Well hey there! I just wanted to do a lil intro as I've published this fic before but I've started rewriting it after a 5-6 year hiatus! I've also renamed it, 'The Aftermath of BioVolt' which is much more accurate! Most of the scenes are different now but its essentially still the same story, so I'm just going to post it here instead of creating a new fic as that way anyone following will get a notification and can decide if they wanna read the new version.
I wanna say thank you to EVERYONE who reviewed the previous version! (Another reason I don't want to delete and start a new fic- I love reading the old reviews ahh!)
Some extra info before we start - This is a season four 4th world championship fic with romance and drama! So (almost) all teams will be included as well as one OC team! So wooo lets go!
For the second time that morning, Kai found himself walking begrudgingly down the road to Tyson's house.
The first time, Kai had approached with tentative steps and considered whether or not to open the gate. He waited, trying to see if his ears might pick out the dulcet tones of Tyson, who was no doubt bragging about his three world championship wins; or perhaps Hilary, sounding annoyed (as always) because no one wanted to stick to her rigorous training schedule. Or there was always Daichi, who's voice was permanently stuck to one volume and very unfortunately, that volume was loud.
Kai had quickly established that he could hear none of these things and therefore must have been the first of the group to arrive, and he didn't quite like that.
This year was once again the return of the Beyblading World Championships; Tyson, Max, Ray and Kai had decided to put aside their old rivalry and team up in original Bladebreakers style, with the addition of Daichi of course (although Kai suspected that was because he simply wouldn't leave).
The tournament was going to be held in London. Apparently the BBA were expanding rapidly and London was one of the beyblade capitals of the world, despite never having hosted a tournament.
Kai stared at the garden gate. He knew it was a long flight from Japan to England and he really wasn't in the mood to relinquish his alone time just yet. It was obvious to him that a short walk around the neighbourhood would be prudent. Just fifteen more minutes of blessed solitude, he thought to himself as he set off down the street.
Truth be told, on his approach to the house for the second time, he could hear a distant ruckus coming from the kitchen. Something about Tyson having stole Daichi's egg on toast, and, what was that? Fried tomatoes? Riveting, Kai thought as he headed through the gate. He noticed Max and Rays shoes were thrown haphazardly across the entrance to the house and Kai was glad to be the last one there. He pulled back the sliding door, ignoring the screaming voice inside his head that was telling him that even living with his Grandfather would be better than spending the next month with this lot.
The door slid back to reveal Ray, Max, Kenny and Hilary who were all sat at one end of the kitchen table, trying, and failing, to eat their breakfast. They all looked up and and offered cheerful greetings to which Kai grunted in return. His eyes then wandered across the room to behold whatever the rest of the team were actively trying to ignore.
Daichi was stood on one of the dining chairs, holding an upside down plate which was dripping what looked like baked beans onto Tyson's head.
"EWW DAICHI!" Tyson exclaimed loudly through a slice of toast, waving his arm and knocking Daichi onto the floor, "WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU, THERE'S BAKED BEANS IN MY HAIR!" Kai watched as Tyson grasped an egg from his plate with his bare hands and smeared it, yolk first, into Daichi's hair.
Kai paused, surveying the scene in front of him. Nope, he thought and quickly slid the door closed. He turned and headed back towards the garden gate; the championship was not worth this.
"KAI!" Tyson had somehow managed to race over to door and yank it back open just in time to catch Kai before he escaped. "Hey man! Where you heading off to? You were meant to be here twenty minutes ago!"
Kai turned back to face Tyson, "Well you see, I'm still debating whether or not I can stomach an entire month of, well, this!" he pointed at the baked beans in Tyson's hair.
Tyson looked outraged, "He started it! You can't just leave us, not again!" he was starting to look worried, "you're our captain!"
"Yeah, whatever," Kai replied, but he was already slouching back into the kitchen.
Tyson watched him and then sighed audibly, "sourpuss."
Kai flung himself down into a chair next to Ray and picked up a slice of toast. Tyson knew better than to argue with Kai, but decided to anyway. "So what's up, get out the wrong side of the bed this morning? Hair not sticking up in the right direction?"
Kai scowled, "I always get out of the wrong side of the bed." He said as he set his half eaten toast down on an empty plate and pushed it away.
"Oh man what a grump!" Tyson moaned, "Are you not excited for the tournament?" a blissful glazed look spread over his face, "I'M SO EXCITED I CAN'T CONTAIN MYSELF! WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, BABY!"
"WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BABY," Max replied in agreement, banging his mustard covered knife and fork on the table so that it splattered everywhere.
This exclamation seemed to start some sort of of chant as Daichi, Hilary and Kenny joined in, banging their cutlery on the table. Kai frowned and turned to Ray who gave a sheepish smile and said, "world championship baby?" tapping his knife and fork gently on the table in mock celebration.
"Good god." Kai said as he shook his head and averted his eyes.
"Here's to the fourth World Championship Tournament!" said Hilary, standing and raising a glass of orange juice.
"May victory prevail, and may we make many new friends and collect lots of data!" Kenny added, clinking his glass with Ray and Max's.
"Yea way cool, Chief! I can't wait to meet all the new bladers, I bet there'll be some tough competition, but no one'll ever beat me, I am the CHAMPION!" Tyson exclaimed happily.
Kai rolled his eyes, extremely thankful that he had not yet poured himself a drink; if he had, he was unsure that he would be able to resist throwing it in Tyson's face.
"Its so nice to all be back together again!" Hilary smiled serenely, cupping her cheeks with her elbows resting on the table. It was true that they hadn't seen much of each other over the past few months. Tyson, Max and Hilary all had school together, so they saw a lot of each other, but Daichi had gone back to wherever he had came from (unfortunately, he hadn't stayed there) and Ray had spent the last few months with the White Tigers in China.
Kai had spent his time away miserably moping around his Grandfathers mansion, much to the dismay of Tyson and the rest of the team who had avidly followed the BioVolt investigation and thought Kai was insane to even entertain the idea of living with his abusive Grandfather.
The BioVolt investigation had gone on for months. It had started at the end of the first world championship, and was still ongoing even now. Every few months Kai would be called in to be questioned about a new piece of evidence. Much good it did, Kai still didn't remember most of his time at the Abbey. He loathed what he had come to call 'the interrogations' they were stressful and always led to weeks of disturbed sleep and a dramatically lowered mood, which for Kai was saying something.
Kai knew wholeheartedly that his Grandfather was guilty of everything the investigators were trying to prove, even the things he couldn't remember. Yet, Kai found himself lying to investigators, trying to show his Grandfather in a good light. He wasn't sure why he did it but for some reason a warped sense of loyalty to Voltaire still plagued him.
"The bus will be arriving in five minutes, I'm just going to check I've packed everything!" Hilary said loudly, snatching Kai's thought's away from BioVolt.
Soon after, the official BBA bus pulled up outside and began beeping its horn. Kai got up and reached into his pocket and gave Dranzer a tight squeeze. Its time, he thought to himself as he walked from the house and began loading his luggage before his teammates could catch up. He climbed up the steps of the bus, nodded at the driver and then slipped down the isle to claim the back seat. Tyson's favourite spot. Kai reclined lazily with a sly smirk on his face. It was these small triumphs that gave him at least some satisfaction in life.
He lifted his eyelids slightly to peer out of the window as he heard the rest of the team slowly but animatedly making their way down the winding garden path. Max was knocking Tyson playfully on the head with his fist, "Bladebreakers…" he sighed, "more like The Moron Brigade."
It wasn't as if he hated his teammates, it was just that Kai was a rather solitary being and enjoyed his alone time. As much as he respected his friends (well kind of, he hated calling them friends) they could sometimes (all the time) be a tad annoying. He watched as Tyson gave his Grandpa a goodbye hug and felt a pang of irritation. He struggled to remember the last time Voltaire had so much as smiled at him.
The journey was plagued by irritating noises. Much to the dismay of the entire team, Kenny had decided to bring Ming Ming's newest album with him and had convinced the driver to let him put the CD on. It was now blaring through every speaker as they sped down the motorway.
"WOULD YOU TURN THAT OFF!" shouted Hilary, reaching over and smacking Kenny's hand away from the CD player and hitting the eject button. The Chief emitted an outraged cry and looked around at everyone's faces, which were trying (and failing) to hide their looks of relief.
"Fine," he sighed, "I guess I should be looking up our opponents for the upcoming tournament." Kenny took the CD and placed it tenderly back inside its case and then opened his laptop.
"Well good morning Chief! Why'd you stop the music?" It was Dizzi, Kenny's bit beast who was somehow trapped inside his laptop, of all things.
"Sorry Dizzi, it was just Hilary getting all aerated because she's jealous of Ming Ming.." he giggled.
"I am not jealous! I just don't like her!" Hilary retorted as Tyson laughed.
"Yeah Hil, just because Ming Ming's got boobs and you haven't!"
Hilary turned to face Tyson, a look of outrage on her face "what did you just say to me?"
"Uhhh-" he said, realising his big mouth had crossed a line.
"Hmph. Whatever," she said sulkily.
"I- I didn't mean it!" Tyson said quickly.
"No. No. I'm not having it this time," she said, undoing her seat belt.
"Where are you going?" Tyson demanded as she vacated the seat next to him.
"Well if you're going to act like that, I don't want to sit with you." She said angrily, stomping off down the back of the bus.
Oh no, thought Kai. Was she was going to come sit next to him? He looked up at Tyson and saw anger etched on his face and then, as always, Tyson spoke without thinking, "sitting next to your boyfriend Hilary?"
Hilary's face went bright red and she seemed to swell with rage. Kai wasn't surprised, Tyson always brought this up.
Hilary began to speak, and the words started out slow and quiet "I- have- told- you- countless- times-" but very quickly they turned into rapid angry explanation about how she had never thought of Kai in that way, and that Tyson was disgusting to speak of it. Kai wished that she wouldn't, her over compensating on the subject always made it seem as if she were trying to cover something up. In reality, Kai was quite sure Hilary wasn't so into him as she was into the person she so often found herself yelling at.
The rest of the team were sat behind Tyson and were pulling awkward faces or else staring out of the window as if nothing was happening. Tyson was looking both angry and defeated and mumbled a small, "I was just jok-"
"Joking? You're always just joking, maybe its not funny anymore, Tyson!" she snapped and Kai could see her eyes were looking decidedly wet. He felt a surprising pang of sympathy for her and he was quite sure that with one short sentence he could both annoy Tyson, and also maybe even give him a push in the right direction. He crossed his arms and smirked.
"Hey Tyson, Maybe you're the jealous one. Come sit with me, Hil." The abbreviation of her name sounded weird on his tongue, but he said it anyway. Max, Ray and Kenny gasped.
Tyson must have seen red because he suddenly started up the isle of the bus, "What'd you say?! I'M NOT JEALOUS!"
Hilary jumped over onto the seat in the next row to avoid him as Tyson went to shove Kai with both hands, apart from Kai had already stood up and grabbed Tyson by the wrists. "STOP MAKING SHIT UP," Tyson yelled in his face.
Kai raised his eyebrows, glad to have struck a nerve. Tyson struggled but then it seem to dawn on him what Kai was trying to prove. He stopped struggling and pulled his wrists free, "why are you always such a dick?" he said, walking back down the isle and slumping into a chair away from everyone else.
"It's my favourite activity!" Kai called after him. The rest of the team sniggered.
Hilary sat down in the row in front and did not speak again for the entire journey.
Mr Dickinson met them at the airport. Tyson seemed to have recovered from his earlier argument and whilst on the airplane he and Daichi tried sneaking into first class to sample the food. "Aw man! why aren't we in first class Mr D? I'm a world champ y'know!" he said pointedly to the flight attendant as Mr Dickinson tried his best to apologize for their behaviour.
Kai thought of how he would be glad when they finally landed in the UK. He had asked Mr Dickinson to allow him to have his own hotel room and had even promised to pay him back as soon as he turned eighteen, once he could get his hands on his trust fund that is. When he had said this to Mr Dickinson the old man had chuckled and said, "oh don't worry about that, I'm sure we can sort something out!"
Kai was glad that Mr Dickinson had been so accommodating, he wasn't sure he could face another championship sharing a room with the rest of the team, or more specifically, Tyson.
It seemed to take no time at all to get through airport security once they had landed and soon they were speeding down the motorway into central London.
"WE'RE HERE!" shouted Daichi as their taxi finally turned off the road. Kai looked out of the window and saw a large hotel made up of floor to ceiling glass windows. There was a large beyblade sculpture resting on the floor outside the revolving hotel doors. It looked brand new and must have been installed to commemorate the world championship. Kai wondered if all the other teams were staying at the same hotel- that would be interesting.
"Woop woop!" said Ray through a half hearted yawn. It had been a long day.
"Aw man, I can't wait to get in our room and watch a movie! Can we order pizza Mr. Dickinson?" Tyson asked.
"Yea PIZZA!" yelled Daichi.
"Why yes, that sounds quite alright boys! But make sure you get an early night, you need to be up early tomorrow to register for the tournament!" Mr Dickinson replied, making a beeline for the check in desk. "Ah yes, hello! My name is Mr. Dickinson, I believe I booked six rooms for the BBA?" Kai looked at Mr Dickinson, surprised. Was the BBA so successful now that they no longer had to cram all into one room?
Kai stared around at the lobby; like the approach to the hotel it too had been decorated for the tournament. Everywhere he looked there were more giant beyblade sculptures and photos of bitbeasts on large banners that draped the walls. Kai even noticed his own face staring at him from a photo of the Bladebreakers that was taken at the start of the Russian tournament. He marvelled at how young they all looked.
"Yes that's all done for you!" the receptionist said cheerfully as she handed over the keycards and Mr Dickinson began to pass them out to the group. "If you'd like your luggage brought up feel free to leave it at the concierge with your name and room number. Breakfast is from 7-10am and of course feel free to call down at any time for assistance or room service!" she paused and then added, "would you like to take Mr Hiwatari's key as well or should I pass that onto the butler?"
Kai felt a little stab of annoyance "what butler?" he growled.
"The butler assigned to your room," the receptionist explained, smiling sweetly.
Mr Dickinson had finished handing out the keycards and turned back to the desk looking confused. "All the rooms I booked were standard room's I believe, maybe there's been a mistake?"
"Oh! Let me double check," she said hurriedly, "it says here that Mr Hiwatari's room was originally booked as a standard room but this morning was upgraded by a Mr…Voltaire Hiwatari?"
Kai let out an exasperated noise. Of course. The receptionist flushed bright red at the look on Kai's face, "fine whatever," he said holding out his hand for the key, "give me the key, I don't need a butler."
"Of course Sir," she handed him the key and then quickly picked up the phone. Kai turned away and began to walk towards the lift. Tyson must have been right behind him because he mumbled a snarky, "butler eh.."
"Shut up, Tyson!" Kai snapped at him.
Tyson looked as if he was about to retort but then Max called, "Hey look! Its the Majestics!" and went running across the lobby.
Max wasn't wrong, the whole Majestics team were now waving at them from across the room. "I'll let you kids catch up! I'm going for a well earned rest, lots to do tomorrow!" Mr Dickinson laughed and headed towards the lift.
Kai sighed and followed his teammates.
"Hey! How are you all?" Ray asked as they made their way over to Robert, Johnny, Enrique and Oliver.
"We're great!" said Johnny, "ready to kick your ass!"
Ray laughed, "yeah right! We're gonna absolutely destroy you!" they had been there five whole minutes and the pathetic trash talk had already started.
"So you're representing the UK this time?" Ray asked. The Bladebreakers knew there were more countries than ever competing this year and the team had already discussed the fact that they highly suspected the Majestics would be representing the UK.
"No actually, we're representing Germany!" said Robert, "y'know, seeing as I'm team captain," he grinned proudly.
Oliver huffed and crossed his arms, "well I wanted to represent France!"
"And I wanted to represent Italy, but we don't always get what we want do we Oliver?" said Enrique rolling his eyes.
"Oh wow, Germany! So then, who's representing the UK?" asked Max, puzzled.
Johnny smirked at this, "they are," he nodded over the other side of the lobby. Everyone turned to stare at three teenagers who had just walked in through the revolving door, pulling their suitcases. "The tall kid and his sister aren't even from Europe," he remarked with a bitter tone, "but the other kid is - Tim, he's rich, lives in Surrey, my parents know his family."
"Ahhhh yes," Tyson said knowingly, "there's always at least one rich kid!" and then quickly avoided Kai's eyes.
"Yeah well, I dunno how he found those two but they're the reason he's got so far, maybe he's paying them to be on the team," Johnny smirked.
"Whaa? Really people do that?" Asked Hilary.
"Well maybe, I just don't understand why they've teamed up with him."
There was a collective 'hmmmm..' It wasn't unheard of for people to buy their teammates, but it sure was frowned upon.
"So do you know anything about the other two?" asked Max.
"Well we watched them at the regional final last month, the tall guy is crazy," said Enrique.
"He's not crazy! He's just passionate!" Oliver said reproachfully.
"Alright well he seems a bit unhinged, Brooklyn style y'know?" Enrique laughed and Kai gritted his teeth. He did not need another Brooklyn.
"Yeah and the girl," continued Johnny, "straight up dangerous from what I've seen. No one can touch her, can't believe she's never been in a tournament before."
Then, quite suddenly, the girl looked up and turned to stare back at them. Both the Bladebreakers and the Majestics all jumped, maybe she had overheard what Johnny had said. Tyson hurriedly started talking to Max about what they were going to have for dinner and the rest of them turned away quickly but Kai kept staring, he didn't care.
Her eyes scanned them all and she frowned as she caught sight of Tyson- of course, thought Kai, the world champ always elicits some kind of reaction- but then her eyes widened as they slid over and rested on him instead. He held her gaze for what felt like a long time, but in reality it must have only been a mere second. Before he knew it she had turned back to the check in desk.
"Errrr… right then. Well, we're having pizza and watching a movie if you lot wanna join?" Tyson asked, breaking the silence.
"What kind of pizza?" asked Enrique with his nose in the air, "because the pizza here is abhorrent. If you've ever tried proper Italian pizza you'll kno-"
"Yeah we get it, English pizza sucks," Johnny cut across him, "we'll get you room service ya posh prick," everyone laughed.
"Pizza and room service it is!" Hilary exclaimed jovially and they all started making their way towards the lift.
Somehow- it was quite a squeeze- they all managed to pile into the lift. Ray was pressing the button for level 25 and the doors were sliding shut just as Tyson yelled, "wait!" and with great difficulty he reached over to press the the button for the top floor. "We've gotta check out Kai's fancy penthouse!" he grinned mischievously.
Kai, who was stood directly behind Tyson, kicked him.
Really hope you enjoyed it! Please leave a review! Yknow if you feel like it haha :-)
