Big thankyous and hugs go to:
Ariotlatio: Thanks for reviewing! I hope you enjoy the rest of the story!
Cookie crumbs: hugs thankyou for reviewing and staying with the story, and well done for guessing!
Midnight Insanity: Thankyou for all your lovely reviews! Congrats about guessing she'd be Kai's sister too! :D I hope you keep reading!
X Shadow Wolf X2: Thanks for reviewing! And don't count her out yet, she might get her chance to be on the team later! ;)
Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade but I do own Albina.
This chapter is longer than the previous ones, so sit comfortably! ;) I've tried to stick with the actual programme as closely as possible- sorry if Kai seems a bit OOC. Enjoy!
Chapter 7 – The Tournament beginsHowever much she practiced, Albina just couldn't focus on her beyblade for longer than 2 seconds. There were just too many thoughts hanging in her head, and with the disappointment of not being able to participate in the tournament hanging over her, she almost felt like there was no point to her life anymore. The only thing holding her up were thoughts of her family- she was just contemplating this when Boris came to see her in her practice room.
"They're here."
"My parents?" Realizing what she'd just said, she corrected herself with- "My brother?"
"Yes, with his team, the Blade breakers. You might want to go and meet them- but remember, he doesn't know he has a sister." She felt her heart thud back into reality then. Of course- she'd only freak him out if she went up and introduced herself to him as his sister. So she went with Boris to the main competing hall, where several innocent-looking beybattles were taking place. Albina felt a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach- this had clearly been set up to look like a normal training school. If she told anyone otherwise, they'd dismiss her as crazy or overly dramatic. At the doorway of the room, five teenage boys stood, watching the battles eagerly. Her heart leapt as she spotted her brother easily- he was the silent, pale one with grey hair and he didn't look that different to the blur she'd seen nearly five years ago. With another jolt, she saw the blue triangles painted onto his face as she instinctively reached up to touch hers. They really were similar. Suddenly she realized that he was staring at her, and she returned the stare from across the room, looking into his blood-red eyes. He looked fierce, a loner; but she could see a softness buried deep within, similar to that she'd seen in Tala. But was it the Abbey that had made him this way, or was it just his character? She realized Boris had now led her up to them and snapped out of her trance.
"Welcome, Blade breakers. I hope you like the look of what you see. Here at this training school we train our students to the highest standards and with the latest technology, always striving to reach our goal," Albina looked at Kai again for a sign of hatred or remembrance of bitter memories, but his face was blank. Didn't he remember being here? "I'd like to introduce you to one of our best students, Albina."
"Zdravstvuyte, Blade breakers." Albina greeted blank faces.
"Zdravstvuyte." Kai murmured, to everyone's surprise. So he remembered a bit of Russian, then. He was still staring at Albina, as if he was trying to figure something out.
"Who are all of you?"
"Pleased to meet you, I'm Max!"
"And I'm Tyson, future world champion, you know-"
"I'm Kenny. I have to say this place is quite fascinating- the monitoring of student's vital signs is a great idea!" Albina grimaced at their ignorance. If only they knew the reason why each student was monitored during battles and training...
"Hi, I'm Rei." The friendly, raven-haired Chinese boy stuck out a hand and Albina brusquely shook it.
"Hn." Kai grunted, turning away from her to look down at the floor.
"Oh, that's Kai- he doesn't speak much but he's a good captain. Uh, do you two know each other?" The blue-haired boy named Tyson asked, confused. He'd either seen them staring at each other or noticed their similar face paint. The silence spread and thickened, puzzled faces all around. Kai was in what looked like a thoughtful trance.
"No." Albina blurted, turning her misty eyes to Tyson instead.
"I think that now it's time for a test battle. Follow me into the stadium room, please. You will be fighting one of our promising students, Alexander." Boris cut in, beginning to usher the boys out. Alexander wasn't that good a blader, but Albina knew that Boris was trying to lull them into a sense of security before the tournament.
"See ya at the tournament, Albina!" Max called happily over his shoulder. The sad, sinking feeling returned. Why did Boris bother introducing her to them if she wasn't going to be in the tournament? Probably to catch them off their guard when the tournament came. When Boris returned reporting that they'd left, Albina questioned,
"I thought we were going to capture Kai and keep him here?"
"Don't worry, he'll come back. Did you see that dumb look on his face? He's curious about why he remembers this place, and he'll come back looking for answers- I think seeing you sealed the deal. Being the loner idiot he is, he won't tell his team mates about his coming here, and so he'll fall straight into our trap. Just leave it up to me and you'll be seeing your brother again before you know it."
Albina couldn't sleep again that night, and just a few hours after going to bed she heard commotion down the corridor next to her cell; pressing her ear against the rough stone, she thought she heard the clinking and crashing of many beyblades ricocheting off stone and being shattered. She remembered going through that room herself for training a few times before, and the almost-healed scars she'd acquired in there seemed to throb momentarily. Then she realized that Kai must be in there now- the plan had sprung into action. Soon the noise ceased and she heard Kai's voice, loud and angry, shouting at Boris- obviously their relationship had not been as civilized as hers and Boris's was. When silence refilled her cell, fitful sleep finally took her over.
The first day of the tournament dawned and Albina scowled as she watched her team preparing. She still couldn't believe that she wasn't taking part- it was her team after all. They were standing in the foyer just in front of the large, open doors; Tala, Bryan and Spencer had been given new outfits, and Albina was trying to divert her eyes from Tala's tight cat suit when Kai walked in, silent.
"Kai..." Tala growled, enviously eyeing his black, treacherous-looking beyblade. Black Dranzer, Albina remembered.
"Tala, I see you're still acting the faithful pet of Boris? Pathetic..." Albina was startled at hearing Kai say a whole sentence- and realizing he must've remembered his past last night.
"Now now, boys. Let's focus on fighting the other teams, and not each other, alright?" Kai and Tala continued to glower at each other and Albina felt the strange feeling that she was looking in onto a world she longed to be a part of; with the two people that she should be closest to, totally oblivious of her feelings for them. A part of her which she'd buried deeply years ago would give anything to have her brother and boyfriend back, but that other part of her, the newer, colder and focused part just didn't care. In the end, this part won over and she stayed silent. Boris, herself and the team of sparring boys piled onto the minibus and trundled off to the Beystadium.
Albina's face illuminated with a brilliant glow as she tried to shield her eyes from the blinding light coming from the centre of the stadium. She, along with every other person seated there, was still in a state of shock from the battles that had just finished between the All Stars team, the White Tigers team and the Demolition Boys. Or should that be just Kai? Not only had he beaten the members of each team all at once, but he was now stealing all of their bit beasts, feeding them to Black Dranzer as he laughed evilly- almost manically, Albina thought. What had Boris done to him, to make him betray his team and steal bit beasts? Or maybe it wasn't what Boris had done- but what Black Dranzer had done.
The power of Black Dranzer both excited and horrified her, and she longed for that kind of power, as well as feared it. To defeat those great bladers so quickly, without even having to try- it was almost too amazing to believe, and she felt a desperate, powerful yearning to have the evil bit beast under her control, and to experience the power for herself. Her eyes widened hungrily as she thought of it, her cheeks flushed pink and her heart began to beat faster and harder, as the commentator 'Jazzman' hesitantly announced the Demolition Boys the winners. Motivated, Albina sprang out of her seat and rushed down to greet what she still thought of as 'her' team.
"Kai, that was amazing!"
"Yeah, we were, weren't we? Me and Black Dranzer were meant for each other!"
"The only reason you won was because of that bit beast!" Tala yelled, causing Albina to turn and see his jealous, dejected expression. She'd totally forgotten he was there. "I was supposed to be team captain, I'M supposed to be the best!" He seemed to be in his own little world, talking to nobody but trying to comfort himself. "Pathetic." Albina thought, her eyes shining as she looked at the bit chip on Kai's blade. Would this be a good time to say, "By the way, I'm your sister"? No, probably not.
"Hn. You wouldn't even be able to control him, Tala. You're weak." Kai shrugged, turning back to Albina. "Would you be interested in a battle, Albina?" Kai asked, eyes glinting.
"You bet I would!" She replied, her almost identical eyes glinting in the same way.
"Now, now." Boris cut in, joining the group, "I don't think that's such a good idea. Black Dranzer is hungry- he feeds on any bit beast he defeats. We wouldn't want him eating Polborg-"
"I don't care about Polborg!" She interrupted fiercely.
"Well I DO. Albina. Listen to your orders! You will not battle Kai. I understand that you may be getting impatient after not battling for so long, but patience will reward you in the end- Voltaire has big plans for you, remember?"
"Hn. I remember." She growled, before following Boris out of the building and back on the minibus.
Thanks for reading, it was pretty long (though most of the chapters will be long from here on).
Please review! The next chapter is my favourite! :D
