Ray's POV
MUST READ
Hi All!! I'm back!
'Soul Reborn' fell flat on its face, so I decided to write this instead. It's a totally stand alone story, no connection with ANY happenings in 'Slaughter Of The Soul'. (Just for your info)
This story takes place after the first season of Beyblade, therefore the teams are, as they were back in the good old days :) no team-switching before the story begins or anything, it just confuses everyone, especially me!
And to clarify, Kai is (as he is in my other stories) the YOUNGEST teen of the group, and is therefore the SHORTEST. He's 15. Ages are ROUGHLY as follows
Bladebreakers
Kenny – 16
Tyson – 17
Max – 17
Ray – 17
Kai – 15
Demolition Boys
Tala – 18
Bryan – 19
Spencer – 19
Ian - (doesn't exist – because he annoys me!)
Majestics
Oliver – 18
Enrique – 18
Johnny – 17
Robert – 19
White Tigers
Mariah – 16
Lee – 17
(those are the only two that will really get a mention)
AllStars
Michael – 19
Emily – 17
Eddie – 18
(If I've missed anyone just tell me in a review and I'll put it up in the next chapter)
What else…um, oh yeah, don't forget to review, or this story's going the same way as 'Soul Reborn'. Which, while we're on the subject, won't OFFICIALLY be ended just yet, if you're one of the loyal readers, who read "Slaughter Of The Soul" and the beginning of "Soul Reborn" then tell me what you think. Lack of reviews made me stop it, a few encouraging words, may make me reconsider. But ANYWAY! Back to this story! Reviews are a MUST! You have no idea XD
Something very quick before we begin, thank you to Miak06, who's one of my loyal reader's who was a HUGE influence to this idea, and also to phoenix-falling who is again one of my loyal readers (and an awesome friend) and she helped me with the title :) big thank you both of you!!
NOW On with the story!!
XXX
Ray's POV
I sighed as I watched Tyson launch Dragoon again. The silver blade wobbled before spinning out in the dirt. Tyson growled loudly "WHY CAN'T I DO THIS?!" he launched Dragoon again, and again the silver blade wobbled and stopped. He wiped his cheek, smearing dirt across his face, his clothes weren't in a much better state, they were covered with smears of dusty dirt, his jeans a little torn where he caught them on a branch of the tree while retrieving his blade which managed to bounce of a rock and land on one of the topmost branches, meaning Tyson had to climb up and get it. His hat was long forgotten, thrown on the grass a few meters away and his hair was falling out of the hair-tie, little leaves stuck in it here and there, not to mention the dust from the dry ground which had clung to it. In short, he looked a mess. The rest of us however, had stayed perfectly tidy, it was just Tyson that had the issues.
"Concentrate" I sighed.
"Come on Tyson!" Robert encouraged with a smile "Just concentrate and you'll get the hang of it!"
Tyson growled again, loudly and ran his hand through his messy hair, brushing a few leaves out in the process "I don't understand why Dragoon needed upgrading anyway!" he crossed his arms and stared at his motionless blade. He then stepped forward and picked up the silver metal object and his hat, which he placed angrily back on his head
"Because, Tyson, we're entering a tournament in a few months and you're blade needs to be a whole lot stronger to win!" Kenny explained, his glasses flashing in the sunlight, Dizzi was whirring and buzzing in the background as she analyzed Tyson's control and stats.
"Maybe we should take a break?" Max looked at Kai, who was leaning against the side of the dojo, silently watching Tyson attempt to control the increased power Dragoon now possessed.
Said bluenette looked up at Max with intense crimson eyes, sensing himself being watched. He nodded and Tyson shot inside, faster than I've ever seen him move. Kai sighed as the wind gently blew his bangs from his eyes.
I smiled as the group made our way inside, Kai hung back and readied Dranzer to do some training alone. I nodded and pulled the door shut, leaving him to train in peace.
Kai's POV
'At this rate we're not going to be ready in time for this tournament' I thought angrily 'Tyson has NO control over Dragoon' I sighed as I replaced Dranzer into her launcher and sent her shooting back onto the grass. I glanced up at the mid-day sun before looking down at Dranzer who continued to spin steadily on her spot. The wind blew gently again and I sighed.
After almost half an hour, the group of teens returned, I picked Dranzer up, and took my place against the Dojo wall, observing as everyone held small battles between themselves. I watched each member of my team carefully
Max: Has improved greatly. His defense was definitely his strength, his attack was mediocre but with defense like that he didn't need to attack, he could easily wear the opponent out.
Ray: He was always one of the very best, and he'd improved to keep that title, I'm not worried about Ray losing any of his matches, I have confidence he'll do fine
Tyson: Is going downhill. Kenny attempted to help him, but he's just made everything worse, and now Tyson can't even control his beyblade let alone battle with it.
"I think I've got it!" I heard Tyson yell triumphantly, effectively dragging me from my thoughts. I looked over as Dragoon spun around Galleon. Lee smiled as Tyson punched the air enthusiastically
Ray's POV
"Not good enough Tyson" Kai stated, somewhat coldly "If you plan to win this tournament, you need to do a LOT better than that!"
"Give him a break!" I argued, Kai glanced at me, but didn't say another word. He closed his eyes and leant back against the wall, ignoring the entire group.
XXX
As the day's training finally drew to an end we decided to eat and watch a film, then sleep.
Grandpa Granger placed plates of food on the table and we all slowly began to eat, Tyson on the other hand couldn't get enough food in his mouth. Kai sighed
"Must you eat like a pig?" he snarled as Tyson attempted to shove yet another vegetable into his already full mouth
"Yes!" was the muffled reply from Tyson who successfully managed to cram more food into his oversized mouth.
"Tyson chew with your mouth shut!" Emily scolded… The AllStars, Majestics, White Tigers and Demolition Boys were all staying with us to train up for the next tournament. It was quite nice to see them all again. Not to mention Kai had perked up seeing his old team-mates, not that he'd ever admit it.
"What film did you guys wanna watch?" Tyson asked just before he washed his meal down with an entire glass of water
"Didn't even think of that!" Max chuckled as he quietly put his knife and fork on the wooden table, Tyson however slammed his glass down with a smile
"Shall we go and have a look?!" he asked, Max nodded enthusiastically and the pair jumped up to find a good movie.
I glanced over at Kai who was picking slowly at his food "You should really eat more of that" I told him, he glanced up at me expressionlessly "Grandpa Granger might take it the wrong way" He looked back down at his plate and took another small mouthful.
I smiled and turned to Mariah "Are you all prepared for this tournament?" I asked
"You bet!" she smiled "but you seem to be getting ahead of yourself mister, we've still got two months left until the tournament!" I chuckled in embarrassment and stood up
"I'll go check they've not started arguing" I laughed and headed down the old Japanese-style corridor. As I rounded the corner into the living room, I had to instantly duck as a DVD box flew past me
"That movie's boring!" Tyson whined angrily, referring to the thrown object
"It's a GOOD movie!" Max chuckled "And besides, YOU suggested we watch it Tyson!" Max burst into laughter as Tyson turned a dark shade of crimson
"Oops!" he laughed and jumped up to retrieve the DVD "Oh, hey Ray!" I smiled as he picked the box up
"Decided have we?" I asked swishing my braid behind me
"Yeah" Tyson chuckled and scratched the back of his head. I laughed at the pair of them, then noticed just how many DVD's were scattered across the floor
"I hope you're going to clear this mess up?" I laughed as Tyson nodded and the pair of them began to pick up the boxes and stack them neatly on the shelf again
I headed back to the table leaving the pair to clear up, I sat back down and smiled "They've picked a DVD, they're just clearing away the rest" I glanced at the other occupants of the table. The demolition boys were having a quiet Russian conversation, but stopped politely realizing it was rude and also that I was watching. Kai was still staring at his plate, which he had pushed away from himself. It's weird how little we all know about him, the Demolition Boys seem to know the most of all of us, but they wouldn't dare tell us.
Mariah smiled at me, and Johnny spoke "Shall we go then?" he asked impatiently
We walked down to the living room, where Max and Tyson had just loaded up the DVD. I sat on one of the many sofa's with the White Tigers. The rest of the teams sat on the other sofas and Kai leant against the wall at the back, watching the rest of the group darkly.
The movie began and the first hour dragged on and on, after just half an hour I became aware that Kai had already lost interest and left, presumably to train. So I snuck away to go and get in some extra practice.
I pushed open the sliding back door and wandered into the now dark garden, lit by small lamps dotted around.
At the far end of the garden I could see a red flash and realized it was Dranzer, I made my down carefully and stopped just a few feet from my stoic captain
"Yes?" he snarled, I jumped not realizing he knew I was here
"I was just wondering if you wanted someone to train with?" Kai turned to look at me, his eyes slightly wide that I would be OFFERING to train with him. I smiled, it wasn't often you can surprise Kai.
"Sure" he turned back round, stony expression already back in place. I launched Drigger and began training a little distance away.
"Come on Drigger! Show me what you're made of!" I commanded as my faithful tiger dodged rocks and other obstacles. Very suddenly a red flash shot passed my blade and I smiled as Kai faced me, His blade spinning furiously a few feet from my own. We engaged in a small bey-battle, nothing too strenuous at this time of night, and we didn't really want the other teams to hear the commotion and come outside.
We ended a few minutes later with my blade motionless, Kai's wobbling ferociously at his feet. "Good match" he complimented
"Uh thanks" I replied, somewhat shocked
"You'll do fine in this tournament, it's Tyson who should be out here training" Kai explained
I nodded in agreement "he needs to get a grip of the new power he controls" Kai nodded before picking up the now motionless Dranzer.
"We should get some rest, I'm sure we'll be training tomorrow?" I smiled as Kai nodded in reply. "Night Kai" I smiled as he walked inside and too the shared bedroom. I sat back down in the living room, it was obvious I'd been gone, but no-one was bothered.
Eventually the film ended and we all went to bed. Kai was sat on the windowsill watching the night sky, no-one bothered to tell him to sleep as well, Kai would always be the first up, followed by the demolition boys.
I fell asleep staring out the window with a smile on my face, thinking about the upcoming tournament.
XXX
Kai's POV
I was first up, as per usual. I headed out into the garden straight away, the more training I did now, the less I had to do when the other's were around.
I launched Dranzer, She span around the garden furiously for a few minutes and I decided that it wasn't her that needed the training, it was me.
I decided to start with press-ups, and then sit-ups. At least a hundred of each. I moved on to using my knees to hang from the lowest branch of the tree, and pulling myself up. As I dropped back down I noticed Tala there, I dropped from the tree gracefully and stood up to face Tala as he walked over
"Morning Tala" I said in Russian
"Morning, you alright?" he laughed as I dusted myself down
"Just getting some training in before every one else wakes up" Tala nodded and smiled
"Well, you're definitely earlier than everyone else, it's only just gone 6am" he laughed as I smirked
"Do you usually end up on the floor when you train?" Tala chuckled, I shook my head, dismissing his question. I headed for the gate in a decision to go for a jog, Tala decided to join and we jogged in relative silence for a long time. He eventually broke the silence as we stopped for a rest at the local park
"You know, you should talk to your team more, they'd appreciate it" he looked at me seriously
"You've been talking to Ray right?" I asked with a hint of anger in my tone
"Not exactly, but we can all see that you never talk to them" I glared at him for a moment before taking off at a jog again. He caught up within a minute and we again jogged, this time in total silence. The only sound that could be heard was our feet on the pavement as we ran.
As we finally got back to the Dojo I carried on my own training, Tala wandered back inside and a few hours later the others were outside training and I was stood watching.
Eventually Tyson got the hang of his new blade and was getting back up to scratch for the tournament.
"WOO!!" he jumped in the air triumphantly as Ray wandered back out with Sandwiches made by himself for the entire group. I decided against eating and did a few more sit-ups around the corner away from the chattering group.
After just fifteen minutes I decided to walk back round and I sat with the group, although I didn't give any input to the conversation, Tyson was doing enough of that by himself. He was practically shouting about the upcoming tournament, I smirked at his stupidity, but I also realized that I'd miss the entire group if they were to go anywhere.
"Yo T-Dawg!" Grandpa called from the doorway
"What is it Gramps?" Tyson turned to face his Grandpa
"Mr. D wants to see all of ya as soon as" I looked at Tala, the thought of Voltaire flashed across my mind, but it was soon stamped out at the thought that he was safely locked away in prison, along with Boris.
"Uh, shall we go then?" Tyson looked at the group, receiving various nods and agreements.
We walked to the huge BBA office, at the other side of town. As we walked in I stepped forward to speak to the receptionist. "We're here to see Mr. Dickenson" I stated
"Ah, yes, he said he was expecting a group of teens" she smiled
"And?" I asked her
"Uh…he's on the sixth floor" I nodded in thanks and headed for the stairs.
"Why are we taking the stairs?!" Tyson groaned
"Can you see us all fitting in that lift?!" Max asked, Tyson laughed at his own stupidity.
"Oh yeah, let's go then!" we made our way up the stairs and eventually found Mr. Dickenson's office. I knocked quietly and heard his voice through the door
"Come in!" I pushed the door open, Mr. Dickenson was sat at his desk looking through some papers, and there was a stranger stood at the back of the room. I glanced up at the man and decided to keep my eye on him, there was something a little strange about him.
"Now, there are two reasons I've brought you here today" Mr. Dickenson began "The first is to tell you all that the tournament starts in 2 months 3 days, you will have that long to train, and in roughly a week you will be flown to Russia, where the tournament is to take place" Everyone nodded and stood still
"And the other reason?" Ray asked
"Ah yes, I need to speak to Kai alone, if you wouldn't mind waiting outside, or if you would prefer you can head back to the Dojo." I tilted my head slightly in question, why would Mr. D want to speak to me?
The group left, quietly closing the door behind them
"Now, Kai, I expect you're quite confused as to why I want to speak to you" Mr. Dickenson began…
Tyson's POV
As the rest of the teams, including Max and Ray began to walk away, I decided to stick around, and listen to what Mr. Dickenson had to say to Kai, Ray turned around seeing me not following
"Tyson don't even think about it" Max stated "You can't listen to their conversation, there is a REASON as to why Mr. Dickenson asked to speak to Kai alone" He paused "He didn't want us to hear! Don't be so thoughtless Tyson it could be something quite personal!" I growled by the door until Tala stepped forward
"Enough!" he commanded, I jumped, totally forgetting that Kai's childhood friends were stood there. "Let's go!" I decided not to argue and followed him obediently
Kai's POV
"Yes?" I asked, intrigued as to why Mr. Dickenson wanted to speak to me
"Kai. I have something to tell you" I looked at Mr. Dickenson, almost afraid of what he was about to say "This is Susumu" he indicated the man stood behind him
"And?" I replied rudely
"Susumu, is your father Kai" I felt my heart skip a beat…..my father?!
"Son I've missed you!" he stepped forward, and I took a step back to look at him. He had dark mahogany eyes, and his hair was almost black, he had pale skin, much like my own and he was built just like myself only taller and slightly more muscular. He was wearing just a pair of simple jeans and a black top. I looked him up and down and took another step back.
"If you missed me, why has it taken you 15 years to find me?"
"Kai don't be like this" Mr. Dickenson pleaded, seeing my temper beginning to flare
"Don't be like WHAT?!" I slammed my fist into the wall behind me
"Kai…son!" Suddenly Susumu stepped forward and pulled me into a hug, I flinched and tried to pull away and eventually he let me go
"Now I understand you may be upset Kai, but this is your father, give him another chance!" Mr. Dickenson explained
"Why should I?!" I again punched the wall and Susumu took a step back
"I see he has his mothers temper" Susumu stated
"Leave my mother OUT of this!" I snarled, ho dare he bring up my mother?!
"Ahem….Kai, Susumu, as your biological father, would like you to stay with him in Russia until, and after the tournament" Mr. Dickenson explained slowly
I gave my father a suspicious look "Do I have a choice?" I asked angrily
"Well, no but we would rather you were happy with this arrangement" I looked at him for a moment before nodding.
"You know, I've always been proud of you" Susumu said softly
Mr. Dickenson's POV
"Then why were you never there for me?!" Kai snarled
"Because I couldn't bear to see you, you reminded me so much of your mother" Kai's father explained
"THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!" Kai turned around and punched the wall, Susumu jumped away in fright almost, no shock.
"Kai calm down!" I commanded, Kai instantly stopped and looked at me
"You're going to be staying with your father when you get to Russia in a week. I suggest you deal with whatever issues you may have in the week you have until you leave. Do you understand?" I almost shouted – maybe a little too forcefully. Kai pulled his stony expression on and gave me an angry look, before he turned on his heel and left swiftly, slamming the door as he went.
"That COULD have gone worse" I stated optimistically.
Kai's POV
My thoughts were all over the place on the walk home. My father turned up after what? 15 years of nothing, and expected me to just forgive him and live with him? I growled in anger as I turned into the Dojo
I bumped into Tala as I walked in; "What happened?!" he demanded as soon as I had straightened myself up again.
I opened my mouth to speak, but didn't know what to say, Tala wouldn't be impressed that Mr. Dickenson sprang this on me now…hell I wasn't impressed he sprang this on me now!
"Well?" He looked at me and started tapping his foot
Tala's POV
A look of hurt flashed across Kai's eyes "Kai?" I asked unsurely
"That man was my father" he whispered
"Your FATHER?!" I hissed, Kai nodded and looked at the floor. "What does he want?" I snarled angrily
"I'm living with him when we get to Russia" Kai looked up at me, his eyes held only sorrow
"Can't you refuse?" I asked
Kai shook his head "No. I've not really got much choice" he looked me in the eyes before deciding to look back at the ground again.
I sighed not knowing what to say, he obviously wasn't impressed at meeting his father. But didn't have much choice in the matter.
"Well. I'm sure everything will work out just fine" I smiled softly and Kai looked up at me (I'm about a head taller than he is). Honestly? I don't really believe a word of what I just said, Kai'll hate it, his father and he will argue and he'll move out. THEN everything will be ok.
"We should train" Kai stated, as an evasion of any further questions, I respected his choice and nodded.
As training began, Kai stood against the wall, completely lost in his thoughts. No-one dared to disturb him; he was in a foul mood and was best just left alone.
XXX
As the evening finally arrived and training stopped we found ourselves sat around the dinner table. Kai pushed his food around his plate for a few minutes before eating some of his vegetables, but none of the meat Ray had cooked for us. Ray didn't seem too bothered though, Kai rarely ate and entire meal anyway.
"We've got a few hours to kill" Tyson stretched in his seat "We watched movies last night, so what does everyone want to do?" he looked around, but no-one said anything.
"Well, we didn't watch all your movies?" Max laughed "Come on guys! There must be SOMETHING we can all do!"
"Like what?" Johnny asked agitatedly.
"I'll go put a film on" Tyson sighed and stood up to find a film. Kai glanced up but said nothing.
"I'll be training" he stated coldly and stood from the table. He glanced over the table and left quickly without another word.
Kai's POV
I pulled the rip-cord from my launcher and allowed Dranzer to spin around the garden for a moment before deciding to work on my blading skills.
XXX
I looked up as the sky began to darken, the stars began to shine in the sky and I smiled, Tala and I used to watch the stars through the barred windows of the Abbey all the time. Just as the thought entered my mind, the door to the Dojo slid open and Tala stepped out. I smiled realizing he actually came out for the very reason I had previously been thinking about. He stopped next to me and looked up
"Just like old times" he looked down at me as I nodded
"Yeah." I replied quietly. We stood in silence for a few moments, enjoying the view of the sky and each other's company. Tala broke the silence
"We should go inside, we've only got a few more days here to train, and we really don't know what the training facilities will be like at Russia" I nodded and picked up Dranzer. We walked back inside and headed straight to sleep.
XXX
I was, as usual the first up in the morning. I got up straight away and went straight out to train as usual. I found my thoughts however, constantly drifting from training, and to my father.
XXX
Tala's POV
I woke up fairly early, as I sat up, I glanced around the room and smiled, Kai was already outside training. I got up slowly and made my way outside. Kai was training, and as I began to walk, Dranzer shot off into a tree. I stopped for a second…Kai was totally lost in his thoughts. I decided it would be best to let him think things out before I bothered him, however as I turned to leave, he spoke
"Morning" was all he said, I turned around and smiled
"Morning" I nodded as I spoke. "You alright?" I asked, he smiled and nodded
"Yeah. Just trying to get my head around things" I nodded in understanding.
We came to the silent agreement to train to take his mind off things. And we must have trained for hours, as soon we found the rest of the teens watching as we held a small battle. I could tell Kai was deliberately keeping to simple moves, giving anything away in a small friendly battle would surely destroy his chances in the actual tournament. So, to match his plan, I did the same. The battle didn't last long, we didn't really stop it, we just drifted off and did our own individual training instead.
I looked at Kai….'the next few weeks are going to be very difficult and long, But Kai being Kai will pull through just fine.' I thought with a soft smile as I watched Kai's determination at his training.
XXX
End of Chapter 1 :)
I wrote that fairly fast, considering I've JUST gone back to college so pretty soon I'm going to be swamped with work, however, if I get some positive feedback and some interest in this, then I'll definitely make time to write it, otherwise I won't see the point and it'll remain as this one chapter.
One a lighter note YAY! An entire new story!!
Reviewing is vital – push the purple button, you know you want to. :)
xflightofthephoenix