Tai: Turns out I've had this complete on my computer for a while, I just hadn't uploaded it yet. It's sort of a third possible sequel to Missing, so yea...this is probably the darkest of the three, but I make no apologies for it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or its characters.
Looking out over the ocean past the docks, slate green eyes swam with confusion, the male unsure of what to do. He'd left his team just two days ago, able to fend for himself undetected by anyone quite easily. He still had a decision to make; was he simply going to run for the rest of his life, or would he stop there being a 'rest of his life'? His mind had already locked onto his decision, though he wouldn't consciously admit it; he'd end it, just the how escaped him.
Something on the rocks beneath him reflected the fleeting rays of the sun up into his eyes; the lavender haired male glancing down to see what it was. There, abandoned on a makeshift jetty sat an old knife, most likely used for gutting fish by some local. Jumping down carefully he picked up the object, running a thumb over the blade. Smiling at the small trail of blood that appeared after the metal, he tucked the weapon securely away.
Looking up at the dark clouds that were rolling in, the promise of rain within them, he wondered just what to do. 'I know it's a selfish thing to do, why should it be peaceful for me?' he wondered, blinking as the first of many raindrops hit his cheek. His mind made up, the Russian teen started walking, his subconscious having already picked out a peaceful spot for the task. The bridge where Kai and Tyson had first met all those years ago was a fair distance away, but he was thankful for the time to think.
Settling himself under the small bridge he brought the knife out once more, looking up toward the sky as images flashed briefly through his mind, of Kai and the Blitzkrieg Boys, of the Abbey and their first world championship. The wind seemed stronger somehow as it breezed through, numbing his arms as he brought the tip to his wrist. 'I'm sorry, Kai…'
'Dammit, where is he?' Kai mentally growled, kicking at a nearby stone. It bounced along with a clatter before disappearing off the docks edge, landing with a small plop in the water. "Bryan..." It was already raining heavily; it had started not long after the slate haired male had left to search once again for his missing teammate.
His two toned hair was already thoroughly soaked through, the normally spiked strands plastered flat against his head. His already heavy white scarf was no longer flowing as gracefully behind him as it always had, the weight of the water forcing it to drag almost against the ground as it lay closer to the Russian's back, his clothes sticking to his body closely.
With no sign of the lavender haired male anywhere near the docks, he let out a sigh and started moving on. It was getting cold fast, with a chill to the wind that seemed to be cooling the rain even further. Shivering as he headed toward the park, he wondered if Tala and Spencer were having any luck with finding the male. Heading through the park toward the old bridge he sighed, taking shelter under a nearby tree as he looked out over the river. On the other side of it was where he'd first met Tyson, and had since had many beybattles.
Frowning as something moved under the bridge, his ruby eyes went wide as realisation of what it was. "BRYAN!" Yelling as he darted from the cover of the trees and over the bridge, he moved quickly to where the older Russian was sitting. Coming to a stop in front of the male, his eyes widened further in fear, looking over the lavender haired teen.
Blood was already pooling on the ground beneath him, albeit slowly, and his clothes seemed mostly soaked in the crimson liquid. Dropping to his knees in front of the male, he looked at the wounds on his arms and panicked, trying to think of what he could do to stop the bleeding. 'I need to get help…' The weight of his phone in his pocket became more apparent, the slate haired teen moving on auto-pilot to summon help.
That finished he hugged the older Russian tightly, putting as much pressure as he could on one of the wounds to stem the flow of blood, one hand placing as much pressure as he could manage on the upper arm to try and slow the bleeding. The older teen was soaked through to the bone, the wind blowing over them adding to the coldness his skin was taking on as seconds continued to tick by. "Don't leave me, please! Bryan!"
A pale hand reached up, resting gently against one of the younger male's pale cheeks, dipping into the blue painted shark-fins that adorned his face. Fear took hold of Kai as the gentle touch slipped away, leaving thin trails in the paint as his arm landed with a thud back on the ground. The slate haired teen's eyes filled with tears at the sound, gazing at the oozing limb then back to the older male's face.
The screams of the sirens and yells of the oncoming mass of rescuers fell on deaf ears. Ruby and slate green gazed into one another's unshielded depths, the phoenix finally able to glimpse the falcon's pain. "Bryan…"
"I'm…sorry…Kai…" The lavender haired male muttered, his dark eyes disappearing as they drifted closed. His pale skin was no longer just icy in appearance; it'd taken on a similar temperature and the slate haired teen could do nothing but sit frozen, staring at the still frame of his teammate and friend. A nameless figure removed the older Russian from the now motionless Hiwatari's arms, his ruby eyes still wide with shock.
Numb to the world around him, he failed to register the vehicles driving off, though when the freezing drops of water stopped hitting his bare skin however, he finally moved, looking around himself. Icy blue met his gaze, the concern in them evident. Wordlessly the redhead pulled the younger teens arm across his shoulders and grabbed one side of his belt, forcing him to stand.
"Come on, we need to get you home out of this rain before you get a cold." The Russian blonde at his other side stuck close, holding the umbrella over his two shorter teammates as they headed back to the familiar building, proceeding in silence most of the way. Finally reaching the shelter of their current home, the two older Russians finally took in the appearance of the drowned male.
Though there was clearly not a scratch on him, the unmistakeable colouring of blood had seeped into his shirt and pants, staining the cloth a darker than normal colour. Soaked through to the bone and the blue fins normally adorning his cheeks smeared by another's hand, Tala sighed, dragging Kai toward the stairs. His load was soon taken away as Spencer picked the smaller male up easily, carrying him toward the living quarters, Tala slipping ahead to run a warm bath.
Setting the male down in the bathroom, both redhead and blonde glanced at the male then one another, unsure as to what they could do. "Kai, you need to have a bath and warm up." Tala stated, watching his teammate. "I know you're worried about Bryan but there's not a damned thing you can do for him if you get sick as well. I'll check on you in a couple of minutes."
The two taller Russians filing from the room, they headed well away from the bathroom to talk; both certain Kai needn't hear their conversation. "What'd they say?" Tala asked quietly, not really wanting to believe the situation.
"He'd lost a lot of blood, but they're hopeful he'll make it; they're confident they got there in time to be able to get him to the hospital. I hope they're right." Spencer muttered in reply, a hand brushing some loose droplets of rain from his hair. "I don't know what Kai will do if they lose him."
"Let's hope we don't have to find out." Tala muttered, heading off to Kai's room to grab the younger a change of dry clothes, while Spencer headed off to the kitchen to make the three of them something to eat before the blonde headed off to the hospital. Of course, doing that would require waiting for the slate haired teen to be asleep to prevent him from trying to follow. Both of his teammates knew he was worried, but he'd been out in the cold and rain for far too long for the duo to let him stay up worrying about Bryan.
With a spare change of clothes in hand, the redhead returned to the bathroom, relieved to see the already soaked slate haired teen sitting at one end of the tub, arms resting forward on his knees. "Spencer's sorting dinner; I'll put your wet clothes in the wash." Pausing to look at the teen briefly before he left, he hesitated at the door.
"Why would he do that?" the ruby eyed male asked quietly, his eyes focused on the water in front of him. "Why…he has us…" his voice was barely above a whisper but the blue eyed male heard it clear as day, sighing as he turned to leave.
"I don't know, Kai..." he paused, looking cautiously at the slate haired male. "Maybe even with all of us around, he felt alone?" The male in the bath frowned at the comment, unsure of what the male meant. "Don't be too long." Finally leaving the younger teen in peace to bathe, Tala padded off down the hall, soon finding himself pressed in a firm kiss against the nearest wall.
"You planning to tell him once I've gone to see how Bryan is?" The blonde asked, his voice barely above a murmur.
"Yea…we shouldn't have kept it from him for so long." Tala muttered in reply, kissing the taller male softly. "Now go finish dinner." Sharing another quick, simple kiss, the duo parted ways, Spencer to finish cooking, while Tala headed in the direction of Bryan's room. 'Maybe he wrote something down.'
Having left the door unlocked after picking the lock when the lavender haired male had disappeared, the redhead looked around the room. All their rooms were rather large, and they'd been given free reign over decorating their personal space. Strangely, however, the falcon had left his room rather plain. Whether he'd taken down everything and destroyed it, or simply never bothered, the team captain wasn't sure.
Searching once more through the draws, he let out a growl of frustration; the other male had almost nothing personal; a few books, but no photos. Nothing hand-written, nothing he'd drawn or had any real input on. Nothing that indicated what the male liked or didn't like, despite the team having been there for more than a year. His own room was full of books, notes and memos about various things, not to mention pictures of wolves. Spencer's had a collection of books on medicine, while Kai's had…well pretty much anything one could think to put in their room.
"Dammit Bryan! Why the hell don't you have anything in this damned place?" the blue eyed male cursed, dropping onto the bed. A small thud met his ears as he connected with the mattress, dislodging something. Frowning, the redhead stood and looked under the bed, spotting a box that hadn't been there earlier. Sliding it towards him, he carefully lifted the lid, doubling his confusion as the contents were revealed.
Tala watched silently as Spencer stood to leave, unable to ignore the growl that Kai emitted at the action. Both heard the door shut and sat in silence; Kai pushing food around his plate while the redhead watched him like a hawk. "Are you actually going to eat something or just push it around your plate all night until it turns to mush?"
"You're keeping me here while Spencer goes to check how Bryan is, despite my telling you that I want to see him, and you won't tell me why!" the slate haired male snapped, stabbing the utensil into a piece of pasta.
"Firstly I need to talk to you. Secondly, you've barely slept or eaten since Bryan disappeared, and to top it off you went walking around in the rain all day." Tala's eye twitched, glaring at the male. "What sort of captain would I be if I let you go out after that sort of thing?"
Kai growled at the comment but said nothing more, finally actually devouring another piece of pasta. "What I need to talk to you about…we probably should've told you when you joined the team. Bryan already knows…Spencer and I are…together."
Stopping with the fork halfway to his mouth, the ruby eyed male frowned at Tala, his mind trying to process quickly what the male meant. "Together? You mean…a couple?" He received a stiff nod from the male, the slate haired teen's frown deepening at the statement. "Is that what you meant when you said that you think Bryan felt alone even with us here?"
"Yea…You always seemed to be too busy training to be able to do anything else…"
"He tried training with me…but…he got tired of it I think. I…I should've realised…he was…just trying to find someone…"
"Don't blame yourself, Kai. If anyone's to blame it's those bastards who raised us not to be emotional. If it weren't for them he would've just been able to come out and say it." The redhead growled.
Cocking his head to one side, the phoenix wondered what the wolf was talking about. "Come out and say what?"
"…Ah…well, it's none of my business. He can tell you himself once he wakes up."
The gentle beep of a machine and someone else's gentle breathing reached his ears, though the male refused to stir. Being in a state between unconsciousness and being awake gave the lavender haired male no sense of time; he didn't know how long he'd been there, didn't know how many days, or even weeks, had passed since he'd…
"Bryan…please…I just wish you'd wake up." Tala's voice broke through the haze of his in-between state; something in his tone sat somewhere between sadness and anger. "Selfish bastard. Kai's been waiting for you to wake up and you won't even do that!"
He heard the clattering footsteps he knew to associate with Tala fade down into the hallway, though the gentle breathing remained. 'Kai? He's…here?' The male stirred briefly, the slate haired male jumping to alertness at the movement. He felt a warm hand upon his own, grasping it gently.
"Bryan…" The ruby eyed male's voice seemed to break through his silence more than the red haired male's voice had. "I'm sorry, Bryan…" The younger male muttered, his eyes glistening as they had for the past few days when he looked at the older Russian. He'd long since run out of tears on the matter; one could only cry for so long for a friend before the tears simply dried up. The pale Russian was still unusually white, though the cloth bound tightly around his arm seemed to give his skin more colour than normal.
The male's hand twitched slightly, lightly grasping that of the younger male, his eyes twitching furiously as the male attempted to wake up. Finally the slate green eyes opened, the dark orbs once again meeting with the bright ruby red of Kai's. "Bryan…"
"Kai…" his voice had lost a lot of its gruffness, the Russian instead sounding completely worn out. "I'm…sorry…I made you worry…"
It was a tone the younger Russian had never heard in his voice; regardless of what they'd gone through at the Abbey he'd always remained strong; after even the most gruelling physical challenges he'd be the one of their group that remained strong. No hint of exhaustion ever seeped through the lavender haired male's mask, unlike the rest of the team. Perhaps that was why he seemed to be the favourite?
His grip on the pale appendage tightened, his eyes focused on the slate green pair of the other. "Bryan…why?" he asked quietly, eyes still shining.
The dark eyes closed again, the male's entire body tensing somewhat as he took in a deep breath. "I…was just tired of everything...of being alone all the time..."
"Alone? You weren't alone; me, Tala, Spencer – we were there, and we weren't leaving!"
He turned away from the slate haired teen, his voice turning hollow. "You can be alone in a room full of people."