Chapter Five: The Breaking Point
"Alright! We're almost to Mexico City, Guys!"
Crimson eyes snap open drearily as the sound bursted any of his thoughts, they were just a few miles from the city, from the same city that tournament would be in. Kai heaves a sigh, this would be the last few moments of his life that he'd spend being a teammate before becoming the traitor. The haunting feeling of when he killed that defenseless animal was still evident in his conscience and it was killing him.
'Curse you, Black Dranzer, Curse you!!'
Kai thought bitterly as he stared out the cold, fogged glass. "Hey, Kai, what's wrong?" a voice cuts through him again before the sound of someone sitting down beside him, his eyes turned to see the worried ruby ones of Hilary's. Kai doesn't respond however as he just stares out the window, he wants to respond - he wants to tell everything but he knows he can't because it was bad enough of what he was going to do.
"Nothing." came the bitter, emotionless reply causing Hilary to jump slightly, the ice that was in his voice had stung badly, Hilary shook it off but didn't get up and reclined back into her seat, she knew something was wrong because she could tell just by looking at the Hiwatari, though he refused to tell anyone - even her. Hilary just sighed, ruby eyes trailing to where Kai's crimson ones rested which was on the fogged windows. "I can't believe it, we're almost there." Hilary finally said, breaking the silence once more. She had purposely brought up another subject.
But had no response.
'Only a matter of time, Kai...'
The demonic voice is back and this time with a sharp headache that pounds through the russian's head as he emits a sharp cry, causing his team to look towards the back and Hilary to fall back slightly stunned. "Kai! What's wrong!?" Hilary shouted this time grabbing Kai's arms, Kai feels tears forming behind his eyes but they don't come and that, he is silently thankful for. The headache is worsening along with that sadistic cackling, it's growing louder and louder and the pain is increasing even more than before. His vision is becoming blurred by the tears of pain.
'They'll never see it coming!'
A sadistic cackle.
"Get out of my head...get out of my head...GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" Kai screams uncontrollably, causing everyone to veer towards him and the bus jerk to a stop near a local gas station, tears poured down the Hiwatari's face as the pain exploded even worse than before, Hilary's screams and his team's worried chatter was becoming more far away and distant even distorted, everything was fuzzy and spinning and all he could see was black. Standing before him was the black phoenix, it's bright red eyes gleaming with mock cruelty, a shrill sadistic cackle pierced the thick air.
He was choking, he couldn't breathe. The air was choking him, everything was consumed by the overwhelming darkness. "Kai!" Hilary shouted grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him, shaking him almost like a limp ragdoll. Kai let out a tortured, terrified shriek and shoved Hilary back causing her to fall to the floor of the bus, Kai immediately leaps from his seat shoving past his teammates ignoring any yells directed at him.
'I...have...to...get...out...of...HERE!'
Was the only thought to run through his head as he slams open the bus door and leaps down onto the cold ground before sprinting off from view, his shadow the last thing seen before it too disappeared.
--
'I still can't forget that look in his eyes...'
Joseph thought numbly as he and the rest of his team walked to the city entrance, they had come back together and were heading on to Mexico City. Joseph still could not forget the look that he had seen in the Hiwatari's eyes that day, the look of hatred, of pain, of possession. The look had been haunting ever since then, the out burst, everything. Joseph shivered, he silently prayed that he would never have to face that again, it was a too close of call last time.
'What if he had done to me... what he did to that puppy?'
Joseph thought numbly but shook it off abruptly.
No.
There was no 'what if' to wonder, it didn't happen and it wouldn't happen, but he still couldn't help but wonder if it could have, he glances up towards the rest of his team despite they don't even notice, Ozuma is concentrated on where they were heading, Dunga was spaced out and Mariam was just following along and then there was himself, Joseph who lagged behind the other three lost in his thoughts.
'They wouldn't believe me if I told them.'
Joseph mentally groaned, it was bad enough that all this was happening but even worse that he couldn't even trust his own team to believe him when he needed them the most. Though that was nothing unusual as Ozuma was straight forward on this 'mission' and did not have any time for little mishaps like that one. Though it was a painful thought to think of but he couldn't let it get in the way now.
'I just hope we all make it out of this... alive...'
--
"So where do we go first?" Tyson asks, giddy to get on the go, it had been an hour since Kai disappeared but now the outburst had worn off and it had sank back in that it might of been one of his old habits. Rei shrugged, casting a glance out the window as Max reaches back snagging the straps of his backpack, they were finally in their destination but too bad Kai could not see the final stopping point.
"I know where you'll head," Kenny mumbles off track as a grin crosses across Tyson's face. "You just read my mind, Chief!"
"Aw man, your not hungry again are you?" Hilary asks, exasperation in her voice as Tyson's grin precedes to grow larger, they knew what he was thinking that moment, Max of course joined in.
"ICE CREAM!!!!!!" Both boys shouted in unison and almost literally flew off the bus, leaving the remaining team members sitting there with either looks of confusion, no expression or a look of irritability.
"Well I guess thats three people down," Kenny mumbles, though something in the pit of his stomach told him that something wasn't right.
Outside, no one noticed the figure slinking towards the bus, crimson eyes narrowed with that eerie red glow again. "Guess who's back..."
--
"We'd like two orders of your ice cream please," Max says placing hands onto the small platform out from the order window. The cashier furrows his eyebrows in confusion, "What flavor would that be or would you prefer Fried Ice cream?"
The man's voice hid a thick mexican accent but he knew some english at least, Max and Tyson look at each other upon hearing the words of fried ice cream, Tyson blinks. "How do you do that? Wouldn't it melt?"
Max envisions the concoction and a green tint comes to his face, "Oh Tyson, I think I'm going to be sick..."
Tyson frowned and would of placed the order for the flavor they wanted when multiple screams tore through the air, the green tint faded a little as Tyson's head whips to the side, "The team! Come on, Max!"
Max presses a couple of fingers to his mouth feeling like he was going to vomit, "Coming Tyson..."
His body constricted and bent over, that very moment he had lost his breakfast.
--
SLAM.
The bus rattled violently when the black blade slammed against the bright red metal, Kenny shrieked and hid behind his laptop as if it would shield him from the thundering rattling of the bus, Hilary grabs at the seats clinging to them as the bus is gradually beginning to calm, Rei's golden eyes narrow as he reaches into his pocket, slowly withdrawing Driger.
SMASH.
Another hit and the remaining team is thrown across the bus, Kenny screams and curls up into a ball behind his laptop as they slam into the seats, Rei's eyes shoot open as Hilary and Daichi's screams of "Whats Happening!?" are heard. Rei groans and pulls himself up off the seat, from what he knew, this city didn't have a big reputation for being hit by such massive earth quakes.
"Is everyone alright!?" The cold metal doors to the drivers compartment slide open and Mr. Dickenson runs out, his small black eyes shining with worry upon seeing the team in a pile on the floor. Rei frowns, "Yeah."
"Where's Tyson and Max, and Kai?" Mr. Dickenson asks, looking around taking notice of the absence, another smash against the bus throws everyone to the back of the bus this time, whatever it was, was determined to cause the bus to collapse in on them and kill them.
"I'm going to find out who it is," Rei shouts, completely ignoring Mr. Dickenson's previous question and ran up the aisle before reaching the doors, ignoring the screams of the others he leaps off the steps with his launcher and blade at ready.
Only the scene he was met with was not what he expected at all.
--
Kai grins twistedly, the black launcher in his hand as well as the black blade, his eyes casting that eerie glow again. "Miss me?"
His voice was dark and demonic, Rei felt his jaw going slack as the others raced out to see what was happening, just a few moments before the bus tilts over crashing against the ground.
Tyson and Max can see the burst of dust and smoke in the distance and run faster towards the scene, upon arriving the smoke is thick but gradually clearing, "is anyone okay!?"
No response.
Max and Tyson weave their way through the smoke before stopping short in their tracks and what they saw was scarier than what had happened when they were first leaving Japan to get to this place, they automatically recognized the blade in his hand.
Black Dranzer and...
"Kai!?"