Well, here we are. Yeah, I know. I had some stupid idea of wanting to finish a story before starting another but that wish just wasn't going to last long. So, on to Breathless.
Category: Beyblade.
Rating: T.
Pairings: Kai x Ray.
Genre: Drama.
Summary: The Blitzkrieg Boys have a secret, one which they protect zealously. Can Kai cope as the rising heat between him and Ray collide with other parts of his life he'd rather were hidden or will he lose everything?
WARNINGS: Foul language. Mild madness. Violence. Mentions of attempted suicide. Mentions of murder. Mentions of drinking. Yaoi.
Disclaimer: Beyblade does not belong to me, nor do any of its characters.
My my, judging from the warnings above I'd say this was going to a dark fic. Still, I'll tone it all down slightly as I've rated this T but hopefully no one will be horrified and if they are, then I'll just up the rating to M. I doubt that'll happen though, it's really not that scary.
Enjoy!
Breathless
Chapter One: A Phoenix's Return
Ray opened his eyes; it was no good. He couldn't sleep. He'd tried. Everything. He'd even gone as far as counting beyblades, now if that wasn't sad then Ray didn't know what was. Blanking his mind also seemed to be impossible so full of thoughts his mind was; useless thoughts that were treading in to his mind to infuriate him. He sighed and plumped the pillow up; turning over to face the window he glanced at the clock illuminated by his bed.
1:45
Ray moaned and rolled on to his back silently cursing; outside the rain smacked against the window pane; normally the rhythm would relax him, but tonight all it seemed to do was bang loudly against the glass and give him a headache. He sat up. Maybe reading a book would send him off to sleep; he flicked on the light and looked down at the pile of books sat by his bed.
A Review And Study In The Workings Of A Beyblade.
That one was a Christmas present from Kenny; Ray appreciated it, really he did, maybe this would send him off. He picked it up and turned to the first page.
He closed the book.
He really wasn't that desperate.
He looked down at the next book.
Barry Pouter And The Puffed Up Pervert.
Also a Christmas present, this time from Max; everyone seemed to buy him books, still at least Max had bought something that was original if nothing else. With a slight feeling of trepidation he picked it up, Max wasn't known for reading a good dramatic novel. Rubbing his forehead he flicked to a random page.
Barry crept over to his wardrobe and opened the door quickly with a slight fear of what he might find. He blinked. Blinked twice. And gasped. Inside his wardrobe was a naked man who was crouched over with a ruler-
"Oh no!" Ray dropped the book "Maxie no!" carefully Ray nudged the book with his foot until it was hidden under the bed "and that's where it'll stay"
Ray looked down at his next book.
Lord Of The Loved Up Hobbit And The Two Wanking Wizards.
It was a present from Tyson.
"Noo!" Ray decided firmly; if he didn't want to know about naked men with rulers up their ass then he really didn't want to know what was contained in a present from Tyson. Maybe reading a review and study on the workings of a beyblade wasn't such a bad idea.
Of course reading something that disturbed him greatly and made him question the minds of his fellow teammates had taken the effect of sharpening his mind further, thus he was more awake than he had been before. He stood up and stretched; walking to the window he pulled aside the curtains and looked out at the storm that blew all around, if the night had been nice then he would have gone for a walk. But at the rate the rain was going it would soon change from a walk to a swim, something Ray didn't fancy doing. With a furrowed brow he massaged his temple and leant against the cold glass willing his headache away and wishing sleep would come to him.
He could at least deal with the headache.
Yawning and stretching again he made his way to the door and silently opened it; all was quiet in the hallway. Each door was closed concealing a sleeping blader or two; carefully Ray slid his door shut and crept bare footed up the hallway towards the kitchen. He'd grab a painkiller and a glass of water, then maybe sneak in to living room to watch a late night movie or something.
Stopping in front of the kitchen door he was surprised to see a light shine through the gaps, it seemed he wasn't the only one not to sleep. He opened the door and blinked in the bright kitchen light as his eyes accustomed to the sudden change. He slipped inside and shut the door behind him; he looked over at the table and found Max sitting there yawning over a mug of coco.
"Can't sleep either?" the neko-jin asked.
Max looked up with a start "hey Ray, didn't see you there"
Ray smiled as he walked over to the cupboards and crouched down in front of the cupboard that held the various painkillers and sleeping pills that grandpa kept, living under the same roof with a bunch of crazy young men could often leave someone feeling a little cranky.
"They're all gone" Max said having seen what Ray was in hunt for.
Ray cursed and shut the cupboard; he sat at the table with a groan and rested his head against the table.
"Headache?" Max enquired with a small smile.
Ray nodded to the table and replied "trust me to get a headache when we're run out of painkillers"
Max chuckled "could be worse"
"How exactly?"
"You could be sleeping in the room next to Tyson's"
Ray looked up "you mean a solid wall doesn't stop it?"
Max shook his head grinning, "a solid wall with the help of three pillows doesn't even stop it"
"Sheesh, I didn't realise it was that bad" Ray raised his eyebrows "his snoring must have worsened"
"It doesn't help that Daichi's snoring is added" Max agreed yawning, "together I'm sure they could start up their own snoring band"
"Maybe we should record them"
Both Ray and Max grinned, "I wonder what Tyson's fans would say about his snoring" Max laughed.
"His ratings would probably drop by 30%"
They both sniggered at the thought. Ray got up again and switched on the kettle whilst pulling down a mug; the kitchen fell silent again save for the increasing hissing of the boiling water. Max stared down at his mug seemingly sinking back in to deep thought; Ray glanced over his shoulder at him as he waited for the kettle and battled with his ebony hair, if he ever got away from the tradition of his elders he was cutting it at first opportunity. He shoved it over his shoulder and dumped spoonfuls of coco in to his mug.
"You gonna tell me what's on your mind?" he asked as he poured in the hot water.
Max looked up with an expression of surprise "what makes you think something's wrong?"
"You mean apart from the fact that you no longer have your sunny smile face on?" Ray raised his eyebrows again.
Max grinned weakly "I'm really that obvious?"
"Yup" Ray sat back at the table and took a sip yelping as the hot liquid burnt the tip of his tongue "so come on, what's up?" he asked sticking out his tongue and looking down to see if he'd done his tongue any damage.
Seeing Ray sticking out his tongue with huge golden eyes momentarily distracted Max and he pulled out his camera to snap a picture before Ray even had chance to realise what he was doing.
"Hey!"
"There's a reason I always take my camera with me" Max smirked "that's a classic, Ray!"
Ray scowled "never mind that" he insisted, making a mental note to steal that camera "tell me"
Max's face fell again and he sighed "what would you say if I said I'd been dating Mariam for the passed six months?"
"That wouldn't surprise me at all" Ray replied "there was chemistry between you guys when you first met"
Now it was Max's turn to raise his eyebrows "no offence, but what does a lowly country cat like you know about chemistry?"
"Less of the cat" Ray scowled again "and I reckon I know more about 'chemistry' than you"
"Oh really? Meaning what exactly?"
Ray grinned a tiger grin "you really don't want to know how I found out about sex, baring in mind we had no sex education videos to it explain to us"
Max thought about this "yeah, you probably right"
"So? You and Mariam met up again? I thought the Saint Shields had vanished off somewhere"
"They did but she came back" Max smiled at this "she just appeared one day and stayed at my place for a bit, dad's gone over to America for a while so we had the place to ourselves and-"
"No details please" Ray interrupted.
"Well anyway, we were getting really close and during BEGA she was kinda my rock if you like. We would just lay in bed for hours, talking and laughing. And boy did she know how to ar-"
"Max"
"Right, no details. It was just so much fun, Ray" Max smiled sadly "everything she did was just so-" he caught Ray's expression "oh yes, you don't want to know"
"Why don't you tell me where it went wrong?" Ray suggested thinking the sexual fancies of his American friend couldn't possibly be included in that.
How wrong can a neko-jin be?
"We were in bed just finished-"
"Max"
"Oh yeah, no sex details. So we were in bed when the window smashed and Ozuma jumps in like he owns the place, he got really angry. I've never seen him so mad; he didn't shout or anything but just hissed at Mariam and told her to get out. I tried to stop her but she didn't even look back" Max sighed sadly "then Ozuma left. I tried looking for Miriam but when those Saint Shields want to hide they just melt away"
"You haven't heard from them since?" Ray asked.
Max shook his head "not one word" he pushed away his cold mug of coco "I reckon Mariam and Ozuma had something going, but they had a fight and she left. She must have come to me as a punishment to Ozuma or something"
"She wouldn't do that" Ray said, "she couldn't. Not to you"
Max's smile was small "you think? Just because I'm cute it doesn't mean people don't hurt me, Ray"
"It'll be nothing like that at all" Ray persisted "Joseph probably found out about you guys and probably whined to Ozuma until Ozuma cracked"
"Why would Joseph do something like that?"
To Max's surprise Ray sniggered "you forget" the neko-jin answered, "I grew up with Lee and Mariah. If a guy so much as looks at Mariah then Lee's ready to commit murder. You wouldn't believe the number of fights I've prevented Lee from starting"
"You think it might be it?" Max looked up so hopefully Ray found himself unable voice the doubt he actually felt.
"Of course" the tiger grinned "you too cute, Max. Anyone trying to hurt you would be eternally repenting for their sin"
The blonde huffed at being called cute "I'm really not that-"
The front door slammed open.
Ray leapt out of his skin and jumped to his feet while Max gave a small scream and fell to the floor. They both glared furiously at the shadowed figure in the doorway "hey! Who are you?" Ray demanded though he had a feeling he already knew. The shadowed figure stood blacker against the black night, filling the doorway with a sinister air about him.
"Put the spoon down, Ray. It's hardly deadly" the shadowed figure stepped in from the dark night rain dripping from his body. Kai Hiwatari stepped in to the light and Max smacked his head against the floor in relief.
"Don't DO that!" Ray gasped.
Kai's crimson eyes rested on him "I didn't do anything"
"Yes you did! It's every time!" Ray fumed "every time you come back to Tyson's you give me the fright of my life! I swear you do it on purpose!"
Kai pushed his dripping bangs from his face and dumped his sodden bag on the floor "it's not my fault you happen to be around whenever I return"
"That's not the point! What is wrong with knocking on the door like any normal person?" Ray said crossly "better still, come back at a time that is acceptable! Like in the middle of the day for example!"
Kai rolled his eyes as he pulled off his saturated coat and flung it on the hook by the front door as Tyson came crashing in to the kitchen "what is it? Where's the fire? Who's dead! WHAT'S GOING ON!"
Max looked up from the floor with a sigh "Kai's back"
Tyson stopped mid shout "oh, is that all?" he huffed at Kai for disturbing the night before turning on his heel and stalking from the kitchen.
"It's good to know I've been missed" Kai commented taking Ray's coco and drinking from it ignoring the tiger's expostulations "I'm gone for three months and you all act like I'm irritating you"
"Serves you right for coming in at two in the morning!" Ray sniffed "if you want a welcome then come back in seven hours"
Kai sighed at the neko-jin and picked up his bag again "seeing as you're not using it I'll use your bed, if you don't mind" he walked from the kitchen with another word leaving a trail of rain water as he went.
"He just kicked me out of my own room?" Ray gaped in amazement "one day I'm gonna give that phoenix a right thump across the face!"
"Don't do that" Max scrambled up from the floor "you'll probably end up breaking your fist"
It had happened every so often; one day Kai would be there and then the next he would be gone, he could be gone for weeks turning to months before returning without so much as a clue to where he had been. The Bladebreakers had learnt not to ask questions; Kai was private for the most part but, on this subject, he didn't suffer his team's pondering theories lightly. If he caught them talking about it his anger would explode and it would be hours before anyone could get him to talk to them again. And so the Bladebreakers let Kai have his secret, they didn't ask questions and they didn't bother him about it; Kai liked it that way, it kept things separate which made it easier to handle.
This, however, would not last for long.
Ray knocked softly on his bedroom door; he frowned when he didn't get a reply. Figuring it was his own bedroom, and he had every right to be in there, he softly opened the door and peeped in. To his great surprise he found the curtains still drawn and the room still dull despite the sunlight that shone against the curtains, it gave the room a soft warm glow. Ray crept in and silently shut his door behind him; he walked over to the bed where Kai was lying still deep in sleep, Ray studied the phoenix carefully.
Now he examined the phoenix he saw the dark rings under Kai's eyes, the furrowed brow and the paleness of Kai's complexion; the phoenix lay on the bed on top of the sheets, it looked like he'd pulled off his top and crashed on to the bed without bothering to do anything else. His chest rose and fell steadily as he breathed deeply; the perfectly toned stomach was marred by a scar that ran lightly across the white skin from the underside of his ribcage to the hem of his trousers. Ray had seen this scar before though he knew not where Kai had got it from.
But now, as his eyes accustomed to the dull light, Ray could see other marks; long clawed scratches ran down Kai's sides, there was a bruise colouring the right side of his chest and something that looked like a bite mark on his shoulder.
Had Kai been fighting with vampires?
Ray shook this idea from his head. So he maybe shouldn't have watched that last movie at four in the morning. The neko-jin breathed softly and stood from the bed, as he did so he spotted Lord Of The Loved Up Hobbit And The Two Wanking Wizards still lying on the floor by the bed. One quick movement and the book skidded under the bed to join Barry Pouter And The Puffed Up Pervert. Ray so didn't need Kai to see that.
Quickly and quietly he slipped to his chest of drawers and opened it; pulling out fresh clothes he tiptoed to the door wincing as a floorboard under his foot creaked. Why did Tyson's house have to be made of wood? He made it to the door and slid it open stubbing his toe in the process; he clapped a hand over his mouth to stop the squeak as he doubled over with pain, who knew it could hurt so much!
"Ray?"
Ray cursed under his breath as he turned round to see Kai sitting up with a small groan "sorry Kai, I didn't mean to wake you"
"It's fine" Kai ran a hand through his hair "what time is it?"
"It's only eight" Ray replied "you should carry on sleeping, Kai"
"No" Kai stood from the bed; he walked to the curtains and drew them aside looking outside as cars passed by "I didn't mean to be so brisk earlier" he said quietly to the window.
"Forget about it" Ray murmured; he walked over to Kai and turned to face him "you should get some more sleep, you look tired" he added softly.
Kai shook his head "I'm fine" he grabbed his bag and opened it "I'll have grandpa make up the spare room for me when I get back"
Ray frowned "get back? Get back from where? You've only just got here"
"I'll be back by tonight" Kai pulled out a top, his beyblade and some clean trousers, he caught Ray staring at him "stop looking at me like that. You're making me feel I'm doing something wrong"
Ray said nothing but knelt down to Kai's bag and pulled out a half empty bottle "I wouldn't say this was water" the tiger looked at Kai whose expression had become dangerous.
"Drinking is not a crime" Kai didn't stop the slightly defensive note to his voice; his tone was sharp and full of warning, indicating Ray was on hazardous ground.
Ray merely pulled out another bottle, this one was empty "tell me you shared this with someone" he whispered "tell me you didn't drink all this by yourself"
Kai snatched the bottles back and shoved them in his bag "keep out of what you don't know, Ray!"
Ray's face was sad, he studied Kai's face taking in the darkened eyes before he stood and walked from the room; Kai glared darkly at the window again cursing the neko-jin and himself. Times had changed. He wasn't the strong blader he'd been but instead was weakening to a person who caved into human desires; he knew that was wrong of him and didn't need Ray's silent reproaches to add to his mess.
"It was a mistake to come back here"
But what else could he do? He needed a break, a rest from his other life. The Bladebreakers had become his only safe haven. As long as he had that he could cope. There were shouts and whoops as the rest of the house awoke to embrace the new morning and from the kitchen he could hear Tyson and the others planning to go to a beyblade tournament for the day. Part of him wished he could go with them.
Over on the other side of Tokyo Bryan walked through the grand hallway of Black Feather Manor towards a loud and pitiful wailing; he discovered that the voice was emitting from the second sitting room. The great vast rooms of Black Feather Manor were richly decorated and protected as well as insulated and sound proof. But no insulation could have kept that wheedling voice at bay.
"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease!"
"No!"
"Pretty pleeeease! Please! Please! Please! Please!"
"No!"
"Awww! Pleeeeeease! I'll be good!"
"No!"
"I wanna go! Pleeeeeease!"
"No!"
Tala looked up with an expression that could only be called relief when Bryan sauntered in with an irritated scowl; the other person in the room leapt to his feet and charged over to Bryan like a bulldozer. Bryan glared down in to the face that looked back up tearfully "go away!" the falcon snarled.
"Tala won't let me go to the beyblade tournament!" whined the stranger "I wanna go!"
"Well you can't!" growled Bryan gruffly "if Tala says no then you're not going!"
"Ohh, make him say yes!" pleaded the stranger "I'll be ever so good! I won't do anything wrong I promise!"
That voice. It was getting on Bryan's nerves. The falcon set his jaw and pushed passed the smaller stranger roughly so he could sit on a futon; he glanced over at Tala who was gripping a glass of water so tightly the glass was beginning to break. Tala couldn't stand that whine either.
"Pleeeeeeease!" of course the stranger knew that the two Russian bladers wouldn't last long if he kept this up; if he thought anything about what might happen to him if Tala and Bryan snapped he did not show it. If he knew anything about the violent and dangerous tempers that burst instantly from the wolf and falcon he gave away no fear. Instead he huffed "Kai would let me go!"
"Kai's not here" Tala replied through gritted teeth.
"But it's not faaaaair!"
"Life's not fair kid" Bryan sneered.
"Ohhhhh!"
"You're not going and that's final!" snapped Tala "I can just about manage babysitting you here but I am NOT taking you to a beyblade tournament!"
"Ohhhhhh!"
"Tala said no!" Bryan glared at the stranger who pouted at him.
"It's not faaaair! I wanna goooo!"
Tala's glass splintered; the wolf stood tall above the stranger with a look of intense fury and dislike as blood swelled in long thin ragged red lines on his palm "if you don't shut up I'll shove a shard of glass right through your neck!" he hissed.
"No you don't, Tala!" the stranger quickly jumped out of Tala's reach "you remember what Kai said? You're not to lay one finger on me!"
"I wasn't planning on killing you with my fingers!" Tala's right eye was beginning to twitch.
"Even so, if you hurt me I'll tell Kai and he'll be angry," warned the smaller stranger "you know how Kai gets when he's mad!"
Tala seethed; he lifted a hand as if to strike the stranger, Bryan looked up watching with interest as Tala decided his next move. The young stranger stood there resolute, folding his arms and pouting with annoyance at Tala's rage as if it was Tala's fault he was having to be so awkward.
"Kai'll be maaaaad!"
Tala hated it. Hated that voice. Hated the way the young boy in front of him sang out his words, stretching the out the vowels to add an extra tone to the whine. With great self-discipline the wolf lowered his shaking fist and pursed his lips until they were white.
The stranger's pout vanished, instantly replaced by a huge grin "that's a good Tala!" he laughed in to Tala's face before asking yet again "so can I go to the beyblade tournament?"
"We'll see what Kai says" replied Tala tight lipped.
"YAAAY!" the stranger ran from the room positively bounding for joy and excitement.
Tala flung himself down on the futon next to Bryan "I'll fucking kill Hiwatari for this!"
Argh, a voice like that gets right under my skin! First chapter done. Hopefully it was secretive enough to keep your interest. Who is this stranger? How is Kai suffering? What will happen next?
All this and more shall be answered in chapters to come. As well as some good romance between Kai and Ray. Yay! I love writing about Kai and Ray!
Please review and tell me your thoughts.
Kiki