A/N: Two weeks ago I realized I uploaded the wrong doc file of the 14th chapter. I corrected my mistake since then. The changes are related mostly to the bit-beast theories and the last intense part. If you're up to it, I recommend you to re-read the last part where Ray questions Tyson and Kenny for their unusual behavior. Anyway, these are mostly minor changes in the story so if you don't want to go back, you're not gonna miss any crucial detail. Sorry for the inconvenience!
The other small change is that from now on, I'm going to refer to Tyson's team as Bladebreakers, just to avoid any confusion not calling them G-Revolution team anymore.
It's quite a long chapter again, so get yourself comfortable. Have a nice reading!
Chapter 15
The eerie silence sat deep in the room like a satisfied monster after a healthy lunch, for a long time. None of them knew what to say so they kept standing in the silence, waiting for each other to break the tense stillness.
The slamming sound of the door still endlessly and painfully rung in their ears.
After the first shock, Ray slowly picked up the first noises that occasionally broke the false peace in the room. Tyson's sniffing as he tried to prevent more blood dripping from his nose; Hilary's small sobbing while she tried to collect herself; the ceaseless noise of running cars from the deep of city streets.
"This was intense." Max breathed out a heavy sigh he was holding back for some time now. His words finally pulled the team out of their trance.
"That… Fucking asshole!" Tyson cursed as he still tried to stop the bleeding in his nose pressing his fingers on the bridge. His yellow shirt already soaked with blood.
Hilary quickly wiped the tears on her face, adjusted her clothe like she had been caught in the storm the two boys generated in the room not long time ago.
"Let me see." She said softly and stepped to Tyson, tenderly leading him to a chair and tilting his head back.
"He broke it! He seriously broke my nose!"
"Calm down, Tyson." Hilary scowled, examining his nose carefully. Her voice was almost getting back to normal – snappy and strict. She grabbed some tissues from the top of a dresser and strongly pressed them on his face. Tyson winced but let the girl do the job. "It is not broken, just bleeding."
"Great. So, I'll only bleed to death."
At another time, they would laugh and tease Tyson for his childish, sarcastic words, but now, everyone just ignored it.
"Did you… did you see anything on his neck?" Hilary carefully voiced everyone's internal question in the room.
Tyson didn't shift his eyes from the ceiling. He didn't need to see his teammates disapproving and scolding eyes to know how they felt regarding his harsh fight with Kai.
"No." He said reluctantly. "There was no tattoo."
Tyson felt the choking lump grown in his throat – consequence of his rashness. He should never ask such thing from Kai. He was curious what the others' thoughts were, but he was terrified that he was going to meet with blaming expressions. He could barely handle his own shame.
Seconds passed without any word from the others, so Tyson hoped they eventually dropped this topic. He heard a shifting sound on the floor and in his corner of eyes, he saw Ray stood up from the floor.
The white tiger already felt the harsh pain forming in his jaw from the captain's heavy punch. He touched it slightly, barely pressing his fingers on the bone and immediately hissed. Yup, that'll hurt for a while.
He looked at Kenny who was still clinging to the table, his face was covered with sweat. His tie hanged messily in his neck after Kai's attack.
"Are you alright, Chief?" Ray sympathetically squeezed his shoulder with a gentle hand.
Hearing his nickname, Kenny quickly tried to re-organize his appearance as if trying to cover his pathetic state.
"Yes. Thank you." He sighed, hesitantly looking around in the room to confirm the captain did leave. "I've never seen him like this."
Although, he whispered it to himself, everyone froze and looked down. Their silence was their agreement with his statement.
"I don't think any of us has." Ray said in a low voice. He looked at the little, fragile boy before him, considering if he should push him more in this condition. Eventually, he thought the night was already ruined anyway, it was futile putting back the gloves on.
They had such a great evening and dinner with the other teams. Everyone had a good time, laughing, talking in an easy manner. He shouldn't have addressed Tyson and Kenny this night. His team would've deserved some laughing, they didn't have much fun together for a long time since they defeated BEGA last year. After the victory, each of them returned to their own world and didn't keep close contact. They weren't children anymore, they had been growing older with tougher responsibilities that overshadowed playing and fooling times.
Now, the situation only worsened. He didn't expect things escalate so quickly. Kai was not going to forgive Tyson soon – if he had forgiven him ever. And Tyson was not going to forget Kai's words. The navy-blue haired boy was heated with anger right now, but soon his pain and anger are going to evaporate, and he'll remember what the captain threw at his head in his outrage.
"How did it happen, Kenny?" Ray asked and tried his best to remove the judging tone from his voice. "Why did you give Kai's Dranzer to the girl?"
Everyone expectantly looked at the mechanic, eager to learn his reasons. Even Tyson lifted his head in his curiosity. He never questioned Chief. Until now, he was certain the brunette had agreed to make such a deal in favour of collecting only data. What else he would do it?
On second thought, Kenny had had many opportunities in the past to make such a deal with their opponents. He knew Chief was smart enough to build a strategy for the team that would be worth the trade, but he had never done it before. Why now? Why did he do with Kai who was the most sensible in this question? Suddenly, he had a bad feeling he couldn't ignore anymore.
Kenny ran a hand through his fuzzy hair.
"I don't know!" He replied, frustrated for not finding a proper explanation for his own decision. "I just…" He trailed off, looking for the right words to explain it. "I was fed up with his arrogant attitude. I repaired his Dranzer many, many times and he can't say a simple 'thank you'. I've never asked anything from the team in return for my hard work because I was totally fine for inventing new beyblades for all of you. I'm honoured being part of the team. But I've had enough with this derisive remarks and demanding tones. Kai knows he needs me but giving me the respect I deserve for it is out of question for him."
Tyson breathed out a silent, suppressed sigh through his nose. This was worse than he thought. He didn't realize Kenny was so fed-up with Kai. The discontent in Kenny had been built up for some time now.
"I know I made a horrible mistake. "Kenny continued. Being shy and insecure with his opinion at first, now he just wanted to get rid of his distress that he had been developing for years. "Even I'm disgusted with myself. I should've never betrayed his trust considering his apprehensive character, but as Tyson said, he did it to us plenty of times in the past and I wanted him to know what it's like when the ones who you trust take no notice of you or your feelings."
The others still didn't react verbally to his confession, only sad, pitying eyes looked back at him. It gave Kenny a freak and he wished they would scold him or send him to hell for what he'd done.
"It was childish, I know." He uttered under his nose as if trying to provoke some reaction from his friends.
"I'm as blameful as you, Chief." Tyson reassured and Kenny was grateful that he spoke. "I also wanted to see the girl with Dranzer after the crap she told me." He paused with a concerned furrow. "I'd never imagined she wasn't bluffing…"
"I don't understand your obsession with him."
Tyson looked at the blonde with a raised brow.
"Huh?"
Max was resting his back on the couch, listening closely to the conversation in the room, but now, he leaned forward, hands entwined. His sincere look made him somehow older, his goofy attitude was fairly brushed aside now.
"You're always talking about Kai. Sometimes how much you respect him for being who he is, other times how much you hate him for being who he is. Kai this, Kai that. Why are you so eager to learn everything about him? He had a rough childhood, end of story. You show the slightest affection towards us comparing what you offer to that guy, who only gives a cold shoulder in return, every single time. Are we not interesting enough for you? Are we not important because we've had a better life?"
Max's genuine and harsh questions were a cold shower for Tyson. This was how Max saw him and his relationship with the team?
"Of course you all are important for me." He protested indignantly because the question was as ridiculous.
Max was the most good-hearted person he'd ever met in his life, who always could forgive the other's mistake because the blonde believed in kindness. He was angry with someone only if he had a good reason for that. Considering that it was Tyson who just gave that reason made him worried. He could have never forgiven himself if he had lost Max's friendship.
"Then why do you feel you have to defend him?" Max retorted with a harsher tone. He suddenly felt restless to sit still on the sofa, so he stood, just to give some work to his muscles.
"Since we won the first tournament as Bladebreakers in Moscow and found out a tiny part of Kai's past you always try to involve him in everything while he clearly doesn't need that attention." Max looked hard into Tyson's eyes, hoping his words would switch a light bulb in the other's head, but only stubbornness and confusion stared back at him.
Max sighed exasperatedly and lowered his eyes to his shoes, admitting defeatedly his feelings.
"I miss the old days when I was the closest friend to you beside Kenny. We had so much fun as four. Kai always ran or wandered away and we were chasing him through the entire city to give him another lecture not to do it and grumbling about his arrogance. We were a team then. You, Kenny, Ray, me and later even Hilary. We were there for each other."
The mentioned girl blushed at Max's words. They boys often forgot about her and what she did for them. She was grateful for him acknowledging her existence in the team.
Tyson didn't know what to say to Max. Personally, he didn't agree with his blonde friend. Kai had been there numerous times for the team, however it was true that he'd usually showed up in the last seconds. What a dramatic asshole, Tyson half-heartedly smirked. In other cases, Tyson would give a voice to his thoughts, defending again the sourpuss for god knows why, saving his honour before the boys. Tonight, however, he didn't feel like to do so.
"After the Abbey incident on our first tournament, Kai was more sociable. He spent more time with us, supporting and fighting for us." Ray reminded Max, and Tyson silently thanked him to bringing up that. He had a feeling if he had said this, the others would rather pity him for his words. He knew that Ray and Kai were always on good terms. Maybe because they were more responsible and mature, Tyson couldn't tell, but he was relieved that there was one more person in that room who felt important to stand for Kai.
Max reluctantly shrugged his shoulder at that. He couldn't agree with Ray in this question.
"I know there was a time he tried to fit in the team, but let's not forget this: he left and betrayed the team again and again pursuing the greater power. I'm certain he would do it again anytime if he gets the opportunity. He's the grandson of Voltaire Hiwatari after all." Max argued and this time Ray couldn't oppose him.
The blonde turned back to Tyson once more.
"So why can't you just drop what happened with him in the Abbey? We're your friends, too, Tyson, and we're eager to spend time with you. Don't neglect us in favour of a man, who gives a damn about your well-being."
Tyson looked down at his lap. His nose stopped bleeding finally, but his heart not. He still felt Hilary's reassuring hand on his shoulder, she forgot it on him since she took care of his wound. It was nice to feel somebody else's warm, because the words he was receiving from his friend were paralyzingly cold.
He wanted his friends so bad to live in unison together and form a small family for him. Max liked it or not, Kai was also part of this family and he was responsible for him. He didn't notice he'd push away the others from him in the meantime though. It was not his intention at all. He just knew Kai needed more attention than the others despite of the captain's constant denying. That bastard was like a brother for him he couldn't leave behind, no matter how arrogant and annoyingly secretive the boy could be, or how many times betrayed his trust. Because his trust in him was rock solid. He knew that Kai eventually returned to them every time he left the team. It was just… his nature.
He wanted to understand his reasons though. The reasons Kai never minded to explain to any of them.
"I'm sorry that I made you feel that way, Maxie." Tyson eventually said. His eyes still on his hands, shame and sadness rushing over him.
He heard small steps and a firmer hand weighed on his other shoulder.
"Nah, it's alright, buddy!"
Tyson looked up at a smiling Max. His gleeful appearance returned, giving his forgiveness. He was eager to put behind their hard feelings and be on good terms again.
The others sighed as well in their relief. Seeing Max and Tyson's small smiles, they let go the tension from their body for the first time since the harsh fight. Finally, the things were getting back to normal.
"Sorry for ruining again the mood, but there's something that still bugs me." Ray turned back to Kenny, the little boy's recently content face was serious again.
"C'mon, Ray! Is it a new hobby now?" Tyson groaned, acting again as his old himself. Max chuckled at his overdramatic reaction though Ray ignored the interruption.
"You mentioned you had to repair Dranzer before you offered the Blitzkrieg girl to test her. Do you know what happened to Dranzer?"
Kenny soundly gulped at that. He didn't want to be a target for the Russian again and unconsciously rubbed his neck, adjusting his tie on his chest.
"It's useless." Tyson answered instead of him once again, faces snapping to him. "I already asked Chief about it and he didn't know. Kai didn't tell him anything… surprisingly."
"You also knew about this?" Ray furrowed his eyebrows, not pleased with what he was hearing. "Why didn't you tell us?"
Tyson recoiled at the unexpected scolding tone.
"I-I honestly didn't think it mattered. I was too excited about the tournament and didn't ponder on it." He shrugged lamely. "Why is it so important anyway?"
Before Ray could reply, Hilary cut in. She was always clever enough to quickly pick up the pieces and put them together, and thanks to her sceptic nature, she often noticed seemingly insignificant details that soon became part of a bigger picture that contained an ugly truth.
"He beybattled with someone! Is it right, Kenny?" She looked at Chief now, waiting for his confirmation.
"I don't know! He didn't say anything." The short boy defended, the glaring faces frightening him again.
"The damage on Dranzer, could it be caused by excessive training?" Hilary rephrased her question.
"By training? No way." Kenny answered without wasting a second to hesitate. He didn't miss the others shared a quick glance at each other.
"When did he give you to repair his blade?" Ray queried. He had already various ideas what might happened, but he hated jumping into assumptions, so he wanted to be sure what Kai's reason was before judging the older teen.
"Let's see…" Kenny grabbed his chin in his concentration. He worked so much lately, the days became just one big merged time-mass for him. "It was right before the preliminaries if I remember well." He replied eventually.
Hilary immediately narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Her thoughts were running back and forth, contemplating who Kai's opponent could be. It obviously was not a friendly match, otherwise his beyblade wouldn't have been smashed so badly that Kenny had to work on it for days.
"It's useless to guess what exactly happened." Max spoke up in the silence, his voice was tired. He sat back to the sofa, elbow on the armrest, chin in his palm. "We should just ask him about it tomorrow."
"Oh, that'll be a delightful conversation! 'Hey, Kai, how did you mess up your Dranzer, tell us, please. By the way, sorry for stripping you and stepping on your pride!' That'll make him talk, I'm sure." Tyson facepalmed at the absurd scene, running a hand on his face in his frustration. His sarcastic narration was followed by another tense, shorter silence.
"Yeah… you shouldn't have done that, Tyson." Ray scolded, reviving the unpleasant image when Kai turned and exposed his neck. He only took off his coat and scarf, nothing more, but somehow, this already made the captain so vulnerable and insecure that Ray didn't want to see him in such an upset state again. Kai always valued his pride and the fact, his own team broke it, well… Once again, he feared the Russian will never forgive them.
Tyson hung his head, his stubborn features softened to concern.
"I know."
"I also should've intervened." Ray admitted guiltily.
"But it's not true what he's said." Tyson's voice was filled again with obstinate and anger and crossed his arms before his chest like he'd been trying to dodge the older teen's words. "We didn't become champions only thanks to him! What a bullshit! It was teamwork! Something that The Almighty Ass can't understand." He uttered the last sentence under his red nose because he knew well, now he acted like a child.
The others watched him sympathetically. Kai's arrogance was not new for them, they already got used to his patronizing opinion about other people. Tyson, on the other hand, couldn't accept that and always took his statements personally, jumping into unnecessary conflicts.
Hilary left out an exasperated sigh, it was already 1 a.m. The team had an off day on the next day, but it was still too late to discuss such cardinal issues in the middle of the night. It was a long, tiring day with more excitements that she could ask for. Hilary wanted only her bed, giving the chance for a new, better day.
"I don't think we could settle this internal conflict right now, guys. Not without Kai anyway. Let's call it a day and we may continue tomorrow." Hilary suggested and the others eagerly agreed on the idea.
oOoOo
"You should center Seaborg around me!" Alexa ordered loudly in the stadium, and Sergei acknowledge her command with a firm nod.
His whale bit-beast immediately obeyed, twirling steadily in the beydish while Alexandra's beyblade was spinning on higher velocity around Seaborg like a moon.
They were practicing in the big stadium, their harsh shouts and cheering loaded the enormous, usually noisy, but now hollow building for which Alexa gained access from Mr Dickenson.
After the last matches of the quarter finals from that day, her first thing was to come back to the empty stadium and practice her launching. Knowing she'd get bored quickly by the repeating shooting, she previously convinced Sergei to come and train with her.
Watching his matches with Seaborg, Alexa decided to give some advices to Sergei how to re-learn his battling style. The blonde boy was well-trained in the Abbey, anything she said or ordered him to do, he instantly followed her instruction without a question. She was surprised by his submission though, Alexandra usually had to struggle more with the boys to fight for her position in their companion. Sergei probably recognized who was a worthy leader to follow and who was just a clown, because he didn't follow anyone's commands. Alexandra found his attitude flattering, however she was certain it was not intentional, rather subconscious.
Their match with F-Dynasty was coming and Alexa also found this opportunity to train for a tag-team fight. She couldn't understand why Yuriy put his head in the sand, not making them practice for this scenario which was likely to happen in case they'd lose the fight for advantage in the very first round.
Hence, she was determined to be prepared for anything. She was aware that Sergei was possibly the least powerful member in the team. Honestly, she'd preferred Boris' aggressive style with the sudden, whipping attacks he made but she couldn't stand the pale boy's presence even in the same room. Whenever she could, Alexa avoided him.
Yuriy was a very persistent, fearful blader, and it wouldn't be a problem for Alexa to support Wolborg in a tag-fight, but the witty red-haired boy gave her shivers. His icy blue, indescribably beautiful but threatening eyes both attracted and repelled her. He was a good leader, but there was something in him she couldn't put her finger on it and every time he was barking orders to her, her hair instantly stood on end, tensing under his glare.
All in all, she decided to pair up with Sergei and practice with him. He was strong and kind, she enjoyed his companion. She didn't tell him her true intentions regarding the training, of course. Alexa clearly understood what she was practicing with Sergei that went against Yuriy's command. He wanted solo fights with solo wins. Alexa didn't want an undiscovered potential to go waste just because it was not their main strategy.
So she baited Sergei with asking a small favor from him to help her out with basic practice. She also batted her eyelashes at him a few times, just in case. Naturally, he couldn't say no to the only girl in his team, so here they were.
Boys…
Sergei was no dumb, let there be no mistake about it. He had his own opinion about lots of things, he simply didn't bother himself expressing them. Alexa heard some quick-witted, bold remarks from him since she was part of the team, burning Boris' dignity a few times when the falcon played the cool guy. Oh, how she enjoyed those moments!
"You can call out your bit-beast, now!" Alexa told him. Their coordination finally was synchronized enough, they've been practicing only for a few hours, but they already started to work smoothly together. The fact that they both used whale-type bit-beast also helped their cause a lot.
Sergei made his call and Seaborg's huge, robust form appeared above them, following it with a deep, drawn-out squeak that echoed calmingly in the arena.
Water was rumbling out of Sergei's beyblade as Seaborg re-formed the field of the stadium, creating a more suitable environment for Alexandra's Baladrac.
She called out her bit-beast, as well, hiding in the wild tides the two whale spirits united their power in a charge. They had no target to attack though, thus their well-synchronized moves quickly subsided and the bit-beasts retreated to the shelter of their beyblade.
The tools eventually stopped spinning. Both Alexa and Sergei were worn out thanks to the intense concentration. Only their heavy breathing could be heard in the sudden silence of the building. They smiled to each other.
"We did it!" Alexa cheered, walking to Sergei to meet with his lifted fist to bump it.
"I didn't know a co-operated battle can be as enjoyable as solo fights." Sergei admitted, heading out of the stadium. Alexa followed him.
"It's not for anyone, I guess. Most of the beybladers has too much ego to share the glory."
'Especially the ones coming from Balkov's Abbey', she added in her mind. She found a bit strange that Sergei was so open for this kind of practice. Unlike Boris, Yuriy or Kai, the tall, blonde guy didn't even remind her to the dark place where many horrible memories were born. It was strange and she couldn't find a proper explanation for that by herself.
"Hey, Sergei." She called him, walking already in the dark corridors. The sound of their steps hauntingly repeated with no end among the walls. "May I ask something personal?"
He flicked a glance at her with a curious look but continued to the exit without a pause.
"Shoot it."
"How did you end up in the Abbey?"
Her question was followed by furrowed brows, but the big boy didn't seem offended by it.
Alexa already opened her mouth to reassure him that it was not necessary to answer her question, when Sergei finally began to talk.
"I had seven siblings and I was the youngest."
Seven huge, deformed figures with broad chests but no faces immediately materialized in Alexa's head as she tried to picture Sergei's family. Her tallest teammate was already fearsome in his own, imagining a bunch of him was terrifying.
"Originally, I would've gone to a military school just like my older brothers, but my parents couldn't afford it. They heard about Balkov's Monastery and they decided to drop me there, giving full guardianship to him when I was twelve."
Alexa frowned at the simplicity of the parents' decision.
"Just like that? They had settled one day to hand you over to Vladimir Gregorovich?"
Sergei grimaced at the name. Alexa gave too much respect to that sickening man.
"They had already more than enough mouths to feed. Balkov offered money in return. My parents would've been stupid not accepting it. Similar thing happened to my sister, Polina, she was sent to convent school."
Sergei talked about his family history without any hard feelings like someone who'd accepted his fate a long time ago. Alexa admired his attitude, now she understood why she felt more relaxed around him all the time.
It also explained why he was not so contemptuous like any other Blitzkrieg members. He spent significantly less time in the Abbey comparing to them. He could enjoy longer the concept of a family, even if that didn't necessarily mean only warm memories. Growing up with seven other siblings could be overwhelmingly competitive.
"Why you ask?" Sergei looked at her at last, his eyes suspicious a bit.
Alexa tried to find the proper words while they were walking on the streets, heading back to the hotel. She didn't want to offend his friends by any chance. In the team, she was the one who was still just an outsider.
"You don't seem so…broken like the others. Like us."
"What are you talking about? Boris and Tala are not broken at all. You don't seem, either."
Alexandra mentally patted her shoulder for not using a more sincere word because apparently, Sergei found the expression of ' being broken' as insulting as devastated or miserable like Alexa felt herself on her worse days.
"By the way" Sergei spoke again, his tone is alerting, "you shouldn't talk about the Abbey so openly, especially in front of Tala and Boris. They wouldn't tolerate your questions as much as me."
"Now, now, you're worried for me getting in trouble. Such a gentleman." Alexa elbowed him between his ribs playfully. They were already at the imposing entrance hall of the hotel.
"No. I'm worried you're making trouble." He laughed at the absurdity of being called a gentleman. "Oh, wait, I left my towel in the training room at the morning. I'll get it and catch up to you at the elevator."
Alexa nodded and did as he said. The hotel was calmingly silent at this hour, she saw only staff members on her way.
Her ears picked up the urged, quick pacing after her. It could be only a guest hurrying to somewhere, but she could never be cautious enough. Her reflexes instantly made her body tense for any sudden moves, so she already expected the attack from behind when Alexa felt the powerful grip on her arm, roughly turning her.
She didn't even think, her muscles reacted instinctively by themselves. She teared her arm from the strong hold and hit her assailant with a dashing force. Only then she realized, she made a mistake.
"Oh, my. Sorry! I didn't know it w–"
Her words came to an abrupt stop as Kai painfully grabbed her by an arm, pulling Alexa threateningly close to him and his menacing eyes. She saw this fierce look on him only once in her life and a shiver immediately ran through on her back. Kai's eyes demanded blood, promising her misery and tears; she only didn't know his reason.
The slap, that she handed him with her fist, didn't affect the phoenix the slightest, however, despite of being a girl, she was taught how to land a proper hit that could leave a decent wound on the skin. In case of Kai, she only stimulated his anger more.
"Kai?" Alexa asked in a shaky, frightened voice. The slate haired boy's grip painfully increased on her arm as she tried to free herself. Why did he hurt her?!
"How dare you touch Dranzer without my permission?" Kai venomously spat through clenched teeth.
Oh. His reason.
Recognizing the situation, Alexa suddenly found her confidence and sent back a hard glare to the fiery, crimson eyes.
"Let me go or I'll hurt you back." She promised in a cold voice.
Kai didn't even acknowledge her words, he gripped her other arm, preventing Alexa from struggling her way out of his firm clasp.
"If you ever touch my stuff again, or I just catch you looking at it, I'm gonna shatter the bones in your arms so you can save yourself from another embarrassment and you won't produce more clumsy launch before the eyes of the Beyblade world!"
Alexa barked a dry laugh at his threats. Kai's eyes narrowed at her bold gesture.
"You know well that can't stop me." She sneered.
Kai tightened his grip even more on her arms, as if testing her limits, that induced a small whimper from Alexa.
"Don't try my patience! If you mess again with Dranzer or my team, standing in my way, I'll–"
"Oh, come on! Why making such a fuss?" Alexa interrupted, annoyed by his lecture and grasp she couldn't escape from. "You tried my beyblade and I tried yours. Call it an even!"
Her words disoriented Kai for a moment.
"What the fu–" He started but the words got stuck in his throat with a gasp as he was thrown onto the wall, removing his grip from Alexa.
She could hear the small but hard thud as Kai's back met with plastered concrete.
Kai was trapped and held by a robust, rock solid hand. He looked up at a familiar face that usually was calm and self-confident, now it was filled with retaliation.
"What the hell are you doing, Hiwatari?" Sergei asked almost neutrally on his bass voice, towel laying around his neck. Stressing his question, he put more weight on Kai's chest with his forearm, pushing him deeper into the wall. "Did I just see you hurting my teammate?"
Kai gulped for air, wrestling with the arm that was unmovable from his body. He could hurt Sergei, landing some blows and kicks at the right spots; he knew his weak points after all. But even in his raging state he reminded himself of the consequences. Getting into a fight with another team meant immediate ban from the championship.
So Kai tried to push back Sergei instead and if he gave his every strength, he could move the strong arm away… a few centimeters. It was futile, the difference between the two's heights was too big, Kai couldn't free himself from his hold in this position and Sergei was very-well aware of that. Accepting his unpleasant defeat, Kai could only glare deadly at the blonde guy, silently commanding him to let go.
Eventually, Sergei relented his grip on him. He stepped back, giving space to the phoenix to get some air, but not an inch more for anything else. The Seaborg-wielder folded his arms, standing in front of Alexa like some guard.
"What is your problem?" Sergei asked him again, demanding some explanation of his actions.
"That!" Kai pointed at the girl standing behind him. "That sneaky shit-stirrer is my problem!"
Sergei looked over his shoulder at Alexa, who was rubbing her arm, trying to ease the pain provided by Kai's strong grip. He turned back to his former teammate with a puzzled look.
"Alexa? What does she have to do with you?"
"She took my beyblade!"
Alexa tutted with annoyance while Sergei raised a brow at Kai.
"She must've had her reason." He quickly closed the case, defending his teammate because that was the right thing to do, even if he had no idea about the details.
Kai stepped closer in Sergei's face, staring daggers at him. The Blitzkrieg boy might be stronger, but he didn't fear him and was ready to jump into a fight any time if it wouldn't depend on the championship.
"She already winded you around her finger, I see." He hissed, eyeing Sergei's tall, persistence frame up and down, as if scoffing at his foolishness.
"If you don't have anything else to say, get lost. I'm on the edge of my patience towards you." Sergei warned him, standing firmly.
He didn't have any problem with Kai, he knew his snob, superior way of thinking and he was totally okay with it as a former teammate. However, Kai was a fool if he thought Sergei would just let him cause any harm on his team member who also happened to be a girl. How low a man could sink bruising a woman?
Kai might've grown bored eventually because he didn't bother to reply to Sergei's threat. He shoved the board Blitzkrieg man out of his way and started to the training room, shooting a murderous glare at Alexa while passed her.
"Don't fucking touch my beyblade ever again!" He bit as he left them.
As Kai turned on the corner, Sergei looked back to Alexa who, oddly, had a cheeky smirk on her face, eyeing him and the spot where Kai had just disappeared.
"What?" Sergei frowned.
"So much testosterone." Alexa purred with a predatory fire in her eye, making the tall guy blush in his embarrassment. "I would pay to see some real men fighting with sweating bodies and bleeding knuckles."
Sergei eyed the pretty blonde girl before him and suddenly realized he got another fucked-up, mental teammate beside Boris.
Usually, Kuznetsov liked talking about such violent bullshit fantasies like that. With women, of course. In a companion of a bucket of mud. That always made his pale friend excited.
And he could handle his pervert fetish somehow; the sight of fighting girls on top of each other would be arousing for him too, but listening to Alexa imagining something similar with men…
Sergei sighed wearily.
"I barely turn my back and you're already making troubles."
Alexa chuckled at Sergei's scolding, still rubbing her arms absentmindedly.
"Did he hurt you?"
"Nah." She waved his concern away as she consciously lowered her arms. "It's nothing."
"How did you get his Dranzer?" Sergei queried when the elevator doors opened before them with a silvery ring, and they stepped into the metal box.
"Their mechanic allowed me to try her out. Long story."
Sergei furrowed his bushy blonde brows in contemplation.
"How are you still alive?"
Alexa laughed with him as the elevator closed and started up to their level.
oOoOo
He needed solitude. He needed space. He wanted to run away from his awful, storming feelings far, far away, but anywhere he went, those goddamn poisoning thoughts followed him. He had to get rid of his anger somehow, to vent out his frustration.
The first thing came to his mind was shooting his beyblade, calling out the majestic firebird and burn down the whole building…or the whole world around him! He wanted destruction. And pain! Demolition could be an art sometimes.
But he couldn't have focused properly to keep in control the phoenix's furious flames. No, he needed to exhaust his rage with some physical exercise first. Also, he didn't want Dranzer to see him in his state, barely able to contain himself.
Tyson's bleeding face and agonizing moans came to his mind as he paced in the direction of the abandoned, dark training room with heavy, loud steps.
He deserved it.
He deserved it!
Kai threw the door open as he stepped into the gym, not bothering to switch light. There was enough glimmer from the streetlamps to see.
Raging steam was washing through him as he recalled the humiliating scene from the hotel's room. His body trembled with uncontrollable fury as Tyson's demanding and invading eyes urged him to expose his neck for him, otherwise he was going to be kick out from the team.
Tyson didn't say it, but he was certain that he had been given an ultimatum there.
Show me what I want to see, or you can leave for good! We don't need a burden like you!
And he obeyed. He bowed before Tyson's request and showed himself because he didn't want to leave the team. He wanted to stay with them and win another championship. And he also submitted because simply this was that he had been taught.
He couldn't explain exactly what happened in that moment. He never saw Tyson looking at him like that before.
'…shitty feeling, right? When your friend betrays your trust.'
Detestation. Disappointment. Hatred.
His forever rival and friend had never showed such feelings before. Tyson always defended and forgave him when he did something he shouldn't have.
'She handled Dranzer much better than you!'
Kai violently pummeled the heavy boxing bag in the corner, his roaring voice echoed endlessly until he stopped after a few strikes. As his scream slowly failed in the silent night, the fading voice sounded more and more desperate in the cold, empty space that gave a damn about his tantrum.
The evident sign of being alone.
Only the chains of the boxing bag rocked back and forth with wailing squeaks. Kai watched the heavy, swinging bag and he imagined himself there. He was the bag, he mused. He helplessly swung from one team to another, hoping he would find his place, but at the end, he always ended up on the Bladebreakers, with his original teammates. That must have meant something. Right?
He moved away from the boxing bag. He was not good with that thing, anyway. Ray liked to practice his martial art exercises on it, he hit and kicked the bag more efficiently and with better aim.
He still didn't wear out his stress though. He needed something else that could give work his muscles and distract his flicking, self-pitying thoughts. He eyed a big ladder on the opposite wall and immediately felt the urge to do some salmon ladder exercise. That was his ideal practice. It required not only proper physicality, but persistent and discipline work.
As he stood under the ladder and grabbed the jumping bar, a new, unpleasant feeling seized him.
He shouldn't have hit Tyson. Or Ray. He couldn't quite recon how the tiger-wielder got caught up in the middle of the fight, but he remembered that his fist had met with the Chinese's jaw. He also shouldn't have yanked Kenny, he might terrify that guy for a life. Furthermore, he shouldn't have tugged a girl so forcefully. His crumb of comfort was that Alexandra was tougher than she seemed.
He rubbed his face with a hand, not believing what he became in mere seconds.
God. He made so much damage in a single night.
It was a long time ago when he lost his control over his emotions, but it was nothing new for him. He had some serious fights with his grandfather in the past, when the old man had decided things in his life without his consent and against his will, like studying in a high ranking, snob school in a different town, far from everyone he knew. Voltaire had to buy a new complete furniture because Kai literally smashed the wooden chairs and vitrines in one of the dayrooms when he was informed and had to leave on the next day.
Not many people heard about his anger problems, mostly just his family because he treated this weakness of his delicately and he did everything not to reveal the secret before anyone. On the tournaments, it was surprisingly easier than Kai had first thought. The beybattles gave him opportunities to discharge his collected frustration, channeling his fierce energy into Dranzer's attacks. He was wielding the power of a firebird, for Christ's sake, he had to feed those flames somehow!
That was how his team had never witnessed his true nature before. Kai was always extremely careful in their presence and kept under strict check those raging waves. Although, Tyson tried to make him explode with anger not once with his irritatingly intrusive behavior, he always managed to prevent anything he would've regretted later.
But not tonight.
Kai pinched his nose in his frustration. He didn't want his teammates to be scared of him, but after the recent events, he hardly could blame them for it.
Kai lifted the bar with a firm grip and jumped to the first rung. His spine stretched nicely as he hung for a few seconds from the ladder, focusing on the next, higher rung. He drew up his lower body before he pulled up with his arms, jumping to the next level. With a loud and fast clacking sound, he managed to climb up a level, placing the bar properly on the next rung.
His muscles were screaming already. Basically, he was on feet and training for a complete day now and his body began to resist to his commands. Kai ignored the warning signs and pushed himself further.
Climbing the rungs, his thoughts were running around Kenny's unforgivable action. Imagining Alexandra with his own beyblade, launching Dranzer with her golden claws made him furious once again. It was hard to tell what bothered him more. Kenny's betrayal or the fact that Alexandra used Dranzer.
That girl distressed him on a level he couldn't explain.
First, there was her aura that reminded Kai so much of Brooklyn's gloomy, terrifying energy. He didn't want to remember his match with the orange haired weirdo. Sometimes, he unwillingly revisited that battle in his dreams. When he woke up, he could feel Zeus' frighteningly pointed nails scratching deeply into the skin on his whole body, bathing in sweat and heaving uncontrollably.
When Kai grabbed Alexa's arms, he wanted to thrust her as far as he could from him.
On the other hand, he was somehow attracted to her darkness. He heard the power calling him. He felt similar pulling with Black Dranzer, but that was somehow different. He was able to control that. But this? This felt horrifying. It was something he wanted to avoid for his entire life, knowing he was not strong enough to command such dark energy.
After four rungs, his body broke into sweat. His palm was constantly slipping on the jumping bar, hardening his grip on it. There was plenty of rungs above him, but he decided to climb down instead. Kai didn't want to risk an injury in the middle of the tournament. If he lost his grip now, he would fall a few meters and in his exhausted state, he was not sure he could land properly on his feet.
Going down, Alexandra's words haunted him tirelessly.
…'You should start to blade for yourself, not for your father'…
…'You tried my beyblade and I tried yours. Call it an even!'…
What the hell those supposed to mean?! What were these riddles she kept saying him? Was she someone he forgot? Did she know something he didn't want to remember? What did she know about his father?
He didn't hear from that fucking asshole for years. His father had decided to leave him and his family in favour of living his dream and building exceptional beyblades as an independent mechanic. Kai actually had tracked him a few years ago. He knew where that bastard lived, what he worked, what new family he found for himself.
He didn't miss him.
There was a time he had been longing for his calls, for his love, but eventually, he accepted his rejection. He had better things to do anyway.
Now, what about Alexa's accusation of him trying her beyblade? Kai never touched her beyblade. He didn't even know what beyblade or bit-beast she had.
'She's playing with me, he warned himself. 'She does it on purpose to confuse me.'
As he dropped himself from the last rung, breathing heavily and wiping the sweat from his face, he made a poor attempt to take a trip into his buried memories. Maybe he could find something there that might give him a clue.
He didn't get far though. As soon as he tried to push himself to remember something from his past, a brutal grip in his guts alerted him to immediately abandon this door in his mind and retreat.
Kai obeyed. Just like a thousand times before.
It was a feeling he couldn't fight back. Of course, he had tried to break through the shielding wall a few times in the past, but as he pushed further, excruciating memories cascaded through his mind; wet darkness suddenly surrounded him and smelled the disgusting odor of rotten blood that twitched his nose.
Kai always became upset after such an attempt. He couldn't bear the overwhelming weight of his own memories. He quickly learnt to respect those walls and dark doors in his mind, standing rigidly there for his own sanity's sake, and he avoided them.
To brush off the gloomy feeling from his soul, he launched Dranzer to the floor. He didn't intend to train with her. He was already on edge of exhaustion, he practiced enough on this day. He just wanted to hear the calming sound of Dranzer's infinite, comforting spinning in the dark, empty training room as the beyblade made some laps.
Her only, true friend. Kai couldn't understand sometimes Dranzer's loyalty. Especially towards him. It was irony that he switched sides many times, searching for better opportunities while he always could count on the fire bird. Without any hard feelings from her side.
After a few minutes watching Dranzer, Kai stopped her, putting the beyblade back to the inner pocket of his jacket and headed upstairs.
He needed sleep.
As he stepped out of the training room, the bright lights in the hall blinded him, making him blink hard and fast. He rubbed his eyes to ease the pain in them and when he looked at his hands, he realized his knuckles were bleeding. He gently pressed the skin on it, scrutinizing the wounds, his eyebrows slightly furrowed in the pain.
He punched harder that boxing bag than he thought. His anger also made him clumsy; bleeding like that meant he beat the bag in not a professional way. Or was it when he hit his teammates? He didn't feel anything then.
Kai turned back and walked to the reception. He needed his hand to be in good shape, so the least he could do now was to treat it as soon as possible. He asked ice from the staff, they were decent enough not to make any reaction at his odd request and went immediately to give him some.
oOoOo
Ray laid on his back in the bed, rubbing his forehead as he tried to chase away the pain from his jaw without success. He was still in his everyday outfit. His jaw was aching and the throb now spread into his teeth and temple, causing a migraine. He took a painkiller but didn't seem to help.
Damn, it hurt like hell.
He heard some noise in the background, but the pain in his face blocked everything out.
What an awful night. Luckily, there were no matches on this weekend. Ray doubted he could catch a proper sleep until morning. He turned his head to the nightstand where the clock was ticking quietly. The table lamp next to it was switched on, gleaming warmly in the otherwise dark room.
2.16 am. Great, he was trying to get rid of the pain for more than an hour now. Unsuccessfully.
As he removed his eye from the digital clock, Ray noticed Kai was standing in the room in front of his own bed, watching him with a strange expression. When did he come back?
"Are you alright?" The captain asked in a gently voice.
"Mm." Ray grunted as he peeked a hooded eye on his leader who was holding something on the back of his hand, then he quickly went back to massage further his forehead. It didn't help him, but at least he tricked himself with the false reassurance that he tried to do something with the throb.
"Does it hurt that much?"
In normal circumstances, Ray would value more Kai's rare caring attitude, but the unappeasable pain in his jaw made him ignorant.
Talking also hurt since he had to move his face muscles in the process, so Ray thoroughly chose his next lines to express his feelings in the shortest way.
"Not as much as my pride. I'd feel better if I had, at least, punched you back."
Ray kept rubbing his brows, silently pleading to the Jade Emperor to cease his pain.
He heard the other moving in the room, moving closer to his bed, but he was still surprised by the sudden coldness on his face that instantly made him hiss both in surprise and pain. He opened his eyes and saw Kai was leaning down to him, pressing an ice pack to his face.
"Hold it on for a few minutes, it'll help." Kai said then he stepped to his own bed, taking off his scarf and coat to go to bed, reviving the fresh, tensed scene in Ray's mind.
He could imagine how much the reclusive boy's dignity was wounded after what happened just a few hours ago, and he felt sorry for him in a way, but all of his teammates must understand they were not kids anymore. Violation couldn't solve every problem that occurred in the team and Kai crossed a solid line with his aggressive behavior that night. Ray couldn't leave that without words.
"What happened with you tonight, Kai?" Ray asked, trying to engage a clever conversation between man and man.
But Kai just breath a long, exasperated sigh. Now, that the pain started to calm down in his jaw, Ray noticed the exhaustion that weighted his captain shoulder.
"Not now, Ray." Kai dismissed his question, changing into his more comfortable night outfit in the darkness.
Ray didn't let him go away with it so easily. He sat up on his bad, talking to Kai's already dressed back.
"You hit your teammate and if it had depended on you, you'd have choked Kenny. How could we feel ourselves safe around you in the future if you can't take the responsibility for your own actions?"
Ray couldn't read the captain's expression because he kept avoiding him.
"Not gonna happen again." Kai promised eventually, laying down on his back and looking up at the ceiling he would hope comfort from it.
"You're the captain of this team. You have duties that you can't neglect anymore. You should forge this team together as a leader." Ray continued to reason with him, but it seemed his words fell on deaf ears because Kai didn't respond to him for a long time.
"I didn't ask for it." He replied bluntly after the uncomfortable silence.
Ray looked at his teammate with disbelieve, growing tired of him finding excuses for his attitude.
Who on earth cared what he asked for? Or what he wanted? He was assigned as a captain for his team and he should act like that! Gosh, sometimes Kai had so much in common with Tyson that Ray couldn't decide which of the two was worse.
He should have stayed with the White Tigers. He wouldn't have to face with such drama then. He already had a decent relationship with his childhood friends.
Ray sighed with tiredness. The throb in his jaw finally faded, his skin and muscles felt numb under the melting ice pack. He put it down on the table and tried to imagine himself in Kai's place. It often helped him to understand the mysterious Russian. Thanks to that, he had built a stronger relationship with him than any other member from the team could. Kai was able to open up to him occasionally, and Ray always respected those moments, gaining his captain's trust and friendship step by step. However, he often questioned himself if his effort was worth the whole process.
"What Kenny and Tyson did was bold and disgraceful." Ray began quietly, looking down at his lap, fidgeting the fabric on his ankle as he spoke. He knew Kai would watch the ceiling the entire time anyway. "But if you keep pushing the people hard, eventually they'll respond to your arrogant and patronizing behavior with recklessness that they might regret later. We all are humans with weaknesses and trigger points. We must forgive each other for our mistakes, otherwise nothing will be left apart from wrath and that won't get us anywhere."
Ray felt the weight of his words and he hoped that they reached Kai, too. In order to be a team again, they had to act as one. He was in deep silence so Ray assumed, he was listening closely now.
"What happened to Dranzer that Kenny had to restore her? I'm not gonna comment it, I promise."
Ray waited for a whole minute that seemed endlessly in the night's deep stillness, but he didn't get an answer from the captain.
"Kai?"
He looked up from his lap to the direction of Kai's bed, where the slated haired boy soundlessly laid. Ray was determined he was not going to let him go away with this again. The throbbing pain was bearable enough to ignore it and focus on the crucial issue with his captain. The ice pack and the painkiller finally kicked in.
Ray stood beside Kai to question him.
"Kai, answ–"
Ray paused. He couldn't see in the dark from his bed, but as he stood closer to Kai, he realized the Russian felt asleep while he was speaking to him.
He examined Kai's softened features that made his expression neutral. One arm laid still on the bed beside his head, the other slowly moving up and down with his breathing chest, seemingly letting all his guard and shield down. He looked almost calm without his defensive walls and younger without his vicious glare. Ray had seen Kai sleep many times, but it still amazed him how different person he was in his sleep.
Ray let out a sigh through his nose, not satisfied he couldn't discuss his issue with him.
He changed into his night outfit nonetheless, not disturbing Kai more. He laid under his quilt, switched off the lamp and let the calming darkness grab him into a hopefully restful sleep.