Chapter 26: Brother's pain, Champion's choice.
"Hilary, are you not getting up?" Delia shook Hilary in the dawn of the coolest cold Saturday.
"I don't want to," Hilary mumbled, almost drained out,
"We've our Internal, Hils, tryna understand. We have to revise," Margot explained,
"Ryan is coming from his grave to visit us for few minutes when the angels are busy. Wake me when he comes," Hilary said dizzily and faintly in her sleep and went back in the slumber,
Margot sighed and looked at Delia, "What should we do to her… She is all lost ever since he has gone. How should we bring her back now?"
"I'm just afraid Hilary doesn't spoil her career under this grief," Delia expressed,
The girls looked sad and the loss was hard to forget. They could still picturize Ryan knocking at their door in his messy hair and asking if they are still revising or not, or asking Hilary to explain him some answer.
Hilary woke after sometime and she involuntarily read a few pages she'd earlier marked before they went to exam-hall.
Later that day, the girls were tired after the exam. They sunk into their beds.
Hilary suddenly stood up and looked at the door that was slightly ajar.
"Is anyone standing there, Hils?" Margot asked,
"No, I thought just to check," Hilary said hesitatingly,
Hilary was about to shut the door when a figure appeared in front of them, dark black hair arranged perfectly.
…..
"Why did you come now…" Hilary asked the black haired guy who sat jittery and dismayed,
"Hilary, it took me a month to find you. Ryan rarely spoke about you, not even your name. You're closest to my brother before he left us. I deserve to see you, console your pains and take part in your loss; it's a loss for me too." He explained light heartedly
"Look Nyhan, you never came when he was there. You are telling that you used to talk to him on phone calls, why not came to meet him- at least once in few months? And now…" Hilary laughed in mock, "Now you're coming, why, you could have called me the same way." Hilary spit,
"Hilary, please calm down. You don't know our story entirely. It's different and way more than complicated you'd ever decipher." Nyhan looked a little back taken and agitated,
"What is it?" Hilary asked him slowly,
"Look. We never saw our dad. Fine, Ryan saw him a few times when he was young, when I wasn't even born. Dad used to stay at outskirts or mostly in Greece for foreign exchange business. My mom told him many times to return but he ALWAYS kept on delaying. Ryan hated dad, and when I grew up, I tend to hate him along." Nyhan explained calmly and a little shakily,
"Then?" Hilary urged him to continue,
"Listen. I was six when dad openly declared that he has no interest in coming back or seeing his two children- Me and Ryan. My mom cried. She fought with him, she asked him why and why he was doing this. Ryan indulged in too. Dad pushed him away and locked us in a room. I couldn't forget that day. In the midst of their argument, another lady came in, as per what mom said later and she seemed to be already married with my dad. She took him away and dad went away gladly. We were left alone. We'd no idea why dad did this to us. Ryan was closest to mom. I and Ryan never fought; we never had those brotherly envy or fights. We just focused on how to pursue our livelihood and take care of mom." Nyhan paused and sighed,
"Ryan was very close to mom and he swore he'll avenge dad one day. I agreed as well, though I was whole lot not bothered what dad was doing. I had no desire for revenge or to see his face. I was fine living with Ryan and mom. Ryan was a sharp student from the start, I always lagged, but still we both used to motivate each other. Ryan left mom when he got scholarship for Medicine. Mom was reluctant to let him go but he continued. I and mom stayed together for some time but most of the times, through the day, I ran chores, attended college, did part-time job on restaurants, and took care of mom. Ryan never visited mom in these four years except four times. The Christmas… It was the last time we saw him. We urged him to stay but he always reasoned that he had whole lot to study." Nyhan stopped and smiled bitterly,
"What happened to your mom then?" Hilary asked. Margot and Delia looked at each other horrifically. They knew it.
"Mom passed two and a half years back." Nyhan stopped and saw the frozen and broken reaction of the brunette,
"It was a suicide. We concluded she was tired of living and... missed dad probably. She deeply missed Ryan, that I'll never deny. She couldn't handle the loss of dad even after years and Ryan didn't help either. I agree he'd his studies to carry but; but still…" Nyhan stopped,
Hilary was hyperventilating and breath-struck,
"Hilary, you know what...He used to tell me about you rarely and had a vague idea that he probably liked you, and that's why he liked to stay here. However after mom went, Ryan couldn't handle the grief. He was broken, he felt aloof and sad. I don't know how he was with you guys but he caught Lupus a few months later and within two years, the disease clearly killed him." Nyhan heaved a heavy sigh,
"Why didn't you take him with you after your mom died!" Hilary slammed the table,
"What do you think?" Nyhan raised an eyebrow, "That I didn't try?"
"Then-"
"Wait. He's my brother, first. Next, he is your friend. He used to tell me everything clearly apart from his whatsoever relationship with you and I, considering that personal; never bugged him too. I told him many times and once I came here in as well to take him but he eventually fought with me and told me to leave. I left and he didn't talk me ever since then. I don't understand what kind of course and studies he was studying in which he couldn't save his own mother OR his own self! And I curse every reason and cause for his reluctance to return"
I waited for you to come home,
I waited for you to come home.
Hilary sobbed and kept hands on her face, "Crying doesn't heal, Hilary." Nyhan got up, completely infuriated,
"Nyhan, you may leave," Margot said angrily,
"You considered him as a friend right or whatever. I'm not interested in relationships, but then, you're so close with him, each day. Didn't you notice something was wrong with him? Something was nagging him, that he was dying each day tortured by his own self. How could you be so blind?" Nyhan said completely implausibly, shaking his head in frustration,
Hilary's sobs only grew, she was convulsing and regretting,
"Nyhan STOP!" Delia shouted, feeling heated.
"Nyhan, Leave Right Now!" Margot said darkly, consoling Hilary,
"You left Ryan when he was in hospital, when he was put on ventilator-"
"Ryan was put on ventilator after Hilary left!" Margot yelped and looked sinister,
"WHATEVER! But my brother was in an Intense Care Unit and YOU left him! You left him! And yeah, you deserve it. You don't even deserve to see him dying. He died without seeing you." Nyhan said panting and sweating in fury,
"He didn't see you as well. You could have apologized him and talked to him as well!" Margot yelled,
"He never lifted my calls! He never did! I tried contacting the Dean, but the bastards never listened that I was his brother!" Nyhan yelled, "Ryan texted me that he was in hospital. He did! And when he did, I immediately flied to USA but till then, he was gone. I was there in hospital when you guys were lamenting but I left silently. I just kissed him once before I left, my dude, my brother, my Ryan," Nyhan's eyes finally shed afresh tears.
"Hilary, please stop crying, please," Margot tried shutting her,
"Nyhan, please leave. We will meet later." Delia said patiently,
"Hilary, tell me just one thing. You loved him, right?" Nyhan asked,
"I hell did! I tried understanding him but he never said anything to me, just pretended he was all fine-" Hilary said through angry tears,
"And he could tell you that you're feeling cold even when you pretended, didn't he?" Nyhan smirked with tears,
Hilary shut, "Yes, he did. He understood me way more than I ever did him," Hilary thumped on the couch, and looked blank and speechless,
"That's why I've wanted you to confess. You could have saved him. But sadly, the destiny didn't want you too," He said sarcastically before he walked off,
.
.
.
The qualifiers are over. Tyson and his team are at New York, waiting for the next battle to begin,
"Chief, you're not doing anything today." Tyson commented as he sipped his orange juice,
"What do you mean?" Kenny looked at him,
"You're not bugging me to practice, Kenny" Tyson laughed,
"Yeah, thank you," Daichi bowed before Kenny,
"Guys, please, don't disturb me; I'm busy tracking their moves, so back off for now. Tyson and Daichi, why don't you go and get some pizza from outside, I heard there is 50% off-"
Before Kenny could complete, the duo has stormed out leaving the smoky dust to rise behind.
Kenny coughed, "They are impossible,"
….
"Girls and boys! Here, here! Get ready for the next battle! It's featuring Black Chasm VS Light Shards! In this sweating summer of 2020, we still have the fury of our bladers rising over and over!" Jazzman was yelling at the top of his voice,
Tyson fanned himself as he stuffed the half pizza in his mouth, Daichi doing the same. Kai sighed and leaned into the seat.
Kai's eyes were about to close when they struck open when he caught the sight of a certain someone,
"Glorious! The first round is Rose VS Emma!" Jazzman squealed, "Brad who do you think will be tough on the other?"
"Rose?" Kai mumbles,
Rose holds her Beautiquer firmly and clenches as she makes her way to dish. Emma looks the same dark self with her red eyes on fire and her Sphero in her pocket,
"Bladers, are you ready?"
Emma takes a new Sphero out and both the bladers are ready to launch.
"3,2 and 1!"
Emma groans as she launches her blade and Rose is till calm,
Both the blades keep circling each other and the rapidity grows faster second by second.
"It seems that the entire dish will start spinning as well!" Brad laughs,
"Sphero! Light Flash!" Emma demands coolly,
Rose stares at her shortly and Beatiquer escapes her Light Flashes as Sphero flicks it all over and Rose is forced to fasten her speed to escape the attack. Rose twists her lips as a few flashes strikes her blade,
"Enough." Rose seethes, "Beatiquer, Water Flash!"
Within seconds, Beatiquer launches a gush of stream on the Sphero and flies away on the edge of dish and the light flashes conduct in the little water pool in which Sphero has been trapped causing the blade to itself get electrified and receive shock before it loose its vigor and is involuntarily thrown out of the dish.
Everyone is dumbstruck except Kai and they say anything. Rose sighs in relief and wipes a hand on her sweaty forehead,
"An-and, and it's over! The first victory goes to Rose from Black Chasm!" Jazzman yells,
"I told you Jazz, Rose will win, I win the bet!" Brads squeals in joy,
"You seem to be in a liking," Daichi teased,
"Okay, we've next upcoming bladers." Jazzman mentioned, "It's Jake VS Robin!"
Tyson smirked.
"WHAT?" Ray asked confidently,
"I'm really excited to watch these two battle. It will be interesting"
"Jake isn't easy." Max mentioned,
"But I remember you've ended the battle quickly with him," Tyson reminded,
"Yeah, still."
"Robin is this quite, dangerous guy. He taught a good lesson to Logan that year," Daichi mentioned laughingly,
"Well, they DON'T seem to back off," Tyson noted.
Brequer and Perquin were clashing fiercely and their blades seemed to be worn out from the heat that the metal dish was radiating from their spinning.
"This dish is dangerous." Kai said with a deep frown.
"I can agree," Tyson nodded,
"It's killing the blades, they better back off or their blades will melt down!" Kenny cried,
"Jake, just stay." Rose demanded. Jake looked at her and saw the deep angry look in her eyes. He nodded.
"You're over," Robin smirked before Perquin dashed fiercely in vigor towards Brequer. Robin's smirked intensified and so was his speed. Jake closed his eyes tightly and wished the battle to end quickly.
"Of god, Robin is killing himself," Max sighed,
Before even Perquin made its way to Beautiquer, it ended blasting itself, astonishing the stadium. Kai just looked impervious and he closed his eyes.
Jake looked at Rose and she threw her scarf at him. He effortlessly caught it and caught his blade, burning hot blade in the scarf.
"I guess he will put the blade in the freezer for some time," Daichi sweatdropped,
Tyson blinked at him...
"And yeah, this victory goes to The Black Chasm!" Brad said full-fledged.
"The next battle is PPB ALL STARZ VS BLACK CHASM!" JAZZMAN announced and sighed, "It's already hot, so we get a break of two hours, so be back by then, people!"
The current champion ignored Jazzman's words and as soon as he was about to leave, he had his phone ringing.
"Now what," Tyson rolled his eyes as he lifted his call,
The corners of his lips came closer as he processed the information that was said to him on other side.
"I will be there, sir!" Tyson said frozenly in a high pitch voice saluting suddenly,
Tyson's brows panicked and he gulped down harder as his eyes stood agape.
"What's the matter, Tyson?" Kenny asked,
"I TOLD you guys already! I got the call for job. I've to be there NOW! Tyson yelled impetuously,
"What?" They dead-panned," Are you serious?"
"I'm hell yeah serious!" Tyson shook violently
"But-"
"No buts. Listen up; I AM LEAVING, right now. And I'm assuming that you guys will take care of grandpa without my scrutiny. Please," He gave a last look to Daichi before he hopped away like light and disappeared.
"I-Is he crazy? He can't leave us in the midst," Ray shook his ahead,
"Now what do we do…" Max sighed looking far apart,
Kai shrugged and the team headed outside the stadium towards their cabin. Everyone was still talking about Tyson and his sudden departure. Daichi was with Gramps in other cabin beside.
"I can't understand that he still gives priority there than the tournament," Ray said twisting his lips,
"Look guys, he already said us so I guess he has the right to leave. Besides Tyson has worked too hard for this job from quite long," Max explained with down casted eyes, "Its Tyson's choice. He chose his job,"
With the agog of this conversation, Kai didn't say anything and rather looked a little perturbed.
Ray quirked his eyebrow at Kai, "Are you okay?" he asked him,
He gave a look to him and gave a single nod,
He rose from his single bed and headed out alone. Ray didn't follow him. Max and Ray along with Daichi following them later went to training room for practice.
A/N: Hope this chapter was interesting. There is something I've planned out. It's a surprise in the later chapters. Anyway, how was Nyhan here?
Yes yes, Delia has got a tiny crush on Nyhan right now. XD I'll elaborate on this in later chapters.
And yeah, you guessed right. Nyhan was there when Ryan was in Hospital on his last day. However, as per what Nyhan said here, Ryan already passed out when he went to see him. Just a reminder, Nyhan didn't even took part in burying rituals of his brother and neither did Hilary. Hilary went unconscious out of crying during that time and the burying rituals starting from cleaning the dead body, carrying it and burying it was done by some other family whose son also passed out the same time in that hospital when Ryan died. This fact was reported by Margot (or Delia; I dont remember) to Hilary when she woke up, later.
There is a huge mystery that comes in later chapters, so I thought to make this clear. Maybe I dropping hints.
And, as in Tyson's part, he's gone away from the tournament, seeking and hoping for his new job. What do you think about the tournament ahead and champion of this year now?
And thanks a lot to the previous reviewers for reviewing! ^-^ Thankyou guys!