Beyblade Fan Fiction ❯ Sooryavansham: The Dynasty of the Sun ❯ Truth ( Chapter 5 )

It's-a me! Chapter 5 all nice and prettied up for your viewing.

Enjoy

Disclaimer: (Waves around the elder wand... "Make me owner of Beyblade"...nothing happens...'darn tinsel wands'... puts a lighter to the tip... POOF... ow) Ok that didn't work... fine... I don't own beyblade, happy?

Note, I will refer to Tyson's Grandfather as Mr. Granger or Ryu. I realize Ryuunosuke is his Japanese name, but since he has no American name I decided to go with it. So don't be confused if I say Ryu Granger, I didn't invent a new relative, I'm just talking about Tyson's Grandfather!

OH! Last chapter, Keylor was kind enough to inform me that in the anime, Max's father is a shop owner and not a chef/writer as I had previously assumed. I apologize for the mistake, but ask that you guys bear with me; I'm not going to change it, after all they don't call it 'fanfiction' for nothing... Therefore, in my fic, Mr. Tate knows near to nothing about beyblade and he's a chef and part time author. Ok? Ok! On with the chapter.

Sooryavansham: The Dynasty of the Sun

By: Sholay

“I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it's hell.”

-Harry S. Truman (1884-1972)

Chapter 5: Truth

It was the morning of the big trip; Tyson and Hilary were heading toward the airport terminal. Unsurprisingly, they were arguing:

“Beyblades are NOT stupid!”

“Yes they are, being able to spin a top is not something to be proud of! And sticking a dragon sticker on top of it does not make it cool!”

“Don't insult Dragoon! He a-”

“You have a name for that sticker?!”

“ME AND HIM ARE WORLD CHAMPIONS!”

“Yeah, of the World's Most Childish Sport...and it's he and I.”

“Beyblading is NOT stupid!”

“It is so!”

“It is NOT!”

“IS SO!”

“IS NOT!”

“Arrghuh!”

Words soon dissolved into a staring contest.

Max sighed. Where was Kenny when you needed him? The blond boy dropped his heavy green duffel bag on the ground and glanced around himself. The chief was nowhere to be seen and Max found himself making exasperated faces at thin air. Behind him, Tyson, carrying a blue duffel, and Hilary, towing an enormous red suitcase, argued their way to Gate 55B at the airport, or rather the terminal that would lead them to Gate 55B, they had to wait for Kenny and Mr. Dickenson to arrive before they could go any further. Max sighed again and settled into one of the hard airport chairs. It was going to be a very long flight to Moscow.

“I still don't get it, what's so important about those bay-thingies—”

“BEYBLADES!”

“—yeah, whatever, those spinning top things. What's so important about them?”

“AH!” Tyson threw up his hands in frustration. “How many times do I have to tell you!? Beyblades hold the power of our bitbeasts and these bitbeasts are VERY important to the blader… Uh, who am I kidding? You wouldn't understand any way `cause you're a girl.”

Hilary's eyes narrowed and her voice lowered dangerously, “And what's THAT supposed to mean?!” Her hands rested on her hips and she stared threateningly at Tyson, completely ignoring the few inches of height he had on her. The boy backed away and rubbed his nose nervously. He then laughed a little.

“Hey, no offense or anything, but in my entire career I've only seen, like… two girls who could really blade: Emily and—hey Maxie, you remember Mariah right?”

Max looked up and grinned widely as memories of the White Tigers came back to him. “Of course I do, Ty! Who could forget her? I mean, have you ever seen so much pink in one place?”

Tyson chuckled as he and Hilary took the seats on either side of Max. “Yeah, but she was a mean blader wasn't she?”

Max nodded, “One of the best. Do you remember when she challenged Kai? I swear I saw a flicker of surprise in his eyes.”

Tyson snorted, “Emotion in Mr. Ice cube!? You must have been hallucinating.” The boy then got up from his seat and took a few steps forward and turned to face Max and Hilary. He tried to puff out his jacket but failed and instead took imperious stance. Arms crossed and straight-backed, he narrowed his eyes at the two in front of him, and then stuck his nose into the air. “I…am Kai.” He stated forcefully, attempting to imitate a deep voice. “I am a thick block of ice and I am better then all of you. How dare you, little pink speck, dare to even look at the great and all-powerful Kai?” Tyson uncrossed his arms and winked at Max, who was laughing, “great Kai impression huh?”

“Hey, wait a second,” interrupted Hilary, who was confused with all the new names. “I don't know this Kai, who is he? He doesn't go to school with us.” Something about how Tyson described him made him intriguing. After all, anyone Tyson disliked couldn't be that bad, right? At least he must have a brain, she reasoned.

Max's expression reflected his shock as he stared at her. “You don't know who Kai is? Kai Hiwatari? He's like THE most famous blader…” Tyson glared at Max and the blonde gulped, “after Tyson of course.” Hilary snorted, but Max paused when he noticed Tyson pointing at his own head while shaking it to and fro (quickly stopping whenever Hilary glanced his way though). He didn't quite manage to avoid the slap to the head she gave him behind Max though and soon stopped in favor of rubbing his ear fussily.

“Oh, that's right,” Max nodded in understanding. “You never knew what Beyblading was, so naturally you wouldn't know… actually, Kai was the captain of the Bladebreakers.”

Hilary opened her mouth to ask another question but Tyson interjected: “the captain who BETRAYED us.” He muttered hotly.

Hilary heard this and opened her mouth to ask yet another question, but Max, wanting to divert the conversation from possible conflict, quickly changed the topic. “Hey Ty,” he started, “you know, we've been talking a lot about Kai, but what about Rei? I mean, he was a pretty awesome blader too, he had all those crazy fan girls who kept chasing us down the streets in China, remember?”

Tyson grinned widely. “Oh yeah, I remember, they got one of his hair wraps remember? They nearly yanked his head off! Oh wait, you didn't see that did you?” He put a finger to his lips and frowned as he remembered. “You know when we went up that mountain, me and him I mean. He carried me the whole way—what!? I couldn't walk Hilary!” He yelled at her disapprobatory glare.

“Anyway, at one point, this group of girls saw us and yelled `OH LOOK! IT'S REI! REI! IT'S REI!'” Tyson flapped his arms widely in imitation. “`MARRY ME REI!' They chased us all over the place, then, one caught his hair wrap. It was close but I managed to get it off. Luckily, we had a few leftover bandages… from bandaging my ANKEL, which was HURT.” Here he glared back at Hilary who huffed and looked away. “And,” he continued, frowning once more. “We arrived right on time, after you finished stalling for us.”

Max was going to point out that Kai had helped, then—remembering how Tyson had reacted the last time he had defended Kai—thought better of it.

“Good ole' Rei; always coming through in the end. Haven't seen or heard from him in a year though. I wonder how he's been?” Tyson asked rhetorically.

Hilary was growing tired of the two boys talking about people she didn't know and heaved a heavy sigh. “Hey Tyson, why don't you talk about something else? You'll have plenty of time to catch up later. How about we do some math? The sooner you learn, the sooner we end these sessions.”

Tyson `ew'ed and winced. He flopped down in his seat next to Max and turned his head to glance at Hilary who was on the other side of his best friend. “Look, Hil, Ms. H gave me the day off, so just chill, ok? You'll have plenty of time to kill me LATER.”

“Hmph,” Hilary slouched in the plastic chair and crossed her arms over her downy jacket. “Fine, whatever,” she grumbled.

Tyson's eyes then shot to Hilary suspiciously and he leaned over Max to look her in the eye. Max recognizing the look as the same one he had every time someone tried to sneak food by him, groaned quietly and slid down into his seat silently. “You know,” Tyson said and Hilary leaned back as he got uncomfortably close to her nose. “I do want to know something.”

“What?!” She snapped

“Why were you—” and he poked her in the nose, somehow managing not to fall on Max, “so eager to tutor me anyway? As far as I know, we both hate each other… unless you DO like me!” He backed away, ignoring Max's sigh of relief to look at himself admiringly, brushing his shoulders off, then shinning his nails on the front of his jacket.

Hilary looked alarmed at the suggestion and quickly shook her head. “NO! No, it's not that… definitely not that.” She shuddered slightly; “Actually…” she broke off awkwardly and fidgeted a little.

“What? What?” Tyson prompted, bouncing up and down impatiently. Even Max looked at her in question.

Hilary looked away, “… It's for… extra credit.”

“But you have an A+ average in everything!” Tyson cried appalled at the thought of extra work for no reason. “What could YOU possibly need extra credit for?”

Hilary hesitated, and then took a deep breath. “I—”

“—Actually the way I've heard it is that Hilary is, in fact pulling a high B, maybe B plus, in advanced mathematics. Her teacher, a certain Higurashi-dono” Madam Higurashi “—I believe you are familiar with her, Tyson—is however, willing to give Ms. Tatibana here an A if she could accomplish the rather difficult agenda of procuring a twin mark in her pupil's next exam; of the teacher's fashioning, naturally.”

Tyson turned around to see who had spoken and Max and Hilary poked their heads around him to see. Hilary glaring cantankerously at the boy who had just announced her carefully guarded secret. Said boy flinched from the intensity of the look.

When Max saw who it was though, he let out a whoop and ran over. “Chief! And Mr. D! Am I ever glad to see you!” He grabbed their hands and shook them heartily. “Please, you've got to save me from these two. They're driving me crazy!”

Mr. Dickenson chuckled. “My, my, it can't possibly be as bad as you imagine my boy. I'm sure-” He looked over at Tyson and Hilary and raised an eyebrow. “Oh my,” he finished.

Tyson had looked at Hilary mischievously after what Kenny said and it had only taken a few seconds for the inevitable to happen: Tyson grinned evilly and then called out, one hand cupping his mouth to amplify his voice; “Hey! Everyone! Hilary got a B, Hilary got a B! Hey, everyone, guess what, Hilary got a B!” He attracted quite a few glances.

Hilary, glaring murder, leapt at Tyson furiously, “Ah! Will you stop that?!” She grabbed his hand and pulled it down.

Tyson grinned at her then began to sing, “Hilary got a-a B-ee-ee, Hil-ary got a B-ee—”

Hilary grabbed his collar and shook him sharply. “Argh! STOP it already!”

“Mr. Granger, Ms. Tatibana…! Please, stop…” Mr. Dickenson's timid voice and mild manner was completely ineffective on the bickering teens.

Kenny cringingly approached the two but before he could say anything a voice rang out from the laptop clutched in his hands:

“GUYS! QUIET!” Tyson and Hilary immediately froze and Mr. Dickenson sighed in relief.

“Thank you Dizzara,” he addressed the laptop, and Kenny blushed as he checked the laptop that was supposed to have been off. “As for you two children,” Dickenson continued. “Honestly, what would your parents think?”

“But Mr. D,” shrugged Tyson. “Our parents aren't here.”

“On the contrary my boy,” and Mr. Dickenson gestured behind himself, and Mr. Tate calmly stepped through the door.

“Dad!” cried Max. The blond boy ran over to his father but as he neared him he noticed the large duffel bag his father was carrying, not unlike Max himself; “…Dad? What are you doing here?”

Mr. Tate laughed. “I'm coming with you! Two guardians per team: that was the deal.”

“Really, since when?” Max asked, baffled as he looked between his father and Mr. Dickenson.

“Well,” answered Mr. Dickenson. “The board had a meeting recently. One of the topics brought to the table involved child endangerment. It seems as though the counsel has been receiving quite a bit of pressure from concerned parents and guardians. Moreover, possible lawsuits and withdrawals of funding have become an issue. In accordance to the growing concern, the IBBA has decided to implement a few new rules. The accompaniment involving dual guardianship is a direct resultant of these novel formalities. It may appear as a costly hindrance, but it's something we must abide by.”

Mr. Tate raised an eyebrow at the older man. “It's more than just a formality; it's more of a necessity, isn't it? I actually think it's a good idea. I mean, it isn't exactly smart to have or kids running around in new countries without any proper guardianship. We need to make sure our kids don't get into any trouble. Anything can happen in these foreign countries!”

For a second, Mr. Dickenson looked flustered, then quickly straightened his look. “Yes, well, as things are, each team will be accompanied by two adults. Your second guardian,” he addressed Tyson, Max, Kenny and Hilary now, “should be arriving here soon. It appears as though he's running a bit late this morning though.”

“But Mr. Dickenson, why aren't you counting yourself?” Hilary questioned, her being the only one of the kids, excluding Kenny, who had followed Mr. Dickenson's long winded speech. Her interest in her own accommodations and adult company allowed her to ignore her shyness in the presence of the unfamiliar older man.

Mr. Dickenson laughed. “Oh, my dear girl, I'm much too busy to be in charge or every little thing the team does. Besides, I believe the boys, and yourself too miss, to be quite capable of taking care of yourselves.” He smiled and turned away, ignoring Mr. Tate's disapproving look at his last statement.

“But you did it last year?” From Kenny, the question sounded more like a statement.

“Oh no, no! You didn't know? That wasn't me, that was—”

“Sorry I'm late dudes, had a tough time leaving the crib.” Came an all too familiar voice from the door.

“Oh no,” moaned Tyson. “It couldn't be…”

Bursting over the threshold bounced an old man with a Hawaii style neon pink, orange and yellow flowered T-shirt with beige cargo shorts to match. The man wore dark sunglasses to cover his eyes and his pepper hair was styled back flat, and from his chin grew a long smooth beard. In his hands he carried two heavy duffels, and behind him he lugged two heavy suitcases, all filled to bursting. Tyson's Grandfather: Ryuunosuke Granger, 'Grandpa Ryu', had entered the building.

“I had to do some last minute packin' and a couple of my homies here will hafta carry my bags through… Ah well, hello! Dudes! And… Dudette!” The man added excitedly when he saw Hilary.

“It is…” Tyson lamented once more and now looked thoroughly depressed. “I thought he'd stay in his room… at least long enough to miss the plane!”

Max leaned towards Tyson, “I thought you were going to lock him in?” He whispered.

“I did.”

Then, interrupting the two boys came the sound of the public announce system above them: “Attention all passengers on flight 1440 courtesy of the International Beyblade Association, we are pleased to inform you that your flight has arrived and we will begin boarding in about five minutes.”

“Wow, 5 minutes? That's good.” Kenny grinned excitedly.

Hilary didn't look too sure though, and frowned slightly, “how can that be right though?” She looked at Mr. Dickenson, “don't they have to refuel the plane or something?”

Mr. Dickenson shrugged and Kenny was the one who replied: “Normally yes, refueling the plane would have delayed passenger boarding by possibly 15 minutes to half an hour. Naturally though, with the new advances in technology more effective mechanisms have been designed to significantly hasten the process. In fact it is quite intriguing how in regular airplanes, the fuel tanks normally reside in the wings, such planes are refueled from the bottom. The hose containing the gas is shoved upward into a valve at the lowest point of the fuel tank the fuel is pumped into the fuel tank, from below. Now, the next question would be, why would it be easier to push the gas upwards? Wouldn't it just be much more simple to pour the fuel downwards? Of course not! Pressure is what we're working against here, pouring the fuel in at the top would require lifting a column that is higher than the top of the wing, which would take more energy! This was the thought process that the engineers pondered as they tried to develop a different pumping system that would bypass the problem. But considering the ramifications of developing a new…”

A hand closed on Hilary's arm and quietly guided her away from Kenny's increasingly passionate monologue, the girl being too stunned to manage it on her own.

“Hilary…Hilary!”

The brunette's head snapped around and she blinked profusely as her eyes focused on the grinning figure of Max next to her.

“Hi,” He said rather jovially waving a hand lightly, “welcome back to the land of the normal people! How was your trip to nerd-land?”

Hilary laughed disconcertedly and rubbed the back of her neck as she blushed slightly. “Heh heh, …ano…umm… sorry about that… he's just a little…wow, does he always do that?” She asked the boy, slightly alarmed

Max shrugged, then nodded. “Yeah, guess it really depends on what you say… We kinda learned to tune him out after awhile.”

Hilary looked back and noticed, somewhat guiltily that without her, Mr. Dickenson had been left to bear the rest of Kenny's lecture, and he was looked furtively around for a means of escape. Luckily, before the small boy got much further, he was interrupted by the woman on the announcement system, who stated that boarding had now begun. Mr. Dickenson looked unashamedly relieved as he walked over to the group.

“Alright then, if there are no more last minute problems, I suggest we start boarding. I'm very much impressed the plane got here so quickly, I heard it had only left Hong Kong barely over an hour ago.”

Tyson, Max and Kenny all did a double take as they stared at Mr. Dickenson then exchanged meaningful glances with each other. “Did you say Hong KONG?” They all demanded simultaneously.

Hilary and Mr. Tate merely shrugged at each other, not understanding the significance, while Mr. Granger leaned back leisurely with a grin.

“That means,” started Max.

“—that on that plane,” continued Kenny,

“—is REI!” finished Tyson jumping up and down. “Rei's on that plane right now, isn't he Mr. D? Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!” He cried, running towards the door of the gate.

“Tyson's right boys -and girls- we should be going.”

“But Mr. D…” interrupted Max, looking backwards as everyone started moving. “Shouldn't we wait for Kai? I mean, he is coming, isn't he?”

Tyson poked his head around the door. “Yeah,” he agreed. “HE may never realize it, but he IS a part of the team.” He paused to look at Max. “I'll admit that, and besides, not even old Mr. Sour-Puss can refuse the chance to have a rematch with me.” He ended proudly, pounding a fist on his chest.

Mr. Dickenson suddenly looked very agitated as he straightened his suit and tugged at his tie. “Hmm., well…about that—” he started.

“Oh, yeah” interrupted Tyson's grandfather. “That Kai-dude: the grumpy bloke with red eyes and more bark than a pack of rabid wolves. I remember him; haven't seen hide nor hair of him for …'bout's a year's worth now. What's he been up ta?”

Max though for a second, then realized something “Tyson,” he turned to face his friend. “Your grampa's right.”

“About what?” Tyson whined impatiently hopping on one foot then the other, anxious to get on the plane.

“I never thought about it before,” Max continued, ignoring Tyson's reply, or lack thereof. “Did you notice, Chief?”

Kenny shook his head. “I'm not surprised though,” The bespectacled boy added. “Kai never was one to make his presence particularly noticeable.”

Tyson, quickly tiring of this apparently cryptic talk, fumed and puffed out his cheeks. “WHAT are you TALKING about?” He asked loudly.

Max turned to face Tyson. “Ty…” He wondered how to ask, and then ploughed on. “Have you seen Kai, at all, since… well… even since we came back from the World Championships last year?”

Tyson stopped his fidgeting, perceiving his friend's seriousness, and thought for a second as he placed both hands behind his head. “Umm, I remember him saying something about going back on a later flight; something about not wanting to ride with us. After that… sure I've seen him…”

“Where?” prodded Max.

“Uh, at-at…” Realization dawned on Tyson finally. “Actually, I haven't seen him. Wow, that is weird. What's up with him? Is he so ashamed he lost to me -and Spencer- that's he's too scared to show his face around here or wha?”

Kenny shook his head adjusted his glasses and shifted Dizzy so that he was under his other arm, all with the practiced ease of a techno connoisseur, then moved to give his input: “That couldn't be it, Tyson,” he said. “In spite of his final match and indeed a few others, Kai is still ranked as the world's second best; directly after you. In fact, if the ratio of wins and losses were worked out using an algorithm based off only a slightly different integration system…” Everyone else tuned him out collectively as he began muttering on an entirely off-topic rat hole, but Tyson's interest was piqued and he interrupted Kenny mid-ramble:

“Second? How can that be? Who's third? What about Tala? And Rei and Max?”

Kenny looked slightly annoyed at being interrupted, but quickly recovered, “Third, fourth and fifth. Respectively. If I remember correctly.”

“Anyway, that is all well and good, but this conversation can be continued on the plane.” Mr. Tate suddenly interrupted, wary of the passing time. “Mr. Dickenson. If you would please locate this boy so that we may be on our way?”

Everyone turned towards the older man, and it wasn't until then that they all realized how awkward he looked as he fiddled constantly with his stick. “Uh, well, er,” he stuttered reprehensibly and looked away.

“What's wrong Mr. D?” Tyson asked curiously.

The elder man sighed ruefully. “I'm afraid that Kai, will not be joining us.”

“WHAT?!” Cried Tyson and Max, Kenny looking on with a raised eyebrow. “Why?!”

“Ah well, it's a complicated story.” Mr. Dickenson hesitated. “I think we should board the aeroplane. I will relate the story once we have met up with young Mr. Kon. It…isn't exactly a story that should be told twice.”

So in awkward silence, they all boarded the plane: One nervous old man, three speechless boys, one confused girl, one suspicious adult and one last old man sporting a flowery Hawaiian T-shirt in the middle of winter while humming `Row, Row, Row your Boat.'

Well, maybe they didn't go completely in silence.

On the Plane…

Rei sat near one of the windows looking out at the Japanese airport.

`Wow,' he smirked. `It's been awhile hasn't it?'

He looked towards the in-built touch screen on the back of the seat in front of him and sighed when he noticed the time. He had landed nearly 20 minutes ago.

`Where are they?'

He absently fingered the white bandages on his arms and noted to himself that his style of clothing really hadn't changed much over the past year. A long wrap around white shirt with an embroidered stiff collar and long triangular cut sleeves fit snugly to the black undershirt as it was held by a wide red belt at his waist. Below the belt the traditional white shirt split to allow more movement. Baggy black pants, and the ever-present white hair wrap completed the look. Rei surmised that the only real differences were that his hair now reached the back of his knees and instead of the yin-yang, Rei now bore the image of an embroidered silver and black tiger raging across his chest and mid back. The tail even continued to the split ends of his shirt.

Rei smiled then to himself and brought a hand up to tug at his heavy bangs.

“And then there's always that.” He muttered to himself.

The object under scrutiny was actually a rather noticeable strip of his bang which was oddly white. The boy rolled his eyes and let the hair fall. The lesson learned that day had been not to leave Mariah and Lee together near the bleach. Rei shook his head, exasperated even now, so long after the event. It had been practically a year ago and the color had not returned to his hair, it was somewhat annoying at the very least. Honestly, if those two weren't siblings he would have assumed they were an old married couple.

Abruptly, the door to the plane slide open with a clunk and Rei rose to his feet expectantly. The first to enter was Mr. Dickenson.

“Hello again Mr. D,” Rei greeted and bowed smoothly at the waist.

The man laughed at the strange clash of formalities, the informal greeting coupled with the formal bow, and mentally noted that Rei hadn't changed. “It's good to see you again m'boy.”

Next to come in were Tyson and Max. They tried to enter together but ended up getting stuck in the door. Rei grinned and his eyes glistened with hidden mischief. Reaching out, he grabbed Tyson and tugged, intending to make both boys fall in to a heap. What he didn't expect was for Tyson to latch onto him, and as Max fell the blond boy took down all three of them at once, with Rei on the bottom.

“Um…ow?” Came Rei's muffled voice from under Tyson and Max who both laughed.

“Ok, seriously, guys,” with impressive strength Rei managed to shove both boys off, and as he stood up, brushing off imaginary dust, he raised an eyebrow. “Honestly, it looks like both of you have been eating healthy. Really now, just because we're the Bladebreakers, doesn't mean you can break-” Rei broke off with a disapproving sigh but couldn't help the grin that spread across his face as the two younger boys continued to laugh on the ground. He had missed them…

A few seconds later and Max was able to stumble to his feet, Tyson slowly following. As they got up they all exchanged proper greetings (`Dude, s'up with the new look?' `Mariah and bleach. Don't ask.'), and then Rei was surprised to notice a few people he didn't recognize entering the plane.

“Rei,” said Max pulling away. “Meet my Dad. Dad, this is Rei”

Rei bowed again, “Hello Mr. Tate.” He said respectfully.

Mr. Tate laughed. He liked this boy, how old had Max said he was? 14? “It's okay Rei, we can just shake” and the two shook hands.

“And continued Max, gesturing behind himself, “this is-”

“Hi, Mr. Granger. Good to see you again.”

“Hey, Rei-mah-man!” The two greeted each other with a high five.

Max looked sheepish, “Oh yeah, you've already met.”

Rei then noticed a final figure slowly inching around Mr. Granger. “And who would you be?” He asked her politely.

“Oh!” Hilary looked up, surprised that he had noticed her. She smiled, “I'm Hilary,” she said after only a small pause.

“Pleasure,” he said charmingly, accompanied by a short bow. When their eyes met Hilary was surprised to see his light amber irises. She wondered briefly if they were contacts.

“Ah, well, I'm Tyson's tutor,” she said deciding to properly introduce herself.

“Oh? Really?” Rei turned slightly and gave an evil grin; Hilary got another shock as she noticed the cat-like canine teeth the boy seemed to posses.

“So, you're Tyson's tutor? Now, why would Tyson need a TUTOR?”

Tyson, sensing the impending disaster, quickly changed the topic: “So how are things going in Hong Kong?”

Rei, successfully thrown off, looked surprised for a second. “What do you—”

“You asked her out yet?”

`Her?' was Hilary's silent thought, not being able to help but notice.

Rei looked confused, then realized what Tyson meant, “Oh, well…” he trailed off.

“Yeah! You so did! Go Rei, you're the man!” Tyson rejoiced, Rei looked like he was going to say something, and then thought better of it.

“Who's `she'?” Hilary asked.

Everyone settled down and Kenny was left more or less unnoticed, with only a brief `Hey, Chief' in his direction as he entered the plan. Once everyone was seated, and the plane had taken off, Rei came to a sudden realization as his head jolted around to look up and down the plane. He noticed someone was missing.

“Hey guys?” he asked, catching everyone's attention. “Where's Kai? I though he lived in Japan too?”

Everyone's eyes turned to Mr. Dickenson and he sighed regretfully. “I suppose that I've been putting it off long enough.” He hesitated, “I would much appreciate it if everyone could please be quiet while I'm talking, this is very important.” The comment was unnecessary, since the plane was utterly silent, but everyone nodded in agreement. Even Dizzy, who Kenny had opened and placed on his fall-out table, agreed.

“Is Kai ok?” Rei asked, worry was clearly evident on his features. Perhaps Kai had been distant, perhaps a little cold, but he and Rei had reached a point where they were comfortable around each other, something Rei had not felt since he had left his tribe all those years ago. He had regretted falling out of contact with the older boy, but he had been on the boat to China before he had suddenly realized that he had received no mailing address from Kai. You never knew what you had until it was gone and Rei had missed the silent strength that was Kai brooding in a corner.

“The truth is Rei, I don't know. You see, Kai never, actually, left Russia.”

Shocked expressions met him all around and a soft `What?' escaped Rei's mouth. Mr. Dickenson rubbed the bridge of his nose, already fearing their reactions to what he had to say. Nonetheless he continued:

“The details are complicated, but the main reason comes down to this: During the World Championships, the WBBA used up so much money on reparations and… vindication (especially for the Bladebreakers and Demolition Boys' final matches) that at the end of it all, there wasn't enough money to get everyone home. Every parent or guardian of every competitor was asked to make a small contribution to get their child safely home. If you don't believe me, ask Mr. Tate or Mr. Granger.”

“Is it true? Dad?” asked Max. His father nodded. Similarly when Tyson asked his grandfather, he agreed.

“How much?” Max pressed.

“Nothing we couldn't handle Max, around 400-500 dollars US, give or take.”

Max's eyes widened, “that much? Why didn't you tell me?” Tyson looked toward his Grandfather, similarly confused.

His father looked at him, “We thought you children had had enough to worry about.”

“Doncha worry `bout the money, kido!” Ryu Granger added, ruffling Tyson's hair. Rei watched this with an impassive look on his face, not saying anything.

“The money was merely a voluntary donation.” Mr. Dickenson said soothingly. “There was no need to involve you children.”

“You mean you didn't want anyone to know you messed up.” Muttered Dizzy.

Rei frowned, ignoring the computer's words and stored the possibility away. There was a more important matter to discuss here. “What does that have to do with Kai?” He demanded.

“Ah well, if you remember, Kai's only living relative happens to be his grandfather, Voltaire.”

“Voltaire,” growled Tyson. “That bas—”

Mr. Granger stuffed a Kendo stick into his grandson's mouth, muffling the last part. Removing it he then carefully folded it and placed it back in his bag.

“Collapsible.” He stated simply to the alarmed glances he got.

“So, what happened?” Prompted Rei, one of the only ones not visibly affected by Mr. Granger.

Once again, Mr. Dickenson sighed. “Simply put, the elder Hiwatari refused to pay for Kai's trip back home.” A few gasps were heard and then all was silent.

“You mean Voltaire abandoned Kai in Russia?” Rei said slowly, his voice ununaturally tight.

Max was more vocal, his shock evident: “How could he do that? Voltaire's Kai's grandfather; I know Kai doesn't really like him but… how could he do that to his own grandson?” Max just couldn't understand.

Tyson looked at his own grandfather and, as though sensing his feelings, Mr. Granger squeezed Tyson's shoulder. “Don't worry, Tyson, I would never do something like that.” Looking at Mr. Dickenson, Grandpa Ryu asked: “So what happened to the little dude, D? Has he been found?”

“And also,” interjected Kenny with a logical note to his voice. “Why is it that no one else paid for the trip? In fact, Mr. Hiwatari is a world renowned billionaire, for him to refuse to pay 400 dollars worth of money for his own grandson…would raise quite a few eyebrows. Why didn't we know about this earlier?”

“Well Kenny, no one paid for the trip because, quite simply, no one knew. No complaints we filed, no missing child reports. Kai had proved himself quite responsible so no one checked up on him. We assumed that we would be the ones contacted if there were any problems, not that we would have to do the searching. When we finally realized that Kai had not been sighted or on record since the Championships, it was too late, he had all but disappeared.”

“Why didn't he tell us the truth?” Tyson cried indignantly.

“Tyson! Use your head!” Snapped Rei; uncharacteristically sharp. “This is Kai we're talking about. He is the apotheosis of pride. He wouldn't ask someone the time let alone 500 dollars.”

Tyson `hmphed' but looked away. He knew Rei was right. Max slumped in his seat, speechless and his dad looked sympathetically downwards at his son. Putting an arm around Max, his father pulled him into a loose hug.

Remembering Kai from the one time he saw him, Mr. Tate had seen the boy as a quiet introverted antisocialist. He had thought the boy to be a simple miscreant, well on his way to either his own destruction or juvenile court. Mr. Dickenson had vouched for the youth's character, but even then, Mr. Tate hadn't wanted his son anywhere near the boy, a feeling which only became more concrete when he learned about the boy's perfidy.

He hadn't trusted Max's good opinion of Kai, but now, looking at the family the boy had, Mr. Tate could only think that perhaps the boy had a reason for the way he acted. It did not excuse behavior, but such bad guardianship could explain why Kai had fallen into the wrong crowd, with a grandfather like that… Max had even said that Kai had once lived on the streets…wait a minute…

“Stanley?” Mr. Tate asked, addressing Mr. Dickenson by his first name. The chairman raised his head,

“Yes, my boy?”

Mr. Tate raised an eyebrow at the diminutive but ignored it for the most part and continued, “Max once told me that Kai used to live on the streets, if his father is a billionaire, then why would have lived like a homeless thug?”

Mr. Dickenson shook his head, “I'm afraid that's a question only Kai or Voltaire could answer. Now, as to why we don't just ship the poor boy out right now… well let's say the child is very resourceful. Since that moment in the airport a year ago, Kai left and has completely disappeared from the world's eye. He cannot be found anywhere. It is almost as though he is hiding from someone…”

“Like Boris?” Asked Rei bitterly. Mr. Dickenson shrugged and answered softly:

“It's better than the alternative.”

“Who's Boris?” Hilary suddenly piped up and Mr. Tate, about to ask the same question, just nodded, glad someone else asked so he didn't look too curious.

“Long story” said Tyson dismissively.

“To make it short,” added Kenny, not so much in consideration of Hilary's growing ire as jumping at the chance to explain something. “He's an evil man who wants to take over the world and tried to influence Kai by using power to lure him onto the enemy's team.”

“And it worked too,” Tyson scowled angrily. “Hey Mr. D, how do we know Kai didn't want to stay in Russia?”

“Tyson!” Max exclaimed, aghast.

The elder man's eyes narrowed in disapprobation at Tyson's words. “Mr. Granger,” he addressed Tyson seriously, who flinched as he realized he had said something wrong. “It is insulting to make such comments on such a grave topic. If you want proof however: I recently questioned Voltaire Hiwatari on the subject of his grandson and he said to me, and I quote: `Of all the ludicrous statements I have heard thus far, Stanley you have just conquered them all. Why on earth would I pay even a cent to a filthy little cretin who not only sinned when he was brought into this world, but deserves to be punished by rotting on the streets like a dog? Mongrels like that are not worth the dirt on my shoes.' After which he quickly terminated the questioning and left to enjoy a pint of imported vodka. Unfortunately, I did not get it on tape. It might have been enough to finally incriminate the man.”

Tyson was abashed.

“Are you satisfied?” Max asked, but without any real venom, too shocked by Mr. Dickenson's words.

“I, I'm sorry” was the remorseful reply.

“Max is not the one you should be saying sorry to.” Rei's voice was quiet, but everyone heard it with painful accuracy.

“Mr. D?” Dizzy's inappropriately loud, apathetic digital voice cut the tension in the air like a knife and everyone turned to look at Kenny, who folded into himself embarrassedly. “Do you know where Kai is now?”

“I'm afraid not” the chairman answered looking out the window. “The BBA has taken certain steps… now we are just crossing our fingers.”

“You're hoping he'll come to the reunion.” Rei stated matter-of-factly.

“Yes indeed, we realize a few of our…precautions may cause problems to arise, but they will have to be dealt as they present themselves.”

No one really understood what Mr. Dickenson was talking about, but it was possible that he never intended for them to get it. A few minutes passed in silence then Mr. Dickenson felt the need to speak.

“I'm sorry.” No one had anything to say to this, and the elder man kept talking. “I should have informed you boys the minute I found out Kai was missing. But you must understand that it really hasn't been all that long. At the most, we only noticed something was wrong a month ago, and even that was under unusual circumstances. There were no `missing' notices. Kai comes and goes as he pleases with no one the wiser, even you boys must have thought he was just being himself. Did you even notice he was missing?”

The silence was all consuming; even the plane's engine was muted in that moment as the boys were lost in their guilty thoughts.

Hilary knew was that sulking was not the way to be acting at this time. So this Kai person was missing? At least they knew he was in Russia. So all they had to do was look for him, he sounded like he could take care of himself so Hilary didn't really see what the issue was. Besides, if she didn't break this silence, who would? If it lasted it would be a very, very long 10 hour flight. Despite her feelings it still took her a while to muster the courage to break the heavy silence. It could have lasted ten minutes, it could have easily lasted half an hour, but finally she managed to say something:

“Look, we can't just sulk around here, so Kai's in Russia? We'll track him down! He's probably fine, how old is he anyway? Old enough to take care of himself, I'll bet.”

Mr. Dickenson looked at her and Hilary was slightly unnerved at the sad smile he wore. She wondered for a second if she should have just stayed silent.

“How old is he?” Dickenson repeated, as though asking himself. “Maybe 15, now? The legal age in Russia is 21, Kai would have been lucky to have even found a job.”

Hilary faltered and fell silent.

It was at that moment when she realized the real question had not been if they would find Kai. It had been if they would find him alive.

TBC

Reviewer time! YAY so many reviews! This is the most I've had for any chapter yet! (Note, these are my Fanfiction.net reviewers, all you non existent reviewers on Mediaminer don't get any responses!)

kavbj: Yay! Super long review! I can honestly say that I did not like Tyson at ALL when I was watching the series. Only when I began writing this story did I finally begin to appreciate him. He has a few strong points: his stubbornness for one, and his ability to simplify things (a nice comparison to Kai, who over analyzes everything… honestly it's almost a relief to write about these guys, the grammar is not as difficult, I can lapse into third person and past tense, and I'm free to contract my `I am's and `it is's without worrying about the emotional state of the characters! I'm glad you like the Huo family, and NO!!! I will never add an OC close in age to Kai. They are a family of 4, two children; age 5, and two adults; in their 30's. We'll have to wait and see how they play out in the story!

Keylor: Oh my goodness! You reviewed every chapter!!!!! I'm so happy! And you included useful critique! Certainly I will read your story, I will try to give you helpful advice as best as I can. Since you spent the effort to respond to each chapter, allow me to respond to each review:

First, I'm glad this story caught your eye, I always preferred the first season (I thought Kai looked a little too girlish in the second season and I didn't see the entire third season).

Max's father is a shop owner???? I didn't know that! I must have missed that episode… I only saw him in that apron and hat and assumed he was a chef. You're the first one to actually notice that mistake. I hope you don't mind if I keep him as a chef/part time author I don't really want to go back and rewrite that! I can understand you thinking Tyson is a bit bratty, but I always pictured him as one in the first season (he changed a little by the third). Besides, I pegged him as 13, he is a bit young. Maybe, just maybe, the course of the story can help him mature? Oh and Max is your favorite character? Well, I'll try to include him more—though Kai will still be the main character.

I'm glad you like the introspection in the second chapter. I had to write Kai in first person because of the name issue (should I call him Kai? Kolya?) and I also wanted to give everyone an idea of what's really going on in his head. Kai says almost nothing in the entire series, so there must be SOMETHING going on in his head. I was aiming for deep, I'm glad I managed to convey it!

Chapter 3 had its own purposes. Originally it was part of this chapter (looks up) but when I realized that it threw the page numbers into the thirties I had to break it down. Hilary will play her own part. Not a huge one, mind, but she will make appearances and add a more emotional and objective outlook on the story (Rei, Max and Tyson are somewhat biased and Mr. Tate is an adult).

I'm glad you don't mind the Huo family. They probably won't be major but… no I won't say (evil grin). For a couple of years I've read Beyblade fics, and I've always wanted more interaction, more thinking. The goal of my story is to write a Kai story with realistic emotions and responses and still keep the drama. It may take longer, but there isn't really anything wrong with that is there?

Wow, that was a long response! But it's only fair, a response to every review! Thanks, and I hope I can keep this story up to your standards.

phoenix-falling: Hey, thanks for reviewing! I'm really, really glad you like my story. Kai chapters are so unbelievably hard to write (but fun!). Whenever I'm writing, I have to keep stopping myself from saying `Kai' or writing in the past tense… and he uses too many long words! I was a bit worried about whether you guys would like the Huo's or be put off by the knife scene… But I'm glad you liked it!

HiyaPriya: Hello, hello! Yay, a new reviewer! And number 20! I'm glad you like my story and to answer your question, no, I'm not from India/Pakistan. I'm a born and bred Canadian, however, my parents are from Africa and we have our own fair share of Indian movies at home (like Sholay and Sooryavansham, for example!). How about you? I noticed your penname, are you from India?

Jegnifer: Yay, another new reviewer! I know exactly what you mean about the Kai-getting-taken-in-by-a-family stories. Whenever I read Beyblade fics, the issues I usually have are that Kai isn't strong enough, or there is a Mary-Sue, or there isn't enough depth in the story. I wanted to make a story with a strong (but sensitive!) in-character Kai, while making it realistic (with everyone else, Tyson, Max and Rei, having their own problems as well). It'll probably make the story really long but as long as you guys don't mind the pace, I'll probably keep going as I am. Thanks for reviewing, and I hope you keep reading!

banan: Hi again! And a super long review, yay! I'm glad you're still reading my story, and as for responding to reviews, I can honestly say that I enjoy responding to your reviews, and you guys' reviews mean a lot to me. I know exactly what you mean by blabbering, by the way, why do you think my chapters keep ending up so long?!?! I keep telling my muse to `cut it short' or `hurry it up' but noooo, think she likes to prolong the agony (that, and she's smug about Kai taking it out on me, not her…). Don't worry about babbling though, the longer your review, the happier I am! J Oh, and you're polish? That's really interesting, I myself confess to being born in Canada, but my parents are from Africa… Anyway, about chapter 4, I agree, I don't like Tyson… then why am I writing about him, you ask? Well… he helps round out the story… and maybe I could grow to like him…

…nah. I'm glad you found it funny though (and maybe this chapter too? Sorry there was no Kai, but there was a lot of talking about Kai. Which, by the way, is going to be very important in this story, we're gonna see a lot of what others think about Kai, as a devoted fangirl myself I enjoy finding out what everyone's thinking about our favorite blader, I thoroughly agree with you that point).

Interestingly enough, I never thought about Kai being an abbreviation…hmm, maybe it's because, like I said in the prologue, it was a name his Grandfather gave him, while they were living in Japan… or maybe there's another reason?...Hmmm,… I don't think I should say any more… (evil grin). But as for calling him Kolya, that will only last for as long as he's with the Huo's, it's one of the reasons I decided to write him is first person, actually, `cause I didn't want to call him `Kolya' and calling him `Kai' is weird when he isn't really thinking of himself as Kai. Oh and speaking of the Huo's, I'm glad you like them. And I always picture Kai as the kind of guy who would never just freeload… you know, live off someone else without paying them back, and I just mentally pictures him waiting on tables and it was too much fun! I had to do it!

I admit I was worried what you guys would think about the cutting. I never wanted Kai to appear as weak, or suicidal (which is how most cutting scenes I've read turn out, and how most people picture cutting: as a cry for attention). Kai does not want attention, what he wants is to be strong and emotionless, anything less than perfection is unacceptable. I'm relieved that you liked it though, and the psychoanalyzing too, I totally didn't even mean for any of that to come out, it wrote itself, really! (darn my babbling rent-a-muse). Anyway, look at that! I totally wrote a way-too-long-response, but oh well, it's only fair, after you wrote such a long review, and I hope you keep reading (and reviewing, really you don't have to make them any shorter, by all means, babble away! J)

Thanks guys! Sorry if the responses were a bit long, but I reserve the right to respond to my reviewers in any length, you guys deserve it!

Adio!