An Angel Called Aoi
Memories. So precious. One treasure, no matter how well sought, that could never be found, returned or relived once forgotten.
How precious these are.
A young boy, playing in the yard. It was spring; the cherry blossoms fell around him, the precise color of his cheeks.
He had had a kitten. She was white, fluffy. She wore a vibrant pink color with a little golden bell attached. It rang out gaily as she pounced about in the blossoms.
Aoi was her name.
She was named for the color of her blue eyes, so deep and rich against her fur.
The little boy reached to pick her up and stroke her. She licked his hand. His laughed, tinged with the innocence of childhood, erupted from the five year old as the kitten began to paw at his blue and silver locks…
It was only a memory.
It seemed empty and hollow, unimportant some how. In Kai Hiwatari's mind, that memory was like a watercolor painting, with the color being washed away, blurred and muddied together. The color would drip off the canvas; each drop would signify a part of the memory forgotten. It would become less vivid, and in passing time, the color would fade away. Completely…Forgotten.
It wasn't important to him anyhow. A true beyblader must rise above loyalties and friendship. You only needed yourself; you did not need to fight for another.
So why would such a trivial memory float to the top of his mind, and why now was it so clear?
He started back out the huge windows facing the back yard, perched on a window seat where he liked to sit and read. He could almost see Aoi scampering in the blossoms like she used to.
She was killed when his grandfather took him to the Abbey.
When his grandfather informed Kai's parents he was taking him away, Kai wanted nothing more then to bring Aoi with him. He had wanted so much for her to see where he was born and where he had spent the first year of his life.
One of his grandfather's bodyguards removed a rifle from his jacket. A cold, hollow snap, then the sound of metal through bone. The poor little animal mewed pitifully and went limp.
Kai had felt a scream form inside his mouth, but was too scared to say anything. Clutching his beloved pet tearfully to his chest, he stared up at his grandfather.
"This is your first lesson, Kai," He had said informatively. "You must rise above and forget trivial compassion."
And with that, he snatched the little corpse from Kai's hands and flung it against the wall.
When his grandfather had retired to his study, Kai had summoned the courage to go and fetch Aoi. He picked her up, sticky from her blood. Such a lush red against her white fur. It was the same color as the ruby studded collar that he had bought her for a present. He went upstairs to retrieve it, and slipped it around her cold and frail neck. Tears streaming down his face, he buried her in his mother's ivory jewelry box, in which he had kept his had beyblade. It seemed so fitting to bury her in: eyes of sapphires, fur white as pearls, her little mewls clear as diamonds, and now, in her death, the blood of rubies.
Ruby red.
For the longest time after, Kai despised the color red. He could barely stand to look at his faithful companion, Dranzer. The color just brought him back to that day, where Aoi's heart's red blood rushed from her poor little body to the cold marble tiles on the floor.
He never told anyone of Aoi's death until he was eight years old. Another boy, who was sharing the cell with him in the Abbey, told about his family and how they used to have a dog. He was always playing with a pretty white pendant with a cherry blossom inlaid inside. He told Kai it belonged to his mother and was very important to him. "Mom gave this to me because she said you have to pass it on to someone special in your life. I hope I find my someone." The sweet little pendent reminded him so much of his lost pet that Kai found himself telling the boy of Aoi. He almost told the boy about the ivory jewelry box, but he already felt silly for saying what he did. They were supposed to rise above compassion.
Besides that, the boy, ironically, had red hair. He said his name was Tala
And then, Kai remembered, blushing and gently touching his lips, Tala kissed him.
The boy was three years his senior, and Kai, to this day, didn't understand why Tala had kissed him.
Tala left the cell two days later. The two had gotten quite close considering the short amount of time they'd spent together. They had maybe spent a week together in the cell, but didn't say much at first. Just by opening up and telling Tala about Aoi, Kai had come closer to him then anyone else in his life.
Another memory Kai had, the little promise Tala had made as he was leaving:
"I'll come back for you someday. And then we'll go buy a white kitten and name her Aoi, okay?"
Kai had been taught that crying was futile and won you nothing, yet he still felt tears betray him and slip down his face. "You promise, Tala?"
Tala smiled "I promise." He slid something into Kai's hand. "I double promise!"
The thing in his hand was Tala's precious pendant.
Kai wore the pendant around his neck on a thin silver chain. He slid the cool white jade around in his hand. He closed his eyes, then gasped and blushed as his hand actions made him think of something else. He winced as he jerked up from the seat, now aware of a not-so-little problem. There was no way he could even think to try and satisfy himself now, Tala would be here any second.
It had gone on for too long. Kai had not seen Tala for seven years. The pendant was supposed to be for 'that special someone.' Seven years, no contact, even though they knew where the other had been. Kai had not been allowed any contact to the outside world, thought some servants did slip his mail to him. Never among those letters was Tala's neat Russian scrawled in the corner for the return address.
At first, it was always one maid who brought up his mail. She used to tease him about the 'letter from an admirer' and left his room singing 'Mr. Postman' by the Beatles. At first, this had made Kai laugh, but as time wore on he could see the pain behind that stupid song.
Kai winced. Thoughts of Tala were making it harder for him to think, and harder in…other areas. He was just about to go up to his room to deal with it when the doorbell rang sharply.
'Damn it!' Kai mentally screamed. Oh dear god, what now? Just thoughts of Tala had gotten him aroused, meanwhile Kai's whole plan was to give back the pendent and forget about him.
Yeah, right.
Groaning, Kai slumped on the wall. The doorbell rang again.
Wincing, he stood again, walked slowly to the door, as if approaching the noose. Tala saw through the curtain by the window and waved. Kai nodded once slowly and put his hand to the brass doorknob. It wouldn't turn.
He just couldn't do it.
Kai's hand shook on the doorknob. Something brushed against his legs, something furry and small. Kai jumped, and opened the door a crack by doing so. He could here a faint purring as the door suddenly flew open.
The noise ceased as Tala and Kai were left staring at each other.
Tala's eyes immediately dropped to Kai's pants, which were now way too tight. Kai glowered at him and turned his body sideways. He thrust the pendent at him.
"Here, take it," he snapped.
Tala's jaw dropped. "Wha-?"
"I asked you to come here to take back your frigin' pendent and stop fucking with me."
"What?" Tala demanded. "So you don't like me anymore? What the hell did I do to deserve this? Damn it Kai, You can be a real ass some tim-"
"You bastard!" Kai choked out, his throat constricted by tears. He threw to pendent at Tala and race up the stairs to his room.
"What? Kai, wait!" Tala cried, rushing after Kai.
"Leave me alone!" Kai whirled to face Tala; little rivers of tear flowing down his face, his cheeks pink.
The huge chestnut door slammed in Tala's face. Tala could hear the soft sobs coming from Kai's room.
"Kai?" Tala said softly, slowly opening the door.
Kai lay on his bed, his face pressed against an ice blue silk pillow to muffle his sobs. Tala sat on the edge of the bed beside Kai, gently laying his hand on the small of his back. Tala felt Kai go ridged and hugged him to his chest. He expected Kai to try and move away from him, but instead Kai turned and snuggled into him.
"Ok, Kai," Tala whispered, gently caressing Kai's back, "Tell me that was about."
Kai sat up abruptly, knocking Tala's arms away. "You give me the pendent saying it's supposed to signify that I'm special to you, and then you never even bother to try and keep in contact with me? I thought we were something, you and I. I-I thought it meant you loved me."
"Kai," Tala sounded breathless. "Kai, I do love you."
Kai turned fast and slapped Tala hard across the face, "Oh, shut up, Tala, just shut up!" Kai's voice broke; his old tears ran down his face. "Stop hurting me, please, I-I just can't take it anymore! I wait for seven years for you, Tala, and you never wrote or called me…"
"Neither did you," said Tala, trying to even debating grounds.
"If I could, I would have!" Kai was sobbing now, his hands curling into ice blue silk bed sheets.
"Kai, don't you try and blame me for something you could have done yourself,"
"I wasn't allowed to step out of the house! You think I'd be allowed to send mail?"
"If you loved me," Tala yelled, "you could have figured it out!"
"Oh, just go away and get the fuck out of my house, you basta-!"
The purring noise from earlier began again, and something soft bounced against Kai's head. He gasped softly as he fell forward and his lips met Tala's. His eyes were huge as he watched Tala's eyes flutter shut on instinct. Kai slowly relaxed into the kiss, then gasped as he felt something strange, Tala was excited as he was.
"What's wrong?" Tala murmured against Kai's lips, slowly grinding his hips up into Kai's.
"T-Tala," Kai gasped. "Ah, ah, h-ah…"
"Now do you believe me?" Tala murmured in Kai's ear.
Kai sat up.
Tala stared at him, "Kai?"
Kai brought the palm of his hand harshly across Tala's face, knocking back on the bed. Tala continued to stare and rub at his bruised cheek as Kai sat glaring daggers through his tears. He reached forward and laced his hands into Tala's red hair, enjoying the way he winced to brace himself for impact.
"That was for leaving," he announced to Tala.
"And this," Kai said, his voice now soft, "is for coming back,"
Kai pull Tala up from the bed and kissed him like they'd never kissed before. Their tongues slid against each other as the two moaned and sighed softly with pleasure.
Tala grunted and abruptly broke the kiss.
"What's wrong?" Kai sounded worried.
Wincing, Tala placed a hand between his legs and said, his voice dripping with lust, "That's it. You've done it now," and he pulled the younger blader on top of him.
Tala threw the blanket over them and began to take off his clothes, but Kai wiggled off into the folds of the blanket.
"Hey, you," Now short a shirt, Tala went after Kai. The two of them rolled together on the bed, kissing and tickling each other and pulling off clothes.
When the last piece of attire was removed, Tala threw the blanket off of them, only to look down and find Kai between his legs.
Kai licked the tip of Tala's arousal and grinned, "Me-ow, look at you, getting all hard,"
Tala blushed a shade of red that rivaled his hair. He didn't exactly remember Kai being so…flirtatious.
Kai took Tala in his mouth, rolling his tongue over the head. He pressed down hard at the base of Tala shaft, and Tala arched his back and moaned. Kai began to suck harder and faster until cried out and Kai could feel him pulsing in his mouth. Smirking, Kai let Tala fall from his mouth and straddled him. Tala's eyes were wide; Kai wasn't prepared or anything thing. Seemly oblivious to this, Kai pushed himself onto Tala. He threw his head back and cried out, and Tala gasped as he felt tears spring to his eyes, Kai was so tight. He looked up to see tears falling from Kai's porcelain cheeks. Tala sat up and rested Kai's head on his chest.
"Does it hurt?"
Kai was moaning from Tala's change in movement. "Not anymore…"
Tala gently closed his eyes onto Kai's lashes, and the two sat there for a while, letting Kai adjust and quietly taking in this new kind of kiss. They were still touching, the intimacy was there, and they were so close…
They opened their eyes, lavender gazed into aquamarine, and Kai kissed Tala chastely on the lips.
"I'm ready"
He lay his head on Tala's chest and gripped his shoulders as went up and down in Tala's lap. Tala gasped, wrapped his arms around Kai's back a thrust upward hard. Kai cried out and gripped Tala even harder. Unable to control himself anymore, Tala thrust harder and faster. He took Kai's arousal in his hand and began to pump it hard. Tears streamed down Kai face as he cried again and again in pleasure. He began to push back against Tala.
Tala gasped at this and felt himself at his peak. With a final stroke, he came inside of Kai. Kai threw his arms around Tala's neck and came into his hand.
The two collapsed onto the bed, cuddling each other closer. Tala gently lifted Kai's chin and kissed him. Kai felt the tears still running down his cheeks as he returned it.
As he lay back on the bed with Tala, the purring began again. Kai felt a wet, rough tongue licking away his tears. It wasn't Tala; he was dozing as he caressed Kai's hair.
Kai's eyes widened a little, 'Could it be…?'
The purring soften, and became like a lullaby. With in a few minutes, Kai drifted off to sleep in Tala's warm embrace.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………...
"Hey Kai! We're leaving soon!" Tala yelled across the yard.
When Kai didn't answer, he came to where Kai was, in front of a small grave.
"Oh, I get it," Tala smiled and touched the little grave, "We own her so much,"
Three years had passed since that night. Now, Tala and Kai had decided to live together. They had bought a pretty manor in Kyoto and were ready to leave, but Kai wanted to say just one more good bye.
Kai Held his hand out to the grave. The purring began for the last time as Kai felt something rub against his hand. The sprit was so clear today, Kai come see the faint, shimmering image of a kitten.
It moved away from Kai and began to walk into the brush, sound and image fading. Kai smiled sadly, though he knew he didn't need her anymore.
"Thank you so much," he whispered as the cat began to fade. She turned around and gazed at him one last with those blue, blue eyes…
And then she was gone.
Kai stood and left a white rose on the little grave. Then he turned and began to walk to Tala, to his future.
As the two drove away, Kai glimpsed the little grave for the very last time. The faintest purr echoed in his head. Kai felt a single tears run down his face as they whizzed by and Kai saw the name on the grace stone. Then he sat back in the seat and gently kissed Tala
'Aoi.'