Hello everyone. ^^
First of all, allow me to reintroduce myself. My name is Arisa Winters, and up until now, NekoPhoenixGirl has been my fanfiction(dot)net alter-ego. I haven't been around for two years, yes I know… I FAIL at that. . But every once in a while I randomly decide to re-read a good old fic (seeing as there are very few new ones that come up to my reading standards…) and I get the urge to write something myself. :] As of now, I'm not in shape to jump straight into something completely new, like a new chapter or completely new fic, so I'm testing the waters with another re-write. A bit ago I started re-writing Dried Tears, and I know I have a new chapter of that laying around somewhere in my flash drive… *plans to look for it* but for now, I thought I'd try rewriting an old fan favorite, with a new direction in mind. It's solely for fun and it also helps me de-stress… my two majors in college are killing me right now, and I'm hoping this will help me unwind a bit. I hope you guys enjoy it. :)
Disclaimer: Beyblade and its characters belong to Aoki Takao, not myself. So please don't sue me... This is purely for entertainment purposes... :3
Haunted by Darkness Remix - Hanté par Ténèbres
Hanté par Ténèbres
Chapter 1
"I woke up… I couldn't recall where I was or how I was still alive. All I could remember was being drenched in her blood… he was stalking towards me, with his blood-stained sword held high…"
...
"And then it hit me… they were gone… I felt like shattering to pieces. They were gone forever…"
A small raven-haired child let out a whimper and cowered under his covers as a roll of thunder drowned every other sound outside. It was a chilly October night, and this small mountain town in the deepest crevices of China was being struck by a rare off-season thunderstorm. As soon as the first thunder strike was heard, little Rei had lost all hope for pleasant dreams. Thunderstorms were the worst. They were wet, and loud and scary... the thunderclaps hurt his sensitive ears, and scared him out of his wits. Oh how he wished it would all stop... how he wished for this thunderstorm to go away and leave him alone...
A particularly loud thunder crash made him leap up and run out of his room, crying out for his parents. His mother, now awakened by the child's voice, sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes sleepily. With no previous warning, the boy dove into the bed and scrambled onto his mother's lap, holding on to her tightly. The woman, a Chinese beauty graced with a sun-kissed complexion and brilliant amber eyes, smiled gently and placed a gentle kiss on her son's forehead.
"Don't worry, my Rei Rei. Mama's here." She whispered, cradling the child on her lap as her cascades of familiar jet-black hair pooled around them both. Rei sniffled and looked at his mother with teary golden eyes.
"The thunderstorm again, mam… It scares me… I wish it would just go away…," the youngster frowned. His mother ran her fingers through his hair, attempting to sooth him.
"It will pass, sweetheart."
"I hope it goes away soon…," he let out a small sigh. "It makes me think that scary things could happen."
"Darling, now you're simply being silly. It's nothing more than rain and thunder. It's nature."
"But it's scaryyyyyyyy nature," he whined, before turning to look at her curiously. "What makes thunder happen anyway?"
Mina Seung Kon laughed softly, amused. No matter how scared Rei was, curiosity got the best of him, always thirsty for knowledge. "Thunder is caused by the bolt of electricity produced in a lighting strike. The loud noises happen when the air around the lightning bolt becomes very hot, which causes it to expand very quickly, creating a shockwave. That's what causes that loud crashing sound that scares you so much."
The boy blinked once more. "What's a shockwave?"
His mother chuckled again. "Go to sleep, Rei. That is a story for another time."
…
Rei woke up with a start to the sound of crunching wood. Sitting up in bed, he looked around the room, his feline eyes quickly adjusting in the dark. It wasn't long before his ears picked up yet another sound… muffled heavy footsteps. The alarm bells went off in his head and, frightened, he turned to shake his mother.
"Mama, mama! What is that?"
His mother sat up, eyes wide, as her ears also picked up the sound of footsteps. They seemed to be coming closer and closer. They were not alone in their hut.
"Jiang… Jiang, wake up!" She shook the slumbering body next to hers. The man groaned and rose from his sleep, rubbing tired hazel eyes… hazel eyes that quickly narrowed when his ears too picked up the sounds. The steps were getting louder, closer. Rei whimpered and held on tightly to his mother's arm.
…
"Mama, mama! Stop, we have to go back! Papa's back there! We can't leave him!" Rei cried out as his mother tugged him by the hand, away from their hut. Outside, the sky seemed to be pouring down as rain and lighting showered the night. Mina held back a sob as she made them both run as quickly as possible.
"Not now, Rei, not now…"
"But mama!"
She had no time to answer. Panic overcame her the second she heard the footsteps. The same solid footsteps as before, this time running, squishing the grass as their owner came after her and her child. She inwardly crumbled in despair. Her husband…
"Gods, please… save us…"
...
"No! Stop, please!"
Mina wept as she hunched over Rei, shielding him. The boy shook uncontrollably from cold and fright. Both his and his mother's tears were lost in the pouring rain. A looming dark figure let out a cackle as it flashed a blood-stained sword. That sword had seen the end of Jiang Zhing Kon, but it was still thirsty for more.
"Your husband is gone. Your little boy is the only one that's left."
Even in his terror, Rei couldn't help but wonder. "Only one left? Of what?"
"Move," the figure commanded as it grabbed Mei by the back of her robes. The woman sobbed and closed her eyes as she held on tightly to her son.
"Rei… Rei… I love you…"
...
"No!"
Rei found himself with his back against a soaked tree trunk. He couldn't move, he couldn't breathe, he couldn't speak, he couldn't think. His clothes were torn, and he was covered in his mother's blood. His body twitched in spasms of terror as his wide eyes glued themselves onto the assassin, who advanced towards him with the bloody blade held up high. The boy whimpered in fear. He was petrified. He didn't understand what was going on. Why was this man doing this?
As if he could hear Rei's thoughts, the shadowy figure spoke up once more. "Who would've thought that a runt like you would be the final piece… who would've thought you'd be such a threat…" He grinned wickedly as the clean end of his blade shone in the moonlight.
Rei shut his eyes tightly as the madman raised the sword once more.
"Die!"
"No!"
Rei gasped as he sat up on his bed, breathing heavily as tears rolled down his cheeks. A thunder clap brought him back to reality. Outside his window, thunder and lightning flooded the night. Thick rain drops plopped down against the Kinomiya dojo roof. Rei clutched the covers closer to hi s body… scared, terrified even. He shut his eyes tightly in an attempt to stop the tears that kept on coming. It had felt so real…
"No more…," he whispered, and then he broke into sobs. "Please… no more…"
It had come back to haunt him… He hadn't had this nightmare in years… He had hoped that it had finally been locked away in his subconscious, yet here it was again.
Another loud thunder crash brought him back to his memories, and bits and pieces of that night kept flashing before his eyes. The storm, the thunder, the rain, the blood… the pained screams of his mother as she fought for him until the very last breath… It was way too much. He freaked.
His skin crawled when he suddenly felt invisible eyes locked onto him. His head snapped from side to side as he looked around his room like a cornered animal. His ears could pick up things… sinister things, whispers… of blood and death. They started off as a far-away murmur, but they progressively got louder. He could hear the voices calling him…
"Rei… Rei… REI!"
"Ahhhhhhhh!"
The terrified boy tossed away his covers and leaped up from his bed, flattening himself against a nearby wall. He slowly slid down the wooden surface until he was nothing more than a shivering pile. His eyes darted across the room once more. The shadows played games with his mind. In every corner he could see bone-chilling images… The moving shadows extended toward him like frightening skeletical arms that seemed to want to grab him. He jumped up in alarm once more.
"Ahh NO! Leave me alone!" He whimpered as he crashed backwards onto his door. His hand frantically searched for the doorknob as the shadows kept calling his name. When he finally found it, the door swung open and Rei fell backwards into the dark hallway. It took him all of 2 seconds to spring up to his feet and dash away from his room as terrifying thunderclaps resonated in the night. The young man kept looking back, having the horrible feeling that something ghastly was following him. In his terror, he didn't notice somebody else standing in the hallway until he collided right into them. Strong arms closed around him, and his eyes widened in horror.
"No! Let me go! Get away from me!" Rei screamed, tossing as he struggled to get out of his captor's grip. But the other wasn't about to let go of Rei any time soon.
"Rei, Rei! Calm down! What the f…" The other started, but the Chinese blader continued to struggle like a trapped animal. "Fuck, Rei! Stop! It's me!" He placed his hands on either side of Rei's head and forced the raven-haired boy to look at him. "Rei!"
Rei gasped when he found himself staring into shaken crimson eyes, belonging to none other than his team captain. Kai couldn't help but widen his eyes in shock when Rei threw his arms around his neck and hid in his chest. The boy was whimpering in fear and shaking like there was no tomorrow.
"Rei, what's going on?" Kai whispered and wrapped his arms protectively around Rei. The neko-jin burst into sobs.
"Kai, please don't let him get me. Please don't leave me alone…"
Kai didn't know how to make heads or tails of the situation. Rei wasn't making any sense. "Get you? What are you talking about?"
"Kai, he wants to kill me!"
…
TO BE CONTINUED?
Well, there is was… chapter one of this re-write. My writing style has changed a lot in the past couple of years, so constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated. Reviews for the engineer, please! :)
Hope you enjoyed, and that I didn't bore you too much. ;)
XOXO
Arisa Winters aka Neko Phoenix Girl