Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or any of its characters. The plot, however, is mine, and so is my OC (Danzi).
Warnings: Death, implied homosexuality
Author's Notes: I haven't had time to write much lately, so I decided to do a quick oneshot. Basically, this story is a reflection upon Ray's life by the cat-like old man. Yes, I did age him by about 60 years and gave him a son and grandson. I hope you enjoy!
Naive
When I was young, I was naive. There is no doubting it, not even as I lie on my deathbed. I am old and covered with wrinkles; my sight had failed me years ago. My hearing, though sensitive in my teenager years, has also dulled. I often ask people to repeat what they had said to me, often numerous times. My friends, family, and villagers are now patient when in my presence.
My teenage years were the best in my long, long life. I had grown up in an
ancient village in the countryside of China, amongst rustic people and savage beasts. As I began to mature, a need to leave the village grew inside me. This led to my friend's former, stern belief that I had abandoned them, when in fact I had left to broaden my horizons and expand my knowledge of the world.
There was a sport that was promontory in my village during my childhood, the art and sport of Beyblading. With little tops, we battled each other, pretending fierce and mystical beasts resided inside. Eventually, we all found our own beasts. As for myself, my beast turned out to be the white tiger, Drigger.
I wasn't the only one with a bit beast, I soon learned when I left the village for the first time. Instead, I found out that there was more powerful, more frightening beasts in this world, each one residing inside of that little Beyblade top. It was after my discovery that I met my former teammates and joined a new team: the Bladebreakers.
We had journeyed all across the world, facing hardships and numerous battles with evil forces, in order to obtain and protect our championship title. We were the best in the world. However, only five years after winning our first championship title, becoming the number one team in the world, the team crumbled.
First, it was a young girl named Hilary Tachibana who left. She had decided to pursue a career and left Beyblading behind her. She was our assistant coach, and without her, our training regimen began to slip. Max Tate had decided to quit Beyblading in order to follow in his father's footsteps. He became a successful shop owner, with stores in all countries around the world.
With the loss of Max and Hilary, Kenny was the next to leave. He had not abandoned the sport of Beyblading, however. He dedicated himself to pursue a career in a Beyblade research center up in the state of New York. Tyson Granger was the next to go. Like Kenny, he never left Beyblading behind. Instead, he taught his morals and lessons to the children that lived in his neighborhood, even when he became too frail to launch a Beyblade. The last day he launched his Dragoon into the Beystadium was the day he was diagnosed with ALS.
At this point, there was no reason to continue being a team. Only two members remained, Kai and I. Daichi had quit right after our third championship title was earned. Although he only battled alongside us for the fame and fortune, he was the one to stick by Tyson's side until the day of Tyson's saddening death.
Kai, seeing no reason to coach only one person, left for Russia to become head of his family's business. The day he left was more than the day of the Bladebreakers's official split, it was the day I lost my love.
I had harbored a crush on Kai when I first laid eyes on him. At the time, I was confused about what I was feeling. My village had placed heavy emphasis on heterosexual love, and so "gays" and "lesbians" (I hate those terms) were shunned and frowned upon. Afraid of being shunned, I kept my love a secret.
As we grew somewhat older, my love grew. My crush had become an obsession; I dedicated myself to pleasing him. I would try to warm up to him, in order to get him to open up, but to no avail. Although acknowledging us, he refused to have too much of an emotional connection to us. It was as if he was able to foresight our split.
And so, I hesitated in telling Kai of my secret love for him. There was no happy ending, no sappy love story between us. We were teammates, and that was the only link between us. The day he left for Russia was the last day I saw him. I have no idea whether he is alive or dead. I have been excluding myself from the outside world in order to be the village chief and elder. An elder is always busy.
With my weak voice, I call my grandson to me. My voice has lost its spirit and is now hoarse. Meekly, my young grandson walks over to me, unsure of what to do for his dying grandfather.
I motion him closer to me with my hand. He asks shyly, "What is it, grandfather?"
"It is something very important," I tell him, trying to keep in my mind that he is only 10 years old. I had my son when I was 30, and to continue family tradition, he had his son (my grandson) when he was 30.
"Yes, grandfather?" he asks, more confident now.
"I have an important mission for you, Danzi," I tell him with a strained voice. "You must promise to fulfill it for me."
"I promise."
"Good," I smile weakly, my strength fading. "I want you to change this village's ways. I'm too old to do it now."
"Don't say that."
"I speak only the truth," I sigh. "Our village is closed in mind, and you must open them up. Find a way to open their minds, find a way to make them accept foreign ideas."
"What kind of foreign ideas?" he asks, curious.
"Ideas like technology. Ideas like love for the same gender."
"But...that last one is taboo..." my grandson says quietly, below his breath.
"Not anymore, not in today's world. I'm the last of my generation, and your generation is much more open to new ideas. Educate them, Danzi. For our future generations and for the past, our ancestors."
"But, why introduce something so foreign?" he asks, somewhat uncomfortable.
"Here's a secret from your grandfather that you must never tell. There was a man I loved. I never told him so. I suffered because of our outdated morals and codes."
"You...did?"
"Yes, and I do not regret it. One last thing, before I go," I say weakly, my strength fading faster than before.
"Yes, grandfather," my grandson nods, understanding my will.
"Take this letter," I tell him as I hand him a piece of faded parchment. "Mail it to Kai Hiwatari...go to the city and use the computer device to find the right address."
"Yes, grandfather. I will fulfill your wishes."
"Thank you," I smile weakly, my eyelids becoming heavy and covering my eyes. I hear the saddened sobs of a young boy as my spirits abandons my body.
What did my letter say? I believe that you can speculate about that...
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Author's Notes: Like I said about three pages ago, I hope you enjoyed this oneshot! A bit on the short side, but I never had a chance to watch G-Revolution the whole way through. By the time I did get the chance, Beyblade was already taken off the air. So, I'm going by what I remember here. If you liked this story, feel free to send me a review if you'd like to do so.