IY: Kya! People like it!
Kit: Wow...
IY: I know! I love all of you who reviewed! -hearts- Here's the next chapter for ya!
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Thanks to: misty144, crystalbladedragon, glitteredvixen06, horsegirl, and cheats (I'm glad I saved you. XD)!
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Disclaimer: I don't own!
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"Kinomiya! Hurry up, practice started ten minutes ago! The others are already downstairs, training, as you should be." Kai called out, leaning against the wall opposite Takao's door. He knew that his voice could be heard clearly through the wood, so it was now only a matter of waiting.
"Whatever, Kai! I'm going as fast as I can!" Takao yelled out. His voice sounded slightly muffled, which caused Kai to picture the blue-haired blader with his shirt pulled over his head.
The two-tone haired teen suddenly had a light sprinkling of pink over his fair cheeks and nose. Damn hormones… Kai thought angrily. For the past few months he'd been having strange thoughts about his blue-haired teammate, but he ignored them as best he could.
Just as he'd gotten his facial coloring under control, Takao burst out of his room. "Okay, I'm ready!"
Kai rolled his eyes. "Took you long enough, Kinomiya. I should start dumping water over your head ten minutes before practice starts, since it takes you so long to change…"
Takao pouted.
Don't look… Kai thought and quickly moved his gaze away.
"Or you could just shake me awake, or something. I mean, I could get sick one of these days, you know. And then where would you be, huh, Kai?"
The Russian blader sighed. "We'd be just fine, Kinomiya. You're a part of the team, not the bulk of it."
"But Kaaaiii! The water's always so cold!" Takao whined.
Kai snorted, completely unsympathetic. "Then you should wake up on time for practice, shouldn't you?"
Takao pouted and lagged behind, following Kai down the stairs half-heartedly.
"Oh, you have mail, Kinomiya." Kai informed him, rolling his eyes when he saw Takao perk up. "I put it on the little table in the hallway. Read it on the way outside, we don't have time to waste."
Takao sighed. There went his excuse to put off training for a few more minutes… He picked up the whole pile, following Kai obediently to the back yard.
Once they the back porch, though, Takao sat down. "Go ahead, Kai. I need to check the mail. I can't really read while I'm beybattling, you know?" he said innocently.
Kai frowned but let it go. It wasn't worth the bother to fight with Takao this early in the morning…
Takao let out a deep breath when Kai moved away. For a second there I thought he wasn't gonna buy it… Takao thought with an inward laugh.
"Okay…" he said, cracking his knuckles. "Let's get started…"
The first letter was for his grandpa, so he put that on the left. The second was a bill- left. The third was a cable offer, meaning junk, so he put that on the right. The fourth was another bill- left. The fifth was for him- middle. The sixth was junk- right. The last one was a small box with a letter attached, for him as well- middle.
"Man, I didn't know we got this much mail…" Takao said, looking over the piles. "And on a Monday, too…"
Shaking his head, Takao tore into his first letter.
Dear Takao-chan,
I saw your last match, and I was, like, Wow! You were so, so, so good! You were, like, the best one there! I mean, like, of course you were! You're the world champion! Like, oh my god, how dumb of me!
Anyway, you looked, like, super hott while you were beating everyone! So, I was, like, wondering if you'd go out with me sometime? You know, like, on a date? It would be, like, awesome!
If you'd like to, give me a call at…
The letter went on to give all of the girl's contact information: phone number, address, email address, even her parents' work phones!
"Man, how did this girl get my address? Usually they send their letters to the BBA headquarters…"
Shrugging it off, Takao turned to his next letter. Looking it over, he thought it was kind of short… He could probably read it before Kai came over to drag him to the beydish.
Dear Takao,
We hope you like your sixteenth birthday present. It's in the box.
We know your birthday is still a few weeks away, but we wanted to give it to you early.
Go ahead, take a peek.
Takao blinked. He didn't recognize the writing… Maybe it was another fan?
He tore into the cardboard box, finding another one inside. This one was made of wood, however, and was finely decorated. Taking it out of the shipping package, Takao looked it over.
"Seems expensive…"
The front of the box had a small latch, which he quickly released. Opening the cover, Takao found a beautiful dagger, encrusted with small sapphires on the hilt.
"Wow… So pretty…"
He took the dagger out of the box, turning it around and around in his hands. When the sunlight hit the jewels, they glowed with a blue fire.
"Amazing…"
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of another piece of paper. It was folded into a small square, tucked into a corner of the box, almost hidden by the soft blue velvet that lined the wood.
"Hmm… It's another letter," he said, unfolding it.
Do you like it?
It's pretty, isn't it?
It's the one we used to kill your mother.
-Kielbasa
"Oh my god…" Takao breathed, eyes going incredibly wide. "The Kielbasa…"
His gaze turned to the dagger in his hands.
"They used this to kill my mom…"
Takao started shaking uncontrollably.
"They used this to kill my mommy…"
Takao sobbed, tears blurring his vision.
"OH MY GOD!"
The rest of the Bladebreakers turned around in time to see Takao throw the dagger away as if burned.
Kai was the first to move towards the blue-haired teen's slumped and shaking form.
"Kinomiya? Kinomiya, what's wrong?"
Takao said nothing; he merely curled his knees up to his chest and buried his face in the crook that was formed, sobbing hysterically.
Kai shook his head when the other teen wouldn't respond. "Takao, what's wrong?" he asked, laying a gentle hand on the bluenette's shoulder.
Takao moved away as if struck, gasping.
Kai blinked. What is going on here?
Takao, who had his back against the wall, looked up hazily at his captain. "Kai?" he asked uncertainly.
"Yeah, it's me, Takao. What's going on? What's wrong?"
"The Kielbasa, they…" Takao broke off, sobbing.
Kai looked at the rest of the team, who were huddled behind him. They all shrugged; none of them had any idea what was going on either.
"Maybe there was something in one of those letters," Kyouju suggested, motioning to the papers strewn over the floor.
The Russian teen sighed, Why didn't I think of that?
"Max, Rei, look through the letters, find the ones for Kinomiya. Kyouju, go get that dagger. Daichi, help me prop him up against the wall. Tachibana… Go get him some water or something…" Kai ordered.
The team nodded, each heading off to do their appointed task. Kyouju and Hilary returned at the same time.
"Here," Kyouju said, gasping in exertion, handing the dagger over to Kai.
Hilary ignored Kai in favor of pressing a glass full of water into Takao's shaking hands. "Take it, Takao. It'll help you calm down," she said soothingly.
The blue-haired teen nodded, and with Hilary's help, gulped down the water.
"Kai!" Max cried out, returning to the group with his arms full of wrapping paper and a box. Rei was in a similar state, carrying all the letters that had been swept away by the wind.
"Look at this! It's creepy!" Max said, handing over the letters.
Kai read them out loud, and by the time he finished, Kyouju and Hilary's eyes were wide.
"Y-you mean, those Kielbasa guys used that dagger to kill Takao's mom?" Hilary asked, looking at the small blade with revulsion.
"Looks that way, Tachibana," Kai answered, looking a little disturbed.
"I never knew his mom had been killed…" Max whispered.
"Me either." Kyouju answered sorrowfully.
The team's eyes were drawn towards Takao's form, only to find him sleeping against the wall, still curled up in the fetal position.
"Seems there's a lot we don't know about Takao…" Rei said, expressing what was on everyone's minds.
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And there you have it. Chapter two, complete!
Review now, yeah?