Rimnerel: Okay, since I got such a great response for the first chapter and you all said you wanted to read the second one, I shall post it.
Nakoruru: Or rather the pages of chapter 2 you found.
Rimnerel: You know...I don't think you needed to add that.
Nakago: It's not her fault though you lost the other chapters amidst your other scattered pieces of papers.
Rimnerel: You know...I don't think anyone needed to know that much yet. Enrique, do the thanks for me.
Enrique: Okay. Rim and Nako would like to thank B. Tiamat Atardecer, White Dog, The-Dark-Fire-Elf, russle, blazing-wolf-08, FREAK014, Dannee- san, Dark-Demi-2001, and Celtic-shadow for all their reviews and hope you enjoy this chapter too.
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"Hey Kenny! It's time to get up! Come on."
The brunette was drifting back into consciousness when he heard someone call his name. He couldn't tell who it was, but they had a strong grip on his shoulder, shaking him. His mind regressed by to another time, before he relaxed around human interaction. Before his eyes opened, his hand reacted, smacking the person's grip of his shoulder away. His eyes opened, waiting for the first blow, but found his blonde friend Max staring down at him with bewilderment.
"Kenny?" Max's eyes reflected with shock that his friend would react so simply to a light shake to awaken him.
"Max...I'm sorry...I didn't mean to," Kenny said, finding his words eventually. "I really didn't mean to..."
"It's okay, I think I understand," said Max, shaking his head with a smile.
"You do?" Kenny inquired.
"It's one of those mornings. I think everyone has them. I have them sometimes. I think most days Tyson's like that. Rei's still trying to wake him up," Max replied, regaining his former composure of a bubbly grin. "But I doubt Kai's ever like that cause he's always up before everyone else."
"Probably not," Kenny brought a smile to his lips.
"Well, let me let you get dressed. Don't take too long, we're leaving in an hour Chief," Max said, as he headed out the room. Kenny watched the male for a long minute, until the door was closed. Sitting up, Kenny looked out the window at the morning.
It was going to be another nice day. Today he and the other Bladebreakers would be going to Russia for the World Championships. Time was drawing nearer by the minutes that ticked away. Within days the tournament would be underway and would cover the length of almost a week. After the Bladebreakers either came out victorious or the losers, things would go back to normal.
Normal...will things really be normal once I... Kenny thought as he got out of his bed to get a clean pair of clothing from his bags. Will things really be the same?
Down the hall there was a loud thud before a strangled curse escaped the lips of a certain loud mouth, blue haired, storm dragon wielder, which was directed towards a certain fire phoenix wielder. Standing there listening to them argue, Kenny wondered if they managed to get any breakthrough the previous night. It was always hard to tell, maybe some of it was a big act for them and they were already a couple.
Kenny really was going to miss them all after the Championships were over. Not just the arguing between Kai and Tyson, but Tyson, Rei, Max, all the people that they met along the way. The few times that Kenny smiled genuinely gave him hope. Tyson and Max were after all the ones that led him out of the dark one or two times. They were his first real friends. Of course Tyson was a headache to deal with sometimes, but he had a good heart and was a very positive natured person.
Tyson probably was the first person that made him smile since...well...he was younger. At times Kenny was drawn to the male, more than just friendship, until Kenny forced himself to back away. He saw that Tyson's heart belonged to Kai, and nothing he could do could change that. Almost instantly his feelings transferred over to Max. Another person that was able to make him smile so simply because of his nature. At first when he and Tyson met Max, Kenny was jealous of the bubbly blonde.
The way he could direct Tyson's attention with just being his natural self made Kenny envious. Eventually Kenny it won Kenny over too and it gave the young man a trickle of hope that he could forget the past and walk towards the future. That maybe his soul was not as stained as he suspected. But...the nightmares persisted no matter how close Kenny grew to the two. He could still hear that cruel voice in his head. Repeating the malevolent prophecies he was left with when he was ten.
"I wonder would they understand," Kenny murmured to himself before shaking his head. "It doesn't matter...at least it won't soon."
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Kenny stared out the window of his cabin on the ship. He would rather stay in his room after his last excursion out on a ship. The other Bladebreakers were sitting around the room doing random things. Tyson, Max, and Rei were playing cards, while Kai sat away from the group meditating or sleeping or whatever it was he always did. Soon they would be in Russia. Kenny's thoughts to a darker turn before he realized that someone was watching him, shifting his sight, he realized it was Kai.
The brunette watched Kai get up from where he sat, walking over and sitting next to Kenny. Kenny frowned, trying to understand what it was that the Bladebreakers team captain wanted. Did he notice the mood that Kenny slipped into? Minutes ticked by as silence settled between them.
"Do you know anything about the Russian team?" Kai asked just when Kenny was opening his mouth. The younger male closed his mouth, redirecting his thoughts. So that was what Kai wanted. He should have know things were related to the team or making the team better.
"I haven't been able to find out a thing about them," Kenny said.
"Figured as much," Kai mumbled before turning his eyes on Tyson who was oblivious. "They don't release much about the Russian team, they would rather have the element of surprise."
"They probably looked at all the other teams' stats, right?" Kenny asked, with a smile forming. It was amusing the phoenix could not take his eyes off the storm dragon for a few seconds no matter how controlled he thought his emotions were.
"Probably," Kai said. Kenny had a feeling the real reason the male came over was to find an excuse to watch Tyson.
"You know Kai, if you tell him, you won't just have to look anymore," Kenny remarked in a low tone. He watched Kai stiffen slightly, not saying a word. "You two are amusing. Everyone can tell, yet you continue to insist on running each other around a table."
"I don't—"Kai started defensively.
"Like Tyson. He says the same thing, but how often do you believe those words. I doubt little, if at all you think it's true. It's as easy to see as with Rei and Max," Kenny interrupted. Kai was silent after that, maybe thinking about what Kenny said or...well who knew with Kai.
The remaining trip to Russia was like that as with the journey to the Russian hotel they would be staying at. Tyson occasionally complained about the weather and so on. Once they were settled in the hotel the group went around checking out the town of Moscow. Eventually they got a small taste of where their opponents lived.
Kenny, once or twice, noticed how Kai would seem afraid. His eyes flickering dangerously with learned fear. Curiosity for this reaction played on the tip of Kenny's mind until they got back to the hotel. Tyson's usual antics filling the evening, until there was a threat of making Tyson sleep outside in the snow, settled things down. Eventually four of five Bladebreakers settled down for the night. One remained awake, afraid that sleep would bring more nightmares.
More times than not, they reoccurred, stopping for a period of time of maybe two or so weeks before coming back to haunt him for months at a time. Those nights were the nights he would not sleep. His aide being alertness pills or other items that contributed to staying awake. His hair served to hide the many days his eyes would be bloodshot with sleeplessness. From time to time, he would start hallucinating from the sleep deprivation. Only then would he collapse into sleep, knowing the dreams could not reach then.
Kenny looked out at the night, seeing the stars shining in the sky. When he was younger, he foolishly wished that... "Life would be better. It still hasn't. Only I'm making the effort to walk away. Only I want change." Leaving his room he shared with depression, Kenny headed outside to the open area of the hotel. His thoughts set on one thing, getting away from the past.
Tilting his head back, he allowed his hair to fall out of his tired empty eyes, looking up at the moon. He could hold out for a little while longer. Just a little while though, after the Championships, he doubted he could go back home. It would probably hurt his foster parents the worst when they discovered what he did. But hadn't they always known there was another chance he would try to take that dive off the edge once more?
"How many people will take the full weight of things, like I have for so long?" Kenny whispered to the stars. "When can I leave this world and rest?"
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Rimnerel: Okay...that's all I can say this.
Nakoruru: Well...it was sort of longer than the other chapter. Well...not much really to say. Things pick up the next chapter with a bit about the tournament and its final match, which will lead to the story propelling forward and longer chapter!
Nakago: At least you two know where the next chapter is right? (silence) You're hopeless, come on let's go find it.
Johnny (to readers): More than likely the next chapter will come out next week some time if those two geniuses find the chapter. So keep watch out for it.