Title: Some Things Remain
Authoress: foxfire flamequeen
Summary: Kai reflects on when it all started. KaiRei yaoi
My first oneshot is dedicated to phoenixfire thundertiger, for putting up with me and my (modest) boasting, and for being one of my very best friends. Oh, not to mention for ignoring me going into boss mode now and then while writing our fiction.
By the way, I don't own Beyblade or its characters. Though I do wish I owned Kai and Rei, but don't we all (or at least most of us).
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Wind blows through the slightest of spaces, through gaps between yellowing leaves, picking up what it can, and dropping them off where it pleases.
The teen walked at his own pace, relaxed, shoulders slumped, hands stuffed in the pockets of his black jacket. Slow, steady steps, one falling after the other, eyes closed, yet he seemed to know exactly where he was going.
The wind playfully ruffled his slate bangs, causing the eyelids to flutter open, revealing orbs bathed in fresh blood, which glared at nothing in particular, viewing the sight in front.
It was one of the town's numerous shrines, this one the smallest. The structure itself was small, but the boundary walls covered a few acres of land. The shrine was as good as abandoned; rarely anyone came here at all. The bluenette continued past the construction, feet rustling through the long neglected grass.
His destination: the large tree ahead. There was never anyone there, so he could sit for hours on end, thinking, reflecting . . .
Today, however, he could see a figure sitting among the green, clad in white, leaning against the dark trunk of the tree. He paused, unsure of whether he should continue or not, deciding against the former almost immediately and, not wanting to alert the other of his presence, lifted a foot, to turn and leave.
The grass crunched under the step, and the wind, gently tickling the green blades until now, rose, whipping the snowy scarf up with the faintest flutter. The dark mass of hair rose from its place and the other's eyes blinked to expose startling gold pools, now gazing at his unwilling audience. The bluenette felt his lips curve into a small smile as he nodded, acknowledging his friend.
"Rei."
"Kai," the raven-haired teen returned warmly, leaning his head back into his previous position. A short silence followed, during which Kai's eyes softened while he waited. "Why were you leaving?"
"Should I leave?" Kai questioned in answer, making Rei chuckle softly.
"I should be asking that. I'm the one intruding." Yet he made no move to get up. Kai was the one who moved, coming to stand beside him, pulled by an unknown and unfelt force, in the direction of the wind.
Silence, when between them, was always companionable, comforting.
Something dropped from above, plucked by the wind, toyed with as it floated down. A tan hand reached out, allowing the pink petal to gently lay on it. Rei lifted the delicate leaf to his eyes. "Sakura," he muttered, just loud enough for Kai to hear.
Scarlet depths rose, to find traces of pink blossoming from the tips of the brown branches, peeking from between the still-bright leaves. "It's early, isn't it." A question, though it sounded a statement. Kai never questioned, he never elaborated. It was up to the listener to interpret the meaning. Rei shrugged lightly, knowing his stoic companion spoke of the flowers.
"It doesn't matter when it happens, or why, what matters is that it does."
"Hn," the smile changed to a friendly smirk.
Quiet again, the stillness disturbed only by the wind, refusing to be restrained, blowing away on its own, willingly creating noise, whistling through hollow stems.
Rei closed his eyes, delighting as the wind played with his long raven bangs, sweeping them in every direction, caressing his skin before moving on. The cherry blossom was blown off his palm, but there were more falling around them now, landing in the grass and in their hair.
One particular blossom, much larger than the rest, whirled around; this way and that, the wind denying it escape, tossing it up and catching it seconds before it hit the ground. Both gold and crimson locked on it, following its movements, until tanned hands clasped loosely around it. Rei smiled, as though in victory for having been able to snatch it from the air which held it so possessively, but in truth, the smile was directed at Kai.
"Here."
Kai did not know why, but he held out his own hand to let Rei place the petal on it. For a brief moment tan skin touched pale.
And at that second, gold clashed with crimson.
What happened at that instant, neither knew. But that one second changed everything, for nothing was the same again.
A butterfly fluttering its wings in China can cause a hurricane in America.
A single second in the present can change everything in the future.
Yet it didn't matter when, or why. All that mattered . . .
Was that it happened.
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That incident began it all.
A reflection. A fond memory.
A single second in the present can change everything in the future. And when the future comes, that second is the past.
Pools of blood stared up at the tree. The same cherry tree under which, so, so long ago, after his first World Championships with his team, the Bladebreakers, that moment had changed his life. No longer tinted with pink, it was now wrapped in a blanket of beautiful flowers, whose petals carpeted even the grass. It was winter now, autumn long gone.
The shrine was no longer there. It was bulldozed and a park built in its place. A park which fast became Beybladers' heaven. He had stopped going there long ago, for it was no longer peaceful.
The single cherry tree remained, flowers blooming every year as though nothing had changed.
Today, however, the place was empty, due to the dark ominous clouds looming overhead.
A lot had changed.
It had been three years after all. The Bladebreakers had been bent, each 'Breaker ripped apart as his Bitbeast was stolen and returned. The Bladebreakers had been split, torn apart as each left to search for their own destiny, and put back together again. But the team had never been broken. The ties that bound them were too strong. But through all that, a lot had changed.
If not everything.
"Kai." Said teen turned at being greeted by the familiar voice, with the familiar warmth.
A smile graced his lips. The other always had that effect on him. "Rei." His eyes left the gold to gaze at the pink blossoms again.
"What're you doing?" An arm looped through his. Rei's tone was knowing.
"Reminiscing."
"Aa. I remember."
"Hard not to." For that he received a poke in the ribs, but a head with a mass of raven hair came to rest on his shoulder when he slipped an arm around the slim waist, flipping his white scarf out of the way and pulling the other closer. Kai felt, rather than saw, Rei smile lovingly as gold orbs fixed on the leaves above.
So much had changed.
His and Rei's relationship had blossomed, developed slowly yet steadily, until they were much, much more than the best friends they were back then.
Silence, when between them, was always serene, blissful.
Neither Kai nor Rei stirred. A few minutes later, something white and soft drifted down. One, two, then more and more. Rei's hand reached and he caught one.
"Hey look, it's snowing."
The wind picked up. Soon the air was a mix of not only white, but pink too, the colors reflected by, in, each other. A white flake landed on Kai's nose, emitting a soft sneeze from the bluenette. Ray laughed, an enchanting melody. His palm remained open, letting both snowflakes and petals gather on his hand. He held it up to Kai.
Kai placed his own hand on top of the cold pile, heat from their hands melting the snow until they met. Wet, cold, but warming each other.
And once again, at the same instant, gold clashed with crimson.
Yes, a lot had changed.
No, not everything.
The wind continued on its path. The sakura whispered to it and it whispered back, tickling through gaps between pink leaves.
Two teens watched the wind and flowers collide from below, content only with each other.
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Flame me if you want, though CC is more appreciated.
P.S.: Does anyone know how Ray/Rei and Tala/Yuriy become such good friends in the original Bakuten Shoot Beyblade? The anime they show in our country has been modified and half of the original show has been censored, and so far I have not even seen them talk to each other!
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