Well, chapter two is here! So, let's get started! As a warning, there is a sappy scene in this chapter!
Kai – Disclaimer: She doesn't own Beyblade. The only thing she does is the characters that you don't know from the anime/manga.
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CHAPTER TWO – A TENSE START
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Kai and Jet were laughing as they exited the terminal in the airport. They finally had agreed on something that didn't have to do really with anything, and now they couldn't stop laughing at the stupidity.
"Kai!" a voice called, causing the phoenix to look up.
"Tyson," Kai acknowledged, seeing the dragon as well as the other beybladers that Mr. Dickenson had invited. Obviously, they had all gotten there earlier and had decided to wait on the rest of the party.
The previous Bladebreakers all came up and gave the tall Russian a hug each, glad to see him.
"Nice to see ya, Jet," Tyson smiled, glomping him, too, along with Max.
"Tyson, off!" Jet laughed, trying to push the two hyperactive teens away but failing miserably.
Everyone else laughed, including Kai.
"Okay, Tyson, enough's enough. Let my weak cousin breathe," a voice said with mock humor.
Tyson and Max smiled, letting go of Jet.
"Thank you, but don't think that I'll forget that remark," the wolf muttered, smirking darkly at his lighter counterpart.
Tala just grinned.
"Hey you guys, we need to get going!" Kai recognized the voice to be Tyson's older brother, Hiro.
He looked up at the slate haired man and stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes meeting bright orange hair.
"Brooklyn," Kai muttered, his body trembling slightly.
Jet noticed this and looked up, his dark eyes meeting those bright teals of the man that had hurt his phoenix so badly a year ago. He growled deeply in his throat, his eyes turning to a shiny onyx with silver outline. His fangs showed sharply as he snarled at the oblivious youth before him. 'Brooklyn, you're gonna die….'
Tala gazed on at his cousin, wondering at the protective aura that had suddenly spiked within the last few seconds. He looked up at the object of the two Russian's distress and noticed the familiar lazy teal eyes. He knew then and there what was up.
"Tyson, why don't we all head out to the buses?" he asked quickly, motioning for the others to follow him.
Everyone nodded and headed towards the door, grabbing Kai and Jet's luggage on the way. When they reached the two buses parked outside with the large BBA logo on the side that was when the tension spiked, especially when Hiro and Brooklyn decided to come up and greet Kai.
"It's nice to see you again, Kai," Hiro said, shaking the slate haired teen's hand.
Kai just nodded, not trusting his voice. Jet stood beside him, trying very hard not to kill the orange haired teen beside the other taller man.
"Hi, Kai," Brooklyn smiled.
Kai just nodded and started to get on the bus, but a hand on his elbow made him freeze.
"Kai, I wanted to ask you why you wouldn't be in the next World Championships," the teal eyed teen said softly, almost disappointedly.
Jet growled as Kai's face became paler with the hand on his arm. "Let go of him," he commanded, "and I won't tell you again."
Brooklyn just eyed him. "I was just wanting to know the answer to my question."
The phoenix was still frozen, memories of the dark abyss that had consumed him not only once but twice a year ago. The black void of frozen water consuming his body, filling him inside, his lungs already dead as his mind became numb. Everything just seemed to slip away in that void.
The only thing that brought him out of it happened next.
"You want to know why he won't be joining this year?" the wolf asked, his eyes even darker, the silver shining like the moon. He growled, fangs showing menacingly, making both Brooklyn and Hiro flinch. "It's because of you!" With that he punched him square on the cheek, surprisingly not breaking the bone.
The orange haired teen fell to the ground, one hand on his cheek.
Tyson, Max, Ray, Tala, and even Lee grabbed hold of Jet to hold him back from launching himself at the teen on the ground. He growled and snarled at them, finally bringing Kai back to reality. The phoenix took one look at his fiancé and the teen on the ground and began to help the others hold back his koi.
"What the fuck did you do that for, you bastard?" Hiro cried, his eyes narrowed and deadly if anyone ever paid any head to them.
"You want to know why?! Ask him! Ask him what he put Kai through! Why Kai had to be rushed to the hospital after his match! Why the medics had to resuscitate him three times on the way to the hospital! Why I spent nine hours waiting on him to come out of surgery! Why I almost had a heart attack when I heard that he had almost died in surgery! Why I broke him out of the hospital to see your brother's last battle even though he could hardly stand! Why ever since then, he can't go three days without having at least two nightmares!"
He continued to try and get out of the others' grasps. "You want to know, ask him! He deserved that hit, and if you ever – and I mean ever – touch Kai or look at him or even think about hurting him or going near him, I won't be holding back next time!"
"Jet, stop!"
The dark wolf stopped struggling and stood panting, his eyes meeting the crimson ones of his koi's.
"Stop, please," Kai whispered, his eyes pleading with the teen.
Jet, still under the effects of the sleeping rage that had just woken up, growled, narrowing his eyes at the teen. "No, I won't! I'm tired of seeing the one who made you suffer, who still makes you suffer, to be going around, acting as if nothing happened!"
"Just because you don't want that, doesn't mean that you have the right to go ahead and become executioner!" The wolf just growled. "Don't growl at me! You know I'm right. Now, stop!"
Jet jerked his arms back from the others and, with one last glance at his koi, left.
Kai sighed, running a hand through his slate blue locks. Turning to Tyson, he spoke, "Tyson, you guys go on ahead to the hotel, we'll meet you there when he's calmed down."
The dragon nodded and smirked. "Okay, but tell Jet something for me?"
"What?"
He whispered, "Tell him he has a nice right hook."
Kai smirked. "Tell him when we get back." He waited a few more minutes before following the direction that his fiancé had just taken.
Hiro growled. "Who the fuck was that, and what the hell was that about?" he asked, going over and inspecting Brooklyn's quickly bruising cheek.
Tala sighed, mimicking Kai's movement as his fingers felt the red locks of his head. "That was Jet Corenta, my cousin and Kai's fiancé."
Hiro, Brooklyn, and Rick all looked at him. "You've got to be kidding," Rick stated, crossing his arms over his chest.
Tyson shook his head. "He's not."
The white wolf turned his gaze on the other two. "Yeah, I'm not, and you just really pissed off the wrong person. Jet is ten times stronger than he looks and ten times as dangerous. Not to mention, I've never seen him so pissed."
Lee shook his head. "I know exactly how he feels." He looked at Ray, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "After Ray got hurt battling Bryan, I wanted to kill him. Bryan hurt Ray, and I – to this day – don't think that I could ever fully forgive him for it. Ray was put into the hospital, and he still bears the scars."
Tala nodded. "That's how Jet feels. You guys never found out what happened after Kai and Brooklyn battled that last time. The only way I found out was because I forced Jet to tell me after Kai nearly passed out after Tyson's battle." He stopped, remembering how frantic the dark wolf was, carrying Kai all the way back to the hospital at a distinct run.
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Kai sighed, finally spotting his koi standing, leaning against a railing and looking at the sky.
"I'm sorry that I snapped, but don't expect me to apologize for hitting him. He damn well deserved it," Jet said, not even looking at the phoenix.
Kai came up next to him. "I don't expect you to apologize for that. I know how long you've been wanting to do that."
Jet sighed, moving to stand behind the slate haired teen and wrapping his arms around the slim waist. He nuzzled his nose in the phoenix's neck, the scent of cinnamon and other spices washing over him. They stayed like that for a few moments, just enjoying the calm that had suddenly washed over them.
Jet's mind kept going back to that day. How he had almost lost his phoenix making his gut flip-flop.
-FLASHBACK-
The dark wolf strode down the equally dark hall as he searched for his phoenix that had staggered in there just a few moments before. A light sigh and shatter reached his ears, and he raced down the rest of the hall, spotting a lone figure slumped up against the wall, shards of blue and red scattered in a pile beside it.
"Kai," Jet breathed, rushing to his koi's side, noticing the small pool of blood that was slowly growing bigger around the phoenix. He knelt down next to him, placing warm fingers on a cold neck, feeling – and hoping – for a pulse. He got one but only faint.
Bringing out his cell phone, he quickly dialed the number for the hospital, requesting an ambulance and telling the quickest way to get to them without dealing with crowds.
Shrugging off his jacket after he hung up, he gently placed it around Kai's shoulders bringing the teen to lie down and bending his knees to where they would stand up on their own and bring back the circulation to the rest of the teen's body. He took off the boy's scarf and started tearing it piece by piece, wrapping it around the deepest parts of the boy's wounds. He heard Kai groan just a little bit before settling back to the depths of unconsciousness.
"Hang on, Kai," he whispered to the teen, brushing away a few strands. "Please hang on."
It wasn't long that the medical team came up, quickly doing a once-over of the boy before setting him on a stretcher and strapping him in.
"I'm coming with him," Jet stated as they neared the ambulance. The medics didn't even take the time to argue as they ushered him through the doors and shut them, the vehicle starting down the road at an un-godly pace.
Jet kept worrying his lower lip, especially when Kai had stopped breathing. His heart quickened, and he struggled to grab that mental connection that he and the phoenix had discovered not too long ago.
Nothing happened. He couldn't feel the other, and that's when he started panicking. "Kai! Kai, come on!" he screamed over and over again, willing the boy's breathing to start back up.
"Stand clear," a medic stated, bringing out two flat-paneled, humming pads. "One. Two. Three, clear!" A shock of electricity echoed through Kai's body, causing the wolf to flinch.
'Please, Kai,' he begged in his mind. He couldn't take his eyes off of the boy on the stretcher in front of him as the medic resuscitated the phoenix again, this time gaining a response as Kai's breathing came back only weaker than before.
This happened two more times until they reached the hospital, and by then, Jet was a nervous wreck. Dranon tried to consol the teen, but he was getting no where. With Dranzer gone, the mental connection that he had with the teen had been shattered. So, he wasn't of any help in contacting Kai's mind.
Jet stayed in one spot in the waiting room for nine straight hours. Some of the nurses had come over and had asked if he wanted to get something to eat or drink. He never answered, which worried them to no extent.
-END FLASHBACK-
Jet sighed, nuzzling his face into Kai's neck again, trying to push that memory out of his mind. He had almost lost his phoenix thanks to that teal eyed teen that he had punched. "I'm sorry for going off on you, but when he touched you and asked you why you weren't going to be blading this year – not to mention the look on your face – I just snapped." He stopped and started looking at the sky again. "I just – I just keep seeing you, hearing the doctor say that you had almost died. I was in the ambulance and unable to reach you or help you. I felt so helpless. If you had died, I don't know what I would do without you." He squeezed his koi harder and buried his nose in his neck. Kai could feel the wet drips of his koi's tears. "And I can't stand it when you start thrashing in your sleep, a high fever appearing, screaming, crying, whimpering, and pleading. It breaks me, Kai. I can't stand seeing your eyes when you wake up, when you bury your face in my chest, crying. Kai, it hurts. It hurts so much, and seeing him now, it makes the rage that I've been holding in want to come out. Kai-" He broke down, hugging his fiancé even tighter, tears running down in rivers.
Kai leaned into the embrace, trying to hold back his own tears. "It's okay," he soothed, his voice almost cracking, rubbing his hands along the other teen's arms.
They stayed like that for a little while longer after Jet finally calmed down before Kai decided to break the silence between them.
"Jet, I know that nothing that I say will make you stop hating the guy and stop planning his death," he started, "but I do have a favor to ask of you."
"What is it?"
The slate haired teen sighed, turning in the embrace to gaze up into soft dark eyes that rivaled the night sky. "Promise me that you will try and keep things calm between all of us."
The wolf sighed and squeezed the phoenix in his arms. "I promise. If it's for you, I promise."
Kai nodded and smiled softly. "Thank you."
Suddenly, a low grumbling noise reached their ears. They both looked down at Jet's stomach and laughed.
"Guess that light breakfast that we had didn't hold over as long as we wanted it to," the wolf said sheepishly, running a hand through his dark hair.
Kai laughed and tugged on his koi's arm, leading the way towards their hotel. "You know, I'm hungry, too," he stated almost absent-mindedly. "And I'm in the mood for something Italian."
Jet snorted, falling in step beside his phoenix. "Then we'll stop by the store and grab some stuff for you to make spaghetti."
Kai shook his head. "Nope, I want lasagna."
"I'm not making lasagna," Jet said defiantly.
"Oh, come on! You know I love your lasagna," Kai said sweetly, giving his best impression of Max's puppy eyes, which he finally perfected a year ago. Jet couldn't resist the large crimson eyes gazing hopefully up at him.
He growled, trying to look somewhere other than those pleading eyes. "No, you know I can't cook," he said. Well, it was mostly true. He couldn't cook, except for lasagna. He found that out by accident when trying to surprise Kai one day when the phoenix got home. It was his birthday, and he wanted to make dinner for the slate haired teen.
He never expected it to actually taste good.
"Please, Jet," Kai pleaded, this time his eyes stated that true pleading look. He really wanted his koi to cook for him tonight. "It's not often that I ask you to cook, please?"
Jet sighed, finally giving in. "Fine, but if that oven tries to kill me like the one at home, I'm never cooking again."
Kai laughed at that. His fiancé had this wild imagination that their oven at home didn't like him and was out to get him.
"I'm serious, Kai."
Kai just continued to laugh. "You're just as insane as the day I met you," he said, smiling.
"I'm telling you that that oven is out to get me!" he persisted. "I'm dead serious!"
"Yeah, yeah," he smiled. "Oh, by the way, Tyson wants to tell you something when we get back."
Jet stopped, eyeing him warily. "What? I'm not in trouble, am I for hitting his brother's boyfriend?"
The phoenix started laughing.
"Kai, am I?" His eyes widened. "Kai?"
Kai continued to laugh all the way to the store.
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Tyson sighed, finally settling on a channel to watch with Max, Ray, Chief, and Lee.
It had been an hour since Jet and Kai had left them and Tala had told them how Kai had almost died at the hospital a year ago. It was still kind of unnerving. Of course, all of them knew why Jet never said anything. He didn't want them to worry about Kai's condition.
When they heard the door open did they all look up to see a laughing phoenix and wolf carrying grocery bags.
"Hey, Kai, Jet," Tyson said, glad that the two seemed to be in a better mood.
"Hey, Tyson," Kai said, setting the bags on the table in the small kitchenette. Jet followed suit.
"Kai, are you sure that I have to?" Jet practically whined.
"What's up?" a voice called from the doorway, revealing Tala.
Kai sighed. "Jet, you promised to cook," the phoenix said with a slight pout.
It was the wolf's turn to sigh. "Fine. Fine, but just remember what I said." He grabbed the food and started preparing the dish.
Kai smiled at his koi's antics and went into the living room with the others. He sighed and shook his head when the others' questioning looks reached him. "He's afraid that all of the ovens in the world are out to get him."
Tala quirked an eyebrow. "What in the world is that black boy thinking?"
Kai laughed, surprising everyone in the room. "He had a little incident at home with our oven-"
"It tried to set me on fire!" a voice called from the kitchen.
Kai chuckled. "He was making me lasagna – which is what he's making now – and somehow the dish caught on fire." He sighed. "And now all of the ovens are trying to kill him."
They all laughed at that. "Jet, you are one strange dude!" Tyson called in between laughs.
A knock on the door stopped them all. Tala opened the door to reveal Hiro and Brooklyn.
Brooklyn caught Kai's wary gaze. "Kai, I just want to talk to you," he stated softly.
Jet heard the voice and was immediately by Kai's side. He glared but refrained from saying anything, his other promise echoing in his mind.
"Could we talk, Kai, Jet?" he asked.
They both nodded and motioned to the kitchen where Hiro and Brooklyn followed.
"Kai, I just wanted to apologize – whatever that may mean to you," the orange haired teen started. "After Tyson battled me, I haven't really been able to remember all of my battles. You see, for the longest time – since I was a child – my bitbeast's darker side took control of my body and mind. When I battled you, you broke that bond and it took a lot of my bitbeast's power to remain in control." He shook his head. "When I battled Tyson, he destroyed my darker half, and I got to maintain control. Since then, I've been trying to fix the pieces that my darker half had destroyed."
"Darker half?" Jet asked, knowing full well what that was like, and he knew Kai knew as well with the whole incident with Black Dranzer.
Brooklyn nodded. "I know that it might not mean anything to you, and I perfectly understand what happened at the airport and why. Personally, I'm surprised that you haven't killed me yet."
"Don't think that I didn't try," Jet growled.
Brooklyn nodded. "I know. I just wanted to apologize and hope that we could at least get along while we are here."
Kai shook his head. "I'm willing to get along and keep the peace while we are stuck here together."
Jet nodded. "Don't expect me to ever forgive you for what you did to Kai, but I will – as a favor to Kai – be nice and try to control myself, but," he took a step forward, "if you even think about hurting him, I won't hesitate to kill you." His eyes flashed dangerously.
Brooklyn, seeming as if he were unaffected, nodded and extended a hand to the both of them. They shook, finalizing the agreement.
An aroma filled the air causing all four boys to freeze, wondering what it was.
"Oh, shit!" Jet exclaimed, grabbing a pot holder and opening the oven. "Please, please, don't set me on fire!"
Kai chuckled as his fiancé brought out the perfectly-made lasagna and setting it on the stove top. "See? I guess it's just our oven."
Jet stuck his tongue out at the phoenix as the others came in to the kitchen, having smelled the food and heard Jet's outburst.
"Mmn, smells good!" Tyson said, a small dribble of drool going down his chin.
Jet looked at Tyson as he remembered that the teen had something to tell him. "Oh, Tyson, Kai said that you had something to tell me?"
Tyson blinked at the question and then realized what he was talking about. "Oh!" He smirked, very unlike the Tyson that they all knew. "I just wanted to say, nice right hook."
Brooklyn smirked as well and nodded, rubbing his already blue cheek. "I'll second that."
It was Jet's turn to blink as the information settled in his brain. "That was it?"
"Uh, yeah." Tyson rubbed his head, moving his cap up and down in confusion.
The wolf turned to Kai. "You said that I was in trouble!"
Kai laughed. "I said no such thing. You were the one that came up with that conclusion."
Jet started pouting, crossing his arms in a huff. "That's not funny, Kai."
"Yeah, it is," the phoenix chuckled, wrapping his arms around the pouting wolf.
They all laughed at how the dark being kept pouting, ignoring everyone as they all set the table for dinner.
Little did they know – or pay attention to – the beady golden eyes that watched them carefully. 'So, they are very close,' he mused, a small smirk appearing on his darkened figure. 'That just makes it much more fun to tear them apart. Your powers will be the master's, four celestials. So, don't turn your backs.'
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That's it for chapter two! Chapter three is underway!
Read and Review, Peoples!
HIGHLIGHTS FOR NEXT CHAPTER
The teenagers all meet Tyson and Hiro's dad, Bruce Granger, at the dig site. There, they learn about the prophesy and are ambushed by dark-clothed figures. Who are these guys? What do they want, and what has it got to do with the four legendary bitbeasts, and what is the voice that keeps calling out to Kai from the halls of the tombs?
Find out in the next chapter!