Title: Equilibrium.

Rating: Mature.

Author: Hirurg.

Pairings: Takao/Kai, Rei/Mao, Kenny/Emily, more to be announced.

Disclaimer: Bakuten Shoot Beyblade and all its characters belong to Takao Aoki

Warnings: Homosexuality, Alternate Universe, Death/Violence/Mutilation, Absolutely Insane OC's, Other sinister themes.

Author's Note: First and foremost this is a side-project. This story does not and will not take priority over Ten Days until it's full completion. I will not be spending all my free waking moments pushing out the chapters to this story like I do with Ten Days. Don't expect super speedy updates they wont happen. However the trade off is likely longer chapters content wise because this story yields more ideas to put into each chapter.

Anyway, I legitimately have no idea where I'm going with this. Well I do, and I don't.

Also: This is a prologue but it's also a "pilot" of sorts. I'm testing the waters with it.

Symmetry

(Prologue)

When most people think of the equilibrium they think of its definition in modern science. When I think of equilibrium I think of the deal between two conflicting parties. The equilibrium was a proverbial cease fire implemented between the groups, an agreement that they would not only stop feuding at the expense of civilians but that one group, the apparent dark side, would stop harvesting humans spirits in a means to resurrect a sacred spirit powerful enough to reshape the world in the image of it's wielder, in turn the other group would spare the lives of all loyal followers and spirits. It hadn't been a popular proposal, nor had it been accepted originally. Media coverage told of the proposal but still people were disappearing, still they were dying, still entire buildings were being levelled over night. No matter how much the so called light side had pushed it on the dark, they refused to give in and sign such a silly agreement, not when they were so close to their goals.

It wasn't until one of the strongest of the dark sides generals had been gravely wounded that they had still reluctantly agreed to the deal, only to save themselves, only to regroup. Slowly afterwards the broken city began rebuilding itself and many of the people fighting to save lives and save the world fell back into normal routine, and normal life. Even the stoic crimson eyed man who had been the one to bring the monsters they faced down a notch fell back into his studies, fading into obscurity no longer the media followed him asking him questions about the supposed war, and for the first time in several years the nights felt safe again.

That was until tonight when I felt the rain start to fall unexpectedly. There hadn't been a cloud in the sky moments ago and as I stood my hand held out looking at the sky, lightning flashed above me. I was about to hurry to my home, shrugging this off as a freak storm, but when I turned to head in the direction of my home and saw standing there a young boy, his long blue hair falling loosely out of the elastic holder as it soaked in the autumn rain, his eyes were hidden by his fringe, and he was entirely unmoving, and I should have known.

I wouldn't make it home.

I didn't think anything of the boy being dangerous as I walked towards him in the direction of my home,and as I got closer to him he seemed to wake up from some trance like state and my own eyes connected with the most bizarre eyes I had ever seen, one as dark as his hair, as dark as midnight and one almost silver. He smiled, it was so serene I was struck off guard by it, but as I moved to pass him the wind seemed to shift and although that serene smile never left his lips there was something in those eyes that seemed wild and as untamed as the storm overhead. Suddenly a searing pain in my arm caused my attention to snap from the stranger to gaze at it and my eyes widened in horror as I saw blood running down. I stopped in my tracks looking around to see what I could have possibly cut myself on, what could have possibly caused the injury but the unsettling fact of the matter was that I stood in an open area with a complete stranger. A complete stranger who hadn't moved and couldn't possibly have been the cause of the laceration.

He didn't speak to me or offer his help and I finally found it in me to move again, hurrying towards my home to inspect and dress the injury I was certain was shallow. After only a few steps the wind suddenly picked up rapidly, gusting directly in my face nearly knocking me over I closed my eyes, trying to adjust to the sudden pick up of the wind in this strange storm and continue walking but then suddenly as I was about to step forward with great effort the breeze ceased as fast as it had started causing me to stumble and when I peered upwards the night sky above me was no longer cloudy but stars painted the sky. Everything was as it had been before the rain and had I not been soaked by the water I would have thought I had imagined the rain. Suddenly I felt a hand curl around my wrist and I came face to face to the boy who had stood before me only moments ago.

At this point I was seriously freaked out, fear ran down my spine as the boy seemed totally unfazed by the erratic weather events that seemed to be happening. His smile had faded however, and he looked perplexed as he stared at me, I tried to free my hand to run away but then I realized just how tight he was holding on. Suddenly the smile reappeared and he let go of my hand but before I could move to leave he pushed me with so much force that I was immediately winded and I fell back onto the cold wet ground. I was about to look up and snap at him asking him what that was for but before I could I once again felt pain this time through my leg when I looked down I saw the fabric of my pants slashed open as if they'd met a sharp blade when I sat up and pulled up the leg of my pants I saw another gash, one that resembled almost identically the one that stung my arm.

I was scared I couldn't deny it at this point, I sat on the ground, in the opening with two cuts on my person that were as inexplicable as the nights weather. I was about to move and push myself up to stand and run as fast as my injured leg could take me but when I looked up my blood ran cold when I saw white. I had been still a teenager when the Equilibrium had been agreed upon by the forces of dark and light, by the cities saviours and the monsters that had been ruthlessly ripping spirits from their bodies. I stared at the mans white hair, skin and eyes, he didn't make a move towards me but he didn't move away either, when his own eyes met mine terror wracked through my entire body.

His name was Shiro, a name given to him as it posed the literal sentiment to his very appearance. His white eyes, white hair, white skin, white clothes, everything about him was white, and yet he was one of the most notorious monsters to grace the streets of this city. The undoubted leader of the organization that had been shamelessly and carelessly stealing spirits for years, stealing them until the death of one of their own that forced them to agree to peace and fade into obscurity. From time to time you still heard horror stories of leaving your home after dark, occasionally you still heard of heinous and horrific crime scenes they would leave behind. A group of killers led by a man who assumed an almost angelic exterior. A group of monsters who wanted to reshape the face of the very planet to fit their very desires. An organization hellbent on resurrecting a monster that's only name was simply Zero.

Zero because it had the ability to reduce the planet to ground zero, and end every life on it.

I hadn't noticed the dark haired males presence had moved to stand beside me, I had been so lost in my terror, in my thoughts of what this other man would be doing walking these streets at night for the first time in so many years. But suddenly the man spoke, inadvertently answering my question and my blood ran cold:

"Takao, don't play with your targets, they aren't toys." My eyes snapped towards the dark haired boy who stood lingering to my left so close if it were light out his shadow would be cast over me. His face held no smile and no serenity as he looked at me, nor did they reveal his true intentions to me. When I went to look back towards the ethereal looking man he was gone, as if he had never been there to begin with, and there was a twist in my stomach as I came to terms with just how inhuman he truly was, just how inhuman they all were. Humans who had accepted and utilized the powers their inherited sacred spirits possessed, but how human were people like that truly?

My attention was drawn back to the boy looming above me, a boy who looked to be maybe seventeen years old, surely too young to be apart of Shiro Yukimura's gang. Suddenly in one fluid motion the young man moved to kneel beside me his hand snapping out and grabbing onto my chin, the serene smile reappeared on his lips and he stared at me with those peculiar eyes for what felt like hour before he suddenly spoke:

"Don't worry, I promise it wont hurt." I didn't understand what he meant at first but then slowly realization dawned on me and my eyes grew larger as I found it became harder and harder to breath, his hand left my chin at some point as he watched me fall back onto the ground, breathing but the air not filling my lungs. I felt deprived of oxygen and yet oddly comfortable and oddly contented, he hadn't lied it wasn't painful. The last thing I saw before my eyes became too heavily to hold open was that brilliantly serene smile.

As my consciousness faded away the last coherent thought that ran through my mind was that the equilibrium had been shattered, the deal was off, and once again the city would fall victim to the coming conflict and all I could hope was that my family would persevere.

The young boy who had broken the equilibrium had been sure I was long dead before he ripped the remains of my spirit from my body, and as he left the scene the rain started to fall again and the wind picked up, carrying what was left of me into the sky as my body had begun to shatter to dust.

I have a minor fascination with the idea of Takao Kinomiya being a force of strife or evil for the other beyblade characters. Instead of the one pushing forward being the force that defeats the evil, and therefore this happened.

Important Note: From chapter one on, I'm literally writing this in third-person, omniscient from the perspective of the irrelevant character killed in the prologue whose point of view was used.

How clever. (not)

Fun fact, Shiro Yukimura literally means: white snowy village.

I triple checked spelling and grammar but I'm horrible for run-on sentences and missing small things, sorry in advance if you find any of those mistakes. ;^;

Anyway, uh... review this or something, since I'm water testing and reviews are essential in water testing.

Also never fear, Day Five of Ten Days is about 50% complete and I should have it done sometimes tomorrow. (March 27th)