A/N: ...I really need to update my other fics. Unfortunately, I ended up scrapping my initial plans for them and have conveniently hit a block and an insurmountable mountain of work. I apologise in advance to readers, the next update may take a while.
This story is actually set over a year after the events of A Secret to Be Told, and three months after the fic that was meant to follow chronologically after Secret, covering the gang's next world championships, but will be updated along with it.
In the meantime, do let me know what you think in the reviews section!
Disclaimer: Beyblade is owned by Takao Aoki. This story is rated M for language and suggestive themes (because I'm a prude), and because I may (or may not, because I'm a prude) work up the resolve to write up some hot scenes for later chapters.
24 August 2004, 12.30 am
Thud. Thud.
The heavy reference books were dropped without much ceremony to the carpeted floor at their owner's bare feet, right beside the navy blue suitcase lying open and half-filled with dark coloured sweaters, a pair of jeans and a thick jacket.
Scowling slightly at the haphazardly thrown in clothes, he stepped around the suitcase and moved to his study desk, which was now bare save for a desk lamp, a mug of coffee and a plane ticket. Reaching for the coffee with a sigh, he found his eyes going to the ticket again. A one way ticket from Narita to Pulkovo airport, St. Petersburg, at 12.30 am, August 25th. Glancing at the alarm clock on his bedside table, he noted that it was exactly twenty-four hours from now.
'Finally, I'll be able to get some breathing space,' he thought, sipping at the coffee, only to grimace at the stone-cold drink. He had just set the mug back down when his cell phone, which was lying on his bed, chimed once, indicating a new message. He almost rolled his eyes. He was fairly certain as to who was texting him at the dead of night.
Confirming his suspicions, the text read, 'Hey Kai, you on for a farewell party? Bry found a great place. Lots of hot chicks and quality booze. Reply asap, we'll be driving by in a few.'
Kai sighed. He wasn't in any mood to go to a nightclub, but he was itching to get out of the house after being stuck inside packing and organising stuff pretty much the whole day, and having to suffer through nearly a full hour of lecturing from his grandfather that afternoon. Maybe he could just have a couple of drinks and slip outside to relax in peace while the others did...well, whatever the hell they wanted to do.
Sending a short 'yes' in reply, he quickly changed out of his sweatpants and t-shirt into jeans and a black button-down shirt, pulled on his shoes and climbed out of his bedroom window.
Yes, it was totally unnecessary. Force of habit.
He lowered himself to the narrow ledge three feet below his window and then jumped, landing on the grass with a roll before springing to his feet and setting off swiftly towards the gates, brushing himself off as he walked. In a little over five minutes he was at the ivy covered compound wall, out of the line of sight and hearing range of the two guards positioned at the gates, and having timed himself to avoid the other guards patrolling the perimeter. He had plenty of practice getting out of the manor grounds unnoticed. Casting a cursory glance around to make sure the coast was clear, he went into a very short sprint and jumped, kicking off and up the nine-foot tall obstacle with just a soft rustle of the creepers and clearing it neatly, dropping quietly to the grassy embankment on the other side.
He straightened up and walked to the side of the wide road just a few meters away, noticing a dark SUV approaching him. The car pulled up next to him and he opened the back door to be greeted by Ian Papov and Spencer Petrov.
"'Sup, Hiwatari," said Ian. "Heard you're being shipped off to college?"
"I thought you were underage, shrimp," replied Kai, as he got in and the car began moving again, causing Ian to scowl fiercely and Spencer to laugh.
"He is," said Bryan from the driver's seat. "We just brought him to watch him get kicked out by the bouncers."
"Fuck off, Bryan."
"See? He doesn't even have a good comeback. Why were you so insistent on tagging along, pipsqueak? It's not like you could fool 'em either way."
Tala, who was sitting up front with Bryan, chuckled. "Give the guy a break, Bryan. It's not like there was anything better to do at the hotel."
The redhead turned to Kai with his trademark wolfish grin. "I'm actually still a bit surprised you agreed to come. Thought you'd blow us off like usual when we come 'round for a tournament. Is it possible that you think you'd miss us?"
Kai scoffed. "As if. I'll be joining you in Russia less than six hours after you land today, remember?"
"But you're going to Petersburg, which is what, four hundred miles from Moscow?" said Spencer.
Ian snorted. "That's probably enough personal space for Hiwatari then," he said, to which Kai smirked. The shorter boy continued, turning to Spencer. "Say, Spence, don't you have some family in St. Petersburg?"
"They're distant relatives," said Spencer. "I don't even remember if I'd met them...you know, before the Abbey."
There was a slightly uneasy pause.
"Hey, that reminds me - if I recall correctly, Princess lives there too," said Tala, anxious to change the mood.
"Who?" asked Kai, accompanied by Bryan's simultaneous "Really now?"
"Yeah. Sure you remember, Kai, that Russian chick from last year's world championship? The one from the all-girly team?"
Kai stiffened. "Oh." He suddenly felt the urge to rush home and cancel his flight booking, and tell his grandfather that he'd changed his mind about the university. This was not happening now. He would really need those drinks to steel his resolve.
Oblivious to his inner turmoil, Ian chuckled. "Didn't know you were a masochist, Tala. Boy, the way she burned you that time was something else. Props."
Tala shrugged. "It doesn't hurt to take it and be the bigger person every once in a while. We managed to get along pretty well after that, if I do say so myself." He flashed a snide grin, resulting in Spencer scoffing lightly and Bryan muttering, "Show off."
"Where is this place we're going, anyway?" Kai normally wouldn't have said anything, but he was eager to turn the conversation and his thoughts away from the subject.
"A joint called Blue Stone," answered Bryan. "I checked it out day before yesterday. Classy, but by no means snobbish. Nice place. If you can try to ease up a bit, that is." He smirked at Kai, who frowned in return. "I don't know about any of you guys, but I plan on enjoying myself thoroughly."
There was a unanimous groan from the group. Whenever Bryan said that, it usually ended with him getting completely plastered and creating a ruckus, usually in the form of a bar brawl, which in turn ended with them hauling him back from either the pub or the police station while he puked all over the place.
Kai couldn't help but grimace. 'Why did I agree to this in the first place?'
...
24 August, 2.43 am
At least Bryan had been right about the nightclub. It was definitely better than the greasy, overcrowded and trashy ones Kai had visited on a couple of other occasions with the Blitzkrieg boys.
He was currently sitting at the bar with his second vodka martini, idly watching the bartender rush about preparing drinks while the thumping bass of the music being played reverberated in his ears and from the floor up through his shoes. A petite girl slid onto the bar stool beside him and ordered a drink. He noticed her out of the corner of his eye casting a few glances in his direction, as if she was expecting him to speak to her. She continued to do so even after her drink arrived. He ignored her, studiously examining his martini as he swirled it and took slow sips. A few minutes later, the girl finished her drink and left.
The seat next to him had barely been vacant for ten seconds when someone else dropped heavily into it and draped an arm around his shoulders.
He jerked the arm off and whipped his head around to glare at the offender, only to see that it was Tala, grinning lopsidedly at him. His normally sharp blue eyes were hazy and slightly unfocused. It was safe to say that he was fairly tipsy, if not outright drunk.
"Hey, Kai," he drawled. "I saw that just now. Seriously, man, if you keep this silent stone act up, you're never gonna get laid."
Kai's eyebrows furrowed. "Remind me when my getting laid became your business?"
Tala laughed, hiccuping a little at the end. "Ah, don't be like that. I thought we'd come to..." His speech slurred slightly and he scowled before collecting himself and continuing. "...an understanding after I helped you hook up with that hottie in Vegas last time."
Kai practically felt bile rise in his throat as memories of waking up in some god-forsaken hole with a half-crazy hooker surfaced in his mind. "Please don't remind me about that," he said. Composing himself, he leveled his best death glare at Tala. "I still have to pay you back for that."
Tala looked shocked. "You don't mean to tell me you didn't enjoy it? Damn, I'd checked up and all the guys recommended her. Wanted to give you a good birthday treat."
Kai surpressed a groan. "I appreciate the thought, but I'd rather it didn't involve spiking my drinks and pushing me off with some insane prostitute who flips and tries to attack me when I tell her I'm leaving. May I also add that I don't remember a thing of what happened that night."
The redhead had the decency to look a little ashamed. "Alright, I'll say I'm sorry about that one. Definitely didn't see it coming. She seemed sweet and all before you left with her."
"Well, not so much," Kai said shortly, realising he had started to get slightly loose lipped. He didn't have as high a tolerance as Bryan, Spencer and Tala, who consumed a frightening amount of alcohol before they started getting even a little buzzed. Though from what he had been made aware of by Spencer, he only became slightly more conversational and relaxed when drunk before passing out like a log, but he definitely preferred staying in full control of himself. Tipping his glass back and savouring the sour burn as the vodka trickled down his throat, he stood and laid some bills on the bar.
"I'll be outside," he told Tala, before stepping into the crowd, weaving swiftly around the dancing clubbers. He saw Spencer moving through the crowd, heading in the direction of the bar, and also Bryan, who was laughing and dancing with a couple of girls. He finally reached an exit at the side of the building that led into a small yard that served as the parking lot.
Leaning heavily on the wall, he turned his head to the right to look at the silhouettes of the buildings across the street and opposite the club's front. Max's house was only three or four blocks away from here. The kid was probably asleep.
He hadn't told the Bladebreakers about his enrollment in college in Russia. He'd figured they would just get more clingy before his imminent departure, particularly Tyson, which would have really been too much for him, despite how much he liked them. He'd never admit that last part out loud. Ever.
He closed his eyes and sighed, pulling out a lighter and flicking the top off. He watched as the tiny flame danced about, feeling soothed immediately. It was a strange notion to many, but fire always calmed him. It reminded him of Dranzer. He was considering taking a smoke when someone called out to him.
"Kai."
Kai opened his eyes and turned to see Spencer standing in the doorway, his bulky figure blocking out a good part of the technicolour strobe lights flashing from within the club. The blonde looked a little glassy eyed, and Kai guessed that he would have be the one driving them back, his assumption proved correct when he produced the keys to Bryan's rented SUV and tossed them to him, nearly throwing too wide.
"We should get back now. Tala and Bryan are completely plastered, and it's only a matter of time before Bryan goes nuts on us. You're good to drive, right?"
"Hn." Kai raised his fist to indicate he was, before turning and walking away towards the car, leaving Spencer to round up his teammates.
...
24 August, 8.39 am
"Are you done packing?"
Kai looked up from his breakfast, frowning. "I'm not a child." He said shortly, before returning to his toast.
Voltaire gave a mirthless chuckle. "Of course not."
Kai resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the old man's pathetic attempt to start a conversation.
"You'll find Levin waiting for you at the airport when you arrive at St. Petersburg. You do know him, I believe?
"Hn."
"He'll drive you to the campus, and will be available if you are in any need of help while settling in."
"I can manage just fine on my own." Kai was starting to get annoyed.
Voltaire frowned, but said nothing more, choosing to continue perusing his morning paper. Kai, engrossed in thought, barely noticed when he called his driver to ready the car and rose from the table, gathering his coat and walking around to the door of the dining room.
"I'll see you in the evening."
It was this departing line that caught Kai's attention, much like it had been doing for the entirety of the past year. It was something most would consider rather unimportant, normal for two family members living under the same roof. However, for him it was far from. His grandfather had, much like him, always considered such trifling casual dialogue pointless. It usually did not matter if he saw Kai a few hours, or on matters of business, even a few weeks later. He did not in particular care where and when Kai went, as long as he wasn't doing anything that could damage the family name.
He had never had a very close relationship with the man, and when he turned his back on him during the Bladebreakers' first championship, very soon after which Voltaire had been barraged with several legal cases regarding BioVolt and Balkov Abbey, he wouldn't have been surprised if Voltaire had disowned him.
He had returned to Hiwatari manor after a week long stay at Tyson's house after the team returned from Russia. The kid had been adamant that he stay, perceiving that things were far from alright between Kai and his grandfather at the time. Kai had agreed, albeit very grudgingly. At least the continuous battles he got to have with Tyson were entertaining, and more than made up for Tyson's thunderous snoring and his Gramps' crazy lingo and habit of randomly jumping and attacking people.
Barely any words were exchanged between the two of them when he had come back. Kai said nothing, while his grandfather merely handed him an acceptance letter and informed him that he had arranged for him to be enrolled in the prestigious Whitney Prep Boarding School in one of the neighbouring towns, and that his uniform, books and other necessities had already been taken care of. Neither spoke a word of what had happened in Moscow, or where he had been up to now. Kai had been glad to get away.
It was pretty much the same even after he dropped out of the school. He had stood in Voltaire's office in the middle of the night, saying that he did not wish to continue there. Not after what happened with Wyatt, he had thought. He had expected several questions, insistence that he return to the school, but nothing of the sort came. His grandfather, looking surprisingly tired, had merely asked him once if he was sure of his decision. He had said he was, and that was the end of it. He was, like earlier in his childhood, tutored at home. His performance in the exams held by the private school he had previously attended was never a problem. His interactions with his grandfather remained practically non existent.
Then there was the Justice 5 tournament.
After collapsing and losing consciousness in a hallway, half dead with exhaustion and injured, he had woken up the next day in a hospital bed, hooked up to an IV and heart monitor, with Voltaire sitting beside him with a look of extreme disapproval on his face.
"Finally awake, Kai?" Kai nearly flinched at the thinly veiled anger in his voice. He had never been afraid of his grandfather, but something about his tone was disconcerting and unfamiliar. He had also never seen him this enraged before.
Voltaire stood and turned towards the door. "I'm going to inform the doctor that you're awake. Bear in mind, if I return to find that you have once again run off from the hospital, you will sorely regret it."
He had left with that threat, and the doctor had come in to check him almost immediately after. The bespectacled middle-aged man had been startled when he was close enough to look at his face.
"Young man, are you in pain? Why are you crying?"
Because he had just realised why his grandfather's voice had sounded so strange and why he'd been so angry.
...
24 August, 11.07 am
"Well, if it isn't K-man! Dang, you boys just keep shootin' up like spring stems every time I see ya! Gonna leave this old dawg behind in the height department!"
"Nice to see you too, Gramps. Is Tyson home?"
"The little dude's still out cold. Ya know how he is on weekends. I was just gonna go on up and smack him in the caboose with m'sword here. Give him a little scare, ya know?"
Kai smirked. "Leave it to me."
Grandpa Granger burst out laughing. "Good man! I'll be out in the backyard - gimme a holler if need be."
He nodded in response as the old man stepped aside to let him in. He slipped off his shoes and made his way straight down the hallway, then left and up the wooden staircase, well acquainted with the kendo dojo and attached traditional home's layout. He stopped at the small bathroom upstairs on the way to Tyson's room, grabbing and filling a small bucket of water before continuing his journey down to the room at the end of the passageway.
He slid the door open with his foot to find Tyson spread eagled sideways on his bed, his arms dangling off the edge of the mattress and one leg raised up against the wall, his mouth wide open as he snored like a freight train. It never failed to astound Kai how he slept like that. He cast an eye over the room as he stepped inside and approached his sleeping friend. It was surprisingly clean and neat. Kai figured it had less to do with Tyson's own tidiness (which was terrible) and more to do with his fear of Gramps' surprise attacks.
Smiling in a way that would have sent most people running as he turned his attention back to his target, whom he was now looming over, he raised his bucket.
"Wakey, wakey, Tyson." He tipped the bucket neatly over the sleeping teenager, dousing him with ice cold water.
The screams could be heard from several hundred meters away.
...
"What the hell is wrong with you, man? Are you some sort of sadist?" demanded Tyson, pulling a dry T-shirt over his head.
"Hn. You should know that by now." Kai said from his place against the wall, one corner of his mouth pulling up slightly in a small smirk.
Tyson just shook his head. "Stupid me. Shouldn't have asked," he muttered as he picked up his towel and once again began rubbing it over his dark hair. "Why're you here so early, anyway?
"I'd hardly call it early. It's nearly noon."
Tyson growled. "Gimme a break, dude. Isn't a guy allowed to sleep in on a day off?"
"Who said it was a day off? Did you forget about our scheduled practice match?"
Tyson blinked. Then blinked again. "Oh. I gave Dragoon to Chief for repairs yesterday. He said he would be late and would bring it around by today evening. He had a school assignment to finish."
Kai grit his teeth. "Idiot. When are you going to stop relying on Kenny to fix your blade for you? And if he has an assignment to finish, doesn't that mean you do too?"
Tyson flushed red. "I'll do it! Later! And I don't see why you're getting so pissed! Max and Ray are coming over in a while anyway, you can just play them till-"
"Then I won't get to battle you," bit out Kai, his temper flaring slightly at his rival's idiocy.
"Chief will definitely be here by that time!" said Tyson, exasperated. "Can't you just wait till then-"
"I don't have time."
"Well, if you're so busy, Mr. I'm-too-good-for-everyone, then we'll just have to battle some other day!"
"I'm leaving tonight !"
The outburst stunned the wielder of Dragoon into silence. Kai silently cursed himself. He'd started becoming much less restrained with his emotions of late.
"Leaving? What the hell does that mean? Where are you going?" Tyson's voice was laced with suspicion.
Kai sighed heavily, restraining himself from running a hand wearily through his hair. "University."
"Where?"
"St. Petersburg."
"Where?"
Kai resisted the urge to face palm, or even worse (or better?) sock Tyson.
"Russia, you moron."
The way Tyson's expression morphed from concern and curiosity to astonishment, realisation and finally panic was almost hilarious.
"WHAT?! RUSSIA?!" he screeched, causing Kai to actually flinch from the volume and pitch.
"Are you deaf? That's what I said, numbskull!"
"But - but - WHY?! You-you aren't going back to the Abbey, are you?!" Tyson actually lunged at him and grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him slightly.
"Are you insane?! Didn't I just say that I was going there to attend university?" said Kai, shoving Tyson off of him. "Why the fuck would I want to go back to that damn place again anyway?!"
"O-oh," the other teen seemed to regain some of his composure upon hearing that. He shot Kai a worried look. "But...you're telling the truth aren't you? Promise you won't go back there, no matter what, Kai."
Kai couldn't help but feel grateful for his friend's concern. "The Abbey was shut down three years ago, Tyson. There's nothing to worry about, especially with Boris behind bars now." Tyson opened his mouth, but Kai continued. "Even if it wasn't I'd never go back. And besides, the place I'm studying at is hundreds of miles away from Moscow."
Tyson exhaled, visibly relieved. However, it only lasted a few seconds.
"Wait, back up a sec. You said that you're leaving tonight?" The accusing tone of Tyson's voice did nothing to help the growing guilt that had been gnawing at Kai since he had returned from his night out with the Blitzkrieg Boys.
"What the actual hell, man! You're telling me this now?!" Tyson's furious outburst was predictable. "You haven't told Chief, Ray or Max either, have you?!" Kai shook his head briefly, and Tyson threw up his arms in frustration. "Of course! As expected of the lone wolf, the great Kai Hiwatari! Some friend you are!"
"Tyson," growled Kai. Just great. Tyson was being just as much of a drama queen as he had expected.
"Do you even care a little about our feelings, Kai? We've all been through so much together, you'd think we'd want to know a little in advance if one of our close friends was going to study in another country so that we could have enough time to say our goodbyes properly, wouldn't you? After all, who knows how long it will be before we see you again! Damnit, Kai!"
Kai sighed again. He realised that he had handled the situation poorly It would have been better to have his team being clingy for a few days than having them all upset by letting it slip at such short notice, or worse, without telling them at all. Judging from Tyson's reaction, they would have been beyond pissed off. It wasn't something he would have cared about in the past, but things were different now. They had been through a lot.
That's how he found himself saying something he never thought he would have to repeat to Tyson, who he noticed, over emotional baby that he was, looked close to tears.
"I'm sorry."