Yo! I know, I know... I'm late.

Sorry about it - but hey! - to compensate I now present to you this extra long chapter that I had to split into two parts to keep it from becoming four times longer than the other chapters! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: Beyblade shall, sadly, never belong to me. (Or I would make Max the Supreme Lord of the Universe)

A Secret To Be Told

Chapter 9: Reminiscence

They had all sat down to eat a late lunch.

"WOW! So much food! And it smells sooo good!" exclaimed Daichi excitedly, loading his plate with dollops of everything on the table.

"Ift dewitioush!" said teen Tyson through a mouthful of food.

"Gross, Tyson!" admonished teen Hilary. "Don't you know it's bad manners to speak with your mouth full?!" She then went on to lecture the beyblading champ on table manners, repeatedly smacking the back of his hand with a spoon whenever he tried to reach for the food, ignoring his complaints and pleas to let him eat in peace.

Mariah had gone upstairs with Alex to settle Rin in the nursery with Gou, since it was time for her afternoon nap.

"Hey – where did Kai go off to?" asked grown-up Hilary, looking around for the moody teenager, who seemed to have vanished into thin air.

"He's probably off sulking somewhere again," said Daichi, popping a riceball into his mouth, only to nearly choke on it after being whacked upside the head by Hilary.

...

Kai walked down the first floor corridors, taking in the house that he had come to know as his home after he had left the Abbey…..

Flashback

Sirens wailed. People rushed about in a blur, shouting for help or searching frantically for others trapped under the rubble of the old monastery, half of which had caved in and was left in a smoking, smouldering wreck, thanks to the curiosity of one young boy.

The same boy who was now sitting on a low, half-built stone wall a safe distance away from the ruin, covered in dust and dirt and small cuts and bruises, shivering inspite of the heavy, fur-lined coat draped around his small frame as he watched the scene with fearful, slightly teary amethyst eyes. He sat a little way off from the group of boys who were huddled together, some of the younger ones clinging to each other in fright, while the older boys whispered amongst themselves, occasionally looking at him warily or even pointing. He did not pay them much attention. He was terrified of what had happened…what he had caused. How could one Beyblade do so much damage? He tried to remember exactly what had transpired earlier in the night, but his memory was frustratingly hazy... all he could remember was taking Black Dranzer from its holder; the rush of unbridled power he had felt coursing through his veins when he held it before he launched it…... the next thing he was aware of was dull pain through his body, followed by an Abbey guard pulling him out from under a pile of rubble and carrying him out of the ruins. After doing a quick check to make sure that he had not sustained any major injuries - miraculously, he had been saved by a huge slab falling on top of a toppled column just above him, creating a niche and protecting him from most of the falling pieces of the collapsing roof and the walls. The guard led him to the other boys who had been evacuated and given him an oversized coat before heading back to continue searching for more trapped children.

In the light cast by the ambulances' sirens and the fire engines headlights, Kai spotted two figures walking towards him – a tall, robed figure and a slightly shorter, stouter one wearing a cloak and carrying a walking stick. A shiver ran up the nine-year old's spine when they were close enough for him to recognise one of them….Boris. The boy resisted the urge to get up and bolt. He knew firsthand what sort of punishments were given for disobedience by the Abbey director, and he was certain that Boris wouldn't be too happy with him after he had broken curfew, sneaked out and messed with the strictly off-limits Black Dranzer and managed to blow up half of the Abbey.

"Young Kai…." Kai swallowed and raised his eyes to meet Boris'. He could tell that the man was furious from the harsh look in his eye; however, he managed to keep his facial features and voice calm and unreadable. "It seems that you have developed quite a knack for troublemaking…."

Kai lowered his gaze slightly. Even though he feared Boris, he was still too proud to offer any form of justification for his actions or apologise. He instead chose to look at the man beside Boris, and his brow immediately furrowed as he stared at him in confusion.

The man was elderly – probably in his late sixties – and had long silver hair that reached down to the middle of his back. He had an austere, distinguished air about his face and appearance in general, and wore a steel grey, old-fashioned suit under his long black travelling cloak.

"G-Grandfather?" asked Kai, scarcely believing his eyes. He was surprised that he even recognised him, considering he had not seen his grandfather for four years…ever since he had left him in the Abbey.

"Hello, Kai," said Voltaire, the tiniest of smiles on his face as he looked down at his grandson. "I'm glad to see that you have not forgotten me."

"…." Kai was rendered momentarily speechless. Why was his grandfather here? He had never visited him, ever, in all his time at the Abbey - he had said that he was leaving Kai here so that he could learn new things and become strong…he remembered how he had silently cried for his grandfather on his first few nights in the Abbey, but had eventually stopped pining, eager to make Voltaire, his only remaining family, proud of him by becoming independent and strong, just as he wished him to become.

"What's the matter, Kai? Are you not happy to see me?" Kai looked up at the elderly man again, who was regarding him with an impassive expression, though there was a ghost of an amused smirk on his face.

"Why? Why are you here now?" the question tumbled from the boy's mouth before he even thought about it.

Voltaire spread his arms and smiled, though the smile did not reach his eyes.

"Why, my dear grandson. I have come to take you home."

End Flashback

Voltaire had taken Kai to his estate on the other side of Moscow, far away from the Abbey, where Kai spent nearly two years being home-schooled and taught upper society etiquette. He spent almost all his time within the estate, and rarely ever met anyone else aside from the housekeepers, butlers and his tutors. Voltaire was almost always pre-occupied with work, and their interactions were mostly short and formal, with his grandfather occasionally questioning him about his educational progress. He realised now that it was probably around that time that all his memories of the Abbey had been subconsciously supressed; his mind simply choosing to bury that harrowing phase of his life - he couldn't even remember at that point how he had come to live with his grandfather; whenever he tried to recollect further back, his mind always drew a blank. He had only ever questioned his grandfather once about it, and the old man had simply told him that he had been living under his care all the while, and probably had trouble recollecting because of a minor accident in which he had hurt his head when he was nine. Kai had believed him, and did not ask about it again.

When Kai was eleven, they moved back to Japan, taking up residence in the old Hiwatari family mansion where Kai was born and had spent his early childhood. He vaguely remembered the place, but had no clear memories of it, barring those of the day his father left, which he could not seem to forget even if he wanted to. In Japan, he was still home-schooled, but was given more freedom by his grandfather to do as he pleased - it was during this time that he formed the BeySharks street gang, searching for the 'legendary bit-beasts' his grandfather had told him about. He had stared interacting with Voltaire more, who seemed to have developed a fascination with the power of the mythical spirits, and encouraged him to search for and capture them. Kai, wanting nothing more than to be the most powerful beyblader of all and win his grandfather's admiration, eagerly complied with all his demands. Of course, things between the two of them definitely got a lot more complicated after the Russian Championships….

Kai shook his head. He didn't really want to think about his sour relationship with Voltaire at the moment. Though he couldn't help wondering…..the old man was nowhere to be seen in this time. Maybe he'd kicked the bucket? Or finally been hauled off to jail for all his illegal business and conspiracies…

He eyed the décor of the house with mild interest. The house's atmosphere seemed to have changed just by keeping the drapes open to let in sunlight, and slight changes in the furnishings and artwork. There were a significantly lesser number of those old suits of armour that Voltaire had been so fond of, not to mention the weaponry collection. The more drab and depressing paintings (which, frankly, even Kai had disliked) had been replaced by warmer ones, which helped lift the general gloomy and unwelcoming feel the manor used to have.

He was currently heading to the eastern wing of the house – where his bedroom was. He finally reached the room, and slowly pushed open the door.

It hadn't changed much – only a few personal belongings were missing from the desk and bedside table. There were the boxes of spare beyblade parts set in one corner of the room and several rows of books lined neatly on the bookshelves. Kai walked around the room. A white sheet covered the bed, and on checking the cupboard - which had also been previously covered - he found more than half of his clothes – his old clothes in this time, he reminded himself – neatly folded and kept in there. Clearly, he had moved out of his old room. He noted that Dranzer wasn't there either – he probably kept it on his person, or in his new room. He tossed the sheet back over the cupboard, and after one last, sweeping glance around the room, he exited, pulling the door closed behind him.

He was about to head to the next floor when he noticed that the door of the room adjacent to his was slightly ajar, in contrast to the other rooms' doors, which were all closed, and some even locked. He pushed the door open and looked inside.

It was a nursery. The walls were painted in warm shades of cream and orange, with red trimming. There was a play pen close to the door, filled with all sorts of toys. Kai resisted the urge to throw up when he saw all the cute stuff toys littering the floor and lining the shelves in the room, which flanked an assortment of baby-care products and baby bottles, a couple of old playschool books and several other little toy figures and dolls. A baby's cot stood in the middle of the room. There was a rocking chair in one corner, and a table – which Kai assumed was meant to change the baby on - to his left just beside the window. Against the far wall of the room, opposite the rocking chair was a small bed overflowing with cushions and throw pillows. Ray and Mariah's kid, Rin, was curled up in the sea of pillows, fast asleep. His eyes then landed once again on the cot in the middle of the room. It had those little miniature toys and figurines hanging over it, swaying and chiming gently. As Kai approached the cot, his eye was caught by a couple of unusual figurines – among the stars, smiley faces and little cartoony cats there was a dark brown falcon with large wings and talons and jagged feathers, and the second was a regal looking bird with crimson feathers and a golden crown and breast-plate like armour, with a long tail that split into three at the tips….Dranzer.

Kai's attention was drawn downwards by a small rustling sound. The little boy in the cot was awake, and regarding him with wide, curious purple eyes. They stared at each other for several seconds, before Kai finally broke the silence.

" You do look like me, I guess," said Kai gruffly, earning a cute tilt of the head and a blink from the baby. He then gurgled and raised his little arms towards him, as if he wanted to be picked up.

"You're gonna have to learn to stand on your own feet, squirt," he told the infant, who, to Kai's slight amusement, lowered his arms and scrunched his eyebrows together a little, as if unused to such a response.

"What had they called him?" thought Kai. "...Gou" he recalled.

"Kai! Where are you? Come on down and eat something - we're having lunch!" called a voice that sounded like Ray's (probably the one from this time, Kai guessed).

I should probably go down there, or else Tyson will lead a search party after me, thought Kai in mild annoyance. He looked down at Gou again, who was still watching him with rapt attention.

"See you around, squirt," he said, before turning around and leaving the room.

And there you have it! I thank Minij Akane, PK Styles and Indigo Jupiter for their reviews.

PK Styles, I will try my best to add more humour wherever possible - thank you for the advice! And Indigo Jupiter...though this is a TyHil fic, there will actually be some little KaiHil references later on in the story. :3

Don't forget to hit the review button once you're done reading!

P.S. IMPORTANT! Apologies since this is not related to this fic...not directly, anyways. I am thinking of putting my other serious multi-chapter story, Nebesa, on a (rather ridiculously long) hiatus, since I have not been receiving any reviews - good or bad - for it...and frankly, because that's a little disheartening, as you all know. This will be till I finish A Secret To Be Told (which still has several chapters left to go), so that I can concentrate on the updates for this story alone, while I further develop Nebesa's plot (which I do intend to finish).

If any of you are following that story and want it to continue, and would like to offer some feedback about it, please let me know.

Thanks!

-AthenaSeiki