Journey of the soul

Disclaimer: Don't own the Beyblade characters.

Summary: Takes place 6 months after the events in Journeys. Kai is trying to understand why his dreams are beginning to affect his life, and more importantly, what they have to do with Ray.

"Talking"

"Thinking"

Reis1gurl: Thank you, I'm updating...and writing.

Syuchang: Thank you, hers the chap.

MikeyWaysgirl:Hahaha!(Note to self: must refrain from major sugar doses when answering reveiws.) I'm not that mean...not really. He is, the moment I made him I hated him...oh well poor him. Maybe he will, maybe he wont, you'lll just have to see. It's good to know I'm not the only one who's going soft here.:)

PlatinumRei: Thank you, I also found the album cute. The first time I wrote it the description of all the pictures were pages long, so I cut a lot out. Kai isn't going to fetch more stuff...but the cottge is important...hehehe. I love being me, giving clues...creating cliffies...I love this! Sorry there goes the sugar again.

Celestial-Dragon-Demon: Now that is a long name, cool though. The herald of dementia was, for Kai, Black Dranzer. The word 'dementia' is usually used rather than the word psychotic or mentally unstable. That particular phrase was just meant to emphasise the effect B.D has on Kai and how much, to him, Ray helps to stop it. I'm sorry if anyone found this confusing or arb. The basic translation for that line is : whenever Kai finds that the hold BD has on him becomes too strong and too hard to resist, Ray makes it easier. He gives Kai something to focus on. The whole concept behind this is that some people believe pain doesn't hurt as much if you have something else to focus on. The whole fire thing was more for visual referance, BD is a phoenix, which are fire birds, the 'flames' burn Kai, or taint him...whichever translation is preferable. Anyway, Ray is the object Kai focuses on, he helps to remove the pain.( Kai's pain isn't really a physical pain, rather its psuchological). If anyone found that particular sentence, or anything else I have written, weird or ...off... just give me a shout nd I'll elaborate. It will help me as much as others. Sorry again, I'll refrain from doing such things again...or atleast try.:)

VGMaster04:Thank you. Heres the update.

Just that good: You may be onto something, all will be revealed later on. I'm glad I've found another person who finds Tyson useful for something...no matter how pathetic...they are aren't they. Ray would make such a cute baby...child...guy...sigh

LunarTigerGurl:Thank you, as long as people like my little creations that are written to celebrate the two best...cutest...deamiest. ..you get the idea...guys in BB I will carry on writing. Hope you saw the message from wolf.

Wolf: Thank you, thats okay everyones busy...you may be onto something with the Kai thing...heehee.

I just heard the nicest song, well it sounded nice anyway. It's in Japanese and was for Beyblade G-Revolution, I'm not really into softish music, but this was soo nice. Anyway if anyones heard it they know what I mean.

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Kai woke to find the others gone. His fleeting moment of sleepy dullness was torn to shreds as his mind registered the fact that they were gone. But where?

"AAHH!"

Kai spun, silently thanking those years in the Abbey and the more positive effects it had, though few and far between. His ears strained to pick up another sound, he doubted even Ray could have been as quiet as he was now, no sounds reached his ears. Nor did he pick up the tell tale tingle down his spine, that was usually accompanied by some unsavoury experience. He took a step forward, wincing as it seemed to boom to his straining hearing. Then another, and another. He kept walking, occasionly hearing noises and following them. He got to what seemed to be a living wall of foliage, exotic colours mingled, reminding him of the dream he had. He heard a muffled yelp and he braced himself, a second was spared for a steadying breath, then he ripped the curtain of greenyness to the side. His eyes widened at what he found.

He felt ready to be sick.

'Only Tyson would dare wear such a thing.' His mind grumbled to himself. (Had you there, didn't I. ;P)

Before him, layed out in various positions of laziness, was the rest of his group. For a fraction of a second he wondered whether life improsement wasn't worth killing them all, the thought was dismissed as he knew that while he was in jail he couldn't find Ray. Still he could always dream. 'Stupid bakas, probably have a few grey hairs now...not that anyone would know the difference, and if they did they wouldn't dare say it.' He shook his head in an attempt to shake out all the redundant and utterly useless thoughts that were buzzing within him, blocking his way to the real issue. Where was Ray? His hand unconcsiously went to stroke the tiger lilly in it. Even after how many days it was still soft and as fresh as the day he got it. If only he could thank Ray for it.

"Ah!"

Kai looked up, his eyes widening as he saw Tyson kneeling next to Max and Kenny looking pale. He calmly, but speedily made his way to the other three." Whats wrong?" Kenny looked to him, his relief at a reason to look away evident." Max fell and we think he may have sprained his ankle." Kai nodded and knelt down, he started examining Max's ankle, making sure not to jostle it." Who made you the resident doctor." Kai growled at Tyson's comment, he pinned the other with his worst glare." Who do you think took care of Ray when he was sick and after the fight with Bryan? Not you thats for sure." Max grimaced and tugged on Kai's sleeve." Can we go back to camp, I'm cold." Kai nodded and looked pointedly at Tyson. Kenny gathered their stuff as the two bigger boys carried Max.

"Thanks you guys." Max's strained voice managed to form the words. Kai nodded as he bound the wound. Tyson hovering on the side, he reminded Kai of a vulture waiting to feed off of some dying animal. 'Knew there was something wrong with him.' Kai waited till Max fell asleep then he chased the other two out.

The three of them stood before the camp fire. " You guys are going to have to take Max to one of the villages." The other two looked at him in confusion." His ankle is broken, it needs to be taken care of." Kenny nodded, Tyson glared." So what are you going to do, carry on without us. Typical, if you had things your way we would never have come." Kai sighed." What are you trying to say Tyson." Tyson growled." You want Ray for yourself, you can't stand the fact that maybe others care about him. Maybe the only reason Ray liked you is because he thought you were the only one who felt that way about him, heavens knows he can't like you for anything else." Kai took a step forward, his body tensed. Anger flowed through his veins, making him boil from the inside.

Kenny began to back off, this had been coming, he just hoped Tyson wouldn't need medical attention after Kai got through with him...never mind medical attention, undertakers were expensive these days!

" Tyson that is low, even for you. Face it, Ray will never see you as anything else than what you are. A friend. You say he can't like me for who I am, as a person. Tell me, where were you when Ray was sick while we were in Europe? Did you even realise he was sick? No you didn't, you were so caught up in yourself that you never realised that one of your teammates, someone you claim to love, was ill. You have only seen one side of Ray. You've seen him laugh, so have I, but you've never seen him cry. I have, I've held him as he cried. You didn't see the state he was in after the White Tigers branded him a traitor, you thought he was over it, he wasn't. That whole night I stayed up with him as he cried. He thought they were right. Tell me Tyson, were you with him on the anniversary of his parents deaths? Haven't you ever wondered why the one day he stayed in his room the whole day, he told me to say he was tired and had a cold. Did you know he spent that whole day crying, he was mourning the loss of his family. You weren't there Tyson, I was, the whole time he cried I held him, the only thought running through my head was how much I wished I could make the pain go away. I hated seeing him cry, but I hated leaving his side even more." Kai looked down, anguish written in every move and gesture he made. Kenny nodded, Tyson growled. Kai shook his head, he looked back up at them.

Deep crimson pools met their gazes, torment, fear and despair flooded the striking hue, misting them to a softer, weaker shade. Kai had opened up, he was being as honest as he could ever be. Both his former teammates were speechless. Kai started to speak again, his voice lowered to just more than a whisper, but somehow they heard him, every word he uttered was like a gong to them. Loud, deafening and foreboding.

" You guys weren't the reason I returned to the Blade breakers. I didn't care about you, but I did care about him. Every night I worried about him, from whether he had eaten to whether he had enough sleep. The day I requested to see you on the frozen lake. I wanted to get him out of my head, I wanted to be free of how I felt. He made me feel alive, with him I knew emotions, I felt them with more clarity then I have felt anything else. I couldn't hide from it. He was my saviour and my destroyer. He showed me friendship, trust, respect and love. In return I betrayed him, insulted him and hurt him, yet he still wished to be my friend. He guided me back, without even being there he guided me back. That day I was sure if I took Driger from him then he would hate me, if he hated me he wouldn't try to understand me or defend me. But when it came to the moment of taking it I couldn't. It wasn't because he was sad or that he was angry with me. I looked in his eyes and I saw none of that. I saw understanding, he still wanted to understand. Even though he was close to losing his best friend he still wanted to understand. It jolted me, when I heard him tell me to take your hand it pulled me from my stupor. He broke through my defenses and saved me. For that I can never repay him, all I had to offer was my love. As pathetic as it was he took my gift and cherished it and in return I gained his love."

Kenny nodded, he smiled at Kai. If any of them understood the significance of what Kai was saying it was him. He had also seen the change in Kai, though it seemed so small at the time, but he had felt utterly betrayed when Kai switched sides. He had also been on Tysons side when they had argued over Kai sincerity that night. Ray had, at first, been the only one to defend Kai. He had agreed that Kai's betrayal was wrong and unexcuseable, but he had also pointed out that none of them had actually made it easy for Kai, from Tyson's constant name calling and bad behaviour to Ray's own erratic blading, they all had a share of the blame.

"Which is why we should all try and change how we act, we'll make a compromise. As long as Kai is on the team we lessen the name calling and try and be more consistent. That way Kai will feel more at home because he prefers that kind of behaviour. Agreed?"

Ray had said that, with a ' you better listen' glare aimed at Tyson at the mention of the name calling and a slight frown when he mentioned his own problem. Ever the negotiater, that was their Ray. And his plan worked, Kai helped Tyson to train for the match against Tala and Tyson had won. Kenny always gave credit where it was due and Ray deserved it, he had helped to keep the group together, and it seemed he had helped Kai even more. But Kenny wasn't a fool, he had seen the changes in Ray as well. No longer was the Chinese blader so easily played with. The incident with the White Tigers had marked a change in him. Kai had seen it ,and tried to lessen the negative effects in his own way, the others hadn't. But Kenny had. He had seen Ray close off a little, it wasn't as if he just became another Kai in the space of a week, but he HAD changed. Kenny looked at Tyson, gray eyes were shining in anger, misguided anger. This thought guided his actions, as most thoughts did.

" Tyson, back off. Kai is right. We should take Max back. We'd only slow Kai down anyway, this way he can find Ray faster." He kept off the subject of Tyson's feelings towards Ray though, that wasn't a discussion he wanted to repeat.

Tyson spun to face Kenny." How can you side with him! Kenny, Ray may need our help! What if he is in danger!" Kai stepped forward slightly." That's why I have Dranzer, if he needs help we'll be there." Tyson sneered." Yeah, big help. How are you going to help Ray when you couldn't even beat Spencer. In that case I should go, Ray and I were the only ones who actually won our battles."

"Tyson, how can you say that!" Kenny gasped out, his eyes trained on Kai. He didn't want a fight between the two, their friendship was in danger here, perhaps even more danger than Ray was in. Tyson didn't budge, he glared at the older boy. Kai had stiffened at the mention of Spencer, but the comment Tyson made about his skill was unforgiveable. It had been six years since they had been a team and six years since Kai had lost Dranzer, yes he had regained his beloved Bit Beast afterwards but the topic was still a sore spot for him. He sighed and shook his head. The other two waited in silence, one in fear and the other in anticipation.

" Tyson, you're right."

tbc

Sorry, had to end there. This chapter is already kinda long...oh, don't hate me for that last line. Pretty please puppy dog eyes, think of it this way, if you hurt..maim...kill...bring me back to life to kill me again...all of the above...you wont find out why he said this...heeheehee, did I say before I liked being a writer. Night night.