Chapter VI – Narcissistic Irony

(Ha! Sort of back to writing! … Not really but still. Oh, and you're right, I forgot to explain the italics oO;; When the nurse and Kai are speaking, they are speaking in Russian. I guess I'll do that when other characters don't speak it to create some sort of language barrier, I don't know. The other italics are… uh… Kai's troubled mind! Yeah, that's it! Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade.)

Sitting on a bench outside of the hospital, the Hiwatari heir continued to think to himself silently. Refusing to speak to others, or acknowledge their existence, his past had caught up with him once again and he was more than sick of hearing about the likes of Boris and his warped, very twisted, ideals. He was faced with the decision of abandoning his teammates again, just as he had done in the past, only this time Boris seemed to have more control. If Boris was back on his feet from the previous big loss, there was no doubt that Voltaire was in on it as well. That thought made the crimson-eyed teenager growl slightly. He had enough. The abbey was almost the equivalent of hell and they wanted Kai back.

The teenager raised his gaze to the darkening sky, noticing that night was approaching fast and there seemed to be more clouds than usual. He continued to idly look at the sky, seeing small white dots seeming to appear and slowly fall from the clouds.

'Snow.' He noted, temporarily letting his troubling thoughts idle.

He continued to watch the slow and carefree descent of the snow, appearing to pay no mind to the cold or the increasing amount of clouds that seemed to create a curtain of darkening gray in the sky. The snow fell nonstop, eventually making it to the ground and rooftops of buildings and Kai heard the sliding doors from the hospital whoosh open then close again.

"Kai?" It was Tyson, no doubt about it.

The Russian paid no attention to his teammate, not even glancing at him to say that he acknowledged his presence. The snowfall seemed to increase a bit as the silence created a thick blanket between the two, as the snow would do later on.

"Kai." Tyson paused for a moment before speaking with some seriousness. "You're not really going to go to them, are you?"

Silence. The Japanese teenager folded his arms, continuing to watch his team captain and waiting for an answer.

"Are you even listening to me?" The navy-haired teen asked yet another question, demanding for attention. "Kai!"

The older of the two got up from his seat, the jacket still open and his decision was made. "I'm going to finish this once and for all on my own. I don't need help from any of you."

"What?" Tyson blinked then his confused gaze turned into a glare. "You can't! Kai, it's dangerous! You can't just ditch us again!"

"You wanted an answer and I gave it to you, Tyson. This is none of your business and it doesn't concern any of you. You just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time." Kai said frostily, his eyes forward and refusing to look at his teammate.

For the moment, Tyson was speechless. He didn't know what to say to counter the icy remark that was shot at him so bitterly. He clenched a fist tightly before uncrossing his arms and pointing at the Russian blader.

"How can you do this to us again, Kai!" He accused. "Last time, we didn't think you were going to come back! And back at that lake! You remember, don't you! You were going to stand there and let yourself freeze to death and die!"

Crimson eyes narrowed slightly as a chilled breeze blew past, pushing the snowflakes along. That was one particular memory where he showed utter weakness. The ice he stood on broken away from the rest, sinking from his weight and the frigid water that was pooled at his ankles, rising as the seconds ticked away. The yells and cries from his teammates to take their hands and to get out of harm's way before the horrific event went through.

'Weakness.' Kai's mind thought resentfully.

That day was still fresh in his mind. He had lost to his teammates that he was determined to defeat with the power he gained. It wasn't enough. It was never enough. Never…

Tyson looked at the other, seeing something wrong. "Kai…?"

The Russian was holding up one of his hands and looking at it with darkened eyes. His reason for returning to the abbey to settle the score was uncertain: Was it to rid himself of the horrible memories of the absolute torture and controlling confinement? Was it revenge against those who hurt him? Or was it for power that he craved since his first defeat?

Power. It was his motive for years no matter what the situation, betrayals or sacrifices the teen had to make during the course of his life. He was brought up to be the strongest, a force to definitely be reckoned with…

Then it hit him, causing the Russian's eyes to widen suddenly. Each time the sick bastards at the abbey called for him, they lured him with power; power that was enticing and perfect in its own twisted way. He went for it, caught in its grasp and going willingly. He was their prodigy, their little lab rat, and their experiment…

The wind sliced by, bringing up the snowflakes once again and causing Kai's open jacket to thrash in protest as the pupils in the Russian's eyes constricted in fury. A low growl erupted from his throat as he clenched his hand tightly into a fist, glaring at it. With Dranzer and the launcher safely stowed away in his pockets, the Russian walked down the concrete path towards the street, the jacket flaring from the increasing wind and snow.

"Kai, wait!" Tyson yelled after him, his cry falling on deaf ears. "Kai!"

Ignoring the other, Kai continued walking, crimson eyes with a gaze so fiery; it could have melted the snowflakes in front of him. He knew where the abbey was established; he couldn't forget it. He lived there most of his life. He hated living there for most of his life. As the Russian got further and further away from downtown and into the rural area, the snowstorm had picked up strength and was pummeling everything with a chilling wind and sheets of snow. Kai's mind was set. He wanted to end Boris' reign once and for all, even his grandfather's if the old man was most likely involved again. He paid no mind to the cold as he continued walking, his cheeks exhibiting a light red tint from the icy air. His breath came out in crystallized puffs, fading afterwards. There was no rush, for he would get to the abbey in good time whether he ran or walked.

Soon, a large shadowy shape through the curtains of snowflakes was visible. It was quite a distance from the hospital to the abbey but the Russian teen was fired up enough to make it there, disregarding how long it took. He only stopped when he reached the front iron gate of the abbey, looking through the bars hatefully as he willed his breathing to steady.

'Alright, Boris… I'll play your little game.' Kai thought sullenly, the cold starting to seep through him. 'Only for a little while then you're going to lose for good…'

The gate creaked as it slid to the side by a mechanism in the stonewall, granting the Hiwatari heir passage to the depths of hell. Not wanting to let his muscles suffer from the cold, Kai pressed further until he reached one of the sets of double doors with no guards outside, most likely hiding back inside for shelter from the storm. Placing both hands on the double doors, Kai pushed them open with more force than necessary and they slammed open with the aid of the wind.

'Welcome home.' His mind greeted him bitterly. There was no turning back.

He left the doors open and walked inside, the wind howling behind him and the snow flying through the new opening in the building. Two guards rushed past him to shut the doors, aware of the stoic teen's presence and it wouldn't be long until more knew of his return. He stopped at the end of the corridor, looking down the two directions the perpendicular hallway had. He could go either left or right but he had to remember which lead to Boris' office. If he didn't find him then the man would find him and he didn't want that. He looked from one side to the other, his decision still pending.

'Left.'

The snowflakes that stuck to the teenager's clothing and hair melted into water droplets as soon as made his decision on which way to go. His clothes were damp but that wasn't on his mind, he had much more important things at hand. It wasn't long until a few of the younger abbey dwellers spotted Kai with awe and surprised expressions. The older ones that happened to be heading away from the training area stopped dead in their tracks and gaped, not believing their eyes. There were mostly boys as usual, no big surprise. There were girls but not as many since the last time he returned to the damnable place. The torches on the walls cast an eerie glow, throwing shadows when a draft was present around the flames. Kai did stop though. Only when he saw a particular individual that walked out from a branching corridor and looked at him.

"Look what the cat dragged in from the outside world. The all mighty prodigy." Dima smirked and cocked an eyebrow. "And how is that little brat doing? Is he dead yet? Have you called his mommy to kiss his bruises better?"

Kai narrowed his eyes at the other Russian, not pleased about seeing him but it was expected. "Where's Boris…"

"Now that's rude, won't you come to the welcoming party that was prepared for you?" Dima spat out sardonically. "It'd be a shame not to see your old friends and enemies that you left behind since your little break free incident."

Kai said nothing but simply growled low in his throat quietly. He didn't have time for this and his patience was already especially thin.

Dima smirked more and started walking over to the other, poking him in the chest when he was close enough. "You just had to go back to those weaklings, didn't you? If you stayed, you wouldn't have been held back by their ignorant friendship speeches and shit like that. You're nothing but a sentimental son of a bitch… In fact, you're nothing…"

Kai's muscles bunched up and he forcefully punched Dima across the face, getting sick of the other's pointless ramblings and he asked his question again. "Where's Boris, smart ass…"

Dima looked back, spitting blood on his hand and looking at it for a moment before sneering again at Kai. "You even hit like them."

Crimson eyes narrowed again as a clenched fist made contact a second time with the blond's face, driving his head back. "I'm not in the mood for your stupid games. Tell me where Boris is."

Growling with teeth clenched tightly, Dima felt blood dripping from his nose and the dull pain throbbing on his face. "…Down the hallway I just came from… You can't miss him really. Honestly, Hiwatari, has your memory failed you this often?"

When the Hiwatari teen walked past him and disappeared around the corner, Dima wiped the blood from his nose across his arm. That was the Hiwatari he learned to hate and loathe. The old challenge was back and it caused Dima to smirk again, despite being punched twice by his better. This was what he was waiting for…

"…You're a real jack ass, I hope you know that." Dima glanced over his shoulder slightly to see his sister standing there with a judgmental look and a partly swollen black eye. "He might have kicked your ass clear across the hall."

"Hell, I've earned it. If you were in my place, you'd probably do the same thing I did. Looks like you already did." Dima eyed the bruise forming on his sibling's face.

Sinya furrowed her eyebrows slightly and looked off. "It was a sucker punch."

"That's not what I heard-"

"Besides, weren't you the one that said not to hit anyone?" Sinya asked, looking back at her brother.

Dima folded his arms over his chest, muttering and glancing off to the side. "One, I didn't. And two, fuck that, I'm bored of this place with its same boring routines. We have to liven things up! We're not mindless drones! … Well, I don't know about the others here but we're definitely not."

Sinya said nothing for a moment, finding her brother's point valid but smirked slightly and looked off. "…You're still a jack ass."

"Yes, I am. Come, sissy, let's greet Hiwatari properly. A nice 'welcome home' kick in the ass!" Contented from adrenaline, Dima uncharacteristically grabbed the braid of his sibling and gave it a good yank. "Damn, it's been a while. Haven't called you that and pulled on your hair since I was like what… five or six?"

"What a shame…" Sinya tried to pry her brother's grasp from her hair. "Cut it out. You're only happy when you're geared up after a fight or argument."

Ignoring the protest, Dima still held onto the braid and started walking down the dark hallway. "So what, you're the same. Let's go, sissy."

As strangely happy as the siblings were in the dreary abbey, they made their way down the hallway with a few playful punches and headlocks along the way. It was a rare sight but it would soon be put on hold when things heated up again.

(I just had to put some sibling interaction there, as messed up as it is. Oo; Maybe that happens when no one is looking! Who knows! … Actually, I should know because they're my characters… and stuff… What was I saying? Oh, uh… Yeah, I actually updated a bit quicker now…oO; Isn't that amazing… And I'm tired, I don't care if there are typos but I updated! Xx hurrah?)