Here we go for new chapter. Hope you enjoy and sorry for the wait.
Chapter 17: In Japan
-At The Airport-
Tyson was running right inside the airport and headed towards the bathroom with sweat all over his face. He was holding it in and tried to run past other people.
'I told you to go the bathroom before we leave!' Kenny yelled after Tyson who just kept running past everyone in a hurry and shouted sorry word over and over again. Max laughed along with Bruce and Dickenson. Grandfather instead was shouting lectures but in vain since Tyson had disappeared already.
Kai and Sara were standing behind them at pillars shadow. They were hot and hoped shade would help a little bit at least.
'I'll go get the tickets. You kids wait here,' Bruce smiled and took everyone's passports, even Kai's and Sara's.
'Maybe everyone should check theirs need before we go the plane. We don't want to end up like Tyson just now,' Max suggested happily. Rest of the adults and Kenny agreed to that. Max and Kenny left for bathroom again while elders sat down.
'They are lively bunch, aren't they?' Sara spoke quietly but she wasn't whispering yet. Kai ignored her comment and crossed his hands. They gave out too familiar feeling and without Ray, it felt even more empty. Kai's fingers gripped hard against his own arm and he gritted his teeth, Unfortunately for him, it didn't go unnoticed.
'Something wrong?' Dickenson asked worryingly.
'Nothing,' Kai stated and put his arms back into his pockets. Even though Kai had hood over his head covering his eyes, it was clear Dickenson wasn't buying it.
'I know Ray was friend of yours and it's clear that you knew about his teammates,' Dickenson slightly touched Kai's shoulder, 'I'm happy that Tyson and others can laugh so happily but they do feel emptiness Ray left behind too. Just know that you can talk with us about everything. Ray, weather, beyblading. It's up to you.' Dickenson added and left Kai and Sara alone again.
'It was about that, wasn't it? Sharp for an old man,' Sara said, 'I don't recall but where do you plan on staying in Japan?'
'I'll think of something. Even an empty warehouse is better than Tyson's place,' Kai snorted.
'I'll agree on that but maybe with different reasons,' Sara smirked. Kai glanced at elders who were sitting together again and saw Bruce coming back with tickets.
'Rick?' Sara suddenly said next to him. Kai turned around and saw Rick walking up to them calmly, but he had stressed look on his face.
'What are you doing here?' Sara asked.
'I thought I should let both of you know something. Everything's slow now but I have a feeling it's going to change at some point,' Rick said.
'What?' Sara was obviously worried and Kai was more relaxed people would say. He did yell out he hated Christian but he couldn't admit it yet entirely that he didn't mean it.
'It's Tina and Lara… maybe Mike too but everyone is on edge and all three of them challenged Sir's authority,' Rick said.
'Seriously?' even Kai was puzzled. What he had learned was that you never should so that.
'It's about him bending rules when it comes to Kai here. I could tell that Tina and Lara don't like the fact he went easy on you. You realize that, don't you?' Rick spoke seriously.
'What of Mike then?' Sara asked.
'He stepped on Sir's toes the most and Sir was very pissed. You could cut the atmosphere with a knife,' Rick explained in detail what everyone had spoken there.
'Sir's rules a tough and I do agree with some of them,' Rick added to the end.
'On what?' Kai growled.
'I think Sir went soft on you. And that shows favouritism and when it comes to them or us… it's not a good thing,' Rick stated firmly back.
'I'll be fucking happy to stay away from that place! And you!' Kai shouted but Sara grabbed his arm to quiet him down.
'Do you think something is going to happen?' Sara asked right after.
'Who knows? Let's just say that you leaving away to Japan for a while is good move for a while. I'll call if there are any updates,' Rick said.
'Gee, thanks,' Kai sighed and sat down, but he didn't sound happy at all.
'Is there a problem here?' they heard Bruce's voice in front of them.
'Does everyone in your family eavesdrop?' Rick smirked but his tone was annoyed. Dickenson and grandfather had also walked up to them.
'No one didn't intentionally. We just heard Kai here yell out and saw you talking with them,' Bruce answered but he was clearly watching Rick's moves. Kai could only guess why, because of their last encounter and so many other things.
'You can leave then. I'm not finished yet,' Rick said and turned to Sara mostly.
'Yes, you are!' and everyone knew who that was. Kai rubbed his forehead, Tyson.
'Tyson, don't yell,' Kenny stuttered since he didn't like yelling in public places, expect for bey-stadium. But Tyson ignored Kenny and stepped next to Kai the way he was in front Rick and Kai.
'Are you going to threaten them to keep quiet?' Tyson blurted out and to that Kai stood up and grabbed Tyson's shoulder.
'Shut up. It's nothing like that!' Kai warned.
'Yeah, don't jump into some conclusion here. Rick is friend of ours and he is Sir… Christian's left hand basically,' Sara spoke too but more happily. Though, she wasn't used to call her older brother with his name.
'Come on kids. Let's go. Plane is leaving,' Dickenson began to lead Tyson and others to the plane first but waited for Kai and Sara to follow.
'I'll call when plane is down Rick,' Sara promised and took her bag before moved away. Kai took his bag too but stopped for a while before turning to Rick again.
'Just… take care of him, would you?' Kai asked quietly.
'Obviously,' Rick nodded with calm and genuine smile. Everyone walked towards the gates but Bruce stayed behind for a while. Rick turned to leave as well but Bruce stopped him. Rick's angry eyes startled Bruce a bit and he did let go of Rick's hand.
'You have said it yourself and we have heard it. You have harmed other people, even killed, but you and Christian don't seem to care. It's also obvious all three of you are loyal to him to the most,' Bruce started.
'Three?' Rick smirked.
'I did hear about your talk a little a moment ago and what I understood, is that things are hectic over there and that's why Kai and Sara are allowed to leave with us. But we both know they are expected back there, aren't they?' Bruce asked. Rick pulled his hood up a little bit to show his face better.
'Obviously and we both know why. They don't belong with you here,' Rick turned to walk away, 'I hope you take care of your son and his friends. No one wants to repeat what happened before.'
'Before?! Wait!' Bruce grabbed Rick again but this time Rick pulled his arm away.
'We know what you know because Kai and Sara have told us. About how those brats found out about Kai's and that black-haired kid's friendship and we can guess the rest. And we know their father was friend of yours but you really didn't know him, did you?' Rick spoke and Bruce was frozen still.
'I bet you think that befriending them you can keep them away from Christian but don't forget. They are killers too and Christian is their older brother. And if they do decide to spill… let's just say it won't be pretty,' Rick stepped closer, 'Let me warn you directly… When Kai and Sara are called back, they come back. Unless, you want to repeat the past again and let your son die.'
Bruce watched Rick walk away with stern shoulders and disappear outside. Bruce let out a breathe he didn't know he was holding. One minute Rick was happy, calm, serious and then… like a monster. A very cold person who didn't care for human life. Bruce recalled Christian when they first met and he let out similar vibe.
'BRUCE! Gate is open!' Bruce heard others call out to him. Bruce gazed at the front door while walking to the gate.
'Just… take care of him, would you?'
'Don't forget. They are killers too and Christian is their older brother.'
'Unless, you want to repeat the past again and let your son die.'
Bruce soon realized that the change of Kai or Sara telling them anything was really small.
'Their father was friend of yours but you really didn't know him, did you?'
'Susumu… were you really… Who were you?'Bruce thought by himself. He glanced Kai and Sara while on the plane and saw how calm and collected they looked. Sara seemed a little worried and it was most likely about her older brother. Reality of this situation hadn't sunk in yet entirely. Bruce's thoughts were messy, heavy and he decided to keep his talk with Rick to himself for a moment. He wanted to at least try do something. Kai clearly wasn't happy about what he had done and not even proud, but Rick wasn't wrong in a sense. Kai has said it himself that he has killed even little kids.
'They belong with us. Not with you.'
The more Bruce thought about Kai's words to them, to Bruce himself or on his own, he was even more sure of the fact that Kai didn't belong with his brother. Not the way how they were proud and happy killing others at least, but as a sibling, yes.
'They don't seem to treat him like a little brother,' Bruce wondered.
'Is something wrong?' Dickenson asked next to him and clearly worried.
'No. Just worried about that kid back in the airport,' Bruce answered.
'Before the plane left I quickly texted the police to inform him about our encounter with that Rick kid,' Dickenson revealed.
'Mind telling us what you said to him?' Tyson's grandfather Ruy asked from behind them. Dickenson took his phone out and showed them the message directly.
'Hi. This is Stanley Dickenson. I, Ruy Granger, Bruce Granger, Kai Hiwatari, Sara Queens and Bladebreakers are on the way to plane right now. We just encountered that kid called Rick you met before along with Mike and Christian. I liked to inform you that we heard Rick, Kai and Sara's talk a little bit and it looked like things are… difficult? in that mansion of theirs. Along with the fact, they expect Kai and Sara back there after some time. Mr. Dickenson.'
'It doesn't look like they have replied back yet,' Bruce noted.
'We'll see if they do but let's put this behind us for now. We do have to be careful in Japan too and be wary of rumours that are bound to appear at some point,' Dickenson stated firmly.
'I can agree on that,' Bruce sighed. He glanced at his son and others who looked like they were having fun as usual. Like nothing had happened in China for the past days.
-In The Mansion At The Same Time-
Mike was going through their count and work papers and drinking some blood. Rick had been for a while and Mike first thought it was weird for Rick to go hunting on his own without anyone telling him to do so. Mike smirked soon afterwards and closed the books. It was clear that he went to see Kai and Sara off but he didn't know why. Christian was at his office watching the future again and recall the clues they had found previously.
The only clear thing was that humans kept disappearing in different areas of China. It had spread farther away from the town they were in and even White Tiger's village had missing people. Papers in internet were reporting about White Tiger beyblading team and about their well-being since fans were worried for them too.
'Maybe…' Mike pondered. He stood up and quickly walked to the Christian's office.
'Sir?' he knocked and got permission to enter.
'What is it?' Christian was still clearly annoyed but Mike kept his composure.
'Sir, I just thought that maybe we should… It's very risky and may cause few humans to die but we don't need to care for that,' Mike struggled with his words. Christian looked at Mike with narrowed eyes quietly.
'Maybe we should wait for the first ghoul wave to appear? Maybe that way we can find the vampire behind it. We can't find any more clues other way, Sir,' Mike ended his talk and tried to guess Christian's thoughts from his expression. But it was like reading a wall, nothing. But now that Kai and Sara were away, it seemed that Christian got his original and badass attitude back, looking more stronger too.
'I looks like he gained strength back,' Mike thought.
'It does look that way,' Christian said, 'In that case… just continue doing what you usually do. It's not like we have anything better to do.'
'Alright. Yes, Sir,' Mike bowed a bit and walked out.
'It looks like we can see a bloodbath,' Tina said smiling as Mike stepped out.
'Let's see if this is as bad as last time,' Mike nodded.
'According to the visions, yes,' Tina recalled. Mike smiled and stretched his arms. This was going to be a long night since they had only two sets of hand working on the field this evening until Rick comes back and Lara comes out of her room.
-In Japan After Three Hours-
'We are back!' Tyson yelled out. Why? Because some fans were outside of the airport meeting them. Kai and Sara kept back and Kai had even hood over his head even thought it was night-time, while Sara showed her entire look. He even backed hid behind the wall and some fans found it odd or funny.
'Why is your friend hiding, Champ?!' they called out. Without thinking, like always, Tyson grabbed Kai's wrist and pulled him next to him. Luckily, he didn't touch the hood.
'What are you doing?' Kai growled but Tyson kept his hold.
'This is new friend of mine kids!' Tyson introduced.
'Stop it Tyson,' Max whispered to Tyson right after but not in time before fans began asking more questions. Who? When? Where? Did he beyblade? Was he good? And so many others. Dickenson stepped in and embraced both Kai and Tyson.
'This here is friend of Ray's actually. We met him at the party. He befriended Tyson and others and has come visit us in return,' Dickenson explained skilfully. Some reporters at the scene were taking notes of the situation. Kai pondered if that was going to cause trouble. Luckily, fans were satisfied and were even jealous of Kai's connection to Bladebreakers.
'Let's go now,' Dickenson pushed Kai and Tyson along with him and others followed. With quicky words, they stepped in a van and drove to Granger's dojo. They even passed the river where Kai had met Tyson the very first time.
'All of you can stay at our dojo while you are here. Max and Kenny can stay overnight too but tomorrow they can go their own homes,' Dickenson said before leaving himself.
'Awesome! Night party!' Tyson celebrated but got hit in the head, again.
'You kids need to sleep k-man,' Ruy reminded, 'Besides we have many mouths to feed here.'
'Oh, that's okay,' Sara said with her hands politely in front of her, 'We can find food on our here and besides, I want to see this town at night.' Sara took Kai's arm and pulled him away with her.
'It's already late and we do have food for everyone,' Bruce said.
'Don't bother. We can find it on our own,' Kai grunted at first but sighed a bit, 'Thanks though.' Kai walked towards the park and Sara followed him closely behind him.
'But do come sleep with us here!' Tyson yelled after them. Kai simply raised his hand and continued walking.
'Why would they leave?' Max asked, 'I know they know what we know but still.'
'Maybe that jerk told them to stay away from us!' Tyson stated.
'Maybe or they don't want to bother us or cause trouble,' Kenny said.
'Trouble?' Max wondered.
'Tyson, did you forget what… well, who they were?' Bruce asked. He recalled Rick's words again, They are killers too.
Tyson glanced at his father and looked puzzled before a light pulp lightened up.
'Oh, right…' Tyson laughed nervously.
'We did forget this a little bit but even with good intentions we might have, it won't change the fact what they have done and if press finds about it… It's the end of Bladebreakers careers,' Bruce said.
'Do you think they left on purpose knowing that? Really? I don't think they care about it,' Tyson said.
'Maybe Kai does actually. Ray was his friend and I doubt he wants to see your careers end because of it. And maybe it's not their attention but they clearly don't want to be seen in papers. Let's just give them their space and do what we usually do when friending people,' Bruce answered.
'If we assume that Ray knew what Kai has done,' Tyson reminded matter of factly.
'At the end Ray did. Didn't Kai say something about Ray following him when he shouldn't have?' Kenny asked as they walked inside the dojo. This was a conversation to be talked inside.
'But that also implies that Ray didn't know about Kai's past even though they were friends,' Tyson countered back but he didn't sound angry. Meeting Christian might have some effect on Tyson's final opinion of Kai at least.
'Who knows. Let's just eat and sleep over the night,' Ruy yawned and headed for the kitchen.
At the end. Let's see how this goes. Trying not to make this messy storyline. Going to Japan might be little weird but let's see how it works. :)
Do review) They are welcome