Chapter 15
Death comes to those who wait: I was wondering who you were. So you think Kai for himself. Fair judgement.
russle: Kai will always be able to keep Tyson in line. :p
LingXiaoyu: I understood it perfectly, and it is a very good evaluation of Kai's reasoning
Ashla: Kai's the captain. It's his job to know them well.
the tigris: Kai went soft right after Black Dranzer. Pity really. He was so good when he was evil.
Platinum Rei: I hope this is a good chapter too
Koneko no Rei: Getting on your nerves, hm? And it's going to get worse. Your nerves are going to be shot by the time this fic ends.
Avril Fan: Quick fixes are unfortunately a mythical thing of fairy tales and nursery rhymes. We life in reality. Things are so much harder here. --;;
Castles in the Sky: Tala and Bryan are a couple, yes. And I'm hooked on shonen ai, and it can be good... in a wrong sort of way. :p
Chibi Wingzero: That's okay, I know you'll be back. Good luck!
I hate how they're fighting, but that seems to be all they wanted to do in this story.
Kevin shot a look at Lee as he went about making his breakfast. Kevin had come home the night before to discover that Lee had fallen asleep at the table, his book spread out in front of him. That's all Lee ever seemed to be doing in his free time: reading the book his grandfather had sent him. And he was making headway too, having passed the halfway point sometime during the day before.
Lee still hadn't woken up. Frowning, Kevin crept closer, knowing that it was not like Lee at all to sleep so far into the day. He had always been an early riser, the only one who got up earlier than he did being Mariah.
Reaching forward almost hesitantly, Kevin prodded Lee in the shoulder, the other not moving. His frown deepened to one of concern as his fingers tightened on Lee's shoulder, feeling the firmness of muscle before he shook him gently.
"Lee."
He still didn't move.
Setting his jaw, Kevin mewed softly, feeling a faint sense of distress and unease rising in his gut and hating it. Why should he care about Lee? Lee didn't give a shit about him. Tightening the grip on the elder's shoulder, he shook harder.
"Leeroy, wake up."
He heard Lee's breathing shift, orange-gold eyes fluttering open as the elder's forehead creased. The catlike eyes shifted toward him, Kevin taking a step back, barriers slamming back up.
"It's almost time for work."
Lee nodded, straightened and rubbing his eyes before he stretched, joints cracking in protest. Kevin watched him out of the corner of his eye, violet eyes narrowing as he took in how tired the other looked, noting how Lee's eyes were bloodshot and glazed over, and that a faint stubble clung to his face
He fought the urge to ask if everything was okay, instead turning away and going back to getting ready. Whatever was wrong with Lee was Lee's problem, not his. Let the other sort it out, Kevin just didn't give a shit anymore.
He rolled his eyes as the phone rang, throwing a look at Lee and saw that he was making no effort to get it, picking through his breakfast but not really eating any. Sighing and shaking his head at the Lion's laziness, Kevin found and picked up the phone. "What?"
"Most people would say 'hello'," Tyson said. "I know we hooked up last night and everything, and that you have to work today, but what say we go out again tonight? Words on the radio that one of the nightclubs has an underage disco going on and Max and I are going to check it out. What do you say, buddy?"
"Why not. Got nothing better to do." Kevin saw Lee watching him out the top of his eye and made a point of ignoring him. "So what time you heading out?"
"Grandpa's taking us, so we'll pick you up at about 8:30?"
"Works for me. See you then."
"Yeah, see you."
==========
"You look terrible, Lee."
Lee looked up, spotting the other man as he approached. "Just been feeling a bit under the weather of late, Mr D, that's all."
Mr Dickenson nodded, watching as the members of Lee's training group began to disband for lunch, a couple bickering over who had the better blade. Lee sighed and rolled his eyes, turning away.
"What say you join me for lunch," Mr Dickenson said, pressing a hand against the small of Lee's back and drawing him from the room. "I've been meaning to have a word with you over the upcoming Championship."
Lee crossed his arms over his chest. "What about it?"
Mr Dickenson led the way to his private table, gesturing for Lee to take a seat. "I was wondering which route you were going to take."
Lee blinked. "Route?"
"Why yes." Mr Dickenson smiled. "During the last championship the Blade Breakers competed in Asia, then moved onto America, and were the only team other than the Majestics who competed in the European Tournament."
Lee frowned. "Didn't Robert of the Majestics actually own that stadium? Not to mention ran the entire European Tournament himself."
"Why yes, he did indeed." Mr Dickenson tugged at his moustache. "The White Tigers competed only in the Asian Tournament before moving on to Russia."
"We didn't win the Asian Tournament, therefore didn't qualify to move on to America. And we and the All Starz only got to go to Russia cause the BBA invited us."
"Indeed we did." Mr Dickenson set his sandwich back on the plate. "This year we have decided to hold more Tournaments leading up to the finals. Not only will there be the Asian, American, and European Tournaments before the finals, but also the African, Pacific, and United Kingdom Tournaments."
Lee narrowed his eyes. "So…"
"So, in order to Qualify for the finals, a team must enter and compete in at least two of these Tournaments, and finish with a finals placing."
"So either winner or runner up."
"Exactly, my boy." Mr Dickenson sipped his drink. "So which ones will you be competing in?"
"Asian's a definite. It's already been agreed that the Blade Breakers and White Tigers will meet up and hopefully try for a rematch. As for the rest… I'll talk it over with my team when we meet up in preparation for the Qualifier."
Mr Dickenson nodded. "I have kept an eye on the progress of the new teams, and I believe you will find yourselves unchallenged. The newcomers are skilled, but judging by what I saw during the rankings, I do believe the White Tigers will prove themselves unbeatable."
Lee narrowed his eyes. "What was the deal with the ranking thing, anyway? What's the point in it?"
"The BBA wishes to know who exactly are the best bladers for each country. Also, it was asked for by the fans and will settle some disputes over who is better. For example, there has always been some dispute over the best blader in America. Michael has proved himself rather well."
Lee smirked. "How about Russia?"
"That is a rather interesting situation." Mr Dickenson frowned. "Both Kai and Bryan were successful in defeating Tala, placing him at #3. But Kai and Bryan refuse to battle each other."
Lee raised his eyebrows. "They refuse to battle?"
"Indeed. As I said, a rather interesting situation. And we cannot use their statistics, as Kai has battled on several more occasions than Bryan and therefore has a higher win ratio, while Bryan's power level is significantly greater than Kai's."
"Which means it can only be settled by battling." Lee frowned. "I know they're best friends, but Ray and I battled to determine China's #1. I'll have to get Ray to ask Kai about it."
Mr Dickenson nodded, wiping his fingers on a napkin and frowning. "Are you sure you are well, Lee? You have barely touched your food."
"I'm not really hungry."
"Indeed." Mr Dickenson's frown deepened. "It doesn't have anything to do with why you and young Kevin aren't talking, does it?"
Lee winced. "Touchy issue that."
"So I see." Mr Dickenson leant forward. "I've known both you and Kevin since you were small. As stubborn as you are, I'm sure you'll get to the bottom of it."
Lee looked down at a spot on the table. "Yeah."
Mr Dickenson studied him, taking in his appearance. "I want you to cut back on the hours you spend training those children. I can find you something less stressful if you would like. We are working on developing new training equipment and need someone to test it for us if you are interested. You will be paid the same, and it will prove challenging for your own blading skills."
Lee smiled. "Thank you."
"Anything for my bladers." Mr Dickenson looked up at the clock. "I will get your new schedule to you before you finish tonight. You can begin first thing in the morning. Now you'd better get along or you will be late, and it's never a good thing for the teacher to be late."
Lee chuckled. "No, it's not. Been good talking, Mr D, and thanks for telling me about the changes to the Championship."
"You are one of the first to know," Mr Dickenson replied. "A letter is currently being prepared for Douglas and Judy of the All Starz, and I will be contacting both Kai and Robert this afternoon. Tala will be informed once he returns from his trip with Bryan."
Lee raised an eyebrow as he made his way back toward the training room. Tala and Bryan? Was everyone hooking up these days?
Hopefully this chapter has explained the reason for the rankings. It also helps set up the next and last story in the series once I get around to writing it. Yes, four stories in this series: Overture, Honesty, Honesty II, and Ketsuron. Both Overture and Ketsuron are in the works and will be coming soon. However, I will not be running them simultaneously for several reasons. But at least it will give you something to look forward too.