Title: The Tempest
Authoress: foxfire flamequeen
Summary: One after the other, late or early, they're all there. Slight KaiRei.
Disclaimer: I suppose it's possibly hinted (extremely slightly) TysonMax, but that is completely up to you, 'cause from where I see it, it's friendship… oops! I mean, I don't own Beyblade. No fair!
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Shadows danced across the walls. The fire crackled, embers jumping into the air, falling back into the same furnace from where they were released, to be snatched forth again.
Nothing else stirred; it was the dead of night, everyone and everything were engulfed in peaceful slumber. The windows were open, yet not even the air moved, nocturnal creatures silenced by an omen unknown to humans, so far.
Kai Hiwatari sat on the wooden ledge of one of the enormous windows of his equally large mansion, eyes locked on the fireplace, the only source of light in the huge living room. The glow was reflected in his eyes, but of course, the red of the fire was nothing compared to the orbs, redder than blood.
His teammates were there, yes. They had all fallen asleep in their places, and Kai would not be bothered to wake and escort a bunch of drowsy teens to their respective rooms, especially since there was no problem this way. There was Tyson, sprawled on his back on the soft carpet, mouth open, and not at all a pleasant sight. His snoring was much quieter today, hence the reason the others could sleep. Max was on the couch, in a better position than his friend, though still not what could be called eloquent. The resident boy genius, Kenny, on the carpet, clutching at the couch next to him. His laptop lay inches from his head; he fell asleep leaving it open, but Kai had turned it off for him. Last of all was Rei, snuggling into the armchair where he sat, curled tighter than Kai had thought humanly possible. Then again, Rei was a neko-jin.
Kai let his eyes rest on his friends for a few seconds. Friends, not just teammates. Contradicting popular belief 1, he considered the Bladebreakers his friends. He wasn't going to let anyone know, certainly not them, but yes, they meant more to him than anything in the world, save his Bitbeast, Dranzer, the flaming phoenix of the sun.
At this his eyes swerved to the fire again. Red, yellow, orange, gold, it constantly shifted. Fire produced warmth. He represented that fire, yet his insides remained as cold as ice. The only traces of warmth he felt swell deep within his heart was when these four teens were near him.
Scarlet depths turned back to his friends. Funny how Fate played her cards. The blue dragon, black turtle, white tiger and red phoenix, all brought together, purely by chance, on the day all four of them agreed to join the Bladebreakers.
He would never admit it, of course, but he had to agree, that title had a nice ring to it. All over the world, they were each individually known as a 'Bladebreaker'.
The Bladebreakers had been the first to reach him. Many had tried, all had failed. Except these three. Max, Tyson, and Rei. What made him let them through?
How did they meet in the light of that day, four very different souls, thrusting away all differences to emerge the greatest of friends?
They had each faced so many tests, each helped the other pass it. So many challenges where their friendship and loyalty were taken to the extreme, turned rivals and enemies, fighting with all force, against each other. Yet somehow, instead of pulling them apart, their link had only strengthened. Each of the 'Breakers prided themselves on their greatest achievement.
He found them ridiculous, stupid and stubborn. But they were there, sharing the slightest light his fire could provide.
As though at the mention of it, a sudden light streaked through the sky, followed milliseconds later by a deafening noise booming overhead, causing the bluenette to start and grab at the ledge to steady himself. This would never have happened before, but it was like a strict training, only one which could be enjoyed. The 'Breakers taught him to let go of some of the control, to let instinct guide some of his moves, so as to change, refine him in a way he had never known.
The wind picked up, crashing against the boy with breaking force, throwing back slate bangs, yet he didn't move away from the chilling gales.
"A storm's coming." He had long heard the others approach him, all awakened by the sound of thunder. The turtle spoke softly, trying to edge their captain away. Kai didn't move.
"Leave him," Ray hopped down next to Kai on the wide base and twisted around to dangle his legs over the ledge, not caring that the grounds lay at least twenty feet below. Kai glanced his way once, then followed the gold pools to the lightning once again illuminating the heavens. He had long given up telling the tiger to be careful. The boy never listened.
"You'll fall off," the youngest member of the group chided gently, fixing his goggles, knowing full well his warning would go unheeded, though not unappreciated.
"You're awfully quiet, Ty," Max observed cheerfully, with mock surprise.
"Just sleepy," came the yawned reply as the dragon stretched his mouth wide.
"Your turn, Max," Kai said suddenly, turning four pairs of confused eyes to him, just when a soft pitter-patter later, rain drizzled down, fast becoming a torrent of water, falling from the skies.
"You're left, huh Kai?" Ray asked so quietly, everyone had to lean forward to hear it. Kai shrugged, eyes fixed on the speaker, whose piercing orbs flickered around the sky and the ground, searching for what only the tiger knew. The phoenix remained silent, contemplating how it was always him excluded from the group, for what reason but that he was dangerous?
Kenny peered at him through his huge fringe; though he couldn't see them, the bluenette could feel the eyes on him. "Not excluded, Kai," the brunette corrected. "But late in joining."
"We don't think you're dangerous," the dragon confirmed sincerely. Kai's eyes didn't stray from the grounds below. How was it that they knew what he was thinking?
"Because, Kai," Ray answered happily. "You're always thinking the same thing."
The phoenix lowered his feet from the ledge, onto the other side, following Ray's example, neither caring for the rain which splattered against their forms. The tiger shuffled closer to Kai, allowing room on the other side for the younger 'Breakers to peer into the night storm.
"You're way too late, Kai," Max complained, scanning the grounds. "I thought this was Tyson's specialty."
"Hey!"
"Hmph!"
Came the double protests as said friends took simultaneous offense at the statement.
"It's alright," Ray leaned forward, causing Kai to forget about strangling Max and Tyson and grab the raven-haired teen around the waist to make sure he didn't fall (which, when Kai thought it over later, found he wouldn't have anyway). "I think I'll do something about that now."
The tiger instinctively leaned back onto the phoenix, jumping as the entire world seemed to light up and a tremendous peal of thunder tore through any silence that may have been present. The streak of pure white light fell from the clouds, tearing through the wind which seemed to circle it, and the water, which evaporated from the heat, then condensed almost immediately with the cold, surrounding the straight beam with a thin veil of mist as it crashed towards the singled target: a lone tree, standing tall on the earth.
The lightning hit the tree, instantly setting it on fire.
All of it took a nanosecond, but each Bladebreaker watched it happen like in slow motion.
"Welcome to the party," Tyson cheered and Kenny clapped. Ray used an arm to draw the phoenix close, smiling warmly when Kai rested his head on the tiger's shoulder without hesitation. The raven-haired teen raised a hand and slapped Max a high-five.
"Good job," the blond flashed him a thumbs-up, though for what neither Ray nor Kai could be sure.
"I'll go to sleep," Kenny scampered back to occupy the couch, but not before draping a thick blanket over Kai and Ray's shoulders, muttering something abut the ill-effects of rainwater and the diseases they could catch, namely a cold.
Kai breathed in the fresh scent of the wet earth, one he had always associated with Ray. One detail he had not mentioned, ever, not even to himself, just like that lightning lit the fire, just like the tree, produced by the earth, that was sustaining those flames, Ray was the one who made sure his fire kept burning, sustained the fire inside him. Ray was the light that his fire held, just like that bolt of lightning was the light in that fire.
But then, that fire was him, and that lightning and earth and light was Ray, just like that unruly wind was Tyson, and that water pouring from the sky was Max.
"Um… that fire's kinda eating up that tree." Of course, Tyson had to point out the bad side. "And it's going down."
"Not really," Ray was thoroughly soaked by now, yet he didn't care. He shrugged the blanket off himself and the phoenix, seeing as in its wet state it only managed to make him colder. "There's more where that came from." He referred to the grass surrounding the tree, and true enough, the fire touched the green blades, to leap up to a height it hadn't reached even at the tip of the tree. As if simply to agree with the neko-jin, the thunder boomed loudly.
The flames spread so rapidly the teens were unable to even comprehend what was happening, until the dark of the night was drained by the fire, its light not to be outshined by the lightning still sparking above, for here, the fire and light had combined, while the water and wind danced together overhead.
Kai pulled Ray nearer as the latter shivered from the cold, not lifting his head from said teen's shoulder, hoping for some warmth himself. The lightning flashing above, that was what he would be like without the tiger. The heat would remain, but the flames would be gone.
And the wind and water. The wind was helping spread the fire, while the droplets rained down on it, never bringing it down. The water was at a constant parallel, touching the heat to be turned to mist, meeting the wind to drop down as water again, as the light stayed constantly, allowing the mortals to view the ongoing drama of nature.
The turtle, representing water, purity, friendship.
The dragon, wind, courage, trust.
The tiger, earth, thunder and lightning, hope, light.
The phoenix, fire, leadership, dark.
The storm represented them all, and the power they were capable of, together. Each element was reflected in that tempest, each shining at its best, for the four had yet to learn of the balance that was them.
"Hey guys," Max whispered, afraid to break the divine silence that had befallen them.
"Hmm?" Kai answered lightly.
The light had become much, much brighter. Shadows danced within the flames, produced by the light, which, in turn, was surrounded by the darkness which tried, but could never, claim it, just as light tried, but could never, conquer dark.
There was no light without dark, and no dark without light.
How could dark be evil, when light was constantly at its side?
All the Bladebreakers, together, was the yin and yan, without any of the difference of light and dark, for it all was one.
"I think we should call the fire department now."
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1 Not of the readers, people in their world.
P.S.: Please visit my profile page.
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