we'd planned on going to watch. The mock ones?" Tyson told Maggie about their abduction, their escape, and the chase. "So that's how we ended up here, but we were going to sneak back into our hotel, get our stuff, and then sneak back out again. Then we'd just drive away."

Kai watched Maggie closely as Tyson told their story. He was looking for any hint that she was involved in this. As Tyson spoke about what they'd overheard the one group saying about the Mayor, he saw a flicker of knowledge in Maggie's eyes and his own crimson orbs narrowed in suspicion.

"That sounds like quite an ordeal you've been through tonight, Tyson. But I think things are beginning to make sense to me now. If I may ask, what hotel were you staying at?" She inquired.

Tyson opened his mouth to tell her but Kai cut him off.

"You know what's going on, don't you? I'll bet you're in on it!"

Maggie sighed and went through the motions of pouring tea for her guests and bringing them each a steaming cupful. "I'm not denying it, Kai. I think I know what's happened, and if I'm right then there's been a terrible mistake made somewhere. Was your hotel the Best Western on the southeast end of town?"

Kai continued to stare at her but replied cautiously, "Yes."

Tyson looked back and forth between them, not sure what was going on, but trusting that Kai did and that he was on top of the situation.

"I see. In that case, there has been a huge mistake made. If you will allow me to, I would like to phone the Mayor myself and confirm my suspicions. You may listen in, if you like, and I promise I won't give away that you're here. Would that put your mind at ease, Kai?"

He gave her a short nod and Maggie reached for her cordless phone, sitting on the coffee table. She dialled a number, and waited until someone picked up at the other end before saying, "Hello, Mayor Rockman. Yes, it's Maggie MacGowan, sir. I realize you're very busy, but I'm calling about your black robes…oh yes? Yes…I did wonder why they are roaming about the streets at this hour. I see." She flicked her eyes in a quick glance at Kai and Tyson, meeting Kai's burning gaze and holding it. "No, sir. I haven't seen them, but if I do, I'll be sure to explain the situation to them and send them to the hotel. Yes, sir. Thank you for your time. Happy Halloween to you also. Goodbye." Maggie hung up and put the phone down.

"Well?" Tyson sat forward eagerly, wanting to know what Maggie had learned.

"It seems there was a big mix-up at the hotel. Those mock trials you were going to go to…"

"What about them?" Kai wanted to know.

Maggie held up her hand in a plea for patience and got up, moving to a cupboard and pulling out a small, thick pamphlet from a drawer. She came back over and held it out to the teens silently.

" `Experience the Salem witch trails!'" Tyson read, leaning over to peer at the booklet Kai held. " `Book your own mock-trial and discover the terror of the witches of Salem for yourself this Halloween…'" He looked up at the petite woman. "What is this?"

"It's a tourism thing. There are mock trials held year-round, you see, but those are performed by actors and actresses. On Halloween, many of the local businesses and prominent personages sponsor a special set of trials that tourists can pre-book. Basically, they have a huge, public, free-of-charge performance of a mock witch trial down near City Hall and the tourists who pre-book the event get to be a part of it by taking the place and parts of the witches who are on trial." Maggie explained quietly as Kai flipped through the booklet. "The tourists get `kidnapped' and held `prisoner' and when it's time for the trials, they get marched down to City Hall for the judgment and ten the conviction and `punishment.'"

Tyson stared at her, wide-eyed. "People actually pay to do this? Are they crazy?!"

Maggie shrugged. "A lot of people will do weird things for a thrill. It's the same reason people love a good horror movie, I suppose. No one gets hurt or anything, of course - since it's all in fun and education - for a price."

Kai looked up from the pamphlet and tossed it on the coffee table, his temper beginning to heat up. "Are you saying that's why we were chloroformed and kidnapped? Left in that storage basement? Chased all over town?"

"I'm afraid so. You see, Mayor Rockman, who also heads the `Trial Committee,' told me that there had been a mix-up at the hotel. The couple who had booked their `trial' had switched rooms on their arrival, and you two were given the room they were supposed to be in. When the local people who were volunteering to play the part of the Puritan townsfolk came to the hotel to find out what the tourists looked like so they'd know who to `capture,' the guy at the reception desk - who is brand new to the job, and didn't know of the switched rooms, by the way - told them the tourists were you." Maggie sat down in a rocking chair and gave the two stupefied bladers sympathetic, apologetic looks. "I'm supposed to offer you both the City of Salem's most sincere, deepest apologies and send you back to the hotel to meet His Honour, the Mayor, so he can apologize in person."

Tyson flopped backwards against the back cushions of the sofa, dazed and totally dumbfounded. Kai wasn't much better off, but his temper was on a seriously short fuse now.

"I don't believe it. All that running away we did was for nothing?! If that's why were…uh, kidnapped, then why did they keep chasing us?" The bluenette demanded.

"Mayor Rockman, when he heard what happened, told them to find you and apologize, and to explain it all to you. They chased you because they wanted to stop you and tell you everything, Tyson."

"Gods. All that…"

"Well, now that we know, I'm thinking I just want to get our belongings and leave, Kinomiya. Otherwise, I'm liable to do something drastic." Kai growled, livid. "How could anyone make such a ridiculous mistake?! ARGH!"

"I know, Kai. Reign in your temper, dude." Tyson warned, patting him on the knee. "It was a mistake. They happen. Let's just go to the hotel, talk to the Mayor and get it over with so I can eat something and pass out for a few hours before we go back to Boston, okay?"

"Hn." The phoenix scowled darkly and was so incensed that he didn't say a word, not wanting to drop his wrath on his innocent team mate.

Maggie stood, setting her teacup aside and went to a closet to pull out a hooded cloak of her own, putting it on and getting a pair of shoes from the shoe rack inside the closet.

"I will accompany you, if you don't mind, Tyson. I would like to see this whole fiasco through." She said.

"Okay. I hope you don't mind walking, though."

"Not at all." She shook her head with a small smile and led them downstairs. Maggie called to her feline companion as the two bladers put their shoes on and grabbed their jackets. "Nicodemus! Come, Kitten! We're going out."

The black cat came streaking out from seemingly nowhere and Maggie picked him up, settling him onto her shoulders comfortably then following Kai and Tyson outside.

"Maggie, I just have one question." Tyson broke the tense silence as they walked slowly in the direction of their hotel.

"What might that be, Tyson?"

"Why use chloroform?"

"Ah. Well, the whole point of the special trial is to have a realistic experience, you see. In those times, however, the townspeople would have simply beat their captives into submission and unconsciousness. But we can't do that, of course, so they use chloroform to knock the `captives' out, instead. The `abduction' is meant to simulate how many of the suspected witches were simply arrested while performing their daily schedules and tasks without any warning. All to make the experience more real for the tourists who pay for it."

"But is it legal?"

"Yes. The tourists who pay for this are required to sign a lot of forms and such, and so is the Mayor on behalf of the city, promising that no true harm or injury shall come to them, and that in the event of an accident or something the city will reimburse a full refund and offer restitution of some sort."

"I can't wait to see how they plan on handling this." Kai snorted, his tone completely unimpressed and still angered at the whole situation. He walked along next to Tyson on his right, arms folded over his chest and glaring icily at the town as they passed through it.

Tyson sighed. He wasn't particularly happy with the events either, but since there was nothing he could do about it, it was easier to let go of his anger and move on. OF course, Kai wasn't the sort to let go of his temper once it was ignited quite so easily, and Tyson knew he was never going to hear the end of this little adventure anytime soon. He also knew he was going to have a hard time ever convincing his angry captain to ever go on a road trip to check out the sights and play tourist again anywhere else they'd travel to after this.

One good thing that came out of all this, though, He mused silently, glancing at Kai surreptitiously. Is that I now know he's at least partially interested in me, even if it is only physical interest. It's a start… The dragon blushed slightly and stared at the sidewalk under his feet.

"Here we are." Maggie spoke up suddenly. "I can see the hotel now."

Tyson and Kai exchanged glances and proceeded to follow the pixie-like woman the rest of the way.

"I don't see the guys they left here in case we showed." Kai murmured to Tyson. He was looking around carefully, trying to spot the guards.

The bluenette shrugged. "They probably gave up and left, Kai. It doesn't matter now, anyway."

"Hn."

They walked into the lobby of the hotel and Maggie stopped, smiling and waving at a tall, thin, balding man in black jeans and a green dress shirt. "That's our Mayor. I'll speak to him, Tyson. You and Kai can come with me or wait here, it's your choice."

Kai huffed. "I'm going up to the room. Tyson can handle this." He turned to go to the elevators.

"Ah…go ahead, Maggie. I'll be there in a minute." Tyson said over his shoulder, hurrying after the phoenix. "Kai! Wait a second…"

"What?"

"Why're you leaving me to talk to this guy?" He demanded, planting his hands on his hips. "You're the captain…"

"Nice of you to remember, Kinomiya, but in this instance, I'm not. We're just tourists who got chased around all over, kidnapped, etc., etc." Kai replied evenly, leaning against the wall as he waited for the elevator. "And at the moment I'm in no mood to deal with people. You're better at it anyway, Kinomiya, so you can talk to the Mayor."

"But…" Tyson sighed, rubbing his forehead as he thought about that. "Okay, fine. Just do me a favour and order up something to eat?"

"Yeah." Kai nodded shortly and pushed away from the wall as the elevator pinged and the doors slid open. He walked in and pushed the button for their floor. "And Tyson?"

"Yeah, Kai?"

"You can handle this because I trust you to know when you're being played by political manoeuvrings and public relations ploys. I'll see you up in the room." The doors closed between them and left a stunned Tyson standing there staring at the doors. The dragon hadn't heard Kai ever make a statement quite like that before.

Shaking it off and smiling a slow smile of pleased contentment, Tyson strode over to Maggie and Salem's Mayor.

"Tyson, meet Mr. Rockman. Mr. Rockman, meet Tyson Kinomiya." Maggie introduced them to each other and Tyson shook the Mayor's hand.

"Well! I certainly wasn't expecting to meet such a well-known blading celebrity. A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Kinomiya." Mayor Rockman smiled at the teen.

"Yes. And my captain, Kai, and I certainly weren't expecting to get abducted and chased all over Salem by some creeps in robes." Tyson responded coolly. The Mayor had the grace to look sheepish and very apologetic.

"About that…I'd like to offer my own and Salem's sincerest apologies, Mr. Kinomiya. I hope neither of you were hurt?"

"No. We're just dirty, hungry, and exhausted."

The older man nodded and sighed. "Yes. I can't say I blame you. Maggie told me everything. I'll make this quick, then, so you can go back to your room and get some rest."

"I'd appreciate that, sir." Tyson folded his arms over his chest in a Kai-like gesture.

"As Maggie had explained, we have this tourist program every Halloween. The program includes a room, which was sponsored by this hotel, and this year we had a young, married couple sign up for the program. However, when they got here, they wanted a larger room and were willing to pay the extra money for the upgrade."

"So what happened? How'd the mix-up happen?"

"I spoke with the hotel's manager. She said that the couple changed their room and the receptionist who dealt with them finished her shift just after that. Apparently, she forgot to leave a memo stating the change for the receptionist who came on duty after her - a new guy on his first week on the job." The man shook his head. "The hotel's offered to put you up for one extra night and to waive all your expenses so far as their apology for the mix-up."

"Well, that's very generous. We appreciate it. But I still don't understand how those cloaked dudes got Kai and I mixed up with a young married couple." Tyson stuck his hands in his pockets and frowned.

"Oh yes. I nearly forgot that part. The volunteers who play the part of the Puritan citizens who came to `arrest' the `witches' came by to see who they were supposed to arrest. But the new guy had no idea that the people in your room weren't the right tourists or that they weren't a young married couple. So the volunteers followed you and Mr. Hiwatari instead." Mayor Rockman explained.

"I see."

"Mayor Rockman wants to make it up to you and Kai somehow, Tyson." Maggie put in, having remained silent up to this point. "Is there anything you or Kai would like that the City of Salem could provide in restitution?"

Tyson thought about it for about…two seconds. "No. We can accept your apology and leave it at that." He replied. "We've had enough excitement for a long time. However…"

"Yes?" The Mayor inquired.

"We would appreciate everything you could do to keep the media away from us and all." Tyson eyed him. "We didn't come to Salem as World Champion bladers or celebrities. We came as tourists, just like all the others."

"You have my word, Mr. Kinomiya. I can't guarantee the press won't learn of this whole debacle somehow - they have sources that often can't be quieted. But I'll do whatever I can."

"I guess I can accept that." Tyson shook the Mayor's hand firmly. "Now, if you don't mind, I am going to bed. Goodnight, Mr. Mayor. Maggie."

"Certainly. I apologize again, and hope you enjoy the rest of your time here, Mr. Kinomiya."

"Thank you."

"Come by the shop for tea, tomorrow afternoon, Tyson. I'd like to say goodbye properly before you and Kai return to Boston for your tournament." Maggie smiled and waved.

"Will do! Bye, Maggie. Thanks for everything." Tyson hauled himself to the elevator and rode up to his floor in silent exhaustion. He dragged himself to the room and knocked on the door for Kai to let him in.

"Let me in, dude, before I fall over." Tyson groaned and the door swung open. Kai stood there in his night-clothes (which were nothing more than he'd worn the night before), and pulled the bluenette inside.

"Get in here, Kinomiya. The food's already here."

At the mention of food, the dragon perked up a bit and let Kai direct him into the room.

They ate in a companionable silence, then finished getting ready for bed. Tyson took a shower to get clean from all the sweat and dirt he'd accumulated all night.

When he got out, Kai was already in bed and asleep on his side. Too tired to even think about waking him up so they could talk, the bluenette crawled in next to the phoenix and dropped off instantly.

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

Authoress' Endnotes: Okay, FYI - I don't know the geography of Salem or whether there is a Best Western on the southeast side. I'm making it up, so don't get on my case about it. I also don't know if chloroform is legal or not… though I suspect it isn't. Let's all pretend it is, though. Anyway, more to come! Please R/R!!!!