Drawn to the Darkness by Melinda-chan

" … " indicates that someone is speaking in a foreign language (in this case Russian) but have been translated into English for the readers' benefit. This will also be used to translate a Russian word or phrase (in bold). All Russian words and phrases will be transliterated (spelled phonetically) into English as accurately as possible. Since Russian is based on a different form of writing than English, variations may occur. My basic Russian is pretty good, but if you notice any major mistake, please let me know. I'll be forever grateful.

Russian Translations:

Pomogotie (Poh'moh'goh'tee)- Help!

Da (Dah)- Yes

Privet (Pree'vyet) Hello

Kaya (Kah'yah) I'll explain this in the next chapter

This story is rated T (PG-13) for some violence and sexual references. For younger readers, reader discretion is advised.

Now that is over with, let this story begin!

It was old, smelly and dirty.

It was nice to be back in Moscow.

I walked past the Red Square. Even though Moscow is my home, I never really had a chance to explore it. I had only one thing in my mind: to find a place to stay and decide what I want to do with my life.

You see, I'm now eighteen years old.

Since now I'm an adult, I can go anywhere I want and do whatever I want. I know that Tyson still wants us to be friends, but I only considered him to be a beyblading rival at best. I felt more comfortable here where I was born and with the people that I grew up with. Not that I view Tala, Yuri and the others as my friends, but I do know them and that makes it more comfortable to me.

I wandered off to a nearby school. It was autumn, and the few trees nearby were shedding their leaves. I went underneath one, and unpacked my backpack. I searched for my notebook and pen. I flipped to the first blank page. This is what I wrote:

October 7, 2005

I finally made it to Moscow. I'm now planning my next move. I don't know where I will be going next. I have to ask someone for a really good place to stay for the moment. But first I need to find a good place to eat.

I then put my notebook and pen back into my backpack. It was when I tried to get up that I noticed something in the leaves.

It was a human hand.

I don't think I could describe how I felt at the moment. Absolute horror would be the most accurate description. I wished it was a mannequin, but even in Russia no storekeeper would dump a mannequin under a pile of leaves near a school.

I had to find out what it really was.

I moved it with my right foot.

I was right- it belonged to a real body.

'Damn!' I thought. It was not only a body but that of a teenage boy. He had tears over his clothes and bruises all over his face and arms. I could only guess what happened to him.

From past experiences, I knew that either this kid was killed by a rival gang or that he got in trouble with his own gang. As a former gang leader, I admit that I had to keep my gang members in line from time to time but I never had to KILL someone.

That alone was enough for me to want to get away from this place. I do not want to get involved with any gang rivalry around here. But a few things held me back. First, someone is bound to find the body, and considering it's close to a school, I can only imagine what a five-year old might think if he or she found it first. Second, a member of his family or a real friend might be searching for him, and third, I don't think whatever he did would deserve execution and having his body dumped like garbage.

Besides, I didn't see what happened so I couldn't be called a witness.

In any event, I had to get help.

"Pomogotie!" I yelled as I ran back to the Red Square. "Pomogotie!"

I then saw one of the milistia- a policeman. He was obviously on patrol, looking out for any sign of trouble nearby. My yelling caught his attention.

" You got a problem? " the policeman said. I felt a little unnerved by his cold stare, but I quickly regained my composure.

" A body- I found a body! " I said out loud. At once I felt hundreds of eyes at me. The policeman immediately paled.

" Where did you saw this body? " he inquired, keeping his voice low so as not to attract further attention.

" I found him under a bunch of leaves under a tree by a school, " I told him.

" You said that you saw a body near a school? " he asked me.

"Da," I said. " The body is under a bunch of leaves near a school. "

" What does the body look like? " the policeman asked me.

" He has brown hair, wears a blue shirt with a black jacket and, uh, has bruises and cuts all over his body, " I said.

" How old is he? " the policeman asked me. I noticed his change from mild interest to high interest when I mentioned the last part.

" He's around thirteen or so, " I told him. He now took out a notepad and pen. " I can show you where I found him. "

" Lead me to the body, " he told me. " I need to check on this. " So I did.

I hoped that the body was still there when we came there, and sure enough, the policeman's face turned white when I removed some of the leaves to expose the body. He then uttered a word I rather not translate.

" Another victim of that stupid game, " I heard him mutter.

" What game? " I asked.

" They call it 'Target Beyblading,' it's a new game, " the policeman told me.

" Target Beyblading? " I asked.

" It's a type of beyblading in which the opponents try to knock each other's beyblades using their own bodies, " the policeman said. I raised my right eyebrow. That was a new concept I've never heard before. He then took out his walkie-talkie.

I watched as an ambulance came and took the body away. A group of policemen were talking to each other. I was still in a state of shock. I decided to go to the school and think. I leaned against the gate.

'What can I do now?' I thought. 'Did that kid die from a beyblading game? If so, there might be gangs that are using beyblades as weapons! I heard such gangs exist, but I didn't think there were any around here! This 'Target Beyblading' sounds like it can get really serious. If only I could-'

I was suddenly interrupted by a whizzing beyblade. I fell to the ground in order to dodge it. The beyblade struck the gate behind me and then went back to where it came from. I looked up.

"Privet Kaya," a voice said. " I see that you are him ."

I got up. There was no doubt about the voice. It was a girl's.

End of Chapter One

So what do you think of the first chapter? I hoped you enjoyed it. Beyblade was created by Takao Aoki. Please don't forget to review!