*Peeps* Hehehe...what's up?

So, here it remains, another horror story, this time featuring KaneXSalima. Actually, when the plot peeped in my mind, I thought to write it with KaiHil but...anyways, was missing KaneSal a little bit these days. So, decided: Why not to destroy it? XD

Dedicated to: Seafoam Green under Twilight aka our dear Nainika. Nain-chan, I know you're busy with your exams and studies and Naruto...(Yeah, don't look at Beyblade. Hmph! *Just kidding, never mind* XD). However, know that in comparison with your KaneSals, it was nothing, not even a grain of rice. Nonetheless, it's a tribute to you. No need to read it right now, read whenever you can manage time. Besides, don't blame me, you yourself have permitted me to destroy your OTP. So...apology in advance :P

Enough talking, now read and enjoy it...hehehe...*Creepily laughs*

Written in: Kane's P.O.V

Pairing: KaneXSalima, ?XSalima (No, it's not Ray, you can sigh in relief)

Rating: Umm...T?

Genres: Horror/Angst, slight Hurt/Comfort, and of course, blind romance.

Rain. It was showering on the earth from the murk-coated, moonless, starless sky of the winter night, in small droplets. They were not as dense as the cover of the fog and the barrier of the darkness were. Drizzling it was, not cats and dogs. Like little, naughty and playful children, they were getting sprinkled on the glass windshields of my black Audi. In the nocturnal winter, sheets of mist and the condensed, ambiguous, blurring obscurity were no big deals, not anything unnatural. Only, the black raindrops were seeming out of the league though the wipers on the front glass were fully active. At the same time, the rays from the headlights were shooting themselves at the blinding vapor and the dusk.

One of my hands was on the steering wheel, another was gripping a cigarette from which the intoxicating, wine-flavored smokes were being emitted, whirling inside my car and making the environment more inebriating. Honestly speaking, I was loving that. Yeah, I know that smoking is injurious to health and it causes a lot of diseases, especially cancer, not to mention. But…since a few days, I had given up thinking about my own health. My eyes were fixed forward like an attentive and conscious driver.

A dark night. Thick layers of fog. Clotting chilly vibes passing through the spine. Patter-patter raindrops. Narrow lanes like black ribbons. The golden sodium beams emitting from the headlights. Intoxicating inhalations of the cigar. The feelings were, of course, damn good. I wished I could have driven my car in this way forever, even in my afterlife.

"Help!"

Night-dreaming too much, I must have been so caught up. That's why, I couldn't have seen the girl at the first place. Somehow, through the gaps of the trees standing by the side of the roads, she almost threw herself in front of my car. Her arms were protectively expanded. In her dark, kohl-streaked eyes, fear was splashing. I don't know how I pressed the brake of my car at the last moment. A narrow escape it was, thankfully. Phew…

A crack hit my ears as the wheels slid a bit on the drenched concrete road. I thanked my luck because there was no vehicle behind me. Had any been there, it would surely have collided with mine. However, for maintaining balance, the woman leaned a bit in front of my car, placing her hands on the bonnet. The beams of headlight were almost flooding her slender waist. Below her chin, beside her cheeks and under her dark eyes-those areas were seeming mysterious because of the flowing golden light in the dark winter night. Don't know why, a cold current streamed across my spinal cord.

Surprisingly, the girl managed herself. She rushed towards my glass and tapped it more than once. Thinking once, I pressed the knob as the glass of the window slid down. I saw her deep, blood-red hair slightly in the half-darkness. Tied in a bun, it was messy a bit. It should have been as the girl ran. She was panting, sweating hard even in such a low temperature as if she'd worked hard. Ruffled tresses were clinging to her wet forehead and cheeks. Fair she was; beautiful enough to steal the heart of any man. How old would she be? 25-26?

While trying to save me and my car from the rain with her hands, she pleaded, "Please…open the door…."

At one side of her face, there was flowing, aureate light. The rest was shaded by the darkness. Amidst that, a few droplets were sparkling. Without any reason, not thinking too much, I opened the door, dropping the half-burnt cigar from the other side of the window, which was, still, emitting vapors. She quickly sat beside me, closing the door with a thud. With a handkerchief, she wiped her face. After it, she closed the window too. She fanned herself with the same fabric. Maybe, she was feeling nauseous because of the cigarette odor. I guessed it, from her screwed nose and eyebrows.

Starting the car again, I glanced at the girl once. An average young lady she was, wearing a full-sleeved black jacket over her purple shirt and a white skirt, a red belt wrapped around her waist. Black stockings were covering up to her knees, with a pair of lavender shoes. Yet, she was beautiful. Though she didn't use much cosmetics, a sweet perfume was coming out from her body. Suddenly I felt as if I had entered the clip of any movie-let its genre be anything.

After a few minutes of silence, I asked, "At this hour of night, how did you appear in front of my car in this way?"

"Why?" She turned to me, "Why're you asking me this question?"

I heard suppressed fear in her voice. With it, a bit of skepticism could be noticed too in her eyes. Smirking, I replied, "Don't worry, I'm not any cop. The way you appeared in front of me amidst these drizzles and fogs at this hour, without any warning…I don't think I have done anything wrong by asking you the question."

She pressed her lips, not answering but staring at the road. Still, her breaths were heavy. Her chest was rising and sloping down.

"If it's too much personal," I assured her, "You don't need to tell me."

At the curve of the road, a dog became visible all of a sudden. Meeting the headlights, its green eyes flickered. My face wheeled to the girl, "Let it be, I'm Kane. Kane Yamashita. Where should I drop you?"

"Wherever you want to go…" She spoke, "Actually, I want to escape from this place…as far as we can go. I'm Salima."

"Salima…such a pretty name you have," I praised, "By the way, from whom do you want to escape? Husband?"

"Aa…exactly!" The girl was startled just like getting a 440-volt electric shock, "But how did you know?"

"Just guessed," I shrugged, "I can understand many things in this world. Since the last two years, I have grown this quality in my mind. But I cannot exactly say how it occurred."

"My husband is a beast…" While speaking, Salima's lips got curved strangely as she stiffed her jaw, "There's no job in this world which he cannot do…I mean, couldn't do. You're a stranger, yet, I'm telling these things to you because I have faith on you. He was an alcoholic, raising his hand on me, cursing me violently…"

I kept gaping at the woman, my eyes were filled with shock. How could anyone raise his hand on such a delicate, beautiful young lady?!

"My days and nights were so ugly that I couldn't describe them…" She continued, almost whispering, "Always, I used to feel as if I'd been roaming in my house like a restless spirit…"

"And now?"

"Now, I'm totally a free bird," She sighed in relief, "Now, I can do whatever I want…"

"Really?" I cocked a brow, "Still, you don't know where we are going."

"What will I do by knowing it?" Salima leaned against her seat, tying the seatbelt around her, "These silly questions are totally valueless-specially when you are going to start a new life."

The more I was seeing her, the more I was being overwhelmed. Before a while, she'd been stuck with fear, suspicion and anxiety. Now, she was fearless, dauntless, relieved, having no worry inside her mind specially when she was totally left on the mercy of a stranger man like me. Was she real, or just an illusion? Did she have any wicked plan about me? If yes, let it be because I also didn't have any fear like her at that time.

But the way she'd landed in front of my Audi…I didn't think that it was all pre-planned. Besides, I often used to drive around the area. I hadn't seen her before.

"Where's your husband now?" I asked.

"No more."

"No more? What do you mean by it?"

"Finished. The end."

I gulped. Had the woman murdered her husband?

Seeing my wrinkled eyebrows, the girl thought something. Smiling to lighten the environment, she spoke, "Actually, I myself didn't know that so much strength resides in my body. I…I don't know how I did it…who knows! Maybe, the restless spirit living inside me got the job done somehow by me!"

"Which job?"

"Guess it," She bit her lips, "I cannot say more."

Now, it was my turn to be suspicious. I again gawked at her, or say, examined her bit by bit. Some words delivered by her were still ringing in my ears. She was a lonely woman. How had she come here at such a winter night, abruptly? The way she was speaking…surely, she'd committed something dangerous before coming here. Yet, how could she remain so relieved, stress-free and indifferent? I felt much surprised. Inside my mind, a storm rose.

"Where do you live?" I again asked her.

"You're questioning like a cop."

"I've already told you," I reassured her, "I am not any cop."

She gave her full stares at me. Trying to find something in my eyes for a few seconds, she replied, "The spot where I almost got crushed by your car…my house is one or two kilometers away from there. It was a duplex, decorated and neatly arranged, just like a painting. Only that man was the disgrace…."

Keeping quiet for a while and scribbling something on her jacket, she again uttered, "I can never stay there anymore."

Suddenly, I turned on the radio. There it began; the combination of chirping voices and songs. Surpassing the worries and suspicion, the third tones gave me a bit courage and faith.

"May I know your story now?" Salima requested.

I remained silent. My eyes were fixed at the road. Though there wasn't raining, the grey, concrete streets were still bearing the drenched marks. Be them wet or dry-they were my life now.

"Won't you share?" The redhead frowned, "When it was my turn, you were so excited. And now…"

I sighed. In my brain, old, harsh memories flashed once.

"The same old story," Not facing her, I started, "Rich wife. The husband was poor but honest and industrious. She used to shower her complains against me always, be it day or night. According to her, I was useless. Despite being educated, I was illiterate to her. I had an excellent academic record but to be employed in this city, you also need political and monetary support. I badly needed a decent, so-called honorable job but for it, I couldn't sacrifice my honesty. It used to fuel her anger much more.

One day, she threw me out of her house…well, of course, she had the right because it was bought by her father, saying 'Get out'. I…I don't know what happened to me at that time. In anger and frustration, without thinking anything about my future, I got out with the same car which I am driving now," I slapped on the steering wheel, "My life was useless, hopeless…"

Suddenly, she laughed, startling me to no end. My brows creased at her curved lips, "Why're you laughing, Miss Salima?"

"No, suddenly I felt something," She stopped showing her satisfaction or amusement, "May I share?"

"Sure."

"You were saying that your life became hopeless," Salima said, or say, placed an offer, blushing like a ripe tomato, "So is mine. Umm…if two hopeless persons collide together, can some hope rise ever?"

"Well said," Even reminiscing my torturous, humiliating past, I sneered, getting tinted a bit in her hue, "I love hearing such words. They create ardent wishes in my heart to live another life."

She lowered her head and whispered, still flushing, "You may be thinking that I've gone mad. Otherwise, how could I speak so coolly even after committing such a serious crime?"

After maintaining silence for a few seconds, she restarted, "Actually, my husband was dead in my eyes before many years. Let him stay or not, it doesn't create any difference in my life. Besides, my new life is also hard, cold-like an ice cube, like death is…"

A bit far away, I got to see a familiar road sign: Curve ahead. After it, the road bent rightwards. I almost reached there. Only a few seconds more…

"I'm siding the car," I spoke to Salima, "You can get down now."

"Why?" Raising a brow, she looked at me, throwing a question.

"If you proceed with me," I decreased the speed of the car, "You will be in danger. I cannot stop the car. That's why-"

"Which danger?"

"Please…" I almost begged to her, "Listen to my words… and get down."

"No," Too stubborn the redhead was, "I want to know at first about the danger!"

"Then, listen…" My voice was exhausted as I sighed and shook my head, "Miss Salima, before two years, at the same night when I left my home with the car out of frustration and depression, that night was of the new moon. Tonight, it is not different…"

I noticed that my right thigh and knee couldn't be seen. Even my left palm also disappeared nowhere from the steering wheel. But it was beyond the attention of the redhead. She was gawking only at my face. Coming from the radio, loud music was deafening us.

"At that winter night, on the same road…" I continued, "I faced an accident. Can you see that road sign? When I crossed it and took a turn at left, right after that…"

When the left part of my body became invisible, now, it couldn't avoid Salima's eyes. There was no way that they could ignore it. Her onyx orbs went widened. Obvious it was; they hadn't been expecting it. Her throat let out a frozen, blood-chilling scream. But unfortunately, there was nothing to do for her. Stopping the car was beyond my control.

"…There, a collision took place, between my car and a loaded truck," However, I didn't stop, "Within no moment, it became an endgame. After it…"

Salima continued screaming though it wasn't audible due to the loud sounds of the radio. The road sign was near the car. I glimpsed at the rear-view mirror, rotating it a bit. Yes, my assumptions weren't wrong at all. Now, only my face, azure eyes and blue bangs were visible. The rest of my body got dissolved in the darkness inside the car. My head was floating in the air like the hood of any slithering cobra.

"At the new moon nights, not caring of winter or rain, not caring of fog or darkness," I finished my words, "I rush to the accident spot. After my death, it has become my life, Salima."

Salima was shouting madly, trying hard to open the door of the car. When I took a turn at the left, the blurring headlights of the monstrous truck hit my eyes. Still, she was hysterically crying, "Save me! Save me!" Her voice was on the verge of getting broken. Her soft fingers were furiously, desperately punching at the windshields of the car.

Holy lord! Before a while, the same girl had been saying that… "I'm not alive. I'm just hovering in my house, like a restless spirit…."

Now, it was going to be true. From now onwards, we would travel around the city together at winter nights. Fog, darkness, and…a beautiful redhead beside me.

Ah! Life is beautiful, isn't it?

The rest parts of my body were disappearing, little by little. The truck was rushing in our direction, just like a hungry, ferocious lion of any African jungle. I started tapping the horn of the car with my invisible fingers and looked at her. Nah, she wasn't screaming now. A tired smile bloomed in her lips as her head was slumped on my vanished shoulder, in a fatigued way. Maybe, giving up, she also agreed to welcome our combined fate. Good for both of us it was, I guessed.

For the final moment, we had to wait for a few moments more…

Hehehehe...*Laughs like Boris* How was it? Good or bad? Hey! *Runs from Nain* Don't beat me, dearie, I...I was just kidding! *Runs again*

Anyways, as a horror-story, I hope you've liked it. Misty's brain has collected a lot of horror plots and she'll discharge them one by one in 2k21. There will be TalaJul, KaiHil, TyHil, RaySal, Rayiah, MaxMari, MaxEm, OzuMari, KaneSal and what not? Every possible hetero pairing of Beyblade will be destroyed by Misty at 100% capacity *Plays coffin dance anthem in the background*

Whatever, do read and review (Don't forget to get me bashed by Beyblade characters in the review section XD). Pardon the grammatical and spelling errors. Take care and stay safe :D

Dear Nainu, hope you've liked it. Don't feel sorry, okie? *Pats your head* All the best from Misty didu :*

-Misty ^_^ ^_^