Of Boys and Blades
Part Two
Chapter 19
xXx
Kai
xXx
Tala, Bryan, and Spencer were almost as bad as the Bladebreakers. I felt like I was babysitting again. Bryan and Tala were having a fight over the window seat. "You're going to get us kicked off the plane," I warned.
Bryan pinched Tala's side and managed to get his ass in the seat first. Tala begrudgingly took the second seat. I sat beside him and Spencer took the seat on my other side.
Bryan giddily looked out the window. "I bet looking down on Italy will be amazing."
"Cocksucker," Tala muttered under his breath.
"Cum turd."
"Enough." I looked at Spencer. "Can we switch?"
"No."
I rested my head against the seat, closing my eyes. This was going to be a long nine hours. Bryan and Tala continued to bitch back and forth. I looked back at Spencer. "How do you deal with them?"
"I learned to tune it out years ago."
I tried to make good use of the time and sleep. Halfway through the flight I took a walk to stretch. The others were asleep. When I returned Tala was drawing on Bryan's face with a marker.
"You're so petty."
"You know it."
"What is that supposed to be? A butterfly?" I asked as I took my seat.
Tala looked insulted. "It's a penis."
"It's like you've never actually seen one."
"Fuck you, Kai." He finished. "How's that?"
"Not any better."
"Hn." He put the marker away. "So what do you think of going against BBA Revolution next? If Tyson plays like he did in New York, we'll win for sure."
"Don't underestimate him."
"I think you overhyped Tyson's abilities. I don't think we're going to have any problem at all."
He was annoying me. "You have no idea how powerful he is. Don't underestimate them. You will regret it."
"Who's team are you on, Kai?"
"I'm not deluding myself. Last time you battled him with your army of bitbeasts and all of Boris's strategies, and he still beat you. Remember that?"
Tala glared at me. He was mercifully silent for the rest of the trip.
xXx
We arrived in Italy. Tala, Spencer, and Bryan acted much like they had in New York. Stopping to stare at all the sights and point out landmarks they never thought they'd see in person. A few people in passing pointed at Bryan, a couple laughed. None of us let him in on the joke. I held back laughter as a little girl pointed to him and her mother pulled her away in disgust.
"The fuck is their problem?" Bryan hissed.
"Maybe they hate Russians?" Spencer suggested helpfully.
"Or they just think you're really ugly," was Tala's reasoning.
I hid my smile.
We made it to the hotel. It was old and on a busy street, not too far from the BBA arena. The lobby was more opulent than the one in New York and they couldn't help but stare.
I got us checked in once again as they were running around like excited toddlers looking at everything there was to see and eventually we made our way to our room.
Inside the suite there was a full bed against a small divider wall with a pull-out couch on the other side in a living area. There was another door that led to a master bedroom with a king bed. "I guess whoever gets the king has to share?" Tala said as we eyed the room.
"Bed!" Spencer called, jumping on the full.
Bryan scrambled to the pull-out and turned on the TV. "Mine!"
Tala and I exchanged annoyed glances and brought our stuff into the bedroom.
"I'm not sleeping on the floor," I told him.
"Well, neither am I." He dropped his suitcase near the closet. "It's a big bed. I'm sure we'll both fit."
Bryan had moved on to exploring. He let out an angry howl. "Which one of you fuckers did it?" I assumed he had found a mirror. Tala burst out laughing. I grinned. I couldn't help it.
xXx
Hilary
xXx
Italy was a truly beautiful place. I'd never been abroad aside from going to New York with the Bladebreakers the year before. Now I got to add a new stamp to my passport. I loved traveling. I could see myself doing this a lot when I got older.
I ended up in a small cafe about a block from the hotel. Between my broken English and their broken English I'd placed an order and enjoyed it sitting outside looking at the gorgeous scenery.
I missed the Bladebreakers. I missed the dynamic. Tyson, Max, and Rei were all such good friends and fun to be around. Kai was always kind of a loner, but he'd follow them around along with me and Kenny. I loved being part of the BBA Revolution but I definitely missed the boys, my boys.
I hadn't known Tyson until middle school, and even then he was just the weird kid obsessed with those bey-thingies, whose ego went through the roof when he became world champion. I kind of fell in with him and Kenny after I'd been kidnapped. Tyson was extraordinarily annoying at first, but his life was so exciting, so interesting, so unlike mine. And the more time I spent with him, the more I thought we were genuinely becoming friends.
When I met the others, they were nice to me—except maybe Kai, but I'd learned not to be offended by the crappy way he treated people—but I'd always kind of been an outsider, until they'd come to me for help. Ever since I'd considered them my boys.
Kenny had been teaching me the basics of beyblade assembly and repairs. I'd actually helped fix a few of the blades. I felt useful, and needed, and more than that, wanted. Which was more than what I ever felt at home. I wondered how my mother was faring without me.
Over the last year I'd spent so much time with them. Outside school I was almost always at Tyson's house or over Max's watching the boys train. In school I sat with Tyson, Kenny, and Max at lunch and we usually walked home together afterwards. Tyson had pretty much become my best friend. And he was really bothering me right now. I'd never seen him like this.
I'd had few real friends in my life. Most people thought I was bossy and annoying and I usually ended up alienating the few people who tried to be my friend. Tyson and I were so much alike on that front we kind of complimented each other. And maybe for a short—extremely short period of time (like a week)—I may have had a little crush on him. I quickly came to my senses. I think I'd gone through my little crushes on all the guys at one point or another, including Kenny.
It was Tyson I ranted to, it was Tyson who had become my confidant. I'd told him about my mother, my father, what the kids at school said about me, and my first kiss. I felt closer to him than any of the others. I just wished he would tell me what was going on.
I headed back to the hotel. On the way I saw Tyson sitting at a fountain angrily throwing coins at it from a bench. With a smile, I sat down beside him. "You're literally throwing money away."
"Not in the mood, Hilary."
I let out a sigh. "You okay?" I asked tentatively.
"Peachy."
I shifted, not really sure how to proceed. Tyson had always been a bit volatile but this was different. I'd never seen him flounder like this. All the mistakes he was making, the stupid mistakes of an amateur. Even I could tell that.
"Why is Kai different?" I found myself asking. Now there was a relationship I'd never understood. Kai was a decent guy deep down, I knew. I'd know that since we were kidnapped and taken to that island and he'd gone with me and Kenny to protect us. But he was always so quiet, so standoffish. "You didn't react the same to Max and Rei leaving. So what makes Kai different?"
I saw him tense. "He's not any different, is he?" he replied in a low tone. "He left me just like everybody else."
I paused. My heart was telling me one thing but my head was telling me to keep my mouth shut. Still, it wasn't like the thought hadn't crossed my mind before. There was a different vibe between Kai and Tyson than the other boys. I was never sure what it was, but it was there. When they were in the group their eyes always sought each other out first. There was something more there, wasn't there? "Tyson," I said softly, "don't take this the wrong way, but do you like Kai?"
Tyson's lack of a response gave me the answer.
"Does he know?"
"Yeah. He knows."
"Does he like you, too?"
"I thought he did. I was wrong."
What? I knew it! I knew something was going on with them! But he looked so bitter it broke my heart. This wasn't the Tyson I knew. I put my hand on his shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it?"
He looked surprised. "You're not weirded out?"
"No, of course not. Tyson, you're my best friend. It's okay."
He didn't tell me much, just that they'd gotten involved after Wyatt's death the year before. I think he downplayed it. He said it was never serious, that Kai had made that clear from the beginning. Tyson's feelings however, seemed to definitely be serious to me. I was dreading the match with the Blitzkrieg Boys even more. This was not going to end well.
"Hey, Hil," Tyson said as we headed back toward the hotel.
"Yeah."
"You're not going to tell anyone, are you?"
"Do you honestly think I'd do that?"
"No. I don't." He smiled at me. "Thanks for listening."
xXx
Kai
xXx
The match was a disaster. No Tyson. I knew exactly who was to blame for that. I launched my blade toward Hiro without so much as a second thought. This was why I was here. How dare he take that away from me!
The other three were not happy with me. I didn't care. It was Tala who fucked up the rest of it.
He pushed me once we were back in the meeting room after our dreadful loss to BBA Revolution. "What the hell was that? We lost the match because of you!"
I pushed him back. "You could've beaten Kenny and Daichi in your sleep! What would you call what you did out there?"
"Why'd you throw the match?" Bryan yelled. "We're putting our trust in you!"
Glaring at him, I crossed my arm across my chest. "I got mad," I hissed.
Spencer shoved me against the wall, banging my head. They hadn't ganged up on me like this in a while. Old habits never die. "That's not good enough. If you can't play to win, you don't need to be playing."
I glared at Tala. "Hiro benched Tyson, that's why he wasn't here. He wasn't sure how Tyson would react around me. I was just letting that asshole know that he fucking pissed me off. I told you not to underestimate them. Kenny doesn't have a lot of power, but he knows everything there is about beyblades. You should've taken him out right away. But no, you played with him for too long and just had to use a real attack on him just because you can. You let him find a weakness. Daichi lacks experience, but he has enormous power and skill for a kid his age. Your overconfidence made you lose. You're too emotional. You've become undisciplined. You're not as strong as you were two years ago!"
Tala punched me. His fist collided with my cheek in a sting that made me see spots. I moved to hit him back but Spencer and Bryan grabbed me.
"Emotional!?" Tala screamed. "I'm emotional! What the fuck do you call what you did? I would say that's the definition of emotional."
I pulled away from Bryan and Spencer. "Get your hands off me. I won't touch him." I headed towards the door without looking at him. "I won't do that again, and you better not, either."
xXx
Spencer and Bryan dragged me by the arms into one of the dark alcoves of the Abbey's tunnel system. They'd been waiting for me. Spencer was two years older than my six and twice as big. He threw me into the wall, the back of my head slamming into the stone. I saw the light that day.
"I don't care who you are! I don't give a fuck who you're related too!" Spencer screamed at me. "Because of you and your fucking mouth we don't get dinner!" Starvation was a common punishment.
My mind couldn't form thoughts, I could barely breath, but I had enough of my wits about me to flick him off as I slid to the floor.
That pissed them both off. Spencer's fist made contact with my head and Bryan's foot with my side. I wondered just how much they would do to me and then I wondered what Boris would do to them for doing it.
I heard Tala rather than saw him. "Leave him alone!" he cried, running between me and Spencers mammoth balled hand. "Just stop! I won't let you hurt him anymore!"
I dropped my arms from their protective position above my head, watching Tala in awe. Why was he doing this?
"You're either on his side or ours!" Bryan yelled at him as Spencer grabbed him by his collar.
"I'm on his." Tala didn't even hesitate.
"Then we hurt you, too," Spencer told him. And they did.
"Why did you do that?" I hissed as I struggled to get myself to my feet after Bryan and Spencer had finally left us.
Tala glared up at me with those icy blues, his face streaked with blood. "We're all each other has. Don't forget that."
"You're a fucking idiot."
xXx
Back in the hotel I found myself in the room I shared with Tala with the door locked. I took a deep breath, shaken after my altercation with the others. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe I couldn't handle being around them like I thought I could. All the memories...
I leaned back against the door. Maybe I'd pushed Tala too far.
I'd fucked up. I couldn't afford to fuck up, I couldn't afford to make mistakes like that. I had to take on Tyson. I couldn't let my emotions get the best of me. We could recover from one loss. But I couldn't let that happen again.
Once calm, I needed to get out of there. Before they came back. I left the hotel, wandering around Rome, a million thoughts running through my head. I returned hours later. I saw them eating in the dining room. Spencer and Bryan finished, leaving Tala alone.
Getting my dinner, I sat down across from Tala.
"What do you want?" he glared at me.
"Brothers fight, right?"
He watched me for a moment. "Look, if you've come to apologize, do it and get out of here."
I took a bite of my bread. "I'm not apologizing. I meant every word I said."
Tala glared at me. "Yeah, well, you... you're obsessed with Tyson."
"Yeah, tell me something I don't know," I muttered.
He didn't say anything for a moment. Then glare cracked into a smile. He chuckled. "Okay, I forgive you."
"I didn't apologize."
"Yeah, you did. That's what I'm going to tell everyone. That Kai begged me for forgiveness, and I, being the kind and caring teammate, graciously accepted."
"Yeah. Fuck you."
"You know, you tell me that so much I'm starting to consider it a term of endearment."
xXx
AN: I kind of love this chapter. The Kai and Tala scenes are some of the funnest to write, especially with the lack of Kai and Tyson scenes right now. If you couldn't tell, Kai wasn't exactly popular at the Abbey. It was no secret he was Voltaire's grandson and got "preferential" treatment. The other kids resented him and his attitude and he got beat up all the time before the other kids learned to fear him. Tala's an interesting character. In writing more scenes with him he's developed into a different character than he was in the planning stages. He keeps doing things I didn't expect. I love it when characters do that.
I'm really jumping POV's now. It's more how Project STAB (if and when I ever get to it) is going to play out, so there's things I want to introduce here first. I think I've got all my POV characters now (Kai, Tyson, Hiro, Tala, Hilary) and I think Max will be a POV in Project STAB but not in this.
Dark Serafina, same. Kai is totally an asshole. But he's growing up. Little by little...
