Chapter 2 – Welcome back, brother
The day of the tournament in Dubai has finally arrived and everyone is excited and nervous at the same time as this is the last chance to prove themselves before going on to the finals. There are two divisions. Europe has its own tournament with their own bladers that are also competing for a final spot in the finals on Moscow. America and Asia are included in the other division and it is in this division that the Bladebreakers are fighting in.
The Bladebreakers were already at the stadium and it was time for their battle. It is agreed that Tyson will battle first and then Ray, and if they should go on to a third round, Max will battle.
Tyson was up against a guy named Jack which belongs to the team Sahara Stardust, a very unique name for a team. Tyson was enjoying his battle very much and there was no sign of him having any difficulty in beating his opponent. However, he did not want to stop battling just yet as he enjoyed his match against Jake, but after seeing that Tyson was just playing around now, Kai became very irritated and commanded Tyson to end the battle. "Jake, I really enjoyed our match and I would battle you anytime of the day, well, except meal times, because it really is fun battling against you, but unfortunately I have to end this."
Jake just smiled at Tyson. "Give it your best shot. It will be an honour to be defeated by you."
Tyson smiled back at Jake. "Dragoon, galaxy storm attack!" Dragoon attacked Jake's bit-beast full force and the match was over, with Tyson being the victorious one. He and Jake shook hands after they both picked up their blades and went down to their teams. There was a 10 minute break before the next battle will take place and it will be between Ray and Marzai.
Soon the break was over. "Go get them pussycat!" yelled Tyson.
Everyone laughed, except Kai as usually. He only gave Ray a nod which was more than enough for Ray. It is a rare occurrence for Kai to do that. Ray and Marzai took their places opposite each other at the dish.
"3...2...1...Let it rip!" The blades landed at the same time in the dish and neither one of them wasted time and both immediately called out their bit-beasts. Strangely, Marzai's bit-beast was also a tiger, just like Driger, but it did not have the same attacks as Driger. It was a very even battle, both opponents almost equal in all the statistics, Ray was slightly at an advantage seeing as he has been battling since he was a young child, and also for the fact that he has had Driger from a young age so the two had enough time to learn to trust each other. The tigers continued attacking each other head on in the air and in the dish the blades also continued attacking each other, but as the saying goes: 'all good things must come to an end'. Both fighters called on their final attacks and there was soon a cloud of dust after they attacked each other. After some time the dust has cleared and Ray's blade was still spinning where as Marzai's blade has stopped.
"And Ray is the winner! This also means the Bladebreakers are off to the finals! Congratulations are in order for them all!" The crowd went crazy, along with Tyson that was ecstatic. It was also made public where the finals will be held.
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The next morning the teenage boys were at the airport, and Kai spent the night with them, there was no old flame he had to go visit. Soon they were all seated and on their way to Moscow.
Kai and Mr Dickenson agreed that the rest of the team will be staying over at his family's mansion but the four boys had no idea so far, it was kind of a surprise for them. "Guys, do any of you know how to get to the hotel?"
"Just follow me Tyson."
"Aye aye, captain Kai." The teenage boys followed Kai out into the cold where he stopped in front of a very long black limousine. "Get in," was all Kai said to them.
"What?"
"Are you a retard Tyson?" "No." "So, get in. I said it in a language that you can understand."
"Fine, no need to be so rude Kai."
"Hn." The four boys got in and Kai followed them lastly. They were all, except Kai, shocked at how luxurious the car looked on the inside.
"This is so cool. I have always wanted to ride in a car like this. So Kai, how far is our hotel from here? Do you have shares or what at the hotel, seeing as we are being picked up in luxury?"
Kai just ignored Tyson and sat with his arms across his chest and his eyes closed. This did not bother Tyson and he continued talking as this is the kind of life he should be living seeing as he is destined for greatness. Everyone sweat dropped at Tyson's arrogant and obnoxious attitude, although they are used to it, but sometimes Tyson reaches a new height.
After some time the limousine drove through huge steel gates up towards a very huge mansion. The boys were all shocked, again except Kai, seeing as it his family's mansion. The car finally stopped in front of a set of stairs and Kai immediately got out. At the door were three people waiting, a teenage girl, a young man and an older man in his early fifties. It was Kai's twin sister, Solange, along with their older brother, Miguel and the older man was their butler, Gunvan.
"Err Kai, where are we?" Kai sighed and then turned towards them before he started walking up the stairs.
"This is the Hiwatari mansion, my home. You will be staying here along with me for the duration of the tournament, unless you prefer a hotel." The four boys were all very surprised.
"Awesome! Thanks so much Kai! This really means a lot to us!"
"Whatever." Kai went up the stairs and it was very obvious that his sister was very happy to see him as she ran into his arms. Kai in return was also very happy to see her as he hugged her tight and picked up.
"I have missed you so much," he softly said to her. Solange started crying. The two siblings continued holding each other tight with their eyes closed. The other teenage boys stepped up to where the siblings were standing. Ray cleared his throat to let Kai know that they were still there. Kai and his sister finally let each other go. His team mates immediately noticed a change in Kai; he seemed very relaxed, and almost happy. He had a small smile tugging at his mouth. He and Miguel have not acknowledged each other so far. "This is my twin sister, Solange."
"Sister? I had no idea you had a sister Kai."
"Yeah, well." Kai then finally faced Miguel. The two just looked at each other. "Kai."
"Miguel."
"This is my older brother, Miguel. And these are my team mates," Kai pointed to the teenage boys. "Tyson, Ray, Max and Kenny, and this is our most loyal staff member, and our butler Gunvan." Everyone shook hands and after the introductions, moved into the house towards the living room. Solange was the perfect hostess, she was so friendly and welcoming, the teenage boys immediately felt very comfortable and at home. They all hit it off with her the moment they were introduced to her. They were all seated comfortable on the couches, aside from Kai and Miguel who was not present at the moment, each with a drink in the hand and talking when they heard a loud crash. Solange immediately jumped up.
"You guys have to help me, that's Miguel and Kai!"
"Are you sure Solange?"
"Yes! Now come on!" The five teenagers ran upstairs and when they arrived on the first floor they saw Miguel and Kai throwing punches at each other, both hitting each other every time. Ray and Tyson came in between the two brothers and pulled them away from each other but not without a struggle.
"Why don't you just go back to your loony bin, you crazy bastard?!"
"I would rather go to jail for your murder, you coward!" Miguel and Kai were shouting very unsettling things towards each other and it did not make sense to the others, it was really upsetting them seeing the two siblings yelling such horrible things to each other. Kai struggled against Ray's hold as did Miguel with Tyson's hold; the two brothers were trying to get to each other so that they can continue fighting each other.
"Kai! Miguel! Stop it, please!" Solange was pleading with tears in her eyes with the two brothers, but they did bother with her because soon they both ripped from their hold and lunged at each other again.
Kai tackled Miguel to the floor and was on top of him continuously hitting with the fist, Miguel unfortunately did not get a chance to land a punch on Kai. Tyson and Ray grabbed Kai and pulled him off of Miguel and Solange and Max held Miguel down, preventing him to get up and lunge towards Kai. Tears were streaming down Solange's face as she continued pleading with her two brothers to stop fighting. Finally, after some time to the two brothers stopped with their struggling, but continued glaring at each other. Solange looked from Miguel to Kai and then back to Kai, she luckily stopped crying.
"What the hell happened?"
"You should know by now Solange, that idiot just won't let me forget my past. He enjoys tormenting me about it."
Solange faced Miguel. "How many times do we have to tell you to stop it Miguel, why do you enjoy hurting Kai? Are you jealous or what? How many times have our parents and grandfather asked you to let it go, leave the past in the past? How is Kai supposed to heal with you constantly opening up all his wounds?"
"Whatever, it is his past, not mine. I don't care."
"Exactly, it is his, not yours."
"Whatever. I am out of here." Miguel and Kai glared at each other once more before Miguel left and went back down stairs. Kai just looked at everyone and also turned around and headed for his room where he slammed his door shut very hard. Solange started developing tears in her eyes again.
"What was all that about? What past was Miguel talking about?" Solange sighed.
"That is something Kai has to tell you guys, it is not my place to tell. You guys can go down to the kitchen and get something to eat. There are staff members that will help you if you want something. I am going to talk to Kai."
"Will he be alright, Solange?" She smiled sadly at Ray and just nodded her head before she headed to Kai's room.
The four teenage boys went down stairs and Solange entered Kai's room, she did not bother knocking. Kai was lying on his bed with his arms behind his head, staring up at the ceiling.
"Why does Miguel hate me so much? We were always best friends when we were younger."
"I wish I knew the answer to that, Kai. It hurts me seeing you fight like that, I love you both and I can't take it seeing you hurt each other like that." Kai sat upright and faced Solange. He took her hand in his.
"You shouldn't let it upset you like that, Solange. It is not worth it. I am sure that in the future the two of us will sort out our differences; we just have to get past that phase where we just want to kill each other." Kai then pulled Solange into an embrace. They just held each other for a few minutes without saying anything.
"Tyson and the others were asking about what all that was about, I guess you should tell them."
"I will, I just don't know when, and also, I don't know how they will react. It is not like they are used to hearing that kind of stuff, well at least not from someone our age. They were all raised with morals." The two siblings started to laugh.
"We were also raised with morals, the only difference being that our morals went flying out the window the day we hit puberty. I am sure you will find the perfect way to tell them without shocking the living daylights out of them, but I guess you can't wait too long to tell them. Just imagine what will happen if Miguel decides to tell them, and I am sure he will not do it subtly." The two siblings laughed at this.
"He definitely will go out of his way to make it look much worse than it really should be. I will see if I can tell them later, as long as it happens today, I just want to get it out of the way so that we can all move on and then start preparing for the tournament." Solange gave her brother a hug before she stood up. She headed for the door and just before she walked out, she turned towards Kai with a sweet smile on her face.
"I am really glad you are back Kai, I really missed you." Kai smiled back at her. "Likewise Solange. See you in a bit." Solange left and Kai decided to lie a bit longer before joining his team mates.
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It was night time n Moscow. Everyone at the Hiwatari mansion has finished eating their dinner and as usual, Tyson has finished almost everything in sight. The five teenage boys decided to battle each other for a little practice. Ray and Max were first to battle each other with Max winning. Tyson and Kai were next but Kai did not seem much focused on the game and Ray noticed it, actually, Ray had been observing Kai since they sat down for dinner. It was clear something was bothering him and Ray knew better than not to ask.
"Dragoon tornado storm attack!" Tyson's blade hit Kai's blade out of the dish and it landed at Kai's feet. Kai didn't seem too bothered about it and this shocked all of his team mates.
"Kai, are you okay?" Kai just looked at Tyson but it wasn't his usual cold stare, he almost looked sad.
"Guys, there is something I have to tell you and you will not like it. Please take a seat." They all sat down cross-legged on the carpet, they sat in a circle and they all faced Kai. "I guess by now you know that I was living here in Moscow before I met you guys back home." They all nodded their heads. "I moved there about a year ago, I had to."
"Had to?" asked Ray.
"Yeah, things happened that made my parents decide it will be for the best if I leave from here. When I was 13, I met this incredible girl; it was love at first sight. We immediately hit it off. She was new at our school, and we became friends very quick. Almost all our classes were the same so we saw a lot of each other. At first I was shy to tell her how I felt but soon I realised that she felt the same way about me so I made a move and asked her out and she agreed. From then on we were inseparable. My whole family adored her, although I never met her family. They sent her here from China so that she can get a better education and she hardly went home. When we were 15, we both have matured so much and we both realised that what we had was not just a simple high school crush, it was real love, true love. I just could not picture my life without her; we have grown together and have already been through so much together. Then 1 night we did something, out of love, but back then we did not realise that it will be the start of the end for our love." Kai paused and closed his eyes as if he was reliving that moment. He opened his eyes and started talking again. "That night we made love for the first time."
All the other boys were shocked at what Kai had just said, although they didn't say anything, but Kai could see it on their faces. He sniggered inwardly at this; it was amusing to him to see them so shocked upon hearing that a 15 year old had sex. After getting over their facial expressions, Kai continued with the story. "I was her first and she was mine so we both had no experience of what we were doing, we just went with the flow. But we both knew this is what we wanted and it felt so right, like our bodies were made only for each other. Well, after that night we continued doing it, not only out of lust, but out of pure love. We never referred to it as us having sex, for us it was making love as that is what we felt for each other. After a month and a half, I found her crying one afternoon. She just looked at me and then handed me a pregnancy stick which showed positive. I was shocked, I mean I knew I wanted children with her but not at 15, we both are still kids. I did not know what to say and just sat down next to her, I couldn't hug her: I was just too shocked." Kai stopped talking and just looked towards the floor. Ray, who was seated next to Kai, placed his hand onto Kai's shoulder to show support. No one spoke a word, not even Tyson dared to say anything. They all knew they had to give Kai a moment as it was clear it was a very painful memory for him. When Kai regained his composure, he looked up at them all. They were not shocked, they all looked concerned, concerned for him. And this touched Kai; there were no signs of judging or of disgust, nothing, and this Kai appreciated a lot. He decided to continue with the story. "Now I am sure you all want to know where my child is, right?" They all silently nodded their heads. "Well, I don't have a child. I never had one."
"What?"
They all asked in unison. Kai just smirked at this.
"But I thought your girlfriend was pregnant."
"She was but she went for an abortion." Now this, the teenage boys were shocked about and Kai can't blame them for it, after all, abortion is the same as murder. "I was against it but she wasn't it. After we both recovered from the shock, we talked about it and I convinced her that we will make it. My family will never cast us a side and will always be there for us and support us, and I thought and hoped that I had convinced her enough to keep our baby. I realised that I was having a baby with the woman I love more than life itself so after I accepted it, I was over the moon with joy, and I thought she was too. Two weeks went by after we found out that she was pregnant. My parents were a little disappointed in the beginning which is normal but they were there for us. My mother immediately took my girlfriend under her wing and started making plans on what to get the baby, how she should start eating, and all those pregnant stuff. It was clear my mother was very happy that she is becoming a grandmother. Both my parents were happy, Solange didn't really understand, or let me say, she didn't want to understand. She was losing her best friend and, as she put it, 'all because her brother couldn't keep it in his pants'."
The boys all laughed at this, even Kai joined in the laughter but soon he continued with the story. "Solange was still supportive; Miguel, I don't know. That was when our relationship started deteriorating, I still do not know the real reason and he just refuses to talk about it. Soon, three weeks had passed since we found out about the pregnancy. I still remember it was a warm day, a really nice day and I decided that I wanted to do something nice with my girlfriend but I never reached her that day. I tried calling, I called her friends, I went over to the dorms where she was staying and no one has seen her although all her stuff were still there. I wanted to go to the police but it was not 24 hours so I had to wait. Even my family started getting worried. That night, around 10 o' clock I got a phone call, it was her. I immediately knew something was wrong. I could tell she was crying. I asked her what was going on, where she was, all those questions and all she said to me was that she loved me so much that she didn't want to ruin my life and be a burden on me and that she decided to go for an abortion; that it was for the best. She said that I should forget about her and move on and never look for her and then she hung up. As you can imagine, I did not take it well. I destroyed everything that was in my way until I collapsed. I got admitted to the hospital and was sedated for a while. I finally found the courage to tell my parents what she had said and they were also devastated. From then on everything went downhill. I fell into a deep depression; I didn't care about anything or anyone. I started hanging with the wrong crowds, left school, started drinking and doing drugs, got involved in a lot of fights, I started mistreating girls and women; I just used them for sex. My parents were desperate; they did not know what to do anymore. My father even hired people to find her but it was like she just disappeared from the face of the earth. The breaking point for my parents came when they found me one morning in my bathroom covered in blood and with a needle in my arm. I don't really remember what happened but according to the doctors, I had high levels of alcohol in me and had injected myself with heroin, oh yeah, and I slit both my wrists. It was a miracle I survived at all. After that I got admitted into a mental institution where I stayed for three months and when I got released I was prescribed anti-depressants for a year, that was also when my parents decided it will be for the best to send me away so that I can start new somewhere else and recover probably. That's how I ended up in Beycity and as they say, the rest is history."
Kai said the last statement with a sad smile. The teenagers just sat there, looking at Kai. They did not know what to say, what can they say after their cold, heartless captain just shared the most painful time of his life with them? Kai was starting to feel uneasy as they all just looked at him, concern visible in their eyes. Then suddenly Max got up and hugged Kai. This shocked Kai totally and he hesitated for a while on what to do but soon he gently patted Max's back with one hand.
Soon, the remaining teenagers stood up and they all embraced Kai in a group hug. After they all sat back down, Ray was the first to speak. "Kai, we know it must have been difficult to share that with us as we all know that you always keep to yourself, but we all feel honoured that you shared it with us. I cannot imagine how difficult it must have been to go through that entire trauma and I don't think I will ever know, but I really appreciate it that you took the time and shared those intimate details of your past." The other boys all nodded in agreement.
Kai just smiled at them. "And we don't care what you did in the past Kai; it is in the past after all. What we care about is the future and we want you to stay part of our present and of our future."
"Thanks Tyson, I really appreciate it. I just had to tell you guys, I am sure Miguel would have loved to tell you first but I will not give him that satisfaction, he probably would have made it sound much worse than it really is. I was nervous at first for telling you, I was not sure how you would react as I never heard any of you guys talk about mature stuff like sleeping with girls or parties or those kind of stuff." For some reason the boys all blushed at this and again, it was very amusing for Kai to see it.
"Don't worry Kai, we will never hold it against you, maybe we will even ask for your advice in the future if it comes to sleeping with girls." Everyone burst out in laughter about what Tyson had said.
"Sure Tyson, I am sure you will ask for advice from me." Kai was being sarcastic at that moment and everyone picked up on it except Tyson. "But enough talk, we should get to bed. I am glad I told you guys, it feels like a ton of bricks have been lifted from my shoulders, however, it does not change anything. I am still your captain, and I will continue with the way I was before, but at least I know we all grew a little closer just now."
"I agree, we did, and you being cold, I would not want you any other way Kai, all of us."
"Hey! Speak for yourself Ray, I am not really a fan of the whole 'Mr Sourpuss' thing."
"That's just too bad Tyson, now get to bed! All of you!" "Aye aye captain Kai!" The teenagers left and went upstairs. Kai continued sitting for a while, lost in his thoughts. 'I love you Cindy, always have and always will. I will never stop loving you.' He soon also stood up.
