Of Boys and Blades
Part Two
Chapter 24
xXx
Kai
xXx
We arrived in Sydney for the Australian block of the tournament. The others acted like hyper children, running around exploring every facet of the hotel. I couldn't wait to have my own room in Japan. This room only had two beds and no couch. I was stuck sharing a bed with Tala once again, though I would take him over Bryan any day. It was late when we arrived, and after a quick meal we went straight to bed.
The morning after Tala had to get up early to check in at the BBA meeting. While he was gone Bryan and Spencer wanted to explore the area surrounding the resort and restock our dwindling liquor supply. The city was one of the prettiest I'd ever been in. The harbor was breathtaking.
We found ourselves in a shopping district with a liquor store and Bryan and Spencer wasted no time. I followed them in, not sure if anyone would say anything. I could hear Spencer whispering about how he didn't have much money left. I'd taken out a bunch of cash at the ATM in the hotel. Wordlessly, I handed him $200 in Australian dollars.
"Thanks, Kai."
I shrugged.
He and Bryan debated on the best alcohol to get and I found a shelf full of tiny alcoholic bottles. They were kind of cute. Bryan came to see what I was looking at while Spencer examined the vodkas. "Get a bunch of these," I told him.
"It's cheaper to get the bigger bottles."
"You can try a bunch without buying the big bottles this way. Get like twenty. All different."
"Your money," he said with a shrug.
We hung back in the aisle while Spencer paid for everything. He got ID'd. Done shopping, we headed back to the hotel.
I was ready to go back to training. Try to push Tyson out of my head. I'd been stupid and reckless. Anybody could've seen us. I was thinking about him too much. I needed to focus on this next leg of the tournament. Win or lose, we were in the lead and we would advance to the finals. But I wanted to win. If I failed to beat Rei, then I wouldn't win against Tyson.
We found Tala back in the hotel room. After a quick lunch we began training for the tournament that would be starting in a few days. Out of the three I preferred sparring with Spencer since he talked the least, so typically it was me against him and Tala against Bryan.
The second night there Lydia called me. With a sigh I went out to the hall for some privacy.
"Lydia."
"Kai."
"How can I help you?"
"Well, I called to see how my ward is doing. I see you're on a winning streak."
"We are. We're in the lead."
"Good. I look forward to seeing the finals. Listen, Kai, I've been looking over the spending on your account, and I just wanted to verify some charges with you."
I slunk down on the floor against the wall. I'd been dreading this.
"You've been eating out a lot. Very expensive meals. Are these just for you?"
"I occasionally pay for my teammates. They don't have a lot of money."
"Alright. I can understand that. How about spending thirty thousand yen on 'Pyramid Camel Tours?'"
"Yeah, I did that." I didn't offer an explanation.
"Alright." She sighed. "Moving on. Now I thought all hotel stays were covered by the BBA."
"They are."
"So why are you spending four-hundred-thousand yen on a hotel room in the city you live in, that is three miles from your apartment?"
"Um...yeah."
"And the reason?"
"Voltaire's spent more on bottles of bourbon."
"We're talking about you."
"I typically don't spend a lot of money. Seriously, how much do I spend in a month? And I don't know if I'm going to do this again."
"Compete in the world championship?"
"Yeah. And it's not like I don't have the money. I know what I'm inheriting."
"Fine, Kai, don't answer the question. This is a total waste of money. Look, I'm putting more into your account. I know you don't travel very often, and you hardly ever ask for anything. But please be more mindful with it." I didn't miss the sarcasm.
"I will."
xXx
Tyson
xXx
What's wrong with me? What's wrong with me? What's wrong with me?
That's all I'd heard lately. And I didn't know the answer. I'd blamed it on Rei and Max leaving. On Kai breaking my heart. On Daichi being a lousy partner. And yeah, that was all part of it but when I really thought about it, it wasn't any of that. It was me. And I didn't know how to fix it.
My mind was replaying the whole catastrophe of the match in my head. No matter how much I wanted to, I couldn't summon Dragoon's full power. I deserve to lose. Kai, Rei, and Max have all raised their skills to a new level, while I beybladed like an amateur.
"If I can't summon Dragoon's full power, how can I defend my title?"
I was alone in the hotel room for once. I relished the peace and quiet. Closing my eyes, my mind drifted to Kai for the bazzillionth time in the last three days. I chewed on my lip, thinking about how he'd kissed me. It wasn't like I thought I was over him or anything, but I thought the feelings had...I don't know, lessened? But no, I was still head over heals for him. He did care. He kissed me. He kissed me in public-ish! And he tried to talk to me, in his own little Kai-like way.
Kai. I could still feel the touch of his fingers, the taste of his lips. But I couldn't forget how he'd just walked away from me. How he'd cut me off. But this was Kai, after all. Since when did he offer explanations, right? Or was I just making excuses for him?
He'd been so weird that last night we were together. Maybe he did want to tell me. Kai never was good at communication.
What did I really know about him? I knew nothing about his life at the Abbey. Not a thing. I thought back to Egypt when we'd seen Kai and Tala fighting on the landing. Kai was angry in a way I'd seldom seen, his hand around Tala's throat. I didn't like seeing that side of him.
What are we? What was our relationship? I loved him, at least the Kai I thought I knew. How did he feel about me?
Max and Rei had been straight with me. For two years we all fought side-by-side and worked together as a team, cheering each other on through victories and losses. Kai was right. We won as a team, but I was the champion. Sometime over those two years I'd become the one to beat, even to them. I guess I couldn't blame them. If it was one of them instead of me, I guess I'd feel the same.
I sat up, gripping Dragoon in my palm. I needed to stop feeling this way. Stop feeling sorry for myself. I wish it was as easy as that, but I definitely wasn't getting anywhere in this room.
The door burst open. Daichi, of course. He wanted to go through with the interview. Apparently Hiro had canceled it and didn't even bother telling me. My brother had been avoiding me since the last match.
"Yeah, sure," I told him. Maybe it would distract me.
"Great! I'll let everyone know! It's set for ten!"
I went down to the lobby. The hotel was a resort on the beach and it was extraordinarily beautiful. I wished I was in the mood to enjoy it. Maybe I should talk to Max and Rei, apologize for how shitty I've treated them. I didn't wan't to talk to them in front of their teams, though.
I went to the BBA guest relations rep. I couldn't remember his name but I knew his face. He was the one responsible for where we stayed at each tournament. I managed to get him to give me the room numbers for the others. He was only too happy to help.
I was heading out of the hotel to meet on the beach for the interview, when the display shelf of brochures caught my eye. Maybe I can meet them somewhere. I scanned the nearby attractions. Perfect. That was the perfect spot. I grabbed three. Borrowing a pen from the concierge I wrote each of their names on them followed by 4:00. I figured the interview would be done by then. And the sun set around five since it was spring here. That should work. I was already running late for the interview but I went up to each of their rooms and slid the brochure beneath the doors.
xXx
The reporters were American. Their names were Dan and Jason, though I couldn't remember who was who. I forced a smile on my face as they went over the plan for the morning, putting a wire mic on me. They wanted to start with me jogging on the beach.
"Good morning!" DJ Jazzman greeted me.
"Hi, there," I said.
"I'm looking forward to our day together, Tyson."
We did our first interview. Hilary and Kenny watched from afar while Daichi glared at me, the jealousy on his face impossible to hide. A little kid came over to him, apparently wanting to bury him in the sand, because Daichi let him.
"I'm still a little nervous about this all day shoot thing," I told Jason, or maybe Dan.
"Are you kidding me? It's gonna be great. Millions of people will be watching your every move, Tyson. What could be better? Nothing."
"Right," I said weakly.
He went on, "For the last scene we're planning on interviewing all of your former friends on the other teams. "
"You are?"
"Yeah. It'll be great. We'll talk about their betrayal of your friendship, and then we'll cut to you daring them to take your title away. We'll show the whole world why you're the champion."
I was regretting agreeing to this. "Champion, huh?"
"That's right! You the champion!"
"I guess I am."
Kenny and Hilary interrupted us, grabbing onto my arms.
"Tyson, you are a champion," Kenny proclaimed.
"That's right!" Hilary agreed. "And right now the champion needs a good breakfast."
"The most important meal of the day!" Kenny added. "Come on!" He dragged me back towards the resort. Daichi was yelling after us, still in the sand. Jason—or maybe Dan—pulled him out.
We went to the dining room where they were still serving breakfast. They sat me at a table and placed a huge plate of food in front of me and we began filming again.
I didn't like this. I liked attention and all, but not like this.
"Part of the secret to Tyson's strength is a good balanced breakfast," DJ said to the camera.
"That's for sure, kids. Breakfast is the most important meal," I said my line perfectly.
"You tell them, champion." It was Dan. Dan was the super annoying one.
"I just did tell them." This was the last time I'd be doing this.
Our shoot included me swimming in the pool and then Jason had the great idea of shooting us with some of the native kangaroos. Daichi ended up in a punching match with one.
"Well, that was a waste," Dan lamented. "Why don't we go shoot some practice beyblattles. What do you say, champion?" He rested his hand on my shoulder.
I pushed it off. "You don't have to keep reminding me I'm the champion."
The interview moved to our training room. We went into a three-way battle between me, Daichi, and Kenny.
"His launch was weak," I heard Hiro say.
Yeah, I know. You don't have to point out every screw up.
I couldn't do this. I just couldn't do this! My blade was completely out of control "Do something!" I yelled desperately.
Daichi knocked me out.
"Tyson's beyblade! Stadium out!" DJ called the match.
I stared at the ground. Even Kenny was better than me right now. What the hell is wrong with me!?
"What a pain," came Dan's voice. "Can we edit around this?"
"Be quiet! Is that all you care about?" Kenny yelled.
"Heartless!" Hilary chimed in.
"It's all right," I told them. "Let's face it, I'm not fit to be champion."
"Tyson!" Kenny and Hilary stared at me with concern.
"Sorry. Interview's over." I yanked off the mic and left.
xXx
Tala
xXx
I sat beside Kai in the resort cafe enjoying the attention I was being given. We were being interviewed by a local station.
"You were on the second place team, the Demolition Boys, in the 2001 World Championship, the very first world championship. How does it feel to be competing again in this tournament?" the reporter asked me. She was a young girl with a nice rack. I think she said her name was Joanna.
"It feels amazing. The competition is fiercer than ever before. With each leg of this journey, I've had to stretch my abilities to their max and beyond. I've learned so much. It's truly a privilege to be here." I flashed my most sincere smile. I wanted to be more popular than Miguel.
Kai was rolling his eyes beside me.
She turned her attention to him. "Kai, you're ranked first in this tournament, with only one loss. What happened in Italy?"
Kai glared at her. "Well, Joanna, I guess even the best of us make mistakes, sometimes," he growled evenly.
"That's true. Even the best bladers are human, after all. Now, it was a huge surprise to see you on the Blitzkrieg Boys team this year, when you started out on BBA Revolution. What led to that decision?"
"I don't think that's any of your—"
"You and Tyson were on a team together for two years. How did he react to you quitting his team?"
"Kai and I are old friends," I cut in, trying to change the subject. "We went to school together as children."
"At Balkov Abbey?"
She'd done her homework.
I nodded. "Yes. At Balkov Abbey. Anyway—"
"The cult, funded by notorious criminal, Voltaire Hiwatari, Kai's own grandfather."
Kai stood without a word, ripped off his mic and threw it at her. Standing, he left the restaurant.
Joanna watched him carefully. Stupid bitch.
I sighed. "If you would like to continue this interview with me, there will not be another mention of Balkov, Boris, or Voltaire, understood?"
She nodded, realizing she needed to have some story.
"Let's continue, then. We can talk about me." I turned on the charm.
xXx
We concluded. I played up being an orphan, abandoned by my mother at Balkov Abbey, never knowing who my father was. How I hoped my father would see me on TV and recognize me. That last bit was borrowed from Kai, but they didn't know that. Kai probably didn't even realize I knew that. I told her the only thing I had to get me through my childhood was blading, and how I'd overcome everything to be here in the world championships. It made a good story.
I left the cafe out the door I'd seen Kai go through. I spotted him on the pier across from us, walking on the railing. Of fucking course.
"You're an ass, you know?" I told him when I reached him.
"I hate that kind of attention."
"You're a spoiled brat. I'm flattered you waited for me, though."
Kai jumped down. "I wasn't waiting for you."
"Sure." I leaned against the railing, watching the seagulls fly. "So what do you want to do? We have a few hours. Do you want to train some more?" Spencer and Bryan were spending the day sightseeing.
"No. We shouldn't kill ourselves before tomorrow. I'm going back to the room."
I followed him. "I don't know what they'll edit out, but I kept it all about me."
"I don't really care. I'm not watching it."
"I should win an award for my performance."
Kai put in the key card when we made it back to our hotel room.
I noticed a brochure on the floor as the door shut behind me. "What's this?"
Kai snatched it out of my hand, reading whatever was written on it.
He wasn't answering. I continued my way to the liquor bar we had set up on the desk, picking up one of those tiny bottles they'd gotten last time.. "Want a drink?"
"No. Don't get drunk." He went back to the door.
"Where are you going?"
"Out." He paused, walking over toward me. He plucked the bottle out of my hand and grabbed a handful more, dropping them into one of his pockets.
"What are you—"
"Don't follow me."
xXx
AN: Taking a little artistic license here. The tournament is in Sydney and Ayer's Rock is a 3-4 day trip. That is impossible. THIS. THING. MUST. MAKE. SENSE! So for the sake of my sanity, instead of meeting at Ayer's Rock, our boys will be meeting at the Gap, a famous high cliff overlooking the Tasman Sea that's located in Sydney. Still a cliff, just surrounded by ocean instead of desert. I don't know why sentient spirits living in beyblades is in my "makes sense" category for this story and them meeting at Ayer's Rock isn't, but that's the way it is. Xp
This and the next chapter were one, but it got really long so I had to split it up. Hope you enjoy!