A/N: Yay! After two weeks, another update! Okay, so I actually had this typed up on my home PC a few weeks back - OK, two months back! However, I was still revising chapter seven, but I got the document up on around the same time as the previous chapter...What happened was (if you didn't read the notice at the end of my profile): us seniors are no longer allowed to use the Internet facilities our school provides for us each year. groans darn it...

Oh, you may see some unfamiliar names in the chapter. I used the Japanese version for Kai's grandfather's name, and I made one up for Kai's father.

Disclaimer: Obviously...

Chapter 8: A New Perspective

Finally I got it back! Kai exulted, slamming the door shut behind him. He gazed around his room for what seemed the umpteenth time that day. He couldn't help himself; it was a habit he'd formed years ago, its purpose unknown. Heaving a soft sigh, he went to his closet and pulled out his usual sleeping attire: a pair of boxers and a loose black tank. For some strange reason, he couldn't wait to get into bed.

A few minutes later, he'd changed, and now sat on the edge of the bed. Spying his knapsack still sitting on the floor, he picked it up and flung it onto his desk, where it landed neatly in the center. The slate-haired teen smirked. Being able to throw a book, a knapsack, or anything else onto a tabletop without scattering other articles was a talent he prided himself on.

He stood up and walked over to the door. Once there, he reached up and flicked the switch that extinguished the lights. Now his room was in semi-darkness, but that mattered little to him. He didn't fear anything, even in the dark. Besides, there wasn't any clutter to maneuver around, which made it easier to get to his bed. Soon, he was lying on his bed on top of the covers; he rarely bothered with blankets.

He turned on his side to face the window, as though searching for something in the deep purple skies. Apparently, what he sought wasn't there, for he sighed and turned his back on the pale moonlight wafting in through the glass.

"See you, Kane!" Kai called over his shoulder. The blue-haired child, Kane, waved as he stepped into his parents' waiting car. There was a dull roar, a small cloud of exhaust, and they drove off. Meanwhile, Kai searched for the familiar blue Toyota – Ichiro's car – that he knew would always be waiting for him after school.

The after-school crowd on the playground thinned; minutes passed and he still hadn't spotted his ride. Kai clutched his black and red backpack closer as he swiveled his head from left to right, and then back again as he scanned the traffic-congested streets. Ichiro must be stuck in all that traffic…the crimson-eyed youngster thought, attempting to push away his anxiety. But he would have beeped his horn…

Taking a deep breath to keep from crying, he made his way to his usual lunch bench and took a seat. He just got delayed…He was held up at work…He'll be here any minute now…the words tumbled through his head. He tried to convince himself that everything was all right.

"Kai?"

Kai turned around, surprised not so much at the sound of his name but at who was calling him. The voice was so surprised, and yet…

"Kai, what's wrong? You – huh?"

Kai had gotten up and ran towards the person, promptly knocking him over.

"It's you! I can't believe it! When…how…?" Kai, too overwhelmed to speak, looked up instead into the face that he had so longed to see. The tanned skin…the angular nose…the strong chin…floppy black hair…and the crimson eyes that held his own. "Dad…"

"Yes, Kai, it's me." The older Hiwatari hauled himself to his feet and brushed himself, then Kai, off. "It's great to see you, too. So tell me, how've you been?" He knelt down and looked deep into his son's eyes. "I see Ichiro and Keiko have been taking good care of you."

Kai nodded. "Yeah, they have. Yuuya helped a little, too. He taught me how to be a big brother."

"Well, that's nice to hear." Yuuhi Hiwatari laughed, and then became serious."You want to know why, right?"

"Yeah, Dad, I do. Why only now, after all these years? What happened?"

"Well, I guess someone accidentally disconnected my phone, so the calls never reached me. I only found out last night when I went to investigate at the Center."

"So Judy told you where I was?"

"Yeah, and she told me how to get in touch with your foster parents. I met with them today and told them what had happened. They were sad that you had to go, but happy that I had found you after so long. They have your stuff all packed up and ready to go."

"Does that mean…" Kai turned a sad face up to his father.

"Yes, Kai. You have to leave Yuuya behind. He belongs with his parents."

"Can I still see them?"

"Of course! We still have to stop by their place to get your things, so you can say goodbye. And since you know where they live, you can visit when you want to." Yuuhi smiled down at him. "Is that fine with you?"

"As long as I still get to see them…"

"Then it's settled! C'mon, let's get to the car, shall we?"

In his room, the now-sleeping Kai smiled peacefully, his eyes closed. He didn't want this dream to end. This was how he wanted to be.

For several minutes, all was quiet. Suddenly, the seventeen-year-old captain tossed fitfully from side to side.

"No…"

"This is unacceptable!" Souchiro Hiwatari – Kai's grandfather and CEO of Hiwatari Enterprises – thundered as he slammed a fist down on the mahogany table he kept in his office. "You should be working for the company, not wasting your time designing a child's plaything!"

Kai, hiding behind a potted plant, cringed at the sound of his grandfather so angry. However, Yuuhi, though the object of the elder Hiwatari's rage, didn't stir, nor did he say anything.

There was silence for several minutes as both men anticipated the other's move. Kai watched, frightened, the crimson eyes darting back and forth between the two. Finally, Souchiro spoke.

"That was your last chance, Yuuhi…"

"I know, Father."

"You shall not address me so callously within the company compound!" Souchiro roared, slamming another fist on the desk. Splinters of wood flaked off; Kai's eyes widened at the sight. How could he be so strong?

"Now, since we are both aware that you wasted your final chance," Souchiro's voice was dangerously low. "You must choose. Continue working for me and the company, but you give up your beloved toys…" At this, Yuuhi's eyes narrowed at the scathing reference to his passion. If the older man noticed this, he gave no sign. Still, he talked. "Or 'embrace' this 'dream' of yours, but leave the company…"

That doesn't sound too bad…Kai thought, almost smiling in relief. But his eyes widened with shock at his grandfather's next words.

"And nevermore return."

"NO!" Kai shouted, running out of his hiding place and towards his father.

"Kai!" Yuuhi exclaimed at the sight of his offspring. Souchiro said nothing.

"Dad, please don't do it!" Kai begged, clutching at his father's shirt. "It's okay; you don't have to finish my blade. Really, you don't!"

"Enough." Souchiro said sternly, glaring at the boy. Kai stiffened at the look on his elder's face. "Your father must make his own decision, boy." The slate-haired child bit his lip to keep from crying and backed away a little. Meanwhile, Yuuhi took a deep breath.

"I choose…"

Kai shut his eyes tight, as though closing them would stop him from hearing his father's next words.

"I choose to finish what I have started."

"So be it…"

"No…" Kai whispered, his eyes wide and shimmering with unshed tears.

"Get out of my sight!" Souchiro gestured towards the door. "From here on end, you are no son of mine, Yuuhi! Now go! I do not wish to see you anymore."

"NO!"

Kai shot up in bed, sweat pouring off his face, the blankets a twisted mess around his lower torso. He was breathing hard, he noticed, and he could tell his eyes were wide with fright.

He clutched at the blankets, just as his child-self had clutched at his father. He uttered but one word, his voice a bare whisper. "Dad…"

"Kai?" The door creaked open, and a finger of light danced on the darkened floor. Instantly, the stoic teen retreated into his hardened shell.

"What?" he snapped, his voice dripping with annoyance. A raven-haired head slowly peeked in through the door. Rei.

"I heard you cry out," the amber-eyed teen replied, smiling apologetically for having 'disturbed' his captain, "and I came to see if you were okay."

"I'm fine, Kon." Kai snapped once more. Inside, though, he wondered what it was in his dream that had made him actually cry out.

"You sure you don't need anything?" the neko-jin persisted.

"I'm sure. Now leave me be. Remember, you still need to get up early for tomorrow morning's training session."

"Aye-aye, sir." Rei said rather playfully, giving a mock salute before shutting the door. Kai could hear him whistling jauntily as he walked down the hall and back to his room.

After a few minutes, the slate-haired blader relaxed and settled back down on his bed. Why did I dream about that? He wondered, gazing absentmindedly into the night sky. And why now, after all these years?

"You what?" Takao fairly screeched. It was the next day, immediately after training, and he and the other team members had met out in the garden. There, Kyouju told him what had happened the night before.

"I'm really sorry, Takao…" Kyouju said. "But it could have been worse."

Max nodded. "Yeah, I recall you said something about Kai nearly finding it in your room. What if he really found out you had the folder all the time when you said you didn't? Then what would happen?"

"Oh, yeah…" Takao said, nodding sullenly. Then Rei remembered what he'd found the night before. He felt through his pockets and triumphantly brought it out.

"Guys, what about this?" he asked, holding up the small black tome. Takao was instantly attracted to it.

"What is it, Rei?" he asked. The others crowded around, too, trying to get close enough to see the item.

"I don't know yet," Rei said, trying not to lose his patience with his clamoring teammates. "I haven't looked – Whoa!"

One of Max's fingers jiggled the strap that held the book shut, and it fell onto the ground amongst their feet, it's pages free to turn in the breeze that suddenly blew up. Rei picked it up.

"Hey!" he exclaimed as he flipped through the pages. "It's…Kai's journal!"

"Journal?" Takao's eyes gleamed at the prospect of getting to know more about the silent persona.

"I don't know about this, guys…" Kyouju piped in, glancing nervously about him. "A journal is much more private than a file; it contains the owner's deepest, most guarded thoughts about everyday stuff." The chestnut-haired teen gazed warily at the immaculately white pages. "Reading a person's diary or journal is like reading that same person's mind; it's invading their privacy."

"Oh, c'mon, Chief!" Takao wheedled. "Just a little peek, just to see what happened where we left off…Please?"

Kyouju sighed. He hated it when Takao pulled the 'puppy-dog face', which he just had. "Oh, okay, fine…" he agreed half-heartedly. He groaned inwards. We are so dead…

Kai's log, May 18th,

Time: 4: 45.22 PM

I hate him!

Dad was given the opportunity to stay with Grandfather's company, but he didn't take it. He chose his stupid Beyblades. That was sixteen days ago; now he's gone, and I'm staying with Grandfather.

There's one thing I noticed about Grandfather, though. He seems unaffected by the 'loss' of his son, but when he looks at me, his face…softens somehow, and he keeps asking how I'm feeling. Of course I tell him I'm fine, just to throw him off; I can't tell him how I really feel, of course.

For some strange reason, Grandfather said something about giving me the family heirloom, Dranzer, earlier than expected. He was supposed to give it to me on my 12th birthday, but he might give it to me on my 10th, and I have no idea why…

Logging out,

K.Hiwatari

"Did I just read that right?" Takao asked, rubbing his eyes with a finger. "Did Kai just call Beyblades stupid?"

"He must have, 'cause I'm wearing my glasses, and I read that, too." Kyouju replied, still staring at the page they had just read together.

"But why?" Max asked. "It doesn't say anything in the entry.

"Well, maybe it had something to do with his dad, or something like that…" Rei suggested.

"Yeah, but what?"

"Good afternoon, Kai."

The deep, gravelly voice interrupted the seventeen-year-old captain's train of thoughts. His eyes snapped open and he turned his head towards the large oak door – the only entrance into the mountaintop villa.

Kai breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the familiar, fatherly and slight chubby face of Chairman Daitouji. The former gave a stiff nod in acknowledgement.

"Chairman Daitouji."

"How are Takao and the others doing?" the slightly balding elder asked, hanging his black bowler hat on the hat rack located next to the door.

"Mizuhara and Kon are doing well, and Kyouju is a great assistant when formulating training sessions to enhance a particular statistic, such as endurance." Kai replied evenly, folding his arms in front of his chest.

"What of Takao?"

"He hasn't improved as of yet…"

"How disappointing."

"- But I'm sure that will soon change." A tiny smile graced the usually silent teen's lips. "He's a fast learner. Add to that his 'arrogance' when it comes to battle and his determination…"

"And you get a champion." The chairman chuckled slightly. "Yuuhi used to say that of you, Kai."

At the mention of his father's name, Kai's eyes snapped open once more. "Y-you knew my father?" he stuttered, turning a bewildered face to the team's benefactor. "How?"

"He came to me before, the day he…" Daitouji cleared his throat in an effort to stall for time; Kai would have none of it.

"The day he what?" he pressed.

The elderly chairman sighed and avoided the teen's penetrating gaze. "The day he had to leave you with your grandfather."

"Aha!" Takao exclaimed triumphantly. "I found it!"

"What does it say?" Max asked. "Does it say anything about why Kai hated Beyblades?"

Takao nodded vigorously. "As a matter of fact, it does."

Kyouju smiled his thanks, picked up the journal and read silently for a few minutes; he wanted to get just the gist of the entry.

"Okay, listen up, guys. This says that on May 2nd of 1997, Hiwatari Yuuhi – that must be Kai's dad – was summoned to the CEO's office. He was asked to choose between working for the company or designing and producing Beyblades, which were relatively new at that time."

"I don't know about you guys, but I'd choose Beyblades." Takao commented.

"That's exactly what Mr. Hiwatari chose." Kyouju added, reading further along the entry. "However, he had no idea that choosing his passion over his responsibility would entail him to give up his most prized possession.

"What? A solid-gold blade he designed?" Takao quipped.

"His son."

"Kai?" Takao's mouth hung open.

"Yes. It states here that he was commanded to leave the company premises at once, leaving Kai with Hiwatari Souchiro -"

"Hey! That's Kai's grandfather, isn't it?" Max asked.

"You mean the one who owns Biovolt?" Rei added.

Kyouju nodded. "I guess Biovolt and Balkov Abbey are branches of Hiwatari Enterprises – the family corporation. Anyway," he continued, wishing to get the journal back to its rightful owner as soon as possible, "as I was saying – he left Kai with the latter's grandfather, and, aside from being disowned," – here the researcher's eyes (!) widened – "he was given stern instructions never to contact the minor."

"What does that mean?" Takao asked, puzzled.

Max understood. "It means that, because of Beyblades…Kai's dad…wasn't allowed to see him again."

"How…how did you know?" Kai asked, his voice barely above a whisper. He clenched his hands into fists to stop them from shaking; his face seemed drained of color. He gazed at the still silent elder, willing him to speak. It seemed that his thoughts were made known, for the next moment, Chairman Daitouji did speak.

"It's simple, really." The old man spoke evenly as he got to his feet, leaning slightly on his cane for support. "At least, when you're in charge of a certain foster care center."

Kai blinked. "Sento-Daitouji Juvenile Hall…" Suddenly, the slate-haired teen chuckled. "Daitouji! Of course!" he said, shaking his head. "How very stupid of me not to have seen it before. But that still leaves the question: what of my father?"

"You shall know what became of him soon enough, young Kai-"

"Don't treat me like I'm still nine years old!" Kai ground out viciously. He hated it when people called him 'young'; sure, he wasn't eighteen years old yet, but that didn't stop him from thinking he wasn't a child anymore.

"Sorry, dear boy, my mistake."

Kai rolled his eyes. Even after I tell him, he still does it…he sighed, and his shoulders drooped. "Why are you here, Chairman?" he asked, his voice now sad and quiet. The loss of strength and authority in the captain's voice did not go unnoticed by his elder.

He must be thinking of his father…a good sign, he thought. Aloud, he said, "Well, Kai, I just wanted to tell you that I was thinking of having a little reunion right here in this villa."

"So?"

"I wanted to inform you so that you'd get ready." Chairman Daitouji took out a handkerchief and mopped his face, not so much with wiping away sweat as having something to do with his hands. "You needn't worry about preparations; someone will be arriving here shortly – caterers, decorators and such."

"So why the reunion?" Kai asked, his voice back to its usual tone (the I-couldn't-care-less one).

"Let's just say I decided to gather together the team's 'old friends', Kai. Or should I say," – here Daitouji looked up and stared straight into Kai's eyes – "your old friends."