Chapter Text
It was a battle of mind and wit, of power and superiority, but in the end he was played with from the very start, and didn’t realize till it was too late. Leaving only himself to blame, to be responsible for this embarrassment, of this defeat. But defeat couldn’t even describe what he felt that day, falling roughly onto the cement ground. As if he needed more pain upon the grief.
It was excruciating, it radiated his skin to where he felt nothing. Feeling no semblance of light, no sense of control. His body being sucked into darkness, where he could not escape, tearing him apart, before being tossed away like it was nothing. As if he didn’t even exist, as if he didn’t just get utterly trashed on live TV, in front of everyone.
Overcast by the buildings above surrounding him. Wallowing in the shadows of the day as people didn’t notice he was there. His body all lost and weary, his thoughts consuming him more and more. His mind, always going back. Back to those days. Back to everything. Back to…
…to…
…
…He was everything he ever wanted to be.
Of what could’ve, or would’ve been… All he saw was a mirror - a dark reflection, as he felt the past catching up to him yet again.
Trying to bring him back down, drowning him in despair. Feeling himself loose ground, being dragged back into its depths. Being pulled below, till eventually enveloped overhead, seeing nothing.
His power was too awesome, far from anything he’d ever seen or ever dared to imagine, because it was simply impossible .
For the power he had witnessed that day- experienced first hand, was simply indescribable. Which only left him broken, tattered and all around more than just feeling miserable afterwards.
Days turned into weeks, the world going on without him, till eventually he started walking, alone as the streets were vacant. Enough at least to where no one batted an eye, or crowded enough to be another body moving along.
Though would they care? He wondered, before coughing up a laugh.
They’d probably thought they saw a ghost. He might as well have been.
He shouldn’t be here. He felt as though he shouldn’t have to begin with.
Yet here he was, walking pathetically to the hospital, the sun harshly beating down upon him, as he heard the cheers and cries off in the distance. People too busy to notice the animated corpse behind them, being played with as their attention fixated on the screen.
It didn’t matter of course- the crowd was never what motivated him. It didn’t matter what others thought. They were always wrong anyway. They don’t know anything about me.
But that’s not the point right now.
Right now, he needed to see Tala.
And right now, he needed to keep walking.
Bearing the pain he kept.
There were many things that kept him going - a lot of things. And this was one of them.
-
Wounds were still fresh, and even if the doctors were to patch him up, there was very little they could’ve really done. Thanks to one very concerned nurse, Kai walked into Tala’s room, finding the redhead still as ice. The monitor showed he was alive and well, as he laid there, dead in bed - comatosed.
He was always a fighter, it was no surprise he would be fine, but he still hated this. Tala fought for what was right till the very end, even if it cost his life. It was respectable, admirable. He knew his morals, he did what was right, and here he was, coming to see him after… everything .
Betraying everyone… again .
Willingly… again .
And all he could do was stand there, whispering to him- daring to call his name. Were he and Tala still even friends?
Can he say they were- are friends?
Teammates?
What did Bryan and Spencer- Hell Ian think of him?
Are the others still friends too? We’re they even friends at all?
He knew, deep down somewhere, the answer. But it didn’t feel real. It didn’t sound right. He didn’t deserve it.
What he did was unforgivable. Obviously.
To be selfish. To want another chance to fight against his rival so he can finally mop the floor with him and finally feel. Validated. A sense of completion. Worth.
At least then, all this hard work didn’t have to go to waste. All that training, all that suffering, it can’t have gone to nothing, to be bested by some smartass redhead, who thought he knew fucking everything.
But still…
Without Dranzer, what was he supposed to do? She had given him everything in that fight, and had been absolutely obliterated by Zeus in their battle.
He was helpless. Useless.
What was he supposed to do now?
It was then he felt a familiar warm presence make itself known, its familiarity catching him off guard as besides Tala’s head, layed a certain blue Beyblade shining brilliantly at him, waiting for him.
They wanted me to give her back to you , he could hear Tala say, taking the new Dranzer in his hands. The warm steel of the Bey enveloping him in its flames, with such openness and strength, she was happy to be with her young master yet again.
They trusted him... To make things right…
… Why?
Kai opened his eyes and sighed, laying there in the blades of grass. Drifting away from the world, lost in his thoughts once again, as he peered off into the cityscape below. Trying to relax in this special place that only he knew, as the hours of the day passed by, in the shades of trees.
It was all he could do, trying to calm himself down. Recalling events forever engraved into his mind, especially recently. Demons far from dead and dealt with them head on - living he supposed.
Years of building up all these barriers, invisible steel walls to keep him safe and grounded, letting things fester til it was too late. Powerlessness plaguing him, hurting to even think. Recalling a time of pitch black, of how he had let himself be consumed, and at one point, almost let himself get lost due to that same darkness…
He still remembered its cold but beckoning presence. How the Dark Firebird lured him in, saying he could have everything he ever wanted. To be truly powerful, and feel nothing… no one would touch him, they wouldn’t dare, but fear him.
Cowering in its presence as he could do whatever he wanted. He would be happy. The happiest he felt in years! Hearing himself laugh as he stripped those of their Bit-Beast, one by one, for his own gain.
He was finally powerful! A stronger, mightier man than he ever was! Nothing but a tool, a great cog in the machine, a puppet to that of the devil itself. Possessed by nothing but a desire to win, and gain more power than ever before.
Indoctrinated to be nothing but a soldier boy ever since he was born. Taken in and experimented, watched over and obeying a mad man and his horrible grandfather.
All for… what?
Just… what?
Training and honing his skills… that was his life , his so-called calling . To honor his family name, for the sake of his grandfather’s needs and not his own. All those harsh regimens Boris put him through, the times of which he failed to succeed in them, he had slowly started to believe in his words.
Weakness was not an option. Strength and power was the only thing that mattered, and... at one time, it was all he knew…
It was all I knew…
Even after all these tears, years felt like only yesterday.
Black Dranzer was nothing but a memory, and even then it was a phantom that lurked and taunted him. Haunting him, waiting- wanting to come back and make things worse .
He just didn’t expect it to be in the form of Brooklyn though…
Which was certainly a wake up call he didn’t ask for and hated all the same. As the nightmare began yet again.
Zeus was far too similar in that its presence felt all too damning. He could’ve sworn he saw his life flash before his eyes as the King of Beasts swallowed him whole. Into the darkness he did not drown, but came back feeling worse than he was before. The last thing he saw was Brooklyn's angelic smile.
So innocent, yet sadistic, serene yet so sinister.
What hid beneath was beyond anything Boris, or even Hiro, could’ve ever imagined; so that’s why he used him, that’s why he brought him in. As Brooklyn was his own, yet a tool all the same. Merely following along orders under the guise of being part of a pro league, just like the rest of BEGA and its team and staff.
No different than before, just with a new coat of paint and approach.
Wasn’t as bad, besides Boris trying to take over the world - again , but that didn’t matter at the moment. As much as he wanted to believe he was redeeming himself, the second time around was not of revenge, but making a stand.
A statement.
A point.
A selfish act disguised in helping those who he had betrayed. Who accepted him back with open arms after everything…
Facing his greatest enemy yet - fighting himself yet again, as he challenged Brooklyn.
Right here. Right now.
An eerie dread loomed over head, as he glared up at the ginger. Watching him be still, with utmost confidence that it was downright irritating. Copying and mirroring back his moves with such grace as Dranzer attacked. Daring him to try again, as Zeus took in all of his attacks, coming back, and hitting back harder .
Relentlessly taking the barrage of assaults, feeling his body bleed even more. His clothes becoming more tattered and torn as Brooklyn fucking told him to “take it easy.” Happy - he thought - that this was the end for him, only to prove him horribly wrong , as Kai watched that smug smile on his face falter, withstanding all of his attacks.
And soon enough anger flared, Brooklyn losing his usual composure, which admittedly was really uncanny.
Coming after him scared, confused, but mostly in rage.
He was like that too before, not able to understand. It was so long ago, and even now he still couldn’t believe it.
But he knew full well, at the end of it, he found that light that Brooklyn could only dare, that he only could ever dream of having. Conviction of years of beyblading. Of the people he met along the way in his life up until this very moment.
His friends. Rivals. Even his enemies.
They had given him strength.
Power.
Spirit.
Passion.
And admittedly, love .
Love…
It was …sad. Pitiful. That Brooklyn didn’t have that.
For all of his perfection, for how otherworldly, he did not have everything. Despite being everything, everything everyone ever wanted to be , he was human. Something far scarier and realer than anything else. Something Brooklyn couldn’t accept.
Kai had no regrets proving him wrong, smiling fondly - hand raised in triumph, as the crowd roared and blared, despite their boos and threats before.
But it was short lived. Collapsing as he and Dranzer gave it their all, fully giving in to the pain he was holding, before everything turned to black. Finding himself in the hospital all bandaged up, before the world itself took a turn for the worse.
For as soon as he was back on his feet, Brooklyn tore the world down and apart. Breaking the very fabric of reality before their eyes, creating his own. Defying the impossible.
On edge and unhinged, Brooklyn completely lost it.
Duking it out with Tyson above, as he and the others watched the battle unfold as clouds scornfully darken the sky, pitch black like the wings on Brooklyn’s back. Tyson trying to stand his ground in the air, Dragoon being knocked around in the air by Zeus’s might, in this place that was very much a hellscape. The fact that this was Brooklyn’s mind only added more fear and madness to the insanity, as he and the others could do nothing but cheer and cry, lending their strength to Tyson to help. Horrified beyond belief.
This wasn’t the fate of Beyblade anymore, nor the battle against BEGA either. But something far worse, he realized, as he opened his eyes to see the stormy sky above.
His mind replaying that same scene over and over and over , remembering…
…a pair of hands reaching out to help him…
…as he watched his rival reach out to Brooklyn.
Staring up at not a God, but that of a crying child, all by himself.
Alone.
Just like him. A long time ago..
He didn’t realize it was raining until he felt his cheek, the sky having cleared up weeks ago since the storm. Staring up at peaceful blue skies, smiling. Bathing in the warm light of the sun.