Chapter 8

In a little village called Valay (Валай), near the river Berezovaya, a falcon knocked with his beak on a tiny window of a secluded house. A man, who seemed to be in his mid-fifties, opened the window to let the bird in. "Well my dear chap, what do you have for me this time?" the man asked the falcon although he knew that the bird wouldn't answer him. Around his neck was an oblong little box which the man took and opened immediately. In there was a single sheet of paper that was folded many times to fit into the tiny box. The man unfolded it carefully and while he read it a smile came to his face. "Jesus, Kai," he said loudly since nobody was there except the falcon. "So, you accepted the mission," he continued a bit quieter.

One month passed since Kai was training in the abbey to become one of the best Beybladers of the world. He didn't like the game overly nor hated it. During the month he was able to explore the whole abbey with all its tunnels and hidden rooms. One of these very well hidden places attracted him in an almost magical way. The door was probably the most secured one in the whole building with all the locks and thick chains on it. And, Kai had noticed that the number of security cameras had increased near the place as well. Each time he went there, he was stopped by Boris or one of the guards.

When Kai had asked Boris about the room behind the door, the older man simply said, "Now is not the time for you to know. Forget it and continue your training."

Kai obeyed, reluctant. The training was split in three components: physical training to build more muscles and have more power, mental training to be superior to anybody especially your opponents in a Beyblade fight, and of course practice with your own Beyblade.

Usually there were 30 children in one 'class' and each class had a different trainer in these three subjects, but Kai was in no class. Boris trained him personally and all the other thought of this as some kind of a privilege. Therefore, they hated Kai, but he didn't care at all. In reality Boris was a pain in the ass, the others knew that as well, they were simply too scared to say it out loud. Kai wasn't one of these dumb children and Boris experienced this already on the first day of training. Kai wasn't afraid of punishment, the older man realized soon, and punishment was the usually used method to keep the children under control.

Boris remembered when he threatened Kai on that first day with strokes. The boy had laughed at him and replied in a voice that made Boris blood run cold, "Harm me and I'll kill you." The most chilling part was not even the voice; it was Kai's eyes that were practically burning with the desire to kill him right away. Boris realized on that first night that he had let the devil into his house and couldn't undo it. Yet he had seen the potential of the teenager at first glance. In this regard Kai surpassed all his expectations phenomenally. If he would just be more obedient.

From the first night on, Boris never threatened the younger with physical retribution again, although Kai received unheralded punishment like being locked up in his room for days, getting just enough to drink to be kept alive. Since Kai never took vengeance, Boris came to the conclusion that this kind of punishment meant little to the teenage boy.

During his exploration of the abbey Kai had of course looked out for a boy with flaming red hair and ice-blue eyes, but he never saw a person that could pass as Ivanov's son. Was he already dead? Or was he kept somewhere else? Kai had found a room which could be called a digital storeroom, because in there was just a big computer where all the information were kept including the ones about the children that were living in the abbey or lived there in the past. The man who worked there was very uncommunicative and Kai couldn't get much out of him. Since he didn't want to make himself conspicuous Kai didn't ask further.

After one month, there were only four boys left that he hadn't met, because they were training somewhere in Siberia Boris had told him one time during his 'history lessons' about Balkov Abbey and the Biovolt Corporation. They were the best Bladers and represented the organization under the name of Demolition Boys. Kai could tell from the man's voice that he was proud of them. Ivan Papov, Sergej "Spencer" Petrov, Boris "Bryan" Kuznetsov and the team leader Tala Valkov; Kai was sure that one of this four was in reality Yuri Ivanov. He couldn't tell why he was so sure; he just knew it.

Boris didn't tell him when they would come back, so all Kai could do at the moment was to train and keep Boris apart, who was looking at him more lustful each day. If the man wouldn't disgust him that much, he possibly would have done it with him. He hadn't had any sex for a month now and he was missing it. If his self-control wasn't that good he might have banged one of the other Bladers of the abbey already by the time. He had spotted three really hot guys around his age, but after spending one month in this building he was dead certain that all they had on their minds was beyblading. 'I wonder if they even know what sex is,' Kai had asked himself more than one time.

On the morning of 17th March Boris proclaimed that the Demolition Boys would come back in two days, but this wasn't his only announcement. Voltaire Hiwatari, Chairperson of the Biovolt Corporation and sponsor of Balkov Abbey, was expected to visit tomorrow and to stay for some days. All the people Kai could see took the news with a straight face. Showing any kind of emotion seemed to be a reason to be punished, Kai had discerned during his first week in the abbey. He himself had started to keep a straight face whenever being around others, even around Boris. The man was probably thinking something like, 'Finally he is taking all this serious.'

The day passed without any more particular occurrences and the day of Voltaire's arrival came. Boris was too busy to train Kai today and had given him the order to train with the others, but the young Blader decided to take a day off instead. He wanted to meet Voltaire Hiwatari, the other man Ivanov was after. But this wasn't the only reason; he also had a personal one. From his exploration he knew that Hiwatari's office was above-ground in the 'real abbey'. He went there in the afternoon.

The door was closed, but he could hear voices behind it; Boris' voice and a deeper one that most likely belonged to Hiwatari. Kai entered without knocking. Both men looked at him annoyed. It seemed that they were in the middle of a little argument.

"Why aren't you training?" Boris barked.

Kai ignored not only the question, but also the whole man who had asked. Instead, he bowed his head to Hiwatari and said politely, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Hiwatari. I would like to talk to you."

Boris was getting more furious each second and grabbed Kai by the shoulder to drag him outside the room. "How dare you …," he started, but he was interrupted by a calm, deep voice.

"Boris, I also want to talk to this youngster, so leave us alone now, will you?" Voltaire Hiwatari demanded.

With one last hateful glance towards Kai, Boris released the boy, stomped out of the office and shut the door behind him.

"Please, sit down," Hiwatari offered and sat down on a very comfortable looking leather chair behind a very big desk. Kai followed, although his chair wasn't looking as comfortable. "Your name is Kai, right? I was constantly informed about your progress by Boris and I must admit that your Beyblade skills impress me. Have you really never done it before you came here?" Voltaire asked Kai in a conversational tone, but there was something in the man's eyes that alerted the younger.

"Yes, it was the first time," Kai answered, looking the man straight in the eyes.

"You don't talk about your past very much, Boris also informed me," Hiwatari said, not breaking the eye contact.

"What's past is past," Kai replied vaguely.

"You are right. It doesn't concern me … well … not yet."

"What is it, that you want to talk about?" the dual-haired teenager wanted to know. "Let's not beat around the bush."

Voltaire Hiwatari smiled. There weren't many people who would dare to talk to him like that. "You did very well in the intelligence test," Hiwatari stated.

'I already forgot about the test from the first week. It didn't look like it mattered,' Kai thought and said, "So what?"

"You are smart, a natural talent when it comes to Beyblading and your personality is … it will work I think," Hiwatari replied hazily.

"What will work?" Kai asked further.

"As you might know I'm the owner of a big company and many subsidiaries all over the world and my son decided to leave the family to fulfill his dream and marry this American woman", Voltaire Hiwatari spat out. "I don't have any other relatives besides this failure of a son and an even more disappointing grandchild that emerged from their tainted relationship," the old man explained in a firm voice full of resentment. "Do you understand what I want to say?"

"You need a successor," Kai concluded still not breaking the eye contact. "And I am the one you have in mind."

"Right."

"Why should I do this?" Kai asked in a playful tone. This was the exact offer he wanted to get from the man. The real reason why he had accepted the mission after Ivanov told him about the old Hiwataris connection to the orphanage. The sweet redhead with the big blue eyes just being a little bonus he wanted devour at leisure.

Kai had set his eyes on Voltaire Hiwatari, or to be more precise on the man's business empire, long before the offer from Ivanov reached him, but it proved to be difficult to get the attention of the business magnate. Now, to finally sit opposite said man and hearing his offer was like winning the lottery.

Two years ago, the head of one of the subsidiaries had asked him to kill the old Hiwatari and his disinherited son, because this man wanted to become the new owner of Hiwatari Enterprises, but Kai had rejected the mission after doing some research on the Hiwataris. At this time, he had started to elaborate the plan; a plan to become the successor of Voltaire Hiwatari and the new head of Hiwatari Enterprises. A plan to become one of the most powerful men in the world.

When Hiwatari said nothing, Kai continued, "How do you want to do this? Adopt me as your heir and display me as your successor to the media all of a sudden? This will cause a lot of questions…"

"Yes," was all the older said and finally he broke the eye contact. Voltaire Hiwatari stood up and walked to the one of the windows to look outside. With his back to Kai he continued, "I will deal with the media when the time comes. It will be none of your concern."

Kai couldn't suppress the laugh escaping his mouth. Noticing the irritated look on the older man's face he simply said: "You don't know anything about me. Believe me, the risk is too high. But… I know of a way that would not cause so many questions. It's only that we need a little cooperation of your dear son. My way, I might pass as a born Hiwatari…"

Voltaire scoffed. "You'll never be a born Hiwatari. As long as I know it, I don't care what the others believe." In reality, the old man was very conscious of the pedigree of his family. His ancestors dated back to the early Middle Age. In the end he was content to give everything to a non-blood relative. He would never inherit his empire to his failure of a son and what the man called his family. Then again, he didn't want the state to inherit Hiwatari Enterprises as well. His original plan was to make the captain of the Demolition Boys his successor, but unfortunately Tala showed no signs of interest in any economical matters. Then this mysterious boy showed up, seemingly out of nowhere, and his test results were perfect.

Kai wasn't convinced. All powerful men cherished blood relation and Voltaire Hiwatari was no exception. He was certain. "Don't tell me you would feel remorseful in the light of your son's death."

At this open statement the older man looked stunned. He had not anticipated the boy to literally stop at nothing for this to work. Momentarily speechless he just continued to watch his opposite. Eventually he answered: "Do as you wish, if you have an elaborate plan."

"Hn. I still haven't said yes to becoming your heir… but… I'm in. Sounds like a hell lot of fun to me." He smirked. "I suppose we discuss the details later."

"Yes, we will. I would also like to learn about your past, someday", the older man said while walking up to the teenager. "Take this." Voltaire handed Kai a blue Beyblade. "This is Dranzer. It's one of the most powerful Bit-Beasts in the world. Take it. It's yours."

The dual-haired teen peered at the Beyblade in Voltaire's hand. On the Bit Chip was a beautiful red Phoenix. Before he reached out, he looked the old man straight in the face, trying to read the thoughts behind this magnificent present, but when he found nothing suspicious, he took the Beyblade. For a moment he examined it closely while the man watched him expressionlessly. Eventually, Kai thanked him and put the Beyblade in his pocket. Now, both men were smiling.

"So what did you want from me?" Voltaire Hiwatari asked Kai while he went back to his leather chair and sat down again.

"What do you think?" Kai answered with a counter question, but he didn't wait for a reply and answered the question himself, "Asking you to adopt me, of course." With that Kai walked up towards the door, but turned around one last time before exiting. "See you, grandfather."

On the next day the Demolition Boys were expected to arrive. Boris wanted Kai to fight their leader, Tala Valkov, that's why after his successful talk with the old Hiwatari, he decided to train with his new Beyblade. If the rumors were true, Tala was the strongest Blader in the world and despite not yet being involved for a long time with all the Beyblade stuff, Kai took the upcoming fight seriously.

He had no problems controlling his new Blade and the Bit-Beast seemed to like its new owner. The red phoenix obeyed him perfectly. Although the Beyblade didn't look much different from the one he had used before, it was much more powerful, and again, Kai was surprised how these little tops could be so strong.

The hours went by quickly. Boris was his supervisor again and he was still very angry because of their little dispute at Voltaire's office. It also seemed that Hiwatari hadn't informed him about his plan to adopt Kai and the young boy didn't intend to expand the man's knowledge. Voltaire Hiwatari also dropped by two times to observe the progress with Dranzer. The head of Hiwatari Enterprises seemed very pleased with what he saw. Now the only problem was Ivanov's son.

'What should I do when he's not a member of the Demolition Boys? Ivanov was certain that his son was still alive, but did he really know that or was it just something like maternal instinct? I could just complete the other parts of the mission; making sure Boris and Voltaire are going to prison, but the boy is my payment. I would work for free in this case. Jeez, I should think about these things when the time comes.' Kai assured himself and concentrated on his training again.

It was late afternoon when the members of the Demolition Boys arrived. Kai knew it, because Boris left suddenly. Thirty minutes later he came back together with Voltaire and four boys in tow. And there he was: flaming red hair, ice-blue eyes, almost white skin, a steamy beauty with a chilling charisma … and he would be his.

Kai ordered Dranzer back and walked towards the group. His face was expressionless, showing nothing of the pleasure that spread through him at that moment. He nodded briefly to the old Hiwatari and fixated the redhead. The desire to destroy was almost palpable and right now the red-haired boy wanted to crush him. Kai smiled.

"This is Kai," Boris began the introduction, "he came here around one month ago and I personally trained him since then. He is a natural talent. Kai, this is Ivan." Boris pointed at the smallest and youngest guy. He had indigo colored hair and a very big nose. Next to him stood the tallest one of the foursome, a muscular blond. "And this is Spencer. The one with the hawk-like gaze is Bryan." The mentioned boy had silvery lavender hair and eyes of the same color. Kai could see at first glance that this one wouldn't think twice about using violence. "And this is your opponent: Tala Valkov, the leader." Boris pointed to the redhead who stepped forward.

"Let's start. This won't take long anyway," Tala said and walked past Kai towards the nearest Bey Dish. Kai followed wordlessly.

'His ass is not bad and he's got a nice voice, especially when he'll moan my name,' the dual-haired teen thought while taking his position at the Bey Arena.

"3 … 2 … 1 … GO SHOOT!" they shouted in unison.

Since Kai didn't know his opponent he decided to start with an attack to test how Tala would react. Said person dodged and started a counter.

'He's fast, but Dranzer is faster.'

For a while they played a game of cat and mouse with each other. Their Beyblades darted around in the Bey Dish, attacking, fending, evading.

"Enough," Tala shouted. "Wolborg, crush him! Now, Blizzalog!"

"You wish," Kai replied calmly. "Dranzer, Fire Arrow!"

Both Beyblades rushed into each other, ice and fire collided and for a moment everything was encased by white fog. Tala and Kai could hear the sound of one spinning Beyblade, but whose? Who was the winner?