Just as a warning, the POV shifts around quite a bit to start with before settling in the scene. I've tried to make it as clear as possible, but let me know if you get confused.

A big thank you to zulka (thanks for pointing out the typo) and treckasasuke whose reviews I've very much appreciated, but have not been able to reply personally to.

Lies My Family Told Me

The fire crackled and spat sparks into the almost-clear night. The threatening cloud cover during the day had amounted to nothing and instead the moon shone down brightly, though the halo around it seemed to be the only sign of a thin mist still in the sky. A man poked the fire with a separate stick, sending up more sparks straight up into the night sky. Bugs chirped around them in the dark, drawn towards the flames and creating a subdued symphony surrounding the clearing.

A teen lay on the other side of the fire on top of a soft sleeping bag, which the man had rolled out to make the boy – no young man – more comfortable. Dirt and blood had mixed together on the his skin, turning to mud in other places where the man had tried to clean wounds, but had obviously given up once he could see there was no risk of infection. The fire crackled again and the man turned his dark red eyes back onto the young man, who continued to rest soundly.

A large crack of splintering wood finally pulled Kai into wakefulness. Blinking groggily, he attempted to sit up only for someone to gently lay a hand on Kai's chest. This was enough to make Kai pause, but fortunately not enough to aggravate the wounds on his back. Finally he was able to focus on the man, whose face was only partially visible due to the fire. Despite that Kai would know that man's figure anywhere.

"You!" Kai exclaimed, before struggling to sit up quickly.

However, the man's hand remained firm as well as his voice. "Enough Kai; you need to rest."

Kai obeyed, but only because he wanted to – a fact he would have to make very clear. "You lost all right to tell me what to do the day you left, Susumu!"

Susumu flinched back, obviously hurt by Kai's words. "Maybe, but that doesn't mean I stopped caring about you."

Kai glared at the man, though it was less effective when he was still lying on the ground. Carefully this time, he rested his elbows on the ground and pushed himself slowly up to a sitting position, attempting to brush off some of the dust and dirt that insisted on still clinging to him.

"How did you find me?" Kai asked in a completely dead tone, seemingly more accepting of the man's presence, though not happy about it.

"Mr Dickenson said…"

"I should have known." Kai snorted, matter-of-factly. "You'd never lower yourself to watch your only son yourself. It would be so much more convenient for someone else to do it for you."

"Kai…" Susumu tried to reason.

"No!" Kai once again interrupted him, getting more and more agitated by the man's presence. "What are you doing here anyway? Did Dickenson pay you to come or have you gone crawling back under Grandfather's thumb and he sent you to convince me to come back again?"

A pained expression crossed Susumu's face, but it soon morphed into disapproval it seemed only a parent was able to achieve. "You know Voltaire disowned me, Kai." He stated reasonably. "I am never going back. As for why I am here…" He gently clasped Kai's hand in his own, though the teen just looked at it blankly, deliberately not returning any feelings. "I want to help you, Kai."

A horrendous laugh split from Kai's lips, filled with pain and betrayal as he recalled the same words coming from his grandfather's lips when the old man had tempted him with Black Dranzer during his match with Spenser. Finally, Kai looked up at his father in disbelief. "Well that's nice of you. So where exactly were you to help me when I was in that Godforsaken abbey; or when Grandfather was using me to find and capture the World's bit beasts against my will?"

"I know I should have been there." Susumu agreed, sighing. He looked into the fire silently for a moment. "I should have realised what Voltaire was planning before I left. He thought beyblades were pointless; I never thought he would try to use them to take over the World."

"He didn't at first." Kai admitted, calming down enough to keep his emotions in check again. Facts were easier to deal with than emotions anyway. "I think it was when he saw his first bit beast that he got the idea of using beyblades as weapons. As for child soldiers, it's not as if any of us would ever speak against him."

Susumu nodded, accepting the small bit of information his son would allow. He glanced over at Kai, who was running his finger through the dirt – a nervous habit Susumu remembered from when his son was a young child.

Susumu could still remember the boy who loved to beyblade more than anything else. The two of them would practice for hours, completely losing track of time, before Kai's mother would finally call them out to eat something. At first Susumu had been able to balance his beyblade research with work his father expected of him, but as the years went on Voltaire expected more and more from his only son. It all built up to one final confrontation:

"You wanted to see me Father."

Susumu Hiwatari stood before his father's desk in a dark oak room. Voltaire was sat down on a chair behind his desk, hands interlaced together with his elbows on the surface. A scowl was on his face that looked like permanent feature, deep lines gouged into his skin in a look of disapproval – something Susumu was used to seeing by now. Susumu's face by contrast remained impassive – just as his father had always taught him.

"It has come to my attention that you need to make a decision, Susumu." He finally began, resting back in his chair and looking down on the younger man despite being lower down. Susumu made a point of stopping himself from standing up straighter in response – a small rebellion against his father's expectations, but it did give him a certain level of satisfaction.

Silence continued to pass as Susumu waited for his father to continue. The only noise in the room that could be heard was the small clock on Voltaire's desk. Both continued to stare at each other until the room became stifling. Voltaire obviously wanted his son to crack first and ask a question, but when the silence stretched further he seemed to relent.

"Tell me Susumu; what do you care more about: your beyblades," he said with contempt dripping from his lips, "or this company, which I have slaved over to give you – my family – a better life?"

"Dad?" Susumu had no time to reply, only turning to look in horror as Kai stepped out from the side door, looking at him shyly as if asking permission to come in, obviously sensing the tension in the room. His son had always been a bright kid.

Susumu knew Kai's arrival was timed, especially when his wife walked in behind his son. He looked into her eyes, feeling both hurt and betrayed, but she merely smiled at him as if she had no idea what she had just done. She always had been a brilliant actor, Susumu conceded bitterly. It was then that he heard his father's silent ultimatum: will you pursue your pathetic dream of being a beyblade researcher or keep your son and follow my every order?

He loved his son more than anything, but if being near his son meant that he had to become a slave to Voltaire and his ambition then he knew the answer. Susumu knew his father's greed was insatiable and he wanted nothing more to do with the old man. He looked down at the five-year-old boy – who watched him, puzzled – with regret. He would not be able to take his son aside and reassure him that he was still Susumu's world. Instead, he gave his answer and turned his back on his only son, making sure he never saw the look of betrayal.

"I choose beyblades."

"You didn't even look back."

The emotion was completely gone from Kai's voice and Susumu wondered if that was something he had learned as a defence mechanism in the Abbey. Susumu couldn't deny the truth to his son and the excuses seemed shallow after so many years of absence.

"I would have stayed if I had." Susumu confessed. "I would have taken you if I could have, especially if I had known exactly what he was planning."

Kai nodded, but whether it was just showing he had listened or whether he was accepting Susumu, the older man was unsure. The teen sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose between his thumb and first finger. Finally, he looked up to the sky before starting to speak again.

"I tried to hate you. It was just about the only emotion Grandfather encouraged. Even when I lost my memories of the Abbey, I remembered you as soon as I launched Dranzer after the accident. I remembered that you'd given it to me just before you left."

"Do you remember what I said to you?"

"You said Dranzer's bit beast was looking for someone special and that I was the only one you trusted to find him."

Susumu smiled and moved closer to rest a hand on one of his son's knees.

"It's funny really;" Kai continued, "how I can remember that and yet my memories of the Abbey are still a blur."

"I saw the exhibition match." Susumu admitted, pausing before he continued, "You know, the one where you first used Black Dranzer? It was the first time I had seen you in seven years and the only thing I could think about was rushing to get to Moscow to save you.

"Mr Dickenson heard about my plan, though, and told me to stay where I was. Then the next thing I saw, you were back on the Japan team and standing up to your grandfather on your own, risking everything to do so." Susumu paused, catching Kai's eye. "I do not think I have ever been more proud."

Kai shrugged, possibly embarrassed by the praise. Susumu felt a pang of guilt for not being surer.

"I wish I could have seen more of your matches, but I was never able to. Even with my position in the BBA Research Department I found little time to see your matches on television. Despite that I would always grill Mr Dickenson for the details on how you were doing."

"You called him?"

"Yes, but I asked him not to let you know, because I was worried it might throw off your game and we knew you were under enough pressure from Voltaire. Besides, you seemed to be doing pretty well without me distracting you." He added, laughing.

Kai didn't join in the laughter, instead he glanced past his father towards the fire, his voice coming out as a whisper, "Yeah."

Silence stretched on and Susumu was quick to change the topic slightly, aware of the obvious tension in the camp. "You seem to have made good friends with the Bladebreakers."

Kai nodded, a twitch of a smile on his face, "Not for lack of effort on their part."

"I can understand why."

Kai frowned, possibly wondering what his father meant by that, but Susumu remained tight-lipped. He knew it took a lot for Kai to trust people, which Susumu knew was mostly his family's fault. The fact that the Bladebreakers had not given up made Susumu eternally in their debt for saving his son. Kai had always been naturally quiet, but he had been good a choosing friends. Susumu was glad to see his son's friends had seen the good in Kai to give so much to save him from Black Dranzer's corruption.

"Whatever." Kai brushed the words off as he stood up. "I need to go and find Hilary."

Susumu frowned, "Is this to do with why I found you passed out by a shrine that has seen better days?"

Kai straightened, his hand tightening into a fist. "Two of them captured Hilary." Panic suddenly spread across his face. "There was a stone with writing on it. Is it still in the shrine?"

"You mean this one?" Susumu asked, pulling out the ancient seal from his bag.

Kai relaxed and nodded, looking back towards the shrine. "I don't understand why they didn't take it with them, though."

"Your friend might have been giving them enough trouble." Susumu lied. "They might have had to choose between them and decided to choose her to get more leverage over you."

Kai did not look entirely convinced, but he seemingly accepted the information anyway. "I have to go after them."

"Are you not hungry?" Susumu asked, rapidly changing the conversation such that his son looked at him with suspicion. "I'm not the best of cooks," he admitted, taking a pot from the small burner beside the campfire, "but it should be hot and filling."

Kai looked about to protest at how irrelevant that comment was, when Susumu anticipated his response, "Kai, your friend is in danger, but rushing into a fight with those dark beybladers is going to get both you and her hurt or worse. Besides, you would probably be running straight into a trap. We have something they want, so it is more likely they will come back to finish what they started, and if we are lucky they will probably bring your friend with them.

"Rest tonight and get your strength back, and have faith that she has the will find a way to hold on. I would think that if she is able to keep up with you boys then she must be pretty tough herself."

Kai sat back down with a sigh and held out one of his hands without acknowledging the logic his father's point verbally. Susumu smiled at his son's behaviour and placed a bowl of food with a spoon in Kai's hand, making sure the bowl was secure before letting go. Kai tentatively brought up the spoon to his lips and took a sip.

"Your cooking hasn't improved." Kai said in deadpan, but Susumu could tell there was a bit of affection in there as well.

"Hey, if you want to insult the chef then you are more than welcome to cook yourself!" Susumu replied with a laugh, attempting to sound insulted.

A twitch of the lips on one side of Kai's face confirmed his amusement and Susumu broke out into a huge grin, laughing deeply as he tucked into his own. The silence was no longer as oppressive as it had been to start with and there were even some points that it almost felt comfortable.

It wasn't much longer before Kai laid down to get some rest for the eventual battle that would most-likely break out the next day. Susumu watched his son for some time, content just to know Kai was safe and in his sights after so many years. Once Susumu could hear his son's softened breathing did he walk over and lay a light blanket on top.

"Sleep well, Son."

Kai awoke the next morning to the sounds of birds singing in the trees surrounding them, replacing the bugs from the night before. A thin mist had settled around them, but was quickly being burned away by the warmth of the Sun. Glancing down, he noticed a blanket that he had not remembered using when he had gone to sleep. Kai was unable to stop the short snort of affection at his father's actions and turned his attention to the sleeping man in question on the other side of the burnt-out fire.

Feeling more refreshed, Kai stood up and shook the dew out of his hair. The sun was just creeping above the treeline and Kai felt better with the warmth on his back. He walked over towards his bag, which his father must have found, and started rummaging around for a change of clothes. Pulling a few items out, including a loose shirt, Kai went to a nearby stream he could hear and proceeded to remove all the dirt and blood he had accumulated on his skin from the day before.

When he was finally content with his level of cleanliness, Kai stepped out and shook off all the excess drops of water. Having no towel, Kai took advantage of the sunny weather and sat on some rocks to dry a bit more. He took the time to squeeze some more of the water out of his hair and look at the scrapes he had accumulated from the last couple of days (it seemed as if more time should have passed).

Kai noted that his wounds were much slower to heal than they used to be and he wondered if his bit beast had been responsible for his amazingly good health and fast healing. Leaning back slightly with a relaxed sigh, Kai felt the sun on his skin and enjoyed the moment of peace for a few more minutes while he dried off.

After a few more minutes of sitting in the sunlight, Kai decided he could put on his clothes without soaking them through. However, instead of putting his shirt on, Kai decided to put it over his shoulder and carry his older clothes in his arms back to camp, since he would need to take it off again to reapply his bandages anyway.

Arriving back into the clearing, he pulled out the clean bandages he had packed and rewrapped them around his arms. While the bleeding had stopped, Kai appreciated having a bit more protection if he got into any more fights, which he expected he would get into today.

Deciding he would swallow his pride and ask his father to help with his back, Kai pulled his shirt over his head with much less difficulty than the previous day after dropping his old clothes on top of his bag. Finally able to achieve his goal, Kai glanced down to another bag that he hadn't noticed earlier. Turning around, he checked that his father was still asleep before turning back to the other bag wondering if it belonged to the old man. As soon as he glanced inside at the contents, Kai realised it was Hilary's and he knelt down and grabbed the outside material tightly.

"Just hold on, Hilary," Kai silently commanded, "I'll find a way to stop them, but first…"

Kai turned to look at his father, who was still snoring peacefully, with a raised eyebrow. "Well," Kai sighed, "might as well get started on breakfast."

Kai raided his father's bag for supplies and was able to find some dry wood nearby to start a fire. Normally he would use his beyblade, but without it, he needed to look for his father's seemingly non-existent matches. While he was searching around, Kai kept feeling like he was being drawn towards his father's jacket, which was lying next to the sleeping man. He had ignored the feeling the previous night, thinking it was due to the tension between him and his father.

Finally giving up in his doomed search, Kai decided to open the pocket and put his hand inside – against his better judgement. He was a bit surprised when his hand grasped cold metal and, checking to see his father was still asleep (and not quite having any idea why he did that), pulled out a beyblade. The weight felt familiar and Kai turned the bit towards him, only to drop it as if he had been scalded.

Wide-eyed, Kai fell backwards and kicked up dirt to put more distance between him and the beyblade. The sound of the beyblade struck a rock as it fell and Susumu bolted awake. Seeing Kai's expression of horror, Susumu rolled fluidly onto his feet and began frantically scanning the treeline for enemies.

After a few moments he seemed to realise that they were not being ambushed and so turned back to look at his son in silent question. In doing so he caught the gleam of a beyblade and let his stance relax, realising what had caught Kai off-guard.

"Are you hurt?" Susumu asked, calmly picking up the beyblade.

Kai, who was still breathing heavily in shock, looked up at his father with the same expression he had had when seeing that beyblade. He opened his mouth to try to speak, but nothing came out. After a few more failed attempts, he was finally able to say his thoughts, though it was not as coherent or demanding as he had planned in his head.

"When… where did you get that?"

Susumu took a quick glance at the bit of the beyblade and let his hand fall back to his side, the beyblade still clutched between his fingers with the bit hidden by his trouser legs. "I had wondered if you would be able to sense it."

Kai lost his voice again, only looking at his father in confusion and silently demanding an explanation.

"It is said that someone who has shared power with a dark bit beast can also see the dark power in other people and beyblades. Isn't that what you sensed in Brooklyn when you first saw him – why you were weary of him when you first met?"

"Who said I ever feared him?" Kai asked almost as a jerk reflex, deliberately misinterpreting his father's words and using it to forget his fear in favour of anger.

Susumu gave him a look just as suddenly as it had appeared, Kai's anger evaporated, feeling like a five year old all over again. Kai pushed himself shakily from the ground, brushed himself off and looked up at his father defiantly in an attempt to keep some level of dignity.

"You didn't answer my question." Kai countered, attempting to regain control of the situation.

"You are correct."

Susumu paused long enough that Kai wondered if he was going to say anything else. Suddenly his father launched the beyblade and it span in the middle of the wood and kindling that Kai had put together.

"Dark inferno."

Black flames spilled from the beyblade and onto the fire, turning into much friendlier red and yellow flames as they travelled further along the wood. Susumu held his hand above the fire and the beyblade returned easily. Kai watched in stunned shock, not even knowing what to say.

Susumu looked again at the bit at the centre of the beyblade before speaking, "It is unimportant how I got this beyblade, but what is important is that with it you would possibly have enough power to stop the other dark beybladers." He turned his head to look at Kai. "How far are you willing to go to save your friend? Would you risk becoming like them to save her?" He asked, holding out the new Black Dranzer beyblade.

Kai's hand rose slightly, reaching towards the dark beyblade. While it was true he would have more power with that bit beast than with none, would he be able to control Black Dranzer long enough to save Hilary? And even if he did save her, what use would that be if he lost himself? Could he master that beyblade before it took control of him? He attempted to drive the questions mercilessly home, but a thick fog seemed to be entering his mind and slowing his thoughts down.

Suddenly Kai's fingers touched the dark beast's bit. The cool metal snapped him back to the present and it was then that Kai realised how close his hand was to clasping the beyblade. Susumu was staring at him without any trace of emotion, merely waiting for Kai's decision without judgement in his expression.

Finally, Kai dragged his hand away, clenching it into a fist and bringing it to his side. "If I lose myself to Black Dranzer I could become exactly like Ren and the others; the way I was at the World Championships." He admitted, letting his gaze fall to the ground. "Hilary is counting on me; I can't take that chance." He summarized, looking up at his father with conviction.

Susumu's hand closed over the beyblade and he put it away in his trouser pocket. "You know you cannot win with your current strength no matter how determined to win you are, so without Black Dranzer what will you do?"

Kai looked in the direction he could sense the dark bit beasts- now he knew what that nagging feeling was; the direction he knew Hilary would be in. "I'll find my own way."

"Well," said Susumu, resigned, but with a hint of amusement, "I doubt even you can stop them without a beyblade."

Pulling out a blue beyblade from his bag he threw it towards Kai, who caught it automatically with ease. Kai admired the design while his father spoke.

"That is the result of all my years of research." He stated proudly. "Try not to break it too soon." He added with a teasing wink.

Kai clasped the beyblade tightly and gave his father a nod. It wasn't a vocal thanks, but Susumu knew Kai's message for what it was. Susumu shot him a grin in response.

Kai smirked, "So how about breakfast?"

Both father and son sat with a bowl in front of them, politely eating everything in it but a tiny piece. Some lessons were never forgotten. Finishing his bowl first, Susumu let out a satisfied sigh.

"I have to admit, I'm impressed with your cooking skills."

Kai smiled slightly into his bowl, "Ray insisted."

"Ray of the White Tiger bit beast, right? Brave kid; teaching a proud Hiwatari how to cook." He praised, grinning.

The smile remained on Kai's face, becoming a bit more wistful as he finished his own breakfast. "Did you track me with Black Dranzer, then?"

Susumu, originally thrown by the quick change in topic, became a bit more sober. He looked directly at Kai before he answered. "Yes, I have had Black Dranzer under my protection for some time now. Mr Dickenson was worried that a stationary target would be easier to find and since he knew I had control over its bit power, I was the practically the only candidate for the task."

"So, you do have complete control over Black Dranzer." Kai stated, though Susumu could hear the request for more information.

Susumu nodded, "Despite popular belief, the dark bit beasts are not evil. However, they do take much more power to control than most regular bit beasts. Most beybladers do not have the power to control them and thus are sucked in, the dark bit beast needing to feed off of other bit beasts for the power to materialise. This in turn causes the dark bit beast to grow stronger, thus requiring more energy. It is a vicious cycle that usually ends with the bit beast consuming everything in the area. There is a hypothesis that some of the World's vanished civilisations were caused by dark bit beasts being released by unworthy masters."

Kai nodded, gripping his new beyblade tightly. "Are you going to stop me if I go after them?"

Susumu smiled down at his son and shook his head. "It is your decision, Kai, and I have no right to interfere. Might it be easier, though, to wait for them to come to us?"

Kai put the new beyblade into one of his pockets, along with his launcher and ripcord. He wanted to get Hilary away from those beybladers as soon as possible. If they were anything like he was at the World Championships in Russia then they wouldn't care what happened to her. However, she could be used as a bargaining chip to get their hands on the stone and Black Dranzer, so it was likely that they would keep her from harm; he hoped.

Turning to his father, Kai nodded in acceptance. Besides, this way he could get used to his new beyblade. Standing up, Kai walked back towards the stream where he had bathed in the morning, completely forgetting about the wounds on his back.

"I'm going to train." He said walking away. Remembering something else, he glanced back at his father. "I'm sorry I never found the Phoenix's true guardian. I guess it's too late now."

Susumu's face was carefully neutral and Kai didn't even attempt to deduce what his father was thinking. Instead, he walked away to train alone and get stronger so that when Ren's friends came back he knew he'd be able to stop them.

So introducing Susumu. I admit I have a slight obsession with him especially because he doesn't appear in the series. The scene between him and Voltaire is a combination of the general feel of the scene from the manga and me pushing it into a direction that would make it fit better with the anime. Let me know what you think.