Kai: *rolls eyes* You have too much fun.
Purra: *purrs* Of course! It's the only way to live! Now apologize for being rude.
Kai: No.
Purra: *hisses* Apologize.
Kai: No.
Purra: I'll send you to juvi with those muses!
Kai: Fine! Fine! You win.
Purra: Hug? *widens eyes hopefully*
Kai: *rolls eyes and hugs her* What I do to stay out of juvi.
Purra: *purrs* ^^~
Disclaimer goes here
Element of Surprise
The arena quickly filled with the teams that resided in the mansion, eager whispers shooting back and forth as the two competing teams sat on opposite sides of the battle dome. The Bladebreakers had the bench facing away from the box seats that the Shadow Team had, but there was an empty seat next to Melody where Tasha would sit. The Bladebreakers were there, except for their team leader. He had not shown up yet. The team Element Dream was all together and they waited impatiently for the battle to start.
"Where's Kai?" Max asked anxiously, his blue eyes searching the stands.
"I don't know," Ray said slowly, not wanting to admit that he was worried about their team leader. If Kai didn't show up soon, they would have to forfeit the match, and the tournament.
"Well he'd better get here soon," the announcer said as he stepped toward them. He shook his head regretfully. "If he's not here in ten minutes you have to forfeit. You can't battle without your team leader."
Kai paced in his room, his hands clenched so tightly into fists that his knuckles had turned white. The same thoughts ran through his head and finally he threw himself on the couch, holding his head in his hands. The same image shot through his mind over and over and it refused to be left alone. He shook his head violently to try and get rid of it but to no avail. "Go away! I don't want to remember! Just go away."
The memory refused to go away and finally Kai succumbed to it, watching it play through his mind like a video that brought hatred coursing through his blood once again.
A young girl, only six years old, sat on the fence. She had her black hair pulled up into pigtails and she was wearing her favorite purple shirt and black shorts and black sneakers. Suddenly she turned around and a broad smile spread across her lips. She leaped down and ran toward him, her arms outstretched. A younger version of Kai, the same age, ran into her arms and they hugged each other in front of the fence, laughing and pushing apart before they began chasing each other over to the fence. Kai caught her and they ended up rolling on the ground, the girl shoving him away. Her laughter rang out through the early morning and his joined it, soaring with such joy that it seemed impossible now. The two children played with such a carefree attitude that they never noted the passage of time as they chased each other. The girl tackled him and they played tag, running around and screaming with laughter when one was caught. At that moment Kai was caught up in the childish joy of such a dream and he leaned back against the couch, allowing it to play further. This was his past, a past that he had shoved back to the deepest recesses of his mind and refused to remember. Until now. But what he had done was foolish, and he never should have done it, but he couldn't change the past. Not now. Not so far into the future. The girl tackled him one last time and they stopped to catch their breath, still laughing. "Gerroff, Tasha! Gerroff!" the boy said, pushing at her to release him from beneath her.
The girl giggled and shook her head. "No! I tagged you!"
"Fine, you win," the boy said grudgingly. "Gerroff!"
The girl shook her head and suddenly she leaned downward and kissed him. Both of them were silent when she pulled away, the boy's eyes wide in shock. They stared at each other, the girl still trying not to giggle at the surprise on the boy's face. When she still wouldn't get off, the boy suddenly pushed himself up and kissed her back. The girl was so surprised she sat up and the boy shoved her away, sitting up and rubbing his mouth with his hand. "Ew, girl cooties!"
Kai leaned forward again and rested his head in his hands. His mahogany eyes were shut tight and he shook his head over and over again, trying to forget the memory that refused to go away. Childhood innocence still haunted him to this day and it refused to let him alone. But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was yet to come.
"Kai!" Both children whirled around to see Kai's grandfather, Voltaire, striding swiftly toward them, rage etched on his features. He roughly hauled Kai up by the shoulder, ignoring the boy's cries of pain and protest. "How many times have I told you? Stay away from the girl!"
"But Grandfather-" the boy started to protest, wincing in pain as the iron grip on his shoulder only became stronger. "Ow! You're hurting me!"
"Get out of here, girl," Voltaire snapped, aiming a kick for the girl. The girl whimpered and scrambled away, but not before she saw the boy hit his grandfather to try and stop him. Voltaire turned on his grandson and wrenched him upward, causing the boy to cry out in pain. "Leave the girl. This is the last time you'll ever see her again." He turned back to the girl, who was trying to stand despite her fear.
"Leave him alone!" the girl said with seemingly more bravery than she felt. "We were just playing!"
"And you'll never play again! Now go!" Voltaire said viciously.
The girl whimpered, cast a glance to Kai, who was still struggling against his grandfather and she whirled around and ran away. Kai kicked at his grandfather and hit him in the shin. "Lemme go! You big meanie, lemme go!"
Voltaire suddenly backhanded the boy across the face and he fell silent, tears of pain and terror falling down his cheeks. "I don't want you anywhere near that girl ever again. Is that understood?"
Kai shook his head violently again and ran his fingers through his hair, bringing several more strands in his face as if they could cloud his emotions, or perhaps shut him away from the memories of the past. Suddenly he sat up again and his fingers ran over the stripes across his jaw, an unconscious gesture of anxiety. His grandfather's teachings were drilled into his mind and his body refused to forget them. Kai stood up suddenly and grabbed his blade from the table before him, not noticing the wild flash of brilliant light that the bit chip emitted from his touch.
Ray turned as he won his match against the girl from Element Dream, Trinity Luther, who was also called Flame. It had been a tough match, but he had won in the end. The only problem was that Kai still hadn't showed up yet and it was the last and final match, which pitted the two team leaders against each other. As a stroke of luck, Tyson had taken the first match and had won against Vale Kyba, which had been a complete surprise.
"Kai!" Ray's eyes widened when he spotted his team leader walking down the steps of the stands, his Dranzer blade in hand. His emotionless expression was the same as always and when he vaulted over the stands to land in the arena, a wild cheer erupted from the audience.
"And here he is! The leader of the Bladebreakers has finally arrived," the announcer said excitedly.
Ray jogged off the platform and met Kai halfway there. "Where've you been? We were worried."
Kai ignored him and stepped up to the platform, casting his glance at Paige momentarily before his eyes swept up into the stands. Tasha's seat was empty in the stands, but that fact flickered through his mind like a candle in the wind and he turned his attention back to Paige. She had a smug smile on her lips and her eyes sparkled. There was something very flirtatious about her stance, and her short red skirt and white blouse weren't helping. She had her blade in its launcher already, ripcord ready for battle. Kai made a show of putting his blade into the launcher and pushing the ripcord through, gazing up at her with his head tilted downward and he uncharacteristically ran his tongue over his upper lip. Paige's eyes widened and then she smiled in an even more flirtatious manner. "Prepare for a battle you'll never forget, Kai Hiwatari."
The leader of the Bladebreakers remained silent as the announcer started the battle. Paige's sky blue beyblade shot into the battle dome and Kai's blue blade shot in as well. Both blades circled each other, suddenly shooting forward to clash in the center of the bowl. Kai's almost flirtatious smile kept Paige's eyes on him as she returned it but then her jaw dropped in astonishment when it was replaced by a mask of cold arrogance. "Dranzer!"
"What?!" Paige held up her arms to shield against the brilliant light that erupted from Kai's beyblade and the enormous red phoenix shot into the air, spreading its vast wings and screaming defiance to the world around it. "Fine, play it that way. Articuno!"
A silvery blue bird came from her beyblade and its beautiful song shimmered in the air above the battle dome, bringing awed sounds of surprise from the audience. Kai ignored the display and crossed his arms over his chest, knowing that Tasha had walked in the moment he had put his blade to the launcher. The blades clashed in the center, sending a shower of sparks as the two bit beasts launched themselves at each other, wings beating viciously with deafening booms that pushed both bladers back and made them cover their ears to protect them from the sound. "Dranzer! Fire Arrow!" Kai's voice cut through the thick cloud of dust that had arisen from the beats of the powerful wings and the phoenix arose from the battle with a cry before it shot back down again. There was a might crash and something whizzed by his head, touching his cheek and drawing a thin line of blood. Kai ignored it and heard the blade crash behind him and the bit beast scream in rage.
Paige fell to her knees in astonishment as she stared at her stilled blade that lay behind Kai. She lifted her gaze to see Kai lift his hand to catch his blade and she noted that he made no move to wipe away the thin line of blood along his cheek. "You tricked me!" she cried, slamming her fists on the lip of the bowl. "I can't believe it, you tricked me!"
Kai turned his head and gave her a tiny smile that was without pity. "A trick for a trick." And with that he was gone.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Purra: Bwaha! Kai wins! Kai wins! Oh, and thanks to ryu kaze for giving me the info. I didn't know what Kai's last name was. *grins sheepishly*
Kai: *opens mouth to insult Purra then remembers juvi* Damn.
Purra: Ha! *struts around triumphantly* You can't insult me anymore!
Kai: *frowns* What if I don't say anything, but I do something.
Purra: *stops strutting and cocks her head in curiosity* That depends on what you're going to do.
Kai: *chases Purra across the room*
Purra: *shrieks* Yikes! Okie, review, review, review! And hopefully Kai will stop long enough for me to write another chapter! *shrieks again when Kai pulls her tail*
Kai: Get back here so I can strangle you! *chases Purra out of the room*
