CHAPTER 2

Morning was the busiest time of the day and Kai knew it. There will be a fight over who's next to use the shower, hogging of the mirrors to dress yourself, hunts for items of clothing that had wandered, spilt drink or food over surfaces and various shouts, screams, laughing and grunts could be heard all over the house. This was a daily thing and although it annoyed him at first, over time; Kai just got used to it.

Kais black tank top was soaked with sweat and his face was slightly pinker than usual what with the workout he'd just had. He briskly strolled down the path that led to Tyson's front porch and into Kenny's view. The golden leaves kicked up around him with the weak autumn breeze and it made Kai look like he was surrounded by little orange flames. "A fitting image" Kenny thought to himself as he quickly glanced to the person in the corner of his eye and then returned to his laptop, tapping loudly at the keyboard as he did.

"Morning Kai"

"yeh morning" came the almost inaudible grunted reply from Kai. Kenny was privileged he even got a reply as Kai never seemed to bother with small talk. At first the Bladebreakers thought Kai was angry with them all the time or he was in a bad mood constantly but they soon realized that that was simply the way he was.

He passed through the front door and removed his trainers and headed for the bathroom. Mornings were as usual. Hilary was brushing her hair and singing loudly to what ever pop band was playing on the radio, Ray was in the shower singing to a muffled tune, Daichi was assisting Tyson grandpa with the daunting task of waking Tyson, and Max was looking for a lost sock.

"Has anyone seen my sock?!" yelled from somebody in the hallway

Kai had made it as far the Kitchen doorway when he is confronted by a rather frustrated blonde boy.

"Oh Kai you're back, Have you seen my sock, its bright blue?" exclaimed Max

"I don't know Max, Do you think the sock pixie might have taken it?" came the snappy remark dripping in sarcasm.

"Well spose Tyson could have eaten it, ha-ha" joked Max scratching the back of his head and shaking off the unhelpful reply. In the dojo Tyson still lay there, still snoring the house down and dribbling over his own pillow this time. His grandpa and Daichi were stood around him deciding what the best method was to wake him, their hands rubbing their chins in thought. Previously they had tried buckets of ice cold water, hot chillies in his mouth and the fool eats them in his sleep, they tried yelling "fire" and running round frantically in attempts to alert him, they've dragged him out into the garden, sat on him and had even farted in his face and he never woke up. The chillies idea usually worked but right now they were out of them. Tyson could sleep through anything!

Kai mentally reminded himself that he needed a shower and headed up the stairs. He grunted as he heard the shower spraying and Ray in it singing to the Foo Fighters, he then swirled round and went back down stairs for a drink. Whilst sipping his drink he glanced at the clock hanging on the wall in the kitchen.

"Shit, Dickenson will be round in half an hour!" he half spat out the cold beverage in surprise. He cursed out loud as he marched into the dojo, slamming his cup on the sideboard as he left.

"Get him up…NOW!!" commanded Kai with obvious annoyance on his face.

Tyson's grandpa and Daichi backed away from him with a little fear in their faces. Kai thought this was pathetic and took matters into his own hands.

He delved into his pockets and took out his blue and red Beyblade, twisted it into place in the launcher then let the phoenix rip. Dranzer landed at an angle and produced a high pitched scraping sound on the floor boards. Everyone in the house covered their ears as the noise pierced their drums. Tyson shot up like a wild animal and glared straight at Kai as if possessed. Tyson knew straight away it was Dranzer as they all knew each others Beyblade sounds like they were voices.

"What's the big idea Kai?!" shouted Tyson as rudely as he possibly could, pouting, legs and arms crossed.

Kai just stood there arms crossed too with an emotionless expression on his face.

"Dickenson is going to be here in half an hour, get up, get dressed and get a clue"

Ray and Hilary stood behind Kai peering over his shoulder. Ray stood dripping wet forming a small pool on the floor, towel around his toned stomach and Hilary was holding a hair brush.

"What happened guys? All I heard was a loud screeching sound, you fighting?" asked Ray

No one answered him, Tyson still sat there pouting at Kai like a child and Kai made no moves either.

Tyson knew Kai did the right thing in waking him and that they only had less than half an hour before Mr Dickenson would arrive. Kai noted that Ray was out of the shower and now was his chance to get in. The boys left it at that.

Half An hour later…

Kai emerged from the bathroom wearing black ankle socks, black jeans with a black belt with a thick silver buckle around his hips and a plain cloudy blue long sleeved T-shirt that clung close to his body. The only jewellery Kai had was a white gold ring in his left ear lope and a silver chain that was often covered. Dranzer was tucked away protectively in one of the deep pockets of his jeans and rip chord and launcher was in another. Dranzer was very important to Kai, she was there when he needed somebody to comfort him, tell him he was doing the right thing, kept him strong and she was like a part him. To take Dranzer away would be like taking out a vital organ and leaving the rest of his body to rot.

Tyson had finally finished dressing himself after a long breakfast. He wore a red blouse with a yellow T-shirt beneath it, and blue jeans plus his trademark cap. Daichi wore ¾ length jeans with horizontal cuts through the knees and a blue vest top with frayed edges round the arms. Max decided to wear dark green ¾ lengths with a bright green T-shirt. Kenny wore the usual dark grey shorts and a sandy coloured shirt (always well tucked in) and a red tie. Ray was dressed in his usual Chinese style clothing (first series style but instead of blue and white it was black and white with a little yellow at the seams). Hilary wore a white tank top with a baby blue blouse over that, black tights and a short black skirt. And Tyson's grandpa looked like he had just come back from a holiday in Hawaii with his bright pink shirt, sunglasses and floral shorts.

"Knock knock. Is anybody in?" said a cheerful Mr Dickenson as he poked his head around one of the doorways.

"Hey Mr D we haven't seen you in ages!"

"How are you Mr Dickenson, busy with the BBA I see?"

"Yes Bladebreakers been very busy, let's sit down and well discuss everything; I have something very exciting to tell you all" gleefully chuckled the aging man

The Bladebreakers, Tyson's grandpa and Mr Dickenson sat down around a large table and poured each other hot cups of green tea. Everyone except from Kai had a mug and was looking at their guest attentively, their eyes begging for information.

"Well boys and girl Ill get right to the point, I have a date for the next Beyblade World championships, and it's in 8 weeks today"

The room was suddenly filled with teen excitement and everyone was buzzing. It had been a long time since they had any decent competition and they were hungry for it. The thrill of fighting other teams, making new friends and seeing old ones was almost too much for them to bear.

"No way, that's not long away at all" Max exclaimed.

"No way I knew it, Man I'm so excited" shouted Tyson, jumping up from the table nearly sending it flying.

"Do you know what teams will be competing? Asked Ray with only one certain female in mind

"Ill start designing upgrades for your Beyblades guys" added Kenny

"Ill draw up your training schedules guys, ands its gunna be a tough one" winked Hilary

"Man this is gunna be awesome!!!"

Max soon joined Tyson with the jumping up and down and grinning wildly.

"Better start your training first thing tomorrow boys as I have a feeling this year you're going to have your work cut out, we've got new bladers popping up everywhere and not to forget your old opponents that are striving for your spot as world champion Tyson." Said Mr Dickenson bringing them down to earth a little.

What followed that afternoon was idle chit chat and after hearing the news that was important; Kai made a sneaky exit. Mr Dickenson understood that Kai wasn't the social type and didn't take any offence, instead he enjoyed the hype of the others and hearing about what they did that summer. Something told him that this year was going to be a very eventful one.

Late that night the Bladebreakers were still ecstatic with talk about the upcoming tournament but now was time for bed. Kai had remained out of their sight for most of the day as their bounciness was a little too much for him to handle, it got on his nerves. To be honest the news of the upcoming world championships got his blood pumping too. The new challenges, new opponents, and possibly another shot at Tyson depending on the way the rules are set was all very exciting.

A tall well built man dressed in a black and purple trench coat sat with his large boots up on his desk and a phone to his ear.

"Plans are as we said Boss, we've located Kai and the Blitzkrieg boys" said the subordinate on the other end of the line

In a dark husky tone" Go ahead as arranged and let me know when you have completed your task"

The next morning

Kai was once again rudely awakened by the sun streaming through the thin drapes that hung before him. A morning like any other. The time was 7am; cereal, no milk, washing of face, brushing teeth and hair and re-application of face paint. The only difference today was that he had a missed call on his cell phone and had a meeting to attend. A voice mail was left by Mr Dickenson's secretary saying that they needed to clarify a few details to do with the team and paperwork. Kai didn't know why this was so important to be done right away but it was at Mr Dickenson's request so he didn't argue. He wouldn't be having his morning run that's for sure. Kai dressed himself in his usual black jeans, silver studded belt with the large silver buckle and long-sleeved light grey T-shirt. He also wore his black leather fingerless gloves with small silver studs on the knuckles. With Dranzer snuggled in his pocket he left the house leaving the rest of the Bladebreakers sleeping.

It was early morning still and there weren't many people around being a weekend on the outskirts of Tokyo. It was mainly slim streets filled with little family run businesses and corner shops. The air was still crisp with the scent of dew on the grass and was christened with the chirping of birds and their chicks. Kai was lost in thought with his hands in his pockets. Something was bugging him and he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He should be excited about the upcoming tournament but something in the air didn't feel right. Dranzer also seemed restless and this is what stirred him the most. He decided to lose the two people behind him, dressed all in black they had been walking behind him silently for the last 2 minutes and he didn't like it. He crossed the road and darted sharply down an alleyway and down another into oblivion. The two behind him walked straight on as if he was of no interest to them. "Whoa that was creepy, still, better safe than sorry" Kai sighed to himself with relief and backed against the wall. But that nagging feeling increased 10 fold and his heart sank suddenly as he heard whispered voices in the darkness beside him. He didn't hear what was said but decided it was time to move, now! He bolted out of the dark and into the shallow light that the alleyway was kind enough to allow through. He prepped his blade at lightening speed and launched Dranzer into the direction of the voices, hoping to hit what ever was there. The masked pair was quick, very quick and Kai had missed his targets. Dranzer came crashing back and landed in front of Kai protectively. Kai was pissed off and his face expressed anger and slight frustration.

He spat out angrily "Come out and face me!!"

Kai felt like eyes were boring through him, he felt like prey.

"Show yourself!!" the two toned blue haired teen stood there with his hackles up ready for battle.

"Well creeps?!!" Kai was just about to throw another command when he suddenly felt very strange. His vision was blurring and he found himself unable to focus very well. Numbness overtook his legs and he found himself unable to move. His eyebrows screwed up with confusion and his eyes drifted closed with fatigue. The teen quickly tried to gain control over his body and his eyes shot open to see the two from the shadows advance towards him. He caught a hazy glimpse of the cloaked pair he was followed by only a few seconds before. Why did he suddenly feel so weak and helpless? He slumped to his knees that hit the floor, unable to stop himself. That's when he found his answer. A 3 point dart was sticking out of his side and what ever venom it contained was now coursing round his system. Kai gingerly picked it out of him and dropped it on the concrete next to him. He witnessed the dart bounce after hitting the floor in slow motion, he felt extremely heavy and his head slumped onto his chest. Next thing he felt he was his warm cheeks touching the flat, cold and dirty alleyway pavement. His heart relaxed, sounds were mere blurred whispers and before he knew it, the world smoothly fell away from him.

"Tyson!! Come on hommie best get in ya groove if you still wanna be champ" egged on Tyson's grandpa.

Tyson had been successfully woken with the aid of hot chillies and was now downing cups of water ravenously.

"Sorry dude but we try all the normal things to wake ya like cold water and shouting in your face but they don't work." Ray apologized half heartedly. Tyson's lack of self discipline was shocking and the Chinese boy thought he needed a good kick up the ass.

Everyone was dotted around in the dojo, dressed already and was cleaning their Beyblades, then re-cleaning to kill time. If Tyson didn't hurry up they decided they would start training without him.

"Man Tyson's a goof aint he?" chuckled Max trying his best to alleviate the mood in the room, they couldn't wait to start training, it wouldn't feel right starting without him. They were a little peeved that their friends' slacking was affecting them all. The waiting was killing them. Hilary and Kenny had been up all night deciding the best training schedule and had the piled sheets in front of them to show the boys. The room was silent apart from the sliding of metal and snapping of plastic as the Beyblade parts interlocked together.

Completely out of the blue Kenny asked "Has anyone seen Kai?" All of their heads snapped up. Yes, they all thought, "Where was their captain?" There was always times when Kai couldn't be found anywhere, it was just something he did.

Kenny sighed, "Kai knew this was important and he knew that training was beginning today guys and as team captain, he should be here."

Ray answered "Kai goes for a run every morning but funny you say that Kenny, he should have been back by now"

"Do you think he's off training on his own, I mean that would be totally typical of Kai?" Hilary added.

"Maybe, the guys a loner, it wouldn't surprise me too much but still, I wish he was with us" said the ex-White Tiger cross-legged with a shiny Driger in his lap.

"Forget Kai, let the wet blanket do his own thing" snapped Daichi, his main focus was taking Tyson down and Kai was of no interest to him. He thought Kai was arrogant and snobby and he hardly spoke to the guy.

"K ready guys!" came Tyson bursting through the sliding doors.

"Finally!!!" or "about time" chorused around the room.

"Sorry guys, it won't happen again" said Tyson blushing and bowing to them in apology. He knew he had given them the hump and if he was going to remain world champ he was going to have to be sharper than this.

"It had better not Tyson!" came the harsh abrupt reply from Daichi. Everyone got themselves to their feet after their long wait and headed for the door. Not making eye contact with Tyson. They had all made a silent pledge amongst themselves to work Tyson to the bone today. Secretly they were sinisterly cackling inside. They wanted him to think he had to make it up to them and work twice as hard. He had no idea that they had planned to make him sweat like never before.

"No Kai?" questioned Tyson as they marched down the path.

"Don't look like it pal" Max said. He had forgiven him already and had slung his arm around his best friends shoulder.

"Oh well his loss" grinned Tyson.

"So what ya got planned for us Hilary?"

Her eyes were evilly glowing red and the witch like cackling was showing on the outside, grinning deeply with lust.

"Well Tyson…, first off… he-he….. 50 LAPS OF THE BLOCK!!!"

Tyson was stunned with pure horror, his face was blue and eyes shot, jaws agape. Even Ray, Max and Daichi were gob smacked and backed away, she was brutal at times and they just prayed she didn't mean they had to join him.

"That's a bit harsh Hil" whimpered Tyson. If he pleaded anymore he would have been on his knees kissing her feet.

"I said 50 LAPS!!!" she beckoned though her teeth. Her voice, body language and the meat cleaver behind her back kinda told him she meant business.

10 hours later

"Hilary can you pass the salt?"

"Don't talk with your mouth full Tyson"

"Yum yum Ray you're an excellent cook, my compliments to the chef!"

"Man I'm full already" chuckled Tyson's Grandpa rubbing his bloated belly.

"Do you want pizza with your cheese Max" joked Ray. Max had some sort of obsession with cheese.

The Bladebreakers were enjoying a hearty meal after all the back breaking physical training and exercise Hilary had put them through. Their joints ached, their muscles tired and they had been looking forward to this rest bite all day. Tyson slouched in his chair with his belt undone to make room for the 8th plateful of food; boy did he love his food. Kenny tapped away at his laptop even at the dinner table; Hilary watched in awe as Tyson put away yet another helping of pasta, Max egged him on to lick the plate clean and move onto the next serving and Daichi wondered why he ever wanted to be like Tyson, this human garbage can. Tyson had become a freak show at the dinner table, free evening entertainment. Tyson decided to ask the question that was on everybody's mind.

"Say Grandpa…, have you seen… Kai …at all today?" asked Tyson with his mouth full

"No li'l dude I thought he was out training with you all day"

"No, he wasn't, we haven't seen him since last night"

"Ok well then who was the last person to see him? Added Hilary

Everyone glanced at each other from around the table, looking for someone to give them an explanation. "Well I think I must have been the last person to see him" said Kenny pushing his glasses back up the bridge of his nose.

"It was late and you were all in bed. He came to me and asked how things were going with the upgrades for your Beyblades. Then went to bed himself"

"Did you notice anything strange about him?" questioned the Chinese male.

"No not really, just himself." Replied the Chief.

Ray got up from his seat at the table and left the room leaving the rest of them to fire questions at Kenny about last night and if Kai may have mentioned anything else.

"Erm guys" Ray murmured from the doorway

"I think Kais left us, his stuff is gone" Ray couldn't look them in the eyes, his own were slit like a cats and gritting his teeth.

The Bladebreakers were in a state of hurt and suffering the sting of betrayal. Seconds passed away in silence. They didn't know what to make of this, their captain had left them right before the world championships, right when they needed him the most.

"Damm it!!! I bet he's gone to join the Blitzkrieg boy again" banged Tyson with his fist crashing against the table.

"When I get my hands on him!! Don't worry Tyson we don't need Kai, we never will"

"Shut up Daichi, he's member of our team"

"Was a member Tyson, he WAS" slammed back Daichi

Tyson took this news hard, really hard. He and Kai shared a deep bond, their Bit beasts did too. Although they acted like weren't friends they had slagging matches on occasion, they loved every minute of competing with each other, inside the beydish and out.

The rest of the evening was spent in awkwardness. Feeling betrayed, hurt and pissed off to the bone they didn't feel like talking, that was until they found Kai's cell phone.

"That's not like Kai, leaving his cell phone here." Kenny thought to himself as he flipped the device open.

Still in a strop, Daichi said "He probably left his phone here because he doesn't want to get found, probably ashamed of what he's done and so he should be"

From the sofa Tyson just sat staring up at the ceiling thinking about Kai and how the hell he could do this to him. Ray and Max did the same but stared at the floor instead.

Hilary did what she could to lift their mood by turning on the TV on blooper shows and world's funniest home videos but no frowns turned upside down this time.

Kenny re- entered the room.

"Guys there's something important I think you should all hear"

The group of teens all took interest but refused to move from their spots, only glanced up to meet Kenny's gaze.

He pressed a button and the phone began loudspeaker mode then played Kais last voicemail.

"Hello Kai sorry to bother you. I'm Claire Temari and I am Mr Dickenson's personal secretary. He's asked me to pass a message to you. He needs you to attend a meeting to clarify a few details to do with your Beyblade team and paperwork. He needs you to arrive at 8am tomorrow morning at the BBA head office. Sorry if this is of any inconvenience to you." Beep.

The brunette carried on "I took the liberty of calling Mr Dickenson to confirm this message. He told me he has no secretary and he made no such plans to meet Kai this morning."

Something's wrong here guys, very wrong, I have the feeling Kai's in trouble, my hunch… is Biovolt"