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Chapter 3 - Bonds Broken

"It's been a week, Kai," Tala remarked calmly, "and I'm worried. He won't eat and he hardly comes out of his room. This whole affair has severely traumatized him. He's not the same Brooklyn that we know and love." "What do you want me to do about it?" Kai snapped with a glare, "he won't even look or speak to me. I'm the one who hurt him."

Tala stepped back in fear from the rage in his older brother's voice. He didn't like to see him this upset but since the confrontation with Hiro, Kai had changed and it was for the worse. It didn't help that the pedophile had left town. They had wanted to arrest Hiro but Brooklyn had flat out refused to talk; leaving only speculation over the true nature of their relationship. Hiro had been disowned by his father and grandfather; even Tyson had turned his back on him. Hiro didn't have anything left for him here except for the person he loved and he had left even that.

"Dinner's ready," Rei called as he stepped out into the hall from the kitchen, "is-" "No," Tala informed, cutting him off before he could mention the younger's name and flare Kai's temper even more, "he won't be joining us." Tala and Mariam had hoped that Rei would be able to pacify the phoenix somewhat if he stayed with them but even the tiger was at a loss of what to do. The uneasy silence was broken by the ring of the doorbell. Tala used it as an excuse to get away from Kai and his foul mood.

He was surprised to see a lavendar-haired man dressed in black leather standing before him. His hair was flat on his head since he had a helmet in hand and you could see a motorcycle parked in the driveway besides of Rei's Mini. "Bryan," Tala greeted as the two crushed their lips together in a quick but passionate kiss. "Tala," he replied, breaking away and with a cocky grin, "thought I would stop by and grab a bite since Rei is staying here." Tala chuckled since everyone loved the Neko-jin's cooking. It was legendary on the beyblade circuit among the teams.

"I am so glad that you are here," Tala remarked as he stepped aside to allow him entry before latching onto his gorgeous boyfriend, "between Kai and Brooklyn, I'm about to go crazy." "Do you want me to have a talk with the kid?" Bryan offered, "I do have experience in this matter if you remember what Balkov did to me when he coached our team."

"It's worth a shot," Tala sighed, "he isn't speaking to any of us including Rei and believe me, he has tried everything. We're afraid that he might start cutting again." Bryan shook his head sadly from the news and mumbled, "poor kid." He was about to disappear up the stairs before Tala grabbed him by the arm to lead him into the dining room where they were eating. There was no way that he was going in there alone.

Since Kai was in a bad mood, he would take it out on anyone who crossed his path. No one was safe from him including Rei. Bryan wouldn't take any crap off of anyone especially Kai. The two of them did not get along that well but at least Kai approved of Bryan. "Kuznetsov," Kai greeted, cooly as they walked into the dining room where Rei was laying out the meal as he sat at the head of the table.

"Kai," he replied with a smirk, "hello kitten." "Hello Bryan," Rei replied, ignoring the term as Kai growled from the pet name. Bryan only said it to get a rise out of Kai and had probably done it to try and snap him out of the foul mood that had permenated the house for the past week. They sat in silence as they ate as even Bryan gave up on conversation. Everytime Tala started to say something to try and get rid of the tension in the room, Kai would give him a patented death glare that made him go quiet.

That was until they heard soft footsteps come down the stairs and someone walk into the kitchen. It wasn't Mariam since she was out on a date with Ozuma, leaving only the boys home. Tala rose from his seat as Rei kept Kai in his own. He went into the kitchen to see the refrigerator open and Brooklyn standing in front of it. "We're having Chinese," he offered, making his little brother jump, "you are welcome to join us if you like."

Brooklyn turned his head and gave him a cold glare that made shivers run down his spine. It was ten times worse than any of Kai's. Brooklyn didn't say a word as he slammed the refrigerator door shut and stalked past. It seemed that he was still giving all of them the silent treatment as Tala sighed and rubbed his temples. He couldn't deal with this much longer and he was the most patient of his siblings.

He went back into the dining room as Rei was about to ask something but he shook his head before the words could even leave his mouth. Kai growled low in his throat and slammed his glass onto the table. "Did he say anything?" he ask, his glare focusedsolely on Tala. "No," he replied, trying to forget the cold look in his little brother's eyes, "he didn't get anything to eat either. Kai, this can't go on for much longer. The longer Brookie sulks and stews, the harder it will be to snap him out of this."

"I know that, Tala," Kai snapped as he slammed his hands on the table, making Rei jump, "and I don't know what the hell to do! I can't go through what happened after Dad died again!" The two brothers were too busy arguing with one another that they hadn't noticed that Bryan had disappeared from the table. He climbed the stairs quietly as he approached Brooklyn's room. He stopped to knock out of respect unlike Kai, who would just barge in without any regard. The crying seemed to stop after he knocked but not another sound came from the room.

He was surprised to turn the knob and find the door unlocked. He then remembered that Kai also had the bad habit of destroying doors with Dranzer as he smiled slightly before opening. The room was dark and Brooklyn was curled up in a ball on the bed and in clothes that appeared to have been worn for several days. He was cuddling his pillow to his chest with one hand but in the other he was holding an object that made Bryan gasp. The metal reflected off the little light that came in from the hallway as he studied it intently.

"That razor is not going to solve anything," Bryan remarked as the red, tear-stained eyes turned to him, "it only causes more problems. Cutting only hurts those who care about you. Sure it makes the pain go away but only for a little while until it returns again." "What do you know?" Brooklyn spat, his eyes narrowed and glaring, "so what if I do again? Kai deserves it. He deserves all the pain that I can give him for what he has done to me."

He dropped the pillow onto the bed and rubbed his thumb over the cool metal. He hissed slightly from the cut he received from the sharpness but then looked at the blood with a morbid fascination. He smiled as he licked it off. Bryan just stood there and watched with his arms crossed. Getting through to Brooklyn in his current mood was like trying to get through a brick wall. It was impossible if he didn't yield on his own.

"If Hiro loved you so much," Bryan continued, "then why did he leave you? He could have stayed and fought but instead he let you get hurt and ran like the coward that he is. All pedophiles are the same way. I should know since I was abused as a young teen by an older man. I thought he loved me until I found out he was just using me for his own demented purposes."

"LIES!" Brooklyn snarled as his eyes glowed a bright green, "Hiro loves me. He is not using me like all of you claim. I love him and that is all that matters. You don't understand like the rest of them. None of you understand and you all claim to be older and wiser than me."

"I do understand," Bryan tried to argue, "I was your age when I met Boris Balkov. He was nice at first until he wanted our relationship to become more physical. I wasn't ready for the emotions and feelings at your age that sex and a relationship brought. I acted like you are now when Tala confronted me about what was going on between us. Fortunately, my friends helped me see the light. That is what your siblings are trying to do for you right now."

"GET OUT!" Brooklyn shouted, throwing the razor at Bryan, who dodged it as Brooklyn grabbed a lamp, "GET OUT OF MY ROOM! LEAVE ME ALONE! I DON'T WANT ANY OF YOUR HELP! I DON'T NEED IT!" He threw the lamp at Bryan as well, who ducked and darted out the door. Brooklyn's fits of temper were worse than Tala's when he was mad or Kai even.

Several more objects hit the now closed door as Rei and Tala came up the stairs to investigate the noise. "No luck?" Tala ask as his Bryan shook his head and they listened to Brooklyn curse and rant in a mixture of Japanese and Russian. "He's a bigger drama queen than you are," Bryan chuckled, trying to lighten up the dark and somber mood but had no luck, "I tried talking to him about my experience with Balkov but he won't listen. He is not going to listen to a word that anyone says and I suggest that you keep a close eye on him. He was holding a razor when I went in. The look on his face suggests that he is going to start cutting again."

"Baka," Tala snapped, "the last time he cut, he nearly killed himself. What possesses him to do it?" "The same things that made me," Bryan shrugged, "I did it as a way to release the pain and raging emotions inside. It does make you feel better but you always do it again." Tala nodded since he understood and had saw all of the scars that littered Bryan's body.

"If it starts again," Rei remarked, "Kai is not going to be able to deal with this a second time. He was the one who found him before." Tala shivered from that particular memory and it was vivid in his mind even though it happened five years before. He had been fifteen and Brooklyn only ten when he had attempted suicide. Kai had found him in a bathtub of red tinted water with his wrists slit. He had been as pale as the white tile floor and they thought he had succeeded but fortunately the paramedics had arrived in time to get him to the hospital.

How could a child be so depressed to attempt such at that tender age? Tala all ready knew the answer to that question and it dealt with their grandfather who was sitting in jail from tax extortion and fraud. Brooklyn had spent several months with him after their father had died and he hadn't been like that before being in his custody. It made Tala wonder what their grandfather had done to make him so suicidal and accepting of death. He gritted his teeth together at the thought because it had been their loving grandfather who had suggested Boris as a coach for his team.

Tala suspected that Brooklyn had paid a visit to Balkov Abbey, where he and his teammates had trained for a while until they had gotten out of the man's control. It had been difficult but they had managed it after Bryan had accused the man of molesting him. Boris had tried to create artificial bit beasts for them to use but Tala had refused to let him touch his Wolborg blade. He wouldn't let anyone touch the white wolf that he had inherited from his Russian mother. Their father had Japanese heritage thanks to their grandfather but their mother, Catherine had been from Moscow.

That is where their odd last names had come from. Kai used their father's last name, Hiwatari but he went by their mother's maiden name which was Ivanov. Mariam also took their mother's maiden name while Brooklyn went by Hiwatari as well. Their mother had been part of the reason why their father had distanced himself from their grandfather. He hadn't agreed with his son's choice of a wife but their parents had been in love so why did he have a right to say anything about who he married.

They hadn't met their grandfather until after Brooklyn was born and their mother was dead. That was when he had come by their house for a visit and introduced himself. Kai had a memory of him when he had been little but he and Mariam had not met him until he was five and she was seven. He hadn't been interested in either of them; only Kai since he was his firstborn grandson. Oddly enough, he had shown an interest in Brooklyn as well and had offered to take another burden off of his hands but their father had refused the offer.

They hadn't seen him again until their father's funeral and when he had arrived with the proper papers to take Brooklyn away. Since Kai had been only seventeen, the judge had allowed the transfer of custody because of his age. The judge had thought a teen-ager couldn't be responsible for two teen siblings and a child so had granted custody to Voltaire. Brooklyn had been taken away, crying at the top of his lungs and pleading to stay with them. When they had saw him again, it was like he was an entirely different person.

The happy, outgoing child they had known had been replaced by a quiet, shy and timid Brooklyn, who wouldn't speak to anyone without their permission. He had also refused to look anyone in the eye and instead would timidly look at the floor. Kai had been furious to say the least by the change in his personality and behavior. He had went to Russia to get him back along with his teammates, their parents and Mr. Dickerson. Something had obviously happened while they were there that Kai refused to speak of even to this day.

When they met the group at the airport on their return, Kai came off the plane first carrying Brooklyn, who had his arms wrapped tightly around him and his face buried in the crook of his neck. He had refused to allow Kai out of his sight for the first few days they were home and had clinged to him as though his life depended on him. It had taken a few days for he and Mariam to get use to Brooklyn's behavior since he had been quite independant before. Then they had to deal with the arrival of Mizuhara Judy, Max's mother, who offered to stay with them until Kai turned eighteen. It had been part of the bargin to get Brooklyn away from their grandfather and for a few months either Judy, Mr. Dickerson or Tyson's Dad or Grandpa could be found at their house. It had been quite nice after everything they had went through to have a semi-normal life if only for a little while.

Brooklyn had calmed down by this point and was listening to their conversation through the door. They all thought he was freak for his behavior and how he was determined to harm or kill himself. He should have been a carefree teen but no he had to be plagued with all these problems. He heard Tala murmur something about Russia as he tried to repress those memories deep inside of his conscious mind. He didn't want to think about the torture he had endured there because of their dear, loving Grandfather.

Voltaire was sick and twisted and now he had to live with the torture he had suffered at his hands. That damn bird still got inside of his head at times even though Zeus had tried to get rid of the horrid memories that accompanied it. The memories of people screaming and dying around him; all because he had touched a beyblade that was forbidden. "I can't stay here any longer," he whispered, grabbing his backpack and dumping the contents on the floor of his room, "I have got to leave now while I have the nerve and chance. I have got to find Hiro. He's the only one who can make these nightmares go away."

He threw a few items of importance inside of it like his MP3 player, his sketchbook, a journal and a few articles of clothing. As Rei's voice raised in the hallway, he climbed out his window into the tree. Even though he hadn't ate much in the past few days, he still had enough energy to jump down from the branches and take a last look at the place he had once called home. "This is no longer my home," he murmured as he turned away, "It will never be again." He then turned and ran away into the night; leaving behind everything that he had known and at one time trusted.

Astera Snape

R & R