Desires of the Heart


Disclaimer: I do not, have not, and will not own Beyblade, back then, right now, or in the future.


"..." voices/people speaking


/.../ thoughts


(*A/N ...) author's notes


Last chapter:


Then, the doorbell rang.


"I'll get it," Kai said matter-of-factly as he walked over to the door. He pulled it open. Three people stood there: a middle-aged man, a youthful-looking woman, and a black-haired boy a few years older than Kai.


"Hi! You must be Kai!" The woman greeted him. "You probably don't remember us. Your grandfather introduced you to us when you were just a kid!"


"Wh-Who are you?" Kai asked, but he did have a feeling he had met them before.


The man replied, "Why, we're the Sakoyamas! I'm Hiro, this is Melody, and this is our son, Koji."


~~Chapter 4: Dark and Dreadful Day~~


"U-Um... nice... nice to meet you," Kai said as politely as he could manage. "C-Can I get you anything?"


"Oh, no, thank you, dear," Melody replied. "We're just stopping by, I'm afraid. We were just passing by... Perhaps some... other time?"


"Some other time, then," Kai replied with a slight smile.


"Well, it was nice... seeing you... Kai," Koji said, somewhat stonily, "Maybe we'll... see you sometime..." There was something of a smirk on the boy's lips, as he sauntered off.


"Oh, uh... don't mind him," Hiro said nervously.


"What did I do?" Kai asked softly.


Melody looked sheepish. "Well, you see, Kai... when you were kids, he used to teach you how to blade... In fact, he was the first person to mention blading to you, even before your grandfather. And, well, he's just... a little... Well... he and you used to blade a lot, just for fun. He always won, of course, because before he came along, you didn't know what a beyblade was. And then, one day, he heard of all the training your grandfather put you through. He thought you'd just been playing around with him, losing on purpose so you could see his moves. So he wanted a real battle... and he invited all his friends to watch. So, he was convinced you wouldn't lose on purpose in front of so many people, and..." She broke off.


"And what? What happened?" Kai had to know.


"Well," Hiro continued for her, "your grandfather was pretty sure you had no chance of winning, and he didn't want you looking like some loser in front of all those people... so... he gave you Dranzer. And, well... you battled him, and you used Dranzer and won."


"So, why is he...?"


Hiro sighed and explained, "By using Dranzer, it made you look like you had this secret weapon the whole time, and you could use it whenever you wanted to beat Koji. So Koji... he just..."


Kai caught on. "His suspicions were confirmed, and he was convinced that I had been losing all that time, and he's never gotten over losing in front of his friends."


Melody nodded. "So, you see... he put this in his mind when he was just a kid, and he believes in it, and it grows."


Hiro said, "Well, we've gotta go, Kai, but it was nice talking to you again."


~~~~~


"I can't believe you told him, he already knew..."


"Koji... he didn't lose on purpose, and you know it deep in your heart. But when you put something in your mind when you're so young, it's hard to get rid of, and by believing in it, you're just making your hatred of him grow."


"Yeah, right, he lost on purpose. Even his brother knew that."


Hiro abruptly turned from the TV, and Melody dropped a bunch of flowers she had just bought to decorate the living room. Hiro asked sharply, "What brother?"


"You wouldn't know. His grandfather practically ignored him, and it didn't matter to him whether the boy came home at night, or at all. He was always hanging around somewhere in the shadows, and after that battle, he disappeared, and never came back."


"What did his brother look like?" Hiro questioned.


"I don't know. He was hardly ever around. Only me and his grandfather even knew about him. Kai was always training and stuff," he finished with a snarl.


Melody ignored and asked, "How could Kai not know he had a brother?"


"Huh," Koji snapped, "that's Kai Hiwatari for you."


~~~~~

"Hey, you!" 'Koji' snapped, "Seen Kai?"


Tyson smirked. "He's taking a walk with Emily around that deserted bridge downtown. They closed it years ago, and no one ever goes there now. I woulda followed them, but, man, Kai can see things a mile away..."


'Koji' had already turned his back and was walking away. Koji's back faced Tyson, so Tyson couldn't see that he had a sinister smirk plastered on his face...


~~~~~


"The sunset sure is beautiful, huh, Kai?"


"Almost as beautiful as you."


She grinned. "Really?"


"Really."


A bush rustled behind them. Kai turned, pushing Emily behind him. A blur flashed past Kai's eyes.


"Ahh!"


Kai turned to see 'Koji' holding Emily around the neck. Kai took an angry step forward.


"I wouldn't try anything funny." The young man, who suddenly seemed ten years older, drew a short, sharp knife out of a leather sheath hanging at his side, under his jacket. He held it to Emily's neck, the same way that people did it in movies or on TV. But this was real.


"Let her go," Kai insisted, wishing he was closer. He stood a good ten feet or more from them. If he had been closer, he would have most likely jumped him. But this was in the other guy's hand now. If he wasn't afraid of Kai - and why should he be? He had a knife - then he wouldn't let her go. He had the upper hand.


Kai's thoughts were confirmed. "You're in no position to be making demands... brother," he finished, spitting out the last word with disgust.


"Brother? Just let her go, please!"


"Of course you wouldn't know me. Nobody knew me except our dear grandfather, and that kid, Koji Sakoyama, the real one. Oh well, he's dead now, isn't he? Got caught trying to take over the world, the idiot."


"Yeah, he did. And he's dead. Committed suicide," Kai replied. "Come on, what do you want?" Kai asked angrily, as police cars and a few ambulances surrounded them.


They had been glaring so intensely at each other that neither of the boys nor Emily had heard the approaching sirens.


"Back off," he warned the cops, as they pointed guns at him.


"Do as he says," Kai added, "He's got a knife... and my girlfriend." The cops hesitantly lowered their weapons.


"Kai!" I noticed both blading teams standing off to the side, absorbing the scene.


"What do I want, Kai?" The boy repeated softly, although his hold on Emily didn't loosen. "What do I want? I want what's rightfully mine!"


Kai stuttered, confused, "I-I don't-"


"I want Dranzer! He should be mine! I was first-born! I was older! I was the one who should have gotten Dranzer!"


"D-Dranzer?"


He snarled, "That's right. Now give him to me, or else."


/Do what you think is right, Master Kai,/ Dranzer said inside his head.


/But.../


/I am willing to be an exchange for Emily... it has been an honour serving you, Kai.../


/I-I can't.../


/What about Emily?/


As if reading his mind, Kai's brother called to him, "This girl's life means nothing to me, brother."


"Kai," Emily said weakly, "you don't have to do it. I'm gonna be okay..."


/No, you aren't,/ Kai thought desperately.


"No, you aren't," his brother voiced.


"Please, let her go!"


"Give me Dranzer!"


"If I do... will you let her go?"


"Yes... I will."


"How can I be so sure? You said her life doesn't mean a thing."


"Dammit, Kai, stop being so bloody stubborn!"


"Funny... it seems to run in this family..." Kai smirked, but his brother's expression grew angrier. "Korida Tai Hiwatari," Kai whispered.


He froze, tightening his grip on Emily. Kai pleaded, "Kori, please! You, you can't do this!"


Kori paused a moment, then dropped his arm to his side, but continued to hold his knife out. But in that moment, he was suddenly almost the innocent, lonely child he had been. Emily rushed to Kai's side. Kai pushed her behind him, under the watchful eyes of the police.


"Kai... you know I could never hurt an innocent girl." Kai nodded sadly.


The cops took a few steps towards Kori, guns raised.


"Come with us, peacefully, and no one has to get hurt," one of them said.


"Don't," Kori insisted. With no hostage left, he turned the knife on himself, the tip pointing at his chest.


"Kori!" Kai cried, brushing away a hot tear.


"Kai..."


"Don't do this."


"Don't do it, Kori," a voice behind Kai said. Kai turned and saw the real Koji Sakoyama.


"Koji, Kai, please. You have to understand." Koji pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, crumpled it slightly, and tossed it to Kai. Kai caught it and stuffed it in his pocket mindlessly.


Koji went on, "You have to understand. I have nothing more to live for."


"No, Kori, no!" Kai sobbed. Kai had never cried before, never.


"Kai, I'm already dead. I've been wandering around, a condemned spirit, almost, looking for revenge. And I've hurt the person closest to me, you..."


"Come on, Kori, we've had a few arguments, but you don't have to do this."


"I am already dead," he insisted. "I never told you this, Kai, but I love you. You're my brother, and you used to sneak me food, because Grandfather never remembered me. Here, I want you to have this." Kori tossed Kai his blade and launcher. "I... built it myself... put mini computer system into it, so it recognises my voice and does what I order it to. Acknowledge Kai Hiwatari voice command." The blade beeped quietly.


He stood, silent, then drove the knife hard into his chest.


"NO, KORI!!!" Kai was at his side in an instant.


"I'm sorry," a doctor who had jumped off an ambulance said softly.


Kai didn't respond for a few minutes, he just sat there, crying on Kori's jacket sleeve. "I'm sorry, Kori. I'm sorry I couldn't have been a better brother."


"Kai..." Kai looked up. Koji had an expression of pain on his pale face. "I should never have blamed you. I know you really tried to win our battles, but I just couldn't admit that I was wrong, and I think your brother felt that."


"Koji, uh, um, see you around sometime?" Kai could not find other words, so he simply held out his hand. Koji grinned and shook it.


They were starting to take Kori's body away.


Kai stopped them for a moment. "Kori, I'm sorry you couldn't have grown up differently. We could have been the best of friends, and the closest of brothers, but it's too late now... It's not your fault, Kori, you couldn't help it. It just happened, and you couldn't stop it. And you died early on. You died when everybody ignored you, and you could barely get any food. Your soul and spirit died. Your body lived on. You were... you were just angry at the world, and the world was angry at you. So you tried to revenge on the world. It's not your fault, Korida, and it never was."


Kai started to walk home. The two blading teams stood there, shocked and frozen. Even they could not run after Kai and tell him it was going to be okay. Nobody could, and the truth was that it wouldn't be okay, and Kai knew it...


~~~~~


WAHHHH!!!! I really shouldn't write in the summer... it's so depressing, and I have nothing to be depressed at. I mean, it's a bit boring because of this MAJOR heat-wave, so it's too hot to do anything interesting, but... no school, no homework, no teachers, no glaring arch-nemesis...


Yeah, and the story IS NOT OVER!! There will be an epilogue... I'm working on it...