A/N: Hey! This is the last chapter before the Bladebreakers are introduced in this story, I am not sure how I will handle so many characters, Phew!

Thanks to Guest for your review. Of Course I know that feeling of checking fics to see if they are updated or not, and finding my favorites being updated always putting me in a great mood, but since 2022, none of them have been updated :(, and that's a big bummer. Anyways, now that I write my own, I feel lesser urges to read other fics. Anyways, I am happy you liked Bryan's arrival. That may hint that this chapter is gonna make you sad.

Thanks to lily-reads4 for reading this. I am happy you liked it. I'd be really happy to hear your ideas.

Ch 23

(Another parting)

Opening the door, Tala and a reluctant Bryan were met with a blank look, though its intensity unnerved them a bit.

Tala had, after noticing that Bryan was not following him, dragged him out of the room with him.

"Are you okay?" Tala said, walking towards him, pulling Bryan along with himself.

Kai's eyes sharpened, "You two should leave."

Tala faltered, "W-why?"

Kai turned his glare towards the Falcon, eyes narrowing, "I don't need your pity."

Bryan's eyes widened, and he was about to say something but Tala squeezed his hand.

"We're going nowhere," he said, sitting down by Kai's legs.

"You don't get to choose that," he retorted coldly.

Tala frowned. Way to go Bry…

"If you don't leave, I'm going to throw you out. The choice is yours," he continued, standing up and straightening his clothes, eyes still fixed on Tala.

The redhead stood up, boring his eyes into the other's, "Do it then," he said icily, "Throw us out."

Kai turned his eyes away.

The redhead's eyes softened, and he pulled him by his arm and made him sit on the bed, before sitting down beside him and gesturing to Bryan to sit on the other side of Kai.

The bluenette raised an eyebrow as the Falcon sat beside him, almost hesitant.

"Bryan has something to say to you."

Said person raised his head up in surprise, wide eyes staring at Tala, who seemed to be gesturing to him to do something.

He then turned to Kai, whose eyes were boring into his own, coldly.

"Tala, you go outside for a moment," he said, turning to the redhead again.

"No way!" Retorted Tala, "You're gonna end up like before!"

Bryan gave him a meaningful look, making the redhead sigh and get up.

"But I swear-"

He started, giving the Falcon a rigid look before leaving the room.

Now that Tala wasn't there, Bryan didn't know what to say, and Kai's intense stare was not helping either.

"I don't have time for this," the bluenette let out in a monotonous voice, getting up.

"Wait!" Bryan yelled at him, pulling him down back again, agitating the bluenette who was tired of being pulled and pushed around.

"What?" He huffed out. He had punched him, beaten him, spit out all the poison right on his face, what else was left?

Needed another go at his already pathetically bruised face?

Not that it mattered anyway, Bryan was here to get Tala back, back to where he belonged, among the people he loved. Who was he? A suppressed memory that had suddenly evoked after so many years, making the redhead's heart ooze with sympathy over him? Over his hideous condition?

Of course it was his fault, just like Bryan had pointed out, what was his need to act like such a desp-

"Fuck's sake, Kai!!"

Bryan's scrunched up face was frowning down at him, " I've called you about a dozen times. Have you gone deaf or what?"

Kai glared at him, pushing him away.

"Whatever it is you have to say, say it quick and then be gone. The quicker you get away from me, the better it is."

Bryan's frown deepened, "You're starting it again, aren't ya?"

"What do you mean?"

"What do you mean by what you just said?"

Kai faltered, before recollecting himself, "You know it well, since you're the one that made me acknowledge it. I'm a fucking selfish bastard. I used Tala, just like before, and now I am letting him go."

His eyes darkened even more, "I let him fall into my trap. And he came running. Of course he would, you all mean nothing to him."

A smirk was forming on his face, his eyes holding a crazed look, unnerving Bryan, along with what spewed out of his mouth.

"He thinks I need to be treated like a five-year old. Can you believe?" He chuckled, a dark, malicious chuckle, "Can you believe he thinks he knows me well?" He scoffed, "He thinks we're a family, how sweet" he mock laughed, a sinister, almost crazy laugh it sounded to Bryan, who was watching the bluenette with a bewildered and a little unnerved look.

His laugh ceased, and an angry frown appeared on his face, "I need no one! You all are nothing compared to me! You think you can fix me like I'm a mess of shattered pieces of some degraded kind of glass? Hell, not ev-

Ignoring this furious outburst, Bryan focused on the bluenette's expression, which seemed none the like it was mere minutes before. His eyes widened, as it suddenly seemed to click.

The eyes! The fucking eyes! They were black as charcoal!

He quickly put a hand on the bluenette's mouth, effectively shutting him up, and pushing him down on the bed, before searching in his drawer for Dranzer, snatching her and bringing the desperately glowing bit in front of its master's eyes.

He noticed the bluenette's right hand, clutching the black blade tightly, gripping it and hurling it into the far corner of the room, putting the blue blade in its place.

"Kai! Snap out of it, Damn it!" he yelled down at him, sighing in relief as the blackened eyes slowly started to turn crimson, standing himself up.

The bluenette, who now seemed to realize what had just happened, shuddered heavily, clutching Dranzer with desperate hands.

"Are you alright?"

The voice shook him out of his gaze, looking up to find concerned smoky eyes staring down at him.

He nodded slightly, sitting himself up, breath still hitching once in a while as an after effect.

"Happens every time you hold her?" Bryan asked, sitting down next to him.

"Rarely," he shuddered out, remembering the first time it had happened. Thankfully he hadn't done anything stupid.

But.

He had definitely said something stupid, judging by the foreign look in Bryan's eyes.

His eyes lowered, focusing on the blue blade which he now held tightly, it's warmth calming him somewhat.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, soft enough to be barely heard.

Bryan shook his head and sat down next to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Me too," he let out, after a bit more pondering and hesitation.

Kai looked up at him with widened eyes.

Bryan continued, face turning a bit hard, "Look, I get no joy beating the shit out of you or creating these reckless dramas. I just want you to know one thing. You hurt my team, I kill you. You hurt Tala, I butcher you with my bare hands. You-

"I got it, Bry," the bluenette interrupted, a hint of an amused smile on his lips.

The Falcon faltered, before recomposing himself and rolling his eyes, "Fine then, other than that, you're on safe grounds," before he narrowed his eyes, "Don't think I'd go easy with you just because Tala has included you among us."

The crimson eyes widened again, "What?"

Bryan smirked, "Why? Don't want to leave your old immature team?", before turning serious. "Any time we participate in the championships, Hiwatari, you are a part of our team automatically. No exceptions whatsoever."

"When did you all decide that? Without telling me?"

Bryan's smirk widened, "And who are you to decide? Last time I checked, you are not the captain of our team. You came to us, now either be a part of us, or disappear completely from our lives."

Kai nodded, not like he had a choice, not like he wanted to have a choice, he was away from the Bladebreakers as soon as this championship was done and over with.

What awaited him ahead was something he couldn't guess, he just hoped things wouldn't change for the worse.

Though he was glad of this realisation, he was put even more at ease by the look in Bryan's face, which didn't portray much, mind you, but still he could read in it the gone tenseness.

Not that he'd ever admit it, but he was glad to have patched up, in his own, and in Bryan's own, unrealistic way, as they seemed to turn their conflicts, worries and topics towards the same person.

"C'mon," Bryan slapped his back and stood up, "Red's gonna think we tore each other's throats apart."

"What is it?" The bluenette let out as soon as he entered the room, closing the door behind him and sitting down on the bed.

"Something important," the redhead let out, dropping the shirt he was folding on the neatly folded array of clothes in the suitcase, and sitting down beside him.

It was Sunday, and the next day, all three of them were leaving, Tala and Bryan to Russia, and Kai, to Tyson's.

Vladimir seemed to be in a gloomy mood, face wearing an uncharacteristic frown most of the time. He'd miss them all, mostly Kai. And he had told him so, getting a promise from the bluenette to visit once in a while. Not that he'd have to wait on an opportunity. Business would eventually pull him back.

"I've thought about it a long while, and well, I don't think there's a better solution to it, at least not yet," the redhead explained, making a confused frown appear on the bluenette's face.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, agitated.

Tala hesitantly pulled out something from his pocket, before holding it up in his hand.

Kai's eyes widened at it, before they landed on his eyes.

"What is this doing with you?"

"Doesn't matter, but there's something I think would help about it, at least for now."

"What are you thinking?"

Tala's eyes turned stern, looking at him fixedly, "Let her be with me, you'd be safer that way."

Kai's eyes widened even more, a hint of anger filling up in them, "No way! I can't have you risking yourself at my expense."

Tala's eyes narrowed, "Then? Do you have a better idea? You know if she stays with you, something bad is going to happen eventually. Can you really trust yourself with her?"

Kai's eyes turned desperate.

"But Tala, you don't understand! It's too big of a risk! It's dangerous enough as it is, what if someone follows you? You'd be in danger, Tala. I can't have that."

Kai made to grab it, but the redhead pulled his hand back.

"Kai, listen. Nothing is going to happen. Boris is dead. Your grandfather can't think that you'd give her to me. Everybody knows she's with you. In this way, if you talk about potential trouble-makers, they'd be on your lead, not mine."

Kai sighed, "I can't change your mind, can I?"

Tala shook his head, "You know it's for the better. It's too dangerous for you to keep her so close."

Tala held it out again, "I'll keep her safe, Kai. Don't worry."

Kai looked at it, with a long look that was perhaps some suppressed affection, before looking back at him, accepting his defeat.

"You can't possibly connect to her, Wolborg won't let that happen, would he? But no matter how hard Dranzer tries, she's a part of her, she can't block her, it needs something completely opposite to tame her."

"She needs ice, to quench her flames"

Kai nodded, before closing the redhead's hand around the black blade, not bearing to watch it any longer while knowing he was going to be parted from it.

Tala, after a moment of observing Kai, retracted his hand, thumb grazing along the chip, feeling a sudden shiver run down his spine as Wolborg immediately opposed her.

"He doesn't like her very much," Tala chuckled, "Don't worry though, she'll be safe."

Kai nodded, watching the black blade with longing as Tala took out the chip, before slinging it in a necklace and slipping it over his neck.

The bluenette felt like his breath had been knocked out of him, dizziness creeping over him suddenly and falling on his side on the bed.

"Shit! Kai!"

He checked his pulse; the bluenette had fainted, his body not dealing well with the withdrawal of Black Dranzer from it, knowing it was in some other's hands.

He himself thankfully wasn't feeling any unusual symptoms. Wolborg was doing his job just fine.

He sprinkled some water on the dual-haired's face, making the crimson eyes open blearily.

"Are you okay? No, keep lying down." Tala pushed him down again when he tried to sit up.

Kai stared at the redhead's chest, where the necklace lay hidden behind his shirt, eyes going desperate.

Tala frowned, it was not going to be easy.

"Just think of Dranzer, Kai. Where is she?"

"In my room, in the uppermost drawer." Kai whispered out.

He immediately went and grabbed the blue blade, handing it to Kai, who clutched it like his life depended on it, breathing heavily.

His body was already so weak, and now the after effect was proving heavy on it.

"Take deep breaths, Kai," Tala let out gently, putting a hand on his forehead.

The bluenette seemed to calm down a bit after a few minutes, but his eyes held a foreign haze, and Tala could now feel the black chip heating up against his skin, the beast inside trying to reach its master.

"Take her away" He let out, almost wearily.

The redhead gave him a worried look before obeying and leaving the room.

He didn't know how to feel about this decision of the redhead's. While he was grateful that Tala was ready to such a risk and keep Black Dranzer with him, in order that his already deteriorated mind may not think of doing something stupid and endangering himself and others around him.

But what if someone got to know Tala had her? What if they went after him? After all of them? He didn't want that happening, they were finally away from all that, and didn't want the past repeating for them. But maybe Tala was right. No one had been after him all these months, not when the incidents of the World championships in Russia were so fresh. Why now? Maybe he was just overthinking, just like his habit was.

But what about this almost empty feeling that was gnawing at his heart? It felt like he was starving for her like an addict. And it hadn't even been a few minutes. Even though he could feel Dranzer trying to soothe his meddled mind, it still strayed to its counterpart.

He sighed, another thought appearing in his head, she wouldn't harm Tala, would she? Even when young, Tala hadn't ever felt her effect, unlike him. She had succeeded in luring Wyatt, but Tala was nowhere the level of that innocent kid. He could easily dodge her aura.

He cringed thinking how Bryan, Spencer and Ian would react to this. Surely, they wouldn't want their captain in any danger.

He sighed once again, maybe, maybe it was for the better?

If Black Dranzer's words were not taunting him every single minute, he could think more clearly, and not be in a situation like he was now.

Maybe, it really was for the best.

"You go straight to his place then?"

The bluenette, to whom the question was referred, shrugged, "Eventually, I'll have to, but I'll see how it goes."

The three of them were walking along the narrow lanes of the town, the sky dark with the arrival of night, a pleasant breeze blowing.

"Those chumps really got that scared of some random stalkers that they're calling you? And they call themselves world champions," Bryan scoffed.

Tala smirked, "They don't know, Bry. They don't have a clue. Let them bask in their so-called glory."

Kai smirked too, imagining what Tyson's face would be like if he was told that Tala had lost intentionally. Well, it was all in the past now.

"Tell me Kai, you're really going to waste your time on them?" The redhead asked, turning to him.

He shrugged, "Not like I have a choice."

"What people were in your team again? I don't even remember the faces," the Falcon asked casually, knocking an empty can to the wall.

"There's the pig-mouthed kid that you already know, who fought me," Tala answered before Kai, "And then there's that kiddo whose bitbeast we took before the matches."

"That mama boy?"

Kai nodded, "His father has a shop here, so he must already be here I guess."

"He seems no harm," Tala concluded, continuing, "And there's that nerdy kid, is he any use, though?"

Kai nodded, "He does, to some point, have knowledge that is actually useful."

"That makes the whole of crowd," Tala let out, before Bryan interrupted him, "There's that Chinese boy too."

Tala's eyes turned annoyed at that.

"He's the only sane one among them," Kai informed them.

"Whatever, seems the biggest chump out of all of them," the redhead hissed out, crossing his arms over his chest.

Bryan raised an eyebrow, noticing Kai doing the same, but said nothing, changing the topic, "How's the work holding up?"

Kai shrugged again, "It's the same. There's some complications with this one company, just the usual." He finished, not intending to indulge in his 'boring' parts of life.

"Isn't the old man dealing with it?"

Kai shook his head, "He doesn't need to get involved with this one," he gave them a knowing look, and they both nodded.

"Damn! I'll kinda miss the sun!" Bryan complained, putting his hands behind his head.

Tala rolled his eyes, "Yeah right, stay for a longer time and we'll see how much you miss it then."

Bryan raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

Tala flushed at that while the smirking bluenette piped up, "He got a sunburn."

The indignant redhead hit him on the back, while they both snickered at him.

"Well at least it's not so wet and snowy here."

Tala narrowed his eyes at him, "Why do you hate the snow so much?"

"Not everyone has an ice puppy for a bitbeast like you do."

The redhead, getting indignated for the second time, now hit Bryan on the head, "Wolborg is not a puppy!"

"He is," Bryan let out calmly.

"Nyet"

"He is, and you are too," saying that the Falcon took off running, the furious redhead right behind him.

Kai watched them run ahead with solemn eyes, his pace slow and steady unlike them.

Watching them fool around brought out the pleasant memories that lay hidden in the layers of the worse ones. He remembered how they used to stay up at nights and sneak around the abbey, the fact that they were never caught highlighting their giddiness.

He remembered how they'd, at times, walk about that gloomy place with an adventurous air, their giggles and squeaks soft but not suppressed.

They'd played such pranks on Boris, which the man thankfully hadn't known till the end.

And he remembered, whether in pain or in happiness, they were together, always together, supporting one another, being one another's strength, making them all survive.

And, at some point, their bonds had become so strong as to be called brothers.

But.

At some point, he realised, one part of that mismatched family had drifted off, and he could feel, a wall that was still there.

They knew now all the reasons, knew all the whys and the hows of his leaving, but that didn't mean they were going to forget.

He could feel it, a kind of a separation, where they had stayed together on one side, and him alone on the other side.

No matter how much Tala would assure him that he was just overthinking, he knew he wasn't.

They had only known the truth after he had come back. Four years, they had lived with the false fact that he had betrayed them. Could all that hostility, all that hate just evaporate into thin air?

No…

Even though they had all forgiven one another, there was still a familiarity that he was excluded from.

He didn't blame them, how could he? But he didn't know why he felt such piercing twists in his heart at the idea of them all together, and him being here.

Alone, once again…

Maybe he didn't realise it, being so harsh to himself, that that flaring of pain was due to that abandonment he felt, that loneliness that ate him up but that he never dared acknowledge.

That want of a place where he belonged, where he wasn't the sore thumb jutting out, the odd one who no cared about, one whose absence wouldn't change anything.

He didn't realise it, but maybe he wanted that love, that feeling of being a part, of being taken care of, more than anything else…

A bitter truth, or a lie, he always embedded into his mind, was that he deserved it all. The pain, the loneliness, the chaotic life, it was just punishment for all his doings.

Being born a Hiwatari was a sin enough, his parents, and who knew how many people had been killed due to him. All the cruelty, the corruption that Voltaire had engraved over the Hiwatari name, he had to carry whether willingly or not. He had no way out, he wasn't the one to decide where his life went, he had to live with the fact that he didn't deserve it, the love, the care, all the stupid things he unknowingly longed for…

Dragging the heavy suitcase with an even heavier heart, the bluenette made his way to the car standing at the gate of the mansion, the redhead and the Falcon already standing there waiting for him.

Putting the suitcases in the bunk of the car, they went and sat in the car, Kai in the passenger seat whilst Bryan and Tala in the back seats, observing his every move and posture.

The redhead, honestly if he'd say so, felt like shit.

He didn't want to leave Kai alone, not when he desperately needed someone to be there for him, and the guilt was building up more and more the closer they drove to the airport.

The ride was silent except for Vladimir asking them short questions regarding the flight and all.

All the while Kai sat staring ahead of him, body tense and arms crossed over his chest, mind in a turmoil.

Reaching the airport, the redhead and the Falcon got out of the car and took out their suitcases, while Kai also came out after saying something to Vladimir, and followed behind them.

"Looks like it would rain," Bryan let out, just to break the silence.

The day was indeed cloudy, and random drizzles were a regular occurance. So most likely it was going to rain in a while or so.

"Straight to the Grangers' then?" Tala asked.

He shook his head, "I have to meet Mr. Dickenson first."

They nodded, falling silent after that.

"We kinda tricked Ian and Spencer into thinking you're also coming," the redhead laughed, though it seemed fake.

Kai nodded, not finding it funny in any case.

"That must be your flight," the bluenette let out, when the intercom resounded their flight no.

They reached there before Tala turned to him, "Take care of yourself, Kai, and I mean it."

"Yeah, don't want any phone calls that Hiwatari passed out in the middle of a match," Bryan smirked.

Kai nodded at them, before Tala turned serious.

"If you feel it's too much, just leave them Kai. They're not your responsibility. You have already got more than enough on your plate."

"It's fine Tal, I'll take care of everything," he replied, not having even the tiniest belief in his own words.

"You better, or I swear-

"We're getting late, Tala, shout at him on the phone," the Falcon interrupted, pointing to their plane.

The redhead nodded, pulling Kai into a tight hug, "You'll visit around Christmas, right?"

"I will."

He let go of him, before Bryan pat his back in his own way of saying farewell, "Don't let the idiots drive you mad." Before they both grabbed their suitcases, Tala giving him a final smile and a wave, which he returned with a small one of his own, and which did not reach his eyes before they turned around and walked away.

His eyes followed them until they had disappeared in the crowd, before letting out an exhausted painful sigh.

Turning around, he made his way quickly to the car before slipping in the back seats, a huge lump caught in his throat.

The rain started pouring as they got out of the parking and exited the airport, adding to bluenette's gloomy mood.

Empty eyes staring outside, a realisation once again in his mind.

He was alone, again.