Wildfox: Welcome to chapter two of January Friend and thanks to all who reviewed my last chappie! Hope this part is just as good (if not better) than the last so enjoy! Bring on chapter two!

Chapter 2: A Valiant Effort

From behind the clouds the moon showed its face as the light shone in Kai's two-toned hair. He rubbed his arm as he felt for the first time winter's chill. He stepped back blinking hard as he stared at the sky placing his hands into the pockets of his loosely fit blue jeans. Kai didn't know what to do or what to feel anymore. He felt more like a zombie than a human being. His once creamy skin was now pale and scarred and his eyes seemed to have lost all feeling and sense of belonging. He was alone and that was that. A part of him was fighting this but a part of him was gone.

Breathing in deeply he closed his eyes as he began to walk again, this time away from the bridge and to another unknown location. The snow was now falling in great wisps of crystals, as it seemed to dance as it fell towards the ground. A rather large snowflake fell on his nose but he took no notice for the weather had brought yet another flashback to his wandering mind.

Flashback

It was late at night and the very first day of winter. The sky was shrouded by fluffy white clouds filled with snow as if at any second they would burst. Kai sat alone by the sliding door of Tyson's dojo starring thoughtlessly out of its clear unmarked surface. It had been a year since Alex had died and Kai had not forgotten. The other members of the Bladebreakers knew of the date as well but they had their own ways of grieving. The phoenix had spoken no words to another soul all day and this had greatly worried the rest of the team. They'd tried and tried to cure his sadness but to no avail. Finally when night had fallen, the boys had simply left him to his thoughts and gone to sleep.

Kai had no more tears to give for his sister so he'd only sunk into a deeper depression with each passing day. Sighing, he got to his feat and wandered the house thinking of what he should do. Suddenly, he came across his bag lying on the floor. Kneeling down he picked it up as Dranzer caressed his fingertips. Lifting her from his bag he stared at the beautiful bird. His features tensed as he also lifted Dagger from his bag. His sister's beyblade was strong and caused memories to flow throughout Kai's mind. He needed to leave, to get away from this place of memories and reminders of what he had lost. Kai needed to run away.

Walking hurriedly now, Kai picked up all his possessions that he had with him and shoved them into his bag. Then, only taking one more glance at his team, he slung his bag over his shoulder and quietly opened the sliding door.

"Kai?" someone asked. "What are you doing?"

Turning around Kai came face to face with Ray. Though his movements had been nothing but quiet, they were obviously not quiet enough to escape the Neko-Jin's hearing.

"I'm leaving Ray. I don't belong here anymore."

Ray's expression changed to one of utter confusion as Kai walked out the door and he followed. Kai stopped when he heard his footsteps and turned around. For once in his life Kai felt compassion and guilt as he stepped forward and closer to Ray. Placing his hand on his shoulder Kai sighed.

"Goodbye Ray and thank you. I'm sorry but . . . you can't help me anymore."

With one final wisp of his long scarf Kai was gone, leaving Ray dumbfounded and in sadness. Shortly after, the remainder of the Bladebreakers came running outside as Ray told them the news. From that day on they searched everyday for their captain but to no avail.

End Flashback

When Kai returned to reality, he was strangely on his knees, hot tears pouring from his eyes but he wasn't suppose to cry. Crying was for the weak. Could he, Kai Hiwatari be weak? Shaking his head slightly he stood up again.

"No, no I'm not weak. I can't be," he tried desperately to convince himself.

Looking to the north, he saw his Grandfather's mansion in the distance. Then, looking to his right he saw glowing red numbers of a clock change to read 1:00 am. Voltaire would be looking for him and he would surely be punished for his late arrival. Clenching his fists he thought of what to do. Before he knew what was happening, his feet yet again were carrying him without warning and unfortunately for Kai, it was towards the mansion.

"I can't go back there," Kai told himself, stopping suddenly as the wind and all noise ceased. "What if he hurts me again?"

However, there was another voice in the boy's head that gave him the strength to continue.

"We do not fear death," it explained, as Kai gasped. "We fear neither death nor pain. Can you think of no other way inside that that old man won't ever suspect you taking?"

"The window! I can go through my bedroom window!"

"Yes," the other voice continued. "And there we can decide our next move."

Taking one last look around, Kai Hiwatari began at a jog to make his way to the iron gates of hell.

By now, the moon and stars had retreated behind the clouds once more taking away much of the light. Kai was forced to feel along the gate pressing his slender figure against the cold surface. His nimble fingers felt for any signs of weakness in the metal as the wind howled in his ears once again and he moved closer.

After almost twenty minutes of searching, Kai found no weakness in the gates. He'd forgotten just how much his Grandfather thrived off security. He slammed his hands against the hard metal surface grabbing the bars with tension while he wiped the sweat from his forehead. Stepping back he looked up the fence. Barbed wire and several sharp edges were what its top contained but this had no affect on Kai. Taking a deep breath he smirked at the challenge of attempting to climb the barrier around the mansion and the thought of what the top surface could do never occurred to him. The reason for this was not smarts, for Kai was extremely intelligent but for the simple reason that it didn't matter anymore. He then rubbed his hands harshly on his baggy blue jeans and began to ascend.

The climb would have been easier had it not been for the wind and snow but this was not meant to be. Several times Kai had almost fallen but had fortunately only swayed slightly on the spot instead of heading for the ground. Within five minutes, Kai had reached the top where he came face to face with the sharp metal which could easily pierce through the toughest human being. His hair rustled wildly as he reached out his finger and felt the end of one of the metal wires. Just as he had expected, it was split open just as the two met but this had no affect on Kai once so ever. He simply placed the wound in his mouth and let his saliva do the work.

For a while the phoenix simply stared at the gate but managed to come to a solution. He'd seen his sister getting on her horse before and only once had he done it himself but he still had a clear image about how he got on. That was how he would overcome the gate. Taking a deep breath he put one leg over the wires and placed his foot in a space on the other side. Closing his eyes for a split second, he placed his next foot in a space beside his other one but not without causing great damage to himself.

"Ah . . .damn it!" Kai cursed, between clenched teeth.

Bowing his head he looked at his hands. They were cut all right and his thin, black fingerless gloves were torn. However, he'd made it to the other side and began to make his descent.

About three metres from the ground, Kai jumped landing safely on his feet. Cracking his neck he ran quickly to the side of the house where his room was located. To his left lay a series of long strands of ivy attached to a metal grate. If he could climb it and jump to his window, he could climb inside. This seemed reasonable so he began to climb.

The ivy was prickly and hurt his fingers but after successfully using the tiny foot holes of the grate, all he had left was to jump to the window. It was very far to fall seeing as his room was on the fifth floor of the house but the jump didn't seem too difficult. Bobbing back and forth a few times, Kai made for the jump and just barely made it.

The wind moved through his hair as the cold stung his eyes but thanks to a quick reaction he managed to grab the windowsill and hang on rather slightly. Looking down, Kai's orbs saw his death for when he looked up again his fingers were barely hanging on.

"Can't die yet." he mumbled. "Come on Kai."

He struggled to pull himself up with all his strength as each muscle in his body was pushed to their limits. Finally after what seemed like hours, the young blader pushed himself into his room crashing through the glass of the window and landing hard on the floor. His head hit the side of his bed, as he was knocked unconscious.

Wildfox: Anyway, that was chapter two and definitely not the last. This story's going to be pretty long so prepare yourselves! I'm sorry to any Kai fans but he does get pretty hurt during this fic. I know, being an extreme Kai fan myself, that this can be depressing but don't worry, as always Kai will surprise you. Read and review and await chapter three!