Chapter 14.
Tyson exclaimed with a curious excitement. "Kais Grandmother? Voltaires' wife?
Gottlieb whined with a dull expression. "No... Kais' maternal Grandmother."
Tyson – "I can't believe we're about to meet one of Kais' family. He's so private and this is gunna be interesting."
Hilary became animated too. "Finally guys we get to meet one of Kais' family."
Kenny warned. "I wouldn't get too excited guys. I doubt this is going to be a joyous meeting given the circumstances."
*THUD THUD THUD THUD*Team Halo had received their orders and marched off down the corridor towards their posts. Mr Cooper and his team had been handed blue-prints of the hospital doors, exits and fire escapes and was tasked with making sure each one was guarded 24/7. His job was to delegate the "soldiers" to their posts, conduct radio checks and rotate staff to factor in lunch and toilet breaks. The soldiers were a real spectacle who drew much attention. Their smartness, their professionalism, their edginess and 5* military appearance caused medical personnel and public alike to stop, stare and take photos on their phones as they marched by. Team Halo sounded a real force to be reckoned with as their shiny steel toe-capped boots echoed down the hive like corridors *THUD THUD THUD THUD* Until silence once again as they disappeared out of sight and any boot noise became muffled by the soft closing hospital doors.
Gottliebs' heart thumped and began to feel dizzy. He knew this moment was coming. He sat perched on his seat, bent over, his tie dangled in the air. He covered his hands with his face and held them there, using fingers to massage his worried features. Hilary assumed he was crying and wondered if she should do something to comfort him. After many seconds he uncovered his face, laid his hands down to grasp his knees, drew a long breath and turned his weary face to Tyson and Co.
His voice was stern and bereft. "Let me do all the talking. Kais' Grandmother is not going to take this well."
The beybladers and friends each made a mental note to heed Gottliebs' wishes, settled back into their seats and waited to finally meet one of Kais' elusive family members; a relative besides Voltaire of course.
"Mr... Gottlieb." A slightly croaky but sweet voice broke the edgy silence.
All heads shot up and gazed at the senior newcomer as she shuffled towards the lawyer wearing soft purple slippers. Her feet softly scraped against the smooth tile floor with each step.
Gottlieb lofty form rose from his chair immediately and greeted her for a tender embrace. He had to bend down a few feet as she was only 5ft in height and tiny in comparison. She was slightly hunched over being an aged woman in her early to mid 70s and shuffling was the way she moved. The German hugged her delicately and her smell of coconut moisturiser invaded his senses. His chin hooked over her shoulder and he could feel her white pony tail meet with his moustache and her white bangs itched the side of his face. She thrust her arms up as high as they could to touch Gottliebs' suit shoulders. Her lilac cardigan was woollen and a baby pink t-shirt flexed around her bosoms. She wore dusty blue jeans with an elasticised waist and pink socks with purple slippers for senior comfort.
Tyson studied her for any resemblance to Kai. Being that Kai was a 28 year old young male and this wrinkled lady was perhaps in her 70s...no there were no physical similarities that was... until she turned her gaze towards him. There...amethyst eyes, the very same rare eye colour. It's like somebody had popped Kais' eyes out and shoved them into the skull of an old woman. He was a little freaked.
The German COO and the lady named Izumi released their brief hug. Gottlieb was sure his heart was going to implode; this sweet little woman was about to have her life turned upside down.
"Hello you." She said warmly. The Grandma was pleased to see an old friend and had known Gottlieb for many years.
"What's going on? Is Kai ok? I was at the hospital with Masaomi and I get a phone call from one of your assistants... Megumi I think her name was. She said I needed to leave whatever I was doing and go with your staff immediately. Gottlieb... nobody has told me a thing. Your driver wouldn't let me have the radio on in the car. I don't..."
Gottlieb shot his giant hands onto her soft woollen covered shoulders to interrupt her mid sentence. "Izumi you need to listen to me... What do you know?"
Izumis' features turned from soft to serious. "All I've been told is that my Kai has been in an incident."
Tyson and Co knew this was going to be hard to watch and prepared themselves for more upset. This poor old lady clearly hadn't a clue. They drew a breath and waited for the news to hit. As much as they wanted to approach and say hello; this wasn't the time.
Gottliebs' voice turned stern and flat. "Izumi you need to take a seat."
Izumis' eyebrows farrowed. Her lips were ruler straight. Suspicion and a dash of panic painted across her face.
Izumi - "Gottlieb, what's going on? You're scaring me."
Gottlieb begged and voice trembled. "Izumi please take a seat."
The old womans' hands started to shake and her voice had lost all sweetness. She demanded an answer. "Gottlieb you tell me right now...you tell me that Kai, my grandson is ok."
Gottlieb struggled to get the words out. He stammered. His silence panicked more and her eyes stretched opened wide with hysteria. Her old heart loved gardening, shopping in thrift stores and walking her little dogs. Her heart was not prepared for this.
Izumi twisted round on the seats to face the other bodies in the room hoping to get an answer or clue. The blood red legs and shirts of a Chinese man, a blonde boy and Tyson Granger caused her blood to run cold.
She trembled. "I've seen you boys on TV. I watch all of Kais' matches. I had to record today's match because I have been with Kais' Grandfather in the hospital since early today. You boys play so rough with those spinny top thingys." She paused and her voice broke." Is that what happened? Someone got a bit too rough with Kai. He got a cut or banged his head? Broken arm?" Her voice was more desperate with each word.
Kais' corner of friends remembered their silent pact with Gottlieb and kept still. They shuffled nervously and broke all eye contact with her. This was usually Tysons' turn to open his gob despite the devastating consequences but his outspoken persona had collapsed and was crying in a corner somewhere.
Gottlieb took her small supple hands which caused her to snap twist round to face him.
Gottlieb - "Izumi, Kai is...in surgery. He was attacked with a knife and he's not in a good way."
Izumi – "What?...What do you mean he's not in a good way?"
Gottlieb – "I don't know all the details yet but from what they tell me, he is...he...he...could...die."
Izumis' face didn't react. "Are you sure? How do you know that? I don't understand. He was fine this morning. I called him last night and he was fine." Izumi produced not a single tear; just pure confusion riddled her innocent mind and body.
Gottlieb was sweating profusely with the pressure and difficulty of trying to drive home the severity of how hurt Kai was... and failing. He didn't know what more to tell her as he knew so little himself. The nurse had always been so cryptic and Kais' Grandmother was clearly in a state of denial.
Nurse - "Mrs Uchiha?"
An uneasiness was suffocating the room until a familiar blue clad nurse reappeared from the corridor; only with a fresh face at her side. A man, quite a bit taller than her, he was Japanese, late 40s, slightly balding with a clean shaven face, wearing in a white coat with a stethoscope around his neck and a name badge clipped onto a front pocket. The nurse pushed her glasses closer to the bridge of her nose and passed the clipboard to the man.
The womans' appearance was becoming a god-send and had sneaked in behind Mrs Uchiha right in the nick of time.
Nurse – "I have some news about Kai, your grandson. As Kais' next of kin and medical proxy are you happy for me to talk to you in front of all present here?" Her eye line dotted over to Tyson and pals and Gottlieb.
Like a deer in headlights and sounding very unsure of herself, Izumi muttered."Ye...s."
The atmosphere was on a knife edge and all hearts begin to madly thump. Ray grabbed Mariahs' hand and squeezed; much to her comfort as she squeezed his back even tighter. Tyson gripped the bloodied fabric of the knees of his jeans. Max held his breath with wide eyes. Daichi gripped the seat rim so hard his knuckles turned white. Hilary held her hands in her lap as if she was praying. Mr Dickenson swallowed the lump in his throat and Mr Granger held onto his broken kendo stick, gripping it tightly. Izumi was rigid on her seat and gripped her fingers tightly with the opposite hand and felt like they were going to break. Gottlieb tried to hold her hand to comfort her but she yanked herself away. She didn't need comfort, nothing was wrong. In her mind, this was all a mistake but the atmosphere in the room chilled her enough to believe that there was... something badly amiss.
Nurse – "Ok. We have an update on Kais' condition and I'm going to pass you onto Kai's surgeon to tell you more."
The tall balding surgeon stepped forward. "My name is Doctor Temeda. I am the attending physician and head of the OR in the trauma department. I have been overseeing your friend...*glances at the paperwork* Kai Hiwatari since his arrival at 13:01 this afternoon. His surgery went well and for now, Kai is in a critical but stable condition. Kai is currently being moved to the Intensive care ward. We have to run some tests and once he is settled into the ICU we can allow visitation.
Now; Mr Hiwatari sustained a 25mm puncture wound to the upper left side of his abdomen. Unfortunately the weapon nicked an artery which caused him to lose quite a lot of blood and likely very quickly. To put it into context, if you lose 40% or higher of your blood volume your chances of survival is very very unlikely. Kai has lost 50% of his blood volume. Medically speaking he is a medical miracle and alive when he shouldn't be. I have to be clear with you that Mr Hiwatari is far from out of the woods and it is still touch and go. He is very weak and I have to be honest with you that the survival rate for this kind of trauma is around 10%. I tell you this because I need you to be realistic about the outcome and prepare for it.
The paramedics stated that you said he had been unresponsive and not breathing for around 10 minutes."
He drew a breath and exhaled. He always hated this part of the job; the prognosis.
"This isn't going to be easy to hear." He paused for a millisecond. "There a high chance Kai will have sustained brain and organ damage through lack of oxygen to the body. We will be running some tests in the next few hours but we won't know the extent of any brain injury until he wakes up.
To add to this, after an examination of the rest of Kais' body we can tell you he has 2 broken ribs and 2 fractured ribs, bruised ribs, bruises on his arms and chest which could have been sustained during CPR or other events. Also he has lacerations on his arms which would have been caused by a slicing weapon. I believe he was in a beyblade match when these cuts were caused am I right?"
Kenny whimpered. "Yes the cuts are usually caused by the wind velocity or actual blades of the beyblades themselves."
Dr Temeda – "Yes we see these from time to time. It's quite a common injury for beybladers it seems."
As for treatment...We have stopped the bleeding, repaired the damage to his organs and closed the entry wound itself. We have stabilised him for now and he will be undergoing blood transfusions and fluid therapy over the next 48 hours. He is also suffering with Hypothermia due to low body temperature. The next few hours will be critical. I hate to say this but you need to prepare for the worst. I suggest if you need to say anything to Kai, you say it when you can.
A nurse from the ICU ward will come and collect you and take you to Kai when they are ready for you. The nurses on duty will answer any questions you have when you get there. I'm sorry I couldn't give you better news."
The Doctor Temeda and his Nurse colleague dropped the devastating bomb of information, bowed and slinked out of the room. Other duties were calling them and the ICU staff would be along shortly to pick up the pieces.
Kenny muttered inside himself "Braaaiinn damaged...he could be braaiin damaged. Oh no, this is terrible. How much more is he gunna have to endure?"
Max began rocking back and forth in his hard plastic seat on the cusp of losing it. "Kai may never walk or talk or beyblade again."
Tysons' whole body went numb and his arms dangled to the floor, his knuckles grazing the tile. "No...he can't be, if he's brain damaged, what does that mean?"
The doctors' words cut deeper than any blade, any sword or bullet. Their strong and resilient Kai had been stabbed, died in front of them, come back to life by a hair line, survived surgery and was still fighting for his life. Only there was a high chance that he wouldn't survive the night and if he did...he could have brain and organ damage.
Ray felt his whole body lose all stiffness, slumped back into his chair and jerked his head back in despair. "Kai, no. It's not fair. It's just...not fair." He felt the need to cry but his eyes had run out of water. The White Tiger X blader blinked in an attempt to produce some but he had all dried up.
For Izumi and Gottlieb their lives had opened up to a whole new level of hell. Gottlieb adopted a statue like stillness, uttered nothing, cradled his head in his large pale hands and painfully fought back tears. His CEO and friends' life hung in the balance. Even if Kai did survive; would he be fit to lead the company ever again?
The loving grandmother however was neck-deep in denial. She believed that this was all a mistake and that they had the wrong boy or the doctor had his notes switched with another patients'. She told herself whatever she needed to believe...anything other than the truth. Her parental mind was flooded with refute. "No they've got it all wrong. They've got their sheets switched up. Yes that's right. Their sheets mixed up."
90 minutes later.
"Hello my name is Nurse Sakura."
Another pretty well dressed slim Japanese nurse appeared and addressed the room. She had short curly brown hair which sat in a bob just above her shoulders. She had a perfect side fringe which partially hung over a corner of her right eye. She wore a lighter blue nurse uniform than their previous nurse, probably to help distinguish between regular and ICU staff. She had a freckle under her left eye and big amber eyes.
Nurse Sakura -"Friends and family of Mr Kai Hiwatari? I'm here to take you to the ICU ward... please...follow me."
The Bladebreakers, Mr Dickenson, Mr Granger, Gottlieb and Kais' grandmother jumped from their seats and began their multiple corridor journey to finally... after many painstaking hours since the beystadium; going to be at Kais' side. They swallowed lumps in their throats and hearts beat fast with anticipation and fear. Fear of seeing someone they loved in a hospital bed and on life support. And anticipation that they might finally get to comfort him. A sickness washed Rays' stomach as flashbacks of Kais' dead face re-entered his mind. Izumi still maintained that this was all for nothing and told herself "Kai's fine, he's been wrongly checked in with a broken arm in another wing of the hospital." In silence they turned corner after corner, up in the lift for 2 floors, down another 3 sets of corridors until they arrived...
The ICU ward consisted of a similar white and grey corridor leading to 4 huge side rooms with futuristic clear glass sliding doors. Within each room were open plan bays containing 6 beds on the left and a nurse's station on the right hand side. The bays were a classic hospital setting; white walls, linear florescent lighting and suspended white ceilings with light pink privacy curtains encircling the beds. Life support machinery sat at the bed sides like humming technological furniture and a thick antiseptic smell encompassed the air. Charts and board markers hung on the wall with various scribblings beneath patient names. Some beds waited empty and others had screens drawn with shadows of seated relatives moving behind them. Hand sanitiser stations and posters advising guests on viral hygiene decorated all interior walls. There were designated seating areas for friends and family to congregate without being in the way with small coffee tables; and on them were piled magazines and boxes of tissues. Nurses and doctors darted to and fro desks and patients holding clipboards, medicines and medical apparatus. The ward was unexpectedly quiet despite the dashing nurses' footsteps and steady beeping machines.
Nurse Sakura finally stopped and gestured with a thin arm to a side spot where there were 12 grey padded seats. 6 facing another 6 around 20ft away from the opening of the first room on the right.
"Please take a seat all of you. I'll be taking Kais' Grandmother through first and Mr Gottlieb." Said the brunette nurse and smiled reassuringly as fake as it was.
Grandpa Granger felt his balding head spin and his heart palpitate as he watched Izumi and Gottlieb being led away through the nearby set of crystal sliding doors to wherever they had Kai. He felt an agony in his heart for the other grandparent. Had Kai not stepped up to the beydish when he did and Tyson hadn't been late...it would be him visiting his grandson on life support. He was engulfed with guilt ridden gratitude that his grandchild was safe. The old Granger tried to calm himself and wrapped his muscled arms around his torso as a shiver rippled through him. His eyes on the brink of tears as flashbacks of Kais' bloodied and cold form stabbed his mind. The guy who trained with and against his boy Tyson, had stayed at his home from time to time, and proved to be an honourable beyblader; whom he had come to respect dearly had been reduced to a lifeless body just hours earlier.
Seconds pass. The Bladebreakers and Mr Dickenson sat on the edges of their new seats, their numb bums reshaped to the different mould of these new perches. Max slightly rocked back and forth, his happy go lucky demeanour was long extinguished. Hilary noticed a fashion magazine on the table but felt no inclination to read it. Tyson was transfixed on the sliding doors that Izumi and Gottlieb disappeared through and waited for his turn.
A cry broke the air.
"NOOooohooooo. Nooooo not my baby! Noooooooo my beautiful Grandson!" Izumi wailed.
Despite being encased in glass walls, her cries could be heard clearly by anyone in adjoined corridors and probably throughout the whole ward. She shrieked over and over "Noooohooooo not my baby." Her voice was grief-stricken and was tough for anyone to listen to let alone Kais' friends. They had never heard him referred to as someones' "baby" before. Tysons', Rays', Mariahs', Max', Hilarys',Daichis', Kennys, Mr Dickensons' and Grandpa Grangers' lips trembled and hard tears began to prick their eyes as they heard Kais' Grandmother wailing over whatever state Kai was in now.
Before long, Gottleib and Izumi emerged. The German was pale, trance like and expressionless, his blue eyes bolt wide and moustached mouth slightly agape. He was clearly in shock but held himself together; unlike Izumi who had collapsed and had to be transferred into a wheelchair. Her face was concealed behind wrinkled sobbing hands and half wet tissues. She was hysterical, sobbing uncontrollably and clearly unable to walk anywhere. ICU staff decided it was best to remove her from the room until the shock wore off, allowing the next lot of visitors to enter.
Nurse Sakura emerged from behind Gottliebs' giant form. "Would the rest of you like to come through?"
Tyson and Co took no time to get their feet; adrenaline rushed them to Nurse Sakuras' side. As Kais' former visitors passed by, the older Granger felt a lump emerge in his chest as he watched Izumi struggle to breathe through the painful sobs. With heavy legs, Gottlieb pushed the heartbroken grandmother to a clearing next to the seating area where Tyson was seconds ago; he then lost his balance causing him to crash to the seat and covered his long European face with despair.
The crystal doors rolled open smoothly to give way to the open plan ward. Bay 1, 3 and 6 were occupied with curtains drawn around them. Bays 2, 4 and 5 were empty and the beds in full view. Tyson and Co hurried behind the nurse like sheep past Bay 1, Bay 2 and halted abruptly at Bay 3. She placed one hand on the pink curtain ready to roll it across and paused to make sure all had followed her. After a seconds' check she gently pulled the pink drapes apart.
Tyson breathed in sharply and his legs buckled. Grandpa Granger grabbed him and held him strong from behind at the waist, although his legs too were trembling. Max, Hilary, Daichi and Mariah in unison let out a gasp and the ladies clasped their feminine hands over their lips.
Mr Dickenson felt hot tears fill his tired eyes and he quickly rubbed them clear with a sniffle. His voice was woeful. "Oh Kai, my poor boy."
Kais' pale and limp body was at peace in a large white hospital bed with plastic upright barriers at the sides. His head was slightly propped up with a white pillow and a thick pale blue blanket was tucked up to the middle of his chest to keep him warm. He wore a white hospital gown with small blue diamond shapes dotted in a continual pattern. The top of the gown was tied closed with 2 sets of ties on the shoulders to allow for easy access for medical exams. He had a tracheal tube down his throat which was connected to a pipe connected to a machine forcing air into his lungs, causing his chest to rise and fall. The tube was wrapped and secured in place using a white thin bandage close to his lightly cyan lips and tied in a bow at the side of his neck. A tiny pin-hole on Kais' left earlobe could be seen from where an ear stud used to sit. His arms were bandaged in places and lay limp on top of the blanket at his sides. He had a cannula needle taped in place embedded into the back of his limp left hand and further up the arm; a blood pressure cuff. In his right arm; another cannula needle embedded just beneath the elbow and an oximeter clamped onto his right index finger which glowed blue. His right wrist sported a white hospital wristband with his name, blood type, date of birth and other information typed in black. The cannulas intravenous lines led to bags on a metal coat hanger looking thing and from it hung bags of blood and clear fluids. Various cables stuck out from the gaps of his gown which led to other machines linked to the heart monitor. Other tubes and lines led from under the blanket to spaces under the bed. Kais' grey and blue dual tone hair was wet and his skin slightly shiny where he had been washed to remove most of the blood. The nurses had done a thorough job and left some areas a little pink where they had rubbed intensely to clean him. Some blood still remained under his short finger nails and the nail beds were still a milky shade of blue. His blue triangle face paint was completely washed away without a trace.
Nurse Sakura stood aside as Kais' friends clustered around his bed and analysed him. Their faces creased with sorrow at Kais' fallen self and fought back the last tears their bodies could excrete. Maxs' jaw dropped at how pitiful and vulnerable Kai had been reduced.
Tyson and Co watched for what felt like forever as Kais' chest rose and fell in synchronisation with the cylinder in the ventilator; its mechanical gentle hiss and beeping of his heart rate monitor was rhythmic. The area around Kais' eyes was slightly sunk and dark like an ill panda. The multiple objects and needles in him made them feel uneasy like they were seeing him naked for the first time.
"Do you have any questions?" The amber eyed nurse sweetly asked, knowing that there would be a barrage.
Hilary stammered as she wiped a tear and fought back a sob. "Is he in any pain?"
Nurse Sakura tried to be jovial. "Oh nooo he's completely out of it. He can't feel any pain at all."
Tyson knew in his gut that Kai wouldn't answer but had to try."Kai? Kai? Can you hear me buddy?"
Max followed suit. "Kai?"
Tyson shot his piercing gaze to the nurse. "Can he hear us?"
Nurse – "No he's heavily sedated and he has anaesthetic in his system from the surgery."
Tysons' voice was etched with urgency. "When can we talk to him?"
Nurse – "Kai won't be awake for a while. We're going to keep him asleep until he's stronger."
Ray piped up and locked eyes with Nurse Sakura. "When will that be?"
Nurse – "When his vitals are better and he can take the stress of being awake. He has quite a deep injury. The longer he is resting the better chance his wound has of healing quicker. He will be asleep for at least a couple of days."
Kenny – "What are the chances he's gunna make it?"
Nurse – "It's all up to Kai I'm afraid. He's been very strong to get this far."
Hilary -"Why is he so pale? Kai's quite pale skinned anyway but he's white as a sheet."
Nurse – "He's lost an awful lot of blood and he's severely dehydrated as a result. Don't worry though, as soon as we have more fluid in his body, he should return to normal colour."
Nurse – "Ok guys so there's a few rules in the ICU. No noise, no food and visiting hours are 24 hours but only 2 at a bed side at any time. There will be times when we ask you to leave the bedside to tend to Kais' personal needs and change his dressings.
Daichi – "Personal needs? How's he gunna pee if he's asleep for days?"
Hilary, Max, Mariah, Ray and Tyson scoffed in unison. The Chief scolded. "Daichi you can't ask a question like that!"
Nurse Sakura sweat dropped and cheerfully replied. "We take care of that. But his urine output is going to be non-existent for a while until his body is hydrated enough."
Daichi was oblivious to Kennys' scolding tone and asked another albeit valid question. "How's he gunna eat n stuff?"
Nurse Sakura - "He'll get a special formula intravenously. Now ummm I think that's enough questions for one night...Now...It's been decided that Kais' grandmother and Mr Gottlieb will be spending the night at Kais' bed side. You are welcome to use our specialist rooms set aside for families of ICU patients. They aren't the Ritz but comfortable and in easy reach. We have telephones in the rooms that directly connect to the ICU ward so if we ever needed to reach you we can super quickly. Go and get some rest, have a wash."She said as she glanced at Tysons' bloodied clothes. "And Kai will be waiting for you in the morning."
Tysons' voice sounded frantic. "But Miss can't we spend the night with Kai too."
Nurse Sakura warned kindly. "I'm sorry but family take precedent over friends and Mrs Uchiha is next of Kin."
Grandpa Granger released his grip on Tysons' torso and put 2 loving hands on the beybladers' shoulders. "We're not going far ma boy. We'll see Kai in the morning. Besides we gotta get you cleaned up."
Tysons' protest was short-lived as he glanced down at Kais' blood on his yellow shirt.
Nurse Sakura began to walk away and gestured for all to come with her. "Ok guys I'll show you to the family accommodation suites."
Only... she wasn't being followed. She spun around to see Tyson clutching the barrier to the right-hand side of Kais' bed with Grandpa Granger close behind his grandson. Ray next to him, Max next, then The Chief, Mr Dickenson, Hilary and Mariah; their feet super glued to the floor. Reluctant to leave, they gazed longingly at Kai as the ventilator breathed for him and their ears absorbed every beep of his heartbeat. They wanted desperately to hold his hand but felt he could break with the gentlest stroke. They had never seen him this fragile. Or asleep either. Back in the day...Kai was always the first one up for training and they never saw him kick back in bed. He was an amazingly light sleeper too so to be standing over him whilst he slept was a rarity.
Tysons' heart bucked wildly. "See you tomorrow Kai. You hear. I WILL see you tomorrow."
Maxs' voice broke as the words escaped him. "Yeah bud you... better believe it. You hang in there."
Ray lovingly growled. "Kai you keep fighting buddy you hear. Don't you give up on us."
Daichi fought back a tear and tried not to yell. "Yeah Kai, don't you give up."
Hilary whispered as her voice broke too. "Goodnight Kai. Sleep well and... we'll catch up tomorrow. That's a promise. Ok. You gotta keep that promise."
Mr Dickensons' elderly voice trembled. "I'll see you tomorrow young man. Don't you go giving up on us ok?"
"Oh K- man. K—dude."Grandpa Granger struggled to get any further words out.
Mariah punched the air. "Kai you're a stubborn son-of-a..., don't you go breaking the trend huh."
Slowly Tyson and Co flaked away one by one; until Kai was left on his own. Still, sleeping and broken as machines chorused beeps around him.
1 hour later.
"Right this way Mr Mizuhara. Down the hall, room number 33." Gestured a young female hospital porter from reception.
Maxs' Dad had arrived with the spare clothes he had arranged to deliver for his son hours earlier. He carried various coloured and shaped duffel bags and wheeled suitcases. He juggled them in over-stretched hands, under arms and slung over his shoulders as he heaved them down the hallway.
"KNOCK" " KNOCK"
A moment passed allowing the person behind to reach the door.
A familiar and usually peppy young lady peered through the crack and instantly let him in.
"Hey Hilary, how's things?" He said without properly assessing the mood of the room.
"Fine, I guess Mr Mizuhara." Her face was sullen, her eyes were shadowed in the darkness of her auburn fringe and her voice was devoid of all chipperness.
"Dad!" Max cried as he ran into his fathers' arms and buried his face into safe familiar shoulders. Despite nearly being the same height, Max was very much still a needy child with a soft heart.
"How's Kai doing?" The elder Mizuhara was almost afraid to ask.
Kenny was sat cross legged on the bed typing an email reply. His gaze met with the mans' momentarily and back at the screen.
No reply was necessary and Maxs' Dad knew not to ask again. He thought to himself "That bad huh. Oh Max, what things you must have seen today." And bear hugged his son even tighter causing Max to emotionally crumble and begin to grizzle in his arms.
"There there Max. Everything's going to be ok." He patted the blondes back until he calmed.
Mr Mizuhara - "Where are the rest of you?" Only Hilary, Kenny and Max could be seen in the room.
Max forced his hysterics aside and muttered. "Tyson is in the shower, Daichi and Mr Granger are picking up some food from the lobby downstairs. Mariah and Ray are on the balcony and Mr Dickenson has gone home to his wife."
Meanwhile.
Dragoons' wielder stood naked and nearly burning under the hot stream of water gushing out from the shower head. The steam was so thick that it felt dangerously hot to breathe in. His bloodied clothes lay in a pile in the middle of the room as Tyson rubbed and scrubbed and scraped away at every fleck of blood that remained on him. He was sick of the sight of it now and wanted to desperately erase the days' events. His mind raced as the sponge was worked over and around each of his fingers until they were red raw. "Please Kai. Please be ok. I don't know what I'll do if...you don't make it. I can't lose you too. I just can't."
Meanwhile.
Ray and Mariah sat with their legs dangling over the concrete ledge of the terracotta coloured balcony. The summer evening breeze whisped their hair as the setting sun kissed their skin. On a normal day this would have been a gloriously romantic setting and the two White Tigers would have been tenderly kissing like love birds. Today was not a normal day. The horrors of earlier and the misery of waiting for Kai to pull through blackened their mood. Mariah shuffled her hips over a touch and laid her left hand close to covet Rays' fingers. Instead of reciprocating, he snapped his hand away and folded it away in his lap. The pinkette instantly shot him a furiously hurt look as he twisted his head to the opposite direction to avoid any eye contact.
Mariah – "He's gunna be ok Ray. I know you're worried. We all are."
She couldn't see his face but knew emotion was rippling through her lover. His legs and torso vibrated and his lapped hand trembled.
The female said tenderly. "Ray...look at me."
The male turned his head to meet hers. Their yellow cat eyes locked as long black hair fell away from his face... It wasn't fear in his eyes or sorrow or worry. He was shaking... with rage.
*CRASH*Daichi and Grandpa Granger crashed back into the room sending the door slamming back onto the wall behind it. They were violently gasping for breath, their urgency alerted all bodies; causing room-wide panic. Tyson ran from the shower room wearing red chequered pyjama bottoms and was half way through pulling a red t-shirt down his torso. Hilary was half dosing on a bed but now sat bolt upright, messy haired and startled. "What? What's happened!"
Ray and Mariah vaulted back from the balcony fearing the worst. Max was starting to get undressed for his shower and immediately halted disrobing any further. Maxs' Dad wizzed out of the bathroom doing his belt up and Kenny nearly launched his laptop to the ceiling with the surprise.
Rays eyes were wide with panic. "What is it?! Is it Kai?!"
Maxs' heart thumped, he exclaimed. "Has something happened to Kai?!"
Daichi screeched. "Guys guys, You gotta see this!"
Kenny was instantly annoyed with the needless urgency. "What do you mean?"
Daichi screeched higher."Come look!"
Grandpa placed bags of packaged food and canned drink on a coffee table in the tiny lounge and made his way back to the door. "Yeah guys, getcha skates on and follow us back to the lobby."
Tyson had no time for Daichis' silly cryptic games of "guess what..." He pouted hard and his eyebrows furrowed. "This had better be good." He grumped as he slipped on fresh white hotel slippers.
The team followed Daichi and Grandpa to the hotel reception where they were met with the sight of Mr Cooper, 2 other members of Team Halo and multiple hospital security staff creating a human shield outside the hospitals glass entrance. They stood poised like butch guard dogs, ready and willing to bite.
There was a sea of gathering of people. Beyblade and sporting fans, wishful members of the public and paparazzi from various TV studios had congregated to pay tribute to Kai. As far as the media was concerned, Kai had been stabbed and rushed to hospital, they knew nothing more than that... yet; and were hungry for more news and be the first to headline it.
TV reporters heckled any staff leaving the hospital for more information but were met with "No comment." Confidentiality agreements in their employment contracts gagged them to say anything else. A few desperate reporters were found trying to enter the hospital via back doors but were met with a wall of security officers, most of which comprised of Hiwatari Enterprises'private security.
Fans had laid layers upon layers of bouquets of flowers and the odd teddy with a heart shape on its chest. "Get well soon Kai" and "We love you Kai" banners decorated the floor and were waved in the air by fans who had knocked them together using felt tip pens, white bed sheets and sawed broomstick handles. A band of candles had been arranged and lit up the hospital frontage...very apt for the phoenix bitbeast that Kai was known for.
In the semi darkness of a cold echoing cave; congregated in a semi circle was a cult of 20 cloaked tattooed individuals. Their shadows danced on the brown rocky walls as candlelight flickered with the draughts that filtered through earthly corridors. Yellow candles were affixed to the walls interior at head height and provided the only source of light. The caves inhabitants were deep in a central chamber of grand proportions. Candles and burning piles of bound together wood on pikes were placed evenly around the circumference and a thick handmade purple rug carpeted the floor. In the centre to the back of the room was a regal black wooden throne for someone of high importance with candles littered around its feet. Hieroglyph like scriptures unlike anything seen by modern scientists decorated the walls in light green paint and was likely an ancestral home for many generations of a tribe. The walls depicted a mixture of language and animal drawings. Some of which looked like mythical creatures; bitbeasts.
Blake was knelt on one knee with his head facing the blanketed purple floor, bowed. In front of him towered a tall thin dark skinned man-creature wrapped in a dense purple gown down to his ankles. He had a brown rope tied around his waist, black plimsolls peered beneath the gown and long straight dank silver hair flowed down his chest like a river. His eyes were blood red, tanned skin and his face slim. His features were pointy and his lips thin and sharp. He was aged in his late 50s with slight crows-feet wrinkles and the start of sagging in his facial features. His lightly muscled arms and neck were tattooed in dark green rings around fingers and up his arms in the same way the others of the clan were. He had a dangerous looming air of grace about him. He spoke in a soft monotone with hardly any emotion in his words.
"Blake my child, you have done our Brotherhood proud." These words made Blake feel elated and his heart sang with pleasure despite the lack of any bounce in the speakers' tone.
"Thank you My Lord."The younger silver haired man gushed with pride.
The clan leader held an object up to his face and with the twist of his wrist he angled a brown beyblade in his palm to shimmer the bitchip in the flame light.
"He's simply divine. Dranzer of Fire is just magnificent."
"Rise my Child." With those words Blake gracefully rose to both of his feet and Dranzer was placed back into his tattooed tribal hands.
"All these years of training for your long awaited destiny proved fruitful today my child. For today we have one of the sacred bitbeasts. The phoenix, Dranzer will be ours to use as a weapon to bring about a new world order and usher in a new age for mankind... "Tiarra, Jacob and Roland step forward into the light my children.
Three cloaked figures emerged from the congregation. Their features lit up as they edged into the lime light and stop behind Blake. Their dark purple capes billowed behind lightly with each step, silver hair glinted in the semi darkness and their faces were concealed in the black.
"Go forth my warriors. Use your lessons well and bring me the Turtle of Water, the Dragon of Wind and the Tiger of Earth. Do not return until you have completed your mission. Blake has proven himself worthy of my teachings and will have an important place at my side when we rule our New World. If you do as your destiny ordained, you too... will have a place beside me as ruler."
"Yes Arch Mage Rochimaru"
"Yes Arch Mage Rochimaru"
"Yes Arch Mage Rochimaru"
Thankyou for reading guys! Well done for getting this far. If you get a spare minute I'd love to know what you think of my Fanfic so far, pop a comment in the reviews, Id be so grateful to see how many people are still reading classic Beyblade fanfics :)