Of Boys and Blades
Part One
Chapter 5
Lidiya's few weeks turned into months.
Tyson and I fell into a routine. After school we'd gather in the dojo and train with the rest of the team. Max and Rei returned and we fell into our old dynamic. That plus Hilary, I suppose. It surprised me how much I'd actually missed them. Being a part of something. Being surrounded by people who gave a damn about me.
Max went to the same school as Tyson and Kenny, though he wasn't in the same class. Rei had finished school in China. He spent most of his time at the BBA headquarters. When the others weren't around Tyson and I avoided each other. Most nights after dinner I would spend the rest of the night in my room or go out walking.
School was a welcome escape from the tension at the house. It was the same middle school I'd attended before Voltaire's arrest so everyone already knew to leave me alone and not badger me with questions. Well, except for the Blade Sharks who kept berating me to rejoin our stupid gang. I ended up shoving Carlos in a locker.
And that ended with me in the principal's office and Gramps being called down to the school to get me. He drove us back to the dojo. I didn't know he owned a car.
"Did he have it coming?" Gramps asked as he drove. Voltaire would've lectured me about image and propriety and then kicked my ass once we were behind closed doors. Again it struck me how different they were.
"I probably overreacted," I admitted.
"Are you going to do it again?"
"Not as long as he leaves me alone." I stared out the window watching the scenery go by.
Grandpa chuckled. "If it happens again I'm going to have to call your cousin. You know that, right?"
I shrugged.
"I had to leave my class to come get you, homie. That's time and time is money."
I didn't mean to cause him any trouble. That made me feel bad. "I'm sorry—"
"Well, if you're gonna be sorry, don't do it in the first place."
He didn't mention anything to Tyson and I was glad for that.
We defeated the Psykicks on the island but the scientists continued to pursue us along with Dunga and Ozuma's mysterious group. After the island things got a bit better between Tyson and I. We started speaking to each other again and for a while it was almost...normal.
I thought I'd done a decent job of acting like my usual self but Rei corned me one day when the others had taken a snack break. I'd hung back to keep practicing.
"What's going on with you?" Rei asked from the porch.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
Stepping down onto the grass, he started walking towards me slowly. "You've changed. You're a lot quieter than you used to be."
"Call it maturity, then."
He was getting frustrated with me. "Look, you've always ignored Tyson, but he never ignored you before. Did something happen between you two?"
I proceeded to play dumb, hoping he would just go away. "I really don't know what you're talking about." I honestly thought Tyson had been pretty subtle about it, but Rei always was the observant one.
My strategy paid off. Letting out a sigh he went back into the house.
I put my launcher away. So I was more transparent than I'd thought. I'll just have to try harder then.
xXx
I started to think I might stay forever in the Kinomiya dojo engaged in a battle of I'm-talking-to-you-but-not-really with Tyson, and, well, I was okay with that. I was okay with being this close to him. We would bump into each other in the hall. He would stop like he was going to say something but then never would. I became routine. Normal.
But then Wyatt happened.
On a warm not-quiet-summer day he'd shown up wielding a flawed copy of my Dranzer. The power of the cyber bitbeast couldn't be controlled. It was reminiscent of Black Dranzer. It was artificial, yet different from the All-Starz artificial beast Max's mom had created in a lab, and a long way away from the genetically altered ones Boris had been working on at the Abbey.
To all of our surprise he collapsed after his battle with Dunga. I held Wyatt in my arms and as he lay there looking up at me I saw his eyes roll back into his head and dropped him like he burned me. This couldn't be happening.
"Kai?" I heard Tyson behind me. "Is he alright?"
I knew that look. I'd seen it before. I backed away, shaking my head. No, he wasn't alright. He'd never be alright again. Death had taken hold.
Images poured into my mind. Twisted, mangled, broken bodies. Pools of blood. My heart was racing, my breathing erratic.
It was like I was somewhere else watching what was happening before my eyes. Autopilot had taken over. I saw Kenny kneel beside Wyatt, trying to shake him awake. "Wyatt! Wyatt!" he called.
Wyatt would never answer.
"Find a phone!" Kenny cried. "Call an ambulance! He's not breathing!"
I was running. I didn't know where I was going. I just knew I had to get away.
Blood on my hands again. Just like Black Dranzer. Everything was just a fucking repeat of all the mistakes I'd made in the past. My entire life was a series of mistakes I'd committed over and over and over again.
I could see Wyatt laying there. Still, so still. And I could see it. Like a stranger locked outside of my body I could see myself, a ten-year-old kid prowling through the Abbey in the dead of night. I'd long since figured out how to escape my room and used the opportunity to find out what the professors had planned for us. I loved being a know-it-all.
But that night my goal was Black Dranzer. Tala had bet me I couldn't do it, that traitor. I'd show him. I'd master Black Dranzer then kick all of their asses, especially Boris's.
No! I wanted to scream. Don't do it! Don't do it! Don't do it You don't know what will happen! But I did.
I watched myself bypass the security system, successfully sneaking into the lab undetected. And then Black Dranzer was in my grasp and I was smiling. Take that, Tala.
But I couldn't stop there. No, I had to try it out. I was curious. Fucking curiosity. Was that why I'd kissed Tyson? That fucking curiosity?
I watched the foolish child who'd grown up in hell stupidly load his launcher with the evil that was Black Dranzer.
I bet I could destroy this place with you, I had thought. That'll show Tala.
And that's what I did. I lost control and the lab fell down around me. There were screams and there was smoke. And then there was me. I'd shielded my head. As the smoke cleared I got a look at the wreckage I'd created. Someone from Boris's staff grabbed me by the arm and asked if I was alright.
I couldn't answer because my eyes were glued to the motionless body partially covered by the debris. His eyes were open, staring without seeing, his mouth in a silent scream.
No, I wasn't alright. I'd never be alright.
I collapsed somewhere surrounded by trees, burying my face in my hands. No wonder I blocked everything out. I didn't want to remember this! It had happened in an instant. It was like my mind opened up and a thousand memories came back all at once. My mother's body splattered on the pavement...
I'd seen that too, hadn't I?
I felt sick. I wanted this to go away. To stay eternally in the dark.
And for the first time since that day on Lake Baikal I cried. I killed someone. Probably a few someones. And now Wyatt was dead because of me. Why do I always have to be such an ass to everyone? I wasn't like Tyson, could never be like him. He was brash, he was rude, a bit obnoxious, but he had a magnetism that sucked everyone in. Even I was caught. He bettered the life of every person he came into contact with. Everything I touched broke to pieces.
I found myself on a roof top staring over the ocean, losing myself in the dance of light and water. I stayed there for hours, not thinking, not caring. I didn't want to think anymore. I didn't want to remember. I wanted to black it all out. To shove it deep down inside and pretend it didn't exist. I'd done it before, hadn't I? Only now I knew why.
xXx
Time passed. It was dark. I'd barely registered the setting of the sun. I was cold. I was hungry. And I knew the others must be looking for me.
I wondered what happened after I ran off. What must the others think of me now?
I wandered. Eventually I returned to the dojo. I didn't have anywhere else to go. A glance at the clock told me it was two in the morning. Everyone was fast asleep, I was sure.
I went to my room and changed into a pair of sweatpants. Wiping the makeup off my face I looked at reflection in the mirror. My eyes were red. It was obvious I'd been crying. I hated how young I looked. Powerless.
I threw myself back on the bed, hoping that a dreamless sleep would claim me but it never did.
I wanted Tyson. I wanted to be near him. Soundlessly I made my way down the hall. I found my greatest friend and rival curled up in bed with his blanket. My gaze wandered around his room. I'd never actually been inside. There were beyblade trophies, posters of anime girls with huge breasts, a large manga collection, and a bookcase full of trinkets. Postcards from all over the world, rocks, shot glasses, items that bore his name, calendars for years that had passed.
"Kai! Shit, man, you scared the crap out of me!"
Looking over my shoulder I saw Tyson sitting up, peering at me with wide eyes. I didn't say anything.
"Dude, where'd you go? We looked all over for you. I didn't come home till midnight."
"Were you asleep?" I asked after a moment.
"Not really. I've been worried about you. You shouldn't have run off like that!"
"He's dead, isn't he?"
Tyson looked down. "Yeah." He licked his lips. "He had a heart condition, I guess. He never should've used a bitbeast. His parents came down to the hospital...It was awful." He ran his fingers through his hair. "You don't—you don't think it's your fault, do you?"
Yes. It was completely 100% my fault. I knew he wasn't strong enough. I should've done more to stop him.
"Kai?" he was standing next to me, holding my arm clad in nothing but a pair of briefs. I looked away form him. "It's not your fault. None of us could've known that. It was Team Psykick's fault. They gave him a blade that was way too powerful for him to control."
I tried to pull away from him. He caught my face in his hands and pressed his lips to mine. My emotions were too close to the surface. I was completely out of control. I kissed him back with desperation. My arms went around him, my fingers touching his bare skin. I wanted him. I wanted to possess him, this amazing person.
And I let go. I let myself lose control. Pushing him back on this bed, I climbed on top of him and let myself do all the things I'd wanted to do for weeks. I kissed him with a passion I'd never felt before. Moving from his lips to his neck I heard him make some kind of noise that was between a whimper and a moan.
I wanted him. I wanted to drown myself in him, to forget everything else. My hands made their way down Tyson's sides and I started to pull at the waistband of his shorts. Only then did he hesitate.
"Kai," he whispered. "Too fast."
I let go of Tyson like he'd burned me. This wasn't what I wanted. This was a mistake. I shouldn't have come here.
I tried to climb off the bed but he grabbed my wrist. "Kai, don't go."
"I need to get out of here."
Tyson slipped his arms around my waist. "Please stay." He pressed his head against my chest. "Just stay with me tonight. I'll be worried about you."
I felt myself relax in his embrace. Why did this boy like me so much? No matter what I did Tyson always welcomed me back with open arms.
Did I like Tyson? I still wasn't really sure what it was I felt. I was attracted to him, had been from the start. Something about his attitude, his magnetism, how completely unlike myself he was.
I found my fingers in Tyson's hair. And then my thoughts went back to Wyatt. Wasn't that why I'd let him hang around me in the first place. Because he'd reminded me a little bit of Tyson?
"Do you want to talk?" he eventually asked.
"Not really."
"I know your upset about Wyatt."
"I really don't want to talk about it."
"Well you want something. You wouldn't be here if you didn't. So what is it?"
I looked down into his dark eyes. "What do you want from me?"
"I just want you to talk to me. I want to know you."
"I'm not ready to talk."
"How about we just lay here then? Sleep by me. Just for tonight."
He won. I got in his bed and he practically had to lay on top of me in order for us both to fit.
"I've never seen you without your shark fins," he said after a minute. I couldn't help but smile. Tyson just couldn't stay quiet. "So what's with that? I've always wondered."
I shrugged.
"I don't think you'd do something just because it's badass. You have a reason for everything. Give me some credit. I know you well enough to know that."
"It's stupid."
"I'm sure it's not."
With a sigh I finally admitted, "My dad had tattoos. I had this stupid hope when I was at the Abbey that one day he'd show up and whisk me away to a better life. I did it so he'd recognize me. And then it became a habit."
"That's sweet."
"Shut up. I need to get out of here."
"No, I'll be quiet. I won't ask anymore questions. Just stay with me." He settled his head against my chest.
We laid there for a long time. And eventually sleep finally came to claim me.
xXx
AN 2022: This chapter is so dark. It's one of my favorites. When Kai was living at Tyson's that's the happiest he's ever been.
