Chasing Pavements
Warnings: Contradictory? Angst. Crack-ish.
Spencer sounds positively harassed. "Ian. Brian. Stop sword fighting with forks!"
"Ian. Bryan. Stop sword fighting with forks!" Ian imitates, not stopping, and Bryan snickers. "Spencer why are your knickers in such a bunch?"
"You're the one who wanted to have dinner tonight." Tala mentions, sounding annoyed. The redhead has been unambiguously vexed the whole of the evening; even he himself has no idea why. He has an awful feeling about this whole thing, a kind of impending doom and apocalyptic chaos; it wouldn't be shocking for him if Boris walked in armed with guns and canons right now.
Kai silently focuses on his dinner, ignoring the quarreling going on around him and the blinding glare of Ian's taxicab yellow clothes. The boy purposely wears painfully ostentatious clothes whenever their old Beyblading team meets up.
Kai's attention diverts when a servant steps into the room, and announces. "There's a delivery at the gates."
"And." He says it more like a statement.
The man sounds as harassed as Spencer. "I believe you should come and collect it yourself."
"No. Whatever it is. Bring it in, or turn it back at the door. Whatever you deem suitable."
"Very well." The man begins to retreat his steps. He's asked for it.
Five minutes of fork dueling and mashed potatoes flying here and there, and the doors open once more. The old man enters, looking undoubtedly hassled, and holding his hand is a little kid of two-feet-nothing with a head of pointy, messy, gravity-defying grey-blue hair and familiar maroon eyes.
The two of them walk half way across the room and stop. The man is waiting for orders, while the little boy shifts impatiently as the incredulous gazes of five men seated at the table land on him. There's an unquestionable sound of a pair of elbows dropping off the table.
"Kai got a present." Ian whistles, shamelessly gaping at the kid.
Spencer slams his head on the table, but goes ignored by the rest of the people present around him. He had an unpleasant feeling concerning this entire affair from the moment he got the call. Now he knows why. He wants to go to sleep and for someone to wake him up when it's still the nineties and stuck in the abbey. Ah, those good old days.
Tala cocks his head sideways. "Who shipped us a four-year-old-Kai?" The kid in front of him is a replica of toddler Kai, there is no doubt regarding it. He should know, he's seen a four year old Kai!
Ian raises his hands up. "Ooh, ooh, me, me!"
"Uh, Ian." Tala responds awkwardly.
"Boris!" He chirps matter-of-factly. "Who else would send us a baby Kai?"
"I don't think that's a baby Kai." Spencer points out in a muffled voice, without lifting his face off the table. And much softer, "Baby Kai would have thrown a hissy fit already."
Bryan decides to finally put in his two cents. "Well, this situation would be less complicated if it were a baby Kai."
Kai, who's been quiet the whole while, at last snaps out of his shock with a whirlwind of realizations and questions whipping back and forth through his mind. He gets up soundlessly from his chair, his hands gripping the table for support or in anger, the others are not certain.
"Uh, Kai, did you know about this kid?" Tala asks reluctantly, getting up from his chair.
"I'm guessing not!" Spencer says in a bizarre voice, raising one arm into the air.
What's up with him? Bryan wonders looking at Spencer, who looks positively sour.
"Should I take the child away?" The butler inquires, clearly feeling weary towards the young men in front of him; he had to, at least, save the poor child with him from what would be Kai's wrath.
But Kai is silent.
Tala slips from behind the table and walks over to the child, towering over him. "So, kid…" He begins in a misleadingly nice voice. "What's your name?"
"Gou." The voice sounds vaguely familiar, but not familiar in a Kai sort of way.
"Okay, Gou, so, who does a cute kid like you," He pauses to ruffle the younger kid's hair, earning an annoyed Kai-ish glare. "Have for a mom?"
Kai's demeanor going rigid and face turning tense goes unnoticed by his former teammates and self-enforced friends. He's holding his breath as he waits for an answer.
"Hi-la-ry." Gou says it in a manner that each syllable sounds emphasized upon.
Kai practically falls back into the chair, a feeling of relief washing over him. The others don't pay him or his actions much attention since they're too busy freaking out over the new found information.
"OhmyGod." Spencer says getting up."OhmyGod!" He repeats. And then, the calm and collected member of the ruthless Russian blading team is running around the living room in a defined circle repeating his former chanted words.
Ian is on the floor laughing. "Well, he's had his mental breakdown of the evening."
"Hilary's kid?" Tala's jaw drops a few good inches. Not in his wildest dreams – and he had some pretty eccentric ones – had he expected this. "You're Hilary's kid? Hilary Tachibana's kid?" On seeing the nod from the four-year old in front of him, his turns immediately to face Kai, "This is yours and Hilary's kid?" He asks, practically gawking. "No way, that cannot be possible. Right, Kai? Kai?"
"No," Kai answers deep in thought from his place behind the table. Hilary, the name repeats over and over in his head. It's been years since he even last saw her. Not that he has not thought of her all these years, but she has become, a sort of an unattainable desire, one that he hasn't really been willing to try to achieve.
Four jaws drop simultaneously this time.
"No, not really. It can very rightly be possible."
Tala's eyes narrow and a vein pops on his forehead.
"I suppose we should, err, leave." Ian suggests tactlessly.
"I concur. Perfect time to head home and hit the old sack." Bryan, who is the only one seated, begins to wipe his fingers on a napkin and mutters, "Thanks for the dinner, Kai."
Kai frowns at his old friends. "What, no dessert?" His voice reminds the former Blitzkrieg Boys creepily of Voltaire. "You must stay – I insist."
The creepiness in his voice convinces the Blitzkrieg Boys that this is not an advantageous time to disappear with a poof. One Blazing Gig attack and Kai will in all probability have the entire place down on them if he got too in over his head.
Spencer finally stops his chicken-set on-fire bordering run and plumps down onto a couch. "This is why she wanted me to have dinner here tonight."
Four heads turn straight towards Spencer and he laughs nervously.
"You're in contact with Hilary, Spencer?" Tala asks pointedly. He's still standing next to the kid who's shifting uncomfortably. Count on the Blitzkrieg boys to leave a kid standing for hours.
"Occasionally," Spencer replies curtly.
Kai's the one to speak this time. "May I know why?"
Spencer gives a careless and offhanded shake of his hand. "You know, hi-hello, how's life and stuff?"
"And it never came up that she has a child with Kai?" Ian probes helpfully. This whole thing is just getting entertaining now. The shortest team member can't help chuckle at the notion.
"No – it never did, huh? I knew she had a kid, though." Spencer sounds casual, to the point of being bothering. Maybe he is going to spontaneously combust soon?
Kai's elbows almost drop against the table, the second time during the evening. "And you didn't bother to mention that part either?"
"No, why would I?" Spencer answers from his place on the couch. His gaze, however, is directed at mini-Kai, who's fidgeting uncomfortably from his spot at the center of the room. It's like being an exotic animal on display in a zoo. Harassment, I say.
"You failed to bring up that my former teammate has a child?!"
"Your teammate, man. Not your ex-wife." Spencer can tell he's semi-screwed. He can notice Kai's eyes twitch at his words, but that doesn't mean he can't try to save his ass and turn the tables on Kai. "You never revealed that you've kept in contact with her too."
"Really, Kai?" Tala's yelling now. "You've been in contact with her too?"
Kai sighs resignedly. And that is exactly why Kai didn't want Tala to know. Tala's deep-rooted interest in his relationship with Hilary was nothing short of overbearing. "Why act like a jealous girlfriend, Tala?"
"This could've spared me a lot of angst and broken stuff!" The rest of the men are regarding Tala incredulously. "And I adored Hilary! She was a cool chick to have as a sister in law."
No idea how it's possible, but Tala's words cause Kai look even more livid than before. "She was never going to be your sister in law." Kai's not convinced in which sense he means this. After all, there are quite the few interpretations for his statement.
Tala takes it to heart, of course. "But Kai! You're my brother from another mother!"
"No, I'm not." Kai tells him sternly.
"So, why have you been in contact with her?" Ian asks the same question, his eyes narrowed at Kai this time.
And Kai's the one to sound as cool as an ice pop in Russia now, "You know, hi-hello, how's life and stuff."
Tala is pacing, semi-twirling in circles near where the kid is standing. He feels far too jumpy at all the information that he has had to absorb to actually sit stationary. "And she never even stated that she has a kid?"
"It never came up."
Tala's voice is skeptical and his eyes are narrowed. "Really?"
Kai looks at him squarely from behind the table. Whatever non-platonic relationship he and Hilary had ended the moment he boarded his last plane to Russia, as much as Tala would like to believe other. "Why would I ask her if she's been lately pregnant?"
Will it count as a crime if he went over to his best friend and smacked him? "You know the same way you probably wouldn't have asked her if she's dating some other man." Tala rants, his voice bordering hysteria, and his middle finger sticking out. "You are such a douche. Such a douche!"
Tala's fanatical interest for his non-existent love life, though irritating mostly, was plain troublesome sometimes. "Because it was none of my concern…?"
Their argument however is cut off. "How did none of us hear about this?" Bryan wonders. He's nearly done with his food and he's glad he's not taking this incident to heart as much as the rest of the guys. Why ignore food for a problem that is clearly not going away?
"We need to get our asses out of Russian glaciers once in a while…" Tala stops pacing and chooses to sit, planting his ass on top of the dinner table.
"And out of gay bars." Bryan adds oh-so-helpfully.
Kai shrugs. "No – that'd just be you guys."
There is silence for a few seconds and the poor little boy who's standing at the center of the room finally takes it as his queue to speak.
"I want my mommy."
You can hear crickets chirping at this point and the Blitzkrieg boys all purposely look away, Tala is even whistling.
For a few seconds, Kai Hiwatari looks as lost as when he lost Dranzer. But composing his expression quickly enough, he goes over to the kid, looks down at a carbon copy of his own self, and blinks a few times; it's strange seeing a mini-him. "We'll find your mommy soon." He tells the boy and watches him pout. Not knowing what more to say, he sighs and strides back towards the table.
The prospect of making the child sit at no juncture passes through Kai's brain, or of the others, and the poor four-year old kid continues standing on his tiny legs in the midst of strange people he's never met before. (1)
Kai is near the table, leaning against it next to where Tala is seated. "Why are you guys here again?" He asks bitingly.
"'Cause, apparently, Hilary wanted us here." Tala declares helpfully.
Kai turns his head to scowl at the redhead.
"Why though…?" Bryan wonders out-loud; he's already started with Kai's aforementioned dessert.
"Maybe she assumed that Kai would throw the kid out?" Spencer offers cautiously. The idea isn't all that ludicrous. Bang on, he'd say.
"Or she thought he'd faint." Ian points out righteously.
"Probably." Bryan says offhandedly with a mouthful.
There's another round of awkward silence and Spencer decides that Kai's buttons have been pushed enough for the night, and that it's time for a tactical retreat, for them to vamoose as fast as they can. Besides, it seems that the newly-pronounced daddy isn't going to kill the twerp. "We should probably leave." He suggests, getting up from the couch and gestures with his thumb towards his former captain. "Before Tala here starts crying soon."
"Agreed." The redhead in question is muttering, "Also before the kid starts crying for Hilary. I ain't playing mama-bear!"
Kai watches as his old teammates button up their coats, and begin to leave in an almost brusque fashion. There's a chorus of see-ya's, good luck and a final slamming of the door before he is left alone with his… son. God. Just the concept is surreal to him.
Kai's out from behind the table and standing a few feet away from the boy at, what he considers as, a safe distance. "So… kid." He repeats the redhead's previous words. And then he has nothing more to say. What can he say to a four year old? This is getting more and more uncomfortable. He contemplates, throwing a hand through his dual colored hair.
He needs to be talking to the kid's mother.
The four year old yawns with a tiny sound and Kai can see him scrunch his nose in a fashion that's clearly identical to Hilary's.
Wasn't it not that long ago – like, merely a trifling while – that he was stuck babysitting the Bladebreaker, formulating his way out of the abbey, and planning to defeat and then hopefully drown the Bladebreakers in Lake Baikal?
The last memory plants a sardonic smile on his lips.
How the fuck has he ended up with a four year old kid, he never knew of, with the resident maniacal witch of Japan? How did he not stick his head out of his ass long enough to hear about the fact that Hilary has a kid? How did she not once mention it?
Wearily, he stares at the kid yet again. Somewhere up there, Voltaire is laughing at him. So is Wyatt; Kai is willing to bet all the money he has on that. With that thought, he walks over to the kid and sits down on his knees so he's somewhat at level with the boy. "You're going to be okay." He tells him.
The little kid keeps looking at him with eyes which seem unmistakably familiar.
"You know I'm your dad right?" He represses the impulse to flinch at the words and tries to sound nicer, not intimidating the way he usually does.
The kid nods.
"So till we find your mommy, you'll be staying with me." He says quietly and ruffles the kid's hair and, unlike Tala, it doesn't make him glare. "And you'll be alright, I promise."
The door opens and the butler walks in silently. Kai gets up from his position on the floor and runs a hand through his hair. Gou looks at the man who's entered curiously.
"May I?" The old man inquires, walking over to the child.
Kai blinks for a few seconds, then realizes that the kid most likely needs to sleep. He nods imperceptibly. "I'll join in soon."
The older man gives no response and, taking the little kid's hand, he directs him towards the door. Gou turns his head once or twice to look at him and Kai tries his hardest to give the kid a reassuring smile.
Soon as they're out the door Kai swears out loud. His phone is out the very second and he dials Hilary's number, but there's no ringtone. Fuck.
The questions start pounding in his head.
Why? Why now? Why did she leave the boy at his front door, now, under his charge and mercy? Surely she cares for the child. He presumes. And the logical part of his brain tacks on. And surely she doesn't trust him with you.
She is here in Russia; that much was guaranteed.
He's aware that she didn't want to rekindle any relationship with him – permanent or otherwise. Not that he's offered in the past. He hadn't left Japan or his people – yes, they were his people – to go back. No, that wasn't the plan. At least not for the time being, but he did believe that he'd return eventually… just not this soon.
And with that stated, maintaining contact with Hilary was just a reflex that he couldn't let go of. And he assumed that hers was the same case. Especially, since she seemed transparent in her desire to keep things strictly platonic. He didn't think it would be because he was the father of her child. Fuck, no.
If he was his sixteen year old self at present, he'd be out on the streets looking for her. But he isn't sixteen, and he isn't the same person he was back then, and a lot of stuff has happened in the past five years (the two-feet nothing midget in front of him is proof enough) for him to go out looking for her even if there wasn't a four-year old who is their consensual child, here in front of him.
Truth be told, he isn't sure. Same as how he wasn't sure about leaving Japan for good.
But right now, the part of him which is freaking out on the subject of his newfound child, is screaming at him to go find the child's mother and demand an explanation, and tell he never stopped thinking of her and still resents the day he left.
Because he is sure as hell lost. He can't run off to Russia- this time, he is in Russia. For the first time, the things he's been running from have actually followed him to the frozen tundra of his refuge.
So, does he go find her on foot, running through any place he can, the way he would have done oh-so long ago? A part of him agrees that he'd still be doing that now, chasing after her, even if she hadn't left a kid on his doorstep.
But the kid at the doorstep, right… He can't leave him alone here now, can he? He looks around questioningly at the walls. No, that would be a highly Susumu-ish thing to do. Then again, he isn't a father. He has never even spared any thoughts to being a father.
But he is acting concerned here. That means something, right?
This is pure humanity. He assures himself. It doesn't make him feel better. He should actually care, right? Please, his inner – which marginally sounds like Brooklyn – self snorts. Humane? You're not even human.
Kai ignores it.
The kid is Hilary's kid. Hilary is important.
Yeah, that part he isn't in denial about anymore, at least not to himself. Tala, sure, that is pure amusement, and to avoid the redhead's meddling. And everyone else? They can just fuck off.
As for Hilary knowing… Never mind.
So yeah, the kid is important too.
He turns his head towards his old bedroom and contemplates what to do. This is what he gets for sticking with these crazy losers all these years. He needs to get his hands on Hilary! Metaphorically.
And, damn it, non-metaphorically too.
This was all getting messed up. And he had such a nice, non-committal deal going on in Russia, which was so fine for the time being. He would've, of course, ended it when the time was right.
Hilary had to rain on his parade.
Crashing a wedding would be less complicated. And he'd be prepared for it; plotting for the period of his exile had left him quite equipped. And, of course, Tala would drop suggestions as well.
What the fuck will happen between them now? What did Hilary have in mind for them when she left their kid at his disposal like this, under his unreliable – yes, he agrees – care?
Heck, he doesn't even have anything in mind for now. Except –
He takes his cell phone out of his pocket for a second time and hits speed dial. He can't go out looking for her, that doesn't mean…
One ring. Two ring. "Yello."
"Tala, find Hilary Tachibana."
He can hear Tala grinning wolfishly over the phone. Actually, he can only hear vulgar music blasting in the background. But still, he knows Tala. And he knows that the Russian bastard is grinning. And, by God's name and everything that is holy, he can bet his grin is wolfish.
"Aye, aye, captain Kai!" And Tala slams down the phone –figuratively.
Tonight has been Tala's Christmas. Kai runs a hand over his face. Tala is far too interested in playing his fairy godmother for Kai's liking.
He needs to find her.
With that that done there's only one thing left to take care of: the kid who's been thrust upon him.
Kai exits out of the double doors and enters the hallway. Wandering aimlessly for a little while till he reaches the old portion of the house; he has a pretty reliable idea where the old man took the kid.
He's standing in an empty hallway, one that's usually deserted, even more than the remaining parts of the ancient house. The Hiwatari Enterprises chairman looks at the entrance of the room.
He finally resolves to go in. He's unsure of a lot of things at the moment, but one factor's indisputable; he is not his father. So, until he finds Hilary he's going to try to be as human, and as humane, to the kid as he's capable of being; everything else be damned.
The space is dark when he enters, illuminated feebly by a tiny night light. He cringes as time-worn memories flood through his head. He doesn't remember much from the days when this room was well his. However, there's a reason why he doesn't tread these hallways or comes visiting these timeworn rooms.
The old man has the kid tucked under a bunch of blankets, but he's not asleep. He's sitting up straight, staring directly at the door. Kai can't help but notice that the kid is sort of cute, most four year old are, but still.
The little boy is on the verge of crying; Kai can tell. Not because the room is well lit, but because he recognizes the expression from Hilary's face.
Another time.
A place an ocean across…
An eighth grade girl: angry, embarrassed, lost and on the verge of tears, having suffered through standing in a chalked-out circle chanting, oh bitbeast, oh bitbeast, for the major chunk of an hour.
And an itching in his fist to sucker-punch Tyson –
Hold it, soldier, a snarky voice border-lining Dizzy's yet again yells in his brain. It's unnerving how his subconscious mind sounds similar to Dizzy half the while, and Brooklyn the other half, and a Hawaiian-hula dancing version of Boris the rest.
He shudders and walks across to the bed where the kid – Gou, he corrects mentally – is tucked awkwardly in bed.
He sits down on the bed, on top of the blankets and right next to Gou- although keeping some distance. The boy is evidently feeling more upset by the gesture and tears at the brim of his eyes. Seems he has reached his breaking point for the day. He lasted longer than Kai would have expected.
Kai resists the urge to scratch his head. The kid probably misses Hilary.
A hula-dancing sexy Boris is blaring in his head something involving him being the chairman of the Hiwatari Company, owner of BioVolt, and having work the next day, yet choosing to coddle with a child of an old flame – and being touched by his crying!
Kai ignores the voice. Or at least tries to. The Hawaiian-accent renders it easier.
Hilary was not just a flame, Boris… Tala. Spencer. Brian. Ian. Dizzy. Tyson! All of you! And he turns his head to look at the kid tucked in next to him. "… How about I tell you a story?" Storytelling, that's a parent-ish thing to do, right? At his words, the maroon-eyed boy is caught off guard. "Is it a fairy tale?" He asks unsurely.
Kind of.
"Not really, more close to ironic, tragic and sardonic non-fiction?" He finishes off questioningly.
Gou's eyebrows knit together. "Huh?"
Sighing inaudibly, Kai ruffles the kid's hair again, this time, earning a small non-smile that seems quite similar to his own. "It's a story about your mom and me."
"Oh." The boy's mouth turns a perfect 'o'. He shuffles a smidge under his covers.
Kai stretches his arm and turns his head to eye Gou, who's looking expectant the first time the entire evening, and not borderline traumatized.
He begins, "Once upon a time there was a bastard called Tyson I'm-a-jackass Granger…"
"Mommy says no swearing!" The four-year old yells, and he's quiet loud, Kai notes reluctantly.
He snorts, but checks himself. "Quite hypocritical of her, but oh-kay, kid, she's in charge here."
A thought that hadn't yet entered his brain passed through not unlike wind on a chilly night. Why hadn't she told him in the first place, the moment when she'd found out that she was pregnant?
But deep down, he understands that the answer to every one of his questions was pretty much the same, and it lies somewhere in the frozen tundra of Russia, where he kept running off to hide from his own self.
She probably never thought he'd stay for her. A certain resolve courses through him; he would have stayed for her, come back for her- if she had just once asked! Hadn't he done so the first time she tried to stop him, so many years ago during the early days of their friendship…?
Gou shifts awkwardly so he's a bit closer to Kai, virtually touching, but the apathetic ex-blader doesn't move away from the touch. He's most likely used to sleeping with Hilary. He sighs.
"Once upon a time there was a stupid boy called Tyson Granger, who had a habit of creating long lasting messes of the really complicated kind, the kind which you couldn't decide were good or bad – "
(1) *sighs* Hopeless cases.
I used to be live alone before I knew you. I've seen your flag upon the marble arch…! *twirls* Love is not a victory march… It's not a cry you can hear at night, it's not somebody who's seen the light… #summer2012
I FOUND AN OLD SEASON 1 BEYBLADE BOOK WITH A CHARACTER AND EPISODE GUIDE which my best friend's sister gave me for b-day 4 years ago! Eep.
Dedicated to Dead-bY-n0w even though because she's my female anopheles mosquito. Nough said. And she finds this fic sad, and a proof of my inner KaiHil fan being dead. Pft.
My thoughts in regards to Kai's thoughts all contradictory to each other. Forgive me.
This turned out longer than I wanted. Tch.
Disclaimer: I own neither the music I use/sing nor the characters of Beyblade.
02:20 am, 8th July, 2014