A/N: This is for Snowyflame's spectacular challenge! I hope you enjoy my entry. I obviously own nothing, not the beginning quote nor Beyblade. I'm sorry for any grammar error's, it's really early in the morning where I live. And...Action!~
Real tears are not those that fall from eyes and cover the face, but those that fall from the heart and cover the soul"- Unknown
"Seriously?" Madoka moaned, stopping to catch her breath against a telephone pole. Just in the distance she could only watch helplessly as a gray bus pulled away from its stop, rumbling out of sight.
"Just my luck..."
It seemed nothing wanted to go her way. All morning she had been over-whelmed by work, not to mention a plethora of distractions from Ginga and Kenta as well. The fact her hair hadn't turned to all grey's yet from stress induction was the only fact that astonished her. She figured that day would come eventually, but she preferred to keep the thought in the back of her mind, after all there were much more pertinent thing's to worry about.
Like her under-stocked store for one.
Flash back: Earlier that day
Upon finally finishing up the last adjustments necessary to a bey's broken spin track, the door to the Bey-pitt had creaked open, leaving a small bell chime to alert in the presence of company. Without the cue, she'd be way too absorbed in her work to notice customers.
Madoka, whom had been down in her basement examining her labor, quickly removed the goggles that covered her cerulean orbs and returned them to the usual perched position on her chestnut-colored head, before making the way upstairs to address her clients.
Helping customer's was often the piece she found the most exciting to her job. Sure, seeing their eyes gleam in amazement when she returned their bey's in pristine condition warranted satisfaction, but given the opportunity to share her knowledge of the Beyblade world evoked an array of emotions, from excitement to pride. She never questioned why, it seemed to be a simple common dominator of the Amano family, like father like daughter...
"Hey there, welcome to the Bey-pitt! What can I help you with today?" Madoka questioned, giving a friendly smile to the two young boys that had entered her store. They couldn't have been older than Kenta, chubby cheeks and short statures a clear give-away to their age.
One boy with curly brown locks seemed rather intent in his own mind, face pressed up against a clear display case that held some merchandise. The other male with spiky black mane, gravity-defying hair almost taller than their own body, noticed her immediately and approached with hands on his hips.
"Hey old lady, you sell Bey's here right? We want to buy!" He exclaimed, a confident no business look crossing his face.
Madoka felt a large sweat drop form over her head as she bit her tongue to prevent saying anything crude in return. In the end, they were only kids who she hoped didn't know any better.
"Yes, we sell all kinds of Bey's. Let's see if we can find you the right partner! Were you looking into defense, stamina, balance, or attack?" She asked, shifting her gaze between the two.
Her only response was a very blank stare from the spiky haired boy, who took to scratching his cheek in confusion. "Say whaaaat?"
Suppressing a giggle, Madoka extended one of her pale hands and interlaced her finger's with his. She then guided him over to the same glass case the other boy was at and kneeled down to his level so she could further explain.
"All Bey's are special and unique, but we've been able to categorize them into four distinct types." She began, reeling in her element. Once she got started on talking about something she felt so passionate for, almost nothing could distract her. Almost...
"I want that one, it's the shiniest." The curly-haired boy piped up, tugging on Madoka's sleeve as he gestured to a Bey within the case.
"No fair, you got the shiny one last time!" His friend moaned, stomping his foot in protest. He then turned to Madoka, flashing her immediate puppy dog eyes.
Losing train of the thought, she was silent for a moment, trying to collect herself over the two's complaining. One phrase had particularly caught her attention.
"Last time?" Madoka inquired, raising her eye brow.
"Yeah, our last one's got crushed thanks to Satoru." The curly-haired kid growled, puffing his cheeks as he glared accusingly at the other boy.
Satoru seemed less than enthusiastic over being blamed as he retorted, "How was I suppose to know that creepy guy would be so powerful? Takuya over here was about ready to wet himself!"
As much of a migraine they were causing, Madoka couldn't help but pity the boys. No one deserved to deal with the terror of having their Bey's destroyed. She'd seen too much of the horror with her own eyes...
"QUIET!" Madoka demanded, feeling rather pleased when she got their attention. If raising her voice worked on Ginga, the pain of all pains, it would certainly do just the trick on them. "Let me see both of your Bey's." She instructed, holding out her hand.
Takuya and Satoru blinked, folding their arms begrudgingly. Eventually they gave in and reached into their pocket's to present them to her.
"Hmm..." She murmured, examining their Bey's damage. They were in pretty bad shape, it had been a while since she seen scratches so deep. It definitely had to be the act of someone malevolent. Luckily, her skills had been harnessed since the Battle Blader's venue. Fixing their Bey's would be difficult, but not impossible.
"I'll get it taken care of in no time!" Madoka reassured, closing her eyes with a smile.
The boys followed suite, excitement evident. "How much will it cost us?" Satoru interrogated, puffing his cheeks up.
"Not a dime, you can come pick them up anytime in the next few days. Leave now, before I change my mind." She joked, ruffling his hair with a wink. Both boys giggled, lingering for a few seconds before running off.
Madoka couldn't help let a sigh escape from her lips. She was never going to keep up profits if she kept fixing Bey's for free, but she felt obliged to. She supposed it was another "perk" to having a good nature.
Taking the Bey's downstairs to her work area, she pulled her goggles down once again to better assess the damage. There was something eerily familiar about the scratch markings she just couldn't put her finger on.
Drawing no conclusions, she decided not to worry about it to too much. The quicker she got to work, the faster she would finish and could retire for what would soon be evening.
With meticulous care, she lifted up a scalpel like utensil and was about to get started when she noticed its rounded tip. "It must be getting dull..." Madoka frowned, twirling it around her fingers.
There was no working with a defective tool, she'd have to replace it before she could do anything.
End Flash back:
And that was how she ended up shopping in Metal Bey city, restocking on materials that she needed. Of course she somehow managed to get lost, or rather distracted by window shopping, and wound up missing her bus by just a few seconds. Did she mention it was so not her day?
At any rate, Madoka had no desire to stand around who knows how long, waiting for another bus. The sky was already beginning to blacken in night's arrival and on top of that, a chill had settled in the air, placing her on edge. It wasn't that she was particularly scared, you just never know what lurks around in the dark.
Puffs of white mist escaped from her lips with every step she took, hands gripping tightly around two rather heavy shopping bags. Okay, maybe she had a bit of a shopping addiction, but everyone has something. She only wished Ginga was around to help carry them for her, or anyone at this point. She was starting to get a bit nervous.
A thick silence hung about the city, the only sign of people living around the area came from a few lighted windows. They didn't bring comfort though, inducing large shadowy patterns on the floor.
As a chill ran down her spine, she racked her head for an idea to help ease her fear. The idea of singing was the first thought that came to mind, she'd seen many character's do so before in cartoons. Soon enough she found herself humming out the lyrics to some of her favorite childhood songs, "... Face off and spin the metal. No time for doubt now, no place for backing down. Beyblade Beyblade Let it rip..."
It eased her stress for a little while, but once she approached a familiar tall building, she couldn't prevent her emotions from going numb. Any day she had to pass by here, be it day or night, alone or with friends, she couldn't help being over-taken by a wave of panic.
The old Dark Nebula headquarters was a hallowed shadow of its former self, barred up with yellow caution tape. Cracks were evident in most of its large glass windows, war scars from the past.
Too many of the nightmares that kept her awake at night derived from Doji and his henchman. Even though Battle Bladers ended with Ryuuga's defeat, and things had relatively calmed down since then, it would forever remain an embodiment to the cold and heartless bladers her friends had endured.
She was just about to tear her glance away from the building when suddenly she heard the sound of footsteps approaching, and stopping several feet behind her. Madoka felt heart freeze still, unable to make the connection to high tail it out of there. Her mind screamed for her legs to run, but fear kept her shackled to the concrete.
Wind echoed throughout the night, fluttering her chestnut strands off to the side. Silence acted as a heavy weight, unbearable to the point of making a person lose their mind.
Madoka closed her eyes, hoping to convince herself that she just imagined the footsteps, and that the warm breathing she felt on the back of her neck was just a terrible dream. Or a nightmare...
A darkened hiss rang into her ear drums, solidifying her fate. Like an endangered prey species in the wild she took off, panting for air. It couldn't be him, that creep. Hadn't he froze over to stone or something?
If it was him though, then those markings of destruction from earlier on those Bey's would make perfect sense. And that would mean she would be in a lot of trouble if he caught up to her. Who knew what was going through his sadistic brain? She could only recall his maniacal laughter as he crushed her poor friends confidence to bits.
Without a Bey to defend herself, would he hurt her instead?
The sole's of her feet began to burn, blistering in side of her shoe's. She couldn't keep up running much longer, and carrying the weight of her bags grew in intensity. Unable to handle much more, she eventually gave out, halting to a stop against the bark of an old tree. If she climbed it quick, she'd be able to bide some time from the inevitable. But could the branches handle her weight?
Carefully she placed her bags off to the side and then pulled down on one of the tree's limbs to see if it would snap off. Instead it seemed surprisingly sturdy, perfect to suit her needs. That is, if she got the chance.
"Gotsssssss youssssssss." A darkened voice cackled from behind her. Madoka shrieked, closing her eyes and placing her hands over her ears out of reflex. She expected to hear his wicked taunts next, but instead heard the sound of a shortened yelp and a loud thud.
Slowly she opened her eye's to see the red-haired, snake blader himself, collapsed on the floor. It seemed just when he had startled her, she had let go of the tree branch and it sprung back to hit him right in the head... ouch.
"Are you okay Reiji?" Madoka stuttered, finding it unbelievable that she even bothered to ask. Just another "perk" again to her good nature. This was her chance to escape, and yet she was feeling concerned?
Reiji muttered something unintelligible, one of his yellow eyes visible as he stared up into night. A darkened bruise was appearing on his head, leaking a small amount of blood.
"Don't go to sleep!" She warned immediately, crouching to his side. She remembered reading somewhere that if a person takes a hard blow to the head , they could get a concussion, and go into a coma if they drifted off into sleep.
For a moment he was silent, absorbed within himself, before looking up at her. "Why?" Came his childish response.
"Because." Madoka sighed, looking around for something to help cover his wound. Too much blood leakage would not equal good news at any cost. It dawned in her mind that she had a roll of bandages back at her home.
"Let's go okay? I'm going to help you." She spoke carefully, not wanting to upset him further. Medical attention was far more important right now, even if he was her enemy.
Reiji didn't seem fond of the idea, hissing as she tried to help lift him up. Instead he pulled himself away, and stood up in a staggering fashion. It was no well-kept secret that he sort of stumbled when he walked, but the lack of blood to his brain seemed to make him extremely wobbly, almost falling back over.
"I'll get you for thisssssssss"." He spoke in annoyance, pointing at her in a disoriented manner.
Madoka couldn't help but frown, crossing her arms. "If you hadn't been chasing after me, this never would have been a problem!" Although her words were harsh, her eyes spoke volumes of concern. One thing she took seriously was taking responsibility for her own actions, she hurt him, and she was going to fix him.
After all, helping broken things was what she did best.
...
"Stay!" She ordered, feeling like a mother hen. Madoka had managed to help Reiji stagger back to her house, where he promptly collapsed onto her couch. The blood loss was getting to him, and she was certain even he knew that at this point.
Reiji hissed once again, in a way she didn't recognize. It wasn't the darkened frequency he normally took, but softer and strained. The pinched parts of skin around his lips led her to believe he probably didn't trust her. Then again, he had no reason to trust her in the first place, I mean she ht him in the head with a tree branch, albeit by accident.
And Madoka had no reason to trust him either, what with his actions in the past, but she realized she knew very little about him at all. Something about the vulnerable state he was in made her fear disperse, worry taking its space.
"I'm going to wrap a bandage around your head to stop the bleeding." She informed him, gently lowering her hands to his forehead. He jerked away violently, hissing vehemently.
Madoka could feel her skin clawing with exasperation, knowing she'd have to figure out a way to get though to him somehow. Quickly she reached for his red strands instead, pushing them away from his face.
Eyes exposed he shut them immediately, trying to twist from her grasp. Madoka remained firm as she spoke in a distinct tone, "Look at me."
He didn't listen at first, giving his last attempt to try to escape. Finally his eyes fluttered open to stare piercingly into her own cerulean orbs. A short still followed as Madoka couldn't help but stay immobilized for the moment.
It was like seeing past his dark guise, the scary mask he wore to the world. Reiji seemed almost human in her mind, naïve in a way. Not a scary blader who found delight in other's misery, but perhaps a misguided youth.
WIth that open connection between them, Madoka did as she promised and wrapped the bandages around his head. She could tell he calmed down as well, pulse slowing. Neither seemed sure of what to say next, not really use to being around one another and having it not be over a feud.
She figured she got this habit from her mother, as she stood up to go make some tea. Some part of her had always found it as comforting. After making a cup for each of them, she handed one to him and took a seat on the opposite end of the couch. He was sitting up now, tracing the dots on her ceilings with his eyes.
"Where do you live?" She asked smoothly, having the intent to call his parent's and explain the whole thing as a big misunderstanding.
Reiji was silent, attention now focused on the billows of steam coming from his mug. He sure could get distracted easily...
"Dark Nebula's headquartersss of coursesss." He replied in almost a scoffing manner. Madoka couldn't believe her ears. That place was definitely abandoned, what kind of way was that to live?
"How do you survive?" She choked, feeling a lump of pity forming in her throat. He sighed, shifting his weight uncomfortably as he let his shoulders sag. "Dojisss?"
"But he's gone!" Madoka cried out pointedly, grip tightening around her cup. Reiji didn't seem to have an answer, making it unclear if he understood that fact at all. Her previous assumption of him being an individual strayed off path seemed to ring further true.
What caused him to become this way she had no clue, only arising more questions her mind couldn't answer. But if one thing was certain, she wasn't going to cast him aside, back into a world of emptiness.
The forlorn expression that crossed his face now and then as he stirred his cup of tea made her realize, maybe all he ever needed was a friend. Yeah it sounded super cheesy and cliché, but if he was able to sit and respond calmly in her home environment, just maybe he could control his urges to destroy and change.
Today proved it was possible.
Releasing a loud yawn, Madoka put ger cup down and took to stretching. It must have been about one in the morning by now, she was exhausted. Reiji seemed to notice her getting up to leave and questioned, "Should I go'sss?
She turned to face him, waggling one finger. "You're going to stay here until I can make sure you're better, you following me?"
He nodded slowly, seeming surprised as he laid down across her couch. With a a satisfactory nod, she headed to her bedroom and got ready for sleep.
...
Laying in her bed, she could feel her self slowly nodding off. She figured Reiji was probably already asleep on that couch. If she was honest, she had to admit she didn't just want him to stay to check his wound.
She wanted him know more about the real Reiji. Who was he, why did he join the dark nebula, why did he always hide his face? But that would take time, jumping him with questions would probably not be the best way for them to grow closer.
Just as she felt her eyelids flickering shut, she could feel a body get into bed with her, crawling across the covers.
"Reiji?" Madoka murmured, frame shaking. Her reply was that of a hand wrapping around her waist as she was pulled into a tight embrace. "You're cold." He responded blankly, referring to her convulsions.
A slow blush creeped along her face as she was unable to figure out she felt. She was pretty sure she hadn't been antsy over his arrival, more... delighted. She had no desire to pull away as they drifted off into sleep.
One last question squeezed its way into her consciousness as she wondered, "Why did Reiji follow her me in the first place?"
She hope she'd have the chance to ask once morning came.
Happy first year Snowy, let's hope for many more to come!~lily