Title: Resurfacing
Authoress: Ladya C. Maxine
Rating: R
Summary: see chapter one
Warnings: see chapter one
Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade or any of its characters. All unrecognizable characters belong solely to me and are not to be touched. I am not making any money off of this and I write with the sole purpose to entertain.
*************
Ray clicked on the switch, blinking against the sudden light that filled the hotel bedroom. Closing the door behind him, he wearily walked over to the bed and flopped down, staring up at the ceiling, not really seeing it. He was exhausted. His body had aches and pains that made his former injuries feel like mere paper cuts. His eyes burned also. He hadn't slept for days and the results were as obvious as they were painful.
Sighing, he rolled over onto his stomach, resting his chin on folded arms. Looking straight ahead, his eyes caught sight of Kai's duffle bag. It had been searched by the police in hopes to find something in it that would give them some clue of his whereabouts. It hadn't. The contents had been stuffed back in hastily.
After a few minutes of staring, he got up and walking over, he picked up the black travel pack and brought it back to the bed, sitting down next to it. Taking out the jumbled mess, he started to neatly fold the clothing. A white tangle amidst the dark clothes caught his eye and he pulled it out, recognizing it at once; another white scarf.
Rubbing it between his fingers for a while, he smiled sadly as he remembered the day he had learned of the existence of 'The Second Scarf'. He had always assumed that Kai only had one beloved scarf. The entire day had been spent bugging Kai about it, putting it on and parading around the room. He remembered the small, amused smile that had graced Kai's face when the stupid knot had tightened, almost choking him when he had somehow managed to step on the trailing tail.
He neatly rolled the scarf up and tucked it between the baggy jeans he had already folded. The next thing he recognized was a small black case, its surface shiny with a sparkling red phoenix gracing it.
Kai's face paint.
'It always made him look so untouchable. Even feral,' he thought, tracing the intricate tail feathers that had a surprising amount of curls and twists in them.
Not giving it a second thought, he placed the black casing back in the bag. He finished off the rest of the task in silence, the only sound coming from the zipper as he closed it.
With a shuddering sigh, he laid himself down and soon fell into a restless sleep.
************
"You can be so dramatic sometimes, Kai."
He didn't respond, eyes unseeing as he stared out the open window, ignoring the calloused fingers that ran through his sweat soaked hair. His breathing had yet to return to normal and the shivering brought only more pain to his already hurting body.
"You know that it is impossible to kill a sacred spirit, much less a phoenix."
"It's going to take her days before she will be reborn," he argued, turning away when the hand brushed his bruised cheek.
"Indeed, which means we have some quality time for ourselves." Voltaire smirked vilely at that thought. His arms around the boy's chest and waist tightened as he pulled him closer, their bare skin slick with sweat and heat.
Kai refused to look the old man in the eyes. Instead he idly played with the empty bit in his hand, noting sadly how cold the metal was without the fire of the phoenix inside it.
It had been an hour since his bit beast had evaporated before his very eyes. He had been so overcome with shock that he had forgotten the legendary ability of resurrection Dranzer was gifted with. It had been a rather mild comfort though; the weapon his grandfather had used had no doubt scrambled her entire molecular structure. He feared the effects it would have on her reborn form.
Looking at his watch, Voltaire sighed.
"The damn meeting..."
Kai didn't look up as he felt the bed shift as the man got up. He barely registered the sound of clothing being put on. It wasn't until a calloused hand turned his head with uncommon gentleness that he blinked, eyes still burning from the tears he had shed earlier.
"No matter what you do, boy, you will never escape me. You belong to me," Voltaire growled, tightening his hold in the soft hair. "Understand?"
"I belong to no one," Kai daringly retorted. "Especially not you."
Instead of getting angry, Voltaire smirked.
"I see it will take more time to break you in. And I personally will enjoy doing that."
Kai recoiled when the thin lips pressed down on his but he remained unmoving, knowing that any form of struggle would urge the man on. Still, he fought back the nausea as a wet tongue slithered past his lips, lapping at his almost hungrily.
'Make it stop...Please...Make him go away...'
Pulling away, the old man grinned at the flustered face of his only living relative.
"So beautiful. You truly are a gift from above."
Unable to meet the cold eyes, he rolled onto his side, mutely staring at the wall. A tickling sensation ran down his spine as Voltaire ran a single finger down his back but luckily the man removed his hand and stood up.
"Fight me all you want, Kai, but know that you are alone in this world."
With that he walked out, shutting and locking the door behind him.
The words replayed in his ears and Kai closed his eyes, his breathing becoming soft sobs as their weight settled upon him.
'No! I must fight it! I must fight him!'
Reaching over the edge of the mattress to pick up his jeans, he painfully pulled them on before standing, breathing hard to calm himself down. He normally would go somewhere to think but everywhere he looked in the room reminded him about his past...
About his pain....
*~*~*~begin flashback~*~*~*
"Come Kai, we have to leave!"
"Mom? What's wrong?"
"No time to ask, my child. Take my hand."
"Why are we running? Where's papa?"
"Kai, please, just follow me!"
"Where are we going?"
"As far away from here as we can. Don't look back, Kai."
"I forgot Dranzer!"
"We have to leave her! We must get out!"
"No! I can go get her! She's in my room!"
"Kai! No! Come back!"
"I have to get her!"
"Kai! KAI!"
*~*~*~end flashback~*~*~*
Shaking the voices out of his head, he looked around, hoping to find a distraction, any distraction.
He found it in the form of the small television on top of the dresser. He had known it was there but had been too caught up in his dilemma that he had ignored it. After a few minutes indecision he picked up the remote control and turned it on.
There was a crackle but then a perfect image came on.
Taking a seat on the edge of his bed, he started flicking through channels until,
"....there have been no new discovery that could lead police to the whereabouts of Kai Hiwatari who disappeared nine days ago..."
He sat up straighter, eyes intent on the news broadcaster who spoke in a grave voice.
"Many high authorities have all pointed to one suspect, namely Voltaire Hiwatari, grandfather to the missing teen. Law enforcements have been after Voltaire, who is head of the Biovolt corporations at the age of 68, for years. Accused of what some even call genocide, he has been suspected to have betrayed Russia during the war which led to the loss of some thousands of soldiers. He was also the main, and practically proven, suspect in the deaths of his own son and daughter-in-law. Other crimes include financial frauds, illegal weapon possession, drug-dealing, and, most disturbing of all, child molestation and rape.
"Unbelievably, though, the worse sentence he has ever received was a two year jail penalty for drug dealing, of which he only spent 3 months due to his lawyers and resources, who have been able to outsmart the law on every occasion, using everything in their power to keep their client's head above water. Voltaire was even present at this year's Beyblade World Championship tournament in which his grandson's team was competing. But the police, and judge, say that he can do no more running.
"Police have believed to have made a break-through after they arrested Boris Balcov, second-in-command to Voltaire and ex-director of Balcov Abbey in Moscow. His arrest took place during the BBA's Trophy Ceremony when he was caught assaulting one of his own apprentices in the old basement garage. The victim, the former world champion team's captain, Tala Ivanov."
"Tala..." he breathed, gripping the remote tighter.
"Ivanov was rescued by this man," a picture came on the screen, "Bruce Granger, father of Bladebreaker member Tyson Granger. The victim has been brought to the hospital though remains in critical condition. Three other teens, also from Balcov Abbey, are also in the hospital though their condition remains unknown."
Kai released a small sigh of relief. At least they were alive.
"In what is quickly becoming one of the largest manhunt in Russian history, people are being urged to keep an eye out for both Voltaire Hiwatari and Kai Hiwatari. BBA Head Chairman Stanley K. Dickenson has placed a $20 million dollar reward for the arrest of Voltaire or the whereabouts of Kai. We have with us now some footage of the yesterday's report conference in which Mr. Dickenson had addressed this situation."
The scene switched to a full conference room. At the front was a stage with Mr. Dickenson standing at the podium. And behind him...
"Guys..."
His team. His friends. But they looked nothing like how he had last seen them. There was no trace of mirth or even life in them. Tyson looked to have lost weight and Max stood with his head bowed, eyes and face downcast. Kenny looked simply lost. And Ray...
"No guys, you're stronger than this," he said softly, disbelieving how horribly the Bladebreakers were being affected by all this. His heart only clenched more when Mr Dickenson started to speak.
"The BBA is doing all in its power to find Kai and return him to his friends. That is our main objective. He is very dear to us and his abduction is nothing short of devastating." The man's voice was shaky and the hands that rested on the podium's edge gripped the wood tight. "To anyone out there who has but the smallest bit of information that could help us, please contact the BBA or any law enforcement office. The current reward stands at $20 million but I am prepared to pay more to get him back with us. No person, especially not one of his youth, should be in the situation he is now."
The screen went back to the anchor but he tuned her out, the practically pleading words of Mr. Dickenson replaying over and over again in his ears; so much that, with a somewhat choked cry, he dropped the remote.
"Also at the press conference, one of Kai's team mate's had this to say."
Raising his eyes, he stared at the golden eyes on the screen that shimmered just like a sun that had almost fully set. He slowly slid onto his knees on the floor, holding his breath as the Chinese blader began to speak.
"We won the title of world championships a couple of weeks ago and we were very excited. Now, however, that doesn't matter at all anymore. Nothing does. Not to us anyways. Our captain and friend is out there somewhere, being held against his will. Many see Kai as someone who doesn't care for others and keeps to himself. He's everything but. Without him on the team, we doubt we would have ever made it this far. We learned a lot from him. We did our best to prove to him that he taught us well. Every second he made us train he also made us better people. He has been there for us through all our tournaments."
The soft voice started to waver and Kai closed his eyes, taking deep breaths to calm himself.
"And Kai, if you can hear me, wherever you are; we are all here for you, buddy. Nothing will ever make us think less of you. We are praying for you. All the other teams are too. Things aren't the same without you, Kai. Please Kai, just hold on. We will find you and things will get better. I promise..." A lone tear ran slowly down the neko-jin's cheek. "We really miss you."
"Well there you have it, the heartbreaking plea from the Bladebreakers to-- "
Unable to hear more, he clicked off the TV and tossed the remote away, ignoring the clatter it made as it landed on the floor. The only sound left was that of his heavy breathing.
'Why is this happening?!'
His control started to crumble.
'Everything's just so wrong!'
His breathing became pants.
'Everyone is hurting!'
The news was too much and his grief too great and with a small cry of pain he fell to the floor, his eyes clenched shut though tears still escaped, trickling onto the soft carpet. Behind him the door opened, followed by a cry of shock and dismay, which was overwhelmed by the sound of a loaded tray falling from numb hands.
"Kai!"
Tearfully looking up he was just able to make out Margaret's distressed face before he passed out into darkness.
tbc.............
*************
Read & Review, please.
Authoress: Ladya C. Maxine
Rating: R
Summary: see chapter one
Warnings: see chapter one
Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade or any of its characters. All unrecognizable characters belong solely to me and are not to be touched. I am not making any money off of this and I write with the sole purpose to entertain.
*************
Ray clicked on the switch, blinking against the sudden light that filled the hotel bedroom. Closing the door behind him, he wearily walked over to the bed and flopped down, staring up at the ceiling, not really seeing it. He was exhausted. His body had aches and pains that made his former injuries feel like mere paper cuts. His eyes burned also. He hadn't slept for days and the results were as obvious as they were painful.
Sighing, he rolled over onto his stomach, resting his chin on folded arms. Looking straight ahead, his eyes caught sight of Kai's duffle bag. It had been searched by the police in hopes to find something in it that would give them some clue of his whereabouts. It hadn't. The contents had been stuffed back in hastily.
After a few minutes of staring, he got up and walking over, he picked up the black travel pack and brought it back to the bed, sitting down next to it. Taking out the jumbled mess, he started to neatly fold the clothing. A white tangle amidst the dark clothes caught his eye and he pulled it out, recognizing it at once; another white scarf.
Rubbing it between his fingers for a while, he smiled sadly as he remembered the day he had learned of the existence of 'The Second Scarf'. He had always assumed that Kai only had one beloved scarf. The entire day had been spent bugging Kai about it, putting it on and parading around the room. He remembered the small, amused smile that had graced Kai's face when the stupid knot had tightened, almost choking him when he had somehow managed to step on the trailing tail.
He neatly rolled the scarf up and tucked it between the baggy jeans he had already folded. The next thing he recognized was a small black case, its surface shiny with a sparkling red phoenix gracing it.
Kai's face paint.
'It always made him look so untouchable. Even feral,' he thought, tracing the intricate tail feathers that had a surprising amount of curls and twists in them.
Not giving it a second thought, he placed the black casing back in the bag. He finished off the rest of the task in silence, the only sound coming from the zipper as he closed it.
With a shuddering sigh, he laid himself down and soon fell into a restless sleep.
************
"You can be so dramatic sometimes, Kai."
He didn't respond, eyes unseeing as he stared out the open window, ignoring the calloused fingers that ran through his sweat soaked hair. His breathing had yet to return to normal and the shivering brought only more pain to his already hurting body.
"You know that it is impossible to kill a sacred spirit, much less a phoenix."
"It's going to take her days before she will be reborn," he argued, turning away when the hand brushed his bruised cheek.
"Indeed, which means we have some quality time for ourselves." Voltaire smirked vilely at that thought. His arms around the boy's chest and waist tightened as he pulled him closer, their bare skin slick with sweat and heat.
Kai refused to look the old man in the eyes. Instead he idly played with the empty bit in his hand, noting sadly how cold the metal was without the fire of the phoenix inside it.
It had been an hour since his bit beast had evaporated before his very eyes. He had been so overcome with shock that he had forgotten the legendary ability of resurrection Dranzer was gifted with. It had been a rather mild comfort though; the weapon his grandfather had used had no doubt scrambled her entire molecular structure. He feared the effects it would have on her reborn form.
Looking at his watch, Voltaire sighed.
"The damn meeting..."
Kai didn't look up as he felt the bed shift as the man got up. He barely registered the sound of clothing being put on. It wasn't until a calloused hand turned his head with uncommon gentleness that he blinked, eyes still burning from the tears he had shed earlier.
"No matter what you do, boy, you will never escape me. You belong to me," Voltaire growled, tightening his hold in the soft hair. "Understand?"
"I belong to no one," Kai daringly retorted. "Especially not you."
Instead of getting angry, Voltaire smirked.
"I see it will take more time to break you in. And I personally will enjoy doing that."
Kai recoiled when the thin lips pressed down on his but he remained unmoving, knowing that any form of struggle would urge the man on. Still, he fought back the nausea as a wet tongue slithered past his lips, lapping at his almost hungrily.
'Make it stop...Please...Make him go away...'
Pulling away, the old man grinned at the flustered face of his only living relative.
"So beautiful. You truly are a gift from above."
Unable to meet the cold eyes, he rolled onto his side, mutely staring at the wall. A tickling sensation ran down his spine as Voltaire ran a single finger down his back but luckily the man removed his hand and stood up.
"Fight me all you want, Kai, but know that you are alone in this world."
With that he walked out, shutting and locking the door behind him.
The words replayed in his ears and Kai closed his eyes, his breathing becoming soft sobs as their weight settled upon him.
'No! I must fight it! I must fight him!'
Reaching over the edge of the mattress to pick up his jeans, he painfully pulled them on before standing, breathing hard to calm himself down. He normally would go somewhere to think but everywhere he looked in the room reminded him about his past...
About his pain....
*~*~*~begin flashback~*~*~*
"Come Kai, we have to leave!"
"Mom? What's wrong?"
"No time to ask, my child. Take my hand."
"Why are we running? Where's papa?"
"Kai, please, just follow me!"
"Where are we going?"
"As far away from here as we can. Don't look back, Kai."
"I forgot Dranzer!"
"We have to leave her! We must get out!"
"No! I can go get her! She's in my room!"
"Kai! No! Come back!"
"I have to get her!"
"Kai! KAI!"
*~*~*~end flashback~*~*~*
Shaking the voices out of his head, he looked around, hoping to find a distraction, any distraction.
He found it in the form of the small television on top of the dresser. He had known it was there but had been too caught up in his dilemma that he had ignored it. After a few minutes indecision he picked up the remote control and turned it on.
There was a crackle but then a perfect image came on.
Taking a seat on the edge of his bed, he started flicking through channels until,
"....there have been no new discovery that could lead police to the whereabouts of Kai Hiwatari who disappeared nine days ago..."
He sat up straighter, eyes intent on the news broadcaster who spoke in a grave voice.
"Many high authorities have all pointed to one suspect, namely Voltaire Hiwatari, grandfather to the missing teen. Law enforcements have been after Voltaire, who is head of the Biovolt corporations at the age of 68, for years. Accused of what some even call genocide, he has been suspected to have betrayed Russia during the war which led to the loss of some thousands of soldiers. He was also the main, and practically proven, suspect in the deaths of his own son and daughter-in-law. Other crimes include financial frauds, illegal weapon possession, drug-dealing, and, most disturbing of all, child molestation and rape.
"Unbelievably, though, the worse sentence he has ever received was a two year jail penalty for drug dealing, of which he only spent 3 months due to his lawyers and resources, who have been able to outsmart the law on every occasion, using everything in their power to keep their client's head above water. Voltaire was even present at this year's Beyblade World Championship tournament in which his grandson's team was competing. But the police, and judge, say that he can do no more running.
"Police have believed to have made a break-through after they arrested Boris Balcov, second-in-command to Voltaire and ex-director of Balcov Abbey in Moscow. His arrest took place during the BBA's Trophy Ceremony when he was caught assaulting one of his own apprentices in the old basement garage. The victim, the former world champion team's captain, Tala Ivanov."
"Tala..." he breathed, gripping the remote tighter.
"Ivanov was rescued by this man," a picture came on the screen, "Bruce Granger, father of Bladebreaker member Tyson Granger. The victim has been brought to the hospital though remains in critical condition. Three other teens, also from Balcov Abbey, are also in the hospital though their condition remains unknown."
Kai released a small sigh of relief. At least they were alive.
"In what is quickly becoming one of the largest manhunt in Russian history, people are being urged to keep an eye out for both Voltaire Hiwatari and Kai Hiwatari. BBA Head Chairman Stanley K. Dickenson has placed a $20 million dollar reward for the arrest of Voltaire or the whereabouts of Kai. We have with us now some footage of the yesterday's report conference in which Mr. Dickenson had addressed this situation."
The scene switched to a full conference room. At the front was a stage with Mr. Dickenson standing at the podium. And behind him...
"Guys..."
His team. His friends. But they looked nothing like how he had last seen them. There was no trace of mirth or even life in them. Tyson looked to have lost weight and Max stood with his head bowed, eyes and face downcast. Kenny looked simply lost. And Ray...
"No guys, you're stronger than this," he said softly, disbelieving how horribly the Bladebreakers were being affected by all this. His heart only clenched more when Mr Dickenson started to speak.
"The BBA is doing all in its power to find Kai and return him to his friends. That is our main objective. He is very dear to us and his abduction is nothing short of devastating." The man's voice was shaky and the hands that rested on the podium's edge gripped the wood tight. "To anyone out there who has but the smallest bit of information that could help us, please contact the BBA or any law enforcement office. The current reward stands at $20 million but I am prepared to pay more to get him back with us. No person, especially not one of his youth, should be in the situation he is now."
The screen went back to the anchor but he tuned her out, the practically pleading words of Mr. Dickenson replaying over and over again in his ears; so much that, with a somewhat choked cry, he dropped the remote.
"Also at the press conference, one of Kai's team mate's had this to say."
Raising his eyes, he stared at the golden eyes on the screen that shimmered just like a sun that had almost fully set. He slowly slid onto his knees on the floor, holding his breath as the Chinese blader began to speak.
"We won the title of world championships a couple of weeks ago and we were very excited. Now, however, that doesn't matter at all anymore. Nothing does. Not to us anyways. Our captain and friend is out there somewhere, being held against his will. Many see Kai as someone who doesn't care for others and keeps to himself. He's everything but. Without him on the team, we doubt we would have ever made it this far. We learned a lot from him. We did our best to prove to him that he taught us well. Every second he made us train he also made us better people. He has been there for us through all our tournaments."
The soft voice started to waver and Kai closed his eyes, taking deep breaths to calm himself.
"And Kai, if you can hear me, wherever you are; we are all here for you, buddy. Nothing will ever make us think less of you. We are praying for you. All the other teams are too. Things aren't the same without you, Kai. Please Kai, just hold on. We will find you and things will get better. I promise..." A lone tear ran slowly down the neko-jin's cheek. "We really miss you."
"Well there you have it, the heartbreaking plea from the Bladebreakers to-- "
Unable to hear more, he clicked off the TV and tossed the remote away, ignoring the clatter it made as it landed on the floor. The only sound left was that of his heavy breathing.
'Why is this happening?!'
His control started to crumble.
'Everything's just so wrong!'
His breathing became pants.
'Everyone is hurting!'
The news was too much and his grief too great and with a small cry of pain he fell to the floor, his eyes clenched shut though tears still escaped, trickling onto the soft carpet. Behind him the door opened, followed by a cry of shock and dismay, which was overwhelmed by the sound of a loaded tray falling from numb hands.
"Kai!"
Tearfully looking up he was just able to make out Margaret's distressed face before he passed out into darkness.
tbc.............
*************
Read & Review, please.