Chapter 18!

Yay! Thanks to everyone who responded! So, like I promised, here's your update! Now let's see how everyone reacts, shall we?

Disclaimer: Hn. (turns and walks away, scarf ends flying)

…

Hey, pretty good impression huh? XD

(for those of you who didn't get me Kai-speak, Beyblade is the property of Takao Aoki, I don't own it)

PG-13 for some language, but it's funny how Johnny isn't as vulgar as Kai, innit? XD

Special Thanks to Caliany who told me how to say 'Stop' and 'Enough' in Russian (I changed it to 'Khvatiti' after ;P)

Special Thanks also, to banan who kindly told me how to properly spell 'daijoubu desu ka?' (Thankies :3)

"¤ø¤,¸¸¸,¤ø¤,¸¸¸,¤ø¤" denotes a change in perspective

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Sooryavansham: The Dynasty of the Sun

Sholay

After the world championships in Russia, Kai just wanted to vanish. Then one day, inevitably, Kai is drawn back and ensnared in an intricate web of magic and legends; wrought by forsaken history and controlled by none other than Voltaire.

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"Everybody lies, but it doesn't matter because no one listens"

—Nick Diamos

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Chapter 18: Bow to Pride

Johnny seriously could not BELIEVE the gall of that Hiwatari. Honestly, the guy's been missing for a year (or so he'd heard) and now he just pops up out of nowhere and waltzed into an important meeting 'Like he's the freakin' king of the world.'

Johnny looked over to watch as Hiwatari glided into the boardroom, scarf ends trailing, and an insufferably bored look in his slanted eyes. 'And even now, he's still acting like he's so bleedin' superior. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if he was, like, some mass murderer or somethin'. Got caught on a job the day he was supposed t' take the plane. Then 'e spent all his money payin' some rich lawyer to bail him out of jail and couldn't pay for a ticket…'

Johnny scowled.

'…I REALLY hate that guy.'

None the less, even Johnny had to admit that Hiwatari could make a damn good appearance. He'd somehow managed to time it so that everyone had just taken their seats, but had not started the meeting yet. Then he'd come, opening the door purposefully and striding into the room with long steps. It didn't escape Johnny's attention that Hiwatari seemed to be like some artificial windmaker, generating his own wind behind him which picked up the ends of his scarf. Out of the corner of his eye Johnny saw that girl, the new one who'd come with the Bladebreakers literally swoon, her eyes all bright and wide. Johnny wrinkled his nose in disgust—NO, he was NOT jealous! Hiwatari had nothing on him!

Johnny threw his eyes away from Hiwatari in a wide eye roll, scanning the stained wooden walls of the boardroom, over the various expensive paintings and finally falling on the other people in the room. Johnny's interest was immediately tweaked. He could deal with Hiwatari later (there would be plenty of time for that later, when he got that rematch), right now the reactions of the people around him were priceless.

His team and most of the others didn't react all that much—why would they react over Hiwatari, of all people?—But the Bladebreakers…

'And I coulda sworn I heard a choking noise from those Demo idiots.' But when he'd looked over they were as cold and stuck-up as ever. 'Although Voltaire has this freaky nasty look on his face, and Boris' look is just plain creepy.' Johnny raised an eyebrow and then shuddered at the evil smirk Boris was wearing.

Looking over to the other side of the room, Johnny eyed the Bladebreakers, who—minus the girl—had all jumped to their feet when Hiwatari had entered. Max had jumped up so fast the blood rush had nearly knocked him to the floor again. Tyson on the other hand HAD stood up too quickly and HAD fallen over. This had been funny, so Johnny had laughed; loudly.

And earned himself a jab in the ribs from Enrique.

Which, of course, he gladly returned. With force.

'Stupid Italians, think they can just do whatever they want.' Johnny smirked at Enrique, who was now nursing a bruised side.

The redhead then looked back. Rei and Kenny were slower to get up, but still, Rei looked kinda dazed, like someone had whacked him over the head with a two by four, and Kenny…

'Well, I dun know what Kenny was thinkin' with those huge, stupid glasses covering half his damn face.'

Anyway, back to Hiwatari… Oh yeah, he walked into the room, cooler than a cucumber, when suddenly he stopped. Johnny didn't think it could have been for more than a few seconds, but no one could have missed the sudden burst of tension in the room.

'Even Enrique's head was knocked off cloud nine long enough for him to notice… heh that sounded pretty smart dunnit?'

Hiwatari had turned to look at something or the other behind Johnny, He was staring so obviously, Johnny himself had to see what had made his nemesis so angry, and when he himself turned he saw Voltaire staring, no, glaring back.

'Smoke and blood… huh… coulda sworn I saw some lightning flashes there too.' Johnny had thought, referring to both pairs of eyes as they locked in mortal combat.

But then the moment was over and Hiwatari—the younger one—turned away.

Just then Tyson, Max, Rei and Kenny lost all self control they had—'Not like that was much'—and launched themselves at Hiwatari. Rei, Max and Kenny managed to stop themselves just short of sending Hiwatari into the wall, but Tyson kept going. And Hiwatari, just as calm as anything, stepped to the side and let Tyson launch himself at thin air… and fall flat on his face.

Johnny allowed himself another snigger here. Yes, technically it was Hiwatari, but Johnny could appreciate good humor, even from him.

"Hey!" Granger called, upset.

"Kai! You're here!" Max sounded happy.

"Where have you been?" Rei asked and soon all 4 of them were crowding around Hiwatari, throwing questions left and right. Hiwatari himself looked like he's just swallowed a lemon and was probably three seconds away from exploding when Tyson's Grampa interrupted:

"HOMIES! Stop crowding the ol' chap!"

"Yes, boys," Now Max's Da stepped forward. He pulled the guys back. "There'll be plenty of time for that later. Let's give Kai a chance to explain himself; we can see what happens after that."

They moved back to the wall, slowly, pouting, but Hiwatari stayed where he was. He hadn't said anything yet. Odd. But then he started to head towards the table… and it was at that moment when Johnny noticed the empty chair.

The chair for the Bladebreakers' manager.

'No way…'

Hiwatari wasn't wasting any time as he made a beeline straight for the chair.

'No FREAKING way…'

"I trust," He drawled in that smarmy, snotty voice of his. "From the procedure, that this—" and he laid his hand unbelievably slowly down on the heavy oak chair.

"Oh hurry up already." Johnny growled, and earned another jab, which he didn't bother to return, he was too preoccupied…

'No FREAKING WAY IS HIWATARI THEIR MANAGER.'

"—is my chair." And the bastard looked around with this self-satisfied smirk and half closed eyes.

And Mr. Dickenson nodded!

Johnny couldn't believe his eyes.

'Damn, I REALLY hate that guy.'

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There is something to be gained from acting insufferable. By diverting people's attention, throwing arrogance and insolence in their faces to blind and incense them, they become impulsive and predictably pliable. Even now, as I stand before them all, purposefully drawing out my words, making each action slow and deliberate, I see the irritation rising in their eyes, concern waning in face of base human nature.

It does, of course, help that I am unequivocally insufferable by nature.

I cast my eyes around the room, the previous encounter with my Grandfather banished from my mind—I cannot afford to be woolgathering at this time—and allow my eyelids to fall half way, observing them without being explicit. Voltaire looks murderous, not unexpectedly, and my eyes skate over Boris. Out of all the Demolition Boys, only Tala looks different, strangely as though he has swallowed a lemon. My eyes linger on him for a moment longer than I intend, but then move on.

Rei, Tyson … Max and Kenny… Completely unexpected was the rush I felt as I laid eyes on them for the first time in a year. 'Weakness' is how my mind answers and I let all feeling fall away, 'for another time'. I observe them: when I had walked in the door they had very nearly tackled me and bombard me with all sorts of accusations and questions. But as I watch now, my appearance perhaps, or maybe the calmness in my voice, seems to placate them. They are already backing off and seating themselves.

Mr. Dickenson has not even risen, though his eyes betray his desire for answers. But again, as I sent a smirk around the room he relaxes and leans back, content with putting his suspicion on hold. Honestly, the old man has waited five years; he obviously has no qualms with prorogation.

I hold no concern that Voltaire or Boris would dare confront me here in front of everyone. No, they would prefer to grab me and shake me down behind closed doors. But I will deal with that when it comes.

And that is all. Tyson, Rei, Max, Kenny… Mr. Dickenson, Voltaire, Boris and Tala. They are the only ones who showed significant response as I entered the room.

'No, wait.'

My eyes fall on one other.

'Now, this is amusing.'

Johnny has the most interesting look on his face. Something between gross repugnance and crippling gork is twisting his already distasteful features into something quite… different.

'And is he wearing a kilt?'

It is quite affecting, few people can wear a kilt and still maintain an air of respectability… and it he is most certainly not one of those people.

I notice his bizarre expression darken with prolonged exposure to my gaze and I shift my gaze elsewhere. Deciding I have waited long enough, the lack of response to my query not unnoticed—they must be in shock; oh well, it matters not, it is about time my former team realizes who has been doing the bills anyway—I pull the chair out and slide in, placing a hand on the armrest in preparation to lower myself into the chair—

"Wait a moment, Mr. Hiwatari." I pause, just hearing the name halts me. For a year no one has called me that, and even with everything that's happened today, hearing it now out of Mr. Dickenson's mouth is enough to stop me long enough for it to register. I straighten, pushing my shoulders back just enough to let him know I am listening.

"Perhaps, before you settle down, we could have a short explanation—."

Surprisingly it is not I who has to say otherwise.

"Chairman Dickenson," Says a man standing to my left, I glance over; he looks vaguely familiar. "I believe this meeting was intended as a time to discuss urgent matters, perhaps we can exchange personal views during the lunch break." I give the man an appraising look. Very clever, he just managed to interpose himself in a personal conversation, tell Mr. Dickenson to shut up, and back away all without directly insulting anyone. I see him glance back in the general direction of Tyson and Max and suddenly his familiarity clicks.

'Ah yes, the divorced, single parent and full-time chef, part time author: Mister Alexander Tate, formerly Kenji Mizuhara. Adult accompaniment, perhaps?'

I see Mr. Dickenson concede and give a mental nod, moving to seat myself once more.

"Hold it boy." This time I literally freeze, and it has nothing to do with confusion. I know exactly who is speaking. I raise myself to my full height.

"Grandfather." The familiar word twists on my tongue like a leech. I notice movement at my side and feel tension rising from many people around me… The Bladebreakers, Mr. Dickenson, Mr. Granger and even Mr. Tate. It makes no sense why they would be affected, but I put that aside for now.

"I have been deprived of my Grandson's presence for months now and when, finally, you appear before me you would ignore your own Grandfather? I was sure I raised you to have better conduct than that. It does not do to forget oneself, boy."

'Hypocrite.' I point out calmly in my mind, very well used to his manner. I suppose learning to hold one's tongue is like learning to ride a bike: never forgotten after that first fall which broke your wrist. Behind me I hear less then prudent mutterings. In specific, I hear Tyson's crude imitation.

"'It doesn't do to forget oneself'" He mutters in a nasally voice, obviously imitating Voltaire's clipped English. "What's that supposed to mean?"

'Much more than it should.' One part of my mind replies, while the other is presenting me with a choice.

As I see it, I could do any one of two things at this moment. Choice number one would entail telling everyone how my Grandfather none too kindly threw me out and left me without so much as two kopeks to rub together and make a fire. I could tell them how Balkov Abbey is really a training center designed to create a generation of heartless bladers bred to follow my Grandfather's desires. But that would cause an inordinately large disturbance, and would be a horribly unwise decision to make in the heart of Russia, a country that bleeds and breathes with Voltaire's money. The issue would be covered up and quickly squashed. I would be left in the custody of a vengeful man; Tala and the others left at the mercy of Boris. No, definitely not a smart choice.

The answer is simple; I must take option number two.

I move the seat further back; take a step away from the table…

'Empty'

And bow.

"I apologize for my rudeness, Grandfather. Allow me to make amends for my lapse." I circle the table and stand before my Grandfather. Perhaps to everyone else it seems a bit fulsome, but this is necessary, I need to give an indisputable reason for my absence now, before rumors of the truth can fly.

Besides, no one else may have noticed it, but I—and Voltaire too, from the narrow glint in his eye—definitely did not miss my failure to add a 'please' in that statement. "I bid you a Good Morning and hope that time has treated you well these past few months I have spent with Grandmother."

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End Chapter Eighteen…

… To Be Continued

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Hm. I suppose the question now is: will they call his bluff? I know, the chapters are shorter than normal, I'm sorry, but I'm swamped with midterms and finals coming up, so this is the best I can do for now; I'll try to get the length back up after all my tests are done!

''kR!t#Y'': Hiya! Thanks for writing your review twice! I know, very well, how annoying it can be to have to re-write stuff I've already done (you wouldn't BELIEVE how many times my computer has run out of battery and I had to re-write half a chapter 'cause I forgot to save it before!) so, yeah, I totally understand ;p. And you know, a lot of Russian names do end with 'ov (actually, especially middle names, since they take the name of the father and add –ov or –ovna depending on the gender), but not all of them do… just the ones I like XD I didn't even realize both Konstantinov and Orlov ended with –ov until you said that :3 And as for saying 'stop' in Russian, well… that's what my dictionary said, but what you said about them running away before you finished telling them to stop… That's EXACTLY what I thought XDD. But I did end up changing it to 'Khvatiti' which means 'enough'… it's a little shorter, right o.O? Anyway, thanks for giving me your opinion on the Naruto crossover (ha, ha, Voltaire and Sasuke, now that IS interesting! Hmmm! But don't worry, Kai will ALWAYS be my favorite character!) And I'm glad you thought Orlov was evil, I was trying to portray a heartless subordinate (I was trying to show the kind of terror Stalin must have when he threatened people into admitting to things they didn't do during the purges… I was actually comparing Voltaire to Stalin) so I'm happy you thought that came across! Hope you liked the chapter!

banan: Hiya again! I hope you got the response I sent, if not then please tell me and I'll fish it out and send it again! Oh, and when Kai left the Abbey, the anime claims that he lost his memory in the explosion caused by Black Dranzer, and somehow he ended up in Japan with Voltaire after that. In my fic, Kai set the Abbey on fire, and something (still unknown!) caused him to loose his memory, after which he somehow crossed Russia, stowed away on a cargo ship and ended up in Japan where he somehow ended up living with Votlaire (yeah, I don't know how he did it either!). So, you want Orochimaru-Kai interaction? XD That's actually one of the ones I'm excited about too! I'm not sure exactly HOW I'll manage it, but I'm sure I'll be able to do something. Oh and I can picture EXACLTY the glare Sasuke and Kai would give each other XD I've actually drawn this pic of the two of them, but haven't posted it on DeviantArt yet (I did it only recently and I'm still working my way up the years ;P). I don't read the manga, but I know most of what happened, the funny thing is I'm not even really crazy about it, I just thought writing Sasuke meeting Kai would be too great an opportunity to pass up XD. Oh and I'm sorry! I never meant to make you seem evil! You're not! You're amazing! And I love your reviews! I'm glad you liked the interlude and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Canyx: Heya! Yeah, I know what you mean about this fic getting confusing, even for me, I have to keep going back to check some facts to make sure I keep the story consistent. Although, just to make it easier (so you don't have to sift through some odd 100,000 words XP) Konstantinov was only mentioned once in chapter 17, when he came into the boardroom to tell Mr. Dickenson that Kai had arrived. Orlov was new, this interlude was the first time he was mentioned. That only other characters I've created are the Huo family, who are illegal Chinese emigrants living in Izhevsk and Voran, the mole person living in abandoned Russian subway tunnels (wow, I never realized how weird my made up characters were until I wrote that down! ;p). Anyway, thanks for the review and I appreciate you commenting on my story idea, even if you've never seen/read Naruto C: Actually, I only saw it for the first time a few months ago, so I don't know very much about it either, just that this one character Sasuke, struck me as dark and moody and I thought it would be fun if he and Kai met XD. So yeah… did you look at the comment after? What did you think :3 Hope you liked the chapter!

Many, many thanks to those who reviewed! I think that was the most reviews I've ever received for a chapter! To: Cailany, ladyofwest, Samu, Raykou-kun, wolf's lament, fawks136, AngeLhearteD, phoenix-falling, ''kR!t#Y'', BloodRedViolet, FlamingIce94, banan, Canyx, d1bontemp, Kais-lil-lover, Kais-lil-lover (again! XD), lady KCassandra, bladz-liska, Okamikai and kavbj!

Adio!