Chapter - 13

Three days had passed since the opening ceremony. Three days and all I can recall is the sound of metal, sparks flying, pieces of broken blades, and bit-beasts being drawn out of their blades. Those wild, loyal creatures would be tamed by my Phoenix. The most amusing of all was the look and screams of the bladers when their friends were taken away forever. Our team was advancing and had crushed every obstacle in our path. After years of training, I was finally getting my reward: a blissful feeling of being unstoppable. Having gained Boris's favor, no other person could restrict me.

With all this, I could say that I have finally achieved my goal. But I haven't ruined one blader and his team yet. Tyson was still in the game.

Thinking about capturing Dragoon set my mind ablaze. I wouldn't take him away quickly like what I did with others, instead, I would savor every moment and show Tyson what true humiliation and defeat means. Show him how pathetic he is without his companion.

I suddenly felt a throb in my temple. That headache was back. The same old one which I used to get while training, but now it was more like a migraine. The senseless ghostly whispers which seemed distant back then were closer now. Closer and very much alive.

"Did you find some new trick to blast blades using psychic powers? If you haven't, better get going."

I turned around and saw Tala staring at me with hatred. He has been like this since my first match. The reason was obvious: he couldn't stand seeing me take his place as Boris's favorite. I got up silently and brushed my shoulder against his while moving to the dish. A roar of disapproval broke out from the audience. I no longer bothered to even glance sideways when someone called me a 'Traitor', 'Thief', or worse. My blade would speak for me. Today my opponents were a new team. After destroying The White Tigers and All stars, I couldn't believe I was wasting time on a minor team. Now that I saw the team, They were indeed minor. All the members were kids around the age of 12. Surprisingly, they were one of the 4 teams that had qualified for the semi-finals. They reminded me of Tyson. The way they stood, spoke, and created a ruckus was too familiar and it enraged me. I had to annihilate them and their stupid Bit-beasts. I motioned to AJ and he nodded. By now he knew that one on one battles were useless against me. The moment he said, "3..2..1 GO!" 4 Blades shot into the dish, and as soon as their bases touched the dish, The bit-beasts were summoned. To me, they looked like flowers ready for me to pluck. Now. Black Dranzer's power was flowing through me, and I let my mind slip into its familiar warmth. A realm of darkness where everything was pitch black... I could still hear the voices from the stadium, but they were growing distant. The surreal was turning into my reality. The voices kept growing fainter and fainter until they faded away completely...

No. Why was it getting this hard to regain focus? I'm sure the match was over by now, I definitely experienced that tug I feel when new bit-beasts are captured in my blade... then why was I taking this long to return? with a lot of effort, I oriented back to the present, but I regretted it. It seemed like I had brought those voices back to this world along with me. One quick glance at the dish and I saw that one blade was still pinning. I was beyond frustrated. I looked up to see that the boy was crying. I understood it at once: his bit beast was gone, but he was doing everything in his might to keep his blade [which was already wobbling] spinning. Just one hit by Black Dranzer was enough to end the game, but I wasn't able to do it. Instead, my gaze was fixed on the boy... Not him. The thing right behind him. I shook with barely contained horror when I saw blood on the floor, and a black figure right on top of my opponent's head. Why wasn't anyone doing anything? Was I hallucinating? I ripped my gaze off that figure and looked at the people around me. Amidst all of them, I could see the same figures. They were sitting among the people, They were all looking at me... and grinning as though mocking me. Then my gaze fell on Mariah. Did she know what I was going through? If not, why did she look so pleased? I looked around, for a change, at human faces. What I saw terrified me more than the ghosts. 'You deserve it..' all of them said the same thing. All of them were grinning just like the black figures...

"What are you doing Kai?" Boris's Voice crackled in my earpiece. "Finish this game. Now. or else..." I couldn't hear the rest. My head was bursting with whispers.

I hope you die...

I tried ignoring it and concentrating on the game. The blade that Kept spinning was finally collapsing. With the last spin, The complete essence of the Bit beast turned to glitter and fell onto my blade. The boy collapsed on the ground the very moment his blade fell. He just looked up and said, "I hope you pay for this. People like you DON'T DESERVE TO LIVE!"

"You don't deserve to live... " those familiar words shut me down completely, and I slipped back to darkness.

--FLASHBACK--

Crash.

The young boy shuddered from where he was hiding. Just one wall apart from the bathroom, his mom was being beaten to death. His breath hitched while trying to suppress another sob. Not a sound... everything will be okay. That's what she assured him. He kept chanting these words in his mind, and tried to distract himself by watching the ripples the leaking tap was making in the filled tub.

A terrifying scream broke from the bedroom, and the boy couldn't take it anymore. He dashed out of the bathroom, only to find his father staring right at him. "I knew that would bring you out"

The slate haired boy stared in pure horror at the drunken gaze of his father, and at his blood covered mother. Her voice was gone from the hours of pleading for mercy, but still she was mouthing one word : Go. Before he could react, he felt his father's lips press cheek, and his hands ruffling his hair. "See how pathetic she is? This is all your fault." He looked at his mom, hoping that she would shake her head and tell him this man was lying, just like she had done on numerous other occasions. But this time, she just stared back. "Mo-om" His voice cracked. He just wanted to go and hug her. Hug them. Yes, even his father used to be dear to him... Everything was fine before those men in black entered their life. As though sensing his thoughts, his father broke out laughing.

"You still don't see it, do you? None of this would have happened if you weren't born." Then he turned to his wife and said, "and if this bitch hadn't done that." he sneered at her, and aimed a kick right at her ribs.

"NOO!" The boy yelled and ran towards her, but his father pushed him off. "All this misery will end today." He turned to study the boy, and said with a small smile. "Just do what you always did. Shut your mouth and watch"

In a moment both he and his mother were tied with ripped pieces of their bedsheet. Kai knew that it was futile to struggle... his mother would be punished for everything he did. In the other corner of the room, his father was having a heated argument with his mom. She was struggling with each word, but all of a sudden he heard her say, "You are a freak. All of you. All MAD"

The sound of gunshot rang in the air.

The boy's voice seemed to have disappeared as he saw his mother's body slump down like an empty sack. The cloth around his mouth was drenched in tears, and for a few moments, the room was pin drop silent. Then he heard his father sobbing. The man buried his face in his wife's chest and screamed out loud. He was in total hysterics, The weight of what he had done finally set in. Kai had never seen his parent this... sad. He wasn't smirking or terrifying him now, instead he was mourning over his once dear wife. Then what he saw surprised him out of his senses. For the first time he saw his father kiss his mother. He embraced her corpse for what seemed like hours, never breaking contact, and then he turned back to kiss Kai, right on the lip. It was quick, but Kai could taste his mom's blood on his lips and his fathers wet cheeks still pressed against his. He heard a soft whisper in his ears, "Didn't you hear her? I'm mad.. and so are you"

His heartbeat stopped for a second when his father aimed the pistol at his forehead, but he dropped it. He couldn't kill his son the way he killed his wife. Instead he quickly rummaged through his pockets and drew out a small packet. He mixed whatever was in it in two glasses of water, and gave a glass to him.

"You would thank me for this if you knew. The madness that runs in you will kill you anyways. This is way too painless than what You deserve. You deserve to die. Painfully."

Together, both of them emptied their glasses. The last thing his father did was to pull both him and his mother in a tight hug.

--Flashback ends--

[Kai's POV continues]

The sharp blow of a whip welcomed me to reality. I found my face inches away from Boris's. "Woke from your sleep, didn't you my beauty?"

Another blow.

I tried to resist him, but I noticed that my hands were tied with my own clothing. My bare back probably looked like a meat slab and there was no energy left in me. "Are you dumb?" Boris stood back for a moment to admire his 'work'. "One order and you couldn't follow it. Just winning is not enough for me. And you collapsed like a weakling!!" I turned my head away from him. The very moment his hands clasped around my chin and he forcefully made me face him. He was laughing.

That's when I realized that I was crying. The weird scenes that had flashed through my mind while I was knocked out had felt so real, That they had penetrated all layers of my mental barriers and succeeded in making me cry.

"You look great crying. I'll give you an actual reason to cry" I felt his thumb brush over my cheeks as though mockingly wiping my tears away. then he traced a tear down to my chin and...

I bit his hand.

This time the punch was right at my stomach. This made me throw up. Boris kept on harming me, both physically and mentally. But I didn't care. I was continuously trying to reach out to my blackbird. It was useless. No matter how much I begged her to help me, or at least help me faint, she wouldn't respond. Unlike Dranzer, she would only help me in battles.

I felt Boris's rage growing and his methods becoming sicker. He was about to knock me out, when suddenly Tala opened the door. He had a spare key to this room [captain's privilege] and behind him stood Ian, Spencer, and a very displeased Bryan. Tala was panting, But he said, "Sir, we have to get out of here. If we spend more time in the stadium facility, suspicions might arise... That can be dealt with later" he was pointing at me. Boris was annoyed at his pupil's interference, but seeing the logic in his words, He went out of the room with the other Demolition Boys. I heard him order Tala, "Clean that mess!"

Tala knelt down and wiped my mouth. He didn't seem to care that the floor was covered with blood and vomit. For some reason his eyes were unreadably cloudy. After a long pause he said, "I was scared this would happen. This is so wrong. If you don't like this Kai, once you have healed, go back. Never come back again. Never show me your face again. just GO!"

My vision blurred out.

I'm back. sorry for the massive delay, but I was busy with new hobbies and exams. Being the wonderful person that I am, I made my 'coming back' chapter a 'Kai torture chamber'. If ur still reading this, Thanks a lot. I'll try not be gone for so long. * dramatically looks at the continuous model exam schedule marked on my calendar, then at the stack of books waiting to be opened*

So, till next time, Bye!