Beyblade Fan Fiction ❯ The Real Me ❯ Chapter Seven ( Chapter 7 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: Erm.... I don't own beyblade. But I own the plot line, which is in severe need of continuance....

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The phone began ringing out of control. Max noticed it vibrating all over the table. Typically, everyone was supposed to leave Kai's things alone, but something seriously told Max that he should answer the phone. After a moment's thought, he picked up the phone, which hadn't stopped ringing in the past five minutes.

"Hello?"

"Max? It's Mr. Dickenson. Where's Kai?"

Max remembered it was Kai's personal phone he was talking on and looked around. The last time he saw the captain, he was headed.... to his room. "I think he's sleeping."

"Well then," The chairman said, seeming slightly rushed, "Wake him up!"

Max was surprised. "Eh..." Yeah, he thought, and see how many bruises I get when he decides to beat the crud out of me!

"Hey Maxy," Ray said, walking into the kitchen where Max sat. "What are you doing on Kai's phone? He'll kill you."

Max covered the phone with a single hand. "Is Kai awake?"

"No." Ray cocked his head to the side. "Why? What's up?"

"Mr. Dickenson wants me to go wake him up."

Ray took in a deep breath. "Here, gimme the phone." Max did as asked.

"Mr. D, what's going on?"

"I really need to talk to Kai. It's urgent." The White Tiger could sense the uneasiness in his voice. "It's about someone we both know."

Ray's heart beat increased and he sensed something that was definitely going wrong. His thoughts suddenly got stuck on a certain person and he took a sharp breath. "It's AJ, isn't it?"

"You know?"

"I'll get him," Ray said quickly. He already knew, and didn't want to waste time. "Is she going to be okay?"

"I don't know."

Dickenson's response made Ray run to Kai's room even faster, not even bothering to knock as he charged into the room. He grabbed the sleeping boy by both shoulders and shook him. He moaned something incoherent in Russian, trying to roll over.

"Kai, come on, you've got to wake up!" Ray felt horrible about waking Kai up, seeing as he hadn't been able to sleep too easily since Biovolt sent that Rowland kid to challenge them.

"Huh?" Kai opened his eyes half way and sat up. For once, he was actually about to get a decent sleep...

"Kai, I'm so sorry," Ray said, apologetically. "Mr. Dickenson is on the phone."

"And you couldn't take a message?" Kai asked, his voice loud and angry.
"No," Ray said softly. "I think something happened to AJ."

Kai didn't need to hear anymore. He was out of bed, lacking a shirt, which laid somewhere nearby. He grabbed the black cell phone from Ray's hands. "What the hell is going on?" He asked, concern clashing with his features.

"You need to get to the hospital now. Someone shot her." The phone hit the floor and Kai stumbled forward, grabbing his shirt and clenching Dranzer with his other hand, in a death grip. Those eleven words hit him like a train wreck. He was going to kill the person responsible. And he didn't care if it was in cold blood.

"I-" Ray picked up the phone, saving Kai the words, which were definitely failing him at that moment.

"He'll be there in ten."
"Thanks," Kai said quietly. Ray shrugged.

"I've got to stay here though, so do you want Tyson or someone to go with you?" Kai shrugged passively. Ray took that as an 'I-won't-admit-I-need-anyone-but-would-appreciate-the-support.'

Th e Chinese boy ran into the back room, where the rest of his team mates sat, analyzing stats with Kenny. "Tyson!"

The blue haired person jumped. "What's up?"

"Kai needs you. Not like he's going to admit it or anything." Tyson's eyes widened.

"Why?"

"He doesn't have to go."

Everyone looked to Kai, who looked like hell, though you could only tell it through his eyes. "You look like shit," Tyson said. "And you don't have a choice. I'm going."

Kai glared at Ray, who instantly knew that his entire secret would probably go flying out the window. "Sorry, but as a friend, I can't let you go alone."

"Do you know what floor?"

"I heard the nurse in the background say something about 'ICU,'" Ray said quietly. Kai nodded gravely, obviously upset enough to mirror it in his actions. He turned and went to the car, leaving the door wide open behind him. "Tyson?"

"Yeah Ray?"

"Be easy on him," He said. "I don't think Kai's going to take this too well, so don't flip out at him if he loses it on you."

On a normal day, traffic in town is nonexistant, and it takes about ten minutes to get from Tyson's house to the hospital. However, Kai happened to make it in about three.
"Dude, are you trying to kill us both?" Tyson asked incredulously. He understood something was messing his friend up, but this, this was insane. "I don't even know what the hell is going on!"

Kai didn't respond. Instead, he parked he car, slamming the door behind him and dialed Dickenson's cell phone number.

"Kai?"

"Ray said ICU. What room?"

"Three-o-four." Kai shut the phone, running toward the entrance and the elevator, with a confused Tyson at his feet.

"Can I have an explanation?" Tyson asked, as the elevator door shut behind them and they headed for the top floor.

"It's a long story." Kai sighed and his cell phone rang again. He saw the number and his body language changed from stiff, to a worn and tired stance.

"Hey." Tyson was close enough to Kai to hear the conversation.

"Kai," The voice said, being feminine and rather motherly, judging by the concern present, "We'll be there in half an hour. Keep an eye on her."

"Of course." Tyson quirked an eyebrow. Just who the heck was he talking to, and who was the 'she?'

"Hello, son," Came a second voice, obviously a guy, who was just as concerned. "Are you alright?"

"I don't know." Tyson paid a sideways glance toward the slate haired Russian. Kai had never seemed this unsure of himself before. The captain sighed. "I'll be okay," he then assured whoever he was talking to.

"Don't lose your head," The man warned. Kai nodded, though Tyson was the only one who could see him.

"I'll kill whoever did this," Kai said brutally. The woman on the other end gasped.

"Kai, honey, calm down."
"I think it probably was my grandfather." The man on the other end seemed to agree.

"We don't need to worry about that now. You just stay there and we'll meet you."

"Don't worry," The woman stated, though Kai could tell that she was just as scared as he probably was. Her voice trembled. "She's a fighter."

"She's got you," The man stated. "She'll be fine."

"I'll see you both soon," Kai stated, almost warmly. He then hung up.

"Okay, now I definitely want to know what the hell is going on!" The elevator beeped, meaning that they were at their destination. Kai stepped out and met up with Stanley Dickenson.

"Spill."

Dickenson looked at the boy, who aside from shaking fists held all his emotions in his eyes, which glimmered sadly. Dranzer was held tightly in his fist.

"I asked her to fly from Miami to here. Something had to have happened between the airport, which is a few hours from here, and when she arrived at the BBA building. It looks like a gun wound, but she covered it or something. She told the chauffeur she was fine, but when she got here, she wasn't breathing too good. She passed out, and we noticed that something was going on, so we brought her here. The doctors should be done removing the bullet, and they said that she's lucky and she'll be fine, but the bullet was dangerously close to her heart."

"A sniper," Kai said quietly. Great. Now his grandfather was using snipers. Could this day get any better?

Tyson watched with shock. Dickenson looked over to the blue haired champ. "What are you doing here?"

"Moral support, though I have no idea what the hell Kai has to do with any of this." Kai turned and looked at his friend.

"Well Dickenson said the most of it, but you should call Hilary. Tell her that AJ-" He stopped. "Just tell her to come here." Dickenson smiled sadly, and Kai went to the desk. "Do you know anything about the patient in three-o-four?" He said it in a voice that expressed a little concern.

"She's going to be fine," A nurse said. "As soon as we speak to some family then you can go in-" The nurse watched the boy walk away. "Hey! Wait! Only family can go in there!" A large rent-a-cop ran down the hall to grab Kai, who broke out of his grip.

"Let go of me!" Kai snarled, thrusting his fists at the man. He was about six foot seven, much taller than the beyblader, however, in his rage, Kai knocked the man to the floor. "Don't ever touch me!" He boomed at the man, who recognized him and backed away.

A doctor approached him from behind. "I'm afraid, young man, we can't let you do that. Family only."

"Kai is just as much our son as Audrey is our daughter." Tyson's eyes rose up to see a man with a voice that sounded exactly like the one from the phone conversation in the elevator. He strode confidently- as confidently as a man whose daughter was in the ICU of a hospital- over to Kai and placed a hand on his shoulder. "And if you ever want to receive a grant from my company again you had better let him go see her right now!"

Kai smirked one of his original trademark smirks, catching Tyson's eye. He'd have to explain - eventually - but it could wait. There was a more pressing matter to attend to. So, with all the grace and coolness he possessed, he stepped past the rent-a-cop and walked into the room.

The woman, who Tyson presumed was the wife of the man who had stuck up for Kai took a seat between Mr. Dickenson and her husband, holding his hand with one of hers. Tyson looked up at them sympathetically. "I'm sorry about what happened," Tyson said. "Though I really have no idea what's going on." He looked to the chairman. "Mr. D, who is in there?"
The woman smiled tiredly, concern weighing down on her features. "The person your friend Kai went to go see is our daughter, Audrey Carson, the US champ."

"I met her in Miami!" Tyson said, in realization. He then recognized that she was the one in the ICU. "That's horrible," He concluded. "But what does Kai have to do with all this? You called him your son and stuff."

"That's not something I think we should explain," Mr. Carson stated. He rubbed his temples vigorously. "Kai will tell you soon enough. I have a feeling he's going to need someone other than Hilary to talk to after all this."

Tyson nodded, then realizing that he hadn't called Hilary. "Oh God," he whispered. "That's her cousin."

"Her heart rate won't calm down!"

"Do something!"

Kai stood outside the door to AJ's room watching doctors rush around. Some had a little blood on them, and others were fighting to keep the young woman on the bed down, so that she didn't potentially hurt herself.
"Stay still!" Okay, so you're a patient in the ICU, in extreme pain. The last thing you want to do is to hold still, if that's the only time when it doesn't hurt as bad.

The slate haired boy walked into the room, past all of the doctors, who stared at the boy accusingly.

"And who do you think you are?" A doctor asked him skeptically. Kai said nothing.

"That boy's from the BBA Revolution. He's a world class beyblader. Kai Hiwitari..." Another seemed in awe at the champion's appearance.

Kai stood at the side of AJ's bed, watching the sweat run down her heated face mix with tears of anguish. She was in pain, and he felt some of it. It was resonating off of her. Her eyes were shut tightly, trying to block out all the sounds around her.

"Audrey," Kai said, in a sincere voice. "Calm down."

Both her eyes opened little by little. Kai had both hands on either side of her face, to keep her from looking around at everything else going on around her. She was vulnerable in this state. Kai knew that she hated that feeling of being vulnerable.

"Kai?"

"Relax," he said, soothingly. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "You need to rest," he stated. The monitors all stopped beeping at such an alarming rate, leaving the doctors shocked. Her shoulder was bandaged and a little pink blood showed through the usually white bandages.

"Don't leave," she said pleadingly. That pretty much killed him. He shook his head and bit his lip.

"I don't plan on it," he responded. AJ smiled contently, settling down enough to fall asleep.

"Thank you Phoenix," she whispered, her eyelids falling slowly. He waited for her to fall asleep and resorted to holding her hand. She didn't call him 'Phoenix' too often. Typically in private. However, in this place, obviously, she didn't want to be there, and he had to be with her to keep her strong.

"She's a fighter," Tyson said cooly, standing in the doorway. Eight hours had passed since Kai had seen her awake. He hadn't slept at all, and it was getting close to midnight. Her parents left her in Kai's charge, knowing that he wouldn't leave her side.

"Hey Tyson, thanks." Tyson took a step back.

"I brought coffee, so you better take one before I drop it because of what you just said." Kai nodded, taking a cup and sipping the warm liquid. "That's a cool ring," Tyson commented, looking at the woman's left hand.

Kai smirked, thinking. I would hope so, since I bought it for her.

"Are you going to miss me?" She asked tauntingly, allowing her hair to blow in the sea breeze. Her hands were on the small of his back, interlocked with each other. He leaned forward and kissed her, then stopped and separated himself from her.

"No," he said softly, his voice being drown out by the lapping of the ocean waves against the shore. "I'm going to go insane." She kissed him this time, much deeper than he had. In the background, The All-American Rejects' song, "Dance Inside," was playing through the car stereo.

"Aww, Phoenix, I'm flattered," She whispered seductively. He pulled something out of his pocket and placed it in her hand.

"Just so we're clear," He said, completely serious, "You're mine. Never forget that."

She opened the small box he had given her and gasped. "Oh, God, Kai... It's beautiful!" The ring was a simple platinum band engraved with flames that shimmered in an array of colors. She hugged him tightly. "I'll never forget," she whispered into him. "Never."

"Someday," he said into her hair, "I'll replace that ring with another."

"So," Tyson continued, obviously noting Kai's spacing out. "How are you feeling?" He asked, trying to keep conversation light. He knew something was going on, and he'd eventually figure it out, but he didn't really see the need to get the guy all worked up like he had been before.

Kai shrugged. "How did you feel when you found out Hilary left the country?"

"Like someone punched me in the gut and wouldn't let me breathe."
"That feeling pales in comparison with how I feel right now. I promised her parents I'd watch her, and they've given me a lot." Kai knew that that wasn't just the reason, but Tyson really didn't need to know that he was on the borderline of a one year anniversary. The captain saw someone move into the doorway.

"Hilary?" Tyson questioned softly, beating Kai to it. "Come here."

The brunette looked at both Kai and Tyson, like a lost puppy dog. Tyson opened up his arms and let her sit right next to him, emptying her tears onto the champion's shirt. Kai couldn't look at her. He squeezed AJ's hand tightly, and watched her, still completely motionless.

"She'll be okay," Kai stated, in a gentle voice, one that he didn't typically use in Tyson's presence. Hilary looked up at Kai, who had turned around, and saw a mirror of her emotions, though some were much more powerful.

"You blame yourself," She whispered, looking at him. Tyson didn't understand what was going on.

"I hate being out of the loop," he whispered, though he wasn't even heard.

"How can I not?" Kai asked. "Like Voltaire didn't do this. Let's be real here, Hilary. He did this to get to me." Kai paused and looked at Tyson, who still had his arms around Hilary. He decided to change the subject before what little was left of his temper disappeared. "What time is it?"

"Sometime after midnight," Tyson stated, yawning and looking at the clock.

A doctor came in, looking slightly confused and a bit nervous. He had heard about what happened with the last guy who got in this kid's way. "You're Kai, correct?"

"Yes."

The doctor stepped aside from the doorway to reveal a small group of boys with blankets and food. "They don't happen to belong to you, do they?"

Kai allowed a small smile to grace his lips as he spoke. "Yeah, unfortunately." Kenny, Max, and Ray entered the room.

"Daichi fell asleep, and we figured that the last thing any hospital needed was a jumpy kid with a problem sitting still and shutting up," Max said, setting down the blankets next to Hilary and Tyson. "Dude, what the heck is going on?" The American boy eyed them slyly. "Kai has been failing at his chaperonal duties again, hasn't he, Ray?"

"Ahh, we'll let it slide." He grabbed Hilary, who was blushing, and moved her to one side of the couch, sitting down between her and Tyson. "What have we told you kids about this? You can't date until you're married."

"Ray, even I know that defeats the purpose." Kai smirked. Had he not been in a hospital holding his gun wounded girlfriend's hand, he probably would've considered laughing.

"Well fine then," The White Tiger stated. "no groping in the hospital then," Kai grunted in a way that stated his amusement, and turned his attention back to the doctor, who was curious about this entire group.

"The anesthesia that we put her on after you calmed her down before should be wearing off soon, so she should wake up in the next few hours, but she might just sleep some more, thanks to her immune system. Just make sure she doesn't have a massive panic attack if she wakes up, though I don't think she will for at least another eight hours."

"Alright." Personally, Kai wondered why the doctor told him that. If she was probably just going to stay asleep, he should've just said she was going to be fine.

Kai nodded, and the doctor smiled. "You're lucky to have such good friends," he stated kindly. Everyone looked up at the doctor in disbelief. Wait for it, they thought. He'll deny it.

"Yeah," Kai said suddenly, shocking them all. "You're right about that."

I'm not entirely thrilled with this chapter, but the next one should be alright. Maybe a bit more team spirit, and some beybattles. Maybe Kai will stop spending so much time in his thoughts, tell his friends about AJ, and then start actually training so he can take out Voltaire!

Until next time, please review, and thanks to everyone who has!
x3 Distant Storm