Dolphin-san: Hello. If by any chance you read this and you begin to think 'Hey I've read this before!' you'd be kind of right. It was a fic that I started on mediaminer years ago but never finished. Well I decided to start posting the revised version on here . It's slightly longer and hopefully doesn't contain as many horrible spelling mistakes and plot holes that the story falls apart around. Well read on and (hopefully) enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade.

Regular

Thoughts

Dream

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Clouds rolled in from across the ocean, swirling, roiling with rage. The water at the base of the pier was becoming agitated, swirling around the pillars, waves lashing at the boards. As the sun set, it painted the scene an angry red. A lone figure stood at the end of the pier, facing the oncoming storm head on, yet his gaze never even registered the scene before him. He stared out across the bay, coat and scarf whipping about him in the winds, lost in thought.

Tyson, his glare deepened. I can't believe you'd do that to me.

12 hours earlier.

Kai woke to his alarm buzzing in his ear. Six thirty. He sighed, rolling over to switch it off and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He got up and started to get dressed. Walking across the room, Kai caught his reflection in his mirror. It made him stop. Kai knew that he'd not been sleeping well the last few nights, and it was starting to catch up with him. He stared at himself in the glass, noting the dark circles beneath his eyes, the lines at their edges, and the white pallor of his skin. He'd been having nightmares. Memories of his childhood were plaguing his mind, though there was still much he couldn't remember. Even in his dreams there were patches that seemed blurry, and a disembodied voice often spoke to him as though whispered.

It was the voice that haunted him even when he was awake. It was so familiar yet strange. A female voice, it whispered to him of his forgotten past, gave words of encouragement to him in his dreams, screamed in anger at his shadowy attackers. Sometimes in his waking hours, Kai believed that if he could just remember who the voice belonged to, his nightmares would end.

Fully dressed now, and with his trade mark blue paint on his cheeks, he silently left his room and headed down stairs and out to the training grounds of his family home. He had heard some people at school refer to his 'mansion', and it was much larger than the normal house, but he was grateful that it held so much extra space. As he started to jog around the track, he thought back on the events that had led him to open his home.

Roughly two and a half months before, Tyson's grandfather had become seriously ill. The doctor's had no idea what was wrong with him and his condition had rapidly deteriorated. Shortly after Gramps had been taken into hospital for observation, he passed away quietly in his sleep. It was a hard blow to everyone, but none so more than Tyson. Towards the end of Gramps' illness, Tyson began to sit for long periods of time, quietly staring at nothing and ignoring what was going on around him. After Gramps' death he began to join in with activities again, but inside he must have been feeling worse than anyone imagined.

He didn't speak again for three weeks.

After the funeral Tyson moved in with Max. However, a few weeks later Max's dad had announced that he would be getting back together with his estranged wife. Max had been so happy when he heard the news, and even Tyson had managed a small smile, but due to Judy's involvement with the All Starz, she couldn't leave, so Taro would have to move to America. Things were looking bad for Max and Tyson as Taro began to pack up his stuff and close shop, until Kai relented after three days of Max's non-stop worrying (both in person and over the phone) and opened his house to them.

The pair had looked so surprised when they moved in, as it was the first time they had seen Kai's home. It housed, Kai had explained as he gave them a tour, fifteen large bedrooms (each with their own en suit toilet/shower, TV, DVD player, stereo system and balcony), a professional kitchen, master bathroom with a large bathtub set into the floor, Jacuzzi, shower and sauna, a dining room, ballroom, large living room, two smaller lounges, study, extensive library and, Kai's personal favourite, a private Beyblade arena to use for practise. The last one was a recent addition, only added a few years ago when Kai had moved back to his family home.

The boys were so stunned they could hardly keep up as Kai walked briskly from room to room, explaining different features and showing them the rooms they would be sleeping in. He then lead them outside and told them that the house had twenty acres of land surrounding it, within which there were two tennis courts, a training obstacle course, a Beyblade dish for training outdoors and a small, but still quite large, portion of the forest that grew along the mountains behind the grounds. Kai also explained that he already had two other people living with him. Anastasia, who does the cooking along with some cleaning duties, such as laundry and polishing, and Jonathan, who is his driver and who also does other duties, such as gardening and accounting. He said that they would now be available to Max and Tyson should they have a need for anything.

Once the shock of their new home wore off, Max decided to write a letter to Ray, as he had no idea if the village in China where he lived had any phones, telling him everything that had happened over the last few weeks. Five days later, Kai answered a call from his distraught Chinese team mate, who demanded to know if Tyson was alright, why he hadn't been informed sooner of the situation and if it was possible for him to come and stay with them as well as he felt too far away and out of touch. It was the tears in Ray's voice that reached into Kai's heart and pulled the comforting words of confirmation out of his mouth. A few days later Ray showed up at Kai's door, having been picked up from the airport by Johnathan, seeming to be carrying his life in the canvas bag he had so often used during their tournaments.

It took another week for the three boys to convince Tyson to join them when they went to visit Gramps' gravestone. He was silent during the long ride to the graveyard, though he gently worked his hand into Max's and refused to let go as they walked. There was a moments silence as they reached the grave, before Tyson gave in and began to weep. Kai and Ray stood silent as they watched the two younger boys sink to the ground, the blonde holding the midnight haired boy to him protectively, and crooning soft words of comfort to him as his grief spilled from under matted lashes. Each was silent, lost in their own thoughts and memories of the benevolent man who was laid to rest under their feet, never to laugh with them again.

After that Tyson began talking again. Anastasia suspected, as she mentioned to Kai one day as he helped her prepare lunch, that it must have been a healing experience for the young boy, to have gone back and confronted his own feelings and memories of his grandfather. Kai had agreed with her, and quietly looked forward to the day when Tyson would return to the way he used to be, that is to say, rather loud and obnoxious, but otherwise a good person all round. However, over the next few weeks, a number of small incidents arose around the house, most of which Kai was able to trace back to Tyson. Usually, these were harmless pranks, though there had been a few, more serious, times where someone could have been harmed.

Kai roused himself from his musings as he completed his tenth round of the track and looked at his watch.

Damn, I'm going to be late, he thought moodily as he turned and headed back inside.

Deciding he had to forego his usual shower in place of a quick spray of deodorant and changing into his school clothes before leaving with the others to go to school. It was at lunch time, when Kai finally got fed up with people staring at him that he went to check his face in the bathroom mirror. He was horrified when he saw what everyone else had been seeing for hours, and had cursed the fact that he could not go home and remove the now offensively bright pink triangles from his face for another few hours. Unknown to Kai, Tyson's most recent prank had been to add something to his face paint which, when mixed with his sweat from his run this morning, had changed from blue to hot pink. Kai had to sit in the rest of his classes silently fuming and wishing a very painful, terrible death on everyone who turned to look at him.

It wasn't until they were standing in the entrance hall back home that Tyson finally turned to Kai, laughing.

"Oh my God! You have no idea how hard it was for me to keep a straight face this morning when you came downstairs. I mean, I knew something was going to happen to that paint, but I never could have imagined it would be anything this brilliant!" he said, grinning.

What followed was a very heated argument between Kai and Tyson, in which some extremely hurtful comments were said on both sides. Max and Ray were left standing to the side watching. Both were torn between laughing with Tyson or sympathising with Kai. That was until;

"If you weren't so much of a coward that you have to hide behind that stupid paint, this never would have happened to you in the first place!"

There was a ringing silence. Even Tyson looked shocked at what he'd said and he quickly covered his mouth. He was worried that he had gone too far, and feared reprisal, but Kai's head was bowed, his hair covering most of his face making it impossible to tell what he was thinking. Without saying a word, Kai turned towards the stairs, quickly climbing them and heading for his room. By the time he had changed out of his uniform and cleaned the offending paint off his face (making sure that the new coat he applied came from an unopened tin), the others had left the hallway, giving Kai a clear exit. Head down and walking fast, he had paid no mind to where he was heading until he found himself on the pier.

Kai was roused from his memories by the first fat, heavy drops of rain hitting his face. He tilted his face up towards the clouds, letting the rain wash over him, and Kai felt as though his anger was beginning to wash away with every drop of water that hit him. He knew that he was quick to anger, but Kai Hiwatari would not carry a grudge over something a team mate had done to him.

I should probably go back and apologise for shouting at him. Kai smirked to himself as he turned and began to head back home. Maybe Tyson will have calmed down enough to apologise to me as well.

He had only made it as far as the park before stopping. Cursing himself for not taking an umbrella out with him, or at least a proper coat, Kai pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialled.

"Hello, Johnathan? Could you come pick me up? I'm at North Hill Park. Yeah? Thanks."

Snapping the phone shut, he looked around for a marginally sheltered place where he could wait. Spotting a willow with low hanging braches, Kai hurried over, glad for the slight cover the winter-bare branches provided. He closed his eyes and listened to the hiss of the rain. It was a while before he noticed a small snapping noise from his left.

Probably just a bird in the bushes, he thought to himself, not moving or opening his eyes. Kai's brow creased into a frown however when he caught the sound of a small groan over the rain. His eyes opened as he turned and he squinted through the rain and gloom, trying to focus on the bushes across the path from him. He spotted a small gap between them, probably just large enough for a child to crawl under to hide from the rain, he noted. Sighing at the idea of being soaked again, Kai moved towards the gap to find out if a kid had indeed, been caught out in the storm. He felt himself freeze and his eyes widened at the sight of not a child, but a teenaged girl unconscious on the ground. His fleeting impression that she may simply be drunk was pushed quickly from his mind when he noticed the congealed blood on her hands and the dark bruising blooming across her tanned cheek. He moved closer, pushing the branches of the bush aside. The girl opened her eyes.

Kai took an involuntary step backwards as, through the darkness the storm caused, a piercing silver gaze was trained on him. He shuddered, and was sure it had nothing to do with the cold. It was as if the girl was not just looking at him, but through him as well, into him. She hadn't made a single movement, just slowly blinked, keeping her eyes on him. Kai moved closer again, crouching down beside her.

"Are you alright?" He inwardly cringed at his choice of words. Her appearance made it clear that she had been badly beaten, and Kai had noticed how she had recoiled slightly farther away from him as he got nearer. "Do you want me to call anyone to come get you? Your parents perhaps?" He reached out to touch her shoulder and she flinched away. Sighing (he seemed to be doing a lot of that today), he gently laid his hand on her arm and tried his best to look as non-threatening as possible. "I'm not going to hurt you, but you should really get out of this rain. You'll get sick."

Suddenly, they heard a rustle in dark from their right. The girl curled up tighter into a ball and Kai whirled around to look for the source of the noise. It occurred to him that the young girl's attacker might still be close by. He stayed as still as possible, straining to hear anything further. A minute passed and nothing had happened. Then, just as he began to relax, he spotted a movement to his right. He let out a low, shaky laugh. A squirrel had run out from under a bush and dashed up the willow Kai had been taking shelter under. He turned back to the girl. Her eyes were shut again and he relaxed muscles he hadn't noticed he had tensed. She looked as though she had passed out. The rain was increasing its relentless downpour and a gale was picking up at his back.

I can't just leave her here, she might die, he thought. Looking up, Kai noticed the headlights of his town car pull up at the edge of the park. Making a quick decision, he started to lift the girl into his arms, but was hindered when she suddenly regained consciousness and began to struggle against him.

"Hey, hey," he said softly, trying to sound soothing, "it's okay. I need to get you somewhere warm and dry, so I'm taking you back to my house. You'll be safe there, don't worry. You'll be okay. But you either need to stop fighting me or try and walk so we can get to my car."

The girl paused, and then gingerly tested her balance. She stumbled slightly and Kai pulled one of her arms around his shoulders, placing his own arm around her waist to keep her upright. They made slow progress through the rain towards the waiting car. Johnathan saw them coming out of the park and quickly ran to help Kai gently manoeuvre the girl into the back seat. Before Kai could climb in after her, Johnathan placed a hand on his shoulder and turned Kai round to face him.

"Master Kai, may I inquire as to the identity of your young friend?" he asked, his eyebrow quirked and brown eyes pinning Kai to the spot.

Kai glanced over his shoulder to the now sleeping girl in the car. "I honestly don't know, Johnathan, but what I do know is that she needs help." He turned back to the older man. "I can't shake the feeling that I've met her somewhere before, something about her eyes. . ."

Johnathan looked hard into Kai's face, searching for something. He must have found whatever he was looking for as after a few moments he nodded to himself and dropped his hand from Kai's arm. "Very well," he said. "Should I call ahead to Anastasia and have her prepare a room for our guest?"

"Yes, please," was all Kai said as he finally climbed into the back of the car and pulled the door shut. After a short pause, Johnathan followed suit, getting into the driver's seat and pulling away from the kerb. He glanced in the rear view mirror to his two passengers. Kai was staring out the window, deep in thought, and as the car turned a corner, the young girl fell slightly to the side, pressing against Kai, who subconsciously placed his arm around her once more.

Turning his attention back to the empty road in front of him, Johnathan smiled. He had known Kai since he had been just a baby, being in the employ of Kai's parents then, and he prided himself to know that he was one of the few people who knew the real side of the troubled adolescent. To most, Johnathan knew that Kai came off as cold and standoffish, someone who was out for himself and no one else, but he knew better. Kai had always put the needs of others before himself, and would often go out of his way to help, even if it didn't seem like it.

And now it seems he is taking in people off the streets. Well, I suppose he has his own reasons. He seems to think he knows her, though for the life of me I can't begin to wonder where from.

The drive from the park to Kai's home was passed in silence. Once he had pulled into the driveway, Johnathan went to the back of the car to help Kai lift the girl out. They turned and saw Anastasia already standing in the doorway. Her face paled as she caught sight of the girl being supported between them.

"Oh my God, what's happened to the poor child?" She rushed forward and took her gently from the two men. Her years of work had made Anastasia a strong woman, and, standing at five foot ten, easily lifted the girl into her arms and carried her inside, Kai and Johnathan following her into the hallway. They heard running feet and Kai looked up to see Max, Tyson and Ray coming down the stairs. Tyson looked at the floor as he reached the hall, trying not to meet Kai's eyes as he tried to get his mouth to form words.

"Kai, I want to apologise for earlier. I was way out of line to say what I did –"

"Who's that?" Max cut off Tyson as he noticed the girl in Anastasia's arms. The three boys moved closer to the others, each trying to get a better look at the sleeping girl.

"She'll be staying with us for a while until she recovers and gets her strength back. That's all you need to know right now." Kai turned to Anastasia. "If you have a room already prepared for her, you can take her upstairs. Johnathan, I would like the family doctor here as soon as possible to check her over."

Anastasia didn't even waste time answering Kai as she headed upstairs. Ray moved out of her way as she passed, and turned to look questioningly at Kai. Johnathan moved to the phone.

"Also, when she wakes up give her something to eat, anything she wants make sure she has it. Don't let her leave the house, either," he added in a low voice. "I keep thinking that whoever hurt her may still be looking for her, and I don't want them to find her."

"Of course, Master Kai." He picked up the phone from its hook and went into the next room to call the doctor.

Kai turned to the others, finally acknowledging that they were there. Three stunned faces looked back at him as he began to head upstairs. He really needed to rest; the day's events began to bear down on him.

"Kai."

He paused on the stairs, looking back over his shoulder at Ray, who looked steadily back at him.

"Who is that?" The other boy looked up at him, concerned. Kai closed his eyes and turned on the stairs.

"I don't know, Ray, I really don't. I wish I knew. . . But she needs my help that much I do know. Don't ask me how I know that, it's just a gut feeling I have. You guys had better get some rest," he changed the topic of conversation quickly; "we'll have a busy day tomorrow at the Beyblade Expo."

With that he turned and headed back up the stairs. Reaching the top, instead of turning left towards his bedroom, he turned right towards the rest of the Bladebreakers bedrooms and moved along the corridor until he reached the room that he knew Anastasia kept for guests. He knocked gently and waited for Anastasia to open the door. When she didn't appear, Kai opened the door quietly and peeked inside.

The room was dark, only a small lamp on the bedside table was switched on casting a glow of soft light across the figure of the sleeping girl on the bed. Her hair was spread across the pillow, framing her face which in the darkness of the room looked paler. Kai moved across the room and sat on the edge of the bed. He reached across and tucked some of the stray hairs that had fallen in front of her face behind her ear.

Why can't I shake the feeling that I know you? You're a total stranger, but I feel like I've known you my whole life. He looked at her face as though searching for the answers to his questions. She stirred, slowly opening her eyes, and the room seemed to get a bit brighter. Kai quickly removed his hand from her head. Her eyes darted around the room.

"Where am I?" Her voice was so soft that Kai almost never heard her.

"You're safe," he murmured, "I brought you back to my house so you can get better. I've called a doctor to come give you a check, he'll be here soon. You're going to be okay."

She looked at him with questioning eyes. Kai held her gaze, not daring to blink. What he saw in them was almost enough to steal his breath away. So much fear and anger, but also confusion, hurt and (strangely) complete trust. It unnerved him and he looked away.

"Okay." He heard the trust mirrored in her voice. Standing up he started to walk over to the door. "Please don't leave me here alone."

Her silver eyes were trained on him, peeking out from under her dark fringe.

"Why?" he inquired, quirking an eyebrow.

She just shrugged. "I just don't want to be alone."

Kai's shoulders slumped as he walked back to the bed. He sat next to her and she moved closer to him. Putting his arm around her again, Kai gently rubbed her back in soothing circles until her breathing evened out and she was asleep. Looking down, he noticed that she had a frown on her face.

Must be having a nightmare, he thought, waving it away as memories of his own bad dreams floated to the front of his mind. He gently removed her arms from his waist and stood up, stretching and heading over to the door, planning to ask Johnathan when the doctor would be arriving. Behind him, Kai heard the girl cry out in her sleep. Looking back at her, he noticed she was gripping the sheets where he had been a moment ago. Her eyes opened again and found him standing in the middle of the room.

"Where are you going?" she mumbled, still half asleep.

"I was just going to get a glass of water," he said easily, grabbing the empty glass that Anastasia had left at the side of the bed. He got his water and returned to the bed, pulling the small girl onto his lap. She tucked her head under his chin and was soon asleep again.

Kai closed his eyes and let his mind drift. It surprised him how at ease he felt around this girl, this stranger that he'd only just met. For the life of him he couldn't understand what had made him hold her like he was now, it just felt natural to do so. He listened to gentle rhythm of her breathing and he began to drift off to sleep.

He was standing in a cold, dark room. Machines lined the wall and a muted green glow came from tanks that were mounted next to them. He could tell that there was something in them, but what they were he was unsure. Too scared to lift his head for a proper look at his surroundings, Kai stared at the flagstone floor. He felt his body wracked with shivers, from both the cold of the room and fear. Footsteps approached where he kneeled on the floor, unhurried and even. Dread crept down his spine.

"Kai, when will you stop failing at even the simplest tasks? I ask so little of you. . ." The man's voice trailed off as his shoes came into Kai's line of view. "Such simple tasks. It's like you do this on purpose, making me look incompetent to your Grandfather."

The first blow caught him off guard and Kai fell to the floor with a cry. He barely had time to bring his arm up to protect him from the next, and a foot caught him in the stomach. Kai folded in on himself as more blows rained down on him.

"You are a useless, pathetic waste of my time. If it wasn't for your Grandfathers insistence that you be here I would throw you out faster than you could blink."

Kai felt a hand grab his hair and he was wrenched up to look into cold violet eyes. He felt his eyes betray him as tears began to run down his face. Boris sneered at him.

"You see what I mean. Crying like a baby."

He was thrown to the floor. As Kai tried to pull himself up he heard a door open from somewhere behind him and he heard a faint voice shout at his attacker. A blur rushed past to stand between him and Boris.

"Don't get in the way again, you're punishment will be more severe than the last time."

Kai heard a voice say something angrily back, but he couldn't make out what was said. It was as though when they spoke his ears had been filled with cotton wool. He looked up at the figure in front of him and frowned. His vision of whoever was there was blurry, but he could make out a few of their features when they turned to him, crouching down to help him. Long dark hair fell around a soft face and piercing silver eyes came into focus. He tried to shout out a warning as from behind her Boris threw another punch at her head.

Kai jerked awake as there was a knock at the door. He shifted the sleeping girl from his lap and went to open the door to let the doctor in. As the man in the white coat walked past him, Kai glanced uneasily at the girl on the bed. The eyes of the girl in his dream flitted through his mind as the doctor began his examination. Kai watched as the man checked her breathing and pulse, then began to gently press at the bruising on her face and down her sides. He carefully rotated each of her wrists and ankles, making notes on a little notebook he had open on the bedside table. He had been the Hiwatari family doctor since before Kai had been born and so Kai trusted him.

"Hmm, I believe she has twisted her ankle and she has got some very bad bruising on her ribs. This damage seems very recent, Mr Hiwatari. It will however be an easy recovery for her. You just need to let her rest. I recommend you give her a good meal when she wakes up. She does seem a little malnourished." The doctor rummaged in his bag for a moment before pulling out a small bottle, which he handed to Kai. "You need to get her to take three of these when she wakes up, then two with meals, one before she eats and one after. They should help her regain her strength. Don't let her try to do too much too soon. She could probably start out a light training plan after about a week to test out that ankle." He lifted the girls top marginally and began wrapping bandages around her ribs, which Kai now saw were coved with bruises. At the sight, he was reminded again of his dream. When the doctor finished with the bandages, he stood and turned to Kai. "Call me if her condition changes," he said sternly.

"Of course," Kai replied as, with a final bow, the doctor left the room. Kai rubbed his tired eyes and lay back down on the bed. He knew he should have gone back to his own room, but he was too tired to care. The girl next to him rolled over in her sleep and wrapped one arm around his torso and he felt a small sleepy smile tug at the corners of his mouth. He figured that it was simply because she was here that she had featured in his last dream, simply a new idea that his mind was trying to come to terms with. Kai pulled her closer as he began to drift off back to sleep.

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Dolphin-san: Well I hope you all enjoyed it. Please leave a review, they're what my creativeness survives on.

Ja Ne