A/N: Yay! Another chapter up and it's only been like a month! heh, I promise, I'll keep trying to be better. Okay, first off, I want to thank Thiaf and Spellcaster Hikaru for your constant support, even if my story has been a little less constant. Thank you guys so much for your reviews! It means a lot to me. And thank you to Golden Lunar Eclipse for supporting me in every other aspect of my life. You're the best sis I could've ever asked for.
Anyway, in this chapter the story will start to pick up – a lot. So, I hope you all enjoy this!
Just one other note, I'm not sure on this because I only got the name from another fan and not an official site, but I have Hiwatari Souichirou as the Japanese name for Voltaire, Kai's grandfather. I hope it's right. If it isn't, please enlighten me.
Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade. Got it? Good.
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Of Age and Era
By Fey Phantom
Chapter 7: Entrapment
Kai forced himself to stay seated as he listened to Rei explain to the others who Hiromi was and explain that Kai had graciously accepted him as a travel buddy. Kai froze his muscles so they wouldn't act of their own accord as he heard Max shout out that he was coming too, that he would protect Hiromi with his life as well. Kai dug his nails into his palms and gritted his teeth as Mao and Rai announced they would come too. It took everything in Kai to keep him from telling them different. But this was too important, he couldn't mess this up. He thought of the sword of his desire, he thought of his grandfather, and he sat still, allowing the wind to blow around him calmly.
The party inside the cave continued on for a while longer, Takao, Hiromi, and Kyouju obviously happy with their new traveling company. Late at night, the fire burnt out and the humans and demons fell asleep, leaving Kai alone in the quiet and letting him think deeply on the matter. They would make it soon to the meeting point and it would all be over.
Kai sighed. He thought about Hiromi and Takao and Kyouju and how much they wanted to do with their futures. But they didn't realize their lives were already planned by a powerful man, a deadly man. Kai cleared his mind of his thoughts, closed his eyes, and fell into a light sleep.
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"I know a place we can go. It's a monastery in the mountains but it's like a fortress. They will give us refuge there," Max said to the group in the morning.
"We are already headed elsewhere," Kai stated solidly.
"But this place is closer. We can head there and rest up and get plenty of help. Besides, it wouldn't hurt to stay for the night. They can offer us protection." Max didn't understand why Kai would refuse so profoundly. And, as expected, Kai opened his mouth to protest but Rei cut him off.
"I'm sure that's a great idea," Rei said as he looked Kai in the eyes, daring him to question his choice. Kai stayed silent.
"Rai, Mao, could you two go on ahead and alert them? That way they can be ready for us when we get there," Max suggested.
Rai and Mao nodded. "Sure thing, Max!" Mao smiled sweetly.
"Here, take this, they'll know I sent you," Max said holding out his hand. He gave Mao a small pendant. It didn't look very special but obviously it had great meaning between priests. "You guys should be able to make it there by tonight but tell them we should arrive tomorrow afternoon, all right?" Mao nodded again.
"We'll be going then," Rai spoke up at last. "Take care Rei, Max, everyone." He shared one last significant look with Rei and then took off, Mao close on his heels. They were gone a few seconds later. As cat demons, they were very quick and it definitely showed.
"We should be going too," Rei said turning back to the group. Kai eyed him wearily. Of course they should be going. But he'd decided not to say anything, not to give Rei any reason to complicate things. "I have an idea that will probably make everything go much faster." Suddenly, Rei roared out to the sky, a loud cat call. There was a thunderous crash in front of the group and a few seconds later, an animal formed within the jagged light coming from the sky. Kai, Takao, Hiromi and Kyouju were staring at the bizarre animal. "This is Drigger," Rei explained. "He's my guardian."
"A demon cat?" Kai said with skepticism. He obviously approved no more of the tiger-like cat demon than of the nekojin to whom it was loyal.
"Drigger is harmless to friends of mine. Hiromi and Kyouju can ride on him. He'll keep up with the rest of us so we can cover more ground.
"Fine," Kai said bitterly and then raced off. Max, Takao and Rei ran to catch up and Drigger pursued with Hiromi and Kyouju hanging onto his fur.
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The group paused only for a short lunch break around mid day. Rei cooked the food again while Takao disappeared into the forest for a bit. He had left without telling anyone where he was going and Kai decided to investigate to ensure that he was safe. As he neared a small clearing, a familiar sound came to his ears. Kai walked forwards and saw it- the shine of the powerful blade was mesmerizing. Takao was practicing his swordsmanship once again. Kai noticed a large improvement since the last time. Was it possible for someone to be so naturally talented? It seemed as Takao's confidence in himself grew, he grew just as strong as a samurai. Kai supposed that because Takao now had people his own age to talk to, now that he had friends, he was surer of himself and his abilities. He still had flaws, of course he had flaws, there was never a samurai who didn't, Kinomiya's death was proof of that, but Takao had his own style to conceal them. Thus, to an untrained eye, Takao's form looked flawless.
Without thinking, Kai walked towards Takao and grabbed his wrist to stop him in mid-swing. Takao looked at Kai. "That's very good," Kai heard himself say, "but you should try to keep your elbow straighter. Use your wrists a little more loosely," Kai suggested.
Takao looked at him in complete stupor. Kai stared back, wishing he had never said a thing. Then, all of a sudden as if thought rushed back into Takao's mind, Takao smiled to Kai and thanked him. Kai turned away, unable to look Takao in the eyes anymore. "Well, you looked like you could use the help," he said quietly.
"I'm sure I could learn a thing or two from you Kai! You're in the King's Order after all!" Tyson winked at Kai even though his back was turned to him. "I'm lucky to have a friend like you," Tyson smiled. He meant every word of it.
Kai was paralyzed. Friend. He had just thought about Tyson and his friends, but he had never considered himself among them. He pictured himself as an outsider, someone observing the group for his own purposes. However, Takao, and possibly others, saw him differently. He was their friend and not just an acquaintance. Kai closed his eyes and walked away without saying another word.
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Kai stayed surrounded in his own thoughts throughout the rest of the day. The others didn't notice since they were used to his being quiet. The group stopped for the day as the sun set and the sky darkened. They were now in mountainous terrain on the edge of the forest. They found a small cavern which would do as a shelter for the night. For the third time that day, Rei got to cooking while Max, Takao and Kai cleared the cave's floor for sleeping. A short time later, Rei served the meal and everyone gathered around the fire.
"So, we'll be at the monastery by tomorrow afternoon," Max said to start a conversation.
"Yeah, hopefully Rai and Mao made it all right," Kyouju mentioned.
"You don't need to worry about them. They can take care of themselves," Rei said.
"So, what are we going to do after we get there?" Takao asked.
"You don't know?" Rei asked surprised.
"No," Takao admitted.
Rei looked at Kai angrily. Had he let them in on what they were doing even a little? Kai ignored Rei. "Well, we need to start rebuilding Hiromi's support and the palace. Without a social structure, this kingdom will fall into chaos. It's lucky for us that news hasn't quite reached the general public yet of the fall of the castle, but as soon as it does, it will get harder and harder to maintain peace in the land. Everyone will start vying for power. That's why we must act quickly and put a stop to whoever attacked the palace in the first place and to do that we need help." Rei stopped. He had just realized the direction in which Kai wanted to travel. "You're going to get the King's Order for help, aren't you?" Rei asked directly to Kai. Kai looked at him for a moment, then nodded.
"What? Really?" Takao asked suddenly. "That's great!" he shouted out, breaking into a smile. "If they're all as powerful as you, Kai, we'll beat this group for sure!"
"You're part of the King's Order?" Rei asked. So, Kai was amongst the loyal group who dedicated their lives to protect the palace at all costs. Could he have been wrong about Kai?
Kai simply nodded his head as his usual silent answer. Within a few minutes, the subject changed to more trivial matters. Takao was telling them all a story from his childhood in which he made a complete fool of himself, this time more than usual. Max followed it up with his own story. The six of them sat around the fire long after their meal was done. Kai sat noiselessly, leaning back against a small boulder, watching the others. They were laughing and talking and having a good time. They joked amongst themselves, not caring whether they looked like fools or not. They were simply enjoying life and enjoying each other's company. Watching them brought a smile to Kai's lips although no one else noticed.
Kai had never sat in a group like this. He had never fraternized with anybody in this way before. The group gave him a feeling of lightheartedness. It put him at ease. If someone had attacked him that moment, he would have been completely off guard. But nobody did attack him. Nobody attacked them. They were safe for now. It made Kai wonder, what he was going to do, did he really need to do it?
But then Kai realized just what he was thinking to himself. Did he really just think that? He slapped himself mentally. 'Kai, what are you thinking?' he berated himself. 'You know what you must do. You know what you want, what you're after. You know how to get it! These people are just a method to get what you want, nothing more. You don't need friends… You don't have friends… You don't need anybody!'
The smile had been wiped from his face as quickly and subtly as it had shown up. Tonight – after tonight – it would be all over. He just needed to wait a few more hours. He watched the flames dance before him. It moved seductively through the air and spat out embers into the night sky. After a while, the others decided to call it a night. They each retired to the cave at their leisure. Kai was left alone outside again. This was the moment he'd been waiting for.
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Feet touched the ground noiselessly as a figure scurried across the landscape. He moved like a shadow amongst the brush and trees. 'Almost there,' he thought to himself. The rendezvous point just up ahead. He saw the river come into view and slid to a stop. He studied his surroundings, felt a presence behind him and withdrew his sword, holding it to the second person's neck. The boy didn't even flinch, but held up a hand and pushed the blade away. "You're late," he said.
"Well you'd be late too if you had to wait for those guys to fall asleep, Yuriy," Kai addressed the redhead who currently had on an outfit which covered almost every inch of his body. He was dressed from head to foot in black. Several other samurai gathered around the two. They were in the same clothing as Yuriy. Kai sheathed his sword.
"Well, I guess the important thing is you got them here," Yuriy frowned. "I must admit, I had my doubts that you would make it."
"Thanks. Your confidence in me is overwhelming," Kai stated sarcastically. "Anyway," he went on, "there are more than just the two of them. There are also two other humans and a demon." He thought about mentioning the cat demons who went to the monastery but thought better of it. "I had no choice but to bring them. Otherwise things would have gotten tricky. None of them are a thing to worry about though. They aren't very powerful; nothing you can't handle."
"Fine. I suppose we should bring the others too then," Yuriy contemplated. "Souichirou-sama may be upset if we eliminate them now.
"Do whatever you want," Kai said unconcerned.
"You're not coming?" Yuriy asked.
"No, Grandfather will want to talk with me."
"Sure, or you just don't want to do the dirty work now that you got them here," Yuriy said indignantly.
"Think what you want. I'm out of here," Kai said before he ran off into the darkness again.
"Hmph, smug bastard. He thinks he's so much better than the rest of us."
"Um, that's because he is," one of the other boys said.
"Shut up!" Yuriy yelled angrily over his shoulder. "All right, come on guys, let's move out!" Yuriy waved his hand forward and then ran in the same direction, heading back the way Kai came.
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Footsteps came closer and closer. Rei's eyes snapped open but before he could say anything, his mouth was covered and he was pinned down. The others were grabbed as they slept and woke up in shock of the attack. Then, one by one, they were knocked out, bound, gaggedand carried away into the deep, dark forest…
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And that's where I'll leave you this time around! Evil, aren't I? Anyway, please review and tell me what you think! I love getting all comments, questions and suggestions and I take each one seriously. So I thank you in advance for leaving any few words you do.
The next chapter will have quite a few explanations in it and it should be much longer than my past two chapters have been. Sorry for the shortness of this chapter but I hope it was good nonetheless. Next chapter will be titled The Flight. I'm not sure when I'll be able to get it up, but it should be sometime in December.
'Till then!
.:Fey Phantom:.