Chapter 2

He arrived more than ten minutes earlier at the gym, but Tala was already waiting for him. That made Kai slightly nervous. He preferred to arrive first for his meetings, he could prepare himself mentally for the challenge that way.

Now, he didn't have that luxury, but he didn't feel the need to fall into despair. This match was just a formality for Tala's overthinking mind to choose the best man for his team.

The training room was empty. Kai enjoyed its hollowing silence, the stillness made him relaxed and focused.

After Tala and Kai greeted each other with a muted nod, the redhead Russian turned to a door at the corner of the gym that led to a changing room, shouting for the before mentioned 'she' to come over there.

Kai heard the irritating sound of a pulling chair and clatters of firm steps then a relatively tall, blonde girl came out of the room.

The moment she noticed her opponent, she stopped short with a shock on her face for a second. Kai watched her reaction with internal malevolent; it seemed Tala didn't bother to tell her she had to fight with him for the position in the team.

She quickly mustered her courage and composed herself, then paced to the two former champions with an unreadable face.

She was wearing a black attire with long sleeves, pockets attached to her thighs and hips; she kept her equipment in them, Kai assumed. She would fit perfectly to Tala's team with her outfit, although, Kai raised a brow at her eyepatch and long, pointing finger rings. They reminded him of claws. He hated them. Kai consciously stopped himself to rub the scars on his chest that he had got few months ago.

Her green eye was somehow familiar for Kai though he was certain he'd never met the girl before. Who else had green eyes?

Kai never had a girl teammate – Hilary was not counted that –, but Tala considering the idea of having one was surprising for him. Did Boris and Sergei know about this? Regarding Tala's carefulness and tactfulness, probably no. The wolf liked inspecting his possible options before he determined the next action he made.

He mustn't underestimate the blonde, Kai warned himself.

If Tala took her into consideration, that meant she got some ace up in her sleeve. He was also aware of the fact that girls had a thirst to prove themselves in this sport, giving them extra strength during the battles. Beybladers often forgot this in the stadium, lowering their guard and losing the fight in the end. Kai didn't deny that sometimes he also made this mistake though he had never lost against a girl and he was not going to start it now.

"Alexandra Katin, Kai Hiwatari." Tala introduced them to each other before the battle.

Alexandra threw her braided blonde hair behind her back and offered a hand to Kai for a shake.

Kai eyed the hand with an arched brow then looked up at her cutting glance. The shock that first painted her face was nowhere now. Either she wore a mask to cover her anxiety, or she was too self-confident. Kai hopped it was the former, otherwise she was going to be surprised then probably shattered by his destructive force.

At last, Kai scoffed dryly at the gesture ('Don't expect me to shake it.') and passed by her to the dish in the room.

"Let's get over with this." He growled, not wasting a single second more than it was necessary as he pulled out Dranzer from his coat pocket.

He heard the two following him and Alexandra stood in front of him, on the other side of the dish, preparing for the battle, meanwhile Tala was explaining the rules between them.

"You don't have to destroy each other at all costs, this isn't the championship yet. Also, winning this battle is not a guarantee for the winner to join the Blitzkrieg Boys. I will be the one who says the last word."

At that, two annoyed faces glared at Tala at the same time. The simultaneous and alike gesture was comical enough to make him smile smugly. Obviously, Kai and Alexandra were not pleased with that, but there was nothing they could do about it. Tala was the captain, and he had the rights and authority to change his mind whenever he felt like that.

"Thought I'd make this even more exciting for you." He explained and Kai rolled his eyes as he prepared his launcher. Alexandra did the same.

When they both were ready to battle, Tala started to count down for them.

"3, 2, 1… Go shoot!"

Kai's launch was powerful and steady as always, ready to charge and clash with his opponent right away, though he was taken aback seeing Alexandra's black beyblade spinning without balance and sloppily in the center. It seemed she ruined her launch in her nervousness, however she didn't show any concern about that and that made Kai suspicious.

Was it supposed to be some strategy of hers?

He needed to test it. Kai silently commanded Dranzer to attack, but with awareness. She obeyed and poked the other beyblade with more suppressed force than Kai liked. Alexandra's beyblade swayed dangerously nonetheless; Kai expected it to stop in any moment yet the blonde girl was still not worried about it. She was just staring at Kai, not even batting an eye at the battle like she could care less what was happening in the beydish.

Kai didn't understand. Didn't she want to join Tala's team? Or was she just mocking him? In any case, she was doing a poor job. Kai had met many overconfident opponents in his life, who felt on their face in the end. Alexandra was not going to win this battle with a simple staring contest.

He had enough. Kai wanted to finish this dance with Alexandra, he was just wasting his precious time now. He ordered Dranzer to attack fiercely and put an end to this battle.

Dranzer's velocity and rotation sped up crazily and charged to the black beyblade. The clash seemed inevitable, Kai was already expecting her spinning top to fly out of the stadium, leaving behind only Dranzer with his victory, yet the moment didn't come. Instead, Dranzer was diverted right before she could crash into Alexandra's beyblade as if gravity had pulled her away or the phoenix had denied his instruction in the last nanosecond.

Kai watched the two spinning beyblades in confusion, unsure if he could believe his eyes.

He tried to attack again, just to make sure. Then again. And again. Everytime he tried to make a hit at the other beyblade, Dranzer changed direction, leaving Alexandra's beyblade untouched.

Something was wrong.

He looked up at Alexandra, she was watching the fight, too; brows furrowed like she also would find the behavior of their beyblades strange though immediately shifted her eyes back to Kai once she sensed his gaze.

Her eye was murderous as if she was angry with him.

That irritated Kai.

The way she was staring at him with her crossed arms, with that provokingly confident look on her face, suggesting Kai the win was impossible for him. The way her beyblade was defenselessly and lazily spinning in the middle of the dish, luring him to engage yet it was invulnerable against any attack.

Clenching his fist, Kai tensed under the gaze, and his mind flashed back to the toughest battle of his life.

With Brooklyn.

Alexandra did the same what Brooklyn had against Kai. He could even feel the similar dark aura around her that put Kai at unease.

She thought herself unbeatable so there was no respect, no effort in her game. What was the point to beyblade without spirit?

He was going to show her how losing a battle tasted, how a broken pride ached and how hard to get the hope back to win again! He was fed up with talented but slothful beybladers. They didn't know how to fight with their everything; training hard day in, day out for only one fine purpose, knowing the risks and consequences of the possible failure; forcing down the fear to be humiliated in front of thousands of people. These talented bastards just walked in the stadium and demanded appreciation from the more experienced competitors.

"You should start beyblading for yourself, not for your father." Alexandra said unexpectedly, her tone unfazed, almost bored.

Kai became confused and furious by the mention of his father. What the fuck was she talking about?! Bringing up his father out of blue in the middle of the battle, telling him such a nonsense as if she was knowing him or his father at all.

Who was she? Who was she?

Kai's thoughts tirelessly flashed back and forth to make any sense out of the situation, then noticing Alexandra's small, mischievous smile he understood that she was playing with him, distracting his mind and focus from the battle.

"Quit fooling around and fight like a true beyblader!" He snapped at her, infuriated.

Alexandra narrowed her eye, her lips grew thin.

"As you wish." She murmured threateningly.

In an instant, her beyblade sped up with a loud buzzing sound and made a sudden, unpredictable move, clashing to Dranzer with such force that was impossible for her to avoid or dodge. Kai lurched under the impact and heard Tala's surprised gasp beside him.

Finally. She was taking their battle seriously now. She also revealed her strategy though Kai couldn't tell if it was intentional, or she had responded to his goading. How was she able to balance back her beyblade so quickly and without any effort was a mystery for Kai, but he got no time to contemplate on that, now.

He had to force Alexandra for another attack as she clearly lowered her defense that time. That was a dangerous move, Kai had to be careful not to exhaust Dranzer too much.

Kai attacked but cautiously, hoping she would take the bait.

Alexandra immediately growled, irritated by his attempt.

"You really think I didn't scrutinize your battles, learning your strategy?!" She snarled frantically before she struck back with huge vehemence, preventing Dranzer to gather her energy for another attack. The two beyblades collided, trying to overpower the other with great power though none of them could sever the grip.

They held each other for a long time, both Kai and Alexandra were getting tired, panting heavily from the intensity of the attack.

Kai started to worry.

If he kept this state up, Dranzer was going to be demolished. The phoenix was not designed to handle such pressure, her endurance was weaker than her attack power. He already tried many ways to escape from Alexandra's grasp; back and forth, left and right, but without any effective result. He could see that Dranzer was slowing down bit by bit, he must find something out before…

Wait a minute.

He had one more possible option to escape! Kai internally facepalm himself for not figuring this out sooner though truth be told, Alexandra distracted his mind pretty bad, and it was hard to brush aside his fury in the middle of a fight.

"Dranzer, up!" Kai yelled, urging the phoenix to find her path out of the grip of the other beyblade.

Dranzer did as she was asked and launched up with her remaining force into the height, successfully tearing herself out of the strong hold of Alexandra's beyblade.

The blonde snarled at the sight, preparing for the demolishing contact; she must know this was the phoenix's one of the strongest attacks. Kai felt confident once again. He struck with his remaining strength, he was putting an end to this match with a final blow, making clear for everyone in the room his beyblading potential was supreme and could not be compared to a simple talented player's.

Dranzer smashed into Alexandra's beyblade with a relentless force and speed that was impossible to follow, the cracking sound loudly echoed in the training room.

Kai blinked then gaped. Not believing his eyes; denying the sight right before him.

Dranzer was out of the stadium, miserably laying still on the floor with broken pieces while Alexandra's beyblade gawkily but still spinned in the beydish before it eventually stopped, irrecoverably running out of energy.

It was over. Kai lost the fight.

He couldn't get over with it. He visibly had the upper hand, Dranzer aimed at Alexandra's beyblade yet she hadn't hit it properly. But how?

How?!

Whilst Kai tried to put the pieces together, Alexandra collected her beyblade from the dish and Tala reluctantly announced her victory. His voice seemed distant and faint, not talking in his usual barking manner.

Kai looked at Tala to confirm the impossible for him, and to find some explanation on what had just happened. There was no way a blade could dodge Dranzer's one of the most powerful attacks and get away with no serious harm. He used this move in many battles, and he benefitted from it almost every time. Now, it seemed harmless. Kai couldn't process the outcome.

When crimson eyes met icy-blue, Kai's gut twisted. Tala's expression was burdened with disbelieve and hard feelings. Kai could see Tala was trying to subdue the urge to scold him as a captain for his performance, but knowing he was not his teammate anymore, the redhead didn't have the rights to do that so he only could stare at Kai, silently questioning him with daggers in his eyes.

Seeing the deep disappointment on his face, Kai realized that Yuriy wanted him to be his teammate once again, but the opportunity was missed.

At long last, Tala turned away from him, sending his next words to Alexandra.

"Congratulations. You're the new member of The Blitzkrieg Boys." Although his voice was not enthusiastic, Alexandra ignored the two boys' long face and celebrated her own success with a victoriously clenched fist.

"Gather your stuff. We'll go upstairs to register you in our team."

"Yes, sir!" Alexandra nodded respectfully, trying to show her professional side thought she couldn't hide the bright smile on her face.

After she left to the changing room, Tala spun back to the phoenix for the last time and he saw Kai still couldn't come out of his daze. He was examining the damage on his beyblade, trying to find some explanation on his loss.

"That was truly pathetic, Kai." Tala addressed his former teammate. He expected so much more from him. What happened with his passion for beyblade?

"For your own sake, I hope you're gonna be a bigger challenge on the tournament or the Bladebreakers will have a tough year."

Kai only glanced at him with a murderous look, gritting his teeth behind his pressed lips.

He knew Tala didn't intend to hurt or offend him with his words, but to fire him up. Make him angry and vigorous, so once their teams had to fight, he could defeat him with his glory. There was no honor in winning against a harmless shadow of a great fighter.

It was obvious for Tala that something kept occupied Kai's mind. In normal circumstances, he was able to focus on his battles without any difficulties, but he was somewhere else in his head this time. Fortunately for him, it was not an important match and the outcome didn't really matter, he had only missed an opportunity to go against Tyson, but the championship was round in the corner. Kai couldn't afford such mistake anymore.

Kai pocketed the pieces of his beyblade and made his leave.

"Worry for yourself, Tala. I won't be there to win the battles for you this time." He hissed through his teeth venomously as he passed the redhead, but despite the narrowed eyes, the boy remained unfazed.

"If only your worlds weren't so empty…" Tala bit back then he heard the door was loudly shut behind his back.

Alexandra returned with a bag in her hand, her smile still playing in the corner of her mouth, ready to leave with her new captain though Tala's sour face made every cheerfulness to disappear from her face. She was standing before him with dead seriousness like she was waiting for a brief before her mission.

Tala eyed the girl suspiciously, pondering on the same thing that Kai had been so intensely just minutes ago.

"How did you defeat him?"

Alexandra winced at his question; it was barely noticeable but interestingly, every small gesture on her face was somehow loud on her blank and dismissive expression.

"You do know how."

"Enlighten me." Tala demanded and put a hand on his hip. He was not in the mood for riddles.

"You read my file." Alexandra replied with a raised brow, uncertain if she was tested by him. "I have a water-type whale bitbeast that counters the fire-type spirits."

"You need water to use it in a battle." Tala argued with a tilt of his head.

"Why would I? When did Kai have to light a fire for his phoenix in a fight? The spirits are able to summon their own element anywhere and anytime if the connection with their wielder is secured enough."

Tala wrinkled his brows in his puzzlement. He heard about this for the first time. Sergei had a whale bitbeast too, but he had only seen him producing water when there had been some in the stadium that he could bend. Alexandra made sense though. How else could he possibly generate a complete blizzard in a stadium without any snow or ice nearby? He had never thought that it was thanks to his strong relationship with Wolborg.

He made a mental note to himself to practice exercises that focused on the connection with their bitbeasts with his team.

"Elements per se still are not everything; they can't decide the outcome of a battle."

"Yes, they can." Alexandra persisted without a doubt in her tone and Tala cocked a brow at her bravery for talking back to him so boldly. "Beybattles are defined and won by the stronger bitbeasts and nothing else. You can train as much as you want, in the end it's your connection with your spirit that only matters."

"And who defines which bitbeast is stronger?" Tala said with a hint of sarcasm. "Dranzer is an ancient, sacred spirit and Kai has her since he was a little child, their relationship is obviously secured."

"Yet I only had to mention his father and he lost the fight against me." Alexandra's acidic words were like a dagger in his gut.

Tala frowned at the oddly heated answer.

"How did you know his father is his weakness?" He asked on a demanding voice.

He didn't know about Kai's father. He had been his teammate already two times, but Kai had never talked about his relatives to him. Not like he had asked about them ever. Or he had cared about them ever. It was something that called private life and the last thing Tala was interested in was others' personal issues.

But how come a girl popping out of nowhere just happened to know such delicate detail about the most uncommunicative beyblader?

"Oh, I've just made some investigation of the more decent beybladers' life." Alexandra replied casually, trying to brush off the question, but that made Tala only more distrustful.

"Where did you find such details?" Tala raised an intimidating brow. He didn't like what he was hearing.

"In the media. They always mention small, seemingly insignificant details that people like to ignore in general." Her reply was almost mocking, she seemed content with herself.

"Your investigation included my team, too?" He questioned menacingly.

Alexandra paused and eyed him, contemplating her reply for a short time then a big, seductive smile spread over her face.

"Of course not." The silky voice made it obvious for Tala that she was lying.

Tala grew more and more suspicious of her though she was his teammate for only minutes. Alexandra evidently seemed to be a dangerous opponent who fought her battles both inside and outside of the dish. She knew how to choose her words and how to play with others' mind and honestly, it could come handy for Tala. He wanted to win on this championship, and Alexandra appeared to be a good pick for the team, convinced minute by minute that she would be able to fit in, but he couldn't ignore his concerns about her not quite straightforward ways.

He must keep an eye on her.

"The rest of the team will arrive today evening, I want you to meet them as soon as possible, so come over to my place at 5 and I'll introduce you to them." Tala briefed as he headed the training room door.

"Understood. However…"

Tala paused and looked back at the blonde with lifted brows. She had just joined the team, but already had objections?

"I hope you don't want me to beybattle with them, too. This was the last time you tested me, Yurij. If you're not entirely sure about me as a teammate, let's just say goodbye and don't waste each other's time." Alexandra's serious tone and face was nearly sinister, and Tala suddenly saw Volkov's devious and scheming behaviour mirroring in her eyes.

She surely acted as one who was raised in the Abbey. But Tala too had grown up on that place. He knew how things had worked there; knew how to survive and gain the upper hand in crucial situations. He showed once his soft side to anyone and he was dead. He knew how they played this game and damn this girl if she thought she got a chance against him.

He stepped deep into Alexandra's personal space, towering above her, his tall appearance was a big advantage for him, and looked down at her ominously. Although she heroically stood his vicious glare, he saw her shifting under it uncomfortably.

"Leave the commanding role to me. If you address me again, especially in front of my team, I'll give you a nostalgia trip and show you how we dealt with the insubordinates like you inside of the Abbey. Don't make me regret my decision giving you a chance." Tala's low, intimidating words made their impact; Alexandra shifted her eyes down at the floor.

"Yes, sir." She said, and Tala couldn't hear the cockiness in her voice anymore though she didn't lose her spirit either.

Tala stepped away, giving space Alexandra again and heading the stairs.

"Follow me." He barked and Tala heard the following steps of the blonde, not saying a word.