Title: Phoenix of a Different Color
Rating: T (16+)
Summary: Kai has another thing coming for him if he thinks his past can't come back to haunt him among the Bladebreakers. And if it involves a certain quiet, determined brunette, well...
Warning - beyond cheesy. This was the first fanfiction I ever wrote (and although this version was a re-write, it still shows).
Warnings: Violence, kidnapping, brainwashing syndicate, torture, false identities, first kiss, judicious use of Japanese names, language
-PDC-
A small girl with shoulder-length, straight dark brown hair, dark brown, understanding eyes, and an almost constantly upturned mouth looked up at her mother with an ever-widening grin. Anyone could see the two were related, the woman holding the girl's hand looking like an older version with longer, wavier hair.
The snow swirled around their feet like joyous pups, and the people walked passed them with warm smiles. "I like it in Russia, Mama!" The six-year-old proclaimed happily. For a moment, her face fell as she muttered, "I wish Papa was here, too, though… Oh well! We can have fun for him while he's at work, huh, Mama?" she asked, the twinkle retuning to her eyes.
Her mother smiled softly, sadness a shadow in her eyes that she refused to expose her daughter to, "Of course, Hiromi, dear. For Papa too." The small girl was oblivious to the tightness of her voice, which was just as well, her mother thought, because she wouldn't understand what was happening anyway.
After being offered a better job with more pay, Mr. Tatibana had jumped at the chance, wanting to give more for his family. It had ended with him ensnared in a secret operation deep within Russia, with some company called "Biovolt." There was no way he could back out – they had made sure of that. He no longer wanted to do any of it, this much he been allowed to tell his wife, but there was nothing he could do, nowhere he could go to get away, because they had threatened his family if he left. He couldn't even tell her where he worked.
Kate couldn't blame her husband – she had thought it a good idea at the start as well. She also knew that John was sincere about his desires to get away from this illegal operation, and that knowledge helped her keep going.
They were forcing him to work from dawn to after sunset – before Hiromi awoke, and after she fell asleep. It had gotten to the point where Hiromi would go to bed even earlier than normal so that she could be woken up when John came home and stay awake to be with him for two and sometimes three hours at a time. Though she would never admit it, it was really hard on her, never getting to see her father, and the two adults knew it.
It had been going on like this for months now, the three of them renting a small two bedroom apartment. There had also been an increasing amount of people watching them, Kate had noticed, as she and Hiromi went out everyday.
As though someone were reading her thoughts, a man fell into step behind them, scooping Hiromi into his arms, and gaining a flood of delighted laughter from her. "Don't look back. Keep walking ahead, and follow my directions. Do so, and Young Tatibana will remain oblivious and unharmed. Don't you dare try to call for help. I have a dagger with me, and will cut your throat if you cross me."
A cold numbness spread through Kate's body, and her feet automatically carried her according to the man's directions. She found herself entering through the high stone entrance to the large, twisting, stone 'Russian Abbey', as it was so called. He led her deep within it, through twisting corridors and downward-sloping paths.
They finally reached a large room, where many men in white lab coats scurried around various computers and machinery – among these things being an overly large bowl in the middle, and glass tubes large enough to place humans in with breathing masks and white circles used to stick on bodies to monitor vitals dangling from the inside.
A particularly haggard scientist with unruly brown shoulder-blade length hair, small brown beard, and tortured green eyes froze as he looked at them, and then dropped his clipboard and ran to them to gather Hiromi into his arms and bury his face into Kate's shoulder. "Papa!" Hiromi squealed happily, as Kate muttered in a relieved voice, "Oh, John…! What is this? Where are we?"
A tall, muscular man with purple hair and evil violet eyes strode up and glared at John, "Get back to work!" he snarled. He then turned to the two guards that stood at the entrance to the room and said coldly, "Take the girl to the living quarters! Have her put with Tala and Kai! They will pull her into shape soon enough! Take the woman to the dungeons – have her beaten severely as punishment for her husband's slacking!" And with that, he retuned to browsing the monitors.
John stood in shock, staring first at the man, and then at the slowly advancing guards. "Boris, sir! You said they would remain unharmed! You swore it! Let them go! They have nothing to do with this!"
Boris eyed John coldly and said in a deadly soft voice, "I will do as I see fit, Mr. Tatibana. Get back to work, now. Take him to the dungeons after lights out and beat him as well." He snapped at the backs of the retreating guards, one holding a softly sobbing six-year-old, and the other a screaming, cursing, struggling woman.
-PDC-
Kate was escorted, kicking and screaming, down the corridor to the left.
Hiromi, however, was taken in the opposite direction as her mother. "Say goodbye to your folks, kid. You'll never see them again, in this place. I'm sorry." The guard whispered to her sadly.
Walking through more twists and turns, he finally opened an iron door in a hall of iron doors side by side. He deposited her into the room with only a cry of, "Young Masters, a new student is to take residence here from now on. She is yours to do with as you wish." He then shut the door behind her with a thud, and she shuddered as she heard a bolt slide into place.
She looked timidly around the room: it was about the size of a small living room, with a wooden desk and in the corner, and a small oval rug placed in front of an unlit stone fireplace large enough to step into. The room contained a doorway through which walked two boys, both about eight.
The one with the air of leadership about him had slate grey bangs and navy blue hair behind it. His crimson eyes were emotionless, and the blue triangles on each cheek made him seem paler than he really was. He wore a purple tank top with purple fingerless gloves, wide grey pants, brown hiking boots, and a long white scarf around his neck.
The other one's body language simply stated 'stay away from me'. His red hair flared out in the back, with two strands out in front to frame his face, and his blue eyes shone hard and cold as ice against his pale skin. He wore a white pair of matching pants and coat, with an orange stripe down the front of his coat and sides of his pants, and a cerulean turtle neck and socks with purple boots.
Hieomi cowered under their scrutiny, and the carrot-top finally quirked an eyebrow, before crossing his arms, and turning to stare instead at the other boy. This one looked at her emotionlessly, before extending a small hand and saying softly, with a hint of a smile in his eyes, "Hello. I'm Kai, and this is Tala. Don't be scared – we won't hurt you."
Tala snorted, "Maybe we won't, but they will, hands down." Hiromi's eyes grew wide, and she whimpered as Kai elbowed Tala sharply in the ribs, "Shut up, stupid! Can't you see she's scared as hell?" He walked forward, and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"They won't come for us for a day, because we have to have time to drill you – so you're safe yet, small one. Don't worry." He smiled gently down at her, his crimson eyes softening.
They managed to get her name out of her, but she was otherwise silent as they led her on a tour of the place: they had come from the kitchens, and connected to that – also without a door – was the bed room. With three beds and a door at one end – the bathroom – the whole place felt only slightly lived in, everything neat and clean, the grey stone walls plain and unfurnished.
They began to explain to her living at the Abbey: train with little tops called 'beyblades' all day long, a grueling exercise in itself; two meals a day, both made in the kitchen, one at four am, before training started at four thirty, and one at eight pm after training; do as you're told without complaint; if you complain or mess up, you get whipped or beaten accordingly; the first-aid is carried out by your roommate or yourself in the dorm; the dorms are locked at all times – only a guard can let you in or out; and, whatever you do, lose your emotions! It makes life easier.
She was given an outfit similar to Kai's, but fit for a female body, with sleeves, and tighter-fitting pants, and only one triangle painted purple under each eye. They drilled her endlessly over the next day until she could answer them in her sleep about anything Abbey-related, and also became her fast friends. Then came the guard on the morning after, and her training began.
She was a model first-student, but she still got whipped silly because of mess-ups with her beyblade. She only shed a few tears, an incredible feat for one so new to the lifestyle, and never spoke out of line. That night, the two boys had to carry her unconscious body back to the dorm, where they gingerly and expertly patched her up and woke her to force much-needed food down her throat.
She was out as soon as they put her to bed.
-PDC-
This pattern continued for a few weeks, until she learned to ignore and work passed the blinding pain until it was no longer an obstacle. All the time, Tala and Kai stood dutifully by her. When it became clear that she was a natural at beyblading, Boris saw fit to train her like he did Tala, Kai, and two other boys, giving her a beyblade with a creature inside it, called a bitbeast.
Tala's bitbeast was a white wolf – she couldn't remember its name, or what the other two boys even had – and Kai's was a beautiful Phoenix called Dranzer. Hers was a female centaur called Yoru. Yoru's horse body and tail were pitch black, except for a spattering of white on her rump, and the black swept over her human body as well. She carried a sturdy long bow and arrows as weapons, and her long black hair trailed down her back like a mane. She wore a black wrap around her chest, and intelligent blue eyes glowed in her dark face.
It was a constant chore to call on Yoru in the beginning, and each of the boys would go full out on her as they were ordered, and cream her, but she grew increasingly better. As time passed, her seventh, eighth, ninth and tenth birthdays passed without her realizing it, and she, Kai, and Tala grew hard and uncaring of anyone but themselves as a group. They towered over the others of the Abbey in strength, skill, speed, and tactics.
They trained on the ice, in the snow, woods, and streets. Kai and Tala taught her to skate and survival skills for when Boris thrust them into the woods to fend for themselves for weeks at a time. They grew closer and closer still in secret, and represented the ferocity of Biovolt as a beyblade team.
-PDC-
One day the alarms blared: someone was trying to escape!
A bedraggled man in a lab coat and a thin woman burst into their dorm, and it took Hiromi a moment to recognize their aged faces. When she did, only years of training kept her from weeping.
As it was, her voice was tight and strangled when she gasped out, "Papa, Mama…!" They cried openly and gathered her into their arms, and John whispered harshly, "We're getting you out of here, Hiromi!" She turned to look pointedly at Tala and Kai when she realized her father was serious.
"Come on, you guys! It's a chance out! Come with me!" she begged.
Kai shook his head and stepped forward, a sad smile on his face, "We can't, Tala and I. We'd slow you all down, Sweet. We will meet again, though; this I swear!" With this, he cupped her face tenderly in one hand, and kissed her softly.
He had never even hinted that he felt anything for her, and this bold move shell-shocked her. He pushed her towards her parents, and as they led her quickly away, he leaned out the door and called out, Tala by his side, "Someday, Love, someday!"
The escape was a blur to her; all she could think about were Tala, Kai, and the kiss. They managed to escape, and then they boarded the next plane to Japan, leaving Russia in all its glory behind.
Only when they had boarded the plane did Hiromi realize she had left Yoru behind.
-PDC-
Over the next three years, she learned Japanese, and she opened up again with home schooling and daily walks through the city, so the day of her fourteenth birthday, her parents enrolled her into public school, where she was the most out-spoken and brightest student there.
To stay out of Biovolts' sights, they changed their names: Hiromi to Hilary, John to James, and Kate to Lalisa.
Hilary met Tyson in school, and then the Chief, Max, and Ray. And then came the fateful day she met Kai. She kept her cool, and continued to act as 'Hilary' would, though she continued to shoot meaningful glances at him.
At the end of the day, the antisocial team captain approached her. For a fleeting moment, she believed he had finally seen through her disguise, but then she saw the hard glare he sent her, and he growled, "I'm not one of the little boys you're used to, girl. I loathe you. I want nothing to do with you or this team, but that's the way it is. I'm only going to tell you once: don't stare, and stay out of my sight, understood? Good." And with that he stalked off.
Later, she rolled her eyes at her own folly: of course he wouldn't know me! He's been stuck in that stupid Abbey getting even more detached all the time, and I don't look like I used to – my posture isn't rod-stiff, I'm not emotionless, I don't wear that fighting outfit any more, I am in girly clothes, and I'm playing dumb about beyblades.
It was stupid to even consider.
-PDC-
Over the months, Tyson and the others being around kept her from forgetting herself and speaking to him in Russian like before, and she 'learned' about him, and him about her. She cheered the team on through their wins and losses, and all the while denied – painfully – ever having bladed in her life.
After the first round of the Championships as the Bladebreakers, Hilary spotted Kai gently holding a black and light-blue blade, and felt her heart leap – Yoru! He hadn't forgotten Hiromi!
Slipping through the Championship with the use of their blades, the Bladebreakers steadily climbed the rough mountain to their first title, with Hilary cheering from the sidelines. And then one day, while the Bladebreakers were training for their next match in Tyson's Grandfather's house, Hilary felt compelled to go outside.
When she did, it took all the Abbey training she possessed not to utter a sound.
Before her stood Boris – with her mother and father in bonds, and Tala beside them, his eyes showing her only how ashamed he was to be seen and treated like a lap dog.
He grinned nastily, "Hello, Hiromi. It's been a while, hasn't it? You and your family have been slippery little fish indeed." He tossed her the old clothes fro the Abbey, fixed to fit her current form, "Wear the tradition tomorrow, Hiromi. In the field just outside town where the Bladebreakers train, when they're there. I'll give you and Kai my proposition then. Oh, and be sure to have Yoru with you."
She nodded stiffly, "Yes, Master Boris." And he left.
With trained moves made to be stealthy, she slipped into Kai's room, found Yoru, and took her, leaving naught in her place. Then she locked herself in her room the rest of the day and night to mentally and physically ready herself for the next days' encounter.
-PDC-
Standing fully clad in her old uniform before a mirror, she expertly tied her bangless, shoulder-blade length hair into a braid, and then drew with steady, practiced hands the familiar triangles onto her face.
She sighed lightly; she couldn't go to the others like this unless she wanted to severely shock them – she left a note saying she'd gone out and wouldn't be back for a while, and to not forget to train, and then she went out her window to go wait in the lone tree in the field that the Bladebreakers had claimed as their training spot.
They arrived a little late, and as she sat in the boughs of the old tree, she heard them talking about her, and where in the world could she have gone, but that she left a note to train, so that's what they would do.
Using the free end of her scarf, she tied it securely around her head, leaving only her eyes showing, and then she jumped down from the tree. All of them started, shocked, and Kai stared, before croaking, "Hi-Hiromi?"
She nodded stiffly, and then said in emotionless Russian, "They have my parents, and Tala, Kai. Boris is coming here, now. Ready yourself, and tell your friends." Kai relayed the message, and the others stood shell-shocked. She pulled Yoru out of her pocket, attached it to the launcher, and then looked over Kai's shoulder at Boris.
As was customary of a caught traitor, she placed her fisted right hand over her heart, gave Boris a stiff nod, and said in soft Russian, "Master Boris." Kai whorled around and sent Boris a dirty look, but did nothing else when he saw Tala and Mr. and Mrs. Tatibana in Boris' clutches.
Boris scoffed loudly in Japanese, "Take that scarf off, Hiromi, or no deal!" Hiromi narrowed brown eyes in distaste, but replied in fluent Japanese as she unwound to the mask, "Of course, Master Boris." As she expected – and tried to prevent with the scarf – the Bladebreakers stared, immobilized as Hilary immerged from the cocoon.
This time, she swept into a full-fledge bow, nearly touching her nose to her knees to add to the mocking act. When she came back up, she immediately launched Yoru without giving them a chance to counterattack. Yoru flew at Boris, and scratched his cheek deeply before returning to Hiromi's hand. She smirked even more deadly than Kai, and said threateningly, "If you do a thing to Tala, Kai, the Bladebreakers, or my parents – I won't feel inclined to miss your jugular next time. Alright?" Boris glared at her, and nodded tightly.
Her eyes glittered maliciously, "Let me guess – you want Kai and I to return as loyal servants to the Abbey in exchange for Tala and my parents." It wasn't a question. Boris smirked back, signaling without words that she was right.
Hiromi shot a glance at Kai, and stepped forward, "Take me; leave the others alone. Don't take them half-way through our deal or into it's end like you did to Papa – me only. You touch Tala, my parents, the Bladebreakers, or Kai at any time in my service, and our deal is off. Those are my terms; take or leave them, I don't care"
Before Kai could object, Boris released his captives, snapped his fingers, and two dark figures swooped down from the tree, caught her up, and fled with Boris into a privet jet at the end of the field.
Kai and Tala both jumped up, "Hiromi!" They shot side-long looks at each other, and nodded. "Pack your things, guys," Kai growled to his team, ", we're going to Russia!" And he shot off down the way with Tala on his heels to go pack and grab a plane.
-PDC-
On the way in the plane, Tala had taken charge and gone on to explain to the Bladebreakers Hiromi's alias Hilary was a fake, and who she really was. Once there, they decided to split up.
Since the Bladebreakers could get lost themselves in the maze of stone, Tala went with them to guide them, and Kai took a route all his own. 'Darn it, Hiromi! Where are you in this accursed stone maze? I haven't forgotten my promise, or my feelings – and seeing you only served to make them stronger!'
'Tala agrees with me – you are too kind for your own good! Sacrificing yourself for us, stupid! When I find you…' he trailed off, anger and worry coursing through his veins as he ran as though a pack of rabid dogs were at his heels, glancing into every room.
He got to the room where Hiromi had told him she had first been taken, and what he saw made his blood run cold then hot – Voltaire himself was punishing her for running. He left that job to the guards – who, unknown to him, had hearts and went much easier on them – unless he wanted to see their faces and pound to lesson into them himself in a way that it would stick.
He held her up off the floor by her throat, and her face was a deathly white. The huge beydish behind them, as well as the former glass tubes, were shattered and broken – a token of his anger. Shards of plastic and glass clung to and stuck in her skin; gashes courtesy of his pocketknife adorned her body; the shadows of bruises were beginning to dapple her skin shades of grey; and a trickle of blood stood out against her pale skin from the corner of her lip.
Pure rage coursed through Kai's veins, and he launched Dranzer straight into his Grandfather, sending him into the far wall, and effectively releasing Hiromi. Kai rushed over, fearing the worst in the prone figure of the girl he loved.
He gingerly placed her head in his lap, and breathed a sigh of relief when he felt her heart beating strong, and she was still breathing – though it was slightly ragged. At the movement, she winced, and opened bleary brown eyes, "…Kai…!" He winced at the weakness of her voice.
"I'm going to pick you up – you need to be gotten to a hospital. It'll be alright." She smiled at him, and said, "I love you, Kai. Thanks for everything." He looked down at her worriedly, "Stop talking like that – you're not gonna die! I love you too much!" She grinned wickedly, "I know, I just wanted to see your reaction." He froze mid-step, and then began again, shaking his head, a smile playing on his lips, "Of course. Let's go guys." He said to the others, who had shown up while he went to her.
They all followed obediently, with Tala, Max, and Ray all muttering among themselves that they knew something like this was bound to happen, and both of them deserve it, blah, blah blah… Kenny walked after the others, with a call to Tyson, "Hurry up, Ty, or we'll leave you behind!"
Tyson, who had been muttering something about a celebration, and he would plan the food, looked up, alarmed, "Wait, up you
guys! Hey! Guys! Wait for me!" And he scrambled off after their retreating backs calling out that he had been planning the party, couldn't they just wait for him for a second, and he just loved happy endings where the second best friend of the groom didn't get left behind, didn't they…?