Beyblade Fan Fiction ❯ Broken Lullabyes ❯ Of Tate, Kinomiya, and Shortness ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter 2

Of Tate, Kinomiya, and Shortness

The curtains were still drawn, leaving the room dark, despite the time of day. A boy was curled up under the blankets, lying alone in the middle of the big bed. It was cold in the room; someone had turned up the air conditioner to high, and he was shivering slightly under the thin covers. The boy was dreaming again, but this time there was no one there to comfort him, no one to hold him, to tell him it would be ok. A single tear ran down his cheek, just as the alarm went off. He sat up quickly, looking around for the source of all the noise, coming to rest on the clock next to the bed. He swore under his breath, and reached over to turn it off, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

Only then did he realize he had been crying. "Damn." Kai whispered, wiping his eyes and flopping back down onto the bed. The bright red numbers on the clock gleamed at him through the semi darkness. He lay there, watching the minuets tick by. 10:34… 10:35… 10:36… Dimly he remembered that he was supposed to be up more than half an hour ago. Why had no one come to wake him? Then another thing hit him. He was alone in the bed. There was no one else. Where was Kon?

Kai sat up quickly and looked around. There was no one else in the room, and the door to the bathroom was open. Kon wasn't there. Weren't they supposed to go meet Kinomiya and Tate at the airport at ten? What had happened? A sudden thought struck him. What if Kon and Dickenson had let him sleep and gone to get the brats themselves? It seemed likely, since no one was there. Kai grinned to himself, and lay back down again. The morning was looking up. Kon wasn't here, and he wouldn't have to see Tate and Kinomiya till late afternoon, if that. Yes, he could feel it was going to be a good day. He was just about to roll over and go back to sleep when the door banged open.

"What the fuck are you still doing in bed, Hiwatari? Do you realize we have to leave in 20 minutes!"

For the third time Kai shot up, staring at the person who had just walked into the room. "What the bloody hell are you doing here, Kon?"

Rei raised an eyebrow. "Where else would I be?"

Kai groaned loudly and flopped back down on his stomach. "Gone."

"Oh? Gone where?"

"Don't really care. Anywhere but here."

The neko-jin grinned. "Now darling, you must still be half asleep! You don't know what you saying-" he was stopped by the pillow that was thrown right in his face. "Now, Hiwatari, is that anyway to treat your loved one-" Rei quickly ducked to avoid the alarm clock that went sailing past his head. "Fuck, Hiwatari! That's not funny!"

Kai rolled out of bed. "Nether were your smart ass comments, Kon. Now get out of here so I can change." The other boy promptly closed the door and walked over to the bed. "Kon…" Kai growled, "I told you to leave!"

Rei shook his head. "Nope. Go change in the bathroom. I need to talk to you when your done. Now shoo! Hurry up!" he pointed to the next room. Kai knew better than to argue, though it was what he most wanted to do. But no conversation with Kon was better than any, so he walked over to his suitcase, pulled out some cloths, and headed to the bathroom, closing the door with a snap. Rei sat down on the bed, waiting patiently.

Inside, Kai growled to himself, realizing he wouldn't have time for a shower. He walked over to the sink and splashed cold water on his face a couple times, trying to wake himself up more. Then he quickly got dressed, pulling on a tight dark red t-shirt and black pants. Applying the usual blue triangles to his cheeks, he hastily ran his fingers through his hair, and then studied his reflection. Tracing a finger along the outside of his face, he ran it down past his chin and onto his neck, continuing until he reached his arms. They were nice and tanned, perfect and unscarred. Kai opened up a drawer and pulled out a razor, running it experimentally up his arm, without drawing blood. `What if I actually did it…' he wondered silently, watching the blade flash in the light. `Would it make the pain on the inside go away?'

A sudden knock on the door made him jump, accidentally dropping the razor into the sink. Rei's voice came from the other side, sounding anxious and annoyed. "Hurry up, Hiwatari! We have to leave in 5 minutes!"

Kai glared at the closed door for a minute, before walking over and opening it. Immediately Rei grabbed him and started to pull him across the room towards the other door. The smaller boy growled angrily and wrenched his arm out of Rei's grasp. "Don't touch me, Kon!" he spat, pushing the other boy away from him.

Rei rolled his eyes. "Well if you'd just hurry up! We can be late and it is a half hour drive to the airport!"

The two ran quickly to the elevator and pressed the down button. As the doors slid closed, Kai leaned against the wall and turned to Rei. "Weren't we supposed to leave at ten? What happened?"

"There was a delay at the airport in Japan. The flight was set back a whole hour."

"Oh."

"We're meeting Mr. Dickenson and then going straight there. He is waiting for us outside."

"Ok."

The elevator stopped with a ding, and the doors slid open. Across the lobby, Kai could see the old man waiting for them outside. As the boys ran outside, Mr. Dickenson greeted them in relief. "Thank goodness you finally got here! We will just make it! Get in the car, quick!" he fairly shoved the two in the back, and then got in the front himself. Quickly the driver pulled the taxi out onto the main road.

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Twenty-five minutes later, they were driving into the airport parking lot. Quickly Mr. Dickenson bustled them into the building, and over to look at the schedule. The plane hadn't arrived yet, but was due in ten minutes. Dickenson sighed in relief, and Rei smiled, sitting down in a chair. Kai said nothing and sat down in a chair across from the neko-jin, leaning into the back of the seat. They were at the same airport where Kai had picked Rei up the day before. The small boy closed his eyes, and could not help but think the situation seemed awfully familiar…

The future is unclear. Only time will tell. Will you ever forgive me… my love?

A sudden shout from the other end of lobby made Kai open his eyes and look around quickly. Rei was on his feet now, and was grinning broadly at the two blurs speeding towards him. Kai remained sitting as he watched Tyson and Max run up to Rei and glomp him, the three falling to the ground in a big pile. Rei landed on the bottom with the two younger teens on top of him, but they were quickly pulled off by Mr. Dickenson. The neko-jin laughed and stood, immediately surrounded by his friends.

"Oh man Rei! It's so good to see you again!" Tyson grinned and hugged Rei again.

Max nodded. "It's been so long! What, almost a year now!"

Rei nodded. "Ya about that."

Tyson looked around. "Where's Kai? Didn't he come with you guys?" Almost immediately, he spotted his captain, still sitting in the chair. He bounded over to him. "Come on Kai! Stand up and greet the rest of the team!"

Kai glared up at Tyson, and crossed his arms. "I'd rather not, thanks." He said coldly.

The younger teen put on a hurt expression. "But Kaaaaaai! I come all this way and I don't even get a decent hello? What kind of captain are you?"

"Shut up, Kinomiya."

Tyson blinked. "Since when did you call me by my last name? Are you ok, Kai?"

"I'm fine!" he snapped. "Now shut up and leave me alone!"

Max walked over. "Are you sure, Kai? I mean, back then you always showed a little bit of happiness when we saw each other. Now you are as cold as when we first became a team!" the blonde leaned closer and said quietly so only Kai could hear him, "are you still angry at Rei?"

The flash of anger was unmistakable to Max at such close proximity, and he stepped back quickly, away from his heated captain. Kai swiftly stood up, forgetting about the other boy standing next to his chair. Tyson stared at Kai in shock, his mouth hanging wide open as he looked down at the smaller blader.

"Kai, what happened? You're short!"

Kai glared up at Tyson. "What a brilliant observation."

"But… but you use to be so tall! Now you only come up to my chin, like Rei, cuz me and Rei are the same height. But what happened?"

Kai's eye twitched. "Obviously you grew and I didn't. We haven't seen each other in two years, Kinomiya."

Tyson grinned. "Ya, but it is still such a surprise! Hey, remember how you used to call me shrimp? Well now, instead, I can call you that!" his eyes sparkled at the murderous look on his captain's face.

Kai took a step forward, but was stopped by Max. "Come on, Kai! Don't start a fight the first day we arrive! Let's just calm down and head back to the hotel, ok? We can get some lunch, or something."

Tyson perked up at the mention of food. "All right! Lets go!" he grabbed hold of Max and pulled his off towards the door. Mr. Dickenson laughed and followed, leaving the two older bladders in an uncomfortable silence. For a moment, they just stood looking at each other, before Kai frowned slightly and walked off after the rest. Rei followed.

Outside Mr. Dickenson was talking to the driver, apparently trying to convince him to let all five of them into the taxi. Rei walked over to Max. "What's going on?" he said quietly.

"Mr. D can't get another taxi out here. They are all in service." The blonde whispered back. "So now, he is trying to persuade the driver to take us all. He doesn't look very happy about it, though."

True, the driver was frowning, and looking over at his car. Finally Mr. Dickenson pulled out a handful of bills. The driver blinked, then took them, getting into the car. The old man motioned for the four teens to get in the back, as he himself got in the front. For a minute they all stared at each other, each wondering the same question. How were four 18 year olds going to fit in the back of a small taxi?

Then Tyson grinned. "I get a window seat! And how about Maxie sits next to me, and Kai can sit on Rei's lap!"

Max smiled faintly. "I'm not sure that's a good idea, Tyson."

"Why not?"

Rei cut in. "I'm sure we can all fit in if we try. Here I'll sit next to Tyson, and Max, then Hiwatari." Tyson frowned slightly at the use of Kai's last name, but brushed it off quickly and got in the car, the rest following. They barely fit, each squashed up against one another. Tyson and Max immediately started talking. Kai sighed and looked out the window. It was going to be a very long trip.

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Tyson bounded into his hotel room. He and Max were going to be sharing with Kenny, when he got there. The teen look around the room, and immediately saw that they had two beds, one big one and a smaller one. He grinned and ran over to the big one, flopping down on it just as Max walked in, followed by Rei and Mr. Dickenson.

Tyson looked over at the blonde. "Come on Max! Let's sleep on this one! Then Kenny can have the small bed, since he likes sleeping alone."

Max smiled. "Ok Ty." He walked over and sat down next to his friend. Rei followed and sat down to, while Mr. Dickenson sat down on the other bed.

The old man cleared his throat. "Now I'm going to tell you why you are all here." He paused. "But where did Kai run off to?"

The three boys looked at each other and shrugged.

Mr. Dickenson sighed. "Oh well. One of you can tell him later. I have to leave soon, to deliver the other invitations."

Tyson furrowed his brow. "Invitations? To what?"

The old man laughed. "I'm getting to that, my boy. See, in a week from today was the day you boys won your first world championships four years ago. It is also, coincidentally, the day you became a team. So I thought we should have a big party with all the participating teams, before the next tournament."

"Who is going to be coming?" Rei asked.

"Well, I thought the All Starz, the Majestics, the Demolition Boys, and the White Tigers. That should make for quite a good gathering."

Tyson frowned, confused. "The Demolition Boys? Why are they coming?"

Mr. Dickenson smiled. "Well over the past year, Kai has gotten quite friendly with their captain, Tala. He went to stay with them in Russia after he left China. I do believe they are very good friends now, and it would be rude to not invite them."

The three teens gaped at him. Finally, Rei found his tongue. "H-Hiwatari? With the Demolition Boys? How? Why?"

"Well, when Kai left, he went to Russia, as I said before. Apparently while he was there he met Tala and Brian, and they offered him a place to stay for a while. He WAS their captain for a bit, and he grew up in the abbey with them, so I guess they thought it necessary. Anyways, Kai accepted and went back to their apartment with them. He has lived with Tala, Brian, and Spencer ever since."

"But what about Ian?" Max asked.

"Ian remained at the abbey training new kids how to blade. He is still part of the team, but since their have been no tournaments for the past year, he is working without them for a while."

"But that still doesn't answer our question of why Tala and Kai are good friends." Complained Tyson.

Mr. Dickenson laughed. "I'm getting to that. You see, living together like that gave the two an excellent opportunity to get to know each other again, and they found they had lots in common. They are both excellent bladers, and they have entered many hometown tournaments together. They make a fine team, one of the best pairs around, I do believe. They have never lost a match together."

"But-but Kai is still on our team, isn't he? I mean, he hasn't left us, has he?" asked Tyson, eyes wide.

"He was offered a place on Tala's team a couple of weeks ago, but he told me he declined. As good of friends with Tala as he is, he feels his rightful place is still on the BladeBreakers."

Max blinked. "Did Kai tell you all this? How do you know so much?"

"After Kai left China, I wrote to him to find out what was going on." The old man explained. "It took me a while to locate him, and when I found out he was living with the Demolition boys, naturally I wanted to know the story behind it. It took a while to get the whole thing out of him. it didn't seem to be a subject he was very fond of." His eyes flickered to Rei for a moment.

The neko-jin's eyes narrowed a bit, and he shook his head slightly. Dickenson nodded faintly in understanding. No one else saw the brief exchange between the two.

Tyson jumped up. "Great idea about the party, Mr. D! I can't wait we haven't had one in so long!" he grabbed Max's arm and hauled him up as well. "Come on, Maxie! Let's go find the dining room in this place! I'm starved!" the blond sweatdropped, but allowed himself to be pulled out of the room.

Mr. Dickenson stood up as well, turning to Rei. "I have to go now. You have a week to get reacquainted with each other, and on Sunday, I will contact the team with more news. I already talked to the Demolition Boys when I went to see Kai, and they agreed to come. They will be here in a couple of days, and will stay at the hotel across the street."

Rei nodded and watched him leave the room. As soon as he could no longer hear the footsteps echoing away, Rei got up and slipped out the door. Deciding not to take the elevator, the neko-jin walked down the stairs and out the back door of the second lobby.

The hotel was situated by the ocean, so one only had to walk across the deck and down some stairs to get to the beach. It was fairly empty, despite the hot day, and Rei walked along till he came to the shade of some trees. He sat down and leaned against the trunk of one, closing his eyes. He needed to think about all he had heard up in Tyson's room.

Kai and Tala.

So that was where Kai had disappeared to. And from the sounds of it, they had become pretty good friends. Best friends, some might say. But… what if they were more?

`Would Kai find someone to replace me so soon?' wondered the neko-jin sadly. `I- I thought I meant more to him than that. But with they way he has been acting lately, I can't really say. Maybe he IS with Tala.'

Rei looked out at the water, listening to the waves break against the shore. A couple of seagulls flew overhead, and a slight breeze ruffled his hair, blowing it into his face.

`I just don't know anymore…

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