Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade or any of its characters.
Warnings: None
Author's Note: Wow, I've been lacking inspiration for this for the longest time. I apologize for the long, long wait for this chapter. I found a new "spark" of inspiration to work with for this, and hopefully I won't lose it too quickly! Thanks to all who reviewed! It means so much to me.
All Will End
Chapter 12: Ascension to Heaven
The weather outside contrasted with his normally pessimistic mindset. While the clouds drifted serenely in the wide expanse of blue, a certain Chinese teenager found himself inside a small kitchen, surrounded by enticing scents. His mouth watered in greedy anticipation, despite his mind arguing that it was a simple meal and did not deserve such an exaggerated reaction.
Ray glanced up from his work for a brief moment and unconsciously related his mood to the white fluff in the sky.
There would be no intense struggle. But he didn't know that.
Setting the bowls of ramen on the kitchen table with a sigh of contentment, he suddenly hollered, "Kai! Your lunch is ready!"
The other teenager's swift response to hearing his name was unexpected. Almost immediately after hearing it, the sounds of heavy footsteps on the staircase filled Ray's cat-like ears. For an unknown reason, Kai hesitated after reaching the end of the steps but before he moved himself toward the kitchen. His back was against the setting sun's light, a dazzling red against the seemingly frail body of the Russian teen.
Wild golden eyes managed to capture this sight. It was as stunning as watching the great phoenix rise from the ashes from his funeral pyre.
The image still in his mind, Ray was surprised he could speak. "It's still a bit hot."
Kai's lips twisted in a bizarre motion, not quite a smile but nowhere close to a smirk. Its presence was nearly undetectable, even to those with the best of eyes. Regardless, Ray noticed its sudden appearance and disappearance. Inside his chest grew a feeling of joy. He could not pinpoint the reason why such a mannerism would extract such a response from his heart.
Perhaps it was more simple than he could believe. After all, mankind is prone to complicating the easiest tasks, mutating them into monsters of mental anguish.
Much like Ray was the personification of two eternally battling forces, Kai was also the personification of something great and revered. He was the human phoenix.
"You haven't been smoking much lately," Ray said, somewhat awkward. Kai went into the kitchen and sat in his chair, Ray following suit afterward. Golden eyes noticed that Kai was surprisingly calm. A few weeks ago, Kai would have been defensive about such a talk...
"Yeah. I'm going cold turkey," Kai explained, his voice mostly unwavering.
"Whatever works, right?" Ray smiled at his friend.
Kai's lipped again twisted in the same bizarre motion as before. But the Russian teenager didn't say anything after that, just merely nodded his head and dug his fork into the steaming noodles. From time to time, he kept his crimson eyes focused on Ray before letting his gaze drift away again.
Though Kai found solace in silence, Ray was not used to its presence. He liked to fill the air with noise, even if it was meaningless. Whether it was the radio or the television, something needed to be fulfilling the task.
It was only the unexpected, odd noises that made goosebumps rise on Ray's skin.
"Can I ask you a question?" Ray asked, though he had indeed just asked a question, so he should have asked to ask another one.
"You just did," Kai smirked. Ray grinned at Kai's subtle form of a joke. "Shoot."
"What did you eat in Russia?"
Kai paused for a moment, as though internally debating whether or not to give Ray the longest list he could think of.
"We ate a lot of soup and stew," he stated. "Then again, we could probably make a soup out of anything - noodles, fish, vegetables, cabbage, meat broth. Those are the most common ones. Sometimes we served it cold. Meat was sometimes served cold as a snack."
"Seriously?"
"Yeah. Back in the old days, before health nuts started complaining that it was too dangerous to do."
Ray's smile hid the mischievous glint in his golden eyes. He collected the empty bowls with gentle hands.
"I need to go to the grocery store," Ray said.
"You just went yesterday," Kai protested.
"Eh. I... forgot a few things." Ray shrugged, still grinning. "You coming?"
"Why not? I think I forgot some things, too." Kai smirked.
It was only a few hours later that Kai found himself once again sitting at the kitchen table. Friendly smells drifted toward his nostrils, and if he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine himself in Russia.
But, in his imagination, the image wasn't him alone in the snow, making a fire to warm himself. Ray was there. He was helping, too.
Author's Note: Man, I added lots of little details in this chapter. The last two sentences are somewhat symbolic. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! AWE is back! With any luck, I should have at least one update per month. At least you won't have to wait six months in between chapters now, right?