Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade or any of its characters.

Note: Okay so let me start out by saying this: This is Kai/Max story, so if you're not into that pair or you're just not into stuff like that then feel free to hit your back button. Otherwise, welcome ^-^ I personally think that Kai and Max together is so cute. I can see Kai and Rei together as well, and Kai and Tala, and I can see where Kai/Tyson fans come from, but this story is Kai/Max. This story is an AU, there will most likely be OOC, and if you've read any of my other stories then you know that there of course will be OCs.

Note 2: I also do not own the song "Shout to the Lord". I'm not exactly sure who was the original writer but either way it's not me. Let me say this: This story will not be one of religion (no offense to religion). The reason I used this song is because it had to be a religious song (You'll see what I mean).

Time: Probably just after G-Revolution, so everyone's fifteen, now on with the story!!

Summary: Max likes Kai. Kai likes Max. But there's always been a distance between them, a distance that makes it impossible for them to reach out to one another. Suddenly, they're visited by a strange girl Kai knows. Can she close the distance between them? Will she be able to finally unite the two? And what horrors lurk in the shadows of her and Kai's past?

Beyblade
The Strength of a Bond

Chapter One
Her Name

Kai stormed up the steps leading to his dormitory room at Whitney Prep School. He dug into his pocket, found his keys, and quickly unlocked his door. Kai slammed the door behind him, storming into his large dorm room, fists curled as his eyebrow twitched. After a second of aimless storming, Kai took a deep breath, his anger calmed once he managed to sigh it out. So yes, yes Kai was angry. Tyson was being his usual annoying self, and combine him with Daichi as well as Hilary all in one place, just thinking about it was enough to give him a headache. Kai hoped that none of his teammates had noticed in the midst of their impromptu celebration that he had slipped away. Really, it was torture, he felt, the way that the three just kept arguing and babbling on and on about nothing!

Kai's dorm room was much like an apartment. It had a kitchen and a living room, one bedroom and a bathroom. The kitchen was, albeit small, crisp and clean, just the way Kai liked things, with a nice fridge for him to store some food. There was no room, unfortunately, for a dining table, but in the living room there was a coffee table sitting in front of the couch that suited that purpose just fine. A TV was sitting across from the couch and table, and there was a recliner there as well. His bedroom was simple, just a nice bed with a nightstand and a desk to do his homework. There was a lamp on the nightstand and beyblade parts littered the desk; he hadn't cleaned up since last night. His closet would be referred to by some as being small, but then again it wasn't as if Kai had a ton of clothes. The bathroom, like everything else, was quite simple. There was a shower with a crystalline door, the toilet, a sink, and of course a rack for towels.

Kai went to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water and was moving towards the couch when he noticed the red light on his phone blinking, indicating that he had a voicemail. Sighing, he pressed the button and moved to sit on the couch. At first all he heard was silence, and then something familiar, a girl was singing a song he had heard long ago.


My Jesus, My Savior,
Lord, there is none like You;
All of my days
I want to praise
the wonders of Your mighty love.

My comfort, my shelter,
Tower of refuge and strength;
let every breath, all that I am
never cease to worship You.

Kai sighed to himself exasperatedly, thinking to himself why in the world some random church group would decide to call him, thinking the song was the opening to some weird church commercial for a program to get the youth more into church. He himself had had his fill of churches, and quite frankly he had had enough, his mind briefly wandering to his days in Balkov Abbey, that accursed place that his own grandfather had put him in. Kai set his bottle of water down, almost angrily, as he got up to delete the message, not wanting to wait to hear someone say how great and wonderful it is to be enlightened.

Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
let us sing
power and majesty, praise to the King;
mountains bow down and the seas will roar
at the sound of Your name.

I sing for joy at the work of Your hands,
forever I'll love You, forever I'll stand,
nothing compares to the promise I have in You.

Kai froze in his seat on the couch as he heard the verses. It wasn't the song, no it wasn't the song. He realized that it wasn't a song that had been prerecorded and was playing into the microphone of the caller. No, the singer had sung the song a capella, straight into the phone as she had called him. It wasn't the words of the song that made him freeze, that made his heart sink. It was the singer, and the memory that that brought back to him…

An eight year old Kai sat impatiently in the abbey show room. It was a large facility, complete with a large stage with giant, heavy, red velvet curtains. Metal chairs had been set up in neat little rows before the stage, and all the boys and girls of Balkov Abbey, as well as others whom he didn't have a clue who they were, were all seated in them. He sat in the third row to the front right next to Tala, though they were pretending not to like one another, not even looking at each other. Kai watched anxiously, awaiting to see the show, not because it was one of those religious dribbles that Boris was always preaching about, but because she was in it.

The red curtains drew back, revealing the large wooden stage in full white wash light. There were many on stage, standing on the different leveled tiers that created a semicircle over the entire stage, only the middle section was missing for some odd reason. Those on the tiers were dressed in white cloaks, all of course students. Kai took no notice of the students, however. His eyes were glued to the eight year old girl standing at the center of the stage, not on the tiers. Her skin was pale, and the white wash made her look even paler, purely so.

She was wearing a long, flowing white dress that was partially see through. She wore no shoes, only two thin gold bands on each anklet, matching sets around her wrist. She wore an elegant gold choker around her throat, an amethyst embedded into it, and a simple gold braided circlet upon her head. From the circlet a see through veil had been placed, spilling over both her front and back, causing the light that was filtered through it to give her an almost holy light. Her long silky hair was like his, dual colored. Her long bangs were a bright, blood red while the rest of her hair was golden blond, just the color you'd think an angel would have. Though her eyes were closed, waiting for the music to begin, he knew the bright, pure, and innocent purple eyes of the girl well. To Kai she was beautiful.

It didn't take long for the music to begin. The girl lifted her head slowly as the music continued, opening her serenely purple eyes, casting their glow over the entire crowd. Kai knew what she was doing; she was searching for him and Tala. A small smile appeared on her face when she found them and began to sing. In time to the music and words, she began to sway as the voices of the other children accented her singing, starting the graceful steps of the dance she had rehearsed so many times. Her voice, he found, was gorgeous. No matter what the words said, he could listen to her sing for hours and never tire of her voice.

Shout to the Lord, all the earth,
let us sing
power and majesty, praise to the King;
mountains bow down and the seas will roar
at the sound of Your name.

I sing for joy at the work of Your hands,
forever I'll love You, forever I'll stand,
nothing compares to the promise I have in You.

She began the chorus, her steps widening as she twirled on the spot, her veil swishing majestically. To Kai, it almost seemed like she had the wings of an angel. As a small child, Kai couldn't help but blush, for he realized that although she was supposed to be singing to everyone in the room, her eyes were always on Kai himself, meaning the words she sang were meant for him. He was blushing because it made him so very happy.

Kai felt his heart being pierced, the memory phasing him more than he thought it would. It was unusual for him to show such emotions, but with no one around, he simply gave into the despair. At this point, he attempted to stem the memory, to end it when it was still a good memory, but he found that he could not.

As the song ended, Kai watched in confusion as Boris stepped out onto the stage. The children on the tiers bowed to him and quickly vacated to the front row that had been left empty for him. The girl, however, he did not allow to leave. Instead, gently he took her hand and kissed it gently. As he turned, taking her with him, the tiers on stage began to move, lowering below the stage, whilst simultaneously a large, smooth stone table emerged from the center, and the statue of a terrifying beast appeared where the middle section of the tiers should have been, its obsidian eyes gleaming at them. As she turned, the girl glanced at Kai and Tala with her terrified purple eyes, signaling to them that she didn't have a clue what was happening.

Boris led her to the back of the stone table, his sickly pleasant smile only proving to frighten her more. Like a gentleman, he gently removed the circlet and veil from her head, folding them together and carefully placing them away. He helped her onto the stone table, making her lie flat before them, her hands folded together on her chest. He laid a wreath of olive branches on her head and a bouquet of pure white and blood red roses over her hands.

"My Children and honored guests," Boris began, "Come and look upon your salvation tonight. I present to you Mary, the Holy Savior sent from Heaven!" He raised his hands as all lights went out except the one directed onto him and the stone table.

The watchers began to cheer and clap loudly, all except Kai and Tala. The girl's purple eyes were looking at them from the corner of her eyes, remaining unmoving on the table. Worry was written across her face, and Kai knew that it was reflected in his own expressive crimson eyes. What was Boris planning?

"Our Savior Mary," Boris said, "Will make the ultimate sacrifice to unleash the might of God! Behold!" He produced a sword from behind the stone table, holding it into the light. The obsidian embedded in the pommel glinted with the eyes of the beast statue.

Kai felt Dranzer squirm in its beyblade in his pocket. "It's a Bit Beast." Tala whispered, beckoning to the statue, explaining why Dranzer, as well as Wolborg, were restless. Kai frowned; how could something so terrifying be a Bit Beast?

"Now, Mary." Boris spoke softly to the girl, "Just relax, and keep your eyes on me."

Present day Kai clenched his fists. If he hadn't been wearing the half fingered gloves he might have caused himself to bleed. He wanted it to stop, he had wanted it to stop, but he had been powerless to do so.

It was in her. The sword. Before any of them had time to blink, Boris had plunged the sword downwards and straight into the girl's stomach. She lurched up, her eyes wide with shock, a silent gasp escaping her soft lips. As her own crimson blood stained the pure white of her dress, spreading from the sword's place in her stomach, she laid back, her purple eyes closing gently, her body laying still.

"NO!" Kai shouted, but his voice was drowned out from a sudden roar of black wind.

Energy and power surged from the statue and the sword as it soaked in the girl's blood. Children and guests began to sing. Boris motioned his people, and they began to escort them out of the room as the Bit Beast continued to surge, but it almost seemed like it could not emerge. But Kai and Tala refused to leave her. Tala kicked a chair into one of the people attempting to remove them from the room whilst Kai escaped onto stage. He reached the stone table, almost being blown away by the surge of wind, but he clung to it. He shouted out her name, her real name, but her eyes remained closed. Terror struck him as he looked at her. Blood was soaked into her beautiful white dress, and a line of blood was leaking from the corner of her mouth. Kai turned around, searching, searching. They fell on Voltaire, his own grandfather, who was standing at the back of the room, directly opposite of the stage. Kai's crimson eyes were imploring, wanting him to come and rescue her, but the main only frowned in disappointment, looking upon her with disgust. He turned and left, leaving Kai and the girl and Tala with Boris. How could he just abandon her, why wouldn't he help her?!

Kai felt a surge of tears as they fell down his cheeks, unable to hold back the image of that sword plunged into her, unable to stop seeing the blood that covered her body. He felt rage and frustration, despair and pain. Why…?

"Kai?" Max's voice came from behind his dorm door, the blonde boy knocking on it. "Are you okay? Why'd you leave so suddenly?"

Kai was about to tell Max to go away, to leave him alone to his despair, when the boy simply opened the door and walked in. The song from the answering machine was still playing; through his remembrance Kai had forgotten to turn it off and as of such it had been playing over and over again.

"I didn't know you listened to gospel songs." Max chuckled as he approached the couch. As the boy drew near, his baby blue eyes grew wide. Kai was crying. Kai was crying. Kai never cried, never. He was always quiet and stoic, keeping to himself and distant from his other teammates. Over the years he had definitely grown more open, but to see the boy actually crying…Max felt his heart wrench at the mix of despair and anger in his crimson eyes. "Kai, what happened?" He questioned as he drew near.

Kai didn't respond. The tears only continued to fall, now unable to stop them. She flashed in his mind continuously, the blood, the sword, her eyes closed, his grandfather abandoning them, all of it. Max couldn't hold back any longer. He knew that Kai may hate him later for doing it, but to him in a situation like this it was he needed. Max raised his arms as he slid his leg onto the couch. He pulled Kai to him, hugging him tightly, trying to comfort the older boy. He didn't have a clue what was going on, but all he knew was that Kai was in pain and he wanted it to stop. He whispered to the boy, telling him it was alright.

"What is it, Kai?" Max asked, "You're okay…Tell me what's wrong."

"She…" Kai finally said. "And I…I did nothing…"

Kai was rooted the spot. He didn't know what to do. What could he do? The wind was nearly bone crushing, making it exceedingly hard for him to breathe. He couldn't think; his mind had gone numb.

"Who, Kai? Who was she?" Max said softly. "Tell me everything."

"Her name…"

Tala, was there, he had reached the stone table as well. Tala was at the sword immediately, his small hands grasping the sharp blade, adding his own blood to the silver as he attempted to remove the blade from the girl's stomach.

"You will not remove that sword!" Boris cried, "Stay away from Mary!"

Kai's head snapped up angrily, glaring at the man, "Her name isn't Mary!" He was screaming, shouting at the top of his lungs, enraged by Boris's lies, "Her name is – !"

The mere thought of her name, her true name, seemed to give Kai strength, for he suddenly snapped out of his despair. He pulled away from Max, his crimson eyes meeting his ocean blue ones, and said with determination, a determination to remember her true name no matter what Boris said, "Her name was Kira."

Okay so that was the first chapter! How did you like it? Please review!! I know that it seems really weird and kind of religious, but I'm telling you it's not a religious fanfic (no offense again religion!) I'm just not good with writing those kinds of things. Anyway, hopefully I'll have the second chapter up soon!!! Please Review!!!!!