Beyblade Fan Fiction ❯ Sooryavansham: The Dynasty of the Sun ❯ 2 Plus 2 is Always 4 ( Chapter 6 )

It has arrived: Chapter 6

Alright, now I know you guys are probably expecting a Kai chapter… well, the chain's broken; it's another Tyson, Max, Rei and Kenny chapter. YES, The sky has indeed fallen (ponders for a second…I'm probably going to have to apologize to Chicken Little now, I was quite the horrid critic to the poor little guy when I was small… anyway…right… I'll stop now…)

Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade or any related character. All OC's are mine; please do not use them without my permission. Thank you.

Enjoy

Sooryavansham: The Dynasty of the Sun

By: Sholay

“Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.”

-Mark Twain (1835-1910)

Chapter 6: 2 Plus 2 is Always 4

Despite the heavy air in which the flight had started, the small group of Beybladers was hard pressed to stay solemn for long and soon found themselves engaged in lighthearted conversation. It had been Hilary who first broke the silence by turning towards Rei, her curiosity clear in her voice and obviously strong enough to make her break the tension:

“What's up with your teeth anyway? They're freaking me out!”

Rei, who had been running his tongue thoughtfully over his elongated canines quickly stopped, and Tyson and Max chuckled on the sidelines.

“Um… uh,” Rei had been a bit flustered, but Tyson had gladly picked up the conversation from there and the tension had all but disappeared from the room.

At least that was how it seemed to the children; to the adults it was an entirely different matter altogether.

“She managed to completely throw off their depression, it's impressive. Innocence is a blessing, isn't it, Alexander?”

Somehow, during the flight, the seating arrangement had changed as Tyson, Max, Rei, Kenny and Hilary all gathered to sit together on one side of the plane. Consequentially, the adults found themselves drifting closer, and Max's father now looked over to Mr. Dickenson, who was seated next to him.

“Indeed it is, Mr. Dickenson, but please, call me Alex.” He answered, then after a moment he added “But it is prudent to remember that there is `no darkness but ignorance.'”

The elder man sighed, “Indeed, my boy.” Mr. Tate's only response to the new diminutive was a slight quirk of his eyebrow.

Mr. Granger, although listening to the conversation ongoing in front of him, did not make any input as he watched instead his grandson as he laughed with his friends. It took effort and quite a bit of resilience on his part to even reprimand the boy when he had done something wrong, but to act abusive and vindictive towards him… for any reason at all, was completely beyond Mr. Granger's ability of understanding.

“What sort of a monster,” and he didn't use the word lightly, “would do such a thing… to his own grandson!” His words were soft but the emotion behind them was palpable.

Mr. Dickenson's wince was almost unnoticeable, but Mr. Tate saw it, narrowing his eyes thoughtfully, but deciding not to comment.

“That… is not a question we can answer,” The Chairman answered at length, though Alex suspected otherwise. “What we should hope for, is that Kai, being the tough boy he is,” he stressed `is' “managed to survive the year in Russia.”

Mr. Tate looked at the man, knowing for sure now that there was something, if not many things, Mr. Dickenson was not telling them. “Tell me Stanley,” he said slowly. “What kind of a child is this Kai, that he would be able to not only survive, for a prolonged period of time, alone in a foreign country, not to mention in the winter, but without clear access to food or money and too young to get a respectable job. Tell me, how independent is this… streetblader?”

Mr. Dickenson gazed steadily out the window of the plane, but Alex, sitting so close, could see the older man's chubby hands wringing themselves nervously.

“Well, first of all, Russia is not exactly foreign to the boy.”

“Oh really?”

“Yes, in fact, Kai was born there.”

Mr. Tate's eyebrows shot fully up as he pondered the implications of that single statement, there were many. Less important was the question of how Kai had gotten on the Japanese team, most severe and potentially disturbing was that if Mr. Dickenson knows so much about Kai, how did this disappearance go unnoticed for so long? Russia should have been the first place they looked. And, on that note, why hadn't they found him yet? The boy was fifteen, for goodness sake! How hard could he be to track down?

While Alex pondered, Tyson's grandfather took the opportunity to clarify Mr. Dickenson's words:

“But the dude left when he was just a young'un, 9 or so'z, right?”

Mr. Dickenson nodded. “Indeed. The boy went missing after an incident at the place he lived, only to show up publicly a year later in Japan as the—ahem… `Esteemed Lord Hiwatari's Prodigal Grandson'”

Mr. Dickenson's choice of words was interesting, and Mr. Tate couldn't help but wonder what it meant to be a prodigy in that house; but he bit back that question, noting instead how Stanley had omitted the name of where Kai had lived in Russia and asked the older man about it.

Mr. Dickenson paused at the question and it was obvious he had purposely avoided it. “He… lived at the Abbey, run by Boris Balkov, for three years, before that… there are no records.”

Again, eyebrows sot up.

“I didn't know that.” Mr. Granger frowned, then blinked.

“Balkov…Balkov,” The name rung a bell somewhere for Mr. Tate. “Isn't he… the man who was…arrested for child abuse, endangerment and illegal experimentation on minors?!” Mr. Tate's tone was incredulous, he had heard about the story in the news, but did not know the man actually had children in his care!

Mr. Dickenson nodded.

“You knew!? Why didn't you DO something?”

“Yes,” Mr. Dickenson nodded wearily. “I admit, I have heard some rather disturbing stories about that institution, but even now we can do nothing about it. Mr. Balkov was acquitted and allowed to return to his position. There was simply no proof, it was all hearsay; scarcely that if you take into account how none of the children or workers would speak against him.”

“That Tala-boy was proof enough! After Balkov was done with him he was literally a living android!” Mr. Granger spoke up, shocked as well.

“It turned out the process was entirely reversible and since Tala never complained of mistreatment the entire session turned into a kangaroo court as witness after witness vouched for Balkov's character, in the end, even the, procuratorate threw in the towel and withdrew charges.”

Mr. Tate was not an innocent man, in spite of having lived a relatively sheltered life on the outskirts of the city as a chef with his son, he was no stranger to the darker side of the world. He knew there was evil in the world, he knew how corrupt people could become. What worried him though was having his son exposed to this. He didn't want his son around those types of people, but if what Mr. Dickenson was saying was true, Max must have already witnessed this man's poison. Just the thought of it disgusted him, and he pondered for a second taking the next flight back with his son.

Suddenly Alex was startled by a soft hand on his shoulder and turned in his seat to look into the deep blue eyes of his son. For a moment he was shocked at the maturity he saw there.

“I'll be fine, Dad,” Max spoke quietly with surprising insight. “We'll all be fine. Boris can't do anything to us when we're together. We can't turn back now, we have to find Kai, and no slimeball will stand in our way!” Even the exclamation was soft, so no one else could hear, Max's voice then took on a sly tone, “Besides, you're gonna be there, and if get even a little bit as angry with Boris as you do when someone clogs the mustard bottle, he won't stand a chance against you!”

His father looked at him with exasperation, but inwardly he was proud of the conviction his boy was showing. Anyone who could inspire this much loyalty and brevity in his son was worth a closer look. His son's health and well-being came first and nothing could ever change that for him, but even still, he had to admit, this Russian boy had his curiosity spiked as well: as it had now become clear to him that Kai was, at least in part, responsible for the strength his son had gained in character over the past two years. He looked at his son with a smile, and the pride must have been obvious because Max rubbed the back of his neck as a pink blush stained his cheeks. He muttered as `aww, Dad! Don't look at me like that!' then went back to join his friends. Mr. Tate just kept watching, and smiling.

Ryuunosuke smiled at the small exchange between father and son, not quite hearing, but getting the gist easily enough. But even though he was happy that the two were finally bonding, he was more concerned about the situation in Russia. He knew Kai almost better than the younger boys did and understood a part of the boy's character that many shrugged off as rebelliousness and insolence. Even when he had just met the young man, something about him, his eyes, posture, his personality, he had triggered a rare protectiveness in the older man that only came close to how he felt about Tyson. His grandson was fine, happy and within his sight. Now he wanted to know if this other boy could have even survived what he had been through, through no choice of his own but completely overlooked by everyone else. Mr. Granger did feel some guilt about that, but also felt that Mr. Dickenson could have done something more, with all the information he had. But now was not the time to argue. Not in front of the kids, so instead he asked a more rhetorical question,

“You never answered Alex's question, Stanley; could Kai have survived this year? Is he capable of living on his own?”

By now, everyone in the plane had quieted and was listening closely.

Everyone was expecting something bad: either an uncertain noise or shake of the head, but no one was expecting Mr. Dickenson to let out a sudden chuckle.

“I would think so,” he said heartily. “The boy has been very independent since day one. After all, he single handedly coached and managed the Bladebreakers when he was only 14.”

“Wait,” Rei frowned. “He did what?”

Kenny on the other hand, whipped his head around, “That was him?” He squeaked incredulously.

“Who would have known!” Dizzy piped up suddenly from the laptop in front of the mousy haired boy. “Mr. Icy DID care!”

“But I always thought it was YOU sending the tickets and hotel receipts Mr. Dickenson?” Kenny continued as though the laptop hadn't spoken.

“No, no my boy,” The older man laughed as though the very idea was funny. “I was in no position to manage your team with the care and consideration necessary to your specific needs; I had neither the insight nor the time, I merely provided the funds. Wherever you slept, whatever you ate, whenever you trained and whichever tournament you registered for, was all designed and coordinated by Kai. For whatever reason, he did not want you boys to know this, so he would fill out the paperwork and agenda accordingly, and then send it all to me for approval.” Mr. Dickenson paused for a second of thought, “Actually, I can't remember many times when I disapproved of his decisions. Most were quite unorthodox, but the boy was surprisingly competent in the area.”

“Wait a minute,” Tyson interrupted with a shake of his head, not understanding what the older man was saying. “You're saying that KAI was the one who decided everywhere we went? But he never said, or did a thing when we were talking `bout that stuff!”

“…That's not really right, Tyson” Max said slowly, with an apologetic look at his friend when the bluenette looked mildly affronted at the contradiction. “I mean…remember? We always asked Kai for money for food and stuff, we just thought Mr. D told him what to give us. We didn't think he actually counted the money himself.”

“So that's what he was up to all the time…” Mused Rei absently. When he noticed the questioning looks he was receiving he elaborated. “Kai and I usually shared a room more often than not,” he started, explaining this point for the benefit of the adults and Hilary. “We got along fine and Max, Tyson and Kenny liked to bunk together. It was only sometimes when they had a fight or something when we'd split them.” He grinned at the younger boys who huffed in return. “Kai would stay with Max and Kenny, and I'd bunk with Tyson. We'd do that `cause even though Kenny and Max were a little scared of him, putting Tyson and Kai together was like throwing meat to starved lions and telling them to `play nice.'”

Hilary snorted at this and decided she liked this guy.

Tyson rolled his eyes, “Your point, Rei?”

“Oh yeah,” Rei chuckled, but sobered quickly. “But when we did share a room he was always up late working at something on the desk. I tried to look a few times, but there's absolutely no sneaking up on the guy; it's like he has eyes on the back of his head or something. He'd always catch me, gather the papers and GLARE at me…” Rei let out a melodramatic shudder, but seemed sincere enough when he said it, as though it explained everything. But when Alex and Hilary looked around, it seemed as though they were the only ones who didn't understand the comment as Max and Kenny smiled understandingly while Tyson nodded fervently. Even Mr. Dickenson had a shadow of a smile on his face and Mr. Granger was chuckling quietly.

“What, exactly, does a stare have to do with anything?” Asked Mr. Tate curiously, feeling a bit left out. Hilary mirrored his expression.

The looks he received made him feel as though if he'd just asked if the sky was blue.

“Just you try questioning old red-eyes when he's glaring at you,” said Tyson wryly, a tone Mr. Tate had no idea the boy could manage. “He does it a lot, so you'll definitely see it in Russia.”

“-If we see Kai in Russia.” Rei couldn't help but add. Everyone was quiet again, but this time Hilary had had enough.

“Guys! Snap out of it!” She said loudly. “What sort of behavior is this: moping about? You're supposed to be a world-class team for drying out loud! Teams stick up for their members; they don't go around feeling sorry for themselves!”

She was relieved when Rei smiled and answered, glad that she hadn't just made a fool out of herself with her impromptu pep talk. “You're right,” He said. “Besides, Kai wouldn't want us moping over him, he'd probably prefer if we didn't think about him at all.”

“He'd want us to train,” grumbled Tyson.

The adults smiled and Mr. Dickenson leaned back to whisper to Tyson's Grandfather: “I think I know why Kai was always so frustrated.”

“On the plane, Tyson?” Max questioned dubiously.

“Bad things might happen then,” Rei mused with a finger to his lip. “Remember the peanuts, Tyson?” Said boy turned a light shade of green as he remembered the stomach ache he'd had after the stale peanuts he eaten during the trip to China the previous year.

“Kai ate those too!” He retorted, “he'd probably say it's something we need to overcome, or something.”

“Not likely,” mumbled Kenny.

“Maybe he'd get you to meditate with your eyes closed and arms crossed,” Dizzy interjected over Kenny's voice.

“`Kai's the best, Kai's the best.'”

Everyone chuckled. Hilary meanwhile looked over at Rei mischievously; as idea for getting good blackmail forming in her mind.

“So Rei,” she started. “You said Tyson and Kai didn't get along? What exactly did they used to do to each other?”

And the time passed, with laughter and many embarrassing stories…

...Many hours later…

“SO! If a squared plus b squared is equal to c squared, what would that make b equal to?”

“Umm… 2?”

“Tyson! We haven't even started the question yet! If a squared plus b squared is equal to c squared, then you subtract a squared from both sides. Then you find the positive and negative roots of c squared minus a squared, and THAT is equal to b! You get it?”

“I'm hungry. Yo, Mr. D! We there yet?”

“Argh!”

Rei and Max looked behind themselves at Tyson and Hilary. Tyson was yawning; while Hilary let her head fall on the edge of the window muttering something about brick walls being easier to teach. They turned back forwards and exchanged amused grins.

“I feel sorry for Hilary” snickered Rei, not sounding the least bit sympathetic.

Max laughed openly, “don't be, she'll get back at Tyson somehow, like when she stuck gum in his hair. They had to chop his hair.”

“Oh, so THAT'S what happened to his ponytail, I was wondering about that.”

“Tyson threw a fit” and they both snickered again, Max remembering the scene, while Rei's imagination did a good job of providing him a mental picture.

Meanwhile, in front of all the others, the atmosphere around a certain bespectacled boy was quite different.

`No one bothered to say so much as `hello' to ME' Kenny thought bitterly. `I'm more social than Kai and even then he STILL gets to be the center of attention.' He knew he shouldn't be so selfish. Kai was probably fighting for his life somewhere in Russia, while he sat comfortably in a private jet munching on a brownie. That didn't help Kenny's jealous though; he knew that if anyone could survive in Russia, it would be Kai. Kai was so strong, `unlike me, no one cares if I'm smart, they got Dizzy. All I have is this weak, pathetic body—'

“Why so glum, chum?” Dizzy questioned from the laptop on table before him.

“It's nothing.” The small boy answered shortly.

“You can tell me anything,” she assured him.

Kenny bowed his head so that his mousy hair fell over his thick, round glasses. `No' he answered silently in his head `not everything. There are some things I'm too ashamed to tell you, Dizzy. I could never tell you that even though I love being here, I envy the others. I wish I could beyblade, I wish I was strong, or funny. God, I'd even take Kai's life over mine! I don't care if he had it hard, look at how everyone's falling over themselves worrying about him! They all think they're so great… I could, almost… hate them. Kenny halted his own thoughts then with a jolt.

`Have I really become so despicable?'

Grabbing Dizzy, he quickly pulls up files and statistics on the Bladebreakers, immersing himself so deep in the numbers even his most disturbing thoughts had to leave a message.

`Anything to take my mind off things.'

`;'

A few hours later, a loud whoop was heard, startling more than one person on the plane.

“Yeah! I see land! Land! FINALLY, I was beginning to waste away…!”

“God forbid TYSON should miss a meal!” Max grinned.

“Now Tyson,” Dizzy chirped. “Don't worry; we'll feed you up nice and good.”

“Hey, Russian food's good!” Tyson cried defensively.

Soon, a thickly Russian-accented female voice came from the above speaker: “Pajalsta… pleease fahsten your seatbelts; cahptain vill lahnding plane een… 20 menootes.”

Tyson slumped, “20 minutes? Oh man… I can't last that long.”

Hilary perked up, “Oh! Just enough time to finish the Pythagorean Theorem.”

“Oh no…”

End chapter 6.

TBC

Ok! Another chapter done. I'll admit that originally, this chapter and the last were both one large chapter (one very, very large chapter). I had to cut it down, which is why there was no change in POV this chapter, it was still important in it's own way though. It's supposed to show how the Bladebreakers really are just children (they don't quite understand the situation Kai is in, and they don't remain serious or thoughtful for long); also the adults will play an important role in this story, so I needed to introduce their characters. And Kenny too! We can't forget about him! So no Kai this chappie, ahh well, builds up the suspense for the next chapter!