Thanks darkness for pointing out my mistake. I had fixed that before I
uploaded my story... except I kind of forgot to save the settings. Heh heh.
Also I plan on making his grandfather a really mean person. So that might
be what you meant by him being OOC.
To Auri: I wouldn't kill Rei without a way for him to come back to life (I can't stand that sort of thing... he has to be alive at the end for me to like it) and since I can't think of a believable way to have him come back, he wont die!
Another Word for Strength
Chapter 2: Mr. Dickenson's Advice
***
"Where were you last night, Rei?" Takao asked while brushing his teeth.
"You were gone for a while.eeth.s i morro before he sighed and headed back to the hotel. lroom size space. loor, five stories u" Max added. Rei had planned on going straight back to the hotel but he couldn't find the will to face his teammates until morning. He had walked the streets of Russia until dawn and didn't wander back until everyone had woken up.
"I just went out for a walk. I thought you guys were asleep." Rei subtlety changed the topic.
"Oh we were." Takao replied. "But Mr. Dickenson was here really early to wake us up."
"Not that you didn't sleep in as usual." Kenny added sarcastically. Takao ignored him.
"He told us you were gone all night." He continued. "He was wondering where you were."
"Oh." Rei said quietly. "I'll let you guys head downstairs for breakfast. I need to get ready quickly. I'll meet you down there." He flashed a reassuring smile at them and closed the door behind them.
He sighed deeply and collapsed tiredly on the nearest bed. He would have just passed out and laid there forever, however, something was underneath him in the sheets and wouldn't allow him to get comfortable. With a growl he flung his hands in the air and sat upright. He turned to get rid of it and put his hand under the sheets to pull the sharp object out when his hand came in contact with cool metal. 'A Beyblade?' he wondered and drew the blade out. It was Dranzer.
"What's Kai's blade doing here?" he wondered aloud to himself. The blade itself was worn down but the bit was glowing as if it was brand new. Rei smiled down at the Phoenix. Using his nails he pried out the bit and tossed aside the blade. He held it tightly in his hand while he began to look for a piece of string. Once he found one he threaded the bit and pulled it over his head. Quickly he shoved the necklace under his clothes and headed to the breakfast downstairs, ignoring his previous ideas of sleep.
'There's always the bus ride over to the stadium.' He thought to himself.
***
"Hey Rei! Over here!" Takao called through the food he had jammed into his mouth. As usual, more than half the food was either on Takao's plate or in his mouth.
"Do you even chew the things you put in there before you swallow?" Kenny sweatdropped and shook his head.
"Of course!" Takao replied, looking a bit offended. "Speaking of courses... Fifth course!" He cheered and dove into his next plate of food. Rei sighed and sat down. He began to poke his toast. No one noticed his lack of appetite except Takao.
"What's wrong Rei?" he asked, putting his fork down. "You aren't normally this quiet. Does it have something to do with our upcoming match? Or another problem."
"It's nothing, Takao." Rei mumbled quietly, continuing to prod his breakfast, moving it from one side of the plate to another.
"Of course it's something." Takao insisted. "You would eat that toast if it was nothing." He pointed out.
"I'm fine, Takao. There's nothing you should be worried about." Rei exclaimed, raising his voice slightly.
"Oh come on, Rei! We're good buddies. You can tell me if something's on your mind. Is it a girl?" Takao refused to give in.
"No, Takao. Just drop the subject." He was beginning to lose his patience.
"So it is a girl." Takao cheered triumphantly. "Who is she? Is she cute? What does she look like? Is it Mariah?"
"WOULD YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" Rei exploded standing up and slammed his hands on the table. "It's not a girl!" Rei snarled slightly and ran out the door, leaving his team mates behind.
"Woah, what crawled up his but?" Takao asked staring at the door Rei had disappeared through. "He's acting like Kai now." He grumbled before continuing on his plate of food.
"You should be more considerate of Rei's feelings." Kenny scolded Takao. "It's obvious that Rei is more than a little tense these days. Just give him some time and space and he'll calm down."
"Yeah, he must have tried to cool down last night and it didn't work." Max pointed out. "He'll come around."
"Yeah, right. I hope it's soon. We need everyone's support in the next rounds."
***
"I'm glad your grandfather convinced you to stay with our team, Kai." Boris exclaimed cheerfully. Kai glared at the man's back and bit back a snarl. The Demolition Boys were walking towards the arena and their next match. They were heading off against The Majestics of Europe. They all entered the battle area and saw their opponents waiting on the other side of the dish.
"Kai?!" They exclaimed at once. Apparently no one had told them that Kai had switched sides.
"I though you were a Bladebreaker." Oliver exclaimed.
"Was is the key term." Boris laughed.
"I always knew you were a horrible blader, Kai, but I never thought you'd stoop so low as to betray your own team in the World Championships." Johnny called. "That's not just low, that's cowardly." Kai ignored their remarks and crossed his arms.
"Are we going to chat all day or are we going to Beyblade?" he commented snidely. "I thought that's what you were here for. If not, then I'm wasting my time with pathetic losers like you." He emphasized this with a big yawn.
"Why you-" Johnny jumped at Kai shaking his fist at the boy, but Robert held him back.
"That's enough!" he exclaimed seriously. "Lets just do what we came here to do."
***
Up first was Oliver and Kai. They both stepped up to the Classic dish and got into positions.
"Three."
"Two."
"One! Let it RIP!"
They launched their blades into the dish and before they could blink it was over.
"What happened?!" Oliver exclaimed as his blade appeared at his feet, shattered into tiny pieces.
Kai's blade began to glow and soon Oliver's Unicolyon was no more.
"Unicolyon!" he cried out as his beast was sucked into Black Dranzer. Kai said nothing while this was happening. He raised his hand and his blade returned to his hand.
"So, who's next?" he asked, sounding bored.
Both Robert and Enrique tried to go up against Kai but their blades suffered the same quick fate as Oliver's.
"I'm not going to let you take my Salamolyon without a fight." Johnny growled and stood up to battle.
"It's a shame that there's nothing you can do to stop me." Kai smirked in response.
"Oh, yeah? We'll see. I'm not losing my bit-beast. I'm going to win for his sake."
"You'd like to think that, wouldn't you?" Kai said, narrowing his eyes at Johnny.
"What do you mean by that?" Johnny asked defensively.
"I have a lot more at stake in this championship than you'll ever have." He answered quietly. "My winnings are worth more than yours ever will. That's why I will win."
"Three."
"Two."
"One! Let it RIP!"
"Salamolyon! Attack!" Johnny cried out, launching his blade. He began his attack straight away, not waiting for Kai's blade to hit the dish. When Salamolyon went to ram Kai's blade it was no longer there.
"Huh, where'd it go?" No one could see the blade. It seemed to have vanished.
"Could Kai have been knocked out of the dish?" an announcer commented, a hush drawing over the stadium. Everyone watched as Johnny's blade spun alone in the dish. The crowd waited in stunned silence for a few minutes waiting for Black Dranzer to reappear, but nothing happened.
"It looks as though it's all over." The announcer cheered as Johnny's blade continued to spin in the dish. There was still no sign of Kai's blade and Salamolyon was beginning to wobble and slow down.
"It's not over until I say it's over." Kai called to the announcer and smirked. "Black Dranzer! Attack!" he cried.
Suddenly, like a little black bullet, Kai's Beyblade came crashing down from the ceiling on top of Johnny's blade. The result was an explosion of debris. Not even Johnny's bit was left intact. The beast, having no place to run, was quickly sucked into Kai's blade and disappeared.
"How... how did I let this happen?" Johnny fell to his knees, stunned. His eyes were wide and his face had gone pale.
"I told you, Johnny. Your bit-beast is nothing compared to what I'm fighting for." Kai sneered and walked away.
"The victory goes to the Demolition Boys after an astounding upset."
Kai walked up to the door and was met by the rest of the Russian team.
"Nice work, Kai." Boris congratulated him. "You are a fine blader."
"I'm the best." Kai stated. "With me on the team there's no need for trash like them." he nodded towards Tala and the rest of the team.
"Why you little-" Tala shrieked and lunged at Kai, trying to get a shot at his head. It took everyone, including Boris, to hold him back.
"My point exactly." Kai yawned. He hadn't even flinched when Tala jumped at him.
Turning his back on the Demolition Boys, he walked out of the stadium, not bothering to give them a second glance.
***
"Wow. Did you see what just happened?" Takao asked, his eyes wide. "Tala just tried to take a shot at Kai."
"Yeah. I guess they aren't too pleased to have Kai on their team and taking all the credit for their wins." Max nodded.
"Kai must have said something really bad to get him riled up this much." Kenny pointed out. Tala was still struggling with his team to run after Kai and show him just what 'trash' could do.
"I think we should head over to the arena for our next match." Rei exclaimed, turning their attention from Kai's argument. He was fidgeting in his seat and was looking a little bit nervous.
"Sure, Rei." Takao replied cheerfully, totally oblivious to Rei's discomfort.
***
"Concentrate, Rei!" Kenny called to his friend. Rei wasn't fairing too greatly against their opponent. It didn't seem like he could focus on the match. Too many things were clouding his mind. He could only focus on the things Kai had revealed to him the night before.
He noticed too late that Drigger was losing speed. 'Oh, no. I have to concentrate!' he thought suddenly.
"Drigger! Tiger claw attack!" he called on the power of his bit-beast, but the call came too late and Drigger ran out of steam before he could attack the other blade. His blade wobbled chaotically and rolled to a stop in the centre of the dish.
"No." Rei whispered, realizing he had lost his concentration and the match. Luckily for him, though, Drigger hadn't left him again.
He picked up his blade and sat down on the bench beside Kenny.
"It's ok, Rei. You just need to rest a little, sort through the storm in your head." Kenny advised. Rei smiled thankfully.
"Thanks, Kenny." He said softly and watched Takao walk up to the dish for the final match.
***
"Hey, Mr. Dickenson." Rei called to the man. "May I ask your advice on something?" he questioned.
"Why, of course!" Mr. Dickenson smiled cheerfully. "What can I help you with?" the rest of the Bladebreakers were lounging in the lobby and Rei had gone upstairs to think. He was lucky enough to catch Mr. Dickenson before the man entered his own hotel room.
Mr. Dickenson led Rei into his room and sat down on his bed to listen to the teen.
"Does this have something to do with Kai?" he asked perceptively. "I know that you were quite fond of him. Much more so than everyone else. You were quite heartbroken when he left, ne?" he smiled. Rei sat down suddenly beside him.
"Hai." He didn't realize his actions made his emotions so transparent. "I know he didn't want to leave our team of his own choice, but I don't know how to get him to open up to me. When I try to get him to talk he begins to clam up."
"Kai will talk to you when he's good and ready." Mr. Dickenson told him. "You just have to be around when he does. Let him know you're there for him and you'll listen, no questions asked. When he finally does open up, as I'm sure he will, you have to be supportive and not force things from him."
"Oh." Rei exclaimed softly. "It's like that saying, 'Patience is a virtue', huh?"
"Yes. If you are patient enough, you'll be rewarded greatly." Mr. Dickenson winked cheerfully and stood back up.
"Thank you very much, sir." Rei smiled, his first genuinely happy smile since Kai had left. With that, he ran out of the door.
***
Gasping for breath, Rei rested a hand on the stone wall of the abbey.
"May I help you?" A gate guard asked, appearing suddenly before him.
"Yeah, may I please see Hiwatari Kai?"
"Sure, just one moment." The guard disappeared, and a few minutes later Kai came to the gates.
"Rei?!" he sounded surprised. "What the hell are you doing here?" he hissed.
"I'm here to tell you that if you need someone to talk to... about anything and everything, I'm here for you." Rei's eyes twinkled in the darkness. "I'll listen to everything you say. I won't interrupt and I won't ask any questions." Kai's eyes widened in surprise. No one had ever told him that before.
"If you want to listen to me, meet me in the same place as yesterday, in one hour." He whispered hurriedly and disappeared into the shadows. Rei was surprised. He hadn't thought it would be that easy to talk to Kai. Now all he had to do was find the old building they were in and wait for Kai.
***
Easier said than done. Rei had been paying more attention to Kai than where he was going and now couldn't find the building.
"I know it's around here somewhere." He mumbled. He wad been searching for it for nearly an hour and had had no luck. He finally came to the end of a street and looked hopefully at the big building. It looked very old and ruined. It had five floors just like he remembered. And it's front door was missing. Rei dashed inside and bounded up the stairs, hoping this was the right building. When he reached the fifth floor he began quietly searching every room for Kai. He didn't want it to be known that he couldn't remember where he was.
"You're ten minutes late." A voice echoed from the next room he checked. Kai was sitting in the same position as the night before and had his back to Rei.
"Yeah, I kind of got lost." He winced as he confessed to Kai.
"What did you mean earlier when you said you'd listen to me?" Kai asked, a hint of hope in his voice.
"I meant just that." Rei explained. "What ever you want to talk about, I'll be here to listen to it. You can talk about everything and nothing. If you have something on your mind you can tell me. If you want to tell me how your day went, I'd be more than glad to listen. It also means that I won't pressure you to say anything and if you tell me something I won't question you about it. I'll listen." He walked over and sat down beside Kai in the same position they were in before.
"And if you don't want to talk at all... I'll listen to the silence." He added. It was quiet again for a few minutes before anyone spoke.
"That was the worst battle I've ever seen you fight, today." Kai said softly. "I've never seen you so unfocused. You need to ignore the outside world and it's problems. In a Beyblade battle the rest of the world doesn't matter." Rei smiled and nodded, careful not to say anything.
"Tell Takao that he needs to work on his launching to get more speed into his blade and tell Max that he needs to focus his training more on the offence. I don't know how you guys ever made it this far without me." Rei could hear the smile in Kai's voice.
Kai looked down at the mop of black hair below him and trailed off. He really didn't know what else to tell him.
"What else would you like me to talk about?" he asked.
"If you don't mind me butting my nose in, what was that fight all about?" Rei asked, purposely trying to avoid any touchy subjects.
"Between me and Tala?"
"Yeah."
"It wasn't really much." Kai answered. "I just told Boris that since I'm fighting for the Demolition Boys they didn't need to have the others around. I believe my exact words were 'With me on the team there's no need for trash like them.' or something like that." He looked back at Rei when he heard snickering. "I really don't see what there is to get upset about." He added stubbornly.
"You called him trash." Rei chuckled heartily. "That and it seems to me he feels that he's being overshadowed by you. You're taking his team." Kai thought about that for a moment.
"Oh. I see what you mean now." Kai said. "But I still meant what I said."
Rei looked up at Kai and smiled. 'You never change, do you?' he asked in his mind.
"How come you are only listening?" Kai asked.
"Well I was told that if you wanted someone to open up to you you'd have to let them do it on their own time." Rei answered, remembering what Mr. Dickenson told him. "I wanted to let you know that I'd always be here for you and even if you don't tell me all the demons of your past at least I have the pleasure of your company. You mean a lot more to me and the rest of the Bladebreakers than you know. Plus you're a friend and no matter what Takao says we all value your opinion."
"I hope you aren't getting sappy on me." Kai growled.
"Hell, no. Just spouting common knowledge." He smiled at Kai. Kai returned the smile, which startled Rei at first, and then stood from the window sill.
"Maybe I can try that listening thing on you sometime." Kai said gruffly, standing with his back to Rei.
"Well, since there's no battles tomorrow, we could always meet here again." Rei stood up, following Kai's example, and dusted off the seat of his pants.
"I'll think about it." Kai replied, turning slightly to look at Rei from the corner of his eye. The boy had his back to Kai and was staring awestruck at the view from the window. "I'll find you if I choose to." He added, not really caring if Rei heard him or not. He walked to the door.
"Wait, Kai." Rei turned to Kai. "One more thing."
Kai turned around and was enveloped in a bear-hug.
"I'll always be there for you, Kai." He whispered. "No matter what side you're on." Kai was shocked at this. He couldn't ever remember a time when anyone had offered him this form of comfort. He smiled. It made him feel much calmer, like it was giving him assurance that he wasn't going to be alone forever. He returned the embrace and nuzzled his face into Rei's warm neck, while Rei did the same.
"Thank you." Kai whispered.
***
Kai walked back to the abbey alone. The semi-cool breezes made Kai shiver in remembrance of the warm hug he had just come out of. His insides felt like ice.
When he got to his room he made no effort to change his clothes and curled up beneath the sheets of his bed. He couldn't get images of earlier that night out of his head. His mind just kept replaying it for him, causing him to toss and turn, unable to find a comfortable spot.
After a couple of hours trying to find a position, Kai passed out from exhaustion and drifted into a restless slumber, haunted only by the memories of that night.
***
While Kai was having trouble, Rei slipped into his own bed and smiled. He had accomplished a lot in one day and he felt so much better than when he had woken up. He knew he was much closer to Kai than ever before and it wouldn't be too much longer before he finally found the heart of Kai's problems and the reason he was battling for the Demolition Boys. He wouldn't give up until he solved his little mystery, even if it took every ounce of patience he had.
"I'll find a way, Kai." He murmured to himself as he began to fall asleep. "I know I can think of a way to get you out of whatever blackmail is holding you to the Russian team."
He fell into a deep peaceful slumber and smiled at a job well done. in the morning he'd have to thank Mr. Dickenson.
~Finis
Hope you liked it. I know it may seem like a lot (over 3500 words in this chapter alone) but I really hate those chapters that hardly have any story in them and aren't even 500 words long.
Also I just wanted to point out that every chapter is more or less one day (Chapter 1: Thursday, Chapter 2: Friday) and I'm planning to have the finals held on next Friday (meaning chapter 9) and I hope that that will be the last chapter. If not then I will spread out Friday to Chapter 10. (I'm nearly done the outline and I'm in the middle of typing up chapter 6!!!)
Coming up: Chapter 3: the Truth's Consequences
To Auri: I wouldn't kill Rei without a way for him to come back to life (I can't stand that sort of thing... he has to be alive at the end for me to like it) and since I can't think of a believable way to have him come back, he wont die!
Another Word for Strength
Chapter 2: Mr. Dickenson's Advice
***
"Where were you last night, Rei?" Takao asked while brushing his teeth.
"You were gone for a while.eeth.s i morro before he sighed and headed back to the hotel. lroom size space. loor, five stories u" Max added. Rei had planned on going straight back to the hotel but he couldn't find the will to face his teammates until morning. He had walked the streets of Russia until dawn and didn't wander back until everyone had woken up.
"I just went out for a walk. I thought you guys were asleep." Rei subtlety changed the topic.
"Oh we were." Takao replied. "But Mr. Dickenson was here really early to wake us up."
"Not that you didn't sleep in as usual." Kenny added sarcastically. Takao ignored him.
"He told us you were gone all night." He continued. "He was wondering where you were."
"Oh." Rei said quietly. "I'll let you guys head downstairs for breakfast. I need to get ready quickly. I'll meet you down there." He flashed a reassuring smile at them and closed the door behind them.
He sighed deeply and collapsed tiredly on the nearest bed. He would have just passed out and laid there forever, however, something was underneath him in the sheets and wouldn't allow him to get comfortable. With a growl he flung his hands in the air and sat upright. He turned to get rid of it and put his hand under the sheets to pull the sharp object out when his hand came in contact with cool metal. 'A Beyblade?' he wondered and drew the blade out. It was Dranzer.
"What's Kai's blade doing here?" he wondered aloud to himself. The blade itself was worn down but the bit was glowing as if it was brand new. Rei smiled down at the Phoenix. Using his nails he pried out the bit and tossed aside the blade. He held it tightly in his hand while he began to look for a piece of string. Once he found one he threaded the bit and pulled it over his head. Quickly he shoved the necklace under his clothes and headed to the breakfast downstairs, ignoring his previous ideas of sleep.
'There's always the bus ride over to the stadium.' He thought to himself.
***
"Hey Rei! Over here!" Takao called through the food he had jammed into his mouth. As usual, more than half the food was either on Takao's plate or in his mouth.
"Do you even chew the things you put in there before you swallow?" Kenny sweatdropped and shook his head.
"Of course!" Takao replied, looking a bit offended. "Speaking of courses... Fifth course!" He cheered and dove into his next plate of food. Rei sighed and sat down. He began to poke his toast. No one noticed his lack of appetite except Takao.
"What's wrong Rei?" he asked, putting his fork down. "You aren't normally this quiet. Does it have something to do with our upcoming match? Or another problem."
"It's nothing, Takao." Rei mumbled quietly, continuing to prod his breakfast, moving it from one side of the plate to another.
"Of course it's something." Takao insisted. "You would eat that toast if it was nothing." He pointed out.
"I'm fine, Takao. There's nothing you should be worried about." Rei exclaimed, raising his voice slightly.
"Oh come on, Rei! We're good buddies. You can tell me if something's on your mind. Is it a girl?" Takao refused to give in.
"No, Takao. Just drop the subject." He was beginning to lose his patience.
"So it is a girl." Takao cheered triumphantly. "Who is she? Is she cute? What does she look like? Is it Mariah?"
"WOULD YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" Rei exploded standing up and slammed his hands on the table. "It's not a girl!" Rei snarled slightly and ran out the door, leaving his team mates behind.
"Woah, what crawled up his but?" Takao asked staring at the door Rei had disappeared through. "He's acting like Kai now." He grumbled before continuing on his plate of food.
"You should be more considerate of Rei's feelings." Kenny scolded Takao. "It's obvious that Rei is more than a little tense these days. Just give him some time and space and he'll calm down."
"Yeah, he must have tried to cool down last night and it didn't work." Max pointed out. "He'll come around."
"Yeah, right. I hope it's soon. We need everyone's support in the next rounds."
***
"I'm glad your grandfather convinced you to stay with our team, Kai." Boris exclaimed cheerfully. Kai glared at the man's back and bit back a snarl. The Demolition Boys were walking towards the arena and their next match. They were heading off against The Majestics of Europe. They all entered the battle area and saw their opponents waiting on the other side of the dish.
"Kai?!" They exclaimed at once. Apparently no one had told them that Kai had switched sides.
"I though you were a Bladebreaker." Oliver exclaimed.
"Was is the key term." Boris laughed.
"I always knew you were a horrible blader, Kai, but I never thought you'd stoop so low as to betray your own team in the World Championships." Johnny called. "That's not just low, that's cowardly." Kai ignored their remarks and crossed his arms.
"Are we going to chat all day or are we going to Beyblade?" he commented snidely. "I thought that's what you were here for. If not, then I'm wasting my time with pathetic losers like you." He emphasized this with a big yawn.
"Why you-" Johnny jumped at Kai shaking his fist at the boy, but Robert held him back.
"That's enough!" he exclaimed seriously. "Lets just do what we came here to do."
***
Up first was Oliver and Kai. They both stepped up to the Classic dish and got into positions.
"Three."
"Two."
"One! Let it RIP!"
They launched their blades into the dish and before they could blink it was over.
"What happened?!" Oliver exclaimed as his blade appeared at his feet, shattered into tiny pieces.
Kai's blade began to glow and soon Oliver's Unicolyon was no more.
"Unicolyon!" he cried out as his beast was sucked into Black Dranzer. Kai said nothing while this was happening. He raised his hand and his blade returned to his hand.
"So, who's next?" he asked, sounding bored.
Both Robert and Enrique tried to go up against Kai but their blades suffered the same quick fate as Oliver's.
"I'm not going to let you take my Salamolyon without a fight." Johnny growled and stood up to battle.
"It's a shame that there's nothing you can do to stop me." Kai smirked in response.
"Oh, yeah? We'll see. I'm not losing my bit-beast. I'm going to win for his sake."
"You'd like to think that, wouldn't you?" Kai said, narrowing his eyes at Johnny.
"What do you mean by that?" Johnny asked defensively.
"I have a lot more at stake in this championship than you'll ever have." He answered quietly. "My winnings are worth more than yours ever will. That's why I will win."
"Three."
"Two."
"One! Let it RIP!"
"Salamolyon! Attack!" Johnny cried out, launching his blade. He began his attack straight away, not waiting for Kai's blade to hit the dish. When Salamolyon went to ram Kai's blade it was no longer there.
"Huh, where'd it go?" No one could see the blade. It seemed to have vanished.
"Could Kai have been knocked out of the dish?" an announcer commented, a hush drawing over the stadium. Everyone watched as Johnny's blade spun alone in the dish. The crowd waited in stunned silence for a few minutes waiting for Black Dranzer to reappear, but nothing happened.
"It looks as though it's all over." The announcer cheered as Johnny's blade continued to spin in the dish. There was still no sign of Kai's blade and Salamolyon was beginning to wobble and slow down.
"It's not over until I say it's over." Kai called to the announcer and smirked. "Black Dranzer! Attack!" he cried.
Suddenly, like a little black bullet, Kai's Beyblade came crashing down from the ceiling on top of Johnny's blade. The result was an explosion of debris. Not even Johnny's bit was left intact. The beast, having no place to run, was quickly sucked into Kai's blade and disappeared.
"How... how did I let this happen?" Johnny fell to his knees, stunned. His eyes were wide and his face had gone pale.
"I told you, Johnny. Your bit-beast is nothing compared to what I'm fighting for." Kai sneered and walked away.
"The victory goes to the Demolition Boys after an astounding upset."
Kai walked up to the door and was met by the rest of the Russian team.
"Nice work, Kai." Boris congratulated him. "You are a fine blader."
"I'm the best." Kai stated. "With me on the team there's no need for trash like them." he nodded towards Tala and the rest of the team.
"Why you little-" Tala shrieked and lunged at Kai, trying to get a shot at his head. It took everyone, including Boris, to hold him back.
"My point exactly." Kai yawned. He hadn't even flinched when Tala jumped at him.
Turning his back on the Demolition Boys, he walked out of the stadium, not bothering to give them a second glance.
***
"Wow. Did you see what just happened?" Takao asked, his eyes wide. "Tala just tried to take a shot at Kai."
"Yeah. I guess they aren't too pleased to have Kai on their team and taking all the credit for their wins." Max nodded.
"Kai must have said something really bad to get him riled up this much." Kenny pointed out. Tala was still struggling with his team to run after Kai and show him just what 'trash' could do.
"I think we should head over to the arena for our next match." Rei exclaimed, turning their attention from Kai's argument. He was fidgeting in his seat and was looking a little bit nervous.
"Sure, Rei." Takao replied cheerfully, totally oblivious to Rei's discomfort.
***
"Concentrate, Rei!" Kenny called to his friend. Rei wasn't fairing too greatly against their opponent. It didn't seem like he could focus on the match. Too many things were clouding his mind. He could only focus on the things Kai had revealed to him the night before.
He noticed too late that Drigger was losing speed. 'Oh, no. I have to concentrate!' he thought suddenly.
"Drigger! Tiger claw attack!" he called on the power of his bit-beast, but the call came too late and Drigger ran out of steam before he could attack the other blade. His blade wobbled chaotically and rolled to a stop in the centre of the dish.
"No." Rei whispered, realizing he had lost his concentration and the match. Luckily for him, though, Drigger hadn't left him again.
He picked up his blade and sat down on the bench beside Kenny.
"It's ok, Rei. You just need to rest a little, sort through the storm in your head." Kenny advised. Rei smiled thankfully.
"Thanks, Kenny." He said softly and watched Takao walk up to the dish for the final match.
***
"Hey, Mr. Dickenson." Rei called to the man. "May I ask your advice on something?" he questioned.
"Why, of course!" Mr. Dickenson smiled cheerfully. "What can I help you with?" the rest of the Bladebreakers were lounging in the lobby and Rei had gone upstairs to think. He was lucky enough to catch Mr. Dickenson before the man entered his own hotel room.
Mr. Dickenson led Rei into his room and sat down on his bed to listen to the teen.
"Does this have something to do with Kai?" he asked perceptively. "I know that you were quite fond of him. Much more so than everyone else. You were quite heartbroken when he left, ne?" he smiled. Rei sat down suddenly beside him.
"Hai." He didn't realize his actions made his emotions so transparent. "I know he didn't want to leave our team of his own choice, but I don't know how to get him to open up to me. When I try to get him to talk he begins to clam up."
"Kai will talk to you when he's good and ready." Mr. Dickenson told him. "You just have to be around when he does. Let him know you're there for him and you'll listen, no questions asked. When he finally does open up, as I'm sure he will, you have to be supportive and not force things from him."
"Oh." Rei exclaimed softly. "It's like that saying, 'Patience is a virtue', huh?"
"Yes. If you are patient enough, you'll be rewarded greatly." Mr. Dickenson winked cheerfully and stood back up.
"Thank you very much, sir." Rei smiled, his first genuinely happy smile since Kai had left. With that, he ran out of the door.
***
Gasping for breath, Rei rested a hand on the stone wall of the abbey.
"May I help you?" A gate guard asked, appearing suddenly before him.
"Yeah, may I please see Hiwatari Kai?"
"Sure, just one moment." The guard disappeared, and a few minutes later Kai came to the gates.
"Rei?!" he sounded surprised. "What the hell are you doing here?" he hissed.
"I'm here to tell you that if you need someone to talk to... about anything and everything, I'm here for you." Rei's eyes twinkled in the darkness. "I'll listen to everything you say. I won't interrupt and I won't ask any questions." Kai's eyes widened in surprise. No one had ever told him that before.
"If you want to listen to me, meet me in the same place as yesterday, in one hour." He whispered hurriedly and disappeared into the shadows. Rei was surprised. He hadn't thought it would be that easy to talk to Kai. Now all he had to do was find the old building they were in and wait for Kai.
***
Easier said than done. Rei had been paying more attention to Kai than where he was going and now couldn't find the building.
"I know it's around here somewhere." He mumbled. He wad been searching for it for nearly an hour and had had no luck. He finally came to the end of a street and looked hopefully at the big building. It looked very old and ruined. It had five floors just like he remembered. And it's front door was missing. Rei dashed inside and bounded up the stairs, hoping this was the right building. When he reached the fifth floor he began quietly searching every room for Kai. He didn't want it to be known that he couldn't remember where he was.
"You're ten minutes late." A voice echoed from the next room he checked. Kai was sitting in the same position as the night before and had his back to Rei.
"Yeah, I kind of got lost." He winced as he confessed to Kai.
"What did you mean earlier when you said you'd listen to me?" Kai asked, a hint of hope in his voice.
"I meant just that." Rei explained. "What ever you want to talk about, I'll be here to listen to it. You can talk about everything and nothing. If you have something on your mind you can tell me. If you want to tell me how your day went, I'd be more than glad to listen. It also means that I won't pressure you to say anything and if you tell me something I won't question you about it. I'll listen." He walked over and sat down beside Kai in the same position they were in before.
"And if you don't want to talk at all... I'll listen to the silence." He added. It was quiet again for a few minutes before anyone spoke.
"That was the worst battle I've ever seen you fight, today." Kai said softly. "I've never seen you so unfocused. You need to ignore the outside world and it's problems. In a Beyblade battle the rest of the world doesn't matter." Rei smiled and nodded, careful not to say anything.
"Tell Takao that he needs to work on his launching to get more speed into his blade and tell Max that he needs to focus his training more on the offence. I don't know how you guys ever made it this far without me." Rei could hear the smile in Kai's voice.
Kai looked down at the mop of black hair below him and trailed off. He really didn't know what else to tell him.
"What else would you like me to talk about?" he asked.
"If you don't mind me butting my nose in, what was that fight all about?" Rei asked, purposely trying to avoid any touchy subjects.
"Between me and Tala?"
"Yeah."
"It wasn't really much." Kai answered. "I just told Boris that since I'm fighting for the Demolition Boys they didn't need to have the others around. I believe my exact words were 'With me on the team there's no need for trash like them.' or something like that." He looked back at Rei when he heard snickering. "I really don't see what there is to get upset about." He added stubbornly.
"You called him trash." Rei chuckled heartily. "That and it seems to me he feels that he's being overshadowed by you. You're taking his team." Kai thought about that for a moment.
"Oh. I see what you mean now." Kai said. "But I still meant what I said."
Rei looked up at Kai and smiled. 'You never change, do you?' he asked in his mind.
"How come you are only listening?" Kai asked.
"Well I was told that if you wanted someone to open up to you you'd have to let them do it on their own time." Rei answered, remembering what Mr. Dickenson told him. "I wanted to let you know that I'd always be here for you and even if you don't tell me all the demons of your past at least I have the pleasure of your company. You mean a lot more to me and the rest of the Bladebreakers than you know. Plus you're a friend and no matter what Takao says we all value your opinion."
"I hope you aren't getting sappy on me." Kai growled.
"Hell, no. Just spouting common knowledge." He smiled at Kai. Kai returned the smile, which startled Rei at first, and then stood from the window sill.
"Maybe I can try that listening thing on you sometime." Kai said gruffly, standing with his back to Rei.
"Well, since there's no battles tomorrow, we could always meet here again." Rei stood up, following Kai's example, and dusted off the seat of his pants.
"I'll think about it." Kai replied, turning slightly to look at Rei from the corner of his eye. The boy had his back to Kai and was staring awestruck at the view from the window. "I'll find you if I choose to." He added, not really caring if Rei heard him or not. He walked to the door.
"Wait, Kai." Rei turned to Kai. "One more thing."
Kai turned around and was enveloped in a bear-hug.
"I'll always be there for you, Kai." He whispered. "No matter what side you're on." Kai was shocked at this. He couldn't ever remember a time when anyone had offered him this form of comfort. He smiled. It made him feel much calmer, like it was giving him assurance that he wasn't going to be alone forever. He returned the embrace and nuzzled his face into Rei's warm neck, while Rei did the same.
"Thank you." Kai whispered.
***
Kai walked back to the abbey alone. The semi-cool breezes made Kai shiver in remembrance of the warm hug he had just come out of. His insides felt like ice.
When he got to his room he made no effort to change his clothes and curled up beneath the sheets of his bed. He couldn't get images of earlier that night out of his head. His mind just kept replaying it for him, causing him to toss and turn, unable to find a comfortable spot.
After a couple of hours trying to find a position, Kai passed out from exhaustion and drifted into a restless slumber, haunted only by the memories of that night.
***
While Kai was having trouble, Rei slipped into his own bed and smiled. He had accomplished a lot in one day and he felt so much better than when he had woken up. He knew he was much closer to Kai than ever before and it wouldn't be too much longer before he finally found the heart of Kai's problems and the reason he was battling for the Demolition Boys. He wouldn't give up until he solved his little mystery, even if it took every ounce of patience he had.
"I'll find a way, Kai." He murmured to himself as he began to fall asleep. "I know I can think of a way to get you out of whatever blackmail is holding you to the Russian team."
He fell into a deep peaceful slumber and smiled at a job well done. in the morning he'd have to thank Mr. Dickenson.
~Finis
Hope you liked it. I know it may seem like a lot (over 3500 words in this chapter alone) but I really hate those chapters that hardly have any story in them and aren't even 500 words long.
Also I just wanted to point out that every chapter is more or less one day (Chapter 1: Thursday, Chapter 2: Friday) and I'm planning to have the finals held on next Friday (meaning chapter 9) and I hope that that will be the last chapter. If not then I will spread out Friday to Chapter 10. (I'm nearly done the outline and I'm in the middle of typing up chapter 6!!!)
Coming up: Chapter 3: the Truth's Consequences