Kai had had a wonderful day until then. He spent the day antagonizing the boys after having completed his part in decorating the dojo for the party and just having fun.

Once the party started though, it was another kind of fun, he thought, slowly swaying with Cassie on the roof above.

He'd spent most of his time lingering in the corners of the party, quietly critiquing what his friends and teammates were up to.

Then, Cassie came in. She insisted on going around and greeting everyone she knew- because that was her usual bubbly self-but didn't insist him to join her.

They were as much a matching pair they could be without ruining each other's vibe, he thought as he took her in. Cassie was dressed as the Greek goddess Arthemis, in a white chiton and gold jewellery. He was dressed as Loki, the god of mischief from Norse mythology, with a green suit and metal staff to complete his look.

After some time, she'd obliged to retreat to the roof with him. The music was loud enough that she got to dance with him while they also got the privacy he craved. Max had been kind enough to stock the place with snacks beforehand, he knew how much their captain hated parties. So, they didn't have to go down for that either.

No one bothered them there until Hillary. "What is she doing here?" Cassie whispered, halfway between mortified and angry. They had been making out when she walked in on them, you see.

Hillary looked just as mortified as Cassie, even though she hadn't actually done anything. He hoped Tyson had seen her, for there was no way his dense brain would not make the connection of him liking her when she was this dolled up in her pop-star costume.

Hillary recovered quickly though. "What do you mean by that? Just because I don't attend as many parties as you do, doesn't mean I don't get invited!" She huffed.

"Who did you come in with then, for I'm pretty sure the Bladebreakers hardly know you." Cassie retorted in a second.

Kai sniffled in a laugh at that. Hardly know her? Half of his team was alive and well because of her quick thinking, he thought, reminded of their time stuck on the island.

Kai, in particular, was twice saved from a horrible death by her alone. They also couldn't have won the world Championship the second time without her.

But given the situation, Kai didn't tell any of this to Cassie. "That's not true. We do know her, she's my chemistry lab partner, isn't that right Hillary?" He murmured instead, trying to keep a straight face.

Both the girls rolled their eyes at him, but Hillary did relax slightly. Rest assured, he had no intention of revealing her connection to them until she herself did so.

Hillary continued, "Anyway, I didn't come here without a reason. Kai, there's someone who wants to see you. A guy named Mr Ivanov, he says he's your grandfather's butler."

Whatever warmth Kai had been feeling drained away in an instant.

He should have expected this; tonight was the last day of his ultimatum.

"Is that important?" Cassie asked, confused by his sudden change in demeanor. It was easy to forget how little she knew about his personal life.

"Yes," he replied tersely, dropping her hands. "I have to meet him."

Her frown deepened, but he didn't have time to explain.

With Hillary by his side, he descended the stairs, feeling the weight of what was to come. He saw Hillary glance at him with worry, but he didn't linger on the thought for too long.

It felt like ages since he'd donned the mask of being the sole heir of Voltaire Hiwatari, his cold and ruthless grandfather. It hated to admit that it took a bit longer than what he'd like to slip into his old personality.

"Where is he? " He asked, rubbing the golden tendrils he'd painted near his eyes. He also discarded the green coat and scepter, choosing to meet the old man in inna plain white shirt and pants.

"I made him wait in the kitchen." She looked at him uncertainly. If he'd not been terrified out of his mind, he'd have laughed at how Hillary thought he'd be upset for making the butler of one of the most influential people in Russia, if not the world, wait for him in the small unkept kitchen in the midst of a teen's party.

"I'll handle it from here. Make sure that we have no interruptions." He told Hillary and walked inside, knowing fully well that the conversation he was going to have inside was either going to make him or break him.

Kai slowly stepped into the kitchen and closed the door. The high beat songs of the party had gradually dwindled to slow songs, the party finally wrapping up.

Igor Ivanow sat at the dining table, a plate of cookies and a glass of water in front of him. Hillary surely knew how to make a guest comfortable, he thought sitting down opposite to the old man.

"It's so nice to see you, my boy. You've grown since the last time I saw you." Mr Ivanov started, like he knew he would. Kai didn't reply, staring at his grandfather's butler intently. He knew stoic silence held much more power in the Hiwatari household.

"Though you've let yourself run wild," he added, no doubt refering to the party he was in. His eyes particularly lingered on his hair and a smudge of lipstick on his collar, his face curling in distaste at the latter.

"I never understood your taste of woman — or your father's for that matter. What do you see in the Japanese that's not there in anyone else? Your father could have spared a number of people if he'd just gotten himself a good Russian girl." He stated distastefully.

Kai willed his hands to stay still. He didn't have many clear memories of his parents anymore, not since Black Dranzer. The only thing he did remember was the last time he saw the two of them alive, which wasn't much better.

Igor seemed to hold onto a grudge against his mum, in spite of her being dead for more than a decade. He loved to blame her for being the reason his father was dead, despite the fact that it was his own grandfather who'd pulled the trigger.

How did he know that? Because he'd been the only person who'd tried to stop the bleeding that night. He stopped that train of thought, it would do him no good in that situation.

"Voltaire didn't send you here to talk about how I've I've let myself run wild I suppose. So, let's get to the point." he stated coldly.

"You'll speak of your grandfather with respect!" Igor struck back, surprising him.

"I'll speak of my grandfather however I wish to speak of him. You can leave if you can't tolerate it." Kai struck right back.

"A few months out of the manor has given you a loose tongue, boy." He warned. Kai ground his teeth in frustration. He hated being near people who knew all his ticks.

Kai leaned back in his seat, "I suppose it has. Especially when I have no plans of returning anytime soon. But you know of that, you wouldn't be here otherwise." He smirked.

Igor shook his head. "You know better than this Master Hiwatari. Your grandfather is beyond livid at the moment. But board a flight back to Moscow tomorrow morning, and you'll face no punishment for this insolence. " He said, sliding a flight ticket across the table.

Kai didn't dare glance at the ticket. He didn't want Igor to know how tempting the offer was. He'd had his fun, lived the life of a normal teenage high-schooler, and unbelievably liked it. He could just return to Russia tomorrow like nothing happened, like all of this was a fever dream.

But even as he thought of it, he knew it wasn't possible. He knew his grandfather and his twisted games. There was no going back the moment he missed the first flight.

"I've already missed four flights, don't see how missing this will be of any difference." He shrugged.

"Your visa expires in a fortnight." He hissed. "Then I'm sure you've read the next part of the letter. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been here on the night of thirty-first of all days. You know my next course of action."

Igor actually scoffed at this. Despite everything they'd done to him, he didn't believe I would go through with this. "You can't actually be serious about that."

"I am." Kai plainly replied. "My mom was born a Japanese and died a Japanese. She never even applied for Russian citizenship. So, I can claim a Japan citizenship anytime before I turn twenty-one." He continued.

"There's no proof of your mother being Japanese. Your grandfather made sure of that after your parents wedding."

"I'm sure you think so, but there are a number of ways of retrieving lost information outside of the ones taught in the abbey. Rest assured, I've found enough evidence." He concluded.

"Japan doesn't do dual citizenship." He countered, sounding slightly desperate now. Kai didn't miss a beat. "I don't want a dual citizenship. I'll plan on giving up my Russian citizenship."

Kai knew he crossed a line at this. Igor stood up at once. All semblance of this being a civil conversation was out of the window. "Outrageous! You will do no such thing. What of the family reputation? You're Russian! We can't have the heir of Russia's largest Military Manufacturer defect to Japan!" He cried out.

Kai was determined to keep the cool facade. "Too bad then. We'll just have to stop being Russia's largest Military Manufacturer, for I wasn't dolling out possibilities in that letter. What I sent you was an ultimatum."

Igor's eyes glinting under the dim kitchen light as he studied him. "You think you can defy your grandfather indefinitely?" he asked, his tone laced with condescension.

Kai crossed his arms and leaned forward, his expression carefully neutral. "I think I've done a decent job of it so far."

Igor's mouth tightened into a thin line, "This isn't a game, Kai. Your actions have consequences—not just for you, but for those around you. Have you thought about that? What about your precious teammates, for whom you're trying to stay back? You saw what happened to Wyatt. Keep continuing this and more people will get hurt. I just met a charming young lady outside, you should build her acquaintance." He added out of the blue, the implications very clear. Kai couldn't let Igor know of another person important to him.

"I'm falling for none of your manipulations, Igor. This is a straightforward deal. If my grandfather wishes for me to keep my Russian citizenship, he needs to get me a visa. Whatever you plan on doing, do it soon, because just as you said, my medical visa expires in a fort night. And I plan to apply for my citizenship in three days time."

"You will do no such thing!" "You're mistaken. I plan on doing exactly as I wrote. And given how sparse Voltaire's reach is in Japan, I'll get my citizenship approved within a week."

"You'll regret this Kai." Igor told quietly. "I doubt I'll ever regret anything more than being coerced to claim Black Dranzer at the age of seven, but I appreciate the heads-up."

Igor stiffened. "That was your grandfather's will. It was for your own benefit."

Kai's eyes flashed with anger, "My benefit? Making a child do atrocities adults couldn't even dream of, was for my benefit?" He demanded.

"Tell me Igor, how many banks and museums did I loot? How many people did I threaten with a gun to their head under Black Dranzer's influence? You must think I'm still that scared little kid for you to come all the way from Russia."

"Explain how stripping me of all my choices, breaking me into a weapon, was for my benefit?" He continued, slapping the table in his hand.

Igor turned cold again, "You'd do well to keep your emotions in check, boy. Your defiance is absolutely foolish. Hiwatari Enterprises doesn't bend to the whims of a child playing rebel."

Kai leaned forward, his voice low but razor-sharp. "Then maybe it's time Hiwatari Enterprises learns what happens when that 'child' stops playing along." he replied.

For a moment, the two locked eyes, the air between them taut with tension. "Don't expect Voltaire to take this lightly. He will retaliate." he warned, standing up.

"I'm sure you can show yourself out." Kai called out sarcastically, finally ending the conversation.

As Igor's footsteps faded down the hall, Kai remained rooted in place. His hands gripped the edge of the table so tightly his knuckles turned white.

He clenched his fists, the memory of Igor's sneer burning in his mind. Every word, every condescending look, had been carefully crafted to remind him of his place—to remind him that no matter how far he ran, the Hiwatari name was a shackle he couldn't escape.

He wasn't just angry; he was exhausted—exhausted from pretending that their threats didn't weigh on him, from constantly fighting for the freedom to make his own choices.

They'll never let me go.

The thought was a dark whisper in the back of his mind, one he refused to entertain. He'd made it this far, hadn't he? Every choice he'd made—escaping Russia, severing ties with his grandfather, finding a home with the Bladebreakers—was proof that he could carve out a life for himself.

But how long could he keep running?

The kitchen door creaked open, breaking his spiral of thoughts. Hillary peeked inside, her expression he gone?"

Kai nodded, brushing past her. "Thanks for letting him in," he said, his tone sharper than he intended.

Hillary bristled. "He seemed pretty nice when he talked to me. I thought maybe he was... family."

"None of them are, " Kai snapped , walking out .

*****

Words: 2336

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A/N: Hey there guys! Seems like I successfully bullied/guilt-tripped a number of you into voting/commenting/bookmarking my story.... Sorry about that. It was just that I wasn't having the best of days and I was about to post and i didn't know what to write in the Author's note. T

Anyway, I'm trying to turn the story to the main part now, so if I mention something I hadn't, or something needed a backstory, don't think of it too much. I'll add it when I'm done with this part. 

Anyway, I think there will be one more update before this year ends. Tell me what you think of this update? What do you think happens next? Vote and comment guys! I love to hear from you guys! 

Happy Reading!