XP: Welcome to the one-shot! :)

Hope you will like it.

**start**

Awkwardness, was what Tala could feel from Kai.

He let slip a gentle smile, and he felt the awkwardness fade away very slightly as Kai attempted a pathetic version of a smile back, a light twitch of the corner of his lips, like it hurt to smile.

They hadn't seen each other after the championships. With biovolt down, Voltaire and Boris in jail, Kai had decided to live with Tyson in the dojo. The other Bladebreakers visited from time to time. Tala and decided to stay in Russia with the Blitzkrieg boys in their own apartment. The rest of the Blitzkrieg boys still resented Kai for leaving, though deep down, they thought of him as their friend. But they would never openly admit it. Things have changed, and while they still care, they wouldn't go out of the way to go visit Kai, because of their pride and the awkwardness.

Like the awkwardness now.

Tala didn't really care about the Bladebreakers. Sure, they were Kai's new friends. He sort of disliked them for that, a sort of strange feeling like they stole Kai from him. You know, the kind where your best friend suddenly gets new friends where they're closer to? Yeah, that. Which was why the Blitzkrieg boys hated the Bladebreakers.

They were sitting on the grass slope now, and Tala was thinking and waiting patiently for Kai, who was staring out at the river, thinking of something to say. He could see Kai's inner struggle, his guilt, his curiosity, his concern, everything. He always knew Kai best. Well maybe Tyson knew Kai well too, but he did not have the capacity to really understand, because he didn't go through things the abbey boys went through.

Tala felt he should put Kai out of his misery and start talking first, but there was something satisfying and heartwarming about the way Kai, the cool and composed Kai, was struggling to find words to say, eyes a whirl of complicated emotions.

Tala chuckled then, and Kai grasped onto it.

"What's so funny?" Kai asked in his deep voice, eyes narrowed.

"Nothing," Tala replied lightheartedly, a smirk tugging at his lips.

"Tell me," Kai insisted.

"I think you're cute, is all," Tala murmured, not looking at Kai.

Kai gave him a startled look then, frowning, said, "I am not... cute."

"Fine," Tala shrugged.

They fell into silence once more. And Tala could see Kai was getting more and more agitated at the silence. He was full of words to say, but somehow, they only whirled in his mind, never falling from his lips, and he was getting angry at himself. Tala watched Kai, watched the throbbing vein on his face, and simply gave an amused look.

"... Did you get the cheque i mailed?" Kai started off oddly.

"Yeah, Bryan ripped it into pieces though," Tala snickered. An incomprehensible look fell on Kai's face now. No wonder everyone called Kai an enigma.

"You know, if you don't start to talk properly, Tyson would come and find you soon, since he's so protective of you," Tala snorted.

"Heeeeyyy! Kai!"

"See, speak of the devil," Tala rolled his eyes.

Kai glared at Tala.

"I've finally found you! You've been out for a few hours, and I was wondering where you went-" Tyson's eyes fell onto Tala's figure. "Oh. What is he doing here? Are you leaving with him? Are you going to Russia?" Tyson frowned accusingly.

"I'll leave then," Tala said nonchalantly, getting up from his comfortable position on the floor. He brushed himself off, dropping a few blades of grass. "Seeing as I'm not welcome."

Kai's hand flew up to grip Tala's wrist tightly, so tight that it caused pain. Tala's eye twitched. "Kai, violence will not get you anywhere with me." The grip loosened a little, and a conflicted look appeared on Kai's face.

"What's going on?" Tyson demanded.

"It's none of your business, brat," Tala said spitefully.

"Don't call him that," Kai growled.

Anger filled Tala, and he stared down hard at Kai. "Fine. Please let go of me and go back to living your life with Tyson."

"Tala," Kai sighed. "I didn't mean that-"

Tala tore his hand away from Kai's hold and turned to leave.

"Tala! I don't get why we have to be like this," A hint of desperation reached Kai's voice.

"Neither do I, but it appears you're forcing me to do this-" A ringing phone cut off Tala, who took the phone out of his pocket. "Bryan? Yes, I'm on my way back. Nothing happened... You're what? Oh, Bryan, you didn't have to," A fond smile appeared on Tala's lips. "But I'm glad. Plane rides are horribly boring."

"Come on Kai, let's go back to the dojo," Tyson said quietly, looking at Tala, who was clearly intent on leaving.

"No, Tyson. Later. Tala, let me drive you to the airport, at least," Kai said, defeated. Both Tala and Tyson nodded, and Tyson went back to the dojo first, while Kai brought Tala to his car. Tyson had always been understanding, though only those close to him knew it.

"I'll see you later, Bry," Tala ended, smiling lightly, hanging up the phone. He got into the car, and the awkward silence ensued again, the only sound being the roar of the engine.

"How's... the rest?" Kai asked awkwardly, staring ahead.

"Fine," Tala shrugged, looking out of the window at his side.

"Look, Tala, I..." Kai sighed in frustration. Tala waited patiently. Like he had always waited for Kai. When they were in the abbey, when they were in the beyblading competitions, he was always waiting for Kai. For him to come back, for him to catch up.

The phone rang again, and Tala picked up. He showed a bright smile this time too. "Hey, Spenc. Yeah, I'm coming back now. Bryan has already called me... ... ... Hey twerp! Ya bored?" Tala grinned. "Why don't you do something to Bry's stuff while he's gone? Don't tell him I said that though. Yeah, I've be coming back with him. Have fun." Tala hung up, a fond smile on his face.

Kai's heart twinged a little in envy and jealousy. He used to be so close with all of them too.

"It was your own choice to leave," Tala reminded coldly. He could read Kai's expressions well.

"I know," Kai tried hard to be nonchalant. Then sighed in frustration with himself at his habits. "I mean, I couldn't help but leave. When I'm in Russia, I remember... all those that happened..."

"So you live in a farce of goody-goody friendship," Tala said darkly, changing his tone to a mocking one, making an exaggerated imitation of Tyson. "We're best friends! Kai, live with me! Kai, where are you going? We're supposed to spend all our time togetherrrrr!"

Kai's face started to become dark as well. "He's not like that."

"Yeah? How much do they actually understand you? How much do they talk about you behind your back? How many of them will take a bullet for you?" Tala snarled, touching his left arm.

"I don't want to argue with you, Tala!" Kai frowned.

"Don't want to? Then FUCK OFF! Don't stay in our lives! Don't bother with letters and cheques and presents! They mean nothing to us anyway, materialistic things!" Tala sneered. "Just live your happy life in Japan!"

"...I understand that you're bitter..." Kai tried. After so long of not expressing himself, he didn't know what to say, how to calm Tala down.

"Bitter? Yeah, sure," Tala said patronizingly, a mocking smile in place. "If that's what you wanna call it." He stormed out of the car before it even stopped, making Kai hurry to park it and get out and follow him.

"Bryan!"

Perhaps Bryan could see the distress and unhappiness his captain had, he stared at Kai with hatred and pulled Tala close.

"Bryan..." Tala repeated, looking into Bryan's eyes. Bryan nodded reasuringly.

"Fuck off, Hiwatari. You've had your time. Tala was nice enough to come despite all our rejections. You wanna talk to us, you should come instead of us coming to you, or you can't lower your pride?"

"Bryan," Tala tugged at Bryan's jacket insistently, looking at him with pale blue eyes.

"Okay, let's go," Bryan smiled at Tala, removing his jacket and putting it around Tala, who wore it with a smile. It was warm, and it was a tad too big on Tala, making it sort of endearing.

"...I want to speak to Tala..." Kai insisted.

"Fuck this," Bryan growled. "I'll fucking talk to you. Wait here, cap'n."

"...Okay," Tala agreed. "I'm just gonna go buy a coffee." He turned and left without a complaint.

Bryan watched him leave with a watchful eye, making Kai slightly envious of how close they were. He felt slightly like he had been replaced by Bryan, that Tala didn't need him anymore. Bryan suddenly turned back with rage and resentment in his eyes.

"YOU! You always fucking leave and break his heart and leave us with pieces of what's left!" Bryan prodded Kai's chest painfully.

"The Black Dranzer shit, all of us forgave you, we know what Biovolt is like, we all understood your circumstances, but you bloody shit! Leaving for The Bladebreakers again and again!" Bryan snarled.

"I didn't want to be in Russia anymore... it gives me memories and-"

"Fuck you! You just said 'I'm staying here with Tyson' and turned and left! You didn't see Tala's face fall when you said it, nor the shocked betrayal. You don't know how he refused to speak for days until Spencer coaxed him out of his shell. And afterwards, he thought your leaving was HIS fault, somehow!" Bryan ranted. "You don't know how he stayed up to think about you, how he kept talking about you, how he cried when we said you wouldn't come back anymore..."

"Come on Kai, let's go back," Tala said with a small smile. His blue eyes were warm and happy, unlike its usual cynical ice blue.

"Yeah! Back to Russia! We're free now!" Ian grinned.

"Our flight is in about an hour, we should make it if we take a cab," Spencer informed.

"Fuck yeah! I hate these boring meetings!" Bryan stretched, sighing.

"...I'm staying in Japan with Kinomiya," Kai said curtly, turning to leave without a goodbye or explanation.

The reactions were instantaneous at such a sudden bomb. Bryan's mouth fell open, staring after Kai. Spencer's eyes widened in disbelief. Ian's face scrunched up in confusion, and Tala...

Tala's eyes lost the light in them.

All eyes turned to their captain immediately, knowing how close he and Kai used to be. Tala was zoned out, staring into space, face a look of utter shock and rejection. He kept mouthing the same word over and over.

Why.

Why why why why... WHY.

"Tala!" Spencer cried out in alarm as Bryan shook in rage, all of them finally registering what Kai said as Ian continued to stare at the door, as though wishing Kai to walk back.

"Why fucking Tyson? He's a brat, he's stupid, he doesn't know any shit, he blabbers his mouth away-" Bryan ranted, throwing his hands in the air angrily, not understanding anything.

"Tala, come on, speak to me, Tala?" Spencer said softly to Tala, shaking him gently to rouse him from his shocked shell.

"Kai! I hate Kai! He always does this to Tala! Always, always!" Ian complained, a look of pain in his eyes. "He betrayed us time and time again!"

And the tears started to stream down Tala's face.

"Oh, come on, Tala... you've still got us," Spencer soothed, wiping the tears from Tala's frozen face.

"We don't need that stupid sonofa bitch, we can live well without him!" Bryan declared.

"Yeah Tala, forget about him, we were ok without him weren't we? We can all be happy together again..." Ian begged lightly.

"He was an utter mess! We took turns staying with him on nights, Spencer had to force feed him, I had to drag him out for some air, and Ian had to bug him forever until he started to heal. It was slow. But you could tell he never fully recovered. There was always a quiet hurt around him, and sometimes his smile wasn't real..." Bryan huffed, sighing. "And despite how much you hurt him, his eyes lighted up when you sent mail, and even though it was just a cheque, he finally genuinely laughed for once when I shredded it. He said that meant you hadn't forgotten us and abandoned us!"

"I... I'm sorry, I..." Kai stuttered. "I honestly didn't know it would cause that much of an impact, I never saw it, and no one ever told me..."

"EXCUSES!" Bryan roared. "You were just a bloody coward who cared only about himself. I don't know what Tala still sees in you, why Tala wants you back!"

"Bryan."

Tala's baby blue eyes locked to Bryan's angry ones. Tala's eyes were soft, resigned. He held out a coffee cup to Bryan, who calmed down, took a deep breath and took it.

Kai honestly thought the Blitzkrieg boys couldn't care less about whether he went with them. Bryan always hated him. Ian wasn't really close to him. Spencer was more bonded to the rest, and Tala never showed his emotions, never showed how much he wanted Kai to stay. If Kai saw the look he caused in Tala's eyes, he would've stayed.

He definitely would have.

Even with the warm coffee in hand, and Bryan's large jacket around him, Tala shivered. Bryan immediately put his arm around his captain, drawing him close, and Tala let slip a soft smile. Only then did Kai see Tala's state. Tala had severe eyebags under his eyes, he was paler than usual, and he was so skinny his bones were jutting out from places.

"Tala, I..." Kai began awkwardly.

"I loved you," Tala blurted out.

Kai's eyes widened in confusion.

"I loved you like I loved my Blitzkrieg boys. You were important to me. You were part of my life..." Tala faltered, and Bryan gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "If any of them left, I would've been just as hurt. Don't you get it? You're part of my family. Like how our bitbeasts are close to us and always with us, I never wanted to let you guys go."

And Kai finally understood.

The hollowness and bitterness that came from staying with the Blitzkrieg boys from Russia, it wasn't because he was staying with abbey boys, because of the memories. When he tried to stay with Tyson to feel differently, he was thrust into a bright environment where there were no horrors. He felt calm, but the emptiness still gnawed at him and irritated him to no end. Because he missed them, but he refused to admit it to himself. The hollowness and bitterness came with his lack of understanding and acceptance of his past, to start anew, so he always felt on edge. He, being a stubborn ass, refused to let go.

And in the relaxed camaraderie, the taunting, insulting, joking, pranking, laughing and... loving, environment of the Blitzkrieg boys, he felt bitter, because he refused to let go when they all had. And he always craved something, craved joy, craved feelings.

But now, he saw, if he had put it all past, tried hard to start afresh, they would've helped him through everything, and carried him when he fell till he could walk again.

"My god..." Kai mumbled, looking down at the ground.

With a withering glare, Bryan pulled Tala away and led him away from Kai, back to Russia.

...

"TALA!"

Tala stopped walking.

"You need to stop giving him freaking chances again and again," Bryan growled agitatedly.

"I'M SORRY!"

"If it were you, I'd do the same," Tala mumbled, turning around, tears in his eyes. Had Kai really understood?

And when he turned around, Kai hugged him tightly, ignoring the looks of everyone around him. He didn't care about his image, his reputation that people build up for him, right now, only his friend mattered. His family.

"I was so stupid, Tala... I was searching for something that had been there all along..."

And Kai started to cry, stunning both Bryan and Tala as he started to whisper regretful apologies.

"What... hey, Hiwatari..." Bryan said awkwardly. "Er... um..."

"Kai, Kai, it's okay," Tala said quietly, leaning his head against Kai's. "I've never hated you. I've already forgiven you. I always forgive you. And in time, all the blitzkrieg boys will too."

"I don't deserve it, Tala... I don't deserve you, I don't deserve your forgiveness!" Kai's voice trembled, as he hid his face on Tala's shoulder, tears soaking the jacket.

To Kai's surprise, it was Bryan who started to move his hand soothingly on Kai's head, stroking his hair, and Tala held him warmly and tightly. They all stayed there for a long time, until the intercom sounded for the flight back to Russia.

Kai let go abruptly, wiping his eyes with his hands, face flushed in embarrassment.

"Goodbye, Kai," Tala smiled sadly, wiping Kai's cheek, where the blue tattoos were.

"Bye, Hiwatari," Bryan scratched the back of his head.

"I'll visit!" Kai shouted suddenly. "I'll come and visit you guys often and stay with you for vacation, so..."

"I'll tell the rest the good news," Tala beamed.

"So... let's no say goodbye..." Kai whispered.

"See you later," Tala and Bryan chimed, understanding. Tala grabbed Kai's hand and started to write numbers and initials before the numbers. "Contact us, okay?"

"Yeah," Kai said hoarsely.

With a smile from Tala, and a nod from Bryan, the two left, and as Kai watched their backs as they left, he realised...

The hollowness and bitterness was gone.

**End**

XP: Hope you liked it!