Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade in any way. Anything I use in this FanFiction is purely coincedental
Chapter 7: Tala and Kai Make a Plan
In America, Kiri was with Michael more often than usual.
"What's going on, Kiri? I thought you regretted this." said Ray.
"I know my relationship with Kai is over. I think he knows it as well, so I'm going to move on. It sounds harsh, but I can't stay a loner." she said and walked away from Ray.
"She's never been a loner." said Tyson when Ray found him later.
"Maybe Kai leaving upset her more than we thought. If we don't get him back, we might lose her to." said Max.
"What do you make of this, Dizzi?" asked Kenny.
"I deal with the technical side, Kenny. How can I help?"
"She's right, I guess." said Kenny.
"Are you having trouble with your team, guys?" asked Lee.
"Sort of. You know about Kai leaving, but we think if things keep going as they are, we might lose Kiri as well." said Ray.
"She must be really upset. I don't blame her." said Mariah.
"I don't agree with her giving up on Kai and starting with Michael. What will she do if Kai returns? Throw Michael aside like a used mop?" said Tyson.
"She thinks that her relationship with Kai is over, no matter what. So maybe she will stay with Michael. She won't see him much unless she stays in America though." said Kenny.
"I wonder how Kai is dealing with this." said Lee.
Over in the London BBA, Kai was spending more time pacing his new office than ever. He also wasn't too keen on meeting Tala again, but they were friendlier than they had been in Russia all those years ago.
"Sir, I'm sorry to disturb you, but Captain Tala is delayed and will be arriving early evening instead of late afternoon." said a man.
"Thank you." said Kai as the man left, Kai frowned. He didn't think it was coincidence for Tala to be delayed.
Back in America, Kiri found herself thinking about what Ray said, which annoyed her, because she thought he was wrong.
"This is so annoying. I'm sure I'm doing the right thing. At least, I hope I am." she said to herself.
The doubt hitting her was really annoying her, so she went to the training arena, not to practice, but to let out frustration on targets.
"I'm too slow, gotta speed up." she said releasing her beyblade a third time.
Her beyblade was ripping through the targets at a good speed, but not good enough for her and she kept trying again.
"That's it. I know I can get my beyblade to move faster." she said picking up her beyblade again.
She used her beyblade again, but instead of simply moving fast, she called Drazier.
"No more fooling around, if I can't get faster, I have to get stronger. Lava Ray!" and the sphinx released the ray; the wider beam hit three targets at once.
The sphinx bit-beast was continuously using the Lava Ray, until it ran out of energy and re-entered the beyblade, which came to a halt.
"I can't believe it. Drazier is out of energy." she said looking at her beyblade.
"He isn't out of energy, Kiri. If he was, he wouldn't still be in that beyblade, he would have left to recover, like Driger did when he saved my life." said Ray.
"Wasn't that the battle with the Demolition Boys?" asked Kiri.
"Yeah, before you met us." said Ray.
"Wasn't that your hardest battle ever? I heard you ended up in hospital." said Kiri.
"Yes, I did. It was a memorable battle, but I wouldn't want to re-enact it." said Ray smiling.
"I wish more beybladers had the courage to do what you did back then. Kai told me you kept going even though it looked way too much for you to handle. That Bryan was unfair, using air as a weapon against you." said Kiri.
"It was a big battle, but Tyson against Tala was even bigger, excluding the brutality." said Ray.
"I've thought about what you said, Ray, and now I know. You were right; I shouldn't ever give up on Kai. This may not be a life or death, win or lose situation, but the advice is the same as your battle with Bryan: Never give up." she said proudly.
"Kai wouldn't give up on you. I know it." said Ray.
"Thank you so much, Ray." and she hugged him.
"You two sorted?" asked Lee smiling.
"Lee, I was just advising Kiri and she accepts the advice." said Ray.
"At least Mariah isn't with me." joked Lee and all three of them laughed.
Over in London.
"Master Kai. I've come to inform you that Captain Tala has arrived in England and will be here shortly." said a man.
It was barely an hour later that the man said Tala had arrived. Tala entered the office and the man left the two of them to talk.
"Well, Kai. You better have a good reason for calling me all the way from Russia." said Tala darkly.
"Tala, stop with the tough guy attitude. For once, I need your help." said Kai, obviously disgusted he had to admit that.
"You need my help? Are you thick in the head? Back when you with my team, you said we weren't worthy of you. That you could beat anyone without us. Now you expect us to help you." said Tala angrily.
"Tala, I had Black Dranzer then. I could win the tournament on my own, but then I realised that I was a Bladebreaker and that my bit-beast was Dranzer. I lost my match in the tournament against your friend Spencer, so I learnt something. Anyway, that was years ago. Get over it, will you." said Kai.
"Okay, then let's talk calmly and rationally, what do you need my help with?" asked Tala.
"I have a lot to explain to you first, so take a seat." said Kai.
Kai then told Tala every significant thing that had happened since Russia, which took nearly two hours.
"So the Bladebreakers and White Tigers have new members." said Tala after he heard about Kiri and Jordan.
"Yeah, I'm glad you're listening." said Kai.
"And the Bladebreaker girl is your girlfriend. I guess to you that's significant." said Tala.
"Back to the point at hand. I recently ordered David to be taken care of." said Kai.
"David?" asked Tala.
"The man who made me the offer to control the BBA." said Kai annoyed.
"Yes, got it. So you're the big boss now, but you doubt your position?" asked Tala.
"It's not that. I like the power and control, but every time I think about my friends, I wonder if perhaps I need a new plan." said Kai.
"Maybe we should bring the teams here and keep them in the BBA, that way, we could also keep their data up-to-date." said Tala thinking.
"Yeah, you know how to get them here, I assume." said Kai.
"Capture. Or even a hostage. I know you don't like that Kai. It isn't your style, but it is mine and it would work." said Tala.
"I bet I know who your hostage is going to be, correct? Kiri, right?" said Kai.
"Actually, I was thinking Tyson, seeing as I have a score to settle with him anyway." said Tala.
"Oh, how are you going to manage to get him here?" asked Kai.
"I have done a lot of improving; I can defeat Tyson in a match. If he wins, the teams do what they want. If he loses, the teams come to us." said Tala.
"Do you need back-up? Or shall I wait for you to handle it on your own? Seeing as you hate partnership." said Kai.
"You can come if you want. I can't stop you. You're higher authority than me." said Tala.
"Okay, then. It's a deal." and they shook hands. "We'll leave for America tomorrow."
"You got your own plane? Or do I need to book a flight?" asked Tala.
"My own plane." said Kai.
Tala left the room to find a room overnight and Kai was thinking: how much has Tala improved?