Truth About Darkness Chapter 8: Broken, a beyblade fanfic

A.C.: 0.o what was I on last chapter? You know what? I don't want to know. Heh what do you know... first post of the year 2007 (Technically chapter 7 was because of the time differences)

My excuse for being late this time? –twiddles fingers- TOEFL, because I obviously can't read, write, speak English well and have to prove it by paying couple of hundred dollars to take a friggin test... uhh... yeah, because I don't know English... obviously

Of course you're free to assume the usual; I was being a lazy ass

But why Valentines Day? –hands out free chocolate-

"Hello Brooklyn..."

"What happened?" Kane's face was pasty, all the color drained out of his normally tanned cheeks. "Who did this?" His voice was no more than a hollow whisper as Jim and Salima joined Goki in his sterile room in the hospital. "Who...?" the room spun and Kane leaned against the doorway, helpless as the orderlies rearranged the comatose limbs of his team mates. Tears of half-made and half-broken promises filled his eyes and when Takao touched his shoulders, he ran out of the room.

There are fires that do not affect him, fires that are nothing to the scarlet wings of Kai. The flames flicker at his feet, worrying at the shadow that lies beneath. It's a losing battle, the flames cool into mellow amber and die away.

All around him, it is the same. Fires that once reached to smother him faded to pale orange with blue threads. Momentarily, he allows himself a small smile in satisfaction at what he can do, what he could do.

He had underestimated the elements.

Within seconds, the revived flames clawed at his face, dispelling darkness and throwing him into a world of heat and light that pulsed in a mesmerizing kaleidoscope of colors. He saw the past battles, the present situation, black feathers as they floated down from the heavens. A vision of himself tangled up in thin sheets beneath the curtains, violent blue cry of a captain who had no one left to lead, a brother who had been surpassed by his younger, and a breaking glacier as it fell into the ocean. He saw a cage made of gold and fire, melting as the shadows within it sat in wait, a shade of crimson decking the floor before it and broken glass surrounding its sacrificial alter as reality continued to shift. A feline prowled by proudly, he saw a turtle carrying a mountain and a dragon of gold captured in chains. He saw a lizard angry, rabid, and spitting foam, a bird with broken wings, ruining them further by trying to fly, and finally himself once more as he woke up panting.

Brooklyn wiped his face, elbows touching the sweat-soaked pillow case as he slowly inched open his eyes. It was still dark out, the air clear enough that the stars shone faintly against the night black sky. His breath came out in steady steam; he had slept with his window open.

He shook his head, eyeing the windows dumbly as he reached for them. Frost had formed faintly on the outside but not on the inside. Meaning someone must have opened them...

"... I see you..." Brooklyn said to the air as he laid back on the damp pillow and sheets. "... I can see you..."

Beside him, Zeus shone violet in response.

It was his sore throat that woke him up. Swallowing back a bubbling cough, Kane looked up to see that dawn had graced Japan's shores once more. The thought made him half-delirious at the pain of day starting once more while his teammates rotted away silently in their cold, white cells. He rubbed his stiff hand across his eyes, brushing away the grit at the thought of revenge taking hold in his mind.

Swinging his feet down towards the ground, he saw that other benches were occupied with the homeless just starting to get up. Sometime during the night or dawn, someone had covered him up with a patchwork of newspaper and cardboard. Nodding politely as a kindly looking man walked past with his hands stuffed in his pockets, he folded the newspaper and stacked it at the bottom of the bench.

He began heading towards the hospital, knowing that they could be awake and waiting for him right that moment. Something nagged at the corner of his mind, something about the whole situation and the present condition of his teammates seemingly too familiar.

...As if...

...It had happened to someone else before...

He hadn't been blind to his teammate's plotting, far from it. He hadn't actively pursed their attackers, though he compiled data on numerous beybladers still in Japan with the help of Kyoujyu. And while he regretted not being able to help Salima nor Jim, he knew there were possibilities. The presence of Jim and Salima lying beside Goki meant one thing; they had found Cyber Dranzer.

"So they basically sorted out everything and decided that you're not some kind of a threat to the world." The sentence was accompanied by a wry look as the dusky skinned youth sipped his cup of tea.

They sat on the couch, a chess set marking Garland's 5th defeat that day between them. Brooklyn stared out the window, wisps of orangey-red catching the late autumn sun. The windows were placed so that he would feel the brunt of the sun, making him look as if he was on fire. Though the effect was appreciated on Kai's cooler colors, he should really get a curtain. He blinked, catching the last few words of Garland's lone rambling. He wasn't really paying attention to what Garland was saying; he was more focused on...

"When are you planning to go?"

"Hmm? I'm not sure actually..." Garland admitted honestly. "Though if you want me to, I can stay until you're ready to leave." The earnest look on his teammate's face was almost too much for Brooklyn as he fought to keep his smile at a minimum.

"I think I'll stay here a bit longer..." the green eyes were dreamy, reflecting glassy yellow from the sunlight. "After all, the day is still long... and the night, longer."

"Well aren't we feeling good this morning." Drawled Boris slowly as Yuriy took a seat at the table for a brunch as Kai walked past them slapping his gloves on while muttering 'late' and 'not hungry'. "You should really take good care of your boyfriend; it's not healthy to miss breakfast."

Yuriy who had been humming at this point choked on his scone until Ivan 'kindly' helped him to swallow it. Before Yuriy could retort, the silver falcon rolled his eyes.

"Oh please, everyone in this household and a half knows you guys haven't been just sleeping in your rooms."

Yuriy glared, purple irises paling to an almost blue shade. He stabbed at his fruit and plopped a few into his mouth before muttering out a few choice words. Boris mockingly clawed at his heart,

"Oooh, very mature."

Scowling, Yuriy flicked crumbs of scone at his teammate.

"Shut up Boris."

"Morning Kai." Brooklyn was waiting for him in front of the main street just before it divulged into a narrower road. The sun played on them both and Brooklyn gently turned Kai around to face the other way, towards the park and downtown, before he could ask anything. "I thought you might like a change of scenery."

Kai grunted at this, neither agreeing nor disagreeing as he was herded over towards the nearby park.

They sat on the swings, Kai holding a dripping cone of chocolate while Brooklyn nibbled at a cone of vanilla. Kai had taken his gloves off at Brooklyn's insistence and held them in his other hand.

"Feels nice doesn't it?" Brooklyn smiled, petting a pigeon. Sparrows had perched on his shoulder chirping inquisitively at the vanilla cone. The redhead broke off the bottom piece and fed it to the birds, looking at Kai all the while.

None of the birds ever approached Kai.

Watching carefully Brooklyn added,

"Feels... whole..."

Kai's grip tightened and the cone began to crumble helplessly beneath his fingers.

"How much has he told you?"

"Not enough in my opinion, it was quite interesting." Brooklyn finished his ice cream and gave the rest to the doves by his feet, already aware of what was going to happen. Kai knew that he knew and seethed in silence. The chocolate had drooped stickily down his fingers and he glared at it, mentally comparing it to the inevitability of reality.

The truth about darkness.

A shadow fell over him, Brooklyn, extending a hand to take the broken cone into his own and dropping it at his feet. The birds cooed, specifically avoiding Kai's feet but heartily indulging themselves on chocolate ice cream. Kai glared and Brooklyn turned over the chocolate coated palm in his hand.

"You've gotten yourself dirty again." And a pink tongue flickered out, gently teasing Kai's calloused palms as they removed the traces of chocolate on his fingers. The background noise faded away and he forgot that they were at a park, on a bench, surrounded by birds fighting over a crumbled chocolate cone. Like a spell, the darkness enticed him and when Brooklyn finished with a knowing smile, his whole world was black.

"What do you expect to accomplish from this?" His hand was smooth and soft against his, having never known physical hardship. But the ragged edges of their emotional scars lined up and they knew it, too well.

"Now Kai, you know the rules. One day, one question. Besides..." Brooklyn pulled Kai onto his feet. The bluenette felt light-headed as he was spun around to face a familiar face. "I think we have company."

Kane.

"Still can't find him?" Hiromi huffed as she cantered up the street, throwing a haughty look at the two disgruntled boys in front of them. Beside her, Kyoujyu collapsed, having run all the way from the park. He sorely regretted not physically training with the others when he had the chance.

"It's not like you found him either obaa-san!"

Daichi blew a raspberry at her which prompted an immediate beating from the brunette. When Kyoujyu managed to catch his breath he blurted out,

"Some people saw Kane heading towards the park!"

"The park?" all four jumped and looked around to see Kinomiya Hitoshi laden with groceries. The dragon wielding bluenette immediately took some of the plastic bags as his older brother set them down by his feet. Daichi also struggled with a large bag, heavy with lunchmeat hams and cheese. "I think I saw some of the others there." Hitoshi's weather-beaten face creased into a frown. "Brooklyn and..."

Their eyes widened, the scene already playing out in their heads.

"Kai."

The former Psykick was bedraggled, seeming to have been dragged from depths of hell and back. Brooklyn crinkled his nose in mild disgust and Kai was reminded of a certain group of Europeans. Kane glared at the two, eyes smoldering with unrestrained fury. A couple of curious people turned their heads over towards them, immediately looking away when they saw Kane's face, animalistic with every intention of harm written in his eyes.

"What did you do to them?!!"

"Yuriy," Sergei said quietly as he captured the attention of his captain. "We have a problem."

Ivan sat quietly in the background, listening to the conversation play out.

Kane attacked them. In hindsight, the blunette realized that he probably should have brought Cyber Dragoon with him. But this was already beyond what little damage control his top could provide him. His friends were in a hospital, in a coma, and no amount of spinning a top could help them awaken.

In hindsight, he should have realized that the two he had challenged were credible foes outside of beyblading.

"You should pick on someone your own size Yamashita." Kai elbowed Kane's neck, forcing his head down onto the ground.

"Fuck you Hiwatari." Kane snarled, trying to turn his head and failing. He settled on spitting on Brooklyn's shoes, the redhead didn't even flinch.

"He's not one of the green-eyed ones." Brooklyn remarked thoughtfully as he tugged on Kane's wild hair. "He looks similar to them though." Kai scowled taking care not to touch the struggling boy with his hands.

"Goddamn you two, let me go!"

Kai flipped the raging teen on to his back, eyes searching for something before burying his fist in his stomach. Kane choked, gurgling on his own saliva before Brooklyn gently nudged the head sideways so he could spit.

"So you can attack us again? I don't think so."

Kane panted heavily, tongue flickering out to taste the air. He blinked rapidly, swallowing.

"You hurt them..."

The crowd around them grew louder as two shadows fell over the sand beneath the swings. Kai pulled his head back just in time to avoid a punch from Kane, he quickly pulled away to let the other teen scrambled up on to his feet. Brooklyn smiled in satisfaction,

"Ah there are the green-eyed ones."

Miriam and Ozuma stood side by side, shielding Kane behind them. Around Miriam's neck was a silver chain, a strange, almost oblong object in the middle glowing like a miniature sun.

Ozuma gave a backwards glance at Kane, almost a pitying one, the Psykick's leader noted furiously.

"Go home kid."

"Interesting..." Brooklyn's eye held a cat-like gaze as he inspected the strange pendant around Miriam's neck. The pearly gem burned fierce white, drawing in all light and repelling darkness. Zeus growled softly, angered at being thwarted by a soft-skinned human. "It repels darkness by drawing upon light." he threw a backwards nonchalant look at Kai. "Seems that I will be no use here Kai."

Kai's upper lips lifted in a delicate snarl.

"Try something else then."

Brooklyn's smile twisted into a smirk. Blue flames lit up beneath Zeus' cloven heels and the bottom of the blade. Kai froze in recognition of the attack as Miriam was forced to jump away when the pendant did nothing to protect her and Sharkrash from the onslaught of the super heated flames.

"Naa Kai, why are you fighting?"

And something broke inside of him.

Kai's thoughts swirled chaotically. He could dimly hear Brooklyn fending off Miriam without much effort. He could hear Ozuma calmly demanding him to give up. He didn't notice how the green orbs had sharpened once more; trying desperately from screaming out things they had no right to know. His pulse quickened, every liter of blood pouring through his veins seeming more like poison with each beat. Too many voices crowded into his head, shrilly insisting to be let out into the open air once more.

He still carried his beyblades around, even when he had no plans to play mock-battles with anyone. In desperation to crowd the voice out, to silence one persistent tone that had grown louder within the past few months, he launched it at Ozuma.

'Why are you doing this?!'

The black waters rippled, then smoothed into a mirror like surface reflecting light. Around him were will-o-wisp like balls of energy, each containing one painful memory or another of people he's seen, never met, existing or otherwise deceased. He frowned, eyes narrowing in an attempt to see beyond him. Something beneath the obviously scratched and scarred surface.

'Why won't you admit it? Why can't you accept the fact that it's been part of you all along? Why do you keep lying to yourself?'

Only Ozuma's quick reflex saved him from being impaled by one of Dranzer's wing like blades. The two beyblades crashed in midair before falling to the ground. The blue top had stopped spinning; it was an old model, kept out of sentimentality rather than any other real value. Flash Leopard spun around the cracked top, checking to see if it was dangerous. But it wasn't the top Ozuma was looking at, it was Kai.

"Ozuma!"

Miriam's pendant reacted violently; no longer able to protect her from the darkness. The crowd around them gasped as a bit beast, too fast for them to see but powerful enough to imagine, launched a clawed fist at the blue haired girl.

"Too much darkness..."

How had he gotten behind her she wondered. Zeus' attack seemed so slow, almost as if someone had taken a remote control to slow down his reaction. The centaur's thickly feathered legs were almost graceful as they stepped, almost dancing, across the black waters. Round and round the water spun around her, waters splashing gray and black against her ankles. Numerous ghostly blobs passed through her, each and every one leaving her feeling cold and empty.

"... And not enough light..."

"Hades cannot help you..."

She saw his green eyes, not the familiar opaque green of her brother and sisters but a clearer shade. The kinds that appear in water at just the right angle as the light hit the water. The ones that proclaimed that he knew all, ones so catlike that it pierced deep into her soul. And it was as if he was behind her, pressed against her, holding her so that she could see every single minute detail of her demise. She saw his lips quirk in the corner of her eyes.

"He won't."

"Dragoon! Galaxy Tornado!!"

"Gaia Dragoon, GREAT CUTTER!"(1)

The spell was broken and Takao was at Kane's side with his friends bringing up the rear. The dragons' timely intervention had saved Miriam from drowning, but she wasn't quite out of the water yet. Her pendant burned like a supernova, drawing light easily now that Zeus had pulled away.

Gaia Dragoon had circled and come back to Daichi. But Dragoon tore through the practice grounds skating in between arches of human legs, but when he approached Kai he bounced back, the place in air he had hit turning momentarily black. Kai looked dully at the spinning bey, his eyes meeting once with Brooklyn's before turning towards Takao and the others.

...and Hitoshi.

There was confusion in the red, wrought out by conflicting interests before a calculating look won it all, assessing each and every one of them as a predator might do to a prey. 'What are you doing here?' he wanted to ask, but words didn't form, not easily anyways. And it was terribly rude of him to turn his back on a guest that he had been originally entertaining... Thankfully Brooklyn seemed to understand, or maybe he had the same questions himself?

"What are you doing here?"

Takao gaped, a million and one questions running through the head like mass hoards of fans trying to get a glimpse of the elusive Kai. He closed his mouth swallowing as he locked eyes with the prodigy –the one person whom he has never been able to defeat. Almost as if sensing his master's despair, Dragoon took up a defensive position in front of him.

"We were looking for Kane." Hitoshi finally spoke up; Kane snapped at helping hands and stood up glaring. Murmurs rippled through the crowd, Daichi stepped forward.

"What are you doing here?!"

"I am here because Kai is." Stated Brooklyn boldly. Hitoshi gave his former protégée a quick look over and frowned. Brooklyn didn't seem to mind, Brooklyn was too busy watching a game of cat and mouse between Kai and Ozuma.

Kai sneered, marveling at his power. He made a bubble around Saint Shield's leader, intending to feed him to his flames. The ball of fire imploded, sucking the air into a single point of light before expelling hot air. When the smoke dispersed, an exhausted Ozuma stood in the middle holding out a fisted hand.

"Hades' bit." Ozuma panted out in satisfaction. He held up a shiny bit that looked like a circle with cut out squares for wings. "Miriam's was a copy." was the black flames danced around in an odd circle around him. Flash Leopard was quiet, curled around his master compliant as a domestic kitten. "The counterpart of Zeus. The bitbeast is long gone now but the bit still has protective properties." The light surged forward, eating up Kai's shadow. It reached his feet and shrank away. Going around him to create an odd circle connecting at the back, it probed around for prospect targets then disappeared.

Kai chuckled softly in amusement, Brooklyn looked intrigued.

"What makes you think it can stop me. What can Hades do when I'm neither light nor dark?" Kai held out a top, another old model. This one was already broken from previous battles; Ozuma recognized it instantly as the one that housed Cyber Dranzer. Brooklyn closed his eyes, mentally counting down the seconds. 'Three... two...'

Flash Leopard snarled as the blade launched forward, jerking back when a pearly white beyblade cut a jagged line down the side of the gears. The impact was powerful enough to be instantly visible. A giant wolf pressed down on to the leopard, its fangs digging into the back of the skull as if foamed almost rabidly at the mouth. Yuriy immediately jerked the gray blade out of the blunette's hand.

'One.'

"Are you insane?!"

The crowd hushed, sensing that it was not an everyday conflict they were facing. After all, how many times do you get the chance to see the real pros going at it outside TV? Growling, Yuriy jammed the blade down his pockets and recalled Wolfborg. He gave Ozuma a flat glare and wisely the Saint Shield retreated. Holding his breath Takao picked up Dragoon, Brooklyn smiled as he caught Zeus in one hand, the silence was unbearable.

"Yuriy," Brooklyn greeted cordially. His gaze strayed once more to the ragtag leftover of BBA. Smiling briefly at his former trainer, he gave the redhead his full attention.

He had seen what was to happen after all. Hiromi screamed, Takao and Daichi yelled in alarm.

But he wondered, even as he staggered from the force of the punch. If he hadn't brought Kai to the park... then what? He didn't always have to follow what was to happen, there were always strong willed individuals who could break his path of sight. He landed on the ground, scraping his palms against the dirt as he continued smiling sunnily.

In an instant, Takao was in the middle. His intent appreciated, his words, for the most part, easily dismissible. Having the Dragoon blader standing in between them narrowed Yuriy's eyes further, until only a glint of the original amethyst was visible.

"...you guys shouldn't be fighting!"

If he only knew...

Gently, Brooklyn pushed Takao away, not wanting any harm to befall on the Japanese for now. Takao protested as Brooklyn went up to the angry wolf and held his hand out. Yuriy looked as if he would like nothing better than to bite the fingers off one by one. Brooklyn, still holding out his hand, said simply

"You keep what you catch, the trick is holding on to it."

"And what would you know about holding on?" Asked Yuriy finally, most of the anger draining out him as he wearily tilted his head sideways. "You've never needed to hold on to anything..."

"...Until now." Agreed Brooklyn, his hand still in midair. "But he's worth it." Yuriy nodded absentmindedly as he stared at the long fingers. "He chose you and he's keeping you. But in time he'll come back to me, can you keep him Yuriy?" Blue eyes flared up in challenge as Yuriy took Brooklyn's hand, grabbing it in a bone-crunching grasp that left the other youth smiling broadly. "Can you?"

The violet had bled out, whispers of a distant nova exploding in Brooklyn's eyes.

"Can you?"

Kai stopped,

"Sergei, kill me now." Sergei stopped as well, looking over Kai with solemn sea-gray eyes. The wind picked up and Kai shivered, meeting the blonde's gaze with defiant eyes. "I know you and Ivan were ordered to stop me should I ever pose a threat, I'm asking you, kill me while you still can."

"And..." Sergei spoke slowly, almost deliberately so that they would reach the mansion before he would have to answer. "... If I don't think you're a danger yet, what would you say...?"

"I would say you're a fool and that you were going soft. I suppose you'd have to, trying to be a doctor and all." Kai's voice was bitter but his eyes were apologetic, Sergei nodded.

"And that would be you Kai."

Sergei stepped forwards, a sidearm an inconspicuous bulge on his thighs. Kai blinked as the blonde's form began to grow smaller and smaller as the distance grew. At last when the curve of the ground and the whispering branches obscured the blonde from view completely, Kai followed a self-mocking smile on his face.

Takao had backpedaled into the background, his mind grasping the situation at hand. The crowd billowed around them, letting them pass as they all went their separate ways. Confusion and rumors sprung through the gathered people like a rabbit being chased by a hungry fox. Even as they escorted Kane back to the hospital, Takao couldn't help but look back at the retreating backs of Brooklyn and Yuriy.

He had wanted to ask... since he couldn't do it himself.

He had only seen far and few glimpses, rare orchids that he kept tucked in his heart. He had wanted to ask about Kai. Was he alright, was he ok? What was the darkness and fire all about? His impulsive nature getting the better of him, he fell back from the group, determined to see out at least one of them when Hitoshi's hand captured his wrist. His older brother shook his head in a gentle 'no' herding him back with his friends as they trekked through the streets.

But even then Takao couldn't help looking back.

What happened?

"You say you care for me, but do you love me? Can you?" Yuriy was quiet, looking down at Kai as a hand came up caressing air at the side of his face like a dying butterfly. In that moment came a revelation, a key to a puzzle named Kai. All the pieces were falling into places now and Yuriy realized... he was afraid, afraid of seeing the whole picture. "Your eyes are blue again, did you know that?" No, he hadn't known. His mind had been caught up in a whirlpool ever since his confrontation with Brooklyn.

"You keep what you catch, the trick is holding on to it."

"And if I said..." Yuriy pressed his forehead against Kai's feeling the barest traces of heat pass through from skin to skin. "That I loved you, would you say that you loved me too?" Kai smirked,

"Love has no place in our world oh-fearless one, not while we're still alive."

"I never knew you were into necrophilia..." pausing to contemplate something Yuriy settled his chin on the groove of Kai's neck. The blunette's breathing tickled his spine and the redhead shivered in pleasure. Giving the phoenix a sly look, he began to mouth the pale column as Kai squirmed uncomfortably. When he felt comfortable that Kai wasn't suspecting anything fancier Yuriy made his move.

Yuriy's incisors penetrated the skin on Kai's shoulders. Kai spat a short curse before glaring at the redhead. Yuriy grinned ferally, licking off all traces of sticky blood on his lips before returning to suck on the teeth marking on Kai's shoulders. Wiggling away angrily, the phoenix tried to get out from under the heavier redhead and climb on top of him. But Yuriy held him fast and he was forced to remain still as his lover finished his administrations to his shoulder and upper arm.

"There, now we're even. Now I get the excuse of beating up anyone that approaches you."

"It's not even on my neck; they won't see it unless I wear some kind of a tube-top." Kai pointed out dryly as he tenderly fingered the cuts around his shoulders, smearing blood onto his fingers, arms and the pillow below.

"I know." Yuriy gloated, "They won't know what hit them." And Yuriy settled down, almost purring as he deposited himself on top of Kai. Kai smiling fondly closed his eyes, not minding the heavy weight as they fell asleep.

"Can you?"

His hand itched and it immediately dove under the pillow to grab the knife that was hidden under there.

It was dark out, the sky moonless and equally starless. With the mansion secluded from the public, no artificial light suddenly flashed through the gloom. Yuriy twitched his breathing calm and slow but his heart beating like a jackhammer against his chest.

A stray hand wound past his ear and wove themselves in his ear. A sensation of something burning, either inside or out, then nothing, just the cold breeze playing across his back as the window creaked open. And all was silent, as if nothing had been there just before. Yuriy's breath hissed out over his lips. Even with his better-than-human eyesight, he knew that their eyes shouldn't have been glowing the way they were. His eyes were like the tropical color of a sun-kissed sea reflected in the iridescent pool of wine. The molten rubies closed and the fluorescent blue blinked out of existence. Yuriy's grip on the knife tightened as Kai bucked his hip against his with a mew, a knowing smirk folding his lips as perspiration gathered at the redhead's brow into beads of sweat.

"You must be Kuro Suzaku."

"Hitoshi"

A.C.: Does anyone get the feeling that this is turning in to more of a Brooklyn/Kai? I'm sorry Yuriy, but the more I write about Brooklyn, the more I find him... likable… and... well yeah. I get a triangle-feel here too.

Yuriy: -rages in the background-

A.C.: I'm getting rid of him aren't I...? -.- ... this is starting to look like a bad soap opera.

(1)- I don't remember what Gaia Dragoon's attack... and... that was what the official website said.

Ayatsuji- (insert lots of floaty hearts here) –sacrifices an alter of white chocolate bonbons/whatever sweets you like- hah, I can't abandon the story now. You're my hero you know that X3

Tuli-Susi- hah thank you D

Ketsueki-Ken- updated –hands you a bar of chocolate-

Reivin17- well no one really does re-runs of beyblade anymore so... I can't really claim that I remember every single fine, minute, detail. About Kai and Kuro Suzaku, near the end of the first season, his grandfather gave it back to him to go and try to redeem his honor or something. I don't know if he threw it back out into the lake so I'm assuming he kept it... and never ever used it again... St. Shields? I'm going with the 'you can keep it as long as you're worthy' theme so... yeah, they're back D