Chapter II: Rise and Shine

Tala pulled the chair back and sat down, ignoring all rules of table etiquette by resting his elbows on top of the table, while only just managing to stifle a yawn. He rubbed at his eyes, which seemed to be in a treacherous mood by refusing to open fully. His eye lids felt so heavy. He knew three sleepless nights in a row were finally catching up to him, much to his dismay.

Coffee…he thought. Strong, black coffee will wake me up

Peering through his fingers, Tala saw that Bryan and Spencer didn't look tired. In fact, they look refreshed and ready to start a new day. Tala stared as Spencer spread butter over toast and Bryan grabbed one of the four, clean cups on their breakfast table, to fill with tea, coffee, milk, orange juice, or water.

It was 8:00am. Most of the other teams had breakfast at 8:30, which Tala was thankful for. It meant the rooms where food was served were a lot emptier and quieter. The last thing Tala needed was noise to give him a splitting headache first thing in the morning.

'Morning, Tala.' Spencer said, not looking at his team captain as he reached for the blueberry jam. Tala wrinkled his nose in distaste. Blueberry made teeth go…well, blue. He preferred strawberry jam and had never understood why or how Spencer liked the blueberry variety best.

'Morning.' Tala muttered back, pushing a cup towards Bryan. Bryan had just finished pouring himself orange juice and looked up at Tala expectantly.

'Coffee.' Tala said.

'With milk?' Bryan asked monotonously, as he reached for the coffee jug.

'No.' Tala replied. 'Black. No sugar.'

Spencer pushed his own cup to join the cue as Bryan poured coffee for Tala.

As Tala waited, he closed his eyes for a few moments, trying to shake off his uncharacteristic drowsiness. But he must have closed his eyes for longer because Bryan's voice soon cut into his peace.

'What's the matter with you, didn't you sleep?'

Tala opened his eyes and looked at Bryan, who was seated opposite to him on the table for four.

'Of course I did. Where's the coffee?'

Bryan nodded to the cup right in front of Tala, who took it and sipped a little.

Too hot. Great. Now I'll fall asleep from boredom while I wait for it to cool down, he thought.

'Aren't you going to eat something?' Spencer glanced at Tala, who looked at what was on offer. Then the redhead reached out and took a toasted slice of bread off the bread rack and Spencer pushed the butter knife to his team captain.

Tala began to spread butter over his toast, not having much of an appetite but knowing he needed to eat anyway. He had a big day ahead of him.

The silence was broken by the scraping sound of another chair being pulled back. Bryan, Spencer and Tala looked up just in time to see Kai sit on the empty chair opposite to Spencer and between Tala and Bryan. The slate-haired young man gave no greeting.

Bryan stared at Kai blankly at first, but then he sneered slightly.

'A rare honour it is for you to grace us with your presence.' He said coldly, voice dripping with sarcasm.

Kai didn't even look back at him and acted as if Bryan hadn't spoken at all. He looked like he had gotten many hours of sleep.

Bryan was irritated by the lack of response or acknowledgement, and still regarded Kai suspiciously. Tala could understand why. Kai hardly ever joined them for breakfast. He usually had it earlier or alone somewhere. He rarely sat at a table with the rest of the Blitzkrieg Boys, except on a few occasions at lunch time. Even when he did he rarely spoke a word.

How come he's joining us this morning? Tala wondered, but then he decided he didn't really care what Kai did so long as he arrived to train on time, which he always did.

Bryan had just set the coffee jug down and Kai took the last remaining cup and pushed it towards Bryan, who gritted his teeth. Spencer smiled slightly at the look on his friend's face. He knew how much Bryan, in particular, didn't trust Kai and how much Kai's seemingly effortless actions and arrogance annoyed him.

Tala gave Bryan a look however, and Bryan reluctantly poured coffee for Kai and then quickly set the jug down, clearly eager to finish his role as beverage server.

But Kai had other ideas.

'2 sugars.' He added. Bryan's eyes widened. To him it was obvious Kai was doing it deliberately.

He glared at the slate-haired youth, who ignored the look. Spencer shook his head and added 2 teaspoons of sugra for Kai, keeping the spoon in for Kai to mix himself. Bryan then shoved the cup back at Kai, managing not to spill any in the process.

'Anything else?' Bryan said through his teeth. 'Would you like someone to butter your toast too?'

'Are you offering?' Kai retorted, but reached for a slice himself.

Bryan's glare intensified. Tala ignored the little exchange, knowing it would pass soon enough. He was still battling his sleepiness. He had eaten a few bites of his buttered toast but he didn't feel hungry enough to finish it. Resting his chin in his left hand, he stared blankly at the steam that rose from his coffee.

Spencer ate quietly and sipped on his coffee, also ignoring the silent rather one-sided battle taking place between Bryan and Kai.

Kai cut his slice in half and buttered it quickly. Then he sat back in his chair and stared at Tala.

Tala didn't notice. His eyes were closed. But Bryan did, and soon so did Spencer. The two exchanged confused looks. It wasn't like Kai to stare so openly and his uncharacteristic behaviour made them suspicious.

At length, Bryan said, as calmly as he could: 'Is there a problem, Kai?'

Kai blinked, and then glanced at him. 'Clearly not.' He replied flatly.

Spencer was now looking at Tala, frowning slightly. 'Tala? Are you alright?'

'Fine.' Tala mumbled. Kai looked back at him for a moment, and then he looked away, finishing off his slice quickly before reaching for the other. A few more moments of silence passed, when suddenly, Tala's eyes flew open and he frowned angrily at Bryan.

'What was that for!'

Bryan stared at him blankly. '…What?'

'Why did you kick me!'

'I didn't.' Bryan replied, frowning back. 'Why would I?'

Tala glanced at Spencer, even though he already knew who was responsible. The tall Russian shook his head at his captain. Then all three of them looked at Kai, who had finished eating and sat back with his arms folded and his eyes closed calmly.

'What was that for?' Tala demanded.

'Hn.' Kai responded, without opening his eyes. 'There's a place for dozing off and it's not at tables. If you're still tired, go back to bed.'

Tala glared. 'That's your excuse? How dare you kick me? I wasn't dozing off!'

'Your eyes were closed.' Kai replied flatly.

Tala exchanged looks with Bryan, who stared back in disbelief, and Spencer, who shrugged. Then the red-haired Russian looked back at Kai.

'If closing your eyes is how you measure dozing off, Kai, you must be asleep all the time!'

Bryan sneered at Tala's comment and Spencer chuckled. Tala didn't laugh however. Kai's eyes opened and he looked at Tala, and then narrowed his purple eyes at the redhead.

'…Nice cover up.' He said sarcastically, before pushing his chair back and standing up, and leaving the chair seconds later.

Tala frowned. Cover up? What's he talking about? He thought. Bryan and Spencer had stopped laughing and watched Kai leave, both with surprised looks on their faces. He had gotten up so suddenly and so quickly.

Tala glanced back over his shoulder and called after the slate-haired young man,

'Hey, you didn't finish your coffee!'

But Kai left the room and Bryan snorted. 'Who does he think he is? Royalty?'

Tala looked back at his two remaining team-mates. 'Probably…he's set to inherit millions, after all.'

'Spoilt brat.' Bryan muttered. 'I suppose your little comment was too good for a comeback so he left. Just like him to run away.'

'What a grouch.' Spencer agreed.

Tala folded his arms. 'That's enough.' He ordered. Then he added silently: It's not like we're much brighter

'…What did he mean by 'nice cover up?'' Spencer asked. Tala shrugged.

'Don't ask me. Kai speaks a different language to us.' He looked at Bryan and Spencer's plates and nodded. 'Hurry up and finish off, we need to start training.' He gulped down the rest of his now cool coffee and pushed his chair back, standing up.

'Where are you going?' Spencer asked.

'To get Wolborg, and then I'll meet you both at the training centre. Got it? Ten more minutes.'

Spencer and Bryan nodded. Tala turned away and left them, and made his way to the third floor of the hotel, to the room he shared with his team-mates. Unlocking the door, Tala entered the room and grabbed his beyblade. The coffee had finally begun to take affect and he felt more awake. However, his thoughts were still very much distracted.

The longer I prolong it, the less likely I am to get information. He thought. If I sneak into BEGA Headquarters, I'm pretty sure I can get the information I need undetected, as long as it's undercover of darkness. The security system isn't fully operational yet, I shouldn't have any problems. I have to do this. I won't rest until I know what Boris is up to and what we're up against. This time I won't let him carry out his plans and brainwash more kids.

…He must be stopped.

Tala looked down at the bit chip on his beyblade and tightened his grip. I can do it. It's better if I go alone. If we all go we're more likely to get caught and that could lead to disqualification in the upcoming competition. We can't allow that. I won't allow us to return to Russia so disgraced. It's better if I don't mention it at all to the others. They'd only worry about it and try and talk me into changing my mind. They'd lose focus on their training. I'll do what I have to do and get it over with fast. I can do it. It's not like I'll really be alone. I've got you Wolborg.

Together we can achieve anything.

Feeling reassured, Tala left the room, locked it, and started to make his way to the training facility beside the hotel.

Author's Note:

Thanks so much for the reviews of the first chapter, I never expected so many. I'm glad you like it so far and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Thank you for reading. Please leave your thoughts and I'll start with the next one, which is already in draft. There will be a lot of nice arguing between Tala and Kai in the next chapter so watch this space.