Authors note: Well, now things are starting to shape up. As for the rating, rest assured that in later chapters you will understand why this was neccecary. I will also warn you that this story may contain at least some slash, although this will not invilve Kai. Enjoy the chapter!:))

PLEASE REVIEW! The more reviews the more I write and the faster I submit new chapters;))

Behind the wall of sleep

Chapter 3: Aces high

Things had gone well for me, at least in some matters. I felt alone, somewhat out of place, struggling to fully understand my new life. Then again I was also pleased, both with the newfound luxury, and of course with my quest in ridding the neighborhood of pathetic beyblader wannabes. I did not understand this world that I had been so suddenly thrown into, but al the same it seemed to bend for my will wherever I went. Children beyblading in my immediate neighborhood was now a rare occurrence, and they had all learned to fear the blade sharks, and their so far anonymous leader. People tend to fear what they don't know, and thus I had decided to remain in the shadows, making sure they new I existed, but never revealing myself. This had worked out perfectly, until we had started the process of expanding our territory.

Everything had gone surprisingly well in the beginning. Children where crying, begging my minions not to destroy their beyblades, and soon I could relax with the knowledge that they would never dare beyblading in my streets again. But then something had gone wrong. My little gang had met my future team, apparently they called themselves the bladebreakers, and of course Carlos and the others had been beaten. So now I sat here, in the warehouse that had become our main quarters, listening to the pathetic excuses of my so called gang. "He was so strong!" someone whined, looking at me with pleading eyes. Of course they had all discovered that I did not accept failure, so naturally they where now somewhat afraid. And with good reason I reminded myself, as a familiar flare of irritation surged through me. "And they had bit beasts, all of them", Carlos chimed in, having my sudden and immediate attention. "Bit beasts?" I repeated, my interest perked. "Yes, that Tyson guy, he had a dragon, and then there was a tiger and a turtle", he said, obviously trying to get into my good graces again. Like that would ever happen, failure was failure.

I purposefully ignored the rest of their idiotic conversation, deep in thought. Bit beasts, I should have guessed. Of course they would never have been able to place so well in the regional tournament without bit beasts. With a somewhat intrigued expression I lifted my blade, gazing with a combination of curiosity and love at Dranzer's bit chip. For a brief moment it glowed a fain red, and I could feel the metal heat up under my fingertips. An encouragement I reflected, smiling slightly. Dranzer was the one thing in this world I would die for, I loved her the same way one would love ones parents or sister. She had been there for me my entire life, supported and fought for me no matter the odds. In a way she had become a substitute for the family I had never had, and I knew with certainty that I would never love someone the way I loved her. She was strong too, so strong that I had never let her out during a battle. It had simply never been necessary, and being the one I was I never brought in the heavy artillery unless I had to. Unlike most beybladers I was not interested in showing off; I merely beat my opponents fair and square, not bothering to drag out the battle.

"Where do they practice, these bladebreakers?" I asked Carlos, still gazing at my blade. "They train at the BBA training facility, just at the outskirts of town", he quickly replied, hope visible in his eyes. A hope that I crushed moments later, sending him a venomous glare. With that I jumped down from the crate I was sitting on, making my way in the direction of the BBA facility with my usual predatory like movements. It was not a particularly long walk, and I was pleased to see that there were no more children beyblading in the streets. Of course this would not be the case, should I allow the bladebreakers to take over my turf. According to Carlos they had been furious when he explained why they where shredding innocent children's beyblades. It would be necessary for me to make my point, this area was mine. Besides I would have to encounter them someday anyway, so now was as good a time as any. It was only a month till the tournament, and it was about time the BBA saw me battle. Crushing their chosen team in battle would be a grand way to do so, and I could not help but smirk at the thought. The bladebreakers where going down, big time.

I reached the BBA facility in less than fifteen minutes, only pausing briefly outside to take in my surroundings. The building was built from beige brick and was, in my opinion, quite ugly. A huge sign with the BBA logo written in green and orange covered most of the wall over the entrance, and my mood dropped considerably when I spotted kids of all ages running in and out of the building. This was definitely not a place for me, to crowed and noisy for my liking. Either way this was of no concern at the moment, and thus I made my way inside. My ears almost exploded as a wave of screams and cheers hit me the moment I opened the door. For a couple of seconds I seriously considered leaving, before I pulled myself together, and silently closed the door behind me. I smiled pleasantly at the lady in the reception, and resisted the urge to chuckle as she blushed profoundly at my attention. "Excuse me miss, is there something important happening here today?" I asked her, my voice even and polite. She smiled back, self-consciously tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "The bladebreakers are having a training session", she stammered, blushing even more. I nodded in response, and before she had the time to start flirting I promptly left.

The noise was even greater in the training area, and I found a comfortable spot not to far away from the bey stadium, leaning against a plain brick wall. A blond guy with freckles and playful blue eyes was battling a Chinese boy in a traditional outfit, the both of them screaming and urging their bit beasts on. I watched, unimpressed, as the battle went on, before the Chinese guy finally managed to knock his opponent's blade out of the dish. This was the best of the best, the most skilled bladers the BBA in Japan had been able to gather? Pathetic! How on earth was I going to get these idiots to the world championship alive? To be honest I had no idea, and this was starting to concern me. "Okay", A slightly chubby kid with bluish hair and an ugly baseball chap shouted. "Who wants to battle me?" There was a brief silence before people started shouting again. I identified the loudmouth as the third member of the team, and studied him with dismay. Then I gracefully pushed my body away from the wall, headed for the dish and my future teammates. As usual people parted the moment they laid eyes on me, and an aerie silence consumed the room, all eyes on me as I approached.

It took them a moment to notice me, but when they did they all stared with open mouths. The Chinese guy was the first one to realize what he was doing and promptly closed his mouth, nudging his two friends out of their trance. "I would like to battle all of you at once", I calmly said, suddenly having everyone's attention. An exited murmur washed through the crowd, and the guy with the ugly chap gaped at me. "Who, who do you think you are? You'll be crushed", he then said, having pulled himself together. "We will see about that", I calmly said, raising an unimpressed eyebrow at him. "Now, do you wanna battle, or are you perhaps afraid?" I said mockingly, a smirk firmly settled on my countenance. That did the trick, and they immediately lined up, launchers at the ready. "Careful guys, I am picking up some strange readings from his beyblade", a surprisingly worried voice shouted. I immediately found the source of the voice, and stared somewhat puzzled at a short boy with reddish hair and glasses. He was sitting bent down over a lap top, typing furiously. "Do not worry Chief, we have got this one in the bag", baseball chap answered, sending me a confident grin. Needless to say I ignored him.

The battle began moments later, and I watched the three blades without much interest. They where undoubtedly strong, but they did not even come close to my Dranzer, and I easily dodged their attacks. "Come on Draciel!" The blond shouted, his green blade closing in on me. He became my first victim, as I sent Dranzer spiraling back towards him, slamming his blade effortlessly out of the dish. A gasp was heard from the audience, and the blond kid collapsed to his knees, staring at me with shock. "Max!" Baseball chap shouted, anger visible in his eyes when he gaze fell on me. "Dragon! Take him out", he then shouted, both remaining blades simultaneously attacking. Dranzer dodged again, spiraling a couple of meters up in the air, before she came crashing down again. This was a fairly simple move, and one I knew well. Yet I found myself almost embarrassed by their limited knowledge, as this simple trick made everyone gasp in wonder. "Did you see that?" The Chinese kid said, staring at baseball chap with shock. Before he had the time to answer I attacked, effortlessly pushing both of them closer to the edge of the dish.

For the first time in my life I found myself dragging out a battle. Not because It was neccecary, but because I was curious. I wanted to see their bit beasts in action. The blond kid had already showed me his in the previous battle, but I had not seen the two remaining ones. It was only a matter of pushing them, and I was certain that they would release theirs. And as I had predicted they did. As every other amateur they trusted their bitbeasts to get them out of any tricky situation. Unfortunately it does not work this way. A bit beast can only do so much, and in this case it was not even close to enough. The tiger, belonging to the Chinese, attacked first, and then the dragon came, baseball chap shouting encouragements from the other side of the dish. I watched them briefly, before deciding that they where no real threats. "Take them", I said, whispered, knowing that Dranzer would hear either way. And she did, sending the two other blades spinning out of the dish on one great flash of fire. As usual it was not even neccecary for her to appear herself, and I could feel condescending radiating from her at the expense of the two other bitbeasts.

The training area was now completely silent, and everyone was staring at my blade, the only one left spinning. With a soft whoosh it came flying back to my hand, and I gazed at the glowing bit chip for a moment, before I put it back in my jean pocked. Baseball chap stared at me, shock written all over his features. Then he also collapsed to his knees, picking up his dragon blade with shaking hands. I had not ruined it of course, merely given it a tough time. "That was very impressive young lad!" A voice suddenly said from behind me, making me tense momentarily. I did not like being snuck up on. An old man in a suit stood there, slightly chubby and with round glasses and a bowler. He reached his hand out for me to take, but lowered it when I showed no sign of accepting the gesture. "I am Stanley Dickinson, chairman of the BBA", he introduced himself, smiling cheerfully at me. "Kai Hiwatari", I replied evenly, deciding that his position made him more interesting than I had originally thought.

"You are participating in the upcoming tournament I hope? Someone as skilled as you would be a great addition to our team", he continued, smiling at me. "Of course", I responded, a smirk gracing my features. Things had gone better than I had thought. He wanted me on the team, which meant fewer questions asked, less work for me. Now there was only the tournament left, and then I would be on my way, my freedom one step closer.