Together Always
By: Urara Amon
Summary: Oneshot. New to the Abbey, Tala is lonely until he befriends Kai. Years later, do they still remember their promise?
"Get moving, kid! Don't just sit there, get to work!" A uniformed guard in a dark brown cloak barked at the redhead sitting on the bench. Other boys in the training hall, each paired up to a small beydish, glanced up at the shout, and then nervously averted their eyes. They knew the redhead was new, but in the Abbey, new or old trainees were treated alike, with no favourites. He was sure to get into trouble, they all knew, if he didn't obey.
"But I'm tired," the new boy protested. As proof he held out a hand, showing the guard a white beyblade with several tiny cracks along the rim of the attack ring. "Besides, I've been training since morning."
"I don't care, get back to work now!" The guard was upon him in a trice, raising a thick hand. A thin whip was curled between his fingers. "Ivanov, isn't it? If you want to stay on then get back to work!"
The boy cringed slightly, opening his mouth to protest. The next moment he remembered what had happened to an older, pale boy who had rebelled the previous day. He had been dragged off and hadn't yet returned to training today. Rumours were spreading fast that he had been killed. Quickly he shut his mouth and slipped off the bench.
"Okay, I'll get back to work now," he said hurriedly, although an arm was slightly raised to defend himself against any blow that might come. One did come his way, almost splintering the bones in his upraised arm. The guard snorted with derisive laughter as he quickly joined a boy his age hard at work with a blue beyblade in a beydish in the far corner of the hall.
He launched his beyblade into the dish hurriedly, not really concentrating so that it nearly spun right out again. Startled, he quickly focused and the white beyblade whirred back into the centre of the dish.
"You're stupid."
"Huh?" He looked up at his partner, a boy with a thick mop of dark hair. He frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Don't go around looking for trouble. You normally will find it easily, so it's better to shut up." The boy's eyes narrowed. "You're new, right? What's your name?"
"Yeah, I'm new." He started to feel uncomfortable with his partner. For some reason, he seemed very commandeering. His voice was cold and hard, and his grey eyes were icy and lacked warmth. "My name's Tala. You?"
"Kai."
"You two there, stop talking and start blading!" The guard roared over to them. "One more word, you'll get beaten until you wish that you were born mute!" He strode over to them as he spoke, and when he reached them he dealt Tala a heavy blow on the back of his head, sending him reeling over.
Tala winced as he gingerly felt the back of his head. He could feel a slight bump coming up; it was going to turn swollen in a while. He kept his mouth shut, concentrating on his beyblade, not eager to give the guards and more reason to hit him. He chanced a glance up at Kai, and was not at all surprised to see that he was indifferent to what had happened, acting as if everything was normal to him.
Somewhere across the room, a small boy had somehow destroyed his beyblade. The guards were on him at once, shouting angrily. Tala chanced another glance at the scene and winced inwardly when he saw that a guard was viciously lashing out at him with a whip. The boy's cries filled the air, but no one else dared intervene for fear of a similar fate. Tala started to tremble inside; what on earth was this place exactly?
He was suddenly surprised when his beyblade flew out of the dish, narrowly missing his ear. Taken aback, he scrambled to retrieve it. Returning to the dish, he found Kai looking at him with a mild sneer fixed on his face.
"You lose," Kai said simply.
"Sorry," Tala whispered, lowering his head in shame. He wished he could just sink into the floor and disappear. The guard nearby was eyeing him, as though wondering if he should be beaten for his loss. Tala, not wanting anything of the sort, quickly fixed his beyblade back into his launcher and steadied it.
"Don't. I don't want to fight anymore." Kai picked up his spinning beyblade and pocketed it.
"Why?" Tala regretted it the moment he asked.
"Because you're pathetic." Kai cocked his head, pausing for a moment. "And because I have to go to the labs."
"Go to the labs?"
"For an experiment, duh." Kai stared at him even more, making him uncomfortable beyond the point of sheer embarrassment. Tala could practically feel himself go red. "How new are you, exactly?"
"I just came in two days ago," Tala mumbled, looking at his feet. He dragged the toes of his scuffed shoes across the ground. The material was starting to fall apart from wear. "My mama sold me to-" He stopped abruptly; painfully aware he had said too much. Looking up nervously, he was made even more embarrassed when he noticed that Kai was wearing pricey-looking leather boots with shiny silver buckles.
"Whatever." Kai seemed oblivious to his discomfort. "What dorm are you in?"
"Thirty-two." Tala let his launcher hang loosely at his side, feeling nervous at the cold interrogation.
Without a further word, Kai spun around on his heels and stalked off. Several other boys watched his progress as he left the hall, and quickly returned to their training. The boy who had accidentally destroyed his beyblade was marched off after Kai, shaking with terror, and Tala was pulled over to join the boy's partner.
It was a full two hours later before the boys were allowed to have lunch. The almost absolute silence gave Tala the creeps although it was already his third day here. Boys quietly lined up to take trays with measly food, and then sat at the rows of tables to eat. No one joked around or laughed; it was like everyone was mute. Guard holding batons or whips prowled the eating hall, glaring at each boy.
After lunch, it was a gruelling two-hour-long session of what they called therapy. The boys were separated into groups of twenty or so, and led to tiny, stifling rooms and were made to repeat lines over and over again. After that, it was more training, before dinner and they were finally allowed to rest, except for those on patrol duty.
"Oi, Ivanov!"
Tala turned at the shout of his name. A blond boy he heard others call Spencer was standing in the corridor. Spencer frowned slightly.
"Your dorm's been changed to number twenty-nine. Your things have been moved."
"Why?" Tala asked, forgetting himself.
"Why ask me?'
"Sorry." Tala looked away. He stared as Spencer walked away, joining a crowd of older boys wearing dull grey uniforms, on their way to patrol duty. Tala wondered mildly if those on patrol duty got any sleep, since the boys he had seen leaving after dinner were tired out the next day. When he had first entered, he had been warned that disobedience could also be punished by not being allowed to sleep. Whatever it was, he was not eager to get into trouble so early.
He traced back his steps, looking at the dorm numbers as he passed. It was deathly quiet. The dim lights lining the corridor made the place seem more eerie and mysterious. Inside dorm number thirty, it seemed like a fight was going on. Having an ominous feeling that the fighters were going to pay dearly for it later, he swallowed hard and walked on.
"Twenty-nine…" He stared up at the faded wooden plaque hanging lopsidedly on the door. Nervously he pushed the door open.
The dorm was like his old one; bunk beds lined the small room, about ten of them. There was a cracked washing basin at the far end, next to a small bathroom. No windows. The boys had nothing personal except for their beyblades, a toothbrush and a small towel; a new set of clothes were given to them each two days and the old ones taken away.
"Who are you?"
Tala turned to see a dark boy scowl at him. "Er… I'm Tala."
"Never seen you around before."
"I'm new."
"Tala!"
Tala looked up to see a familiar boy sitting on the upper bunk of a bed right at the end of the room. "Kai?"
"You sleep here." Kai pointed down carelessly to the unoccupied bunk below him. "The idiot who used to sleep here got kicked out." Without explaining further, he plopped down and buried himself in his sheets.
"Kai?" Tala cautiously went up to him. Was this a trick? Was Kai going to drop something down on him in the middle of the night? Or worse, he wasn't supposed to change dorms at all?
"Don't you get it?" Kai looked up, looking highly annoyed. "You sleep down there. Or do you want the floor?"
"No, this is fine," Tala said quickly. He examined the thin sheets on the bed. Scrawled in the corner was IV423. That was his number all right. Suddenly he thought of something absurd.
"Kai, did you ask for me to be transferred here?"
After what seemed like an eternity, Kai's dark head appeared, hanging upside down to observe Tala with bright eyes. "Yep. So what?"
"Oh," Tala said lamely. "Thanks," he added.
"Whatever."
Kai's head disappeared. Tala smiled to himself, hurriedly climbing into his new bed and burying his face into the hard pillow so that no one else could see him grin.
I've got a friend, Kai. At least I think I've got a friend…
He really couldn't help it. He grinned stupidly into the pillow a bit more, before sitting up to take a deep breath. The odd happy feeling soon filled him up again like a balloon, and he fell back onto the pillow to grin some more.
&&&&
Tala awoke next day when the electronic bell rang shrilly, waking up all the boys effectively. It was extremely early, but the combination of the shrill high-pitched alarm and the fear of punishment was enough to make all the boys scramble out of bed. Tala grabbed his toothbrush and waited in line at the washing basin with the other boys, all of whom were too groggy from sleep to talk much.
Just as it was going to be his turn, Tala noticed that Kai was still in bed. He frowned. Kai was going to get punished if he didn't wake up in time. He hesitated, then slipped out of line and went up to the bed.
"Kai?" he said cautiously. He stood on tiptoe, and when that wasn't high enough he carefully balanced himself on the rusty railings at the side of the bed to peek up. Kai was still sleeping, but not very peacefully. His face was pale and sweating profusely, and he was writhing slightly, as though in pain.
"Kai," Tala said, loudly this time. The other boys stared at them. Tala thought for a while, and then prodded Kai with a finger gently. When he didn't respond, he prodded harder.
Kai heard him this time, and opened his eyes slightly. Tala was shocked to see that his eyes were red and bloodshot. "Are you okay, Kai?"
"I'm fine," Kai choked out. Tala stared suspiciously.
"No you're not."
"I said I'm fine."
"I said you're not."
"Who are you to decide?" Kai suddenly broke into a coughing fit. Tala was going to pat him on the back when he noticed that a fine speckle of red was spraying over the yellowish white sheets.
"Kai, you're coughing blood!" Tala blurted, going pale. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Kai coughed again, covering a sweaty hand to his mouth.
"No you're not."
"I said – Don't start that again."
"Okay then." Tala hesitated. "Er… Do you need to see the doctor?"
"No, I'm fine."
Tala was at a loss to decide what to do with this cold stubborn creature when the door banged open. A guard was standing in the doorway, a baton hanging at his belt.
"Oops," Tala muttered. Due to his concern for Kai, he had not noticed that the other boys had already left the dorm. He and Kai were obviously late for the morning assembly.
"What on earth do you think you're doing?" the guard growled. Tala quickly slipped off the bed.
"He's sick, sir," he said earnestly.
"What does that concern you?" the guard spat.
"But-" The guard's answer was a rough backhand across his cheek. Tala fell back onto his bed with a gasp.
The guard's eyes flashed dangerously. "The other guards say that you've been causing too much trouble for a new kid." He raised his baton, and Tala yelled out in pain when it connected with his right foot.
"I'm leaving it to Boris to decide what to do with you."
Tala went pale. He knew that the head coach here was named Boris, but had never met him in person. Those who had met him were always left shaken and severely injured. From the rumours he had heard ever since he had set foot in this place, he had known instantly that he never wanted to meet this monster that the others called Boris.
The guard strode to the door and shouted something Tala was too panicked to hear. An older boy Tala didn't know came into view. The guard barked out instructions to him, and Tala knew that the boy was to take him to Boris's office.
"Bye," he whispered up to Kai. He wasn't sure if Kai heard him, as he was still coughing violently.
The older boy was strange, Tala thought, as they walked up a flight of stairs. The boy's face was bruised and scratched, and he had an arm in a sling.
"What happened to your hand?" he asked finally, unable to contain himself any longer. They rounded a corner.
"Punishment," the boy said simply.
Tala swallowed. Just then he noticed how he was limping with every step. It was his right foot, but it didn't seem swollen so he tried his best to ignore it. "I'm sorry," he said quickly.
"Nothing to be sorry about."
They stopped outside a set of doors that was more elegant than other the doors Tala had seen in the Abbey. They were a dark, polished brown, with shining silver handles that were almost half his height. Tala amused himself for a while observing his absurdly elongated reflection in the shiny handles, before remembering with a pang that he was about to be punished, maybe even kicked out.
The older boy didn't knock, but somehow Boris knew they were outside the door. The doors opened, and Tala half-expecting to see a towering monster with fangs and claws, was slightly scared, nevertheless, to see the head coach and director of the Abbey. Boris was tall, taller than anyone else he had seen before, wearing a mask that emphasized cold hard eyes. He wore a long cloak that hung until his feet, but what scared Tala the most was that a long, thick whip was hanging at his waist.
"Leave."
The older boy nodded and spun around, walking away briskly. Tala swallowed, not liking the idea of being left alone with this man who would most probably beat him. His voice was icy and hard, like Kai's, but had another added quality to it that could make anyone cower in fear.
"Come in."
"Yes, sir," Tala responded, trying hard not to give away how frightened he was. Miraculously his legs supported him as he walked into the office. The first thing he noticed was how cold it was in there. Boris didn't seem to mind the cold. The office was sparsely furnished; a heavy table near a smoked window, a mysterious painting on the wall, and several cabinets.
"What is your explanation?"
Tala jerked. "I'm sorry, sir," he mumbled.
"I asked you for an explanation, not for an apology!"
The whip suddenly flashed past Tala; he gasped out in pain as he felt his cheek sting horribly. Hand shaking, he reached up to feel his cheek. He grimaced when he felt a deep, wet cut. When he drew his hand away, he was shocked to see that the tips of his fingers were wet with warm blood.
"That hurt, didn't it?" Boris said softly. "Now tell me, why have you been behaving out of place?"
"I – I didn't know," Tala muttered, eyes watching the whip warily. "I'm not used to living here."
"Then get used to it!" Boris growled. His arm moved suddenly, so fast that Tala could not evade it. The next thing he knew, Tala was sprawled out on the floor, blinking back tears of pain. The whip had sliced through the back of his shirt and cut open his skin; he could even feel the blood slowly trickling out from the wound.
Boris stood over him, looking down with a malicious sneer. "From now on, you will not show concern for anyone else. All your attention must be focused on your training, or you will be out on the streets. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, sir," Tala said, eyes closed tightly so that Boris wouldn't see the tears. He had been warned against crying or showing any other emotion when he first entered the Abbey; no doubt crying in front of Boris would lead to more punishment. However, no matter how hard he tried, the tears just kept coming.
"This will be your last warning. As punishment, you will go without food today, and will be on patrol duty for tonight."
Tala nodded, feeling that to speak would bring on more tears.
"Now get out of my sight."
Tala took that as his dismissal. As he walked to the door, raising a hand to wipe away his tears, he caught sight of a glass case standing on a shelf on the wall. Inside was the most beautiful beyblade he had ever seen. It was a sleek and shiny black, with silver edges and a steel – grey point. In the centre was a picture of an ornate wolf. Enthralled, he stared at it, certain it was the most wonderful thing he had ever seen. He thought of his own beyblade, a dull white beyblade with an empty bit-chip, and was envious of whichever blader who was going to possess the beyblade.
"Sir?"
"What is it?" Boris had noticed his fascination with the beyblade and was observing him intently, with narrowed eyes, a strange glint in them.
"Whose beyblade is that?"
Boris smiled. It was not a friendly or warm smile, but it was one that could have sent anyone running away as fast as possible in the opposite direction. "It's no one's yet. But I will award the best blader I can find that beyblade."
"I'm going to own that beyblade." Tala wasn't sure what made him say that, but he had a strange, unshakeable feeling that it was going to be his one day. "What's the beyblade's name?"
"You seem to be taking an interest in it." Boris still smiled that eerie smile. Tala never noticed it. "It's name is Blizzard-Wolf."
"What a lousy name." Tala turned back to look at Boris. "When I get that beyblade, I'm going to name it Wolborg."
&&&&
"Why aren't you at breakfast?"
Tala turned around to see Kai staring at him. Kai seemed to be much better already, although he still looked pale and exhausted. "I'm not allowed to eat today. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Kai said firmly. Then his eyes softened. It was startling to see the change. "What about you?"
Tala was once again reminded harshly of his injuries. "I think my back's still bleeding," he admitted. "And my foot still hurts even more."
Much to Tala's surprise, Kai grabbed his hand and pulled him to the bathroom. Kai pushed Tala down to sit on the toilet seat, and then took a small, ragged handkerchief out of his pocket. Tala watched, perplexed, as Kai wet the handkerchief and forcibly lifting up his torn shirt, started to gently wipe away the blood.
"Why aren't you at breakfast?" Tala asked, suddenly realising it.
"I'm not allowed either."
Tala fell silent, allowing Kai to continue. The boy's kindness was strange, Tala thought. Everyone here in this Abbey seemed to be strange. He hoped that he wouldn't become one of them too, and act strange. The wound suddenly stung, and he bit on his lip to keep himself from crying aloud.
"I've got patrol duty tonight," Tala offered after a while.
"Me too."
"What happened to you?" Tala asked, seeing that now Kai was in a mood for conversation, unlike their first meeting the previous day.
"Remember when I told you I had to go to the labs? They gave me some injections. I think they made me sick." Kai straightened up and started to wash the bloodstained towel. Pinkish water flowed into the basin. "You didn't tell me the full story of how you got in yesterday."
It wasn't a question. Tala felt embarrassed again, but didn't want to keep anything from Kai in fear of losing a friend. "My family is poor. My mama needed some money so when some weird men came to the neighbourhood to look for small boys to train, she sold me to them." He lowered his head to the floor, ashamed.
"What's your mama like?" Kai suddenly asked.
Tala looked up. Vivid images filled his mind quickly, and he smiled at the memory. "She's pretty. But she's always tired from working. My papa wouldn't work for the family so she has to. I have six older brothers and sisters," he said, adding the last part as he thought about the siblings he probably wouldn't see again. Suddenly he frowned. "Why do you ask? What about your mama?"
"I don't know her," Kai confessed. Tala was shocked to see the sudden change in him. "I don't know my papa either."
"Then how did you end up here?"
Kai looked away for a while. At first Tala wondered if he had asked something he shouldn't have, but Kai forced a smile.
"My grandpa funds this place. He sent me here for training ever since I was very little, about two, I think. I've been here for four years."
"So you're… Six?" Tala asked, quickly doing the calculations in his mind.
"Yeah."
"Me too!"
For a while both boys grinned at each other giddily, forgetting that they were both being punished unfairly, stuck in a harsh place with zero chances of escape under tyrannical rule. Kai sobered up first, turning grim and looking away.
Tala quickly decided to change the topic. "Hey, Kai?"
"Yeah?"
"What do you want to do when you grow up?"
It was clearly a question that Kai could answer. "I want to be the most powerful person in the world!" Then he stopped. "Actually, second best."
Tala frowned at the odd statement. "Then who'll be first?"
"My grandpa. He's the greatest person in the world." Kai dried off his hands, and turned to Tala, eyes oddly bright. "Say, what are you going to do when you grow up?"
"I'm going to own Wolborg." Tala smiled sheepishly. "You know that black beyblade in Boris's office? I want that beyblade."
"Hey, when we grow up, why don't we blade on the same team?"
Tala brightened up. "Sure. It's a deal, then!"
"We'll be together, always!"
The two boys slammed their palms together in a jubilant high – five. Kai got up. "Come on, breakfast should be over. We have to start practising if we want to be on the same team."
"Because if I'm too good, I'll never let you on my team!"
"Hey, no fair!"
"Race you to the training hall – Ouch!"
Kai stared down at Tala, who was sprawled out on the floor clutching his right ankle, face pale with pain. "I guess you can't race now."
"It really hurts," Tala mumbled, eyes screwing up. "I think maybe it's broken or something." He really didn't want to cry in front of his new friend…
"Come on, I'll bring you to the doctor's office."
Tala was diagnosed with a dislocated foot, and was allowed to skip the morning practice sessions. To his surprise, as he rested in the hospital section of the Abbey, Kai accompanied him.
"Why are you here too?" he asked Kai curiously. "Shouldn't you be at training?"
Kai shook his head dismissively. "Boris wouldn't dare kill me or my grandpa will cut off the funding. I'll be fine, I don't care if Boris whips me afterwards."
"I don't want you to get hurt because of me," Tala protested, feeling guilty. He twisted around to face Kai, carefully moving his bandaged foot to prevent more pain to the healing injury. "I can't let Boris punish you because of me."
"Hey, remember what we promised earlier? We're gonna be together always. Me, my beyblade Dranzer, you and your future beyblade Wolborg." He shot Tala a lopsided grin. "Now, come on."
Tala tried to push himself up. Kai grabbed his arm to help him up, careful not to tug too hard. Tala cautiously tested his injured foot, but yelped slightly when a jolt of pain ripped through his leg.
Kai sighed. "I'll help you down. Can you stand?"
"On one foot, yes. Guess I"ll have to hop all the way down."
The boys shared a chuckle, and slowly moved out of the bathroom, Kai supporting Tala's weight.
&&&&
"Yeah, together always," Tala muttered to himself, smirking widely as he recalled his first meeting with Kai ten years ago. He gripped his beyblade in his gloved hand. Wolborg's beyblade was now a pure white.
The promised hadn't been always kept, but they still remembered it. Together always.
"Good luck, guys," Bryan's voice burst through Tala's mist of thought. Spencer was his usual silent self, merely nodding in encouragement. Ian was no longer there, as he had quit to concentrate on more 'productive stuff.' Tala sometimes wished that he was here, but Ian was happy where he was, in a private school somewhere in St. Petersburg.
"Hey, are you going to battle or what?" Kai's voice came sharply.
Tala bit back a smile. Still your old cold self, Kai. Across the beydish, the kid Tala sometimes referred to as 'Monkeyboy' was jumping up and down excitedly, waving his beyblade madly about. Tyson was cheering his partner on, even though the match hadn't started.
Tala breathed deeply, and stepped up to the stadium. "Hey, Daichi. You're going to lose this time round."
"I wouldn't bet on it!" Daichi gurgled with laughter. "Just try, Tala!"
Tala smirked.
&&&&
Kai didn't say it, but he was proud of his friend. Tala had come a long way from being the frightened little boy he had, for some reason, chosen to look out for, to the formidable blader he was now. He didn't know if Tala still remembered the promise they had made when they were small. Together always.
He hadn't kept his end of the deal, but he was trying.
Tala walked back to the bench a while later, a grim smile on his face. Kai could see Daichi acting the same way across the stadium.
"I was pathetic," Tala grumbled. "I could have done better than draw with Monkeyboy."
"Hey, you did okay." Kai stood up to leave. As he passed by Tala, he whispered something that made the redhead jerk.
"Together always."
After a few more steps, he turned around to see Tala smirking knowingly.
Right, that's done.