So I wanted to try an angst type story so here it is. It's different from how I normal write so hopefully it's not too weird. This will probably be a two-shot.

Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade

"Flashback"

"Talking"

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Part 1

"You are pathetic! How can someone so weak possibly be my grandson and heir to BioVolt!" Voltaire yelled striking his young grandson on his cheek again.

"GET UP!" he yelled and the boy stood slowly on his feet again only to be kicked in the side and sent flying, skidding on the floor into the wall, hitting his head on the marble molding in his grandfather's lobby.

"Pathetic. Useless. Weak. Stupid. Stubborn. Insolent. Fearful. Small. An Embarrassment." With each harsh and hurtful word, Voltaire punished the boy.

"Kai~." Voltaire said mockingly. "My son gave you that name because it means fire. He thought you would be strong and fierce yet passionate. That was his own downfall. I will make you cold, emotionless…and you WILL listen to me!" he said and delivered the last blow, successfully knocking the poor crying boy unconscious.

When Kai opened his eyes he was standing before four boys. All sneering and scornful towards him.

"Look at him. He's nothing special. I don't see why Boris and Voltaire fuss over him all the time. He's nowhere near being as strong or powerful as one of us." One boy with red hair sneered at him.

"I could beat him into a pulp easily. And look how much emotion he still has. Pathetic." Another one with lilac hair said looking at him disgustingly.

"I bet he's stupid too. Bet he knows absolutely nothing. It's sad to let Lord Voltaire's brilliant genes go to waste." The shortest one with a big nose said turning his head to the side.

"Great, another one I have to make sure survives here. This is just great." The tall blonde said putting his hands on his hips.

They kept coming closer, cornering him. The lilac haired one lifted him up by his collar and punched him before throwing him onto the ground. He and the redhead continued to hit and kick him while the other two just laughed and continued with the pain inflicting words.

"Please stop…" Kai whispered trying to keep the tears in his eyes.

"Look he's going to cry. Crying is weak." The lilac boy said smirking.

"stop I just…" The redhead shoved him up against the wall.

"You will not speak unless spoken too, understood? I'm captain here and you will do as I say."

"But--"

"DID I SAY YOU COULD TALK?!" He said and threw him roughly to the ground. Kai shook his head to answer. The redhead smiled.

"Good." He said and popped his knuckles.

All four began closing in on him again and he was filled with panic but didn't dare to say a thing. They were almost about to hit him with evil looks on their faces when he finally softly spoke.

"Please, stop!" Kai said and bolted upright.

He was drenched in sweat, some dripping off his slate haired bangs. Panting hard he tried to adjust his crimson eyes to the darkness, trying not to let panic set in. He realized he was back in his room, in his bed…safe. He let out another breath before shivering from a cold and harsh wind. He looked to his right and saw the window was open letting the freezing cold Russian wind blow into his room and hit him. The wind seemed crueler than usual since he was soaking wet and it seemed to freeze the sweat on him, chilling him to the bone.

Swiftly he got up and shut the window before quietly walking over to his drawers and pulling out a clean long-sleeved t-shirt. He also changed his pajama pants to some new ones and put socks on his feet before climbing back into bed. It was then that the memories of his dreams came flooding back, hitting him full force.

He choked back a sob while remembering the stinging words that have been engraved into his mind. He pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. He put his head on the top of his knees, trying to cover up another heart wrenching sob. How many more nights would he wake up with these nightmares. He hadn't had them in months but they had once again returned.

'Emotions are a weakness. Crying is for the worthless.' He repeated the words in his head over and over again, reminding himself of all the lessons he had learned at the Abby. He took deep breathes and tried to focus on calming down. After a while he let out a deep breath, pulling his head up. For some reason he looked over to his left. He stopped every movement and froze on the spot.

He stared straight into pale blue eyes that were unwavering and seemed to see every one of his thoughts. Shock and fear quickly raced through Kai's mind. Shock of forgetting that he shared a room with someone, and fear that they had seen and heard everything. Quickly he put on an emotionless mask and forced himself to let go of his knees and act normal. He looked back at the person to see his eyes hadn't changed and were still analyzing him.

Tala

The redhead's eyes narrowed slightly and Kai waited to see the scorn and disgust in them. His crimson eyes widened slightly when he saw the pale blue ones soften. They were not pitying, but understanding. The next thing really caught the smaller boy off guard.

Tala stood up and silently crossed the room. He made himself not frown when he saw Kai flinch and tense up when he got closer. Kai didn't know it but Tala had woken up each night this week and seen him wake up from his nightmares, almost cry, then calm himself before staying awake the rest of the night or end up back in a restless sleep. Finally the redhead had decided to do something about it when he saw Kai falling asleep while reading in the living room earlier that day. It had only been 2:00pm.

Kai stared up at Tala when he reached his bedside. He had pressed his back against the wall that he used as a headboard. Tala raised his arm and Kai closed his eyes expecting to be hit. He had to suppress a small yelp when he felt himself be shoved to the other side of the bed. Tala then laid down on the bed now that there was more room. It was silent for a while before Tala spoke while looking up at the ceiling.

"Are you going to tell me about them?" He asked softly but forcefully at the same time.

"About what?" Kai asked knowing it was pointless but still tried anyways. It didn't work.

"You know damn well what I'm talking about." Tala said slightly annoyed but remained calm. He waited for his friend to talk.

"It's nothing." Kai said sliding down so he was laying down now.

Irritated, Tala leaned up and pretended that he was about to hit him. Kai flinched, closed his eyes, and waited for the blow. It never came. He opened one eye to see Tala smirking smugly.

"It doesn't seem like nothing. A week ago you wouldn't have flinched and would have grabbed my arm and twisted it." Tala said laying all the way back down again. "Talk." he said looking at his best friend from the corner of his eye.

Kai remained silent for a little while before letting out a deep breath.

"They tend to change each night, but they're all relatively similar." He said softly but Tala heard him clearly. He waited, wanting him to continue.

"I had messed up in training and Voltaire was giving me his usual 'punishment'." Kai said with a grim laugh.

"He kept telling me how pathetic and useless I am. How I'm weak and fearful. I deserved it though. I had lost to some rookie kid in a beyblading match when we were training. Then…" Kai trailed off as he remembered the second part of the dream.

He didn't want his redheaded friend to feel guilty about what he had said in the dream. So he decided to keep it to himself. Tala noticed that he was leaving something out and turned to look at him.

"I don't know why I got so upset. I should be used to it by now, it's all true anyways." Kai said.

He was taken aback by the sharp stinging he felt when Tala slapped him across his cheek. Kai's eyes widened before looking away solemnly.

"Don't ever say that again, understood?" Tala said sternly. He felt guilty though when he saw Kai's widen at his word choice and just nodded.

"It was us wasn't it?" Tala said pulling Kai out of his thoughts. Kai looked at him but didn't answer.

"What you left out, it was us hurting you and telling you all that stuff wasn't it?" Tala asked softly.

Kai just nodded.

Tala growled lowly. Now he knew why Kai had started to have these nightmares again. It had been something Bryan had said when he was angry. He would have a talk with the falcon later. He turned onto his side so he was facing Kai.

"Listen to me." He said and Kai glanced at him.

"I'm sorry for how we acted when we were kids. It was horrible and I'm sorry, we all are. Also everything Voltaire told you was a lie. You are not any of those things he called you." Tala told him seriously. He turned Kai's head so he would look at him. Kai couldn't turn away from his gaze.

"He's the one who's pathetic, useless, weak, fearful, and cold. Pathetic because he couldn't see how great a person you really were. Useless because he couldn't do anything on his own and had to blackmail others to get them to work for him. Weak? He was the weakest person I knew! He had to wait until you were already exhausted from practice or another punishment before he could beat you or any of us himself. He only said all those things because he was scared you would become more powerful than him and he wanted to break your mind. He was the cold one, not you." Tala said truthfully, keeping his hand on Kai's cheek the entire time, covering two triangles.

Kai continued staring into his friend's eyes speechless. Tala used this momentary lapse to continue.

"We'll make sure everything's settled tomorrow. Get some sleep. You're safe now." Tala said smirking before giving the younger boy a sincere smile.

Kai mirrored his smile. He really did feel slightly more at ease.

"Thanks Tal, for everything." Kai said closing his eyes as he rested his head back onto his soft pillow.

"No problem phoenix. Now go to sleep." Tala said laying down on his side so he was facing him.

Kai was also laying down on his side facing Tala. The redhead wrapped his arms around him, hugging him closer but not too close to make it awkward. He waited until Kai was sound asleep before going back to sleep himself.

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I guess this could be a one-shot but I wanted to write another chapter so there will be two. I will update for this one later in the week. Brother's coming home and school starts but I will try to update for both stories soon.

StunningGhost