Chapter Ten: The First Day
The plane rolled into the runway, coming to stop as it skid on the recently salted pavement. Mounds of slush, layers of ice, and knee-deep snow surrounded the runway. It all blanketed the airport in sheets.
Stepping into the lobby of the hotel, the Bladebreakers, minus Kai and Gou, watched in awe as the staff wordlessly took their belongings and loaded them onto a cart. The team followed the man that was left behind to push it into the elevator.
Once inside the massive and chic suite, Gou immediately headed for the balcony, his steps becoming quicker than they were before. He closed the sliding glass door the moment he saw everyone else enter the main room. He watched as the luggage was being unloaded then he turned away and looked out at the horizon.
Gou felt the brisk breeze from the Russian tundra waft through his tresses and sting his exposed skin. The wind caressed his clothes like the arms of a lover. The slate trench coat and navy green scarf Max had bought for him before they went to the airport flowed back and forth. He laid his slightly muscular arms over one another on the ledge and leaned forward slightly.
Dad said he lived here for years. I can see why, it's gorgeous, peaceful too, Gou thought.
He looked at the sky. It was cloudy, but slowly turning overcast. The teen knew the sun wouldn't come out though. There were too many clouds around.
He heard the door slide open but thought nothing of it, that is until a large coffee cup was held in front of his face. Gou could see the steam coming from the opening in the lid. As cold as it was, he knew a hot drink would do him some good. Warm drinks in winter always relaxed him. Now all he needed was a pen, an empty notebook, and a comfy chair or a bed and he'd be set. Gou noticed the lilac colored nail polish and turned to see Hilary, who swiftly moved the beverage closer to her so it wouldn't get knocked out of her hand.
"Here you are, Gou. From Kai to you," she cheerfully said.
"Thanks," he said taking it. "I should warn you I won't be able to hold onto anything later," he added, half-jokingly. Hilary blinked curiously, adorably and absentmindedly cocking her head to the side. For a moment, Gou thought he was looking at a child.
"Oh, and why's that?" she asked cutely.
"Horrible jitters. Coffee and I-"
"Whoa, hang on a sec. Let me stop you there Kiddo," She pointed to the cup making the teen look at it. "That's not coffee."
"It's not?" he said looking up at her.
"Nope," she said shaking her head. "It's Matcha," she added warmly.
"What's that?" Hilary rolled her eyes.
"Ugh, I'm so sick of saying this, it's Green Tea. I swear, if I didn't know any better I'd think you and Kai were related somehow because he didn't know what it was either. All you men are the same. No class," A low growl erupted in the teen's throat.
"Hmph," Gou stormed passed her and walked inside. Hilary watched him go.
"What'd I do?" she said.
Once inside, Gou spotted a large bed in a nearby room and sat on it. He took a sip from his cup and immediately he could feel his tense, rigid shoulders fall and relax, like a heavy weight had rolled off of them.
This is really good, he thought, feeling the steam flow into his nose while he took in a breath to relax further.
"Yes, yes, Mrs. Kamaiya, I know. I know you have a heart condition. Nevertheless, you need to listen to your husband and exercise," Gou's eyes went wide and his ears twitched, perking up at the sound. His head snapped toward the bathroom which stood near a small storage closet. He noticed Kai come out and it seemed he was talking as calmly as he could into what Gou guessed was his cellphone. "If you want the body pains to go away you have to keep doing the routine I made for you. It's not that bad, just ten minutes a day. And yes, being sore for a bit is completely normal," he added.
The boy smiled and silently laughed at the sight. There was their Captain, usually levelheaded, trying his hardest not to scream at the person he was talking to. He watched as Kai paced around the room and back again. Gou knew from those stomps that he was steaming. "Listen, Ma'am, even if it's just ten minutes a day, in time you'll notice a difference and feel better. You might be able to get off your medications. I have to go. I have other business to attend to. …Okay, you have a good day too, bye Ma'am."
Pulling the phone away from his ear, Kai pressed the red button that ended his side of the call. With a dramatic roll of his eyes and a frustrated growl, he shoved the phone in his pocket.
"Thank you for the tea. It really helped," Gou said. Hearing that made Kai's head snap in his direction.
"Figured you'd need it," he indifferently replied.
"Was that someone from the gym?"
"Yeah," Kai said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "she's one of the people that I have to watch closely. Her husband called me to convince her to do what I had given her so she'd stop hurting so much. Don't know if it'll work, but I guess, we'll see," Gou nodded.
"You had to repeat yourself a lot, didn't you?" he asked.
"Nearly five times,"
"Holy crap," Gou said. He knew from common sense never to do that.
"...Yeah,"
"Hilary's mad at me," the teen said, changing the subject. In truth, he wanted to know if he should let it go or not.
"That's nothing new. What'd you do?"
"Um, I didn't know what green tea was," Kai ran a hand down his tired face.
"Just let it slide. She's gotten mad at me for that too. She gets really cranky when she's jetlagged," Gou nodded, listening intently. He didn't know much about girls. Really all he knew was what he saw from his family, teammates, and a few friends. "Don't worry about it. If she does something like that again tell me and I'll say something, but she more-than-likely won't," Kai added.
"Kai?" Said man looked to see Tyson standing in the doorway. The front room, otherwise known as the lounge area, was seen behind him. "Can I have a moment with, Gou?"
"Sure," Having said that, Kai got up and left, closing the door behind him. Tyson walked over to the bed and sat across from the petit boy, who just kept sipping on his tea. Tyson looked back at the door, making sure no one was around. His eyes laid on Gou again.
"Max told me about where you were," Gou looked at him.
"And?"
"I had a dream about your dad. It wasn't pleasant. I woke up in a pretty bad mood because of it. Tell me, is he-?"
"At this point, he has less than two days left," Gou told him with a straight face.
"What? Then why aren't you at home spending what time you can with him?" he said, his hands pressing into the bed. With an annoyed, breathy groan Gou facepalmed and shook his head. He couldn't believe what he'd just heard.
Yup, he's definitely that Glutton's dad, he thought. By "that Glutton" he meant Makoto Granger. He was the brash and bouncing baby boy Tyson was destined to have and Gou couldn't stand him. Gou ran his hand down his face and glared at Tyson, anger evident in his features.
"Because, idiot- think! Why am-?" Just like his dad, when Gou's livid he can't say a coherent sentence.
Laughter erupted from Tyson's throat which made Gou even angrier. With a resounding humph, he folded his arms over his chest but continued to glare at him.
"I see nothing funny about this," he grumbled.
"Are you kidding me? How are you not laughing at me? That was the absolute dumbest thing I think I've ever said,"
"You are such a pain," Gou nearly shouted.
"Hey, I just had a momentary lapse in my memory, that's all, and you were so down. It seemed like you could use a laugh. Even if it was at my expense. Learn to take a joke, pal,"
"I don't have time for jokes," Gou spat.
Once again, Gou's icy nature came to the surface with a roar and Tyson found himself thrown back many years: to a time where Kai's walls were practically impenetrable, where he was uncompromising and a little more than reluctant to change.
"Okay okay, just fill me in. Like I told you before, I'm here to help. I'm all ears," Gou took a sip of his tea and sighed. This was going to be a long moment.
Near the stove, leaning over the counter, stood Kai with a black pen in hand and a good-sized stack of papers towering next to him. The packet he was currently working on laid in between his muscular arms.
"Hey, Kai," Said man flipped a page over and glanced at Kenny, who was getting a drink out of the fridge.
"What's up?"
The goggle-wearing man opened his chilled coffee and refilled Kai's coffee cup with what was left in the nearby pot.
"Thanks, now what do you need," Kai said.
"When are you going to learn that people can do nice things for each other just because they want to? Not everyone has an ulterior motive," the Chief said with a smile on his face. Kai nodded, he had a point.
"What do you need?" he said again.
"Oh, yeah, I'll complete that paperwork for you. You've filled out the past few. Let me finish it so you can relax,"
"Not that I'd mind, but this isn't paperwork for the championship. That's all done, otherwise we wouldn't be in this hotel," Kenny sheepishly smiled, he had a point.
"True," he said, turning red.
"It's business. Tax Transcripts and overseas partnership documents. In other words, I have to sign all these and send it in. No one else can. I appreciate the offer though,"
"Got it. Oh, and Max wants me to get some pictures of your chest. Don't ask me why, I don't know," Kai could see the blush growing darker on Kenny's face. The older man snatched Max's phone out of Kenny's sweaty hands and went into the main bathroom, all while muttering incoherent swears. Kenny guessed he was cursing in German because he knew Russian very well and that wasn't what Kai was speaking.
"Oh my," Kenny said, shock blanketing his still plushy-like features. He knew a little German though.
Tyson took the cup of half-gone tea and put it on the brown nightstand nearby. He then squeezed the boy's hand firmly, trying to reassure him that everything would still turn out fine but Gou, having none of this, just smacked his hand away. It wasn't a hard smack, but there was still enough force behind it to make the man not reach out again, no matter how much he wanted to.
While Gou's gaze stayed glued to Dranzer, who he held in his hands, Tyson looked at the door and saw four tiny shadows under it.
"Come in," he said. In walked Max and Kenny. Max was holding his phone in his hand and Kenny had his tablet in his arms. "Hey guys," he added. Tyson watched as the two eyed the boy on the bed and sat around him. The three almost made a full circle around the boy because of how developed they were.
"Why are we in here? Should I get the others?" Kenny asked after a bit.
"Kenny," Tyson spoke up. "hush, just for a minute,"
"Gou, are you okay?" Max asked, concern dripping off his tongue.
"I'm not good with emotionally strenuous situations," Kenny said. He could sense how stressed Gou was feeling but he couldn't figure out why and it was getting to him.
"Gou, do you want to talk about it?" he asked. Gou looked up at the Chief, a familiar look in his eyes.
"Why do I feel like I'm looking at Kai?" Kenny let out, though he didn't mean for it to sound as rude as it did. Like Hilary, he sometimes became cranky when he didn't get a lot of sleep, or was jetlagged and this time it was the latter. In his, and everyone else's opinion, jetlag sucked.
"Uh, that's because you kind of are," Max interjected rather nervously. Kenny looked at the blonde to see him rubbing the back of his head.
"Max, let Gou explain it," Tyson said.
"It? Explain what?" Kenny asked. He looked at the teenager again, his curiosity peaked. There was a knock at the door and everyone knew who it was.
"It's open," Tyson yelled. The door opened and Ray popped in, a smile on his face.
"Gou, I need your help,"
"Huh?" Gou let out.
Going out into the front room, they were met with Kai holding a pair of keys and their room's spare card.
"What do you need his help with Ray? We were kind of in the middle of something,"
"Tyson, this is something important,"
"Oh, and ours wasn't? Kai, I wouldn't pull Gou aside for nothing,"
"Calm down, I'm going to take Gou out. Ya know, to have some fun?" Ray said.
"Oh, well, why didn't you say so in the first place?" he grumbled.
"I don't care what any of you do, but I need everyone back by dark. We have a meeting with the GBC and the WBC tournament committees and it's organizers first thing in the morning," Kai said, handing Ray the keys and laying the spare card back on the table next to the main one.
"Got it," everyone said.
"Gou, are you ready to go?" Gou glanced at Ray. On his face was a kind, caring smile.
Now there's something I haven't seen lately, he thought. Realizing he was staring off into space, Gou blinked and nodded.
"Yeah, sure. I'm ready," he finally said.
"Gou, you still have my number, right?" asked Max.
"Yeah, I do,"
Gou felt a strong but soft touch on his shoulder and watched as Max bent down to his height. "Contact me if you need anything but please, for the love of all Mayo and Mustard, have some fun. You, of all people, deserve to have a good time. You're our guest, relax and enjoy yourself," Max said. He said it in a way that was warm and encouraging. Gou stayed stoic, however, he felt a laugh tug at the corners of his lips. Uncle Max was always the stupidly funny one in this mishmash he and his father called a Family.
"Yes, sir," was all the teen could say.
Gou walked slowly behind Ray, similar to how Kai walked back-in-the-day, silently taking in the ever-shifting scenery around him.
"Hehe, try and keep up okay," Ray said. He was having to look back every minute to make sure Gou was still with him. Gou nodded in response, coming to a stop in front of the stocky man.
"What are we doing out in the cold this long. We'll get sick," he finally said. Ray knew the real reason he was being snippy.
"Just relax. You'll like what I have in store,"
Gou wasn't a big fan of surprises. His father tolerated them but only because of the family.
"Hn, reminds me of your mother," he'd often say when the topic of birthdays or parties, and why they had to have them in the first-place, was brought up. Surprises of any kind have always made Gou apprehensive, feel uncomfortable and uneasy. He often wondered if his dad secretly felt this way too, or if he'd simply grown out of it.
Ray took another look around and with a friendly smile patted Gou's back, urging him to walk beside him this time. Keeping the hand on his small frame Ray walked into the shopping center across the street. Gou glanced around the place and scowled. A low growl thundered in his throat, he loathed shopping.
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," at those words, Gou's spine stiffened and his face heated up. He knew that tone very well. It meant, "Straighten up, or else" and Gou knew not to push it. Like Kai, Ray's parental side was already coming through. Despite being easy to get along with and pretty chill at times that's just how he was.
"There's plenty of money. Pick out the clothes you want to wear,"
"Want to- wait-"
"We all know you're a big Kai fan. Anyone can tell-" Gou ran in front of him and shouted,
"Alright, that's it, I've heard enough and had it up to here with this bull-"
"Gou! How have you been?" yelled a joyful voice. He saw Ray's tiger-eyes widen and shift to peer directly behind him. Gou turned around too to see a young girl running toward them.
The person was thin and appeared to be around Gou's age. She had beautiful long black hair with bright, exotic eyes that reminded Gou of the sunset. In fact, her expressive eyes were the colors of the sunset; kaleidoscopic mixes of exuberant oranges, yellows, pinks, purples, blues, and reds that practically entranced him and made Gou's stresses melt away.
Ray noticed Gou's slight blush and playfully shoved the teenager closer to the girl when she came to a stop in front of them. Gou looked back at Ray, unsure of why he did that. Ray nodded with an expression that said, "You'll figure it out." Gou, shrugging his broad shoulders, looked forward again.
He noticed she was wearing a red top with blue lining the edges. Along with that she wore a pair of faded denim blue jeans that had a red phoenix with its wings spread open on one leg and a blue dragon spiraling up her other leg. She wore silver hoop earrings, a white belt, and black boots. On her right wrist rested a single white bracelet and her long nails were painted a light purple. Gou knew what the bracelet was but dare not say anything. In his opinion, she looked very nice, and comfortable. Over all of that she wore a long white coat and a dark red scarf.
"Hey there," the girl said.
"Hey," he started. He didn't realize it but he was smiling. An adorable and familiar giggle made his expression go stoic again.
"You're so cute. I love seeing your smile,"
"Thanks," Unlike his father, Gou was really shy around some people, mostly around this girl.
"Gou, be a gentleman and introduce her," Ray said.
"Oh, uh, yeah right. Sorry," the teen said, sheepishly glancing up at the White Tiger wielder. He moved to the side gracefully and with an extended hand said,
"This is, Simy. Like me, she's 13-years-old and a dear friend of mine,"
"We've been next door neighbors since we were babies," Simy said happily.
"I see. Your name is really pretty. It's nice to meet you, Simy. I'm Ray Kon," She blushed at the compliment, then she perked up again.
"Oh, I know who you are. I'm a big fan of your team, and I ship you and Mariah so hard!" Simy said excitedly.
"Okay. Well, I'm glad you do," Ray said, feeling uncomfortable. He looked at Gou and asked,
"What's a Ship?" Gou wanted to bang his head on a wall from the embarrassment.
"She thinks you two would make a great couple," he said, seamlessly going back to his emotionless nature.
"Oh... I see," Really Ray just thought it was weird but at the same time, kind of cute. He found fans like Simy adorable.
Not even in here 30 minutes and I'm already exhausted, Gou thought as he watched the other customers walk around.
Ray grabbed a big cart and guided Simy and Gou around the store. They went from section to section and picked out various styles of clothes for Gou to try on. As they searched the many floors, the two teens decided to rest while Ray went to get more clothes.
"I hate this but had planned on doing it by myself later. Don't we have enough crap yet?" Gou said grumpily.
"I'm starting to get tired too," Simy admitted. She sat down on a long bench inside one of the many t-shirt sections and the boy followed suit.
"I can tell. I can't believe he's making me do this," Gou said and then he looked at her. "By the way, Simy," he added.
"Yeah?"
"Why are you here?" Yes, it was rude but Gou didn't care. He was not in a good mood.
"Your dad sent me here. When I asked him why he didn't give an answer. He just smiled,"
"Sounds like him but I don't need cheering up," Gou looked away.
"Of course you do. Your dad said you left crying. He told me when I stopped by that we all need comfort when we're sad,"
"I wasn't crying, I was just upset and I don't need any comfort. Now go home," Gou spat, standing up.
"Gou," The teen looked down at her and saw big tears stinging her eyes. He bent down and pulled her into a tight embrace. His strong arms lifted her effortlessly to her feet. He ran a hand through her soft, raven strands. The heat from her caramel colored skin enveloped him.
"I'm sorry, please stay. I didn't mean what I said. I'm just stressed out and stretched thin. I'm sure dad had the best intentions when he sent you. He always does," He moved her delicate face so that she was looking at him but he still kept a protective arm around her. Simy saw that he was smiling kindly and his eyes weren't nervously shifting from side to side. The confidence he gave off made her blush and it reminded her of his father, who she knew he deeply admired.
"I just want you to be safe. I'll be home soon and we'll go out,"
"Go out? As in-"
"A date. J-j-just the two of us. No Beyblading or teammates to bother us. We'll do whatever you want, I promise. I'm sure dad won't mind," he said lovingly, and with a slight stutter. Okay, maybe his shyness wasn't completely gone. Simy smiled, she found what he said very sweet.
"That sounds like fun," Simy said.
"Good," he said. "Forget what I said. Go home later. For now I, want to spend some time with you," he added.
"I'm so happy," she said with a big smile.
"Me too," Gou said, his grin mirroring hers.
"So you're a couple. That's really sweet,"
The two turned to see Ray smiling at them kindly and moving to put the last of the clothes in the cart. They noticed that the mountain of clothes was threatening to spill out of it but there was nothing they could really do about it, every other area in the cart was full.
"We're supposed to be back by dark," Gou said.
"I heard, but protecting you from further ridicule comes first. He doesn't act like it but Kai knows what's going on," Hoping Ray didn't mean anything else by it, Gou nodded and followed Ray with his girlfriend close behind him.
"Fine," was all Gou said.
Inside the dressing room, Gou was in the middle of removing his top, a pile of clothes next to him, when he heard a repetitive buzzing noise in his pocket. Realizing what it was he hurriedly took off his top and picked up his cellphone, immediately sliding his thumb along the bottom of the screen to unlock it.
Thank God for Silent Mode, he thought.
On the Home screen were some big, white bubble-like boxes with lines of tiny, black text in them. He opened his Messenger app and saw that the texts were from Max. There were five messages in total from the always bubbly and hyper blonde. Along with the texts Gou saw some pictures which made him furrow his brows.
What in the world? he thought, wanting to stop. Fighting against it, Gou continued to scan through everything.
Text #1: Hey! Just wanted to check-in! What are you guys doing? Whatever it is I hope you're having fun! Are you? We're all being lazy. :-)
Text #2: Had Chief get some pictures of Kai's chest. I know it's weird... Sorry... But I thought they'd help. ;-)
Text #3: Are the things I bought you before we left warm enough? :-O If they're not I'll buy you something else, okay. :-D
Text #4: Kai wants to know if you've eaten anything yet. He says it's his turn to cook dinner tonight. ... Eww. :-|
Text #5: Have you ate? Yes or no? :-3
Gou chuckled at the texts and shook his head to try to suppress his oncoming laughter. Gou squinted to see the shadows through the curtain and saw that Ray was gone. He guessed the two had to go pee or something. Oh well, it was fine. He quickly pressed 'Call' and put the phone up to his ear. While sifting through clothes the line was picked up.
"Hello?" he heard Max say. Gou stopped what he was doing.
"Yes, Mom I'm fine!" Gou yelled playfully into his phone, after which he couldn't contain his laughter. The other end of the line also erupted into roars of laughter.
"Oh my gods!" came Max.
"Did he just- Wow! HAHA!" came Tyson's booming voice.
"Gou, while that was funny, you shouldn't be so rude," came Kenny. At Kenny's scolding tone Gou rolled his eyes.
"Wait 'til you read what I read, Chief. Then tell me it was rude," he retorted. He didn't hear the Chief say anything else after that.
"You are so mean, but that was funny," came Max's voice again. No one on the other end could catch their breath because of how hard they were laughing. It wasn't the joke that was funny, it was who said it. None of them expected Kai's distant offspring to make jokes, let alone fool around.
"Come on, you set yourself up for that one. Too easy," Gou said.
"Touché," replied Max.
"Talk later, I gotta go,"
"Gotcha," said Max. Gou hung up, put on an AC/DC shirt and immediately removed it. Not that he didn't like the band, he just preferred more plain and blank clothing.
Ray walked up and knocked on the door. The room's card was slid under it. Ray unlocked it and everyone went inside. Gou happily took Simy's hand and guided her in, she didn't need the help he just wanted to be romantic. At his touch, Simy blushed the color of Cranberry juice and smiled from ear to ear. She wasn't used to this, let alone any form of PDA from the young Hiwatari. She had to admit, this was nice.
Gou saw Max in the main room and went up to him, Simy following. He was sitting on the couch, flipping through the sports section in a magazine. Eyeing the boy, Max looked up with a welcoming grin.
"To answer your questions: no, we haven't eaten. I kind of had fun, and-" he leaned into Max's ear. "thank you. They'll be a big help," Gou stood back and Max nodded happily.
"I'm glad," Max said softly. Daichi walked up to them, a sauce-covered spoon in his hand.
"Not even sixteen and you're already-"
"I don't think so and shut your mouth!" Gou stated, a venomous and yet protective tone to his voice.
"Gou, relax," the blonde scolded.
"Where's Kai? I thought he was cooking dinner?" the teen added, trying to calm down.
"Just filling in. Your dad is in his room putting away some files and taking an important call," Daichi ruffled Gou's hair playfully as he laughed. Daichi's smile faded when he didn't hear a response from the others, not even Max. He looked around to see that everyone's faces had gone white as a sheet and their eyes were the size of dinner plates. Except for Ray's and Kenny's, they just looked confused.
"What? It's another joke guys. Come on," The dark sea-green eyed redhead looked down to see Gou putting an arm around Simy's shoulders and pulling her to him.
"Everyone outside. Come on," Tyson said, taking charge of the situation.
"What did I-?" Daichi started but was cut off by Tyson giving him a glare that nearly rivaled Kai's.
"Outside," was all Tyson said to him.
While leading Gou and Simy out onto the balcony, Tyson turned to see Kai walking back into the kitchen.
"Kai, if you don't mind, just knock on the door when it's done,"
"What's going on?" he said, taking the spoon from Daichi.
"Gou's pissed,"
"Tyson, don't swear in front of kids,"
"Oh, you're one to talk. Says the man who-"
"Mad and livid are complete understatements for how I feel right now, Kai. I'll tell you in a bit what happened," Gou had rudely cut Tyson off and Kai simply nodded, seeming to understand.
"Alright," he said. Kai strode over to the stove and stirred the food again.
Tyson pulled the curtain and closed the door. Hearing shuffling and chairs being moved, Tyson turned to everyone.
"We can't talk too loud because we can't let Kai hear," Tyson said.
"Hear what, and why can no one take a joke today? I know we all have tournament jitters, but come on, lighten up," Daichi spoke.
"Daichi," The seventeen-year-old man looked at Gou.
"My name's Simy and don't worry, Gou's just being protective of me. He's always been that way. It's one of the reasons I fell in love with him," the girl said kindly. She looked at Gou and lovingly took his hand in hers.
"Uh, okay? I'm confused. Someone fill me in," he said.
"Simy, huh? That's a beautiful name. Nice to meet you, Sweetie," Simy looked at Tyson and blushed madly. She wouldn't openly admit it but she had a small crush on the man. Well, she thought he was really handsome.
"I used to always tease her, everyday actually, about her little crush on you," Gou remarked.
"Why? Were you jealous or somethin'?" Ray teased. Gou chuckled at that. It was nice to see this side of his uncle. Due to constant stress and worry, the Ray in his timeline has been acting very differently. He's always in a bad mood and/or tired to the point of being grumpy.
"Yeah, you could say that. I told her how I felt the day before my birthday. ... Man," There was a long pause while Gou's gaze drifted around the balcony. Gou's lips tightened, as well as his grip on Simy's hand. Gou looked at the door and then back at everyone else.
"Now, time for the real reason you're all out here," His tone had become deeper and he was much more serious, confident. Though he didn't realize it, he was mirroring his father completely.
"Real reason?" Kenny asked and Gou firmly nodded.
"While I wasn't fond of what Daichi was going to say a bit ago, that's not what really ticked me off. Unlike my Old Man, I can take a joke,"
"I know your parents?" Daichi asked.
"You know half of me,"
"What do you mean we know half of you? Quit stalling at please spit it out already," Hilary spoke up.
"Hilary," she looked at Tyson. "I know you're still cranky but stop berating the poor boy and let him answer on his own. This isn't easy for him to do," Hilary blinked, taken aback by Tyson's maturity.
Simy kissed Gou's cheek sweetly and handed him a note. The kiss said, "You can do this," as well as "I love you." Gou, albeit rather shyly, kissed her back and watched as she stood up, her other hand gracefully sliding out of his. There was now cool air where her hand once was.
"I'll see you later okay. Take care everyone! And Daichi, don't call Kai 'Dad,'" she said.
"Why?"
"You'll see," she said.
"I've got it from here," he said, a light blush coating his bony cheeks. Simy waved goodbye, pressed the tiny button on her bracelet and disappeared with a quick whoosh of the wind and a ball of light. Gou looked at the note, then up at everyone else. Knowing he had nothing to fear he opened it and gave it a read.
A moment later, his eyes widened. It took all he had not burst into tears but that didn't stop a few stray ones from falling. Tyson noticed and rushed over to Gou's side. Kneeling to wipe the free fallers away he asked,
"What happened?" It took a minute but Gou finally responded with a sniffle and cleared his throat. He handed Tyson the note and as the champion read it, he slowly rose to his feet.
"Why are you blubbering? That's wonderful news!" Tyson said as he enthusiastically picked up the teenager and hugged him tightly while he spun him around. Ray noticed something and said,
"Hey, put him down," Tyson looked at him, slowing to a stop.
"What?" Tyson said.
"Let him go. Something's up," The moment Tyson let go Gou ran and puked in a nearby garbage can.
"So you enjoyed that then?" Tyson said, being sarcastic but no one laughed. "Seriously dude. Sorry. I didn't know that spinning made you sick," he added frankly.
"I didn't either, until now. Must be the stress," he said, peering back at him while he wiped his mouth.
"Stress? From what? And what's the good news, Tyson?" Hilary asked.
Everyone watched as Gou turned around. He let out his hand and Tyson put the note in it. Gou smiled at it momentarily before sticking it in his pocket. The smell of spices filled the air so Gou knew he didn't have much time. That's fine, he was used to being quick and discreet. The usual stoic expression blanketed his ever-changing features.
"If you sit back and really think about it, this isn't that hard to figure out but let me answer everything at once, and you'd better pay attention. I don't like having to repeat myself," he said.
"Guys-" Tyson was cut off by three hard knocks on the balcony door. He looked to see Kai pointing to what he guessed was the dining room. Tyson whispered into Gou's ear, "I'm going to go talk to him. I'll lie and say Daichi made her mad and that's why she left. Go ahead and tell them," The boy nodded understandingly. Whether or not he trusted Tyson, which he does, he had no choice but to leave it in his hands now. He watched as Tyson walked inside and sat down in the main room, Kai following him. The curtain fell the rest of the way, making it hard to see through the glass again.
"My name is, Gou Hiwatari and I'm thirteen-years-old. I'm here to stop my father from getting a wound on his chest that will end up making him deathly ill,"
So that's why I had to ask for the pictures. Gou needed them, Kenny thought. He found that a little odd though.
"Wait," Kenny started. Chief had always dreamed of it being possible but now that he was presented with it, the logical side of him was a bit skeptical.
"Yeah,"
"You time traveled? From the future, to back here?" Kenny asked, both in shock and in disbelief.
"Hn,"
"How far back are you?" Daichi asked.
"25 years,"
"Oh, so I was off by a bit, oops," Max said. Gou glanced at him, followed by Kenny again.
"I look and act just like Captain Crabby in there. I only talk more because I have to. What more do you want?" Everyone snickered at Gou's comment. There was a pause. Not wanting the boy to get uncomfortable or feel awkward, Max spoke up,
"Guys, I've been there," he started, coming to Gou's defense. Everyone looked at him, baffled.
"Max, you've time traveled? When? How?!" Kenny bellowed, obviously jealous, but it was in a good way.
"It happened kind of accidentally when I was out looking for Gou. When we thought he'd ran away from Kai's place. Without realizing it I pressured him into it. Again, I'm really sorry for that, Gou,"
"Hey. I already said its fine. Dad wasn't mad which surprised me but Uncle Tyson, well, he's another story,"
"Yeah, no kidding," Max added.
"What's it like there?" No one could deny that Kenny was excited. Max looked at the boy, who nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders as if giving him permission and he was.
"In his timeline? It's pretty much the same, minus a few things here and there. But, guys, I'm not kidding when I say Kai looks terrible. Honestly, words can't describe how bad he looks. He was barely able to speak when I saw him and when he tried to sit up he shook like a brittle, dried up leaf. He's eerily pale and coughing up a lot of blood. He looks much older than he should. I- that man's been through it. I wish we could help you out but your uncle says there's no way to,"
"There is a way. I just need time to sit down and properly look at those pictures you sent me. And let me clarify something he's not bedridden. It's just extremely painful for him to move so he only does it when he has to," the youth explained.
"So, he can do it all by himself he just needs help with cooking and other house stuff?"
"You got it,"
"Well, that makes more sense now," Max said.
"Have you seen the wound?" Kenny asked. That was a good question. Gou just shook his head apologetically.
"What?!" Everyone said in unison.
"I'm sorry, you've not once seen your dad shirtless since all this went down?" Daichi asked.
"No. Unless there's a tournament going on, Dad's usually up long before I am. So, whenever I've seen him he's completely dressed and ready to go to work. He says unless you're a kid or ill it's uncivilized to stay in your pajamas all day. If you're up, you might as well get dressed,"
"Sounds like our Kai," Daichi said, rolling his eyes.
"Yup," Hilary said.
"He wasn't in his pajamas when I saw him? I thought he was,"
"Uh, no, he was wearing one of his old work shirts and a pair of stretchy jeans. I don't care what he wears as long as he's comfy,"
"Is he eating?" Ray asked.
"Last I knew, no. Uncle Tyson and yourself have gotten mad at him for it but he has his reasons. Put yourselves in his shoes, I couldn't eat. Could you? But he might eat something now, at least, I hope he does,"
"Gou, I think its absolutely amazing what you're doing. Its noble too," Hilary added in cheerfully.
"Thank you, Hilary," he said.
"Max, the good news Tyson spoke of, Simy slipped me a note saying that he's gotten out of bed three times,"
"When was this?" the blonde blurted out, nearly spitting on himself and that made Gou laugh.
"Just this morning. He's slow but he's up. Moving around the house a bit more. Hopefully he's avoiding the stairs,"
"That's fantastic, Gou. Maybe stopping by to see him did something for him. Maybe you gave him some strength," Max said excitedly.
"Yeah, maybe," The thought of that made tears form in his eyes. Max noticed and said,
"Who wants a spin-hug?!" The tone was playful, exactly what Gou needed.
"Oh please no," Gou said through laughter.
"Can you give us some more backstory? When did all this start?" Ray asked.
"On my last birthday. I was complaining about the party and how I didn't want it. Dad said otherwise though. We went back and forth about it for hours. That afternoon, everyone arrived. In the middle of serving dinner, Dad began coughing up blood. While doing that he became dizzy and collapsed onto the floor. More blood poured from his mouth as Uncle Tyson and our Max ran to his aid. When nothing worked, an ambulance was called," Gou pulled out the cloth, now a lighter gray than it was before, but his dad was still far from safe.
I have more time. Oh, thank you, God, he thought.
"Can we stop? I- I don't want to talk anymore," he mumbled sadly.
"Of course. Let's go inside. It's cold out here anyway," Max said, doing his best to comfort him. Though Gou didn't need it, he guided him inside and sat him on the couch next to Tyson.
That night, sometime after dinner, Gou sat on his bed going over the pictures he kept on his phone. Old pictures of he and his dad on trips and at his previous tournaments, as well as the ones Max sent. He stayed on those for a while. While scrolling, one picture in particular caught his eye.
It was a collage of photos really: pictures of his parents on the day he was born. One was just of his father holding him, a prideful yet joyous look in his eyes. Next to that was one of his mother doing the same, she was beaming with joy but her pale face was red and she was covered in sweat from the painful ordeal. The bottom one was of Kai and his mom sharing a tender kiss as he slept in his mom's arms, both looked exhausted but happy nonetheless.
Gou smiled at the images, but mostly at the warmth and love he felt from them. Despite how much he acted like he didn't care, he really loved the family he had.
"Knock, knock. It's bedtime," Gou looked up to see Kai walking into his room. He immediately locked his phone and put it away. Kai noticed and asked playfully,
"Did I interrupt something?"
"No, you, uh, didn't," Not buying it one bit, Kai sat next to him on the bed.
"Tyson told me what happened. Did Daichi apologize to your friend before she left?" he asked seriously.
"Yeah, he did,"
"He better have, that was uncalled for. I didn't get to see much of her but she seemed like a sweet girl,"
"She's my girlfriend,"
"Girlfriend?"
"Yes. Simy's a sweetheart. I think you would've liked her,"
"She's too young for me,"
"Let me rephrase that," Gou said while laughing.
"I know what you meant and I'm sure I would've approved. Not that you need my permission to date. I'm not your father,"
"You're still my guardian while I'm here,"
"True, now get in your sack you emotionally charged runt. We have an early day tomorrow,"
"Right," Gou watched as he headed for the door. The shadows of his room made the muscles of his back look more defined than they already were.
"Kai?" The man watched as Gou practically jumped off the bed and ran to him. Kai had to hand to him, he was quick, light on his feet even.
"Hn, I don't do bedtime stories," he said as he approached him. He was so tired, all he wanted to do was go to bed.
"No, well, that's part of it. Uh. Actually, no. I have a question,"
"Young man, you always have a question," Silence fell and in it Kai folded his arms over his chest. He then slightly raised an eyebrow, as if to say in an irritated tone, "Go on."
This had better be quick, he thought.
"How'd you get that scar on your chest? I noticed it the other day when you were driving to the store," Kai's lips tightened and he cleared his throat.
Okay, I can see that, he thought, remembering the shirt he had on that day.
"Go sit down and get comfortable,"
"Okay,"
Once he was cozy under the covers, Kai shut the door and walked until he stood next to the bed. Gou watched as the man reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a blue box that was made of paper. He put a white stick from the box into his mouth and while putting the pack away, pulled out a simple black lighter.
"No way, you Smoke?" Gou said. Kai looked him directly in the eyes and wordlessly lit the cigarette. He sat down on the bed and took a long drag from it, the tip lighting up even more but burning slowly.
"Don't breathe a word of this to anyone. Understand?" he said after he blew it out. Gou nodded vigorously, knowing full-well not to. He wouldn't anyway, why, he was too flabbergasted.
Un-friggin'-believable. My health-nut of a father, smokes?! he thought.
"You've heard of Brooklyn Mansfield, right?" Kai took another puff.
"Yeah, everyone has. He's a talented blader,"
"Talented? Hn, I guess. Either way, he's the one who did that to me. He and his beast Zeus. His bit beast's claws nearly ripped my chest open, twice,"
"Geez,"
"Yeah, I have three ugly scars on my chest. I could've had more. He banged us up pretty good," Kai sighed, finishing off his cigarette and getting up to flick the butt of it out the window. Closing the window back he stated,
"If it wasn't for Dranzer, I probably wouldn't be here today. She brought me back to life sometime after my second match with him," He walked toward the bed and sat back down.
"We merged our spirits in one last, very desperate, attempt at victory. We won, obviously, but I was damaged. Died in the hallway just outside the arena,"
"There's three scars instead of one?"
"Yeah,"
"How old were you at the time?"
"16,"
So I didn't mess up. That's good to know, Gou thought, waves of relief washing over him.
"Alright. Bed. Now," Kai said, ruffling the boy's hair. He laughed and said,
"I'm already in my bed,"
"Congrats. You've graduated from 'Mini Me Runt' to 'Small Smug Smart-Ass.' Get some sleep," he said as he playfully pushed Gou down with the same hand. Kai stood up, nearly looming over the child, as he said,
"I'm serious. Good night,"
"Good night, Kai,"
To be continued...
I took a break during the holidays and have been sick three-four times since last Christmas. Sinus colds, Strep Throat (which I've never had before and that lasted 2-3 weeks), a few migraines, and the Flu (which lasted a solid month). I'm all better now though. Hopefully, I will stay that way, and I'm so happy to finally be updating this story. I do not ever want another break like that again. XD You guys are so amazing and I'm so happy to have you guys along for this crazy ride. I love you guys and girls so much! :) Thank you for sticking with me! :) Please, forgive me for taking so long? :(
PS: Simy, I hope you like your character. She was a lot of fun to write. :)