Chapter 1: To Begin Again

"Let it rip!"

A cold, ripping sound of metal and something tore through the darkness, flying upwards into the air before tilting and landing straight on the grassy ground. It was a beyblade, blue and new. The picture of a red majestic bird at the very center indicated that it belonged to non other than the infamous Kai Hiwatari, the captain of the BladeBreakers, and one of the most strongest bladers around.

At that time, though—as he stood at the park in tattered clothes, watching his blade wobble around the irregular path of the ground he'd spent years training him— if anyone were to see him, they'd highly doubt it was really him.

A low grunting sound echoed across the dimly lit park, and Kai picked his beyblade from where it had wobbled its way into a puddle of mud and stopped spinning right in the middle. He cursed under his breath for what seemed like the hundredth time that night as he wiped away the mud from the bitchip.

In the back of his mind, he realized that it was late; he had been at the park since seven in the morning, and it was no earlier than nine at night right now. Not only was he dead tired from all the training, but he was extremely hungry and very drowsy. The injuries from his actual previous battle –it seemed much too far for Kai to recall right then—hadn't even healed properly yet; he hadn't given them time to do so in the first place, and they were burning against his skin, as if pleading for him to stop already.

And he would've stopped too, had it not been for the fire in him burning more deeper, blazing his insides. It had been a week, of constant torture and continuous training; he'd tried everything in his will and power, had gone further than he ever had before, the new wounds were proof of that…but to no vain. It didn't feel any different, he felt no different, no improvement compared to the very first day, a week ago.

He, the infamous Kai Hiwatari, the captain of the two times champion Beyblading team, the wielder of the legendary bitbeast Dranzer, one of the most dangerous bladers around…the Kai who'd been born with no less than a silver beyblade in his mouth….

He couldn't fathom it…How was it that he'd forgotten how to blade?

All the years of training in the Abbey, all the loss he'd witnessed, his parents, his childhood…everything that he'd done was for this entire game, he'd tortured himself –physically and emotionally—he'd forced himself to listen to people the likes of Voltaire and Boris, he'd lost friends to gain power….everything that he'd ever done, was this what it boiled down to?

Sudden anger raged in him, a heavy feeling weighed in his throat as he fixed his blade back into the launcher again. His body screamed in protest, he'd been pushing himself to his extremes again, and his biceps reeled in agony as he launched his blade into the dark again, but –like a countless of times before— he chose not to listen and watched with a satisfied smile as his precious blade flew vigorously up against the air and landed around ten feet away from its launching position, spinning gracefully near the bushes.

Kai cautiously walked over to the rotating piece of metal, expecting it to stop any second, but a few moments passed by and he realized, with a content sigh, that it wouldn't. He opened his mouth to issue a command, see how further it'd go, but before he could….

"Stop! Dranzer!"

But Dranzer heard no command, and continued spiraling in a circle, as if in a frenzy, out of control. It rotated, revolved, unhearing of its owners orders before zigzagging across the ground, leaving dust behind as it did. The next few seconds were a blur; Kai barely remembered his yells going unheard, or feeling frustrated and helpless, he hardly recalled reaching out for his blade to stop it physically only to have his hand cut… but there was one thing that he did remember, and that was stepping in front of the blade to block its path, and the Dranzer –in response—completely changing its course and flying directly towards the right, the piercing metallic sound cutting through the air, the very metal itself rotating and rotating…heading straight towards a mass of brown hair…

"Watch out!" He cried, watching in horror as the brown-headed person looked in the direction of the sound, only to see Dranzer hurling straight at them getting closer and closer. Ruby-eyes widened in realization, reflexes caught up faster than any conscious thought and….

"Oh, for the love of…"

Dranzer moved past the benches, shot straight at a tree, hit the bark and stopped spinning against it almost immediately, and fell daintily across the ground the umpteenth time that night and before Kai knew it, he was staring directly at unfamiliar crimson orbs, and if he wasn't mistaken, he saw nothing but wild fury.

A girl….Kai thought, watching as the small figure that his Dranzer had just maimed at, raised herself from where she lay in a sleeping position on the bench, looking straight at him. She'd been sitting, her back against Kai, before he had yelled, and when she'd seen Dranzer hurling at her, had lowered herself flat on her back against the bench in defense. But right now, as she slowly pulled both her legs upwards, with both her palms touching the bench-rest, she didn't dare look anywhere else other than directly in the amethyst eyes of the Dranzer wielder who—as she thought—had attacked her.

"What's the big idea, you jerk?" She bellowed from across the bench, her fists tightening around the back of it. She was a good few feet away from Kai, but her voice carried over loudly and clearly. The boisterous tone of it reminded Kai of the reigning Beyblade Champion, and he resisted the urge to scoff.

"You don't hurl your toys at people like that!" She continued, mindless of the slightly amused expression on the boy's face.

Toys? He didn't hold back the scoff this time. Who is she, again?

Slowly, ignoring the girl's loud sounds of annoyance, of rage, and indignation, and her questions about who he thought he was, attacking her like that, and her demands that he apologize right then, he made his way over to where his blade lay on the ground, and picked it up.

"Are you even listening to me?!" The girl yelled from behind him, and Kai, in annoyance, turned around only to see her sitting in the same position, staring at him with the same look of wild frenzy.

Kai raised an eyebrow at the childish behavior, before deciding to ignore it. He crossed his arms and turned around, continuing down the path that led to his dingy apartment across town, hoping that he'd make it there without collapsing mid-way.

He thought he heard a voice filled with resentment say, "Lousy, good-for-nothing, snooty bladers" followed by a shove against his shoulders as the ruby-eyed girl walked past him and continued ahead with her arms crossed.

Kai had to scoff. So he did. By the time they exited the park though, both walking in opposite directions, Kai had already forgotten about the small encounter, his mind somewhat elsewhere; preoccupied…the small bliss-of-a-moment, that his blade had launched so gracefully into the ground, spinning and spinning…just like the old times.

He felt hope ignite in him, for the first time in the entire week, and he was determined not to let it fade.

Tomorrow. He thought. He'd try again tomorrow.

And tomorrow came with a new ray of hope. The sky was barely lit when Kai stepped, in a fresh pair of clothes and rather wet hair, near the beydish he had so ruthlessly tattered just yesterday. Settling into a launching position, he pulled the ripcord, his blade landing inside the dish, circling and circling around the marble floor of it.

Kai counted the seconds in his head, his hope rising with a rise in the quantity….seventeen…eighteen…nineteen…twenty…twen-

"Ah, crap!"

Dranzer wobbled, as if tripping, and suddenly stopped spinning, landing to its right smack in the center of the dish. Kai's shoulders hunched at the sight, but instantly, he straightened himself and with a new air of confidence, picked up his blade and got back into a launching position.

Twenty seconds, he assured himself. Better than the flimsy eighteen, at least.

Yesterday's successful little last launch –despite the consequences it had resulted in—passed through his mind, strengthening his resolve. He looked determined, ready to endure an entire day of self- induced torture….which he did.

It was only when the sun was too high in the sky—almost about one in the noon—that Kai took his first break, lying flat against the cool grassy ground near the river, just beneath the bridge. He was, by now, too exhausted to keep his eyes open. The bed in the dingy apartment that he now owned, the only one available closest to the park, was barely what you'd call comfortable and the entire last week that he'd spent there was a restless one; not that he'd even allowed himself a proper rest in the first place, going in so late and coming up so early.

But now that his sleep was finally catching up to him, the very idea of napping –even for a little while— was somewhat frustrating. He'd come here to train…and he would relax when it was time to.

And with that in mind, he forced himself to get up, propping up upon his elbows. His muscles were screaming at him again, his mind denied every notion of movement but there was something in him that spoke too loud for Kai to hear anything else. It spoke to him about a soldier who'd been born and brought up in a battlefield, was taught nothing but to use strange metallic tops as weapons. It whispered tales about a firefighter who'd spent his entire life watering the flames that his family had laid down before him; he had burns to prove it. It told him the tale of a strong blader, who'd given every single thing he had to compete against his rival only to lose time after time, more severely than before.

It told him that they were one, these three persons. And they were him. So where, exactly, was he?

Get up, damn it!

So, despite his body's utter defiance, despite his rationality screaming a negative, he chose to listen to the voice inside his head. The next few hours were a haze, he didn't know how the time had passed by, but soon enough, it was already evening and he was leaning against a tree, staring down at a blue-colored beyblade lying somewhere in between what looked like the remnants of a beydish.

He was panting, hard. Sweat covered his entire body, making his clothes cling to his skin; he felt breathless, slightly faint and extremely weak, but what he was feeling on the inside was nothing compared to his physical condition.

No progress…He closed his eyes in disgust, dismal washing over him. Almost an entire day had past, and not a single progress. Every time he had tried to command his blade, it would spin out of control and hit something, occasionally, it was the dish and sometimes, it would be bounce off the dish and hit the nearest thing around…which, most of the time, was Kai himself.

Bruised, and somewhat bleeding in some places, he was, but his ego had been torn and thrashed aside, a huge aura of disappointment now replaced the entire lure of confidence from earlier morning and he felt….defeated.

It felt like a huge nightmare, too unreal to be true, yet, too real to be considered fake. At any moment, he expected himself to get up, grab the blade, launch it and watch it spin again but at the same time, he hardly believed that was possible now. In the back of his mind, a part of him had started questioning his state….

…Would he ever be able to blade at all?

"About time you stopped."

If Kai had the energy, he'd have let out a huge groan at the sight that met him when he looked up. Brown hair, red eyes, full lips, too confident a posture….

"You." He side tiredly, in a voice too low and reflecting of his vulnerable condition than he would've liked, and then cursed himself inwardly. Laying his palm flat on the tree behind him, he pushed to straighten himself, successfully managing to stand completely on his feet. Only then did he spoke, "Go away" in what –to him—was his rudest way though, in reality, it was too meek to be considered anything above a flimsy little whisper.

He didn't look at the girl's face, not even when he heard no reply; he imagined she was probably angry, and in the back of his mind—when a few seconds passed by— he figured that she'd stepped aside and had already left. So, dolefully, feeling slightly relieved that she had, he took a step forward, to reach for his beyblade. He'd pick it up, rest a bit and then go back home to think about the current situation at hand.

Or, at least, that's what he thought he would do until he felt himself tumble. Dranzer was lying barely a few feet away, he was nearing it when suddenly, the world seemed to have stopped spinning, leaving him feeling dizzy as it did. In a small fraction of a second, it seemed, the lightheadedness dominated him and he was seeing the muddy brown ground, with pieces of the ripped-apart beydish drawing nearer, and nearer…

Too close, and he tried to brace himself but his muscles didn't seem to be responding, his brain felt as if it had gone numb, had stopped sending signals.

He felt tired, much too exhausted.

His eyes were closing….

And suddenly, he felt himself collapse into something….Strange enough, it wasn't muddy, or hard or stony as he'd expected it….It was soft….

And…..pink?

And he was out.

Kai realize that he'd been running. He wasn't sure why, and from whom this time, and he honestly didn't want to find out. Fear ran cold through him, made him on the edge more than he already was and he dared not open his eyes.

All he did was lie there, feeling the cold marble floor against his cheek, eyes closed in pain and body too exhausted to move an inch. He could feel the blood pounding against the back of his skill, the adrenaline that was pumping in his muscles, the beads and beads of moisture that kept falling down his skin, the wetness of his shirt as it clung his back….

"That's it?" A question, phrased in a perfectly-practiced and maliciously indifferent voice was the last he heard before darkness completely overpowered his senses.

"And the princess wakes up."

The first thing Kai saw was pink. He blinked in recognition. The subject moved away, backwards, revealing her rather concerned face.
"You again." Kai attempted accusingly, but was surprised at how pathetically feeble he came off sounding. Scoffing internally, he tried raising himself up, only to be pushed right back into the ground again, by two firm hands.
"Stay." The girl reprimanded and Kai scowled at her, pushing her hands away. Dare she touch him like that? Who did she think she was anyways?

Kai sat up straight, and looked around. Night had fallen, the last few rays of sunlight still lingering in the air. He was still in the park, lying on the ground against a tree….in a rather secluded area. His eyes narrowed suspiciously at the female.
"Why am I here?" He retraced his gaze back at the girl, who was already looking amusingly at him. Kai scowled visibly.
"You fainted, princess." She teased, and Kai's scowl darkened at the words, particularly at the oxymoron-of-an insult.
"Stop calling me that." Was all he said, tensing and looking around again. "Where's my blade?"

Kai looked back at the girl when there was no answer, and saw her digging almost feverishly into an orange backpack lying by her side.
"It's rather damaged," She spoke, still digging, "I mean, God knows how gentle you're being with it." This time, Kai physically rolled his eyes, "But I guess it'll work."

She handed him his blue-beyblade, and Kai was relieved to see that it had only a few scratches that could easily be fixed. He sighed.
"What—Where are you going?!" The girl stood up before Kai could do so, grabbed his shoulders and pushed him down. She glared at him, and Kai –who felt rather lightheaded at the sudden movement—could only growl right back, "Look at yourself! You can barely stand!"
"I'm fine!" He snapped, not used to being taken care of, but relaxed when he saw a flash of hurt cross her face. She composed herself, still glaring.

Women! Kai thought rather haughtily under her patronizing stare, but decided not to spar right now. She was right, he could barely stand…How will he walk all the way to his apartment?

So, Kai lay back down against the tree, and closed his eyes. His heart-rate, he noticed, was rather low, despite the strenuous exercise he'd been putting himself through..he couldn't recall just when he had eaten anything even remotely healthy. Even his breaths were rather rugged, and every fiber of muscle in his body was aching beyond what could be considered normal.

In his rather stupid determination to achieve a now-farfetched goal, he'd been neglecting himself too much. He'd fainted…fainted! And into the arms of a girl nonetheless. Not that he thought of girls as any less or such…but he wasn't exactly comfortable around them, considering how all they did was fawn and faint at the very sight of him.

But that was another issue. The girl in front of him was another issue. Temporary. He'd get rid of her. Right now, all that occupied his mind was-
"You look pale." Kai's eyes opened at the voice, and he found the speaker staring at him blankly. He almost glared back at her. Just another typical girl, he thought, just another stupid, typical hormonal girl.
"Stop staring at me." Was all he said, not bothering to reply to her statement. Before he could go back to closing his eyes again, he felt something hard hit him on the back of his head, and he could only blink in shock at the small fist that had moved quickly to the girl's side after it had made its mark.
"Don't flatter yourself." She was angry, "You're not that pretty, princess."

In the semi-darkness, he could see her propped up on her knees, both her hands on her hips as she stared at him, enraged. Kai didn't know how to react, so he stared right back in shock at the only girl who'd succeeded in making an actual physical contact with him that wasn't a gesture of affection.

And then Kai did something he hadn't in a long, long time. He chuckled. Light-heartedly.
"Ugh!" The girl resounded loudly, defeated, bothered more at the gesture than the uncharacteristic tinge to it. Not that she knew it was uncharacteristic of him. Dejectedly, she finally sat down from her up-right position, and crossed her arms across her chest, mumbling something about stupid eccentric beybladers.

But she made no attempt to move away, or change her position. Kai heaved another sigh, and closed his eyes back again. It was extremely quiet for a while, and had he opened his eyes, he'd have noticed that night had completely befallen, and the place where they sat was lit only by a single street light. The crowd that was almost diminished, reduced upto a few people crossing their paths once in a while. As Kai sat, trying to gather enough energy to walk to his bed, various thoughts plagued his mind. None of them even a least bit pleasing.

No progress. The words kept haunting him, and his eyes pressed tightly together in discomfort. Was that even possible, to blade all your life only to stop all of a sudden? Or had he gone mad?

And the most daunting question of all…Would he be able to blade again? Ever?

A long finger, jabbing at his chest, snapped him out of his thoughts before he could contemplate more.
"You're not even listening to me!"

Kai's eyes narrowed, slapping the small hand away from him, and he stared directly into the crimson eyes of an annoyed looking brunette.
"What?" He snapped rudely, and would've said more, had she not glared menacingly right back at him.
"I said," She clenched her teeth, "Why are you so hell-bent on training so hard for what is clearly a pointless game, anyways?"

Kai scoffed visibly again. Pointless! What did she know? His entire life had been dedicated to this game, he had been caught in the realms of it and there had never been a way out. It had been his goal, his passion, his purpose…a web that he'd been born in, and he was sure he'd die in it too. It was a realm he'd accepted himself to be a part of. It was more than just a stupid game….who was she to judge anyways?

"Just shut up." Kai mumbled, sounding clearly offended and put his palms flat on the ground before raising himself up. "You don't know anything."

He didn't see the girl's expression, he was too tired too look up, afraid she'd see the vulnerability in his own. He balanced himself off the tree with one hand, the other clenching into a fist by his side; he had to force his eyes open because, against the thoughts in his heads, they refused to do so. His last words, before he walked away, were a steady, somewhat offhanded, yet surprisingly harsh in their tone.

"You don't know squat."

AN:

So, this was it. :) For those of you who haven't been following my other fics, this was the one I mentioned I had written down last summer, but didn't post due to some reasons. And, just ran across it (amongst a few other things that I might post sometime later) a while back. So, here it is you guys.

Um...Not really sure about this story. I have no idea how to proceed. I'm hoping to go along with the flow.

Any questions at all, or any suggestions (please on this one! I don't know WHAT I'm doing!) feel free to PM me and stuff.

This was named after Something More, by Second Hand Sernade

And thanks for all the reviewers on Hot N' Cold. I'm sooo glad to see the positive response there! ^_^ I'm hoping this story's liked too.

Either way...Review pleash! ^_^ I'd love it.