Chapter 4

The funeral wasn't until two weeks after Ray's death. Because Ray wanted it that way, he was buried in Kushiro, Hokkaido. The city was right on the Pacific and the cemetery was very close to the sea. It was really nice there. Ray had never been to Kushiro, but he had heard of the beauty of the city from friends and acquaintances. And sure enough, it was a fine place to have a funeral. Mariah had handled the flowers and she had done a good job. White, pastel yellow and red roses. And the mourners all came in black. Everyone had come, Tyson, Max, Kenny, Ray, Hilary, the White Tigers, the All Starz, the Majestics, Mr. Dickenson, and even Tala. Not to mention all the fans Ray had. It was very unusual for a Japanese man, but Ray was a Catholic, not a Buddhist. Therefore he was buried in a Catholic way.
It was a beautiful outdoor funeral on a cloudy Friday afternoon.
Kai had hardly spoken a word since Ray died.It was very difficult for him to cope with the loss of his best friend. But it wasn't exactly easy for the others either. Again and again they thought of the good times they were allowed to spend with Ray.
Kai should have delivered the eulogy, but since he was unable to, Lee did it. It was hard for him, but he did it to love Ray.
After the funeral there was of course the funeral feast. But since Kai did not feel able to go with the others, he made his way to the hotel to be a little alone there. In the evening he went to the cemetery again to personally say goodbye to Ray.
"Ray. Ray, if you hear me now ... please ... don't worry ... I'll take good care of Driger, I promise you," Kai knew that Ray would hear him, and he was himself sure he would have it very well where he was now. Only now did Kai take Driger out of his pocket and hold him tightly in his hands.Only when he let go of it did he notice that Driger's BitChip was glowing. He stared at it spellbound, but then the BitChip stopped shining. A slight smile slipped across Kai's lips. Then he straightened up and started back. As he walked, he turned around again. "Ray, we'll see you again. Wait for me, please," he whispered almost inaudibly.

On the evening of the next day, the Bladebreakers flew back to Tokyo. Kai went to his bed and thought. Max later unpacked his bag.
Tyson, Max, and Kenny sat in the living room, comforting each other while Hilary went home.
The next morning Kai was the first to get up, although he had hardly slept that night. He took a suitcase out of his closet and started packing his things. Max had woken up in the meantime and passed Kai's room on the way to the bathroom. "What are you going to do?" He asked confused when he saw Kai packing suitcases.Kai started up, startled. However, he quickly returned to his work. "I've decided to go to Russia," he said coldly. "And why, if I may ask?" Max was a bit startled, but he still sounded calm. "None of your business", Kai snapped at him. "Hey Kai, you can't just go away and not give a reason for it!", Max had visibly lost his composure. "You can see that I can," replied Kai gruffly. Max shook his head in disbelief and stared at Kai in disbelief. Then he turned away and went into the bathroom, where he was supposed to be. Unimpressed, Kai continued to pack his suitcase.
When Tyson and Kenny were finally awake and everyone had gathered for breakfast, Kai announced the news, to Max's amazement.
"I will go to Russia again," Kai said promptly.
Tyson choked at these words and Kenny also looked a bit doubtful. "Is that, are you serious?", Tyson stuttered in disbelief." Yes, "Kai didn't look at the others. His face was clearly marked by lack of sleep.
"B- but why ??" Kenny stole the word from Tyson. "I already asked him that this morning, but I didn't get a reasonable answer. I think he's old enough, and if he thinks he has to go to Russia, then he should do it," also Max spoke up again. "But Max! There just has to be a reason why he wants to go to Russia! Kai, have we done anything to you? Why do you have to go?", Tyson was shocked by Kai's spontaneous decision to go to Russia just like that. "It's none of your business! My decision has been made and you won't be able to stop me!", Kai got up and left the room. Then he went out to reconsider his decision.
Tyson, Max and Kenny, however, discussed it for a long time. It hadn't been easy to cope with the loss of a friend, and then Kai went away too.Tyson was very sad about it, although he and Kai never got along very well. But there was no stopping Kai from doing what he wanted. After all, he was old enough to know what was right and wrong for himself.

That evening, Kai drove to the airport. He didn't know when a flight would go, and he didn't know if one was going at all. Since he didn't want anyone to accompany him, he drove alone and the farewell wasn't very big either. Kai acted like at the beginning: cold, mean and unfriendly.
At the airport, Kai was informed that the last flight to Moscow had left shortly before his arrival, but that there would be a flight to Vladikavkaz in about an hour. That suited him because he once had an aunt in Vladikavkaz who lived alone in a forest. The house should still be standing, and he could nest there.
So Kai paid for the flight and checked in right away. It was a bit more expensive because he had to fly business class, but that shouldn't be a problem for Kai.Now it was time to wait. Kai went through security and passport control for the time being and sat in a coffee house in the duty-free zone. He didn't look for the terminal until a quarter of an hour before departure, and after only ten minutes he was able to board a Boing 74700.
The flight went without any further turbulence and Kai arrived safely at the small airport in Vladikavkaz.
He was brought near the forest in a taxi and walked the rest of the way. He still knew the way by heart, although it had been a while since he was last here.
After a quarter of an hour he had arrived at the house. It was still in relatively good condition, only it was very dirty. But Kai was able to clean when differently. First he made his way to the bedroom and let himself fall on the bed, where he fell asleep after a short time.
The next morning he first cleaned the bedroom and bathroom so that he could unpack his suitcase. Then the kitchen, living room and the hallway.For this he brought in until 5 p.m.
Finally he went to the supermarket to buy some groceries. There, however, he unexpectedly met a person whom he did not suspect to be in Vladikavkaz.
Just as he was standing in line at the deli in the big supermarket, someone tapped him on the shoulder. Startled, Kai turned around, he didn't know who it was, and he couldn't believe his eyes either. "Kai ... what are you doing here?" - "Tala?" - "I thought you were in Japan" - "I thought you were in Moscow", so their conversation went on like that until they reached the cash desk pending, the roughest matters were settled.
Tala also needed some distance from the Blitzkrieg Boys. However, he had no accommodation, and so the normally unsocial Kai decided to let his former teammate live with him .....

To be continued