'Straighten your arms' Kai impassively spoke in Russian to the female trainee, who upon hearing Kai's voice frowned in concentration. The trainee launched her Beyblade into the beydish. The bright lights in the Russian BBA glared onto the glossy red dish as the blade circled it. Kai walked away from the trainee and approached a male trainee. He watched his Beyblade hesitantly manoeuvre through a series of small orange cones positioned around the beydish. Usually he would snap at any signs of uncertainty, but today his mind was wandering. So instead, he ordered quite delicately:
'Stop fussing, you're only dodging stationary cones.' Kai returned to Moscow yesterday night from Bay City after he had found the Granger household empty for the second time in the last 10 months. Kai sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He hadn't heard from Faith in 10 months, after numerous missed calls and two closed-door visits he was starting to become agitated. Every time he arrived at the Dojo, he was informed by one of the neighbours that the Grangers were on vacation. He found that highly unlikely since the Grangers never took long holidays. Simple because grandpa's Kendo lessons followed a strict schedule, which didn't allow for extended holidays. He was near desperation that he was even considering opening the online group chat his team had created. It was created by Kenny as a means of communicating between the Bladebreakers. Kai opened the first few messages before he was reminded yet again that they were looking to act foolishly, this time online - annoying childish brats with nothing better to do during their free time. Kai sighed in exasperation, Faith wouldn't cease contact without reason, and accordingly something was wrong. Faith was really thrilled by the idea of him visiting her. So what happened?
Late in afternoon Kai was leaning back against his seat idly watching the distant street lights reflect on the dark waters of the river as the train passed through yet another small bridge. Kai pulled out his phone from his coat pocket and opened the chat message. The Bladebreakers had renamed it: 'Where's Kai?' It was intended to be humourous as it played the words of the popular book 'Where's is Aldo?' But Kai wasn't laughing, he saw it and his eyebrow twitched in annoyance. He scrolled to the latest message from Max sent yesterday, which read:
'That's great Tyson! I'm so glad to hear that dude! I can't wait to see you guys' Kai scrolled to the next message written by Tyson from a week ago:
'She is on the move even though they told to take it easy for a while. But things are going better than they expected I can't believe your mom let you return to Japan so soon? The weather here is sooo much more colder than Bay city'
Ray (Two weeks ago): 'That sounds sensible. Shut Tyson! Not you too Maxy! How is everything there, Max? Tyson? How is Faith?'
Max (Three weeks ago):'Ha ha! More like sassy kitty'
Tyson (Six weeks ago):'They said a little bit of exercise was important to get the blood flowing easily. So now I HAVE to wake up at SIX AM to JOG! Dude, can you believe that? Ray man I can't believe you asked Mariah out you sly dog or should I say the sly kitty'
Ray(Six weeks ago):'That's amazing Tyson! We were all here for you guys! What did the doctors say? I agree maxi but we have to give it some time, we can't rush the process.
P.S. I asked Mariah on a date! So nervous, I bit my tongue!'
Max (Eight weeks ago): 'Really, Ty! When can we see do another video chat? This time with Faith too'
It was the next message which caused Kai to frown deeply and his eyes to narrow uncharacteristically. Up till now the messages were general and didn't disclose any information about the Grangers whereabouts.
Tyson (Eight weeks ago): 'Guess what you guys! the healers say she is recovering nicely and that she should be ready and up soon! Can't wait to leave this place!'
A look of shock marred his handsome face. It was bittersweet. Even though it seemed Faith was recovering from her injury or injuries, Kai's inside twisted in a knot. She was hurt and he had no idea how or where she was. Speculating from the other message, it was serious enough to warrant firm guidance about how much she could move. Kai frantically flicked his thumb through all of the earlier messages.
Unfortunately, he came to the resounding conclusion that Ray, Max and Tyson had video chatted, and therefore there was no written information for Kai to access. Kai leaned in his head back; a frown still fixed on his face and gritted his teeth. He straightened his neck and his fingers swiftly punched down on his touch mobile, he sent this message to the group:
'Where you are staying now?' Kai clutched his black phone and hoped that he heard back soon otherwise he would need to take some drastic measure to locate the siblings, which usually involved illegal activities and the Blitzkrieg boys.
As the train gently halted to a stop at the Saint Peterborough railway station, he got up and exited without a fuss. He stepped out onto the busy platform. There were large metal pillars symmetrically positioned near the platforms. And hordes of people were trying to board their train. Kai glared at no one in particular (but people who got in his central vision suddenly experienced uneasiness and nervousness, and deliberately navigated around his path).
The crisp cold air huffed at Kai's exposed face when he reached the exit of the station. He quickly scanned the areas for any familiar faces.
Meanwhile, Faith sighed for the umpteen times that day. The healers had requested –more like demanded- that she stay within the walls of the compound while her injuries healed. She closed her eyes and twisted back a strand of hair behind her ear. The compound was located within the caldera volcano of Oso. Winter in the Oso Mountain was special. Frost covered the outer rim of the volcano. And even though many of the trees on the slopes of the volcano seemed like lifeless skeletons, it was still beautiful. The evergreen trees and muddy ground seemed brighter after a fall of fresh snow. The Sun hung clear in the sky, its light shimmered against the drops of dew dangling on palm leaves and white forsythia petals in the compound.
Faith sighed again. It was beautiful, but she had been contained in the compound for almost 34 weeks and it was becoming unbearable. Her latest escape had failed before it was even implemented. The healers had interrogated Tyson, who (regrettably) let detail after detail slip out of his lips. It was hard on Tyson too. Tyson wasn't permitted by the healers to leave the compound neither, which confused and frustrated him. He protested about being forced to wake up early for training. Having also compared the healers exercises with Kai's, he found the ultimately he would rather chose Kai as his trainer. Faith was shocked.
She sighed and thought of the duo-toned haired boy (young man) and how irritated he must be with her. Her fingers unconsciously touched the edges of the scar on her shoulder. The accident had burnt Faith, permanently scarring the right side of her body. It ran from her hips to the edge of her neck. The scar, no her skin felt uneven and plastic-like. The flame she had been carrying on that dreadful day had landed on her body as the walls of tunnels collapsed. The pain was excruciating and obviously caused her to scream in agony. She remembered that it could have been worse if the walls and dirty hadn't settled on her, extinguishing the fire. Faith remembered that as she lay in waiting in the darkness, the fresh wounds were throbbing and raw. The emotions running through her mind caused her to cry out loud, but she could only hear her echoes respond. Faith immediately pulled away and sighed wearily.
'I swear if you sigh one more time, I'll tell the healers you were trying to escape again.' Faith whipped her head in the direction of the voice. Behind her stood Tashi, a woman of many words. Her jet black hair was tied into a low ponytail and contrasted with her milky white skin and rosy red cheeks. She was dressed in her usual attire: all-black vest top and cargo trousers.
'How long have you been there?' Faith asked dismissively. Tashi's narrow hips swayed as walked to the disinterested young woman. A smug smile adorned her face.
'Long enough to know that you need to break out.' Faith's head snapped in Tashi's direction as she approached. Faith arched her eyebrows at Tashi.
'You know, that you could – no, you will - get in trouble. Besides, it's impossible to sneak out of the compound.' Tashi fluttered her hand dismissively at Faith and sat down beside Faith overlooking the garden.
'I'm the best stealth soldier there is. I can get us outta here in a matter of minutes. Besides, we can spend a few hours outdoors, and I'll have you back here before they even notice you're missing.'
'Where shall we go?' Faith grinned, and tapped her chin with her index finger.
'My aunt said that there is a huge fair in Moscow this weekend?' Tashi suggested, she leaned in and covered the sides of mouth, 'If we leave now, we can catch the performers. I heard they can be very saucy.' Faith smiled embarrassingly at her friend. She rolled her brown eyes and looked at the palm trees.
'Ok, let's go! But we have to get back before the healers find out.' Faith squealed at the idea of leaving the compound. 'I'm so excited!' Tashi laughed, nodded at Faith and stood up to leave.
'Ok, be ready in exactly ten minutes.' She winked at Faith and her body disintegrated into the wall behind her like she was sinking into the viscous honey.
'It's not going to work.' Faith jumped out her skin. With her hand on her chest, she sneaked a peek at the new intruder.
'Why can't you enter like normal people instead of a stalking pervert?' She glared at the dark-haired man, standing at the door with his arms crossed over his chest. He unfolded his arms and off-white cloak unwrinkled under his clothed arms. His long brunette hair pushed to the side by a light breeze as he walked to Faith. He sat beside her with one leg dangling off the edge of the porch, while the other was pulled to his chest and rested his arm on it. His hair was one of his defining attributes. It was long and soft (enough to tempt her to lean over to stroke it and earn her some strange looks). It cascaded like a waterfall down his back and touched the wooden porch and his brown cargo pants. 'Zeke, please...' He stared ahead, but her eyes were on him, expectantly.
'I don't like to see you unhappy. Keeping you locked-up-'
She interrupted him, correcting him quickly, 'You didn't lock up me.'
'-Isn't going to help you recover as quickly as we would like, now is it?'
'What are you saying?' She bit her bottom lip. She knew what he had meant by the comment, but she needed to hear the longed-waited words. Zeke watched her from the corner of his eye with a grin plastered his tanned face.
'I'm saying, you should spend time outside the island, far away from Oso. I'm ordering you to take a break from your training, duties and everyone for two weeks.' He tilted her head at her, 'Enjoy yourself. I think it will help you to recover emotionally and physically before the festival. I will handle everything here.' Faith was half-expecting him to sense her discomfort and discharge her from the care of the healers, but this was wholly unexpected. He was giving her time to come to terms with the consequences of her injuries, again she could be away from the prying eyes and gossiping mouths.
'Zeke, I-' His dark brown eyes were covered by his eyelids and his mouth opened slightly. He let out a slight chuckle.
'You worry too much, Faith. Just relax and everything will fall into place.' Faith smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck.
'Thank you.' Zeke continued to smile in a carefree manner as he returned the hug enclosing his gloved arms around her frame tightly.
...
Kai smiled slightly as a small boy eagerly pulled at his hands while running through the crowd. Kai scanned the area. Bright lights dotted the stalls and fair rides throughout the great fair ground. The smell of hot popcorn filled the air. Several people in the crowd looked and whispered to each other in wonder when their eyes met Kai's. The fair was noisy, too noisy for his liking. Children were screaming as the ride swung them around, people chatted and laughed in each other's company. The fair was opened for a week once every year, but was usually very popular in the region for its low prices and spectacular entertainment. The boy's hand slowly released his hold on Kai, but Kai instinctively tightened his large hand around the boy's smaller one. Kai noticed familiar faces amongst the sea of people ahead of him, and let go the boy so he could run to them. He walked leisurely while carefully watching the child run.
Not too far from Kai, Faith was picking at her candy floss with glee. Faith and Tashi, without blinking headed to the food carts when they entered the fair. And now, Tashi was animatedly yattering about her training, occasionally throwing popcorn into her mouth.
Faith reached forward and covered the pink cotton-like confectionery with her mouth as she looked at Tashi speaking. 'She is teaching me a new move that involves travelling at the speed of sound...' Faith nodded periodically to Tashi.
She was glad to be walking around freely without the healers fussing over her like she was a glassed figurine- easily broken and difficult to fix. Zeke was right (of course) staying in the healers' compound would not fix the real source of the problem. She felt still broken and the scar was a painful mark of her insecurities and imperfections. When she had woken up after the accident, it felt like the accident had extinguished the last of her bright outlook on life; she didn't feel like smiling, let alone laughing and jumping off walls. Not that she could if she wanted, with the side of her body severely injured she could not move too fast or too much, in case the wound opened again. Faith itched to trace the scar but it was covered with several layers of bandages and clothes for the chilly weather of the northern hemisphere. She shivered, apparently it wasn't enough. She pulled the purple scarf higher around her head and pressed down her winter hat. The days following her awakening had been particularly difficult as people poured in to meet her. She politely dismissed all of them and secluded her broody myself into the dark corners of her room. And so, Zeke had 'requested' no one visit the younger Granger until she was ready. He had given a few exclusion passes to both her family and his. They tirelessly tried to engage her in a full conversation with no feat.
One day, Faith woke to the sound of howling and tree branches scratching the outer walls of her room. Opening the door to the porch, she was greeted by the sight of gale winds beating down on the compound, disturbing the order of things. The palm leaves bent uncomfortably from the force and waves of dirt swept across the garden. But not a drop of rain fell from the sky. A cool gush of breeze blew on her face flicking her hair back. Faith smiled, she suddenly felt refreshed. She turned her head and her face relaxed even more when she saw Zeke sitting on the edge of the porch unfazed by the storm - like he was enjoying the brightest sunny conditions. Slowly but surely, Faith had spent more time outside, and later in the presence of family and friends.
Faith had taken the time before her departure to (semi) explain to Tyson and Grandpa why she needed a break midst her recovery. They keenly agreed to it, especially if it meant they could leave too.
Tashi's eyes landed on Faith, who was blankly walking beside her. While one hand held the candy floss, her other hand was across her body unconsciously touching the area where her scar was located. Tashi had taken notice that Faith zoned out often, caught in the thoughts of the past. 'Hey! Look! Let's go on that ride!' Tashi pointed somewhere in the distance. But Faith was too preoccupied with her train of thoughts to see Tashi grab her wrist and roughly yank her. Faith was startled when Tashi quickly marched through the crowd, pointing at the ride ahead of her with an unwavering look of fortitude.
'I'm sorry. Please excuse us. She is not properly medicated. Dropped a lot as a child.' Faith apologised to the people she passed nervously, but she wasn't sure they could understand her because of the language barrier. Tashi pulled Faith, accidentally causing her to push a child off his feet. Faith watched as the boy, who barely reached her hips fell back and landed on his bottom.
'Wait Tashi!' Tashi looked behind and let go of Faith's hand when she saw the young child on the ground, balling his fists near his eyes. Faith and Tashi swiftly kneeled down to the boy's level.
'Hey kid, look I'm sorry I wasn't watching...' Tashi chose to remain silent when she heard whimpering escape the boy's lips. His lips quivered and tiny hands were still fisted around his closed eyes. Tashi groaned and slapped herself on the head. She never understood children, they weren't cute and they always annoyed her.
'I hope I didn't hurt you. Hey, don't cry.' Faith's gentle voice soothed her anxiety. 'My friend is a little too crazy.' She apologised.
Tears began to fall down his chubby cheeks and they were starting to get odd looks from by passers. 'Yeah, keep walking buddy!' Tashi yelled at a boy as he walked by slowly observing the scene with curiosity. Startled, he picked his pace immediately.
Faith ignored Tashi and smiled at the boy with grey hair. 'My dad said when people cry, fairies can't fly and when they can't fly, they can't protect the magic treasure in the forest.' The boy removed his hands from his eyes and peered at the woman in front of him with curiosity. Faith smiled at him.
'Magic treasure?' He asked, unsurely.
Faith bobbed her head, 'Yeah, the magic treasure helps the animals in the forest. Like the deer and squirrel. Have you ever seen a deer?' She asked. To which he excitedly nodded, his hands fisted on his chest. Faith couldn't help but frown at first. The boy looked like Kai. Faith inwardly slapped herself; her eyes were deceiving her. A mini-Kai? This was definitely a hallucination caused by the medication.
Tashi leaned in beside her, whispering inaudibly. 'He looks like that Hiwatari kid.' Faith having realized she had yet to reply quickly dismissed any thoughts regarding the boy's looks.
'Well, they need the magic treasure to-'
'Gou, where did you go?' Faith looked over the boy's head to see a worried Kai Hiwatari. The dual-blue tone haired Russian went down to the boy and lifted him into his arms. The boy did not resist. In fact, he wrapped his arms around Kai's scarf. The dual-blue haired boy rested on Kai's arm and turned his head to her, and then back to Kai.
'Faith, what are you doing here? Where have you been?' Kai stepped forward.
She stared at him, her lips formed a perfect 'O' before it was replaced with a toothy smile. She held her arms out and took a step towards him – ready to hug him. But she withdrew when she saw the child in Kai's arms. Instead, she lightly punched Kai's arm, which caused Gou to scowl at her. 'Hey buddy!' Although it was intended to be serious expression, Faith couldn't help but inwardly squeak at the adorableness of the boy. Kai looked at where Faith's had 'punched' him and then back at Faith raising an eyebrow. Faith sighed.
'I'm here with a friend. This is Tashi.' pointing at Tashi, who waved and threw an excited 'Hi, what's up?'
'Sorry, I haven't been able to keep in touch as promised.'
'Are you ok? Tyson said something about you getting hurt...' Kai looked down at the woman and when he did not receive any reply from her, he immediately took another step towards her.
Faith didn't know how to answer the man without facing the possibility of rejection. When she was in the compound, she replayed over the various scenarios in her mind. Most of all involved avoiding Kai until he failed to recall her name. In the minute chance that she crossed paths with him, Faith would bravely tell him the truth and advise him to move on with an honest and perfectly polished woman. 'Yeah, I'm ok.' She replied lamely, which caused her to cringe. 'They said everything was healing nicely.'
Gou, the young boy in Kai's arms started to squirm. Kai looked down at him and spoke to him in Russian. Faith awkwardly turned to Tashi and received a shrug from the all-black woman. 'Where are you staying?' Faith turned her head to Kai. Honestly she hadn't really given that much thought yet. When they arrived at Tashi's aunt's house a few hours ago, their plan only consisted of getting to the fair. Faith smiled embarrassingly.
'We don't have any place as of now...?'Kai frowned confused.
'Are you saying you're homeless?' Faith's head snapped up at Kai's face. She proceeded to vigorously shake her head, wildly thrashing her midnight blue hair around her head.
'Eh... Truthfully, I don't know. We actually hadn't really thought about it.' Tashi intently watched the exchange and rubbed her pale chin in thought. With a quick long step, she was situated herself between the two looking as devious as the devil.
'Actually, I have a place to stay at my aunt's, so really Faith is the only one that's homeless.' Faith stared at Tashi, and a deep frown etched her small forehead. Tashi was hoping the young Hiwatari would sweep in and rescue Faith by offering her a place to stay. 'For two weeks.'
'I'm not homeless, I can find a pla-'
'I insist you stay at mine t-'
'Eh, I didn't plan on staying in Russia after tonight anyway.' Faith gave him a small smile and looked at her friend, anxiously. Kai examined Faith, nothing in her appearance or behaviour suggested she sustained a serious injury. But to be honest, he couldn't see underneath her blue thick coat, woolly gloves, knitted hat and scarf. He could only see her body shivering as a result of the chilly winter air. If he needed answers (and he did want them), then he would have to look underneath all that clothing. A pink tinted blush appeared as he had realised his thoughts. Looking down at Faith, it felt wrong to think about Faith in such a perverted way (even if they were accidental). But he was a growing man, and he knew he found her extremely attractive. After all, she was beautiful. Kai also enjoyed her company tremendously. Whenever she looked at him, like she was doing now, he felt... normal. It was a foreign feeling; a luxury that was deprived from him from a very young age by his grandfather, Voltaire and his former mentor, Boris. She was not judgmental and she understood he needed his space and privacy (more than most people his age). So she never pushed, and he never felt pressurised to hide or be someone else. Sometimes he wanted more from her than fervent kisses. But he could not dare himself to push Faith's boundaries in case he pushed too far and lost her. Beside were they even together?
'Very well, at least let me offer you a place to stay for tonight.' Kai asked, solemnly. Faith turned to Tashi expectantly but found no one in her place. Faith spun around, frantically looking for her black-haired friend. Then, it dawned to her:
'She left.' Kai spoke. She nodded absently. Tashi had left her in a foreign place, a foreign culture and standing opposite one of her biggest fears. At least she wasn't completely alone.
'Come on.' Kai led the way through the hordes of people as Faith inattentively followed closely behind. Gou's purple eyes peeked over Kai's shoulder, observing the Granger with interest.
'What happans do the deer?' His voice was muffled by Kai's shoulder as he spoke with a slight Russian accent. Faith, who was thinking about the situation, wasn't paying attention to her surroundings including the tiny sound in front of her. Kai threw a quick glance at Faith over his shoulder.
'Faith.' Still no reply. Kai returned his glance ahead and whispered to the boy. Gou nodded and twirled around in his arms and stared ahead. Faith's mind was running. What if he wanted to beybattle? What would she do if he inquired about the nature and extent of her injury? Were they even together? Maybe she could see what Kai did when he disappeared to Russia? What did he do in Russia? She was still curious. Why was she sweating so profusely while trembling in the cold? Faith's face smashed into Kai's broad back, she pulled away and tilted her head to pear past Kai's arm.
'Yo.' She saw a smug-looking lanky figure standing opposite Kai. Tala. Faith returned to her position behind Kai's back. She did not want to talk to Tala; it meant one more person would know how pathetic she was. So far, she had not been confronted with these types of situation since the accident. At her 'request' Zeke had excluded everyone for her security. Only a handful of people (besides their family) knew about the degree of Faith's injuries. It wasn't just physically anymore; she needed time to heal emotionally. Hence the reason Zeke sent her away, away from anyone that might disturb the Granger.
Unfortunately, being in this moment was anything but relaxing and secure. Faith unconsciously gripped Kai's dark blue cardigan. Kai sensing Faith's discomfort tried to excuse himself as quickly as possible without bringing much attention to the worried woman behind him.
'Gou needs to go to bed. Let my mother know we are leaving.' Tala nodded, turned around and left in the opposite direction. Faith relaxed when Kai continued walking again.
Tala with his hands stuffed in his pockets turned around on the balls of his feet as Spencer approached him. They stared at Kai's retreating back. 'Do you think we should tell them that we know?' Spencer asked.
'Nah.' Tala dismissed, 'It'll be more fun tomorrow when we surprise them.' Tala smirked and continued in his earlier direction.
...
Faith quietly sat in the car and waited as Kai pulled the seat belt around the boy. Faith watched the boy yawn loudly and tried desperately not to shut his droopy eyes. After a few clumsy nods, the boy was finally asleep. It was uncanny how similar the boy looked to Kai. Was he Kai's son? Faith stared at Kai from the corner of her eyes. Gou looked five, so that would mean Kai was 15 when he had him. Faith's eyes widened, the questions spiralled around in her head: But how? Who did he impregnate? When did he? Faith pulled a disgusted face; she was repelled by thought of pregnancy. But it must have been hard for Kai without any support? Where was the mother? Was she part of their life? She frowned; she didn't know how she would introduce herself to Kai's baby mama. She frowned even more, why did it even matter? She wasn't romantically attached to the man anymore?
'His is not mine.' Faith looked at him. 'Gou is my cousin.' Faith released a huff of air she didn't know she had been holding.
'Oh.' Kai smirked as he drove the car along a straight and dark road. Faith leaned back and turned her attention to the window. He sneaked a glimpsed at her. Array of expressions adorned her face after she saw Gou and then himself. No doubt that she was furiously thinking about his involvement.
After a long-stretched hour, Faith's head was gently jolted forward when the car came to a stop. She looked around only to find darkness surrounding the car. She yawned as she stepped out the car and followed Kai. He was holding the little sleeping boy in his arms. Faith smiled at the sight. Gou's mouth was open but he looked utterly peaceful hugging Kai. Now under the light of the garage door, Faith observed Gou's appearance as Kai entered in passcode for entrance into the house. Gou looked a lot like Kai with his dual blue hair, his fair complexion and slight heart-shaped face structure. But he was also very different.
Faith watched as Kai opened the door. Suddenly, Faith was met by a rush of warm air from inside of the house. In comparison to the chilly weather (that had her shivering every so often), the house was much warmer and slightly less dark. Faith could make out Kai's silhouette in the darkness; deliberately choosing to reduce the distance between them. Faith yawned tiredly again. Her eyes stubbornly trying to close but she kept them on Kai as he moved. When they reached to the last step, Kai turned to Faith.
'Your room is through there,' Kai monitored to the first door along the corridor. 'I can't stay but-'
'It's fine. Thank you for letting me stay here.' Faith bowed. Kai nodded and turned to walk up. After Kai had disappeared from the stairs, she entered her room and switched the light on. Light flooded the room exposing the queen-sized bed positioned along the right side of the cream wall. Faith's finger moved from the switch and traced the wooden floral engravings which ran around the large room. Opposite her, in the far distance of the beautifully designed room was a large glass door covered by thick white curtains. Faith neared the bed, laden with clean white sheets and pillows. Near the bed was a glass desk with two office chairs conveniently located near the glass door. Faith peeked outside the glass door and found silhouettes of coniferous trees against the starry night sky. It was so breath-taking, that she was tempted to open the door and broaden her discovery by wandering outside. She sighed, she would have to leave that for tomorrow. Right now she did not feel her senses were fully alert. She flopped on the bed and before she even realised, she had drifted into a dreamless sleep.