A/N : Jeez, it's been so long since I've last updated that you must've all thought I was dead or something... But truly, you know what happened ? You won't believe it : it's called "writer block". Sounds familiar ?
Anyway, I am very sorry for the wait, I coudn't help it. I did get some ideas during the Christmas vacations, but when I re-read it I didn't like it so I was forced to re-write the whole chapter. It was really a pain...
But you wanna hear a great news ? I finally made up my mind about this fic and I now know how I want it to go ! I've got ideas and I hope they'll be good. Personally I think they are but you readers might have another opinion about it. That's for you to decide ! At least you know that this fic isn't on "hold" anymore...
Well, now I'll just shut up and let you read this long awaited chapter.
.: Sweet tragedy :.
by cherry fantasy
« Hope is to continue to have faith when there is no more hope » - unknown
Chapter four : Familiar faces
Kyoto, Japan, five years later...
When you lose someone you held dear in your heart, it's like you'd just lost some part of yourself. Like if a small portion of you had died with them. It always hurts, sometimes really bad. It's like the world was suddenly taking a darker shade. It's in those kind of moments that reality dawns on you, making you realize that nothing is eternal. Nothing and no one. Sometimes they have to go. And no matter how much you love someone, it makes no difference. Death is merciless...
You think about all that and it makes you so sad and angry because you know you have absolutly no control over it. All you can do is accept it and move on. Try to forget the pain. Most of the time, that's what people do. They cry a lot, make sweet goodbyes and then they go on with their lives. But that's not always the case ; there are those times when you just can't forget.
How do you move on when the thought of the one you lost is haunting you ? When you constantly remember their face, their eyes, their smile, their laugh... When you miss them so badly that it hurts... You don't want to move on, you want to bring them back. You don't want to move on... even if you know that you have to.
Those were Kai's thoughts as he paid the taxi driver who had brought him from Kyoto's airport to his hotel. Kai gave the man way too much money but when the guy tried to give him back his change he just said :
"Just keep it"
The cab driver stared at him unbelievingly but Kai ignored him and walked toward the hotel's entrance. He had time to hear a very loud : "Thank you sir !", before pushing the doors and stepping in the main hall.
The hotel was a very high-classed one, and very expensive, which wasn't very hard to guess considering the size and the luxury of the main hall. But although Kai could've afforded it with no problems, this time he didn't need to pay anything. It was all on the BBA's bill.
Kai winced ; the BBA was the whole reason of his presence here. The famous beyblading enterprise had grown a lot despite its disastrous fall during the ordeal with BEGA. It had started back slowly, but then faster than anyone could've imagined it was back to its previous glory like if nothing had happened. The BBA was now even bigger than it had been before, and of course Mr. Dickinson was its proud president.
Kai readjusted the bags hanging on his shoulder and walked to the reception with a frown on his face. He knew this hotel would soon be full of other bladers like him, if it wasn't already. Full of people he didn't want to see. Full of people that would make him remember... They would all come for the same reason as him : the Grand Get-Together special BBA.
Kai had received his invitation about one month ago ; the BBA was organizing some kind of reunion for all the bladers and teams of bladers that wanted to come, apparently to celebrate officially its successful come back. This event was also giving the beyblade teams a chance to see each other again, since there hadn't been any world championships for quite some years now.
The whole thing had been settled in Kyoto, in or near the hotel Kai was presently in, and it would last a week. There would be many activities and the invitation also mentioned that a very big surprise would be revealed to them and to the beyblade world during the third day of their stay.
Kai had royally ignored his invitation during a good three weeks. He didn't want to have anything to do with the BBA anymore, nor did he want anything to do with beyblading in general. He had banished it from his life five years ago. The only thing he had left from when he was a blader was his loyal Dranzer. Aside to that, everything that had once related him to beyblade had disappeared. He had a company to run, he didn't have any time to lose on such trivial and childish things anymore. And, more than anything, beyblading was reminding Kai of him...
It had been about five years since the day of his death. Five long and painful years. Five years without him.
That day, Kai remembered it perfectly ; he remembered flying back to Bay City like if he was in a transe, not really noticing what was happening around him. He remembered Ray, Max, Hilary and Kenny's horrified expressions when their fears had been confirmed. He remembered the small ceremony, with everybody crying and sobbing. He remembered the painful goodbyes, and then the separation when everyone had gone home, their heart clouded and their spirit broken...
Kai had gone home too, his heart hurting like if it had been stabbed a hundred times. He hadn't even had the chance to tell him... Now he would never know... It was too late... Kai had lost him forever...
From then on Kai had tried to forget him, to forget this emptiness he was feeling inside. Like if he too was dead. He had stopped beyblading, never returned at Bay City and he had buried himself in work. He had even cut the contact with his ancient friends. But nothing had worked. He was still haunting his thoughts, day and night, refusing to leave... Or maybe it was Kai who refused to let him go...
Finally, one week before the BBA reunion, Kai had given up. Nothing was working. Kai thought that maybe he wasn't using the right tactic. Maybe cutting yourself from your past isn't the best way to get rid of it, especially when deep down you don't really want to forget... Maybe the only way is to face it, then eventually accept it. Thinking about it, Kai concluded that things couldn't get worse anyway. He had to go to that BBA reunion and face his problems. He had to cure himself before he got into an emotional breakdown.
And so, he had taken his courage in both hands and packed his things for a week at Kyoto. His work could wait, he had done a lot already and besides, he needed a vacation. With those thoughts in mind, Kai had taken a plane for one of Japan's most beautiful city.
Now that he was here, his bags hanging heavily on his shoulder and waiting before the receptionist's desk, Kai was wondering if he had made the right choice. Already he was catching glances of people he knew among the slightly crowded hall, beybladers he had met not so long ago during championships, when he was still alive...
There, to his left and some distance away, Kai could see Lee and Kevin from the White Tiger X team talking with Miguel and Mathilda from the Barthez Battalion. To his right, but a bit closer, there was Mystel and Ming Ming from the former Bega Bladers, and they seemed to be waiting for someone, which happened to be Crusher when he joined them a few seconds later. Turning his head, Kai saw Rick, from the PPB All Starz, being lectured by one of the hotel staffs for disturbing the other guests with his radio and that he had to turn the volume down right now. Some people would never change... Looking away again, Kai watched Raul, from F Dynasty, exit the elevator and walk to his sister, Julia, who was presently talking with Mariah from the White Tiger X. No one had yet to notice him, and Kai was perfectly fine with that.
"Excuse me young man ?"
Kai turned back to the receptionist who was holding out a small card to him. She smiled and said :
"Here's the key to your room. It's on the fourth floor, door number 304. Have a great stay"
"Thank you" Kai said coldly while taking the card.
He slowly walked to the elevator, his frown deepening. There was a cheerful atmosphere in the hall, and everybody looked happy and excited. Kai didn't like it. It reminded him way too much of... Damn, he couldn't even bring himself to think his name. He would've loved to be here, Kai knew it. Oh god how he missed him... Maybe coming here wasn't such a brilliant idea after all...
Kai was about to step into the elevator when he heard his name being called :
"Kai ? Kai ! Hey wait a minute !"
Kai turned around, trying to repress a frustrated sigh. Not even a minute later he was met with a grinning Tala who immediately passed an arm around his shoulders and said :
"Hey Kai, it's great to see you ! Wow, you really haven't changed a lot"
Kai had swapped his formal suit, which he was wearing for work, for his usal clothes (A/N : You know, his outfit from G Revolution...?) to feel more comfortable.
"So ?" he told Tala. "You have a problem with that ?"
Tala removed his arm from Kai's shoulders and said with a raised eyebrow :
"As grouchy as ever, I see"
"Hn"
"Oh Kami don't tell me you still have that damn monosyllable in your vocabulary !"
"What do you want Tala ?" Kai asked with a frown, getting impatient.
"Just to say hello to an old friend. What's wrong with that ?"
Kai glared at him for a moment before sighing an answering emotionlessly :
"Nothing I suppose. Sorry"
He knew it was way out of character for him to apologize, but Kai couldn't care less at the moment. And besides, Tala had done nothing wrong, Kai knew he had no reasons to just take out his temper on him.
Tala observed him quizzically for a moment, then he shrugged it off and asked casually :
"So, how is it going for you ? It's been one hell of a while since I've had any news ! I even asked Max once but he was as clueless as me !"
"Max ?" Kai asked, some curiosity finally appearing on his features at the mention of his ancient team mate. "When and where did you see Max ?"
Tala chuckled in a very un-Tala manner and answered :
"I see him every day, dude ! We work together !"
Kai's eyes widened from both the news he had just learned and Tala's behaviour that seemed to have changed a lot since the last time he had seen him. Taking a better look at the red-head, he suddenly noticed how much more... carefree Tala looked. Like if he had made peace with himself and his inner demons, something Kai hadn't quite achieved yet. Of course the loss of the one and only person he ever loved hadn't helped to make him open up...
Coming back to the matters at hand, Kai inquired :
"Since when do you work with Max ?"
"Jeez Kai, you really aren't informed ! Have you been hiding under a rock those last few years ?"
Kai just snorted. Tala smirked and said while glancing at Kai's bags :
"Well then just let me help you with those and I'll explain some things to you while we go to your room OK ?"
The duel-haired young man nodded and handed Tala one of his bags. They stepped into the elevator and Tala started :
"I've been working with Max since a good four years now. We're both scientists in one of New-York's most renowned institute, and we always meet at least one time in a day. Plus we are more or less working in the same branch so we sometimes do some partnership"
"You work at New-York ? As in America ?"
Tala nodded.
"Yep. I moved there too, for my job. I tried to let you know but I wasn't able to contact you, so after a while I gave up. Anyway, as I was saying, I see Max very often and by the same way Ray"
"Ray ?" Kai exclamed, shocked to hear from his other team mate as well.
"Yes" Tala answered.
The elevator's doors opened and they stepped out. While searching for room 304 with Kai, Tala pursued :
"Max and Ray are toghether now, I think it's been about... hum... three years and half, or maybe a bit more. They even live together ! I told them once that they should get married or something, but Ray almost ripped my head off so I didn't mention it anymore"
Kai let a very small grin come to his lips ; so Ray and Max were together hum ? Very interesting indeed, but Kai wasn't surprised at all. In fact he could've guessed it himself... A question suddenly brushed his mind and he asked Tala :
"Are they here already ?"
"Yes, they were in the same plane as me. I don't know where they are right now though... Probably playing in their room !"
Tala laughed at his own joke and Kai rolled his eyes. So he would probably see Max and Ray soon... and Kenny and Hilary, if they came. How would they react to his presence ? How would he react to theirs ? What painful memories would it bring them to see each other again, after all this time ? Oh Kai was sure that the others had somehow kept in touch during all those years, unlike him. What would they say to him about that ? Would they be angry ? Surely they knew his reasons for doing so. Who would know better than them...?
"Room 304. That's yours, right ?" Tala asked, stopping before one of the doors.
"Yes"
"Hey that means we're not that far ! Mine is room 312. Bryan and Spencer are each sides of me"
"Really ?" Kai said while using his card to unlock the door. "And how are they doing ?"
"Oh they're doing fine. They stayed in Russia but I haven't asked if they're working yet"
Kai opened the door and he and Tala entered the room ; it was very large and well decorated, enough to be called luxurious. The bed was big enough for two persons and there was a huge window with a balcony at the far end of the room. There also was a private bathroom of course. But Kai wasn't impressed ; his usual surroundings always looked like that, sometimes even better...
Tala put Kai's bag on the floor and said :
"So ? What have you been doing all this time ?"
"Working" Kai answered, putting his own bag on the floor beside the other one and walking to the bed.
Tala followed him and replied with a smirk :
"Why am I not surprised ?"
Kai glanced at him but said nothing. He sat on the bed and Tala came to stand before him. The red-head crossed his arms over his chest and observed him for a moment, not saying a word. Kai was starting to feel uncomfortable when suddenly, Tala spoke to him with a serious tone for the first time since he had arrived :
"Kai, why haven't you contacted any of us during all that time ? Why haven't we heard of you for so long ? Nobody was even sure that you would come to the reunion ! I was the first surprised when I saw you ! It was as if you had just... disappeared ! There was even a moment when we started worrying about you !"
"There was no need for worry. I'm fine" answered Kai coldly.
"That doesn't answer my question and you know it !"
Kai stayed mute. Tala looked at him and pursued more calmly, somehow hesitantly :
"Kai, was it because of... of what happened...?"
"It has nothing to do with it !" Kai snapped before realizing that he had just given himself away with the violence of his retort.
"So that's what it was..." Tala continued softly as if Kai hadn't just yelled at him. "I should've known you were still thinking about it..."
He sat on the bed next to Kai, not too close but just enough to give him comfort if needed. Then he added :
"But you have to move on one way or another, Kai..."
Kai's first reaction was to glare at Tala and tell him to mind his own business, but... he suddenly found out that he couldn't bring himself to do it.
He looked at Tala, then down again. Finally, he sighed dejectedly and whispered :
"I know Tala... I know... That's why I came here... To try and... move on..."
"You think it'll work ?"
"I don't know..."
They stayed silent after that. Kai didn't even understand why he was revealing so much... Probably because he had kept it in for so long... Maybe he just needed to... blurt it out, somehow. He just needed to... tell it to someone who would listen, just like Tala was doing right now.
"You really did love him, didn't you ?" Tala suddenly asked calmly.
A few minutes passed but no answer came. Tala thought he wouldn't get one, but then Kai said slowly :
"More... than anything else in this world..."
Another silence passed. Then, Tala stood up and said in a friendly tone :
"Well, I have to go now. I'm supposed to meet Garland and Mystel in the hall, we're going in town for lunch. You... wanna come ?"
"No, I'll stay here"
"OK then" Tala said walking to the door of the room.
He opened it but just before leaving, he stopped and said :
"You know Kai, if you ever need to talk again... I'll be happy to listen"
"It's fine. And Tala..."
"Yes ?"
"...thanks"
"Don't mention it. What are friends for anyway ? So... see you tonight !"
And with that, he stepped out of the room and closed the door.
A/N : So yes, I made Tala friendly. Why not ? I mean, for any of you who watched the second and especially the third season of Beyblade, you surely noticed that Tala isn't that bad. I kinda like this character, so yeah I made him friendly. Also, I think he can understand Kai better than Max or even Ray, since he was raised very much like him.
The next chapter should be posted soon since I am writing it right now, so don't panic ! Oh and please review, I would love to know what you thought of my new chapter !
See you later !
