A/N; Hey guys! Sorry for the very long up-date! Had lots to do at school, and honestly so far this school is so much better than the other I was at. There were the complete racial discretions from other kids and bullies, and some of the students I knew either quit or changed schools. So that's over now, I never felt more at home here lol.
Before I go I guess I'll give you guys an explanation; since I last up-dated you guys, I've been practicing and doing some vocals for the winter. I played on the local radio doing three covers; "I'm Gonna Getcha Good!" by Shania Twain as my opening song, then "Heaven" by Bryan Adams, and finished with "Need You Now" by Lady Antebellum. Then on Christmas Day I performed with a duet partner from school, "Need You Now" was our song and that night I did a little tribute to my icon who is currently residing in Las Vegas with her new Vegas show "Shania; Still The One." Then for the New Year party I did my cover show entitled on Facebook; "Winter Break" and rocked out acoustically.
Also, I may add, during the whole school work and projects, I also did a last minute gig at the Valentine's Day Dance at the local Hall, and was backed up by the local band! So that was fun and that wasn't too long ago, lol if February 9th was only weeks or ages ago for some of you lol. Not to mention the big three day long black out before Christmas on the supposed "Doomsday" which put a little fright in me for a second and went on my Facebook and was crowded with "Hey! I lived through Dec 21st 2012! Ha ha loser!" type thing lol. So I know I talked too much now, but that's what all that happened! Lol
DISCLAMER! I do not own Beyblade or any of its likeness. Also I do not own Bryan Adams music, nor do I own Crush 40/Hardline music by the same singer Johnny Gioeli (seriously, why isn't he famous? He's an amazing singer!) who's music is being covered by Tyson's character in the previous chapter as I forgot to mention last chapter.
Ok! Let's go!
Chapter 7 – The Un-expecting Thing
Waking up in the hospital was one thing, but when I looked up into the bright white lights from my point of view from the ceiling, I didn't know where I was. I closed my eyes since the light was blinding me, and yet I tried to recollect myself, but before I could I heard voices . . . no not in my head, I am not crazy! I heard very familiar voices and opened my eyes when I heard; "He's awake!"
My eyes adjusted in the light as I looked up to a blue headed person, whom yet he seemed familiar, a blond behind him, and a black haired Chinese boy too. "Where am I?" I asked, my ears slowly working once more when I heard the blue haired boy talk.
"You're in a Hospital." He said.
"What?" I said in complete confusion.
"You're in a Hospital; you hit your head hard, Kai." Said the Chinese boy.
"Kai?" I said, "Where am I? Who are you guys? Who am I? And who's Kai?" I said not realizing I blurted out every single word I was thinking in my mind.
The Blonde and Blue ones looked at each other and shuddered in fear. "Oh no."
As if on cue; The doctor walked in due to the Blue haired one pushing the red button while I was waking up. I didn't have a single clue to who these guys were. "Mr. Hiwatari, how are you feeling?"
The Blue haired walked up to the Doctor and muttered something into his ear. "Who are Kai and Mr. Hiwatari?" I asked in some sort of protest.
The Doctor and the Blue haired boy walked back up to my side as the Doctor examined me, asking me all sorts of questions where I only said "Who am I and who are you?" and after the Doctor was finished with the examination, he asked the three boys to walk out of the room to talk, then minutes after I heard some sobbing and panic coming from the other side of the door.
They came back in as I began to worry about the situation. "Mr. Hiwatari," the Doctor said calmly as he could, "You have appeared to have had a major concussion to your head, and a hard one, which resulted in the whipping of your . . . memory."
I had no Idea, I did but it didn't register in my mind; "Come again?"
Doctor Harley repeated what he said; "You have lost your memory, Mr. Hiwatari, it's amnesia."
"Amnesia?" said the Blonde, "Is his memory going to come back?"
Harley shook his head in a negative notion. "I've seen cases like these, where a certain individual experiences something so compelling he experienced once, can jog their memory, but it's a 40% chance of working though."
"You'll think he can still be in the band though?" said the Blonde.
The Doctor sighed as he thoroughly said; "He can never play guitar or sing again."
"But he can relearn it all again, right?" The Blue haired boy said.
"Yes, but the process may be like reliving the experience once more-"
"I have a guitar right here, can he try it?" Said Blue.
The Doctor looked at me, and asked; "Do you feel up to it, Mr. Hiwatari?"
Knowing I was a Mr. Kai Hiwatari, I nodded my head, "Sure, why not." The Blue haired teen handed be the guitar and pulled out another one, which had his name on the case; Tyson Granger. "Thanks . . ."
"Tyson." He said.
"Tyson." I said, repeating the name in my mind.
Tyson pointed to the blond and the Chinese boy, and named them to me; "That's Max, and the other one is Ray." He looked at me with certainty, "They're in our band . . . remember?"
Remember? Somehow that word rang a bell, and that bell turned into what sounded like a note, and then I had a beat in my mind. "Maybe."
Tyson placed his fingers on the guitar neck and showed me the "A" Chord, "E" Chord, and "G" Chord, then the "D" Chord. After two minutes I thought I was going to suck at playing it, but I freaked myself when I quickly changed to the next chord to the next.
"Good one." He said, smiling at me.
While the Doctor watched me relearn the guitar, he continued to watch me to see if there was any sign, and he wrote down what happened on a small note-pad, and circled what he wrote when I quickly changed chords. While trying to place my fingers on the fret-board, I kept thinking about the word; remember.
"Hey Tyson?" he stopped playing and looked at me.
"Yeah?"
"Does the word; remember, ring a bell to you?"
Tyson smiled, and a tear rolled down his cheek as he let out a stutter; "That was the first song we wrote together when we were kids. We didn't finish it when I moved away, but you managed to complete it when I gave you my songbook."
Really? I thought. Tyson played the A notes and E with the B chord. Singing the song to me, but it didn't jog anything. "I wrote that?" I said in disbelief. Tyson didn't bother to wipe the tears away from his face as he nodded his head.
"Yes you did."
I let out a sigh, wanting to hold Tyson as I wanted to scream to him, for some unknown reason; I'm here! I'm right here! Don't leave me! Which I never knew why I thought that. Now. Looking at them in the Hospital, it was like looking at total and complete strangers whom I've never met, and yet they were supposed to be "my friends" and I didn't know any of them anymore.
After being discharged from the Hospital a day after, I looked at Tyson as he took me to an Arena where I supposedly lost my memory there after bumping my head. It was a big one, and yet there was a huge black and silver stage platform set up at the end of the arena, but I felt a form of recognition just by looking at the setup. It felt familiar.
"Here it is." Tyson said to me gently, "The Place where it all happened."
We walked to the left side of the stage and saw a small patch of blood, which was from my head wound, or a bleeding nose. Tyson walked to the corner steps leading up to the platform, and picking up something of what seemed to be a sort of destroyed instrument. It was black and white, with the guitar neck completely broken, and strings curled up from the damage. "Was this . . . Mine?" I said hesitantly.
Tyson gave a reluctant nod, "Yeah." Putting the guitar down by the side of us.
I put my hands in my pockets as I had my bandage covering my top head and right eye, then put my hood on to cover my damage, then looked at Tyson; "How long have I had this?" I asked.
Tyson folded his arms flicking his eyes back and forth at my guitar and me; "You wrote a song about it; when you were Ten years old, and when you started your band." He looked at me in the eyes and stepped a little closer to my side; "Summer of '69 was written when you joined the BBA, Battle of the Bands Association, and since we met when we were nine years old, I didn't know I inspired you to play guitar and sing in public with your best-friend Tala."
I ran the name Tala I my head, and yet I did not know who this Tala person was, but I am or was supposedly best-friends with Tala; "Hmm." I sighed, listening to Tyson explains who I was in the past, but the more he told me, nothing would seem to light something in my memory. I was still unknown to myself.
"Ok, are you sure nothing comes to mind now?" Tyson asked as he showed me a song-book that had my name on the front with his, and in the book was some old pieces of paper and sheets of old music me and Tyson wrote back in the day, but sadly I shook my head in a negative way. "Every one of our songs is written in here, and most of them belong to you, even the ones on your album."
I looked at Tyson in a frown face; I thought I had something that was important to me. "An Album?" I said in disbelief, "I have a . . . CD?"
Tyson smiled as he put on my CD in the Walk-man, and we were on our way to the bus as the road crews showed up, and giving me apologetic glances, not even know I have amnesia. When Tyson hit play on the CD Walk-man and shoved an ear bud in my ear and blasting the music to full volume, the song was familiar as the name came back into my mind; "Remember?" I asked.
"Yeah!" Tyson said, putting on the next one, "What about this one?"
It was good sounding in the beginning, and then I shrugged, "I dunno."
"Lonely Nights."
After going through the songs as I heard how my voice rises and falls on certain notes, I began humming the tunes when we got on the bus, and then slowly on our way back to the Hotel. "I like Here I Am more, I don't know why, but I like it." I said.
Tyson nodded, giving a smile that was looking hopeful, "This one you said it reminded you of your life story, and why you wanted to be a singer, songwriter and a musician."
"Ok." I said, getting a little excited and expectant to hear how it sounded like.
The song intro played as the second electric guitar was played into a familiar rift, and the beat made my insides turn to mush as my spine tingled in recognition to the song, then there I heard myself singing the first verse.
Ridin' in the back seat, Nine years old,
Starin' out the window counting the highway poles
Then I get the thinkin', it don't seem real,
I'm flying through the universe in a 69 onze mobile.
Then, I felt something coming over me as I quickly closed my eyes trying to envision what was trying to come back.
An older man who looked similar to me in a way, and he looked at me with a big smile and said something I couldn't hear, then he patted my head in comfort, and I looked out my passenger-side window counting; 1 . . . 2 . . . 3 and one by one I would count the highway poles and stick my head out the window as the wind played with my hair. I was happy, laughing out into the wind, sitting back in before I would get cold.
The lyrics suddenly came rushing back into my mind as I knew the next line, and then I began to sing it out loud;
"Ridin' in the back-seat, black limo-sine,
Starin' out the window at a funeral scene,
Then I get the thinkin', it don't seem right,
I'm sittin' here safe and sound, and someone I love is gone tonight." Then I ran onto a chorus that I didn't know.
It only being three days until the next show of Tyson and the gangs, I wasn't ready to learn about twenty some songs all in three days, and I still hoped and prayed for my memory to come back to me in time. I tried to play the only song I knew best was my song only; "This Side of Paradise" but so far nothing rang any bells still, and I was still unknown to myself.
"Tyson," I said to him in a depressed tone, "I can't relearn twenty songs in three days. It's impossible!"
I could tell Tyson was giving it his all to get me to remember the songs, but I hated to disappoint my best friend, and he was everything to me which was what my gut feeling told me ever since I woke up. The same feeling was going for Max and Ray.
Suddenly our attention was drawn to the opening door as a beautiful slim and slender brown haired girl walked through it, and her hair stood between the boarders of her shoulders and her neck, her bright brown eyes. "Kai! You're back from the Hospital!" she said, as though she knew me or as though I knew her.
"Ugh . . . yes I am?" I said unsure.
She walked to the sofa near the bed as she put her purse on the coffee table, and sat on the Hotel bed next to me. "So are you able to play for Las Vegas Friday night?"
I looked at Tyson as he gave the girl a warning glance; "Hill," he said dismally, "He lost his memory after the accident."
The color on the girls face drained as she looked at me in panic, "No!" she gasped, "Please tell me you're joking, right?"
Tyson shook his head in a negative way, "I wish I was, Hill."
"Who are you?" I asked her.
"Your friend and band mate Hilary Tachibana." She said, fighting the verge of tears was known to me, and I felt my heart break even more when her face melted in salty tears.
"Hilary." I said, hoping I remember her name, but the way she looked, I could tell I could never forget who she would be.
"So is there a way to get your memory back?"
"From what we know so far, it'll take a hard hitting memory that means so much to me to jog one thing and trigger a chain of memories back to me fully. Until then, Vegas is screwed." I said.
Personally I was afraid I'd never know myself again, and I was willing to do anything for my memory back, but it was a matter of time I wished I would get it back by Vegas.
"Wait . . ." Tyson said as he looked at me with a great look that seemed familiar with idea, and pointed at me, "Your home town."
I looked Tyson happiness and more wonderment, "Great! But . . ." I stalled, "Where exactly do I live?"
Tyson let out a sigh as he looked at Hilary; "A small town in Canada, Quebec . . . one where you and me first met and never became separable together." I had this gut feeling of angst in it, "Where we wrote our first songs together."
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada – The Next Day
"You sure we'll be able to get my memory back in only one day?" I asked, getting off the plain in the Ottawa airport. Tyson and the band looked astonished at the beauty since it was in the middle of winter. Only walking out with two or three bags of luggage and also having a two hour drive back to my soon to be rediscovered Hometown.
Tyson looked at me with a look of hope, and I was still unsure about the whole idea, but I was pretty more worried about the Vegas Show first. "This little town we're going to is where you started a band with your best-friend Tala, Bryan and Spencer. You also told me your grandfather was the creator of the famous toy that started the best Anime Series called Beyblade."
"Beyblade?"
Tyson pulled out a small circular object that looked like a funnel shape, and was blue with a red, yellow and orange Phoenix on it. "This is Dranzer. He was your blade when we traded ours for keeping a piece of each other to remember us by." I took the blue Beyblade as I felt a small familiar feeling emanating from the small object. I knew it was something meaning to my childhood.
By the time we made it into Maniwaki, the feeling of the sights was overwhelming, I felt as though there was something here that I needed to see with my eyes for it to help me get my memory back. The ride was long enough to put Tyson to sleep, and also the others too, I stayed awake listening to my Album almost amazed that it was me singing in it. Looking through my song book trying to relearn the lyrics to my songs and Tyson's that I managed to keep in there before I lost my memory. I was slowly figuring out who I was, but not remembering anything, but only through the photo's I'd see would try to bring something back into my mind and trying it's best to help me remember.
Passing a Gas-Station near a hard-ware store I felt like home was just around the corner, and coming across a four cross-way leading to a Native reservation, the driver kept driving northwards when we left the opening part of the Native reservation towards town. Over a hill, at which the road would be overlooking the town, I felt that this was home. Seeing a far large brown-reddish building, which was the Hospital stood up to a kind of small mountain on top and marking the other end of town, which was the only thing that stood out to me from the photos.
Not long after going through the streets and over the ups and downs from the roads, which Maniwaki was like a town that lived on some hillsides, we made it over to my place which was near the church up-top of the hill to the east side, and I noticed it was closer to the local school that was just down the hill and across the little river that flowed dividing it in two sections. Sections that reminded me of an apple core; local businesses in the middle mixed with homes and the outer part with just residential homes and other small businesses mixed all over. Before the car parked in front of a house, with a small drive way, we were there.
"Kai!" I heard someone call me. I turn to look as the voice belonged to a red-haired boy, I was sure this was Tala. He came up to me and embraced me in a big hug as I felt unsure what to say to him.
"Umm, Tala! Great to see you buddy!" I lied.
"God, me and the boys missed you! It's no fun when performing without you man." Tala looked at Tyson as he grabbed him into a tight hug, "And you," Tyson smiled as he hugged Tala back, "How's the album going?"
Tyson broke free from his airless grip as he gave Tala a look of discouragement; "Great, but . . ." Tyson looked at me and back at the same time while trying to figure out the words; "We had an accident on the tour a couple of nights ago in Los Angeles."
Tala's face dropped as he asked; "What happened? Was it Barthez?"
Tyson shook his head, "No, but thank god it wasn't him, otherwise he would've been lying eight feet under." Making Tala snicker a little.
"But it's supposed to be six feet," Tala corrected in response to his little joke.
"Yeah, but I would've danced on his grave and push him down by two more feet!" Tyson let his smile slip away for a second.
"So what happened in Los Angeles?"
Tyson took a deep breath and sighed loudly; "During one of our songs that night, the last one, the fireworks malfunctioned and exploded hitting a light fixture which made him jump out of the way in reflex and he didn't know he fell of the stage and hit the back of his head hard."
Tala looked at me with wide eyes; "Oh my god, are you alright?" he asked me.
I slightly shook my head and nodded; "Yes, as you can see but the same time, no."
Tala frowned, "Why?"
Tyson and I exchanged glances; "I lost my memory once I woke up in the hospital. I managed to learn who I am and what I do but so far it's like . . ." I tried to search for the right words to say; "When you dream you're a guitar god when you actually wake up, and realizing it was only a dream. I felt like my whole life was a dream but I forgot what I dreamed of."
Tala was obviously taking this all in slowly, and it was hard for him to process this. "So you remember nothing at all?"
I shook my head disappointingly, "Nothing," I said, "I didn't even know who you were, until now."
By the time it was passed half an hour. Two other boys showed up at the Hiwatari house hold. Both of them brought photo albums and their instruments, like drum sticks and a bass, which these guys must have been part of my old band I was in a long time ago. The one who constantly wore a hat was named Spencer and the other who was white lilac like hair was Bryan, which was his hair color that he always colored since eight years old. Shortly after their arrival, Tyson and Tala informed the boys about my condition.
"Seriously?" Spencer said in shock, and a tone that sounded like denial.
"Not a single thing?" Bryan gasped.
I shook my head in disappointment and looked at Tyson; "It's like losing your memory in a video game. I remember only a few things that happened here and there."
"Really?" said Spencer.
"Yeah."
Tyson sighed as he walked outside into the backside of the porch, and stood by the steps into the setting sun, then saw him sit on the step and tilted his head into the palms of his hands. I could tell he was disheartened by what had happened to me.
I got up and left Tala, Spencer, Bryan and the breakers sit and talk with each other, letting them get to know one another, talking about something about the BBA Tournament. That's when the name "Battle of the Bands Associations" came into my mind and then I see visions of a giant stage similar to the one Tyson and I was on that night, and seeing some faces and people that felt familiar somehow.
I stopped having the visions as I walked out into the porch were I heard a sob come from Tyson. I approached him silently as I sat next to him quietly. Putting a gentle hand on his shoulder, he looked up as he dried his tears, knowing it was too late to pretend he wasn't crying. "Sorry you had to see that."
"It's ok," I said calmly, rubbing his back and shoulder smoothly.
"It's just that . . . After all we've been through, Kai." He said, a tear rolling from his cheek, "I don't want to let you go, you are . . . like my Brother!" he buried his face in his hands again.
I sat in shock. I didn't know we were really close to each other for a long time, and the fact us being like brothers made my heart melt.
"I just want you back!" he cried as he grabbed me and locked me into a hug.
I hugged him back. Swearing to myself to come back to him.
For about an hour of sitting out there, and this time with our instruments, Tyson retaught me everything we needed for the Vegas show in a few days from now. For me it was kind of easy, but due to the amount of songs we do every night, I was sure we were never going to figure all thirty some songs for Vegas. Knowing I was the opening act for his shows, and I was said to do about fifteen songs every night from my album, and later I do thirteen after the first leg of the shows.
"Tyson, I don't think this is going to work." I said as my fingers started to hurt from playing a few hours straight and my fingers were indented with my guitar strings. It hurt a lot.
"Don't worry, I'm sure we'll be ready once we get there." He said. I could tell he was lying and trying to cover up his sad emotion.
"No it's not!" I said bitterly, my emotions were coming through and breaking me down a bit.
"Kai, if we just keep practicing we'll be back and better enough for the Vegas show!"
"Look, I don't know what to do Tyson!" I cried, the cold breeze playing through my hair.
From what I know now, I knew I wasn't able to sing or play for Tyson's band ever again, but he refused to let me go, and chose to do my guitar parts while I forced myself to relearn them again. It was a hard process but it was worth it, and I was willing myself to try it again, but after I re-mastered some songs, something gave away in me.
The next morning of waking up in my room at home, The Blitzkrieg boys were camped in my room with The Breakers. I was about to say good morning to Tyson as he was lightly strumming the electric guitar while not to wake the others, but as soon as I tried to speak, my voice was gone. Only a mangled cry for Tyson's name was only heard, and he looked at me in response, "Kai?" Tyson put the guitar back on its stand, and came to sit by my side, "Are you ok?" he whispered.
I tried to clear my throat thinking I had flam stuck in my throat, and tried to speak again, but nothing came out except for a whisper.
"No!" he gasped, "How did you lose your voice?" he asked.
I looked to my side of my bed and opened my laptop, which was a gift from my Grandfather from last night, then opened up my writing office and wrote on it. "I think I lost my voice when we were outside for too long." I typed.
"You should've wore your sweater yesterday, you must've gotten a cold from last night." He said, thinking of a way to quickly get my voice back, "Oh!" he gasped, "Try not speaking for a whole day until tomorrow." He said.
"But what about the Vegas show?" I typed frantically.
Tyson smiled; "Don't worry, I've got an idea." He said as he leaned in and whispered his Idea to my ear.
(A/N; There we go! But wait! We're not done! There's more, and the Vegas show is going to be taking place at the very spot where my icon/idol is at the moment, yes, Caesars Palace Coliseum!
On a little side note, lol and I know you might be getting sick of me mentioning it but; currently residing there at the moment is my icon/idol Shania Twain where she is doing her own Vegas show entitled; "Shania; Still The One." So it is just a little pointer at where this next chapter is going to be located. Lol
Once more; Dedicated to Bryan Adams for the inspiring song This Side of Paradise, to Feeling Glayish for his inspiring story (Oh please dude, I'm dying for the up-date!) "Tyson to a Different Tune" and also for you guys for holding on to this story. Also! While I was finalizing the chapter, my friend, who I mentioned earlier in Chapter 1 that the scene was based on how we met, this story is also dedicated to him alongside Bryan Adams, Glay and you guys; Buford.
Kai Hiwatari music voiced/performed by Bryan Adams
Tyson Granger music voiced/performed by Johnny Gioeli (Crush 40/Hardline/Axel Rudi Pell)
MORE TO COME ON - Kai Hiwatari; This Side of Paradise! )
