I've walked with you all this time, though you forgot me long ago. I've watched you make mistake after mistake wandering alone in the desert of hopes and dreams, trying to find the oasis that they say exists. Why do you push yourself so hard, to find something that will never exist for you?

When she brought you into this world, your fate was sealed with your name. Kai Hiwatari, the child who would never give up and die, who would fight until the end. You proved that to so many people, yet you could never prove that to yourself. But I always believed in you, why did you not believe in me?

Do you remember that day? The day that your life crumbled in front of your eyes, into what it is today. Kai, you knew something was wrong, you tried telling mother, but she did not believe you. Weren't her last words to you "Nothing is wrong, Kai. Go and play now"? Yes, yes they were. You didn't listen, you grabbed your white scarf and round blue spinning top and ran. I didn't know any better then, and I ran with you, for I felt it too. And when you turned around, all that greeted you was the sight of the place you called home, going up in flames and an airplane flying past. I saw it in your eyes…

But you never cried.

You walked away, head bowed and arms crossed. All those people with worried expressions on their faces asking you what had happened. You walked on, ignoring them while I stayed behind and tried to explain, but they could not hear me.

I gave up for you that day, while you went on alone.

We seemed to separate, so far away from each other, only to meet up again when you held a gun in your hands, pointed at the man you said you hated so much. I saw the fear and hatred waver in your eyes as you said those words to him.

"I won't die, try everything, and I won't die, I will live long enough see all of you die, by my own hands if I have too. And you, you're the first one to go, because you don't deserve to live…"

And then you pulled the trigger, stopping time for what seemed an eternity, as I stood beside you, watching the shocked expression plaster the man's face as the bullet entered him. He wasn't expecting you to kill him so easily, it was that he was your father, Kai, and he thought he had the advantage over you. How easily he was proved wrong.

How long did you stand there, looking blankly at the man you had just killed? The gun slipped from your hands as the realization of what you had done forced its way into your mind. You had a look of emptiness in your eyes as you slumped down on the ground.

… Like the spirit within you had turned to dust and been blown away.

I remember watching you on the televisions in the window of an electronics store. The announcer said you were innocent because you had killed your father in self-defense. How wrong could they be?

But I saw that man that walked up to you, he claimed he was your grandfather, and he said to the television that he would take care of Kai Hiwatari until he could inherit the family fortune.

For four years I watched them torture you. Telling you to improve your 'Beyblading' skills, never to improve and always to be punished. I saw every last emotion beaten out of you, and I could do nothing.

One morning was different from the rest, when they found out you had escaped. Guards were everywhere, searching, searching for any traces of you. It was too late, as I sat next to you on the airplane, flying to a new and unexplored world.

When you walked out of the airport, I left you for what I thought was the last time…

Until you found me, that one evening. I had been watching you and three other boys battle each other. You failed miserably… what had happened to the strong Kai Hiwatari I knew?

As you walked passed me I called out your name, and for the first time, you heard me. Only for me to say those words that shook you:

You are not strong if your strength matches your weakness.

I saw the smirk on your face as you turned and started walking away, thinking how foolish I was to talk to you like that…

Until I noticed a crumpled piece of paper that you had dropped on the ground.

Hiwatari, Kai

Born on January 13th, 1989 was found dead on October 20th, 1993 age 4.

Believed to have been killed in an assassination attempt along with his mother.

May they rest in peace together.

I understood then.

I was just the old Kai Hiwatari…

Lost within your burning home and mother.

I saw it in your eyes…

But you never cried.

Written by: Lufiia

August 25th, 2005 - September 23th, 2005

Reviews would be appreciated.