As they exited the conference room, Mr Dickerson said, "I apologize for not being available yesterday night, when you needed me the most. But you boys don't have to worry about any financial matters from now on. With the Blade Breakers being the current world champions, and as the talk show arrangements had gone through me, the chairman of the BBA, the organization will take full fall of the expenses," he said, before adding "-and you'll also be getting your complete monetary reward."

Tired smiles, dull eyes and muted hmms were the only response Mr Dickenson received. Ray couldn't imagine Kai's reaction to all his teammates stealing away his universal responses. Ray was used to being known as Kai's closest teammate, but hardly made much of a difference. Even he couldn't be sure of Kai's exact reaction, but an eye roll and his usual half smirk for every action that required a smile were sure to be included. 

Ray had mixed feelings pertaining to the Press Conference. He was glad to have been able to clear the air relating to a lot of controversies about their team, pertaining to Tyson and Kai. And he was more glad to have forced Tyson to not attend this Press Conference. His temper and lack of a brain-to-month filter would have only made matters worse. 

 But the last reporter had ruined it all by asking the one question his team was not yet ready to acknowledge its existence. What will happen to us in the next world championships?

This is not the time to worry about it, Ray reminded himself. We have to get back to the hospital. Hillary's alone and needs rest. We should be the one to take care of Kai.

"I think we should leave." Ray voiced out. The others agreed. "Yeah... Hill needs rest. We should get going."

"But at least have some dinner." Mr Dickenson insisted. "It won't take you anywhere more than fifteen minutes. I'll drop you guys at the hospital and drop Hillary home too."

Kenny said. "We could take her some pasta too......it would cheer her up a bit." Kenny suggested. "Anyway we had told her we'll be there by nine and it's still eight-thirty. " Max said, sheepishly joining the other team. Ray couldn't blame them, the hospital food was  bland. Not the completely bland food associated with hospitals, but still bland. He  sighed, relenting. "Fine. Let's get over with it quickly then."

No one was in the mood of small talk. They were just half-heartedly having their restaurant food, finally realising that the problem wasn't in the food, but in their appetite. From the looks of it, they were all thinking about the final question asked today. Ray felt annoyed at them,  though he himself had been mulling over it minutes before. But today was not the time. We had to think of Kai now. We had to think of their safety. They had to assist the police in the investigation. 

" Hey Max,"  Ray started, but Max didn't seem to hear him. "Max!"  Ray called out again, bringing back Max to the real world. "Did you find out what the symbol is?"

******

Max took a moment to answer, shaking his head. "Not yet. I've been searching for it through the net, but looks like it has suddenly disappeared from the face of the earth! I-I didn't try contacting mom, coz I didn't want to face her... yet, S-so I asked Emily for help. She hasn't replied yet.." immediately checking his phone for any new notifications. There were two. 

 The first one was professional and to the point. Just the type of answer you could expect from a researcher. 'I'll email you all the details I get hold of by the evening.' 

The second one was enclosed in parenthesis. '(Meaning somewhere around early morning tomorrow, don't work yourself too much for the time conversions, I know you'll never get it :P)' That wasn't true at all, he had learnt it a year and a half ago, after he got in good terms with his mom, just after the American tournament. But Max had also learnt to take a joke casually  in Japan. 

'AND PLS SAVE US ALL BY CALLING YOUR MOM,  KID!!! SHE'S GOING BALLISTIC OVER HERE!!!!! SAVE US ALL!!!!!!!!!!' Max inwardly winced at the use of capitals and the number of exclamations used. 

And there it was, the concern wrapped in so many layers of sarcasm that one could actually forget the actual reason for digging through halfway, before labelling them as stuck-up narcissists. 'Stay safe alright, we still haven't kicked your asses in the tournament!!' 

he had received similar messages from the other All Stars members too. 

'Are you alive or did the media forget to mention your death kid? XD'

'Dude, the bandages on the head goes soooooo against the latest fashion trends... '

'You look like a ghost dude!! Couldn't you just wash your face and wear a better set of clothes before the PC? You're embarrassing us Americans.'

'Your not allowed to die without giving me insider's information on this latest news.' 

Max rolled his eyes at each of the comment, but he currently didn't have the energy to come up with that number of witty replies. He read his friends the messages sent from Emily alone. 

"Then you should call your mom. And your dad too, for that matter. They must have gone crazy thinking about you.!!" Kenny scolded.

"You should call your parents Max... "
Ray affirmed. He seemed hesitant at first, but consented at the end. The phone was ringing

Ring.... Ring. Ring... Rin. His mom picked it up.

"Max? "

It was barely a whisper. If Max hadn't put the phone on loud speaker, they would have missed it. A swirl of emotions crossed Max's face. For the first time since yesterday, he looked at scared as he should have been feeling. His throat tightened, unable to answer her, yet he managed to croak out. "Hey mom... h-how are you? " trying to sound casual, his first mistake. 

The change of tone was drastic. "How am I? Don't you think you should be the one answering the question, young man?!! I'm worried sick about you, you don't even pick up my calls, you don't answer my messages, the press is a huge mess, the rumours running around are wild and then you call me after a day!!! " she demanded. 

Max tried placating her, without success. "But mom... "

But Ms Tate wasn't done yet. "There's a huge bandage on your head. A cut on your lip-" Max's hand went to his lips, no doubt  noticing it for the first time. "-and you thought it was more important to inform the world, inform your precious fans, than informing your dad, informing me!!! How much more careless you could get Max?"

He tried intercepting her again, "Mom there's something.." he had started but his mum continued. 

"Leave the blade breakers Max,-" the sudden change of topic startled Ray sometime much that he choked on his food. He clumsily took hold of a glass of water and took a big gulp of it. 

"No way.... " Max had immediately responded,but him mum gave him no heed. "-see what it has got you into. There's a lot of risk being with them, but you and your father don't don't even listen to me! Leaving you with your father is what is causing this trouble. He could not keep you safe. Fine then, I'll move to the court for single guardianship-"

"What? Why bring him into this?" he questioned back, an edge in his voice. 

"-You are coming back to New York now. Wait, I'll book a ticket for..... "

Poor sweet Max finally lost his cool. "Mom. Will you even LISTEN TO ME!" he screamed back at her, outrage clearly visible in his face, heard in his tone. Tears shone in his eyes. Maybe this was why he was so hesitant to call her. Ray hadn't realized things were this complicated between Max and his mom. 

Max also hated emotional outbursts. His mum had grown silent, no wonder drawing the same conclusions. He  tried composing himself by taking a few deep breaths. He continued after few seconds, "I'm fine mom. I have a minor head injury and a cut on the lip which I myself didn't notice till now-''

"I'm your mom." his mum inserted, but he ignored the interruption. "-I'm sorry for not informing you earlier but we were busy taking care of Kai and constant police enquiries."

"How's he then?" she questioned.  "He's fine for now. An investigation is going on about the attacker and the reason for it."

His mum did waste a second. "Are the police dumb? Of course it was because of his grandfather. Voltaire is well-known around the world for his misdeeds, just too powerful to be brought down. And his grandson is following his footsteps and putting you in risk!"

Max lost whatever composure he had assembled. "Don't you dare say anything against Kai, mom. He and Voltaire shouldn't even be used in the same sentence, forget about their relation."

"What are you getting on about Max?!" she questioned, confusion evident in her voice. "Don't judge him without even knowing him! Just because he's rude or blunt or mysterious doesn't make him a bad guy! And do you even know what happened at The Talk Show? Kai was not even the target mom, I was! I was the one the attacker wanted to kill. Kai got injured trying to save me! He took the bullet to save me. I OWE KAI MY LIFE! "

Ms Tate's voice was barely audible now, confusion lased in her voice. "What are you saying Max? Why would someone target you? "

His voice was a whisper too. "I don't know mom, but the police suspect it has something to do with yo-.... D-do you remember the American University you were invited to three months ago? The very same symbol was there on the guns they used... I wanted to break this information to you slowly, but things rarely go as as planned these days."

A long silence spanned before Max's mom informed him. "I'm catching the next flight to Tokyo." The talk have ended there but Max coolly stated, "And mom, I'm not coming to NY. Well, not for the next  month at least. My friends need me. Kai needs me. That is the least I can owe him for saving my life. And never ever say anything against any of them in my presence. They have showed faith in me when yo-you didn't. I-I'll run away from h-home i-if you try make a move in court for a single guardianship."

"But Max-"

"Bye Ms Tate." Max coldly said before disconnecting the call. Max didn't dare lift his eyes and look at their friends as he continued with his supper. 

Neither Ray nor Kenny knew what to say, as the conversation needed to be made was once again thrown into the unending  stack of conversations they all had to have before something much more worse befell them. 

******

Tyson quickly took a cab from Hillary's house. He had freshened up at her house so as to not turn up with bloodshot eyes in front of his friends. 

Tyson felt an irrational urge to yell at Hillary, grab her shoulders and shake some sense into her stubborn brain. He wanted to demand why she wasn't  following Max's order while making him do it anyway. He wanted to call her bossy and get hit by her purse too. But at the end, he just wanted to see her, make sure she was okay,  and if he did find some hidden courage, hug her tightly. 

He quickly enters the reception and straightaway heads to the third floor, all the while thinking what he would tell her. There was a lot of activity going on in the third floor, even though Kai was the only patient in this floor. Half a dozen of police officers moved around, few of them talking with the nurses and doctors, few of them making notes. 

Tyson panicked at this. He went to them and demanded what had happened, but non of them responded. One of the officers even tried to shoo him of but he persisted. "I'm Kai's friend! I need to know what happened." he angrily demanded. Officer Jackson, who was on a call, quickly looked up at him and said, "Look kid, we're really busy right now. Your friend Kai was attacked again. We got hold of the assassin. The stitches on his would ruptured. The docs are getting him patched up right now. I'll tell you all after everything's settled. Do me a favor and do not interrupt us." before returning to his call. 

Having no other choice left, Tyson went to the lobby present on the third floor. It was empty when he went in. Not knowing what to do, he sat fidgeting with his beyblade. Dismantling it and fixing it all up, again and again. It was after a minutes did he realize that Hillary was missing. 'She must be with Kai' he thought. Knowing that interrupting the policemen would yield him nothing,  he decided to go in search of her on his own. 

He went to the cafeteria, he went through the other lobbies, checked all the corridors. He also asked one of the nurses to check the women's restroom for him, but to no avail. Tyson came back to the the lobby at the third floor feeling highly frustrated. 

This time though, he wasn't alone. He collided head on with another girl who was rapidly pacing the lobby. 

"I'm so sorry," the two of them said together. Tyson got up first and held out hemis hand for her. She gratefully took hold of it and got up. 

Now that he had a chance to observe her, he realized that she seemed to be a few years older than him. She was tall, fair with almond-shaped eyes and black curly hair that went past her shoulders. She had secured it with a center clip. "I hope you aren't hurt", he asked out of courtesy, for which she just shook her head. Her red-rimmed eyes didn't leave him the whole time. Having gotten used to people staring at him, Tyson just walked to the far end of the lobby so as to not interrupt her.

 It was the girl who first started a conversation with him. "Your Tyson Granger, aren't you?" she asked. Her voice sounded familiar. "Do I know you? Sorry I don't remember.." he apologized."No, no.  We just spoke through phone once. I'm Suzie Smith."

It was then that Tyson realized the she was the one who helped them get in contact with the hospital yesterday,  Hillary's friend. "Thank you for helping us yesterday... " he trailed off. She gave him a sad smile. "It's no biggie. I'm glad I could help."

Tyson picked up the conversation this time. "You work here, don't you? Did you see Hillary anywhere? She told me she was at the hospital, but now.. " 

"I-" she started, but her throat tightened as she started sobbing. Tyson fetches her a glass of water, internally panicking to an extreme. After agonizingly waiting for her to get a hold of herself, he asked again. "Where is Hillary Susie?" very much sure that he wasn't going to like the answer, one way or the other. 

"Before I tell you everything, you must promise me you'll not be angry with her. She didn't mean to keep things from you especially for this long. She had promised me she would tell you guys everything yesterday, but things just got haywire and... It will be best if I show you." she said, offering her hand to guide him. Having no other source for answers, he took her hand. 

It took all of Tyson's will power to keep his wildest fears in check and walk ahead. Susie led him to one of the patient rooms in the second floor. He hadn't been expecting it for sure. At first he mistook the person on the patient's cot to be Hillary herself, a thick bandage around her head, her left hand completely bound in bandage. It took him a moment to realize that she looked a lot older to be Hillary, she was Mrs Tachibana!

Tyson approached her cot tentatively. His eyes swelled up with tears. He gently took her uninjured hand in his and stroked her hair softly. She was very warm, almost feverish. " Mrs Tachibana met with an accident and few days ago. It happened on the day of the beyblade tournaments' semi-finals. She didn't tell you guys because you guys were already so stressed out. She thought of telling you after the finals, then she thought you guys deserved a break and postponed it a few more days. Hillary told me you two were very close..." Just 'close'? Tyson thought. Mrs Tachibana was the closest thing to a mother figure he had had since his own mother's death. Someone who loved him like her on child. Someone who had pretended to be his parent during school functions when he was young, so as to not make him feel left out. Someone who had written him letters when he was with his father, keeping tabs on him as she knew how much of a workaholic his father was. Yet when she needed him the most... He hadn't been for her. 

"Tyson, the visiting hours are closed. We should get going. Mrs Tachibana is out of danger now. She'll be gain consciousness within a week." She consoled him. Tyson felt a surge of emotions inside him. He found himself demanding. "How could Hillary be so selfish?! How could she not inform me of this?" Susie still looked like she was about to tear up and minute."This isn't the whole story, is it? Why are you the one telling me all this? Why isn't  Hillary the one telling me about  her mother's  accident? Didn't she know  how much it would affect me? She was my family, my mother figure. Why is she putting a stranger in place of herself to rely the news to me!" I practically screamed at  her.

Then the realization hits him... This is Hillary he was talking about. She isn't a coward to put Susie in her place. Even if she had done a mistake, which happens once in a blue moon, she would have walked straight to him and told him of it. She would have smacked him in the head even if it was her mistake in the first place and would  have named him insensitive. If that wasn't the case... 

Tyson grabs hold of Susie's hands in an attempt to steady himself. Even he could here the fear in his voice. "Where's Hillary, Susie? Please tell me it has nothing to do with the number of policemen near Kai's room. Nothing to do with the attach that took place. Absolutely nothing to do with the sudden revelation about Hillary's mom... Hillary, Sh-she's  strong. She wouldn't have put her responsibility an someone else without..."

"I'm sorry.. " was all she said before breaking down into uncontrollable sobs. Tyson sits on his knees in front of Susie. He raises her chin to make her look at  him. "What happened to Hillary?"  he whispered, barely hearing his own voice. He wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer...

******

Words: 3230

******