Summary + Disclaimer: See Prologue
Notes:
'---' means scene change
Thank you to all who reviewed! I am eternally grateful for your comments, and hope this chapter lives up to your expectations!
Chapter 1: Lost Years
""I have by no means forgotten it, and a light answer does not help me forget it."" (Tale of Two Cities, C. Dickens)
Kai shifted his stance, putting equal weight on each foot, scanning the dish through narrowed eyes. His entire body was rearing to go: his legs were tensed, his breath baited, his arms even shaking slightly from what was to come. He heard Kenny's voice from the side of the dish, Dizzie ready to record his moves.
"Three…" Kai took another breath.
"Two…" He envisioned his BitBeast emerging from the blade in all her blazing glory. With Kenny's adjustments, he was sure she would be more powerful than ever.
"One…" The entire world stood still as Kai prepared to launch his blade.
"Kai!" The only sign that the Russian was surprised was the slight twitching of fingers on the smooth surface of the launcher.
"Kai!" Tyson called again, as though Kai hadn't heard him. Winning no reaction, the blue-haired boy continued talking.
"Some guy on the phone wants to meet us at a restaurant!" The rumble of Tyson's stomach sounded loud in the breeze as Kai slowly stood upright, arms at his side, launcher still in hand. He looked on as Tyson drag Kenny back to the house Mr. Dickenson had been kind enough to let them use before walking inside.
Instantly, Tyson was in his face, demanding that they get moving before he starved. Kai refrained from voicing the insult on the tip of his tongue, but silently went upstairs to store his blade and launcher in the drawer of the nightstand next to the bed. He did not want to be separated from his BitBeast again.
"C'mon, Kai! We're going to be late!" Tyson yelled up the darkened corridor, only to see his red-eyed leader calmly leaning against the wall in his usual fashion. An exasperated sigh, a mini-war of insults, and fifteen minutes of walking later, the team arrived at the arranged meeting place.
The five of them were shown to their reserved table in the corner of a smaller back room, used only for private parties, and sat down. A waiter came in to take their drink orders and left shortly.
"Sorry I'm late, Bladebreakers, but I hit traffic." All heads turned to see a man enter the room, a small grin plastered to his face. He took off his dark jacket, which was taken by the waiter, who had just reappeared with their drinks, and muttered something to him. They stood and shook hands with the newcomer. His hands were calloused and his grip was firm. Everyone sat back down. There was a silence in the air before it was broken by Tyson.
"So," He said between slurps of his soda. "Why did you want to meet us, Mr. H.?" The man grinned again, eyes wrinkling at the edges.
"Well, you've got quite the reputation where I come from, and I wished to see if you were as good as people say you are." His grey orbs seemed to flash in Kai's direction as he spoke.
"Where do you come from, Mr. H.?" Kenny asked, Dizzie on his knees.
"Call me Andrei, Kenny. 'Mr. H.' is too formal."
"How did you know my name?" Andrei shook his head as if it wasn't important.
"Your names and faces have been broadcasted all over the world, remember." The waiter placed a faintly steaming mug beside him, which he accepted with a brief smile. He took a sip and set it down again.
"I have digressed, so I will try to get back to my topic." Andrei was interrupted by the arrival of about half a dozen waiters, each carrying a tray almost overflowing with food.
"But before we do any more talking, we will eat; I have kept you waiting too long already." Tyson was already drooling, and Max, who had been surprisingly quiet, eyed a large sundae hungrily. Soon, the room was filled with the sound of clinking silverware, Tyson's loud munching, and the occasional remark about the size of his mouth compared to his brain from Kai. After a while, even Tyson had slowed down enough that they could talk.
"So where do you come from, Andrei?" Ray asked, getting back to Kenny's question as he nibbled on the piece of pink salmon on his plate. Andrei paused in his chewing, and swallowed before answering.
"Russia.", was the simple reply.
Kai's ears pricked at the mention of his homeland. He could feel his fingers trembling from the most recent memories concerning the icy place. He pretended to be disinterested, but kept his senses and mind trained on Andrei, as though the man would tell them a great secret.
"One of you teammates is also from Russia, correct?" Kai felt Andrei's eyes on him, and returned the gaze with a glare. Andrei, however, only laughed. Kai forced himself not to growl; he loathed people laughing at him.
"Oh, Kai, you are much too serious for your young age." A shadow passed over the man's face, and his expression became somber. "You have changed greatly, Kai, since I last saw you." His nose crinkled slightly. "You used to be so small, that, long ago, I could have held you in one hand without fear of dropping you. Of course, that was only once…" Andrei's voice trailed off. He shook his head and seemed surprised to see the intent attention he was receiving from all the Bladebreakers. As the waiters came in to take their soiled plates, Kai rose and left without a word.
"Kai-" Andrei began, half out of his seat.
"Andrei, it's better to leave him. You won't be able to find him anyway. When Kai doesn't want to be found, he isn't." Ray's logic made Andrei sink back into his seat with a defeated sigh.
"Did you know Kai when he was a kid?" Max asked. Andrei nodded.
"Of course I did." His tone suggested he was indignant at the innocent question. "How can any father not remember his son as an infant?"
Silence filled the room for a moment before the questions burst from the Bladebreakers' mouths, all of which had dropped open in amazement.
"You're Kai's dad? How come he's never talked about you? You're Kai's dad? What was Kai like as a baby? You're Kai's dad? Why didn't you come to any of our tournaments? You're-"
"Yes, Tyson, I'm Kai's father." Andrei said before Tyson could repeat his question a fourth time.
"But you guys don't look like each other!" Tyson protested. Andrei smiled tiredly.
"I'll admit, we don't seem related in looks alone," He held up his hand as Tyson opened his mouth. "But Kai gets a lot of his features from his mother and grandfather." He ran a hand through his mop of dark grey hair with a grin.
"So why hasn't Kai said anything about you before?" Ray asked again, leaning back in his chair. Andrei's eyes lit with clouded confusion.
"You mean, he hasn't…He never…" The Bladers shook their heads.
"Not a word." Andrei didn't seem to hear them, however. He sat staring at the empty chair where his son had sat.
"Why the…why did he…?" He muttered angrily, just loud enough for the team to hear. "He knew I was sent away, didn't he? Unless…"
"Why?" Andrei started, as though he had forgotten the others were in the room.
"What? Did you say something?" His eyes scanned their faces.
"Why were you sent away?" This came from Kenny, who looked eager for Andrei to answer the question. The man stood abruptly, his chair screeching on the floor.
"I have to see Kai. Now."
"But we don't know where he is." Ray remembered, getting to his feet as well, the action soon mimicked by Tyson, Max and Kenny.
"I bet the old sourpuss is back at the house." Tyson remarked, sending a longing glance in the direction of the dessert menu a waiter had placed at the end of the table sometime during their talk.
"He's probably training." Andrei turned his head to look at Kenny as they walked outside. "I upgraded Dranzer, though we left before I could compare the blade's progress."
"Dranzer? He still has her?"
"Yes, but the blade's performance has been unusually poor." Andrei fell back to walk beside Kenny.
"What do you mean 'poor'?"
"Well, not 'poor' exactly. I mean, Kai still manages to beat us whenever we battle each other, though Dranzer's defense and speed has gone down each time I've recorded stats. But Dranzer's attack is incredible! I can't get too close or Dizzie's circuits start acting up!"
---
Kai growled in annoyance as he caught Dranzer in his hand with a deft, practiced motion. Still not good enough, he thought. His blade was spinning slower each time he trained. Worse still, there nothing, no reason at all that he could find, which caused the sudden decrease. He launched his blade and watched as it spun in the center of the dish.
Dranzer emerged, answering his silent call, flames outlining her wings as she hung in the air, waves of heat scorching the neighboring grass browner, making Kai's eyes water. He blinked rapidly, clearing the wetness away. The blade flew to his hand once more, and he was surprised to find it warming his hand. His senses alerted him to the arrival of someone behind him. He tensed involuntarily.
"Kai."
"Andrei." Kai returned in a cold voice, back still turned to the man.
"You don't sound so glad to see me all these years, son."
"You're not may father." Kai snarled, feeling the blade heat in his palm, the phoenix BitBeast sensing his anger and growing restless.
"Did Voltaire not tell you-" Kai cut him off before he could continue.
"My father is dead. He died before I was born."
"What? How can that be when I stand here, as solid, as real as yourself?" Kai didn't trust himself to answer without emotion. After his last encounter with Voltaire, Kai had later hacked into Bio-Volt's records and read that his father had died two years before his birth. The news hadn't stung him as it would have other people. Once, when he had been younger and unaware of the Abbey's consuming darkness, he had questioned Voltaire about his father. That was the day he had learned to ask no questions, for he had been struck harshly across the face and made train for an extra hour under Boris' surveillance. Kai had drawn the conclusion his only other living relative was dead. The idea that his father had never seen his son was only a cold fact, a statement of Kai's true aloneness in the world.
"Kai, I realize that you may have been misinformed, but there is no reason to tell lies. You know I am your father. Voltaire-"
"I don't take lies lightly, Andrei."
"Kai, I'm not lying! What can I do to make you believe me?" Andrei's voice showed he was desperate.
"Tell me, then, why my grandfather," Kai spat the word as though it was poisonous to his tongue. "was the one to raise me instead of you, if you are my father, as you claim to be?" Andrei appeared stunned by the hatred in Kai's voice, but quickly recovered himself.
"Your grandfather sent me to another country, Kai." The vague answer didn't satisfy Kai's hunger for reasoning.
"Why?" He demanded.
"He thought it best, and as his son," Andrei stressed the word. "I respected his wishes. He sent me reports on how you were doing, sending pictures even. I have proof, Kai, if you don't believe me!" Andrei fumbled inside his jacket and produced a thin bundle of slightly yellow papers tied together with string. Kai finally turned around and took the papers without looking at them, eyes trained on Andrei. The paper was rough on his fingers.
"Please, Kai, believe me."
Kai ignored the man as he strode inside the house to the isolation of his room. He made sure the door was locked.
---
Kai double checked the bolt before sitting on his bed to untie the bundle. He selected a paper from the heap, the date scribbled on the back in chillingly familiar handwriting, and read it.
"Andrei,
Kai is well. Boris is still overseeing the boy's progress, and the improvement is notable enough, though not what I expected. It seems he requires a more extensive training program than we thought.
The Beast's history is essential for the advancement of the Project. Send me the files as soon as you find anything significant. Our scientists have yet to break the Code, but are closer to a breakthrough than ever before.
Do not disappoint me, Andrei. If you do, your life will not be the only one lost, as you know.
The requested photo is enclosed.
Voltaire"
Kai looked at for picture mentioned, quickly matching the date on the letter to the one on the back of the photograph. Wide, innocent eyes stared back at him, bright and red. Kai guessed he had been around seven when the picture was taken. He hadn't changed much: his stormy bangs were still wild and messy, navy hair still smooth and short, even the scarf he wore was in place in the picture.
He quickly read through the other papers. All turned out to be letters reporting on his training and each mentioning the 'Project', though Kai didn't know what that could be; from what he read, it concerned Dranzer and scientists. He shuddered, picturing exactly what Bio-Volt could do to his BitBeast. It wasn't a pleasant thought.
A knock came from his door.
"Kai?" The handle twisted, then returned to its original position.
"Kai, I want to talk to you. Open the door." Kai didn't respond.
"Please? Son?" Kai flinched. "I know you're in there, Kai." Kai heard Andrei sigh heavily.
"Fine, be stubborn, but I'm not leaving until we talk." There was a thump from outside. Andrei, from the sound of it, had sat down. Kai could see the light coming in through the crack under the door suddenly divided by a wide shadow into two small strips.
It's going to be a long wait if you expect me to come out, Kai smirked. He glanced out the window, at the vibrant, color-shocked leaves of fall, and his smirk widened.