Hi guys! Short one here. I wrote it over the last couple of days and just had had had to publish it now :) Thankyou Guest 11 for your reviews! They mean so much to me. Happy New year to you all :)

Chapter 27.

It was the middle of July, the birds were singing, the sun shining...the perfect day for a busy city hospital to execute a full scale evacuation.

The warm sweet scent of oriental summer flowers wafted through the open windows lining an almost empty, sterile and natural lit corridor; a welcome change from the smell of high grade antiseptic used in most wards. The last remaining members of public dashed through, clutching handbags, belongings and children's hands as the Fire alarm audibly hounded them to their nearest evacuation point, to an adjoining car park, or designated street outside where the rest of the hospitals inhabitants were gathered to be checked off attendance registers, one by one.

Straggling nurses' shoes clip-clopped on the floor as they fluttered, hurriedly leaning over desks to grasp at forgotten patient charts, and knocking over pots of pens and empty coffee cups in the rush, before dashing for the exits to meet with the rest of their evacuated teams.

Hospital security, dressed in blue police-like uniforms called "Hello, is anyone in here?" into the doorways of various wards, performing brisk last minute checks looking for anyone left behind in what could be...a burning building.

Three private security personnel and a patient however, had not evacuated. Kai Hiwatari had insisted he was not leaving the grounds until he had at least checked his room for Tyson and the others. Despite his stand-offish demeanour, he was a loyal friend...some of the time.

Light grey shaded bangs swayed gently as he shuffle-stepped across the stone coloured tile in newly purchased, backless, mottled-grey Georgio Armani slippers hooked over his bare feet. The bladers' pale meaty hand tenderly clutched over a patch of his loose black t-shirt concealing his padded wound, located up and to the left of his belly button. His right wrist was decorated with a white hospital identity band and below it clenched tightly, was a fist, curled with frustration at his new disability. The young CEO battled with his sore, weak body to stay poised and dignified as he fought with his face not to grimace with each slide-step. Kai had hardly eaten all day and the morphine tablets made him feel a little spaced out; regardless he soldiered onwards through the labyrinthine hallways and levels to his prison/room in the General Ward, where he hoped his old team would be waiting by.

Loitering protectively around him like a formation of Kevlar-armoured black-birds, were three members of Team Halo, the best and brightest of Hiwatari Enterprises' security sector. Each had proven their worth as highly skilled combatants, serving in war zones across the world and each had the bullet scars to prove it. Mr V. Kovalenko blazed on in front; the Vin Diesel looking man walked on ahead like a butch dog, keeping his beady sunglass-shielded eyes peeled for anyone suspicious.

Ms A. Ghazi hovered steps directly behind her vulnerable employer, her long brown pony tail swished as she looked left, right and over her shoulder... ready to grasp her baton weapon or taser at any sight of a threat; guns are illegal to carry in Japan, even for close protection details... so other weapons were afforded.

Mr Cooper, in all his black bullet-proofed glory, hung at Kais' left side, and baby stepped his lumbering size 12 boot-clad feet so as to keep snails' pace with his much shorter, wounded, corporate leader. He begrudged how long their journey was taking but knew if he came out with another suggestion to assist or carry "Mr H" in anyway, he would be charged with the sentence of monotonous office car-park duty until Christmas. His shiny black eyewear glinted in the daylight as he announced in a deep and rolling tone. "We're nearin' the General Ward up ahead. I'll take Mr K to his room to see if his friends are there. Whether they're there or not, we gotta evacuate afterwards. I know they're your friends Mr H but we've pushed it stayin' here as long as we have."

Kai gave no response or acknowledgement. He was grunting inside himself, a thick grey eyebrow twitched with fiery annoyance with each soft scraping sound of his slipper footwear against the tile, reminding the blader of how he had allowed Blake to robbed him of his ninja-like stealth, all athleticism and most valued dignity.

The giant African American raised his voice to reach the spear of the entourage. "Kovalenko. I need you to double on back and check the coast is clear for our route to Fire Exit 6 on Level A."

The bald-headed Ukrainian in front acted immediately; he ceased his forward march, turned on his shiny, rubber-heeled boots 180 degrees with a squelch and retreated back to the trailing trio...with Kai protectively in the centre. Once reached, the man named "Vinny" ceremoniously stopped to the side so as to not block Kais' slow shuffling path and in the typical Japanese sign of respect, bowed lowly to his employer. He then raised his bullet-proof vested torso and acquired brief eye contact with his black eye-shaded manager. He professionally nodded, and then barked with a husky tone. "Sir." His superiors' order was acknowledged. His steel toe-caps pounded and dense muscled arms swung, as he immediately deployed onto his reconnaissance mission.

Mr Cooper then turned his head to side-eye at his staff to the rear. "Ghazi, I need you to get on down to Fire Exit door 3 and make sure there are no hitches at the vehicle gate. Jones is on route and will be here in 10 minutes. When he gets here, wait with the Humvee unless I say otherwise."

Ms Amira Ghazi stopped in her tracks, lightly stamped one boot and declared aloud. "Yes Sir!" Before spinning on her heels and jogged to pair side-by-side with the Vin Diesel look-alike. The duo set off to complete their assignments as instructed and goodness help anyone who got in their way. Terrorist gang leaders, corrupt dictators, villainous drug lords, murderous beybladers...they were all the same to these ex-militants. Mr Kovalenko, Ms Ghazi and Mr Cooper each had the skills and training to deal with any of them and with deadly force if necessary.

Kai continued his travels without words or any eye contact with his underlings; this was a matter of course. He was neither social nor overly friendly with them. It was strictly an employer – employee relationship between him and most of his staff, with very few exceptions. Managing the security team was Mr Coopers' job, whom clearly had everything under control.

The wounded blader listened as to two sets of boots squelched rapidly off behind him until they could be heard no more whilst Mr Cooper remained at Kais' side like a body-built mother hen.

That was until...

*PING*

An elevator light button illuminated, a *ping* sound emanated from a button above and to the side of Kai and Mr Cooper...when suddenly two heavy metal doors blew wide open. The corridor was instantly alive with rushing people as they flooded out of the laterally moving mechanical box. Three gurneys complete with elderly male patients strapped in, three female and two male nurses clad in light blue at the gurney sides, a middle-aged female doctor with short straight brown hair wearing a lab coat, a hospital security guard who looked old enough to retire any day, and six others, presumably family members of the patients cascaded out of the rather roomy elevator and rushed at Kai and Cooper like a stampede of wildebeest down a narrow canyon, splitting the two off. Like logs on a river, the gurneys ran out of control and bunched up together causing a blockage whilst the other bodies rushed to help, only to get stuck in the human and wheeled metal mess with them. The gurneys lined up and crashed together in such a way they created an impassable wall as the nurses struggled to guide them like shopping trolleys with dodgy wheels that won't roll straight. With no time to react, Mr Cooper was trapped on one side of the chaos and was quickly pinned to the far left wall with no escape. The nurses frantically pulled at the beds-on-wheels to dislodge from the other whilst the other humans noisily flustered like headless chickens, clucking around trying to help...when all they really did was get in the way.

Mr Cooper yelled out. "Boss! Please wait Boss! I'm stuck back here. Boss!" A thick sweat-drop decorated his forehead as he eyed Kai's frail form whittle further down the hallway. The security manager hastily turned his glaring sights downwards at the cluster of faffing nurses battling to de-mangle their patients and metal frames.

"Mr H" was not a happy bunny as his throbbing stab wound cried for him to stop and rest. He had somehow managed to dodge the herd of mayhem and metal rimmed beds on skates completely unscathed. He scuttled on, fuelled by the grunting drive to get to his friends, guarding his wound, glowering in discomfort and oblivious that his bodyguard, Mr Cooper wasn't behind him. Kai was deaf to his protectors' cries and ceased to stop, his mind was dulled with the blurriness of the painkillers and was descending into self pity with each scrape sound of his footwear.

"Grrrrrr! Can't you move this thing?!" Mr Cooper growled angrily as he tried to pry a side of a gurney away from crushing his groin area. Several veins popped on his shiny dark skinned forehead and steam blew out of his ears. "MOVE IT NOW YA HEAR ME!... BOSS! WAIT UP BOSS!"

A tiny young female nurse squeaked back as she strained with puny arms to budge a gurney free even an inch. "I'm so sorry Mister, the wheels have needed oiling for a while now and these things are just so heavy. Don't you worry we'll get you out in no time haha." She nervously laughed at the end as Mr Coopers aura glowed red and his sunglass rim edge twinkled with satanical rage.

Patient 12 tenderly shuffled like an arthritic old woman, alone, until he came to a quiet corridor cross-road; the chaos and noise of the human traffic jam was far behind. Closely ahead, labelled high above a set of heavy swinging double doors was the General Ward and the possibility of Tyson and Co within it.

He turned his head to his right, just a passing glance...an empty corridor.

And to his left...another corridor with a T-junction at the end. This walkway wasn't as empty as the last. Kais' eagle-sharp eyesight caught a flash of billowing cloth as its wearer disappeared around a corner out of view.

The cloth...was...the tip... of a dark purple garment.

All grogginess was dashed away by a stab of sharp tasting adrenaline. Kais' eyes shrunk to lilac dots as his heart beat thumped in his ears. Flashbacks of that day at the Tokyo Dome pricked his memory like camera flashes.

*Heartbeat* *Flashback* Blakes' purple cape hood flickering wildly in the blast wind at the beystadium edge after Dranzers' attack. Blake smiling indidiously.*

*Heartbeat**Flashback* Blakes' dark purple cape swishing in a light wind as Kai watches the crowd empty the seats in panic and feels the damp of blood soak his crotch and trouser leg.

Amethyst pin-pricked irises stared down the hallway as his cushioned feet glued to the ground, his spine straightened under his roomy black t-shirt as he clasped his hand firmer over his bandaged gash. He murmured aloud to himself with a disbelieving face. "No it can't be? No, I gotta be imagining this. Blake. Was that him? His cape, the colour, it's identical... No... I gotta be hallucinating. That's it... it's...it's just the meds."

Kais' alert stance and face slowly relaxed as he shook off the paranoia. He allowed his body to flex again and began a slipper footed shuffle-step towards to the General Ward entrance. Until...an alarming cry echoed in the back of his skull...

"KKKKKKKKKKKKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR."

The ex-spirit guardian re-froze to the spot. A cold whistling breeze blew past his tall pale form, tickling the back of his neck as his eyes shrunk to dots once again. The bladers' heart tugged and his lungs momentarily held onto breath. The noise was unmistakable. Kai knew instantly. That...was a scream of his phoenix.

Kai gasped as his bottom jaw hung. "Dranzer..."

A curious fire lit in the master bladers' blood as he back-stepped, turned and glared down the clear left-hand travel way. He growled with a tighter-clubbed trembling fist. "Grrrrr. I've got to know. If that was Blake down there...I have some serious questions and he's gunna give me some answers." Kais' thick grey eyebrows furrowed lower as he glanced back and was surprised to see Mr Cooper, still trapped to the wall behind collided gurneys and disarrayed mass of people.

"I have no time to wait for you Cooper. He'll catch up." Kai muttered, having faith that his highly qualified guard would soon follow. His body took on a new speed as all pain was ignored, his muscles and bones ignited with the drive to find the truth. He dragged his navy clothed knees up higher into a desperate robotic walk and stomped his soft slippers, all the while careful to guard his throbbing knife wound with his left hand. Kai's handsome face snarled as he grit his teeth through the faster pace.

"I'm coming for you... Dranzer!"

Moments later.

Mr Cooper was finally free. One of the trainee nurses had accidently tripped and kicked down on a clamp on the wheel mechanism of one the gurneys during the kerfuffle. No wonder the thing wasn't moving. Once the wheel was unlocked, the gurneys were dragged free and clear, finally releasing the hench ex-marine, of which left no time to waste and bolted for his chief executives' last known location. His boots hammered the floor *THUD* *THUD* *THUD* with his hefty weight as he drew to a sharp stop at the crossed corridor paths, anxious sweat trickled down his chocolate skinned face and high cheek bones.

He looked to his left, then to his right and up ahead to the heavy swinging doors of the General Ward. Not a dual-tone haired, disabled CEO in sight.

He called out in each direction, each call getting more desperate than the last.

"Boss?"

"Boss?!"

"He musta gone ahead." He said as he bulldozed his way through the General Wards' double doors so hard they slammed and cracked the walls behind. He stomped frantically through the emptied ward, calling out and briskly checking each room he passed until he reached Room 12. "Boss?! You here?!... BOSS?!... BOSS!"

Seconds later, Mr Cooper emerged back to the cross roads, sweating profusely. With moist shaking fingers he clicked down on a microphone button dangling from a security ear piece, much like the CIA agents use in action movies and ordered to all on the radio loop. His stern panicked words were heard through covert ear pieces by every operative on site.

"ALL UNITS. WE HAVE A LEVEL 5 SAFETY ALERT! I'VE LOST VISUAL ON THE KING. I'VE LOST VISUAL ON THE KING. MR H WAS LAST SEEN HEADING TOWARDS HIS ROOM. HIS ROOM HAS BEEN SEARCHED AND IS EMPTY. ALL UNITS LEAVE YOUR CURRENT POSITIONS EXCEPT THOSE GUARDING EXITS. THIS IS A LEVEL 5 SAFETY ALERT. ALL UNITS GET TO IT. FINDING MR H IS OUR TOP PRIORITY!"

29 Hiwatari Enterprises operatives received the order and responded like the private army they were.

"SIR!" "SIR!" "SIR!" "SIR!" "SIR!" "SIR!" "SIR!" "SIR!" "SIR!" "SIR!" "SIR!" "SIR!" "SIR!" "SIR!" "SIR!" "SIR!" "SIR!" "SIR!" "SIR!" "SIR!" "SIR!" "SIR!" "SIR!" "SIR!" "SIR!" "SIR!" "SIR!" "SIR!" "SIR!"