Thanks to Lady of the Damned Land for being my first reviewer.

Disclaimer: I'm only doing this once. I do not own Beyblade or any characters associated with this series.

Part 01

The dark mansion lay silently on the outskirts of town. The overlapping roof reached high to the sky, aiming for the stars. Numerous windows shone with the reflection of the crescent moon that hung high above, its pale face observing the Earth below.

Spired gates stretched around the vast amount of land that came with the mansion; spreading around the forest and coming back to join up at the front after circling the property.

Such a barrier was required; after all, this residence was easily the most ostentatious in the district, and most likely as not, the country. Who knew the great treasures that lay hidden within the walls protected by spiked gates and barred windows?

All passers-by would gaze with wonder and awe, and indeed some jealousy at the magnificent structure. It became a game to them to wonder the type of people that resided within, how many rooms there were, how many servants, etc.

One boy-and one man as well- knew the answer to these queries. The people that lived there were distant, uncaring folk. There were many rooms on each of the three-floor home, and extra occupying the large space in the basement. As far as hired help went, there were no constant ones. The owner of the house, one Voltaire Hiwatari, did not trust easily, and every servant that worked for him never stayed longer than a matter of months.

He was, in a way, paranoid: always fearing that his less-than-honourable professional and personal activities would be caught by an observant maid, or an always listening cook. He worried about his reputation, which was the reason he held so much sway over the business world, would be defamed, cut down, and then where would he be?

No; it was better to be independent and trust only himself, and sometimes not even go that far. He'd earned his wealth over the years doing many different business types: stocks, developing high-tech software, and even indulging himself in illegal deals of selling slaves in the far reaches of the world, namely Africa and China.

The only other permanent guest of the house was Kai Hiwatari, the unfortunate grandson of said businessman. He lived with his grandfather, sometimes in this mansion in Japan; other times they would spend some weeks at the Russian house, or at the German resort his grandfather owned on the small fishing island of Borkum.

As a 16-year-old boy, Kai was unusually mature. He did not party late into the night, nor did he experiment with drugs or alcohol, or wreak havoc with his friends. In order to partake in any of these activities, he would first require the one key element of friends.

Not that he didn't have any friends. He had a select few, but he himself did not regard them as friends; more so they were people that he did not utterly loathe and wish a slow demise upon. It was they who called him friend, and were proud to be able to. He did not deter them from bestowing that title upon him; he also took no interest in it.

There was Tyson, a relatively loudmouth, gold-hearted kind of guy who was much too outgoing for his own good, and Kai thoroughly believed it would prove to be said hyper boy's downfall one day. He lived with his grandfather as well, but they had a different relationship than that of Kai and Voltaire: they cared for one another, and this made Kai admittedly slightly jealous. He and Voltaire could have that...if he hadn't murdered Kai's parents...

However, that is off-topic. In the dojo where Tyson and his grandfather lived, there were others. Strays, Kai had first referred to them. Max was an overbearing blond American, who existed as a bright ball of light that brought peppiness and noise wherever he went. Although he had both parents, lucky child, he chose to live with Tyson as opposed to with his father in their game shop, or his mother back in America. This agreement had been met with eagerness on the part of Tyson and Max; in exchange for a monthly boarding fee the Tate parents insisted on paying, he was given room and board.

Rei was the quiet Chinese boy who was respectful and sensible. He was the calming voice and cool head in dire times, meaning whenever Tyson and Max were together without adult supervision. He also lived with Tyson and used half the wages he earned every other week from working at the concert hall to pay his way.

Kenny was one of the ones Kai didn't really know much about, other than his parents owned a restaurant and he forever had his nose buried in his laptop. It was no small wonder why he was so withdrawn and edgy around anything larger than himself.

There were others too, four others to be precise. And Kai was always precise.

It was with these four that Kai related to the most with. They were like him in certain ways, and completely different in those same ways.

Tala was the one Kai connected to, in a way. He had a penetrating gaze that made one feel as though your very soul was a book and it was wide open for him to read. He seemed, Kai had mused, to have a split personality; one moment he was full with cutting remarks and acting rather high and mighty, the next he seemed to care about...things.

Bryan was cold to the core most of the time. He rarely talked about himself, or even to anyone, but the few conversations he and Kai had proved to be interesting. He seemed most comfortable when alone; then again, no one could really say that with much certainty, seeing as how he wouldn't be alone if someone was watching him.

Spencer was the oldest. He took the responsibility of maintaining a somewhat healthy lifestyle in the house of the three other Russian boys who he had known for some time now. He was caring without being overprotective, and he allowed each male their privacy, and only when he deemed it vital would he inquire as to their personal business.

Ian was...short. That was the main reason he was the blunt of so many jokes; obviously all ones he had heard before and they no longer affected him. Kai never really paid attention to the youngest of the Russians he knew, yet there was an easygoing relationship with him; indeed with all of these young males Kai knew.

The four of them lived together in a rented house which they were working towards eventually buying. Spencer had the legal control over it, seeing as he was 19. He also had the best job, out of the four of them. He worked in a bookstore, one of many of the large chain spread across the country. He had been recommended to become the Assistant Manager and was pleased because it meant higher pay, which in turn would result in the house being in his possession sooner.

Bryan, at 18, also held down a job at a garage, He was at peace when he was able to take apart and analyze only to put it all back together again, with the cars and other vehicles that passed through his capable hands.

Unlike the other two, 17-year-old Tala flitted about from part-time job to part-time job. He'd held down his temporary careers at movie theaters, bowling alleys, and some of the more low-class bars scattered about town. Bryan had once told him that he would make better pay and have more fun working as something he couldn't be beat at, namely prostitution. This comment had led to Tala attacking Bryan one night as he slept. When Bryan woke the next morning it was to find a barely dressed Tala laying with his arms and legs draped around Bryan.

To this day Bryan has labelled Tala a pervert, while Tala continues to maintain the front that he had merely been practicing.

Ian was too young to be working; at 15 the most he was allowed was to babysit, a suggestion he had shot down immediately. Any money he brought in was acquired in strange new ways: karaoke contest (this memory was the most vivid), selling off junk he had accumulated over the years at this bizarre place which seemed to thrive on all sorts of meaningless products; Ian had called it a 'flea market' and he was proud of his discovery.

These were the types of people Kai associated with, and though he would never tell them, it was a relief when he was able to spend time with them, because time with them meant time spent away from Voltaire.

Kai had never told his grandfather of the people he was friendly with; likewise he hadn't ever revealed what his home life was like. None of his "friends" knew the type of man Voltaire was. They all knew who he was of course; even Kai could not keep them from learning that he was family with the business tycoon.

In fact, the most they knew about his personal life was that he lived with a strict grandfather, in a house outside of town, he had no other family as far as they knew, and he never seemed overly happy to return home.

That was to be expected, they had guessed, what with living with one older man and seemingly having no siblings of any kind. The question that weighed on their minds, however, was a common one: where were his parents? They all knew about each other's parental situation: Tyson's mother was dead, father was overly involved with work. Max's parents were separated. Rei's had both died in a village fire when he was only 2. Kenny had both.

Then we cross to the other side of the spectrum.

Tala's parents had given him up for adoption at a young age, and he had met Bryan, Spencer, and Ian in the same orphanage. Bryan's parents were dead; Spencer's, in jail for drug peddling, and Ian's father had abandoned his and left his mother to wasted away and Ian to be sent to the orphanage.

Tala had once asked Kai about his parents, and all he'd gotten was the curt reply of "Gone." It had not satisfied anybody's curiosity, but as Rei had pointed out, it was Kai's business and he would share it with them when he wanted.

Kai knew he never would of course; remembering such things turned him into a blathering idiot, and he had no desire to be like that again.

The moon continued it's cheery illumination of the land below, its' light hitting the tips of the pointed gates and making it seem as though diamonds were balanced on top, instead of ice. Deep winter was the best time of the year, the solitary figure mused to himself as he sat perched lightly on his window ledge. So quite...

Turning bright eyes across the landscape, Kai could see the city some miles away. The lights of cars and nightwalkers lit up the bustling metropolis, still running at the full power of the nightlife. Somewhere in the midst of it all slept the people he knew, the people he was acquainted with. He still felt a bit awkward calling them friends, so he avoided the terms' usage whenever he could.

Seeing as how he was talking about them in his mind, he figured it was all right for him to drop that word completely from his vocabulary.

It was 2:36a.m. and he had yet to sleep. He was on edge and he knew why. It was the cursed month of November, when he remembered everything that had happened 11 years ago, when he was 5. The dreams-sorry, nightmares- that accompanied this month were never pleasant to recall, and he knew that he was going to hear, see, feel everything again if he were to sleep.

So every November, starting from the 12th until the last day, and even then sometimes running into early December, Kai deprived himself of sleep. It took a toll on his health, as it did every year, but this was the first time he actually was concerned about how he appeared to others, because his comrades would be sure to notice the change. Damn them and their observant ways...

No. Kai did not blame them for caring about him...if they did. That's what friends do...isn't it? Kai's brow furrowed as he thought about this. He didn't know how friends acted with each other; he was not clear on how involved they should be with each other. This issue forever nagged at him, whenever he was with them, he constantly wondered, Is this a good reaction? I guess that was all right to say...Should I answer him?

He sighed and reluctantly pulled himself back into his room. He slid the window shut about half of the way, enjoying the cool night breeze as it helped keep him alert. He'd always liked to sit on his window; his room was on the highest floor up and provided him with a panoramic view of the land around the mansion, thanks to the many windows situated in his room. He usually kept the heavy black drapes closed, as the Sun had an annoying habit of shining into his room and making it hot and stuffy.

His room was simple enough; the heavy oak door swung inside to reveal a glossy hardwood floor with a red throw carpet off near the window seat, adding basically the only colour in the room. He had bookshelves lining the wall to the left of his door, all of them written in a variety of languages including Russian, Japanese, Chinese, German, English, Dutch, Greek, and French. Voltaire was very insistent that Kai become fluent in as many dialects as he could, for if he were to one day rule his grandfather's empire, he would need to have the ability to speak all that the clients and partners did.

Apart from the bookshelves and dark pine dresser that stood in the corner, the only other furniture was a dull brown couch on the far right wall, placed between tow windows. And the 4-poster sleigh bed with the dark green plaid covers. Kai's room was simple, but he preferred it that way.

Kai was a person with simple needs, but what he desired was far from simple. He wanted a family. A proper one. He wanted Voltaire to not be so cruel, so uncaring. He wanted to be able to call the people he knew friends, good friends. He wanted his parents back.

He waned love.

Why did it come so easily to other people? Why did it seem that everyone who wanted love received it, and they paired off and things just went perfectly for them? Why could he, Kai, not have that as well? Perhaps he had done something wrong, and had therefore been deemed unworthy of what he believed would be such a great gift to have. What if–

No, Kai snapped at himself mentally. You are not going to act like this. Just get over the fact that you are undeserving and will be alone. It's never bothered you before, so why should it now? It's just a pointless phase, due to this month. It'll all blow over soon.

Why did it affect him this badly this time around? The persistent voice would not allow him to ignore this small fact. He was easily shaken now, and he was not particularly fond of this feeling. It must be because he had an image to uphold now, people who would notice if he started to freak out on them.

Until now, he'd never been bothered with how Voltaire had seen him during this trying month. In fact, he seemed to relish in the thought that Kai would become so predictably depressed for a reason he was proud to say he had caused.

Kai snapped back to reality when his alarm clock shrilly went off, the incessant siren piercing the silent air. He pushed himself from the wall where he had unconsciously against and crossed over to the night stand and turned it off. 5:45 am. November 16th. He was right in the thick of it now.

Rousing himself he took from his wardrobe a towel and a clean change of clothes. Today he was meeting Tala& Co. and going with them to spend the day with the others at Tyson's dojo. He was beginning to regret his agreement to spend time with everybody, knowing in advance his situation, but this would be a day without Voltaire, and he would never pass a chance like that up.

It would be difficult to keep up his unfazed image all day, fighting back sleep deprivation and hiding the flashes of memory from showing on his face from the others.

Yes, he mused to himself as he stepped into the en suite bathroom and shutting and locking the door behind him.

He was in the heat of it now, and all he could do was pray that the others would not see him burn internally.

TBC

I know, long and probably boring. Next update will have some actual dialogue, I swear...commence jumping for joy. And please, feel free to review.