RTC: Hi everyone! Well, I got more reviews then I expected the last chapter, thank you! If there are any new readers, which I doubt, I hope you're understanding everything so far!
Ray: Hey, can you help hold Kai down?
Kai: I don't know why I'm here! I'm not even in the fic!
RTC: Your dead body is and therefore you're staying!
Max: (Sweat drops.) Well, you should be warned that this chapter is a bit emotional, sometimes the POV will change without warning and there is a bit of 'colourful' language.
RTC: Disclaimer please!
Kari: Ray-Tiger-Cat does not own Beyblade, she just owns me, the other OCs and the plot.
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Burial
The G-Revs stood and stared at the body of their friend, team captain and brother, with faces full of sorrow. Today was the day of his viewing and he'd be buried the following day and many of them were still trying to get their heads around the whole thing. Mr. D. had gotten Lizzie and Lynn and all three of them had flown out to Russia.
"He looks so peaceful," Lizzie whispered, grief evident in her voice.
"I know, it's so hard to know that he's gone!" Kari had replied. They had chosen to bury Kai not in a suit and tie, but a pair of cargo pants and a baggy sweatshirt because as Tyson put it, 'it's a-not-so-average outfit for a not-so-average-friend'.
"Can you believe it's been almost four years since we met him, guys?" Max asked.
"No, it doesn't feel like it's been so long. Man, I still remember the first time we met him-he was such a jerk back then! Who knew he could turn into such a good friend?" Tyson replied, having been first to meet Kai, and except for Tala and Kari, having known Kai longest.
"Yeah, I sensed that hostility from the minute I saw you guys," Ray remised.
"I thought he was so rude too, at first," Hilary said, weeping at her first impression of him, "Who knows how nice we'd have turned him, if it weren't for this?" The team tried to laugh but the fact remained that Kai was gone. And not coming back.
"So, Tala, when is your team getting here?" Daichi said, trying to change the topic. Even thought he hadn't been anywhere as close to Kai as the others, he was devastated by his death.
"I don't know, they said they'd get here as soon as they could, so they may show up at any minute... I think the other teams are coming tomorrow, for the funeral," Tala replied, choking on the last word. The normally stoic teen had been depressed and quite a bit more emotional than usual lately, but that was to be expected.
"That's good," Lizzie mumbled, and then started up the water works again and had to escorted out of the room by her brother. Ray, surprisingly, had become almost as distant as Kai had been when they'd first met him, practically overnight. He was flat out not dealing with his emotions, and that couldn't be good.
The rest of the team looked at Kai's pale face after the viewing. It had been a hard few hours, dealing with fans, the press, and a whole bunch of random people who thought it would be nice to barge in on their grief. Fortunately, the B-Boys showed up and kicked anyone that wasn't supposed to there out.
"Well, shall we put them in then?" Kari asked, taking the lead and the others nodded in agreement. Slowly the group approached the coffin, and placed the trinkets they wanted Kai to keep in the coffin with him and mumbled their good byes. Kari and Lizzie gave Kai a quick peck on the cheeks before the coffin was shut and taken away.
The following morning dawned sunny and warm, for Russia, anyway. The team picked their weary bodies up and proceeded to get themselves ready for the funeral in complete silence. It seemed everyone was too absorbed in their thoughts to reach out to the others. Slowly, they emerged from different rooms, clad in somber clothing. Most of the guys were wearing black suits, though Tyson and Kenny were in white (AN: I read somewhere that in Japan, white is the colour for mourning.), the girls were in all in skirts or dress pants, and all of them wore an expression that could only be described as pure agony. There was also a spark of determination, possibly to keep silent, possibly to get through the funeral without breaking down. The honk of a car snapped them out of their trances; it was the car Mr. Dickenson had arranged to take them to and from the gravesite. Slowly, the team made its way out to the car and climbed in.
When the G Revolutions got there, they realized, much to their dismay, the press was still following them around.
"Can't you see we're trying to get some privacy here?! Can't you people just fuck off?" Tyson screamed, the silence finally broken. Some members of the team shook their heads, that was Tyson for you, and others just snapped their heads up, as if they hadn't realized where they were and Tala sent death glares to the press, as if daring them to do something. The scream had caught the attention of some of the other teams that were already there, and together, they all managed to calm Tyson down and drag him off.
"Come on, everyone is here, so we can start now," Hilary whispered to Kari, both looking scared at the prospect of going through with the 'event'. Kari, like Ray had become more of a loner the past few days, Tyson was, obviously, angry, Tala was shocked, Lizzie depressed, and the rest of the team had been numb.
The next thing Tala remembered was standing at the side of a really big hole, one where one of his best friends was going to lie in for an eternity. He sighed, life was not fair, Tala knew that, but he had never expected life to be this unfair. The others hadn't really been handling things too well, either, especially not Kari. She had grown up having at least another person in her family and now she was alone. He wanted to comfort her, but he knew now was not the time to confront her, she would blow her top if he said the wrong thing. Tala shook his head and thought, 'man, girls are so damn confusing'.
Kari wept, not realizing Tala was watching her. She too had been doing some heavy thinking and her decision surprised even her. I'm not going to go back to Japan, and I refuse to let another tear fall. I need to travel a bit until I feel like the other half of me is no longer missing.
Meanwhile, Max was also not doing so well. How on earth can he have died?! It isn't possible! Max, being the youngest on the team, had always looked up to Kai, really respected him and now he was not there anymore.
How dare he go off and die?! Tyson was fuming, the fact that he had shouted at the press was just a release mechanism, he was secretly angry with is former team captain, but unlike the thousands of times Kai had made him mad, this time he couldn't yell and scream at him and this time there would be no happiness when he came around.
Life sucks, was the only thing going through Ray's head. He hadn't been angry or depressed or anything else, for that matter. He felt only a sense of helplessness. How many times did he let the people he cared about down? (AN: Not yaoi! He meant as a friend!) Well, this would be the last time, Ray promised himself.
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RTC: Well what do you think? Nice, overly dramatic? I don't know what to think, this chapter pretty much wrote itself! Anyway, please review, even if you don't sign in I will reply!
Kai: (Tied down.) In other words, she has nothing better to do.
RTC: Oh be quiet! Why is it my muses are so mean?
Kai: Maybe because you keep torturing us?
RTC: Just review, please, I'll deal with my muses later! Bye!