Chapter V – Torture
(Sometimes I want to write but then I can't get the right words I want to put down. Tis so irritating. And I just finished watching Beyblade G-Revolution… I have a story planned after this one but I have to finish it… Time to write! Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade.)
The waiting room of the hospital was never a nice place to be in. The uncomfortable chairs, the excruciating wait that seemed to stretch for hours and the doctors and nurses that walked by from time to time, holding clipboards. Growling in frustration, Kai Hiwatari sat in the hospital chair, his elbows propped up on his knees with his fingers interlaced together as his chin rested on his thumbs. He stole a glance at his bandaged hand, his eyes narrowing slightly as his mind debated over what he should do. He had been sitting in the waiting room for just about an hour and his dwindling patience was thinning out even more. There had been no word from any medical personnel about Max's condition and things were looking grim as a slight pain shot through Kai's hand when he clenched it.
"What's taking them?" Tyson fretted as he paced across the room, having grown tired of sitting.
Kai closed his eyes, a dark eyebrow twitching slightly in anger as he continued to stay silent. Just thinking about what happened in the park made his blood boil and his temper flare as the grip on his hands increased more, causing a faint pop of his knuckles to be heard by anyone nearby.
Ray watched the other with concern then looked over at Tyson. "It takes time. Besides, pacing around isn't going to help anything. Just sit down."
"I'm tired of sitting around and waiting!" Tyson stopped pacing and looked down one of the white hallways. "It's been at least an hour since we all got here, maybe even more! They should have at least said something by now!"
After a moment of silence, he grumbled and sat back down in one of the chairs none too gracefully. A few more agonizing minutes passed and a nurse stepped in, holding a clipboard at her side.
She timidly looked around the room with her hazel eyes then glanced at the clipboard before hugging it to her chest. "Uhm…. Izvinichye…" She paused for a moment, thinking of the right words she was supposed to say, only knowing Russian. "Are you the ones who have been waiting here for that young man that had been brought in here?"
Kai opened his eyes, glancing at the nurse as he spoke in quiet Russian as well. "Da…"
The others looked up at the nurse then over to Kai.
She shifted her gaze to Kai, growing more nervous from the harsh glare that seemed to be emanating from the other. "Do they not understand Russian?"
"Nyet. They are not from around here. Please get to the point." Kai said gravely.
"Kanyeshna…" She said quietly, bowing her head in apology. "The young man's injuries are extensive. Mostly in his chest area and that is but one of the reasons it had taken this long to tell you. He has stitches on his forehead and shoulder, and he has suffered a severe concussion as well with his body temperature lower than the normal. His name is Max, is it not?"
Kai nodded once, listening to every detail that the other explained. Tyson was about to ask something but the Russian boy snapped up his hand, asking for silence and the other complied reluctantly.
The nurse sighed and glanced down and to the side slightly. "There are at least two ribs broken and he had to be operated on right away. If we did not go through with the operation, the broken ribs may have punctured his lungs and possibly his heart. He is currently hooked up to machines to monitor his vital signs and… he is hooked up to a breathing apparatus. He his barely breathing on his own and we have reached the conclusion that the young man has slipped in a deep coma."
Kai nearly flinched from the last few sentences and lowered his hand, interlacing his fingers again before saying a barely audible thanks as he closed his eyes in thought. The nurse nodded and started to leave the waiting room before she thought of something.
"If you wish to see him, you may in a few minutes. Only two at a time." She said quietly before she left, heading towards the nurses' station.
"…What's the news, Kai?" Tyson asked.
Kai shook his head slowly, staying silent as he refused to look at the rest of his team.
"He's not…. Is he?"
"No but he may as well be." Kai stated coldly.
"… What do you mean, Kai?" Ray asked cautiously.
"Why don't you see for yourself…" The Russian got up from his seat and left the room.
The remainder of the team exchanged glances with each other before following him to where he was asking the nurses' station for Max's room number. A short walk later, the team had arrived to the room that Max was held in and two of them walked in.
"… Max?" Tyson said as he hesitantly made his way over to the bedside. "Can you hear me, buddy?"
One of the monitors displayed the pulse of the American boy in slow and steady intervals and it beeped each time it recorded a beat. A few numbers changed only slightly but they seemed relatively low for anyone's comfort as the sound of even breathing from another machine through the breathing tube created a more uncomfortable atmosphere. A thin white sheet covered most of Max's lower body and there were many cloth bandages wrapped around his chest and ribs area, a large bruise forming on his stomach. Kai narrowed his eyes slightly, eyeing the stitches and bruises on the other's unnaturally pale face.
'This is your fault…' A voice sounded in Kai's mind. 'He may as well be dead…'
"Those bastards…" Tyson said quietly as he clenched a fist. "How could they do something like this…"
'You could have stopped it but you didn't. Kai shut his eyes, self-resentment angering him even more. Now he's going to die. Hell, he could be dead now.'
Clenching his injured fist tightly, Kai punched the wall he was leaning on, resting his forehead on it as he looked at the slowly increasing red mark soaking through the bandages. He was more furious with Boris' twisted games and with himself. He continued questioning himself why he didn't do more than he knew someone was behind him.
"Don't touch me, Ray. Don't say anything." He growled out threateningly in a warning, knowing who it was.
'Boris has gone too far with his sick and twisted games…'Back in the depths of the abbey, Boris was mostly pleased of the report he got from Tala. He smirked and leaned back in his chair, planning out what he was going to do once the infamous Kai returned to the abbey for good. Everything was going like clockwork and the leader of the abbey couldn't have been more satisfied.
A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts and a man in a lab coat stepped in. "I have the file of the recent experiment."
Tala glanced back slightly, still not dismissed from the room and his icy eyes watched the man walk across the room and hand over a folder to Boris. The scientist had long raven hair that was tied in a low ponytail and had abnormally piercing green eyes that seemed to make a lot of the younger abbey dwellers nervous. There were rumors about that one man; about his little… experiments. Little was known about him except that he was from Japan and was perhaps too smart for his own good. Tala's eyes narrowed slightly when the scientist looked back at him, not liking the way the glance hid any mysterious intentions that the dark-haired man had.
"It has taken some time but we have finally managed to isolate the proper compounds of the substance and it is ready for human testing." The scientist explained. "By the results with the lab rats, it should increase the subject's stamina and allow them to use the full potential of their bodies to a good extent. We know of no side effects so far but with your permission, sir, we would like to start the human testing soon."
"Good…" Boris glanced up slightly at the captain of the Russian team. "You may go, Tala."
Tala nodded and calmly left the room, starting to get a bit suspicious of what was going on. He closed the door behind him, pausing for a moment to listen to a few more words before he walked down one of the dark hallways, passing one of the guards. Something just seemed… strange. He headed to the roof of the abbey and leaned on the wall, looking down at the younger abbey dwellers train in the courtyard. It was the same thing each day for the subordinates of the Demolition Boys: Wake up before sunrise, train all day, sent to bed just after dusk until the next day when the cycle would start all over again.
Tala glanced up at the clouds looming on the fiery horizon. 'Another snow storm…'
He set his hand on the pocket of his pants and reached in, bringing out his Wolborg beyblade. He had yet to make a final decision of which one he was going to use, despite Boris' recommendations, or orders rather. His mind then wandered over to what the leader of the abbey and one of the many scientists had been talking about when he was still in the room. With many questions still lingering, Tala headed back inside the abbey, only to hear some commotion down the stairs. Pocketing the beyblade, he walked to where he thought the noise was coming from and found some of the younger abbey dwellers crowded by around the doorways.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Tala asked sharply, watching at least half of the boys jump.
They looked back at their superior and backed up into the walls, clearing a path for him as they watched him almost fearfully. He narrowed his eyes slightly as he walked past the group, hearing them shuffle to crowd the doorway again. In the room, he saw Bryan looking as angry as ever, with fresh claw marks across his cheek. Sinya glared back and clenched the hand that had the metal gauntlet on as she sported a black eye.
"What's going on?" Tala asked, looking between the two.
"I should kill you…" Bryan spat out, pointedly ignoring his team captain.
Sinya growled. "You'd like that, wouldn't you… I'd like to see you damned well try, you asshole!"
One of the younger abbey dwellers spoke up from the group. "She started it!"
"Yeah! I saw it too! She wasn't listening and then she slapped him!"
The Russian girl glared at the group of boys, knowing what they said wasn't true… entirely. She did hit Bryan and it wasn't like she was ignoring the lilac-haired boy, it was just that she didn't care what he was saying. With another growl, she grabbed her other metal gauntlet and put it on her other hand. Not looking at the others, she walked past Bryan and was not even a step or two away before she swung a punch and hit him in the jaw. The result was a violent brawl between the two and seemed to stop when Bryan had a vice-like grip on the other's throat.
"You're going to wish you were never born, you good for nothing bitch!" Bryan growled.
Sinya had her hands around the other's wrist and tried to get him to let go as she winced. Unable to accomplish that, she started to feel a slight tinge of fear as she was roughly driven back into a wall, the grip never loosening; only becoming tighter. Maybe she had pushed things a little too far…
"I'm only going to say this once…" Bryan's voice pitched down to an acidic and dangerous whisper. "If things were going my way, you'd be dead by now… A slow and painful death… And one day soon you're fucking luck is going to run out and your brother nor anyone else is going to be able to save you…"
Tala watched his teammate evenly as the other left the room, obviously still in a foul mood. The group of boys that were gathered before quickly scattered off before they got into even more trouble for loitering and doing nothing. The captain of the Demolition Boys glanced over his shoulder slightly , starting to wonder what exactly was going on.
"Get back to training, Sinya. Now."
The Russian girl looked up sharply at her superior, grinding her teeth slightly from being spoken down to but very reluctantly complied. Picking herself up from the ground, she strode past Tala and kept her eyes downcast.
"You turned out to be an extraordinary leader." A smooth voice said from around the corner.
"Who's there?" Tala asked suspiciously, not liking the familiar tone of voice.
"Now, now… Don't sound so rude." The scientist, previously in Boris' office, stepped out from around the corner and smiled coolly at the other. "You seem a little bothered…"
Tala eyed the scientist with distrust, wanting to know what the other wanted and why he was looking for him.
"Is it because of Hiwatari-kun returning? Do I sense a hint of jealousy towards him? Or maybe you fear of being replaced by your better…" The scientist raised an eyebrow in question.
Tala narrowed his eyes slightly, his silence continuing as he refused to answer the man. He didn't trust him at all.
"Cat got your tongue?" The scientist cocked his head to the side slightly. "Or are you just ignoring me, young one…"
"Don't you have some experiment to do…" Tala's words carried an icy edge and seemed more of a statement rather than a question.
"My, my… Haven't we gotten rude. I haven't done anything to you, dear boy…" The cool smirk returned again. "At least not yet…"
With a lazy wave of his hand, the scientist turned and walked down the hallway he came from, feeling Tala's almost curious and guarded gaze on his back.
'What does he mean by 'not yet'…' Tala's mind ran over that question numerous times and he was already wary of how the abbey superiors were acting. Whatever was being planned, it may have been on a worse scale than the World Championships a few years ago…
(Okie dokie, now for the Russian words. I'm sorry if they're not accurate but I tried looking a few up: Izvinichye would mean 'excuse me' or 'sorry', Da would mean 'yes', Nyet would mean 'no', Kanyeshna would mean 'Of course'. Now if these are the wrong words, please correct me xX Sinya, Dima and their bit beasts are my characters and the scientist belongs to my very good roleplay friend Flare xD We finally thought of a name for him after weeks on end…I finally wrote! Holy hell! Oo;; This chapter sucks! Time to work on something else Little edit thing: Nyet, not niet … Thanks for the correction! I'm such a moron!)