Author's Note

So I didn't think it would take me this long... I was trying to figure out how I was going to handle certain things and I think I'm happy with the final version. ^_^

xXx

Of Boys and Blades

Part One

Chapter 3

I was surrounded by devastation. Churned concrete and stone. Choking smoke and fire. Only the ground I stood on had been left untouched.

I had to get out of here. I had to run.

But what was that over there? Blood? And... A hand—

I bolted awake, hitting my head on the arm of the couch. Rubbing my temple, I sat upright. Another damn nightmare. My breathing calmed and I noticed the sun rising through the open window. I was sick of these nightmares. Ever since my memories of the Abbey had started to return I'd had the occasional bad dream. I wasn't sure what they meant but I was pretty sure they had something to do with Black Dranzer.

I was hiding in the pool house of the estate I'd once lived in. Different cars and furniture had made it apparent it was now the home of new owners. Lidiya could've mentioned that little fact to me. That really messed up my plan, what little of one there was.

Luckily my key still worked and I'd stowed away in the pool house. This time of year was far too cold to take a swim so I doubted I'd be noticed.

Pushing the nightmare from my thoughts with a sigh I rose and headed for the shower. It wouldn't be stocked but at least I'd feel refreshed. I wondered how long the school would wait until they contacted Lidiya. And just how hard would she try to find me? I'd call her in a week, I eventually decided. After I figured out exactly what I wanted. Returning to boarding school was definitely not it.

Rummaging through my suitcase for clothes I found a tube of the blue eye-liner I'd always used to draw the triangles on my face. Odd how a childish rebellion had become such a part of me. Makeup wasn't prohibited at the boarding schools so I'd just kind of stopped. Twisting the cap off I raised it to my face. It was like coming home, I guess. The longing for something familiar.

I decided to go for a walk. It wasn't like I had anything better to do. It felt very weird being back. Everything looked the same but different. Like nothing had changed but my whole life had been turned upside down. I revisited my old haunts, eventually ending up at the canal where I'd met Tyson for the first time. That was only a year ago and yet it felt like a lifetime had passed. I felt older.

I heard kids playing and left, heading for the warehouse where I spent so much of my time. I'd always hated being home, hated being around Voltaire. The warehouse had become my other home. Long since abandoned, it sat empty along the waterfront. From the roof it had a beautiful view of the bay. After returning from Russia I'd never taken that view for granted. I loved the water.

I went to my old perch, looking down at the industrial dish we'd used as a bey stadium. I could tell the Blade Sharks hadn't been there in a while. Good. I'd always considered the place mine, anyway.

So what are you going to do now, Kai? You have no home, no family. Are you going to go looking for Tyson? You don't even know where he lives.

I wandered like I had when I was younger. Urban exploring, I guess it was called. Breaking into abandoned buildings, looking for any interesting keepsakes. I had quite a collection. Odd keys, nuts and bolts, personal items, jewelry. I always thought the landscape would make interesting pictures, particularly the places nature had started to reclaim.

Eventually I headed towards home—ex-home. The grumbling of my stomach reminded me I hadn't eaten anything all day. I had some money. I'd probably stop somewhere for takeout and go back to the pool house.

Taking a shortcut through the woods I heard the hum of a blade.

I know that. I know that blade! Following the noise, trying not to get too excited, I found what I was looking for.

Along the path there was a battle going on. It was Tyson! He was a little taller and a little thinner, but he was unmistakable. He was battling some kid I'd never seen before. And he...he was losing.

I watched the battle play out for a moment, perplexed. Why isn't he releasing Dragoon?

"No!" he yelled out. "Dragoon can't lose this!"

"He won't," I heard my voice say. "Tyson, it's time for Dragoon to go on the attack."

I couldn't describe the look on his face when he saw me. But whatever funk he was in he snapped out of and went on to win the battle. The kid he was battling took off and Kenny immediately started going on about analyzing his data. I walked over to the overlook above the water. They could come to me.

I wasn't sure how to go about this. I hadn't planned on meeting Tyson with an audience. I didn't even know who the girl was that was following them around. For a second the thought crossed my mind that she might be his girlfriend, but an argument ensued between them so I quickly dismissed that notion.

"Tyson!" I heard Kenny yell. "They're not the only problem we have right now. In your last battle, you had trouble releasing Dragoon again until Kai showed up. Ever since the Bladebreakers went their separate ways you haven't had a consistent level of intensity in your game?"

That's interesting.

"Hey, Kai!" Tyson came jogging towards me a few minutes later. "So what are you doing back? Mr. Dickenson told us you moved."

Leaning my back against the rails I shrugged. "Visiting."

"Well I'm glad to see you, man." He smiled brightly. "You won't believe the crazy stuff that's been happening to us lately."

So that's how it was? We were just going to pretend nothing ever happened. Or maybe he just didn't want to bring it up in front of his friends. He probably didn't want them to know. Hell, I didn't either. But I wanted something...different? I don't know what I want, do I? I had no idea how to conduct myself in this situation.

Tyson and Kenny were talking and I hadn't heard a word. Something about weird guys in suits, being kidnapped, robots, and mysterious bladers. "I had some weird guy in a cape approach me, too."

"This is getting very strange," Kenny told us. "I'm going to do a complete analysis on everything up until this point."

They continued to talk about conspiracy theories and I trailed behind. It did sound like someone was after our bitbeasts. At least now I had a valid reason to stay. I'd just have to figure out a way to make that happen.

Tyson, Kenny, and the girl I eventually figured out was named Hilary continued to talk about the days events as we all headed back toward the canal.

Tyson turned around to look back at me. "Hey there, Kai! I bet you're wondering who the new girl is, aren't you? This is my classmate, Hilary."

Without a beat I continued to walk past them. I suppose I couldn't be bothered.

Tyson let out a chuckle. "That's our Kai, all right."

"Well, that was rude. What's his problem, huh?" I guess I'd hurt her feelings.

"Don't let it bug you," Kenny told her. "He's like that with everyone. Especially us."

"So talking isn't one of his strong suits?" she said to Tyson. "Unlike you, who can't stop?" Okay, maybe I would like this girl after all.

"Haha, very funny." I heard him run up to me a moment later. "Hey, Kai! You need a place to crash? Just say the word."

I paused.

"Really, I'm sure my grandpa won't mind."

"I appreciate the offer," I said evenly. "But, I don't know—"

"Dude, It's a no-brainer!" Grabbing my arm, he started pulling me along the path. "Besides, Grandpa's always harping on me to practice my martial arts. You can do me a solid and distract him for me."

"Umm...Tyson..."

He wouldn't take no for an answer. We arrived at the dojo I learned was where he lived. I took in everything as we walked passed. It was so different from where I'd grown up. Serene. He had the kind of yard rich people paid thousands for.

He led me through the house to the dojo section. It was a very old house. Obviously it had been in his family for generations. "We'll sleep in here. There's a lot more room. I'll go get us some blankets."

His grandfather found me there and started giving me some lecture about martial arts. I didn't really want to be rude to the man. He'd always been nice to me. Tyson thankfully came back.

"Here's some blankets and a pillow for you, Kai. Grandpa! You're not giving him the swordplay schpiel already?"

"Newsflash, Tyson!" he shouted. "There's a fine line between being a champ and being a chump. Keep slacking off on your training, and you're door number two! Thanks for shopping at Has-Beens-R-Us! Please come again!"

"Grandpa, I don't have time for a lecture right now, ok." After some scuffling he maneuvered his grandfather out the door. Voltaire would've killed me if I'd ever talked back like that. Was this what normal was?

With a grin Tyson sat down before me. "So, Kai, what've you been up to these days? Not that I missed you while you were gone or anything. I'm just curious, that's all."

Grabbing the blankets and pillow he'd offered me, I headed to the other side of the dojo.

"I see. I guess you've been practicing your patented move; giving people the cold shoulder."

"Yeah, well practice makes perfect."

He didn't say anything else as I laid out the blanket. As I settled down eventually I heard, "Are you mad at me?"

Looking over I saw him watching me with the weirdest of expressions. I didn't say anything and went back to unfolding blankets.

Tyson crossed the room to sit beside me. "You probably wondered why I kissed you." There it was. He said it out loud. "Look, the truth is-"

A loud bang at the door cut him off. "Dudes! If you want to eat, food's in the kitchen!"

"Guess we should eat." I stood and exited the room, careful not to look at him. And then I wanted to kick myself. I wanted Tyson to finish his sentence but at the same time I didn't.

I didn't say much at dinner. Tyson and his Grandfather talked constantly. I guess that's where he got it from. The food was good. Better than anything I'd had in months. Afterwards Tyson and I returned to the dojo.

Tyson shut the door and locked it behind him. "I'm sorry I kissed you," he spit out, standing before me. "I shouldn't have done that. But I want us to be friends. So please don't be mad."

When did I start to find him cute? The last few months of obsessing over him came into my head and all I wanted was to feel those lips against mine again. "Don't worry about it," I said softly, trying to avoid his stare.

Then Tyson was in my face, his eyes wide. "Really? Are we really ok?" he pleaded. Why did I mean so much to him?

I couldn't help it. He was right there. Our faces were inches from each other. I slammed my mouth into his. I guess I took him by surprise. He lost his footing and we both went crashing to the floor. I'd landed on top of him. Without a thought I kissed him again.

He made some kind of squeak in surprise but he kissed me back eagerly. He combed his fingers through my hair and I wrapped my arms around him. It was awkward. It was rough. Neither of us really knew what we were doing. But I loved it. I loved the feel of his body underneath me, his lips pressed against mine, the way he touched me. I liked this way too much.

I pushed him away and sat up. "This is a bad idea."

Tyson pushed himself up on his elbows and looked at me with a confused expression. "What's wrong?"

"This. You."

He just looked hurt.

He'd never understand. Caring was weakness. Voltaire and Boris had instilled that in me my entire life. I could handle having friends but anything more than that...no, this had gone too far.

"I need to go."

"Why? Do I bother you that much? Why the hell are you here?"

"I don't know!"

"You kissed me, you know."

Our eyes locked and I swallowed. I just didn't know how to handle this.

He broke our gaze with a sigh. "Just forget it." He went back to his side of the room and I to mine and we didn't say another word.

Sleep never found me that night. Can't really get much sleep staring at Tyson. He kept tossing and turning. After a while it seemed he finally found peace and I could hear him breathing softly.

What am I doing? So I'd just completely ruined our friendship. I didn't see a way to come back from that. What to do now?

Should I call Lidiya? I didn't want to return to the prep school. I could just keep squatting in the pool house.

The sun was starting to rise. I dressed and folded the mat and blankets. I needed to get out of here before Tyson woke up.

"Kai," I heard him murmur.

Walking back over I knelt beside his sleeping form. "Are you awake?"

Silence answered.

Without thinking I leaned down and kissed him softly on the lips. "I'm sorry."

I decided to do what I was best at and avoid the issue. I snuck out of the dojo unseen.

xXx

AN 2022: Kai should've explored his old house a little more carefully... He may have noticed something.