This was a fic I had on DeviantArt. One of my first. I edited it a bit, but it's still going to start off looking a bit amateur.
2017 Edit: For the third time I have rewritten this chapter. It's almost three times as long and choc full of new stuff. Maybe give it a read.
He shuts the door carefully, wary of it's weight making a thud to alert anyone nearby, and slides down the bolt. It deadens the distant sounds of commotion, giving the space a purposeful silence, and Gingka turns to the others behind him. "Let's split up. We'll have a better chance of finding him that way."
"How are we going to know where he is with all of these pathways?" Kenta asks worriedly.
"We'll figure it out. We aren't leaving until we know he's safe, no blader gets left behind," Gingka assures him, determination hard in his voice although he himself isn't sure where to start. The rest of the group, Tsubasa, Yuu, Madoka, Masamune, and all of former team Wildfang minus one member, nod in agreement and begin separating off. There's a moment when Gingka almost takes back his first decision when he remembers that Madoka has no bey, and therefore no way to protect herself, but she takes it into her own hands.
"Hey Tsubasa, you don't mind me tagging along, do ya?" He hears her ask. Her voice seems a little unsteady, but she keeps a bright smile on her face so maybe it's just his imagination.
Tsubasa, lightly surprised, allows, "I don't mind."
From the right, Nile and Demure seem to have claimed the route closest to the door and before heading down Nile offers, "If anyone finds him, let the rest of us know."
Yuu's method of choosing is very simple, going, "Eeny-meeny-miney-whatever," and walking off in no particular direction with a song echoing off the walls, and Kenta hurries after him.
Benkei watches them for just a moment, but he can't afford to waste time. None of them could, not when Kyoya was somewhere inside this building. He moves alone through his own way, keeping on guard because if something could keep Kyoya hidden away for so long, it wasn't good. The corridor is washed in an uncomfortable dimness, shadows only broken by the occasional room with a light forgotten in the rush to leave, and the glimmers of working electronics in the walls and the ceiling. None of the first few rooms, though scanned carefully, hold anything interesting. A few are just storage, three are janitorial closets which seemed like far too many too close to each other. Then there are more storage rooms, a few locked that Benkei has to break down, but inside of these are beyblades, lying in opened boxes or across the floor. Another room past that is just a wide open space like a gym, but with a lot of random junk scattered around. He's glad this one is open since it looks like the doors are a lot stronger, like the one they had used to get to this section of the building.
It's when Benkei starts finding rooms full of metal fenced spaces, like the kennels for dogs in shelters, that he feels like he's getting somewhere. At the same time, unease prickles at him. There are things like plastic bowls with food and water left inside the kennels- human food, albeit not very good looking. Even a few scattered blankets, and the kennels themselves are only a few feet wide. He isn't sure what exactly to make of it, but something burns in his chest just seeing it.
There aren't many rooms after the first like that that Benkei has to search when he finally walks into one that isn't empty. Through the metal fencing he can see a figure in one of the front kennels farthest from the door, although it's too dark in the room to see it properly. For a moment Benkei almost calls out to who he thinks could be Kyoya, but the words die before they make it to his throat. It's almost like betrayal to even consider that Kyoya could be caged. Certainly he'd rather die first. Kyoya would never allow such an affront to his dignity or freedom, so this couldn't be Kyoya- even if it would make sense for why he hadn't escaped. Benkei should make sure though, just in case. It wouldn't be right to leave someone anyways.
He walks closer and crouches down to see the person better, who scrambles away as soon as he starts. With just the light from the room across cutting in from the door there isn't much to see. They're pressed up against the wall to the left, their knees in front, and they- he doesn't have a shirt, just black pants that lead down to bare feet. Benkei can see that his hair sticks up every which way and hangs in his face, but the color's indistinct. He can't see the person's face well enough to know who it is either. They'd been avoiding turning on lights in case there were people leftover whose attention could be attracted, but Benkei needs to know.
He moves to the entrance and, after a moment of searching, flips a switch. The right half of the room's lights flicker on and that's more than enough for a stone to materialize in Benkei's stomach at the sight of hunter-green. Anticipatory fear makes the steps back to the cage like wading through water, but Benkei makes himself reexamine the captive. The way he's hunched in on himself makes in hard to see his face, but familiar steely-blue stares back at him. Some re-angling is necessary to pick out part of scars below them, but for all the similarity they may as well have been photoshopped onto this person who's pale and almost gray from layers of grime caked over his skin. Half of his face is purple and swollen, and most- but not all- of the signs of a nosebleed have flaked away. Just from Benkei's current position he can see a litany of angry-looking cuts and gashes all over the person's shoulders and back, deep and red with inflammation; a few have begun weeping fresh blood from his movement.
It almost feels like a mistake. That this person, same size, same hair and eyes and scars just happens to look like his best friend and Kyoya is somewhere else, whole and annoyed at them for taking so long, or perhaps for even thinking he needed rescuing in the first place because he is Kyoya Tategami- as if that fact alone made him invincible. And no, Benkei forces himself to admit, Kyoya really isn't. He wasn't even stronger than Benkei by brute muscle and size, although he could cut it closer than it should be just by pure determination, and that was where his strength really was. Pure unyielding drive towards whatever he focused on and the resilience to survive it. He could take whatever was thrown at him and come out on top, and that made him seem twice as big as he really was.
But. But he was still human. And no denial could change that Kyoya wasn't anywhere but here, right in front of him... and hurt.
It had to be. Benkei breathes in and manages aloud, "Kyoya?"
The captive flinches, his breath hitches a little and brings Benkei to notice how rough it is. Kyoya doesn't speak, but his reaction is enough. This is him, locked away in a cage and beaten almost past recognition. Benkei has to get the others, has to get help right away but- ...Kyoya has his pride. He wouldn't want to be seen like this. Benkei doesn't even know how he can bear to show the others and tell them this is the fierce Leone blader because this is so wrong, this isn't how it should be.
His eyes and throat burn a little, and Kyoya wouldn't want to be pitied so he tries to smooth out his crumpling face but it doesn't work, so he just covers it. Something is building in his chest like a sob, something helpless, because what can he possibly do for Kyoya when he's so hurt. This is just like when Doji took him away, only Doji just trained him and took him somewhere that Kyoya only spoke about once, when he looked at Benkei with a manic hungry way and tried to destroy him. This is too much. It's so much worse.
"...Kyoya." The sound escapes the vice of feeling and from under his hands, mournful sounding.
What could he possibly do?
"Benkei?"
Benkei turns, startled, to see Gingka standing in the entrance. His eyes are wide, eyebrows lifted to pinch together with uncertainty and worry. He looks across the room through the fencing to Kyoya, his expression hardens decisively and walks further in. Everything about his demeanor is careful as he kneels beside Benkei, and Benkei watches his eyes as they take in the state of Kyoya, creasing with pain for him but otherwise remaining solemn. "Should we get the others?" He asks after a moment of quiet.
Benkei shrugs wearily, still conflicted but settling to the reasoning that getting Kyoya out is the priority here, regardless of the rest. He lets Gingka get up and go for everyone else, unwilling to walk away from Kyoya. Benkei focuses on the lock instead. It could be easily busted off with a strong enough bey, but the problem was the control needed. Benkei's launches had never been as neat as some of the others, they'd never had to be, but now he regrets not making more effort towards that, especially as the footsteps grow closer.
He doesn't miss Kyoya shifting back a bit further, or how he turns to face the noise with his shoulders braced. The shock from the others is audible, little gasps and murmurs, even Madoka exclaiming softly, "Kyoya!" It isn't until the click of a loaded bey that Benkei turns, eyes finding Gingka.
"We have to get him out of there," He says simply, then launches at the lock. As expected, it busts easily and tobbles to the floor, allowing the door to swing open an inch by itself but Kyoya only stiffens further.
When he makes no move to get out of the kennel, Nile moves in closer and urges, "Come on, Kyoya we need to leave." Kyoya instead flashes a snarl in their direction and slips back farther away, maneuvering with his hands and feet- foot, Benkei notes that his left leg isn't taking any weight. From the back of the space Kyoya watches them with his wide eyes flicking distrustfully between them all, reflecting the low light with an eerie, almost animalistic glow. Benkei frowns.
Gingka is next to inch closer, reaching out as if to pull Kyoya from the cage, and encourages, "I may not know what happened to you, Kyoya, but I promise we can help you. Please, you can walk out right now and be free." Desperately, he stretches farther, but Kyoya only presses father back. "Please Kyoya!"
"Hey, I think we should move back," Benkei interrupts softly. The others stare in surprise, but Benkei doesn't blame them. He knew how loud he was, he had a lot of emotions that he expressed freely, but this wasn't the time for that. Right now they were crowding Kyoya like this, all bunched in front of the exit, and Kyoya had never liked that even in a quiet scenario. "We're suffocating him," Benkei explains, then carefully nudges Nile and Gingka, as well as the others gathered behind him, back. They all stand back a couple feet away, waiting silently. Minutes later when he still hasn't moved Masamune groans in irritation.
"Why won't he just come out!?" He stomps off to the side and crosses his arms impatiently.
Kenta frowns and suggests, "Maybe he's too hurt to?" He peers closer at the cage while being cautious not to get closer, and it makes him look like he's balancing at the edge of something. "He does seem pretty beat up…"
"He isn't too hurt to move away from us, so I'd bet he just doesn't trust us," Tsubasa cuts in from beside Demure and Madoka. Meeting their eyes, he adds, "From what he's been through, he's probably got a good reason not to."
Gingka, face taut with concern, echos half to himself, "...Doesn't trust us…" His brows pinch in thought, searching for a solution, when his hand brushes the lump in his pocket. His eyes go wide. "Leone!"
At his exclamation, all eyes go to him and fill with realization. "Of course!" Madoka cries. "Leone means everything to him!"
Gingka takes out the bey and, with a deep breath, steps back closer to the cage's front. He's careful to leave a space between himself and it when he kneels down, then slowly, with some tense hope reaching his face, extends Leone back to it's owner. He holds it there steadily like a peace offering while they wait, all baited breaths and Benkei with particular rapt attention. There had always been something special about the relationship between Kyoya and his bey. While Kyoya rarely spoke openly, Leone always channelled the truth of his feelings into their fights. For as long as Benkei had known him this had proved itself, time and time again. If Kyoya doesn't take Leone, he wonders what it means.
Kyoya's darting eyes finally rest on the familiar top for a few counts before hesitantly, he stretches out a hand. A break remains between them still, and it's with even heavier reluctance and a quick check towards everyone huddled to the right of Gingka that he finally shifts forward. The air seems to leave the room until Kyoya's fingers hover over Gingka's. Slowly they curl around Leone and Kyoya brings the bey up to his face, awe-stricken, to examine it. When he seems to confirm it as his bey, something inside him releases. His shoulders open back to their natural position and his knotted posture loosens, and he doesn't pull away when Gingka reaches to him this time. Instead he looks up at Gingka carefully, possibly reassessing him, and reaches back.
The move out of the kennel is stiff and unsteady even when Kyoya finally pulls himself upright, his left foot dangling off the floor. Benkei moves to support him on that side, wrapping one of Kyoya's arms over his shoulder and a hand around his waist, carefully avoiding the red splotching over his ribs. The heat that comes off Kyoya is unusually potent, but what draws more concern is that he doesn't resist at all. "Let's get out of here," Benkei decides.
The walk back is slow going, although not as much as it was finding the room, and no one speaks much during it which leaves no distraction as Benkei tries not to fret about the thick choppiness of the breaths coming from his side. They didn't have much time to spare with only a short amount of reprieve before the police would set up search in this area of the building as well, and they weren't to interfere with that. Just as expected, walking out the door they'd come from is met with the organized chaos of officers cleaning up their investigation of the first area. A few take notice of them and look like they want to offer help, but no ambulance has arrived yet with the tools they'd need and there's little more for them to do. Besides, outside there's a helicopter waiting.
It's as they're leaving the elevator from the higher floors that, after watching Kyoya's head sink lower and lower with every minute, his foot begins to drag and Benkei isn't so much supporting him as carrying. The other foot keeps drifting downwards before being jerked up, and the heat burning through Benkei's side from him is getting harder to ignore.
Benkei finally halts and calls, "Just a minute you guys!" The sudden stop makes Kyoya slump a little more. The others pause and turn around.
"Is he alright?" Madoka asks nervously.
Feeling wrinkles of concern fold into his forehead again as he shifts Kyoya to try and see his face, Benkei's stomach drops at the sickly hue of his skin shiny with a layer of sweat and the way Kyoya's eyes gaze sightlessly into the distance. "He's really sick," Benkei says. Considering the distance still left to the helicopter, he insists, "He's not going to make it like this! I'll have to carry him."
Crouching over and bringing Kyoya's other arm over his shoulder, Benkei hoists him onto his back from under his legs. Briefly, Kyoya stiffens when his right foot leaves the ground, but doesn't have any fight remaining to do more then fall limp. He's lighter than he should be.
Continuation of 2017 edit (Aka What's new in version 3.0):
- Bug fixes
- Prison living quarters improved
- Details
- More dialogue from characters that have actually been listed
- Things that connect to the plot
- More action from POV character
I also took advantage of Benkei's quieter side for the serious moments. I hope it turns out alright, I've only read through it once.