I'm sorry the prologue was so short! I couldn't tell how long it was in my word document, but I can….—sighs— AND I'm sorry this took me so long. Well, I'm gonna focus on this story now and MU&C-F!
Troublesome Aries: -gasp- I love your stories. –shot for being random- Er, yeah, anyways, I'll try to make him the stubborn redhead we all know and love —shot—. I'm still debating whether to make it friendship or not…I think I'll probably make it friendship, but if people keep saying (or demanding/threatening in the case of CoCo over there –sweatdrop-) then I might make it more. I dunno. Thanks for reviewing, though! And oh, lookie, I'm minding you! –pokes and is yet again shot— X3
Moon Phases: Thank you! I hope this chapter turns out better than the prologue………and why are YOU saying thanks? XD
Shadow wolborg: Thank you very much! –waves-
CoCoPicchu: Are you threatening me? O.o…………x3 Er, okay then, CCP…okay then…
The Wicked Witch of Dingl: It is very rare. –nods- It's cause most the people who write Kai/Tala stories…usually are yaio fangirls. XD
Disclaimer: Do I LOOK like I'd own Beyblade? Well?
Chapter I: Chronic Darkness
"…Lee…" Mariah whimpered, setting her hand on her brother's shoulder; his back was facing her while he slept. She pushed his shoulder back and forth gently but firmly, trying to get the older neko-jin to stir. "Lee…!" Mariah whined again, this time a little louder.
"…Ma…riah?" Lee turned over and looked at his sister with one eye barely open. He yawned and showed off his fangs before responding, "What is it, Mariah?" He asked, sitting and pulling his legs out of the thin blankets and crossing them. Lee rubbed his eyes wearily and glanced around for a moment or two, as if to check a clock somewhere in the room; there were none, so it was kinda pointless in retrospect." And…what time is it?"
"Lee…I have a bad feeling…That Ray and the others are in trouble…" Mariah said, sitting on next to Lee on his makeshift bed and ignoring his second question.
"By others you mean BBA Revolution I assume... and not the Blitzkrieg Boyz…" Lee said narrowing his eyes and yawning again with closed eyes, stretching while he did.
"No, I do mean the Blitzkrieg Boyz!" Mariah protested, leaning closer to her brother's face, their faces inches apart. Lee looked at her with half-mooned eyes before shrugging,
"Then forget it and go back to sleep," Lee fell back on the bed on his back, turned on his side and closed his eyes, staring at the wall through darkness. He shifted himself so he was properly on the bed and under the covers with the thin blanket tucked under his arms.
"Lee!" Mariah glared, but it quickly faded away as she continued. "Lee, I'm worried…I'm really, really, worried…" Mariah looked down at an invisible spot on the floor. Lee turned over and opened his eyes, looking at his sister's frowning face. Sighing, he got out of the covers and crossed his legs.
"Wake Kevin and Gary up," Lee commanded. Mariah looked up in sad surprise.
"What?" Mariah asked, cocking her head to the side slightly. Lee propped himself up and rubbed his eye with his fist,
"Wake Kevin and Gary up," Lee repeated with a slight annoyance, moving off the bed and standing up, stretching.
"B…but why?" Mariah asked, sliding to the side of the bed and standing up also.
Lee ran his hand through his hair in an attempt to smooth it out a little, "We're flying to Japan. Get your stuff packed."
Mariah's eyes widened and she grinned widely, "Oh thank you Lee!" Mariah flung her arms around Lee's neck and hugged him tightly. "I thought you didn't care!" Mariah exclaimed happily, "I'll go wake them up right now!" Mariah kissed him on the cheek and ran out of the room, racing to the room where the rest of her team slept.
"…Truth is, Mariah…" Lee mumbled to himself. "You're not the only one who's worried…Oh god, Mariah," Lee sighed and put his chin in his cupped hand, "what are we gonna do if whatever is haunting us comes back? This sensation of epic heroism and rising darkness appears to be returning to a world in desperate need…" Lee paused and took his chin out of his hand and let it hand loosely from his wrist. "Uh-oh, I sound like my grandfather now…" Lee sweatdropped.
Suddenly, Kevin raced by screaming hysterically, trying frantically not to trip over his long pajama bottoms. Lee ran out of his door and was about to ask what was wrong with the youngest White Tiger-X member when Mariah ran by, hot on his heels yelling something along the lines of 'Get your ass ready, Kevin!' and 'This is no time for games!' Gary thundered behind them, trying desperately to keep up with his captain's pink-haired sister.
Lee's mouth was set in a straight line with his eyes were half-mooned, his right eye twitched in annoyance. He walked out into the night air and watched the trio run around their Asian home, yelling in their native tongue.
"…Looks like I'm gonna have to be the father that separates the siblings, too…. Since when have I become 3 people?" Lee stuffed his hands in his pocket, looked up to the sky and glared at the invisible force, raising an eyebrow as he did, "This is all your fault, you know that?"(1)
XxO-OxX
"B-Black…Dranzer!" Kai would've fallen over in surprise if I hadn't grabbed his wrist and pulled him up.
"You're kidding us!" Tyson grinned half-heartedly. He looked at my face and his face faltered. "…R-right?" I shook my head sadly.
"Sorry, but I'm not…" I said dejectedly. Bryan looked at me for a long time before speaking up,
"What was it about?" Bryan asked, speaking for everyone. I looked at Kai, he nodded telling me to go ahead and that he wanted to hear it, too. Hey! I got all of that out of a look; I'm getting good at this!
Ignoring my self pride………for now…
Kai's POV
"Well…I…was in a dark room. I couldn't see anything, but I…could've sworn I heard voices from…a lot of people I knew. They were calling my name…" Tala paused and, while looking down, glanced back and forth with his eyes furrowing his brows; I was assuming he was thinking back. "And…Then I…spotted this cloaked figure in the distance. I was curious so I started running to it…only to find that the…cloaked figure was…was Boris.
"Then…I saw another figure and it was…menacing tall!" Tala spread his arms as wide as they would go to emphasize his point. "Probably about 8 times my arm length from east to west, if you put the North to South! Or about as tall as Tyson is wide…" Tyson huffed, but Tala just snickered and ignored him, "But either way, after the figure pulled down it's cloak, I ran…"
I saw all of the teens in the room frown or bit their lips, or both in the case of Tyson and Max.
"After that I…heard Kai's voice yelling at me to wake up…" He glanced at me with eyes that said something I didn't understand, and maybe didn't want to, "Next thing I knew, I was on the ground in…pain. Actual pain," Tala rubbed the side of his chest. "And then that…damned figure yelled at me to get up.
"Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain across my cheek…" Tala now started rubbing his cheek. I bit my lip lightly as a wave of guilt washed over me; that one was my fault. "It yelled at me again to get up, and then I felt a really cold freezing sensation over my body…almost like a cold surge of water…" I saw him furrow his eyebrows together as Tyson and Max fake coughed a couple of times. Tala glanced over with a look that said 'Tell me what you did later'. The two teens laughed sheepishly before Tala continued.
"Then, the tall figure dropped its cloak. And I panicked and fled…" Tala said sheepishly. He paused, looking like he was trying to remember anything else. "Then I woke up to Kai holding me down…" Tala glanced at me with a small glare. I smirked guiltily while sweatdropping; I was only trying to help…
"…Pretty intricate nightmare, Red," Bryan said, looking at Tala worriedly and using his pet name for the wolf.
"I'll say," Ray added, frowning.
"Weird thing is," Tala started, "is that I don't know why Black Dranzer is haunting me now. Bryan, Spencer, Ian and I saw Boris destroy it!" Tala slammed his fist in his open palm. "And if anything, that damn pigeon would want Kai, most likely…" Tala turned his attention to me. I sweatdropped and kept a blank expression. "I…I'm probably just paranoid…"
"…Probably…" Ian said, sighing. "Let's go back to bed…" Ian shuffled out of the room and into the room he was sharing with Spencer; the room was Max's, but Max said he'd sleep in Tyson's. Bryan was sleeping in Ray's room; the two actually became really good friends. Surprising huh? Complete opposites…yet they seem to be pretty close.
Yin and Yang….
Huh, wonder if they'll end up together. It's always something to ponder.
Bryan eyed Tala carefully before turning around. "Just ignore it, okay?"
Tala nodded, "All right. It's probably nothing, anyway…"
"Most likely…" Max said softly. "See ya two in the morn—" Max paused, "oh wait, it is morning! Haha!" Max laughed, smiling widely, "Good Morning, then, dudes!" Max called like he was saying "Good night" as he walked out of the room and into Tyson's to get some shuteye before the sun rose. Tyson laughed once he caught on and followed, but not before saying,
"Tala, I wouldn't worry. You probably are just thinking too much…" Tyson said as he started to leave.
Either way, everyone pretty much left the room and headed back to their own, wanting to sleep before it was morning.
"You should try thinking sometime! It would really help!" Tala yelled after him. I snickered quietly as a pillow connected with Tala's head, thrown by Tyson. Tala glared and huffed as Hiro laughed,
"Hey, if anything, I'm sure its just paranoia," Hiro said, smiling, "Our door's are always open if you want to talk…I'm sure Kai's is always open, too…" And at that, the eldest Kinomiya walked out of the room, shutting the door silently.
"…"
It was pretty silent as the both of us laid down and started to go to sleep.
But I knew…that this matter wouldn't be just a simple game of checkers…
It'd be a battle royal of chess… (2)
———XX Morn—Err…it is morning. So, uh…Later? After the sun came up?
I opened my eyes and sat up, stretching. I glanced over at the clock (which was on Tala's side) and noticed Tala wasn't there.
/8:45! Holy…I overslept! Big time/
I scampered out of bed and into the kitchen and parlor. On the way into the parlor, I was looking at Max who was playing a game of cards with himself. He looked horrible!
He had heavy bags under his eyes, looked drained, and was losing…to himself! Both ways of playing, he was losing against himself—that's not even possible! ESPECIALLY in some sort of Go Fish Poker version thing! You CAN'T lose against yourself! It's not possible!
"Good morning, Kai," Ray said as he set a plate of pancakes down on the table. Tyson didn't move.
My eyes widened. Tyson…not…touching…FOOD?
Okay, now I'm SURE this is a nightmare…
"Kai, everything okay?" Spencer asked, looking up at me and taking a bit of his toast.
"Uh…yeah…" I replied, gulping.
"…" Spencer just raised an eyebrow, smirking at me.
Oh great, the silent "I know there's more, you're hiding something" stare. I hate that stare…It's always how he would get to me to tell something when we were younger, and it never failed. Never. Not once…oh how I loathe that stare…
"What…is going on?" I asked carefully.
"What do you mean, Kai?" Ian asked as he and Bryan were poking each other with pencils (Sharpened ones) for some reason.
"Tyson's not eating," I started, "and Max looks like he's been awake for days on end… And WHY in the world are you poking each other with pencils?"
Ian withdrew his pencil and stuck it behind his ear, "Tyson ate all the pancakes before, 25 to be exact, and Max had 3 pounds of sugar and didn't fall asleep last night and was also jumping in a leaf pile…he just can in…and just because we can because homework's boring to do with pencils and why waste a perfectly good sharpened pencil?"
Okay, that explains THAT.
"…And just how is he losing against himself?" I asked, obviously referring to Max. Whoa, I'm speaking a lot today.
"…Uh…I'm not sure on that one," Ian said dumbly, blinking with a blank expression. "I'll have to look into that."
"…Didn't you wake Tala up?" Bryan asked, prodding Ian in the forehead with the pencil.
"Huh?" I asked, starting to down a glass of water.
"DIDN'T. YOU. WAKE. TALA. UP?" Bryan yelled and heavily emphasized each letter, as if I was deaf. I glared before replying.
"No." I replied simply. "He wasn't in bed, so he's already up. "
"Uh, no he's not…" Ray said blinking I blinked dumbly. If Tala wasn't in his room, and the others said he wasn't up, where was he?
"Wonder where he is…" Spencer mused. "He wouldn't leave with out telling us first…"
"Who wouldn't leave without telling you first?" Hiro asked as he walked into the room, covered in leaves from his attempt to rake the leaves in the backyard. With Max had been before jumping in them every time the elder piled them, the leaves went mostly on Hiro, not in the pile.
"Tala…" Ray replied, "We can't find Tala."
"Hm, wonder where he is, then," Hiro thought out loud as he sat down, brushing leaves out of his hair and off his clothes as he did.
——XX (Tala's POV)
I groaned as I looked at my watch,"9 o' clock already…" I mumbled, biting my lip. I had gone out for a walk, but unfortunately in the unfamiliar surroundings, I had been able to get myself lost…I wasn't that fluent in Japanese either, and there is almost NO ONE in Japan who seems to speak English…or at least Russian.
"They're gonna kill me…" I groaned as I continued to run down the path. I had somehow managed to get on a dirt road and get myself even MORE lost than I was before. Whoo, good going Tala. I kept running and running, looking around for anything familiar. Hey! I've seen that tree before! "…only because I've passed it eight times…Aww, man…" I groaned. "Dammit, this is when I wish I was navigational device, not a cyborg!" I paused. "…Then again, I work for no man…" Paused again. "Or woman!"
I sighed as I managed to find myself back in town. "Well," I mused, "least I'm outta the park…" I said to no one but myself as I started walking down the street. Mumbling in Russian, I cursed my luck.
"Hey, kid, yah lost?"
I glanced up. A purple haired girl was standing in front of me. She was speaking in my native tongue—Russian, but she had a slightly Southern accent which means she must have been a street kid for a while because of her grammar.
"Yes, I am," I replied in Russian. The girl smirked,
"Yeah, Ah know how it is when ya first is comin' ta the big citeh," She replied. It was then I took time to notice she was a deathly pale, much more pale than me. Her skin was half-a-shade away from white She had violet-gray hair that came down past her waist and had one long strand of red and black hair that trailed down the side of her face. Over her head, she wore a black, tight winter, cotton hat that was pulled down so her hair covered her left eye. She wore baggy black cargo pants that completely covered her feet and were tattered and torn and awfully dusty and dirty. She wore a long-sleeved dark red t-shirt that was torn in various places on the sleeves and was pretty dirty, also. She had black, horizontal lightning-shaped tattoos under both her eyes and had black armsocks with a (seemingly broken) wristwatch on her left arm that was over the armsock. She had 2 black studs in each of her ears and she had neko-jin ears and cat-like smile. She had blood red eyes that glowed like fire.
"Oh, no, I'm not new," I replied with confidence. "I'm just lost…" I looked down with a "T.T" expression.
"Oh, Ah see. Where ya headin'? Maybe Ah can help," The girl replied. "What's yer name, stranger?"
"Tala. Tala Ivanov."
"Name's Falcon," She replied. I was hoping for a surname, but it mattered none. I didn't expect her to be named Falcon; surprisingly enough, she reminded me a lot of Bryan. "So, where yah gittin'?"
"The Kinomiya Dojo. Tyson's home…" I replied.
"Ain't thet one o' them BBA Revolushins er somethin's house?" She asked, clearly confused.
"Er, yeah…It is." I replied.
She sneered, "Thanks ta him and his team o' fools, we gots no place ta go. Mah team and Ah are all streetah's now cause o' 'im," Falcon snarled.
"Your team? Your team was in the tournament?" I asked surprised and accidentally in English. Luckily, she understood.
"Yah, mah team was in one o' them tourney's last years," Falcon replied, nodding and apparently fluent in English as well as Russian, "But thanks ta 'im, thet Tysin kid, our ol' coach gave up on us and left aftah we gots kicked outta the prelims," Falcon sighed. "We gots a new, bettah coach now, though…" Her watch beeped, signaling it was 10 o' clock, "Oh, Ah'm sorry. Ah'm ramblin', ain't I?"
"I'm sorry about the tournament," I sweatdropped, "And … only a little…"
"Sorry," She apologized, "Let's git goin'. Ah know the way…" Falcon turned and started walking, me following close behind. She was slightly hard to understand because of her kouchi dialect, but I was getting used to it already. I felt like I knew her…I don't know why. But I felt like that. At the same point of comfort, I felt uneasy around her. Like she was hiding something dark…
We walked, just talking about random things—our team, our home, our friends… Despite my slight uneasiness, I felt really comfortable around her, like I had known her for ages. She even felt comfortable enough to tell me all about her past…
"An' mah step-paw ran off with all the insurance money…Mah mom was fed up with meh so she left meh out on the streets, where Ah met the rest'a mah team," Falcon explained. "Rin an' the gang took meh in. But after the tourney last years, we lost contact wit each othah."
I nodded, understanding what she meant. The same thing had happened to the BBA Revolution.
"Hey, who was—?" I was cut off from asking about her team.
"Hey, this da place?" Falcon asked, motioning to the Kinomiya Dojo. "This is the only dojo Ah know."
"Yeah, it is," I replied. I started toward the gate, "Hey, thanks for helping me."
"No problem, kid," Falcon replied. "Ah'm happy to help. Anytime, kid, anytime. Ya can ask meh fer help...But don' yell fer me like ya know me…git it?" I turned around to say, "okay, I got it," but she wasgone. Just like that.
"Where did…she go?" I asked myself quietly as I was about to open the door. Someone else beat me to it.
"Where did you go?" Bryan asked, glaring. "We were about to call the police!"
I sweatdropped, scowling, "Ah can talk care of myself."
Bryan blinked, "Since when do you say "Ah" instead of "I"?"
I slapped my forehead. Falcon's dialect rubbed off on me, "Since never. Just a slip of the tongue."
"Whatever," Bryan said boredly as he tugged me inside. Everyone looked at us.
"Tala, there you are!" Spencer said, sighing. "We were looking all over. You never answered your cellphone!"
I scoffed, "I can take care of myself. I left my cell in my room. Big deal."
"We thought you'd been kidnapped!" Tyson explained. I glared at them all,
"Shut up! I said I can take care of myself! Why don't you all just freaking believe me?" I snapped. "I'm not a little 5 year old who needs constant watching over! I'm 17!" I snarled. "Why don't you just leave me alone for once! Just because I'm different, just because I'm cybernetic, doesn't mean I'm weak!" I turned and stormed out of the room, going to my room and slamming it shut.
I gasped as I found Falcon sitting on my bed, fiddling with a book. "How did…?"
"Window," She replied, smirking and setting the book down—I noticed it was my book on Japan, telling about the history and such.
"How did you know this was my room!" I snapped. I was still mad, and I wasn't afraid to take it out on her.
"The door said "Tala" on it," Falcon said, "Ah figured there was only one Tala in the place."
"Okay...Better question!"
"What's thet?"
"WHY are you here!" I growled. Falcon laughed silently, as to not alert the others of her presence.
"Ah was jest gonna ask ya if ya wanted ta come to a friendly match latah," Falcon replied.
"Heh, no thanks," I replied. "I'm not in the mood."
"Aww, all right, then. Jest let me know if ya evah want a match," Falcon stood up, but just as she did, my door flew open.
"Tala, we—" Spencer stopped dead, spotting the purple-haired girl. Falcon sweatdropped,
"Ah'm assuming I bettah go," Falcon replied, smiling uneasily. Bryan looked at her,
"WHO are you?" He snarled.
Tyson and Max pushed through as everyone came into the room. I turned to introduce Falcon to everyone, but... She was gone yet again.
"Wh-where'd she go?" Max asked, looking around. "She was here just a minute ago…!" Max gasped.
"…She has a bad habit of doing that," I replied, blinking.
" "Who was she? Your girlfriend?" Kai asked, a very small smirk on his face.
"NO!" I yelled. "She was the girl who helped me get home! She was asking me to battle. I turned her down."
"And her name is…?" Ray urged on.
"…Falcon," I replied. "Her name is Falcon."
"…And you told her where you live? Tala, I don't like that girl. She gives me a bad vibe," Bryan said, glaring. "She just has that…aura, to her."
"She's a streeter," I replied, "she lives on the streets. Of course she's not all up and fancy…"
"…That's not why," Bryan said, sighing. He looked down and I could tell…that Falcon was really bugging him.
"Bryan…" I said, frowning, "I know what I'm doing. She's fine…"
— — —
Outside the dojo, leaning back on the branch, a girl smirked, her red eyes glinting with mischief, "Ah'm sorry, Tala…" She said, smirking evilly, "But Ah'm definitely…not fine…" She turned on a small microphone in her ear, "Boss…the kid don' suspect nothin'. We gots 'im right where we want 'im…Ta more Ah hang 'round…ta more his friends will trust mah. It's ta perfect plan, boss…" She whispered, smirking. She brushed her hair behind her ears, letting the red and black strand fall on the side of her head, not brushing it back.
'Good…Make sure you get Tala…to completely trust you. Do whatever you must to get him vunerable…' A man hissed through the girl's microphone.
"Ah git it," She whispered back, smirking. "An' so far…the plan's agoin' perfectly…Nighthawk ov'r an' out, boss," the girl turned off the microphone. "Tala…" She whispered to herself. "Ah hope your ready…for one wild ride, kid…" And at that, she jumped down off the tree and ran.
—————————————————————————————XX To Be Continued…
-glances up-…it still seems short, doesn't it? Oh well, it's longer than the prologue, right? –shot- Anywho, R&R please! I'll try to update more, now, though, since H&MT is outta the way.
(1) Don't you ever just look up at the sky and just glare at some invisible force and say "this is ALLL your fault"? I do. My friends look at me like I'm crazy…
(2) It's just saying things are getting more complicated. I'm just bringing this up because I had my friend read this and she was like "WHAT does this mean!" So yeah.