Summary: Kai stumbles across Raul, who is training his heart out, practicing an attack he can't seem to do. Will a few words from Kai be able to help him? A Kai and Raul friendship fic!
Pairings: None.
Warnings: Oneshot. Friendship fic. Kai talking endlessly. Me, prattling on and on…
Disclaimer: Don't own Beyblade.
G'day! This is for Orphen Chica. She asked me to do a Kai/Raul friendship fic. I thought it was simply adorable and couldn't say no. This is just a friendship fic, though if you squint and tilt your head to the left, you might see romantic undertones. They weren't intentional. Well, enough prattling from me. I hope you enjoy!
A gentle summer breeze caresses his hair as he slowly walks through the deserted park. Kai lifts his arms over his head and stretches a little, relaxing in his surroundings. It is late afternoon during the working week. The park is often devoid of people during the week days, especially in the afternoons. It's a shame that people don't take the time to enjoy themselves more, but Kai isn't complaining. It means he can have the park all to himself.
"Ow!"
Kai blinks. It seems that the park isn't nearly as empty as he had originally thought. He pauses for a moment in time and strains his ear, hearing for that noise again. Then he hears it, the sound of a spinning blade. Someone must be practicing. A little curious as to who, Kai follows the noise and comes to a clearing. His eyes widen with recognition. He knows this blader. He is Raul, the male half of F Dynasty.
He watches as Raul places his blade in his launcher. He takes a deep breath and launches it onto the ground in front of him. "I have to do this," he whispers to himself. "It's the only way for me to get stronger."
Kai continues to watch in silence, musing mildly that the attack Raul is attempting to do is a difficult one. However, it can be done. With a little practice and imagination. But as he watches Raul fail it time and time again, he notices that Raul is only using one technique over and over again.
The young balder suddenly sighs and drops his launcher on to the ground. "They're right." he falls to his knees and drops his chin to his chest. "I can't do this. I'm useless."
Kai felt his eyes soften at those words. They sounded so heartbroken. Before he could stop himself Kai quietly makes his way into the clearing as well. "They're only right if you give up now."
Raul snaps his head up in fear and surprise. "Kai!?" he says as he scrambles to his feet. "What are you doing here?"
Kai gazes at the nervous and fidgeting teen for a moment. "I've been watching you," he tells him. "And I see that you're doing it wrong."
Raul winces and gazes at the ground, his hands clenched into fists by his sides. "Oh…"
"You're only trying one way. Beyblade techniques are not written in stone," Kai says as he steps further into the clearing, surprising the youth with his words. "Nothing in this world is. Try another angle. If that doesn't work, then try something else."
Raul blinks, his eyes wide with astonishment. "But," he stutters. He couldn't believe that the coolest and most respected blader in the league was actually here, talking to him, offering advice like this. It's almost surreal. "I was told that this is the only way to do it…"
"They're may be only one result," Kai says with a small smile. "but there is hundreds of different ways to reach that result. Why not try a few of them?"
"But, my blading isn't that good," Raul insisted, his hands knotted at his sides again. "I can't really blade by myself. Julia is way better than me," he tears his green eyes away from Kai to gaze downcast at the ground. "Without her as my partner I would never have gotten this far."
Kai stands in silence for a moment. "And," Kai starts, turning to fully face the teen. "who told you that?"
Raul gives a forlorn sigh. "Everyone says so."
"Everyone?"
"Well, not everyone," Raul says, feeling a little bit foolish. He hasn't met everyone yet. "But a lot do!"
Kai shakes his head and begins to walk away. He pauses for a moment to glance over his shoulder at Raul. "Walk with me, Raul." he says.
Raul blinks for a moment, then snaps himself out of his stupor and runs to catch up to Kai who has already started walking. He soon catches up with the Beyblade enigma and falls in step behind him. Why would the coolest person he has ever met want to walk with him?
"It's easy to criticize someone," Kai says suddenly, snapping Raul quickly out of his thoughts. "But, more often than not, that criticism is taken the wrong way. There is a difference between criticism and blatant abuse," he sighs and shakes his head. "But I'm afraid that the line that separates the two is so vague that it's sometimes non-existent."
Raul walks in silence, mulling over the words. "Do you get criticized, Kai?" he asks softly. It's probably a stupid question. Kai is near about perfect. Who would criticize him?
"Of course." Kai's answers surprised him. "There will always be some idiot out there who doesn't like what you are doing and will berate you for it."
Raul wrinkles his nose in slight confusion. "Berate?"
Kai stops walking for a moment and glances over to him, a small understanding smile on his lips. "Bring you down," he explains.
"Oh…" Raul blushes softly, slightly embarrassed at his naiveness. "But you're so good! Why would anyone…?"
Kai turns his gaze to the water before them. "Regardless of who you are or what you do, you will always have someone you simply doesn't like you," he suddenly chuckles under his breath. "Which is understandable. There are people in this world that I simply do not like either. I've meet my fair share of pricks in this world. I don't hate them because they can do something I can't. It's because of their personalities. There are some people in this world you simply cannot like, there's really no rational explanation for it. But I've learnt to tolerate them. There's no point in getting so worked up."
Raul gazes down at his hands and whispers softly; "I wish I could be that confident and not buckle under the pressure…"
"You'll learn," Kai says. He then startles Raul by placing a hand on his head, ruffling his hair up slightly. "You see, Raul, in this world we are constantly learning. We learn from others, from things and from experiences. Sometimes it takes a single word to give you the strength you need and occasionally a single person can change your outlook on life," he bends down so that they are eye level, a small comforting smile on his lips. "No one in this world knows everything. If they claim to do so, then I'm afraid they're only kidding themselves. If you are willing to listen, you will learn so much. And then you will understand that some things are just not worth worrying about."
Raul nods slightly, taking in the words. Then it suddenly hits him. Kai is so intelligent, and he knows that he doesn't know everything. He has admitted that he too has much to learn. And with those words, Raul has found it within himself to trust him. "But people can be so rude and arrogant sometimes," Raul replies sadly.
"When others confront, criticize or insult you, it can be upsetting and worrying," Kai nods in understanding. "However, when we understand that this sort of behavior is more a comment about the person saying it than the person it's aimed at, it can drastically change the way we feel," he removes his hand of Raul's hair and stands up straight. He crosses his arms over his chest. "Even if that person has some point, it doesn't mean they have the right to be abusive or critical in the way they convey it. In fact, they don't HAVE to convey it at all. Do you understand now?"
Raul wrinkles his nose slightly again in thought. "I think so." They begin walking again, and this time Raul is walking in step next to Kai. "But, Kai, how do you deal with it?"
"Criticism still gets on my nerves," Kai tells him. "It angers me mostly, especially when he or she has no idea what they're talking about," he shakes his head and shrugs. "I guess I've learnt to condone them. I've heard it all before that I simply lost the ability to care what critics think of me."
He's so cool, Raul thinks to himself, his inner fan boy coming out. He knew that Kai is really, really cool, but no one has ever told him that he could be so nice too. People have told him that Kai was unapproachable. Untouchable. Well, it appears that whoever said that has no idea what they're talking about.
"What do you think I should do?" he asks, hoping that Kai would have some more words of wisdom for him.
Kai closes his eyes and smiles softly. "That's entirely up to you. My words and actions can only take you so far. In the end, it's ultimately up to you," he pauses in his steps and turns to face Raul, looking serious, yet oddly comforting. "Whatever it is that you decide to do, do it the way that you feel comfortable with. Don't let others convince you that you're doing something wrong."
Raul pushes his two index fingers together, bashfully. So in other words, he needs to stand up for himself once in a while. But, it was said in a nice way, so he really doesn't feel so bad about it. Others have told him that he was a baby, or a weakling because he didn't stand up for himself. They often tell him to grow a back bone. He has tried in the past, but whenever he tries, one sarcastic insult would send him crashing down again.
He shakes his head. No more. From now on, he wants to do things his way. And have fun while at it.
"You have to understand that everyone is different," Kai continues. "Just because one way works for one person, doesn't mean it will for you as well. We all have different ideas on how to do things. The best thing you can do is to experiment a little. If this way doesn't work for you, then try something else. Keep trying until you find something that you're comfortable with."
"Right!" Raul says with determination. He pumps his fists in front of him, eager to get his blade and have another go. "Thanks Kai!" he says, this time surprising the slightly older teen with an enthusiastic hug. "I'm going to go practice some more. Maybe if I pull the rip cord a fraction straighter…" he trails off, looking deep in thought.
Kai smiles and watches him leave. "He'll be fine," he whispers to himself.
… … … … …
The following day, Kai finds himself with the rest of G rev, sitting amongst the thousands of spectators, watching the opening display match between F Dynasty and a rookie team of bladers who want to come on the scene.
It is a one-on-one battle and Julia is up first. While she is blading, Kai glances down at the male half of the team. Raul is sitting on the bench, his head down, his hands folded in his lap. Romero is sitting next to him, trying to look disinterested but Kai can tell that he is a little worried about the young blader.
I wonder if he managed to master that attack, Kai muses to himself.
Soon the bey battle is over and Julia had won. She waves to the crowd and saunters to the bench. She sits down, flicking her hair over her shoulder. Obviously she is pleased with her victory. She says something to Raul. And even though Kai couldn't hear what she said, he got the grasp of it. She said that even if Raul loses the next battle, she will have the competition in the bag.
Raul nods and slips off the bench. Amongst the cheers, he makes his way over to the beydish, readying his launcher.
Kai finds himself silently hoping that Raul hasn't forgotten what he said yesterday. Raul as a lot of potential. Only he needs more faith in his ability. He needs self-confidence.
"He's trying that attack?" Tyson huffs a few seats away from him. Kai snaps out of his thoughts to look back at the battle again, noting that Raul is trying it again. However, this time, he's trying a different technique. "He'll never get it right."
Kai sighs and rolls his eyes. "Criticism is an indirect form of self-boasting."
Tyson bristles. He snaps his attention towards Kai, with confusion in his eyes. "What did you just say?!"
Kai raises from his seat. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain about something," he then leans towards Tyson and whispers in his ear. "and most fools do."
Max giggles quietly to himself as Kai makes his leave. "I take it Kai doesn't like critics?"
"No kidding," Ray rolls his eyes. "It's like asking a fire hydrant whether it likes dogs."
Suddenly the audience gasps. Kai immediately turns his attention back towards the battle. His eyes widen for a fraction, then settles into a warm gaze. Raul's blade is still spinning in the beydish, while his opponents has come to rest near his feet.
"I did it…" Raul whispers as the stares unblinkingly at his blade. "I actually did it!" He laughs softly as he recalls his blade, nuzzling it with his cheek. The crowd goes wild and cheers him on, shouting their praise and congratulations. Raul then glances up into the audience, and he immediately spots Kai. "Kai?" he whispers. He sudden smiles widely and waves to him. "Hey Kai! I did it!"
Kai smiles and gives a small wave. "I knew you would." he whispers quietly.
After the battle, everyone had gathered into the locker rooms, G rev offering their congratulations. Raul immediately runs over to Kai and smiles up at him.
"Did I do ok today, Kai?" he asks.
Kai nods slowly, and gives him a small smile. "You did great, Raul." Raul's smile brightens. "Keep practicing and you'll be the next world champion."
"Really?" Raul asks in awe. "I'll do my best!"
Kai laughs softly as he and Raul begin the leave the stadium. Raul is practically bouncing next to him as they walked, cheerily listing ideas of different attacks he would like to try next. The rest of G rev and F Dynasty follow, almost in a state of shock. Although both Ray and Max soon snapped out of it and smile to themselves.
Julia watches Raul and Kai from the back of the group. She has never seen Raul act like this before. As she gazes at the two of them, her mind is suddenly bombarded with images of a parent and child. The look in Kai's eyes, it was like those of a parent. Attentive, understanding, patient. Nodding at the right places to show that he is listening.
She shakes her head in slight disbelief. "I've never seen Raul look so confident before…"
Romero rubs his chin in thought and watches them as well. "Looks like Raul got the gentle nudge that he needed."
There, a fluffy little friendship fic. My first one! Look, I didn't pair Kai with anyone (Gasps of shock and horror). I know. Scared the shit out of me too! I must be coming down with something…
Kai: Bloody hell…I don't think I've ever spoke this much before.
Well, I decided to convey you as a mentor to Raul. And as a mentor you must tell your apprentice everything you have learnt. There have been a few fics where you pretend that the hurtful words don't affect you, when deep inside, they do. I thought I'd try a fic where you really don't give a flying pig's arse what they say about you.
Besides, you and Raul were adorable! Cute little Raul looking up to you like a brother. I swear, you have the same hair. Are you sure you're not related? You could be a set of triplets! (prattles on and on and on…).
Kai: (sighs) Please review. It might shut her up.