A/N: Yay! Look at that! Another update out within days of the last one! I'm on a roll! Hehe. I know I've been leaving you guys on major cliffhangers, and I know there's been some major drama, but I hope you can hang in there! This one's not half as long as the last few, unfortunately (or is that fortunately?), but I hope you enjoy it all the same! Love you guys and thanks for sticking with me thus far, you rock! As always, I would LOVE to know what you think! :D Okay, no more meaningless chatter, on with the show!
Disclaimer: I own... my OC's. Not beyblade. That is all.
"Dude, seriously, relax!" Ian exclaimed in exasperation. "We'll find it. Wherever it is, I'm sure it's fine. Just calm down!"
Three days after Demetra's return, the Blitzkrieg Boys were in The Facility cafeteria; trying in vain to calm their hotheaded Captain's temper. Three days since the Finnish beauty's total blow up, and no one had seen head or tail of her in that time. She hadn't even been to class, which was extremely strange, because since the first day she'd started schooling with the Russian bladers, she'd never missed a single second of class - not counting her recent vacation.
Normally, this would be a troublesome thought for Tala, but right then he had a much more distressing problem; also missing since her big blow up was his beyblade. His team had helped him turn The Facility upside down looking for it, but so far no such luck.
Obviously, his thoughts had gone straight to the brunette in question, and no matter what his friends did or said to try and console him, they could not get his mind off her and what he was convinced she'd done.
"Don't tell me to calm down, Ian." Tala threatened furiously. "We've torn the place apart, there's nowhere else it could be!"
He wasn't sure what was clenched tighter, his grinding teeth or the hand wound so tightly around his mug the Russian bladers were afraid it would burst any second.
"It'll turn up, man." Spencer said encouragingly.
"Yea, so don't look so glum, pal!" Bryan said, slinging an arm around his Captain's shoulders with a mischievous grin. "Your ugly mug's already lookin' pretty rough with that big ol' blackie there!
While his so called friends laughed at his expense, Tala's jaw tightened further. Said jaw throbbed in protest of the motion, still painfully bruised from Demetra's brutal beat down she'd given him only days before.
"Dunno if I pity ya or if I'm jealous!" Bryan mocked with a huge grin. "If a man's gotta take a beating, it sure as hell makes it a lot easier to take when ya get it from a looker like her!"
Tala grimaced at that as he reached up to massage his still sore jaw. Though he'd die before ever admitting it, he had to agree. While he was pissed as hell that his team had payed witness to the whole ordeal, he knew they were well aware it had only gone down the way it had because he'd already been so weak from his fever. And truth be told, he really had asked for it - literally, and in his opinion totally deserved it this time.
Having said that, he was even more pissed at himself; namely because every time he thought about the whole thing, it got his blood pumping, and not out of anger. Although he knew he'd totally set her off, had clearly made something snap inside her, and there had certainly been no love lost when she'd come at him, he couldn't help but think how stupidly sexy the brunette looked when she was so riled up, how she always looked so unbelievably attractive when she was passionate about something. Tala'd only ever seen her that passionate towards him one other time, and it had been when she was trying to skin his hide while he helped her destroy her mansions training room. He also couldn't help being reminded of their play fight that night in the bar. The woman was a good fighter, and damn did she ever look good doing it.
Thinking back to both scenes now, allowing them to overlap in his mind, Tala felt his pulse quickening again, and he began to wonder what sort of masochist he must be for being impressed.
"What the hell is wrong with me..?" He though morbidly.
He must be a masochist for letting himself get all hot under the collar because some chick had handed him his ass on a silver platter.
Of course, there was no way he would ever willingly let on to such a sick truth, even to the people - probably the only people - he trusted most in the world.
"That's only true because she's so stupidly hot." Tala finally said moodily. "I can promise you it's not something I'll be making a habit of letting happen."
For a few long, agonizing minutes there was a deathly silence in the room, and Tala felt like the weight of it was crushing him. In attempt to mask his unease, he lifted his mug to his lips, a grimace contorting his features as he took a good, long haul of the contents. That was when Ian's voice finally sounded to cut through the noiseless pause - and Tala with it.
"Woah!" He exclaimed with a look of shocked disbelief on his face. "I can't believe it! ... You're actually into her aren't you?!"
Like the cheesy scene in a bad comedy flick, Tala choked on his coffee, resorting to a fit of coughing until his windpipe was clear enough to breathe again. As if it had been the most natural thing in the world to say, Ian continued without missing a beat.
"I can't believe I didn't notice before!" His teammate balked with wide eyes. "That's why you always get so worked up when she's around! And why you get so pissed when she pays too much attention to Kai!"
Tala felt his entire body burning so hotly now he expected to spontaneously combust.
"Hey, yeah!" Bryan drawled, lifting a thoughtful hand to his chin. "Yeah that makes total sense! I never got why you let her get under your skin so bad, but that explains it!"
With a huge grin, he leaned over to toss an arm around Tala's shoulder again.
"Heh. That's it ain't it buddy? You got the hotts for our ol' pal Demetra!"
Feeling like there were a hundred warning bells and alarms going off in his head, while his team all stared at him with a teasing mix of expressions - except Kai, whom was simply giving him a cold, dark look - Tala felt like a bug under a microscope. Finally, he couldn't take any more of the teasing and pestering; especially over the thought of being outed for something he'd only so recently realized himself, and had in no way come to terms with yet. Reaching up, Tala gave Bryan a shot to the ribs, successfully causing his friend to release him - albeit with a thoroughly amused laugh as the teen merely rubbed his injured side.
"Don't be stupid!" The redhead snarled hotly. "There's no way in hell I'd have feelings for that psychotic lunatic! I don't care how hot she is, that girl is a miserable, mental wretch, and I'd rather shoot myself in the foot then be hitched up to her!"
"That's some powerful denial there Tal." Spencer said with a teasing grin. "Who you tryin' to convince, us or yourself?"
While his friends laughed at his expense, Tala felt the wicked heat inside him burn that much hotter.
"I'm serious!" He insisted furiously. "I can't stand her! And I'm telling you, if I find out she's the one who took Wolborg, that crazy bi-"
"Morning Demetra!"
Tala froze when Spencer's abrupt greeting cut him off. Entire body tensing, he turned stiffly around in his seat, and his stomach dropped out his toes when he made note of the brunette in question striding briskly through the room towards the coffee station.
"Morning." She replied tersely.
Tala swallowed hard as his gaze followed her, noting with dismay that although the cold, unreadable expression on her face didn't seem particularly different than normal, her body looked as tense as his was.
"How long was she there...?" He wondered, feeling a sense of panic surging up inside him. "And how much of that did she hear..?"
"So today's the day, huh?" Ian asked conversationally.
"Yea." Demetra replied shortly through clenched teeth. Tala furrowed his brows in confusion.
"Day for what?" He asked, almost afraid of the answer.
"Anton called this morning." Ian supplied him. "He said the caravan came in last night. They're only staying til the afternoon though, then they're moving out again."
Tala almost groaned in disbelief. Of course it had, of all days!
Every year around this time, a caravan of nomadic people came through the mountains with their sleds and dogs, loaded up with handcrafted goods and specialty items only available through trade and sell with them. When the boys had told Demetra about it, way back on the night of their first sledding trip with her, she had expressed great interest in it, which had surprised Tala because he really hadn't figured this to be the kind of thing to interest her.
He recalled a promise he'd made to the brunette back then. Tala had once worked with Anton for a while, and while working for him, the man had taught him how to reach the nomads camp. Seeing as he was the only one who knew the way, he had promised to take her there as soon as they came around again.
"I guess you still wanna go, huh Princess?" He asked, trying to sound as nonchalant about it as possible.
Truthfully, his heart leapt hopefully; maybe this was the chance he'd been hoping for; maybe, on their own for a few hours, this was his chance to make things right with her.
"I do." She said shortly. A smirk creased Tala's face.
"Fine. When I finish my coffee-"
"I don't need you."
His head snapping towards her, Tala gave her a scowl.
"Excuse me?" He growled at her. "Actually, you do."
"Actually I don't." She shot back, not bothering to look at him as she stirred a drizzle of honey into her coffee - she hadn't spared him a glance since she'd entered the room. "Anton gave me a map. I'm leaving as soon as I'm dressed."
"Yea, but I bet he didn't know you planned to go alone, or he wouldn't have given it to you!" Tala snapped back.
Her silence confirmed his accusation, and when she turned around and made her way back towards the door, Tala released another angry growl.
"Don't be an idiot! It's late in the year and the ice is thin! I'm the only one who can get you there and back in one piece!"
"I don't need you." She insisted coldly. "I'll find my way there on my own."
When she'd reached the door, Tala's heart leapt hopefully again when she stopped, turned, and finally locked eyes on him, but the tortured look in those beautiful silver coins broke his heart.
"Think yourself lucky, I'm giving you an out so you don't have to choose between shooting yourself or wasting your time with a psychotic lunatic."
It felt like a shot to this heart, and Tala felt his chest tighten painfully. She had heard him after all. The thought made him want to kick himself.
"Fine you stubborn pain in the ass!" He heard himself seethe anyway, his face scarlet for multiple reasons now. "Go it alone! Don't think I'll feel bad when you don't come back!"
The deeply wounded look that instantly warped Demetra's beautiful features then made Tala actually want to weep. Why the hell had he said that?! Just what was wrong with him that he seemed so completely unable to just say something he actually wanted to for once?!
His throat suddenly bone dry, Tala swallowed hard, then opened his mouth, hoping to God that whatever came out of it next was something that would get him out of the hellish mess he'd thrust himself into. But nothing came out, because before he had a chance to say anything, Demetra reached into her pocket to withdraw a small black lump, then flicked her arm out to fling it at the redhead.
"Here, catch." She said tonelessly, and as soon as the object had left her hand, she turned to complete her departure.
Tala reached out and easily snagged the object out of the air without looking at it, his eyes never leaving the beautiful form once again walking away from him. He wanted so damn desperately to call after her, to go after her, to grab her and pull her to him and swear up and down he hadn't meant any of it.
But as the door opened, as Demetra stepped through, as it swung shut behind her, all Tala could do was helplessly stare after her, once again drowning in his regret.
Forcing a hard swallow. Tala looked down at the object in his hands, realizing now that it was a black velvet pouch with something heavy inside. Without even needing to open it, he knew what it contained. Still, hesitating a moment, he reached to tug the drawstring free, tipped the pouch and let the familiar object tumble out onto his hand.
As expected, sitting heavy in his palm, was the familiar and yet completely alien, sight of his beyblade; shining like a polished diamond and looking better than he'd ever seen it. She'd replaced all the broken and mangled pieces with top notch quality parts, some of which he'd never even seen in person. That alone was touching enough. But what really got him, was that besides the attack ring, which was nearly an exact but brand new duplicate of his old one, a few of the parts she'd replaced his with, were parts he recognized were from her own beyblade.
Fingering the familiar pieces, Tala's throat constricted with emotion. He knew she hadn't cheaped out, he knew that if she'd merely wanted to show off or rub it in his face, she easily could have completely decked out his bey with brand spankin' new parts barely released. Remembering back to a certain conversation they'd had in the village bar, Tala knew perfectly well she'd remembered that conversation too; how he'd told her about his and his team's beys, had shown her how they were all comprised of parts they'd gathered and built together.
Knowing she'd done this for him, had given him something so precious of hers, just so he could have back something precious of his, touched him deep down in a place he'd sworn had long ago become a desolate wasteland.
Clearing his constricted throat, Tala blinked a few times to push back the humiliating wetness pricking the corners of his eyes.
"See...we told ya it'd turn up..." Ian's voice sounded softly over his shoulder. "Looking pretty good too."
"Yea..." Tala replied simply, his voice cracking.
"Gotta say Tal..." Bryan began teasingly, but it was a half hearted effort. "Not the best come on I've ever heard... ya really gotta work on your pickup lines man..."
The two gave him half-hearted smiles before making their way to the door. Spencer didn't seem to have much to say, but he did give the redhead's shoulder a comforting squeeze on his way past before following after the other two.
Not unexpectedly, Kai didn't exactly have many words of comfort for him either, and Tala's teeth clenched when the blunette leaned down to hiss in his ear.
"Guess this means I win, huh?" He hissed smugly. "Just as well, you clearly don't have any dogs in this fight anyway."
His fists clenching tightly, it was easy to ignore the metal of his brand new blade cutting into his hand as Tala watched the blunette straighten before making his own smug exit.
-;-
He wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting in the cafeteria alone, broodily staring at his beyblade as the recent happenings played over and over in his head like a bad movie, but eventually, the feel of someone watching him broke through his solitude. Sure enough, looking up, polar blues instantly locked on a pair of crimson orbs staring coldly back at him
"What?" Tala challenged moodily.
Kai stared at him for a few long moments before eventually opening his mouth and breaking the silence.
"Did you mean what you said?" He asked, a strange tone in his voice. "About not caring if she didn't come back?"
The unexpected question made something horribly sickly twist in Tala's gut. But nonetheless, Tala once again heard himself voicing a lie to cover up the truth of his weakness.
"If I didn't I wouldn't have said it." He replied irritably.
Studying him for another minute, Tala watched Kai eventually turn to approach the huge window that looked out over the village. He stared for a long time before eventually speaking again.
"Well lucky for you, you got what you wanted." He said with that strange tone again.
The statement made Tala's blood run cold and made his stomach knot with dread. What the hell was that supposed to mean? Did she decide to leave for good this time? Did she finally have enough and decide to go stay with one of her girls after all? Surely that must be what the blunette meant, surely he couldn't have meant the alternative, there was just no way!
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Tala heard himself growl, and even he could hear the panic in his own voice.
Once again there was a brief silence, and when Kai spoke again, it was clear his voice was raw and heavy with emotion this time.
"Her sled went through the ice a few hours ago..."
Suddenly Tala's world came crashing down around him, and his eyes widened in horror.
"Don't screw with me, Hiwatari!" He exclaimed wildly. "That's not funny!"
Kai whirled on him then, and Tala was finally able to see the tortured emotions on his face then as well.
"You see me laughing, Tala?!" He yelled back, his voice cracking. "Anton was heading out for a run when her team came back without her! Neobu lead him back to her, but by the time he got there, she wasn't breathing and her heart had already stopped!"
Turning away from the redhead, Kai briskly made his way back to the door. He opened it and took a step through, but before he left, he left Tala with one final twist of the knife in his heart.
"Guess it's true what they say, huh Tala?" He hissed bitterly. "Careful what you wish for."
And with that one final barb, the blunette let the door swing shut behind him.
For hour-long minutes, Tala stared wide-eyed at the door Kai had disappeared behind. The previous conversation kept echoing around in his head, like a cats eye marble in an empty oil drum rolling down the hill, unable to cease its movement, unable to settle.
But eventually the drum stopped rolling, and the marble finally settled. And when it did, something that had only moments ago felt like a tiny minuscule thing, now felt like a massive ton boulder sitting on his chest. And like the weight of a physical boulder, Tala felt the weight of it squeeze the breath out of him, squeeze his chest, constrict his throat so tightly he waited for death to claim him any minute as well.
Biting his lip hard, Tala felt a pair of hot tears streak themselves down his face. He knew it was pointless, knew it was totally and utterly stupid and self-sabotaging to think; but even so, even as the crushing weight of the recent gut-wrenchingly tragic news he'd received threatened to squeeze the life out of him, he couldn't help but think of the promises he'd made to himself, the promises he'd internally made to her. He thought of all the chances he'd missed, all the times he'd chickened out and took the cowards route.
And then he thought again of the last words he'd said to her.
"Fine you stubborn pain in the ass! Go it alone! Don't think I'll feel bad when you don't come back!"
The pressure of his lip biting increased until Tala's body screamed at him to let up. But he didn't pay it any mind, because he didn't want to break down and let the grief of the truth consume him - and he knew without a doubt it would if he couldn't successfully distract himself with an alternate source of pain.
"I can't believe that was the last thing I ever got to say to her!" He thought in agony. "I can't believe I said that to her at all!"
Especially, since there were so many other things he'd wanted to say to her, so many more words he'd much have preferred to leave her with, if today really had to have been the last time he'd ever see her.
Then again, it wouldn't have been the last day if he hadn't let her go alone. In fact, as far as Tala was concerned, there was little argument to be made against him saying her death was completely and utterly, solely on him.
As soon as that thought settled into place, Tala felt a wicked pain explode in his chest, sure it must be what getting shot felt like. And just like that, the dam that had been threatening to break imploded in on him.
Doubling over in his chair, an earsplitting, bone-rattling scream ripped from Tala's lips, reminiscent of a wounded, wild beast. The scream was so violent, so forceful, it felt like razors as it vibrated painfully out of his throat.
When finally the long, drawn out scream had stolen his voice and his breath, Tala's hands lifted to dig the heels of his hands into his eyes, a desperate attempt to stop up the dam that had already blasted apart inside him. But obviously it was an effort in vain, and in the end, the only thing Tala could do was let it all come as it pleased while he helplessly sat there alone in the empty cafeteria and bitterly wept.
...::: Earlier that day :::...
Demetra's thoughts were a whirl of chaos inside her head as her sled and team glanced over the snow so fast it felt as if they were flying. Normally the sheer thrill of the run was enough to temporarily cure her of all life's internal illnesses. But today, not even the feel of the flighty freedom, or the sight and sounds of her team's happy yelps and barks, could penetrate her foul mood.
"Don't be stupid! There's no way in hell I'd have feelings for that psychotic lunatic!... I'm serious, I can't stand her!"
As Tala's vehement denial rang out in her head, Demetra felt a sharp pain stab at her chest. Deep down, she knew there was no way it was entirely true; the redhead had shown her too much, said too much for him to have meant it completely.
But then, if he hadn't meant it, why had he said it? Was he embarrassed of her? Was the thought of being attracted to, or having feelings for her, really that terrible? Did he not think she was good enough for him?
Perhaps Tala thought someone like her didn't deserve someone like him; her who came from a somewhat sheltered background, who with all her skills and talents, all the multitude of things she knew and had seen and places she'd been, still had little to no actual worldly experience, or knew much of anything socially acceptable, things that should come naturally to people her age. While Tala himself, he was a hardened seasoned warrior, a champion, a wealth of impressive knowledge, skills and talent for days, popular and loved and respected by so many. He had a bounty of desirable characteristics and traits completely different from her own, and he had so much to offer.
Perhaps Tala didn't think she was worthy of someone like him.
Perhaps he was right.
She knew she was supposed to be paying attention, knew that while unlike a car, though her team was much more infinitely capable and didn't need her to actually drive them, they still needed her direction. She also knew quite well she was supposed to stay away from the dark grey areas.
But all that information, which should have been common sense, was the furthest thing from Demetra's mind at the time, a mind that was so clouded with morbidly, depressing thoughts, it completely consumed her entire consciousness.
All of a sudden, the sound of a deafening crack rent the air, and just when Demetra's team passed over one such dark grey area, the ice gave way and her sled broke through. In the blink of an eye, before she knew what had happened, Demetra felt herself flung backwards into the now open frigid waters.
Slipping beneath the surface, Demetra felt like she'd been thrust into a pool of razor sharp needles, and when she broke the surface, a reflexive scream ripped from her throat. It took a few seconds for her brain to fight past the shocking effects of the blistering cold, but eventually she finally managed to focus.
To her horror, when Demetra looked up, she noted her sled mostly in the water, and most of her team all barking and yelping in a panic as they fought to pull it back onto the thin ice. But it was no use, the ice continued to crack and break break under their paws as the sled steadily dragged them dangerously back towards the deadly water.
Feeling a powerful surge of panic and adrenaline course thought her, Demetra forced her feet to thrust her forward with a few good strong kicks, and immediately came up beside the sled. She fumbled and tugged for a bit, but with her fingers already numb and body already trembling violently, it was exceedingly difficult to do much of anything useful.
"Come on!" Demetra screamed in her head, her terror paramount. "Please! Don't let them die for my selfish stupidity!"
Growing more and more desperate as she yanked and pulled with all her might, Demetra's eyes flooded, further hindering her efforts.
"COME ON! PLEASE!"
Suddenly, her fingers managed to make the correct contact, and to Demetra's heartfelt relief, the sled came unhitched with a mighty bursting sound, instantly sinking into the inky blackness while the team simultaneously shot forward several feet. The wave of relief that washed over her was potent and Demetra felt a pair of tears run down her face, freezing almost instantly on her skin.
"Oh thank God!" She thought, feeling like weeping with joy.
But the joy was short lived.
Demetra's panic instantly returned when she noted Neobu wheeling the team around and approaching her. Hearing the harsh cracking noise, and watching the ice splinter beneath the dogs paws, Demetra lifted an arm to thrust out towards the dogs.
"Woah!" She yelled at him, the effort searing her throat painfully.
Neobu halted, tilted his head to one side for a minute, then slowly proceeded towards her again.
"Woah!" Demetra yelled again, but still the dog continued to slowly approach.
Demetra felt the tears in her eyes blur her vision until the team's images were nothing more then colourful silhouettes.
"Woah!!" She screamed desperately, terror consuming her. "Woah! Damn it, STOP!"
She noted the images finally halt then, and blinking a few times until she was able to see again, Demetra stared into the lamp like eyes of her lead dog.
"Go home Neobu..." She begged, her voice hoarse and strained. Then she raised her voice to scream at him. "Neobu! Go home!"
To her dismay, she watched the dog lower itself to its belly, shimmy towards her, until he was close enough to snag her scarf. The night black dog stared for another minute before giving her scarf a tug, then began shimmying backwards again, the garment still clenched between his jaws as he dragged it off of her. Getting to his feet, Demetra's lead dog continued to stare back at her, scarf clenched tightly in his teeth. She stared into his beautiful golden eyes for a few moments, until her tears overflowed and began to stream down her face.
"Go. Live, Neobu..." She begged through the fear choking her. "Please..."
To Demetra's relief, she watched the dog finally turn and wheel the team back around, and in a moment, he'd lit off and was guiding them back across the ice from whence they came.
Watching them go for a second, Demetra turned away from the image of the retreating dogs, then summoned up whatever strength she had left and kicked with everything she had. To her frustrated fear, the ice gave way several times, and after a few futile attempts, just when she was sure she had nothing left to give, Demetra gave one last mighty kick and finally felt herself thrust up onto the ice.
With the last bit of strength she had left, Demetra managed to haul herself a few feet onto the ice until she was sure it would support her weight. Then she flopped over onto her back with a painful cringe and looked up a the sky.
She'd always thought you were supposed to see your life flash before you before you died. She'd figured that maybe you'd be able to recall your happiest moments before the end. But as she lay there staring up at the cloudless afternoon blue, panting and trembling and noting with dismay that she could no longer feel her limbs, the only thing that came to Demetra's mind was the same thing that had been plaguing her since she'd left the rental shop.
"There's no way in hell I'd have feelings for that psychotic lunatic!"
One final pair of tears escaped the corners of Demetra's eyes and rolled down her face, before finally they slid silently shut.
-;-
"Oi, Anton! Look!"
Looking up from his business of hitching up his team for a run, Anton looked up as requested, his brows instantly knitting to note a very peculiar sight. Bolting towards him at full tilt, was the Nakamura girl's team - without her.
Frowning deeply, he straightened and turned towards the approaching dogs as a feeling of dread twisted his gut. It was never a good sign when a team returned without its musher.
When finally the team stopped before him, he leaned down to take the scarf the midnight lead dog was offering him. Immediately upon taking the object from the dog's jaws, the knot in the man's gut tightened. The scarf was frozen rock solid, obviously having received a thorough soaking. There were only so many things that could mean, most all of it no good.
Turning towards his own sled, Anton barked a set of orders over his shoulder while he hastily proceeded to toss the items he'd already loaded unceremoniously out of his sled. Reaching to unhook the lead dog, he ruffled the dog's head before gesturing to the sled while a pair of staff unhitched Nakamura's team.
"Jump in boy!" He told the dog urgently. But not entirely to his surprise, the dog turned and bolted for the front of his team instead. Turning and barking insistently at the musher, Anton gave the canine a wry grin.
"Of course, what was I thinking." He muttered sarcastically.
Sobering up, he gave a nod to the staff members looking at him, then gave a sharp whistle to his team once the dogs were all secured.
"Alright my friend, take us to her! Hike!"
...::: Presnt :::...
Normally, when one stared at their favourite photo, it usually brought them some form of comfort or joy. But as Tala stared at the picture clutched tightly in his hands, he felt nothing but bitter heartache and misery.
His thumb brushing across the face staring back at him, another teardrop fell onto it, the countless one in the past several hours. It made him glad he'd had the foresight to reinforce it, else-wise, the wetness of his crippling sorrow would have surely washed the colors away by now.
Sniffling once, Tala blinked back the blurriness in his vision, and when it cleared, he saw plainly in his minds eye the night and instance he'd acquired the picture in his hand.
-;-
Tala watched Demetra disappear into the bar bathroom before looking back down at the table, or more specifically, the object he'd been considering. After only the smallest hesitation, he reached out and picked up Demetra's cell phone. There probably should have been some hesitation about opening it, but he'd already decided on that, and he knew he probably didn't have much time. Besides, he wasn't planning on snooping, there was just something he desperately wanted.
As soon as he pressed the button to turn the phone on, Tala's eyes lighted in surprise to note there wasn't actually a password on the brunette's phone. Briefly he debated snooping around after all; she'd made it so easy! But after another quick glance across the area to the door his companion had disappeared behind, he quickly thought better of it and brushed the thought aside.
His mind set, Tala worked swiftly with purpose; went straight to Demetra's camera roll and immediately began skimming through her pictures. For a few seconds, he was distracted by the ones she'd taken throughout the night, a tiny smile tugging at his face when he stopped on one of her, Natasha and Peter, but soon enough he remembered his purpose and forced himself to hurry onwards.
It only took skimming through a few more until Tala finally found the one he was looking for. Stopping on the last picture she'd taken, Tala's heart thumped in his chest, and this time the smile that crept up his face was a warm one. Staring fondly at the photo for a moment, he quickly executed the process of sending it to himself, then accessed their shared texting history and quickly erased the conversation to cover his tracks.
Closing the phone again, Tala placed it back on the table, hoping he'd returned it to at least the approximate location he'd taken it from, then innocently reached for his drink like nothing had ever happened.
-;-
Coming out of the memory, Tala recalled the following day of their almost date, of going into the computer room after making sure no one was around, of printing off the picture he'd sent himself from Demetra's phone, of laminating it with wide packing tape to protect it. Of carefully tucking it inside the pouch of treasures around his neck to be taken out and peeked at, only when he knew no one was around or looking.
Like that very moment.
He didn't really like to consider himself the sentimental type, but there were a handful of things he treasured more than anything else in life. Aside from his beyblade, those things consisted only of the items contained in the precious pouch he always wore around his neck. And as of that night, this picture had become one of those treasures.
Of course, the picture in question was the latter one he had taken with Demetra. In his opinion, it was the most valuable image in the world, because on it was displayed clear proof that, at least for one fleeting moment, she had been happy in his presence - really, truly, undeniably happy. In fact, he was sure if a stranger saw it, if they asked, there was no doubt in his mind he could convince them she was his.
Truth be told, frozen in that one moment, Tala himself looked like he couldn't possibly be happier. Together, immortalized in that moment for any onlooker to see, they both looked like there was nowhere they'd rather be then right there alongside each other.
There couldn't possibly be anything more valuable then that.
Although he'd been sure he would have given just about anything for a distraction from his depressingly morbid trance, when one actually came, it only succeeded in making Tala angry.
"Oh! Pardon me young man, I didn't know anyone was still here. I thought for sure everyone had gone down to see the Nakamura girl."
Tala narrowed his eyes on the elderly janitor who had dared disturb his solitude.
"Yea well, obviously you were wrong." He spat venomously.
Truth be told, no matter how damn badly he craved one last look at her beautiful face, Tala knew if he saw her now, inevitably looking nothing like the stunning beauty he'd come to crave the sight of, it would only unravel whatever tiny shred of whatever sanity he had left. He'd much prefer to remember her the way he wanted to; the way she'd looked at him when he'd awoken from his fever, like he meant exactly to her what she'd so effortlessly, preciously become to him.
Seeming completely unbothered by the frigid response, the man wrung out his mop and proceeded to mop the floor.
"Well, I've got a few years under my belt." He said conversationally with a chuckle. "It's not the first time I've been wrong about something. I suppose it's no surprise you didn't feeling like going for a visit. Didn't really seem like you two got on too well most days, hm?"
For some reason this grated on Tala's nerves. Like he needed someone to point out just how horrible he'd treated her! As if he needed someone to tell him he should have treated her better!
Deep down, he knew this wasn't the intention of his companion's words, the fellow was just making conversation. But right then, everything Tala thought, everything he heard, was like a painful reminder of all the stupid things he'd done wrong, all the things he should have said, all the things it was far too late for.
Obviously not hearing the silent thoughts, or realizing what his words were doing to the redhead, the elderly worker continued on, apparently completely unbothered that his companion seemed unwilling to make conversation with him.
"I suppose it doesn't really matter does it? I imagine she'll be right as rain in a few days anyway."
Tala's head snapped towards the janitor and gave him a scathing glare.
"What the hell are you talking about, old man?!' He exclaimed furiously, his voice raw and cracking. "She's not coming back, shes dead!"
Suddenly the man looked up at Tala with a shocked look.
"Good gracious, is she?" He asked with wide eyes.
"Yes!" Tala almost screamed. "When they pulled her out of the water, her heart had stopped and she wasn't breathing!"
To Tala's astonishment, the man's expression softened at that.
"Ah, yes. That." He said simply. Tala felt like throwing something at him. But then the man said something that stopped Tala's world for a second time that day. "But from what I hear, they managed to bring her back in the end. Just in the nick of time, I understand... gave everyone quite a scare too. But she'll be alright, I think."
Seeing the look on Tala's face, the man gave him a sympathetic expression.
"Goodness... To think no one had told you that..." He said gently. "Poor lad... you must have been distraught..."
That was the last thing he heard the man say - not that the fellow had a chance to say anything more - because before he even had time to think about what he was doing, Tala had reflexively jumped up from his chair and bolted for the door.
-;-
Something changed in a person when faced with a tragedy, especially a deeply personal one. It did something to a person, something that can't be undone. It formed cracks in one's soul, breaks in one's heart, holes in one's sanity. Opened voids that just couldn't be closed.
It didn't really change all that much even after you realized it had all just been a cruel, sick joke. Sure, there was the brief sense of relief, of breathtaking joy at knowing it wasn't all over just yet, you still had just a little more time to make it right. But that relief and joy didn't last long, because as soon as it evaporated - and it always did - it was nearly always replaced with a sense of dread, with a crippling panic, with a debilitating fear that it might happen after all; now that you knew it could. And just like that, the peace, the false sense of security, any and all understanding you may have had that you still had time, was gone.
What if tomorrow wasn't enough? What if tomorrow was too late? What if you'd already wasted all your tomorrows, letting them overripe and spoil until they were nothing but rotten yesterdays?
What if tomorrow never came?
As Tala stood over Demetra's motionless form, listening to the steady drip of the fluid bag beside her bed, the only other sound in the otherwise eerily quiet room, his thoughts bounced around in his head so frantic and nonsensically he was sure he'd go mad from it.
Scratch that; ever since Kai had dropped the biggest emotional bomb on him he'd ever had the misfortune to experience, Tala was sure he'd already lost whatever little sanity he had left.
Feeling like he was in a fog, standing on the precipice between a cozy dream world and a hellish nightmare realm, Tala was having trouble deciphering between what was real and what was merely imaginative figments of his over taxed brain.
And his brain wasn't the only thing overtaxed. Noting at last the tremor in his legs - likely majorly attributed to his lightning sprint from The Facility to the tiny but state-of-the-art medical building in the village - Tala's head tipped to the side, deftly registered the chair beside the bed he was standing before. Seeing as his brain didn't seem particularly interested in the wellbeing of his body anymore, the latter seemed to move of its own accord, until it had plopped heavily onto the hard wood. Instantly, Tala's muscles and bones screamed a sigh of relief, but his brain barely registered that either.
Now that he was nearly eye level with the brunette in the bed, Tala finally allowed himself to take in the tiny abrasions on her otherwise flawless face, the way the red and raw portions of her skin shined with whatever goop they'd smeared across it to treat the frost burn. As he stared, allowing the sight to burn itself into his mind, Tala's thoughts once again travelled back to the last words he'd said to her, and his eyes instantly flooded.
He was too exhausted to bother feeling embarrassed about the tremble in his limbs, and as such, reaching out, he slipped his trembling fingers around her silken hand, gently slid it towards him, reached out to cup his free hand over the one cradled in its companion. Unable to take his eyes off her, Tala's lips parted, again seemingly of their own accord, and without his permission, allowed to spill from him words he'd never allowed himself to utter when he had the chance.
"I heard people in comas can hear you when you talk to them..." He said quietly, wincing at the way his raw voice crackled. "Dunno if this counts, if you actually can hear me or not, but seeing as I'm too stupid to ever be able say what I really want... this is gonna have to be good enough."
There was a brief pause, mainly because Tala had to take a second to force his emotions into submission. Eventually though, he managed to continue.
"I'm sorry, Princess..." He managed through he emotions choking him. A bitter, unamused laugh seeped past his lips at that.
"It's not not a hateful, irritating nickname I came up with just to piss you off, you know... I never meant for it to hurt you, or make you feel like I was mocking you or anything..."
His thumb brushed the back of her hand, and the warmth he felt made him bite his lip in attempt to stave off the waterworks. After a single sniff, he forced himself to continue.
"Guess I always kinda saw you like a princess, royal pain in the ass that you are..." A tiny, real smile quirked his lips at that, mainly when he imaged the irritated eye roll she might have given him had she heard it. "You always seemed like someone so far above me... just another thing I desperately wanted that was forever out of my reach..."
There was another silence, this time a little lengthier. When he spoke again, his voice was so quiet, Tala himself almost had trouble hearing it.
"I so sorry... I never meant a damn word of it. I never wanted you to leave..." A self-depreciating snort escaped him then. "Hell, you'd be all too pleased to know I was a total wreck when you were gone for just one stupid week..."
He almost expected her to scoff at that, to open her eyes and give him the sharp-tongued remark he was sure she wanted to. But when she didn't, the knife in his heart twisted just a little harder.
"When I thought you were gone forever... When I thought I'd never see you again..." He whispered in a pained and choked whisper. "It was the worst damn feeling I've ever felt in my life..."
He'd thought the crippling grief, the debilitating torment of it all would actually kill him. But that was a truth just a little too difficult to express, even to an unconscious listener. So instead he moved on to what he was able to say.
"You drive me up the wall most days." Tala whispered bluntly. But there was a healthy dose of affection he was unable to keep out of the statement. "You're irritating, and annoying, and you push all my buttons, sometimes all at the same time! And there are times you make me want to beat my head off the wall!"
The tears pooled in his vision threatened escape this time, and Tala had to tip his head back, blink a few times to force them to stay contained. When he looked back at the sleeping beauty again, Tala gave the hand in his a gentle squeeze, while his eyes locked back onto her still stunning face.
"You're the most stubborn and headstrong woman I've ever met... but when you're not around... it feels like there's something missing. I can't concentrate, cause all my stupid brain can think about is you! You always take it over, just like you take over everything, without even trying to; the conversation, the room, all the attention!"
Tala's face screwed up a little, partially in effort to keep his emotions at bay, partially in reaction to his own weakness.
"But when you walk into the room, when you're close to me... it feels my my stir crazy soul is able to find peace for a little while... It drives me crazy to think of you with anyone else for even a second, and I know I don't deserve you... but what can I say, I've spent my whole life wanting things I couldn't have..."
Pausing yet again Tala couldn't help but marvel at how easy the flow of words came to him now, and in a way, he couldn't help but wonder if it was a bad omen. But it was too late, no matter what he did, there was nothing he could do to dam up the flood now that it had been released. Suddenly it was as if everything he'd ever wanted to say to her, everything he'd ever wished he could let her know, was coming out now in one giant almighty tsunami. And there was absolutely nothing he could do to stop it, his only choice was to wait it out.
"Pretty sure you're trying to put me in a straight jacket, aren't you?" He said bluntly, giving the brunette a weary look, while his thumbs unconsciously traced delicate circles on the back of her hand. "I mean, what the hell are you tryin' to pull, huh? First you beat the hell outta me, cursing the day we met, then you fix a piece of my soul by giving up a piece of yours... I mean, you trying to kill me, Princess..?"
If he didn't know any better, he'd swear she'd done it all on purpose, just to screw with him. Then again, seeing as he technically didn't know better, maybe she had. Not that it mattered, either way it worked; she'd successfully managed to screw with his brain in a way no other girl ever had - and there had been one who'd come pretty damn close. Still, no one compared to her, no had ever compared to her. To say Demetra Nakamura was one of a kinda was an absolute understatement. Ever since she'd blown into his life like a hot mess of a hurricane, nothing had been the same, and no other girl he'd ever known had ever left enough of an impression on him to warrant recalling them for even a second. Ever since she'd shown up, she'd only ever been the sole focus of his entire consciousness.
"I'm sorry... I never should have let you walk out that door alone today... Never should of let you leave Russia without making sure I gave you a damn good reason to come back..." Tala swallowed hard against the searing lump in his throat. "And I never should have walked away from you that night without giving you... without taking from you... what I know we both wanted so bad..."
Another self-depreciating scoff escaped him then, and Tala removed one of the hands over hers to reach up and thread through his hair as a sudden heat overcame him.
"I can't believe I'm saying all this..." He muttered in embarrassment. "Even if you are totally out of it..."
He sighed heavily then. Just as well, not like he'd ever be able to say any of it to her with her eyes open. Turning back to the brunette, Tala sobered up a bit as he placed his hand back over hers again.
"But wake up anyway..." He said softly, cringing at the weakness he heard in his own voice. "Wake up and look at me like you did when you came back to me... Wake up and tell me there's a place for me in your life somewhere... somewhere on the good side..."
If she would, Tala swore to himself again that he'd find a way to let her know these things, even if he couldn't say it. He swore he'd make her understand, make her take responsibility for the totally pathetic whipped mutt she'd turned him into.
"Just show me those big silver dollars and come back to me..." He whispered, his voice breaking now.
Once again, Tala gave the hand in his a squeezing caress. This time a pair of tears finally escaped their confines and made a break for it down his cheeks. But he couldn't be bothered to pay them any mind. Lifting the hand in his, Tala's trembling lips pressed a wet kiss to the back of her fingers.
"Please open your eyes, Princess..." He choked painfully,
To Tala's shocked pleasure, a tiny murmur seeped from the brunette's lips, and the hand encased between both of his twitched before squeezing ever so lightly.
That was about all he could take. A strangled sob ripped from Tala's throat then, and the tears he'd been fighting so desperately to hold back escaped their confines to stream silently down his face. As if afraid she'd be able to see them from behind her closed eyelids, Tala bowed his head and pressed his forehead to her hand, his hands gripping hers firmly as he silently wept for the second time that day - the first time since he was a kid.
Sometime when his wet emotions had finally begun to dry up, Tala heard a voice near the back of the room, making his head jerk up towards its source.
"Who knew you were such a hopeless romantic, Tala. If you weren't too much of a coward to say half of that to her face, I might actually have some competition."
He hadn't really meant to leave Demetra's side, hadn't meant to release the warmth of her silken hand. But the next thing he knew, Tala had Kai pinned to the far wall with his fists clenched in a vice grip in the front of the blunette's shirt.
He hadn't really thought to speak either, but the violent curses he spat at his teammate spewed forcefully from his mouth nonetheless like acid.
"You made me believe she was dead!" He accused savagely after a particularly foul string of curses towards the blunette. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't rearrange your face, pretty boy!"
"Didn't think you cared, Tala!" Kai spat back with just as much venom in his voice and fury in his eyes. "Weren't you the one who insisted you couldn't stand the psychotic lunatic?!"
Tala's lips curled back with a vicious snarl, and it took everything in him not to plant his fist in the blunette's face.
"Do it." Kai hissed challengingly, his own face screwing up with a scowl.
Tala's eyes were wild with fury, and a voice inside screamed at him to follow through; to give the loathsome pain in his ass exactly what he deserved and asked for, what the redhead had been wanting to do for oh so long.
But eventually his mind managed to shake off his moment of insanity, and instead Tala yanked Kai off the wall, only to slam him violently against it again, before finally releasing him and turning away from the blunette.
Hearing Kai scoff behind him, Tala felt the powerful urge to whirl around and punch his lights out after all. But before he could reconsider, Kai spoke again.
"If it makes you feel better... at the time... I really did think she was gone."
This time it was Tala's turn to scoff. Admittedly, that fact did make him feel better, if only just. Though there was no way he was going to tell the blunette that.
"I guess I'll choose to believe that..." Tala muttered under his breath. Thinking back, he belatedly realized that Kai had actually seemed pretty shaken up over the fright they'd received too.
There was silence between the two for a long time, until eventually Kai broke it.
"So... I'm gonna ask you again; did you mean what you said?"
His fists clenching tightly at his sides at the question, Tala felt a low, furious growl rumble in his throat.
"You know damn well I didn't!" He growled angrily, still not looking at his companion. "Obviously it wouldn't have wrecked me so bad if I did!"
There was another silence, but this one was much shorter.
"I'm talking about everything you just said..." Kai said quietly. "Are you finally ready to put up a real fight?"
Realizing what he meant, Tala looked back at Kai now, noted the intense look the blunette gave him, before Tala's own eyes hardened with determination.
"Yea." He said simply. "And if you're as serious as I am, Hiwatari, then I can promise you it'll be a bloodbath."
Something flashed in Kai's eyes at that, but before anything else could be said, another voice cut through the tension in the room.
"There a problem here, boys?"
Both bladers turned towards the door to see Demetra's Doctor standing there, the rest of their team standing a few feet behind him.
Tala glanced back at Kai for a second, noted the intense look still in the guy's face, then snorted in indignation and turned away again.
"No. Just clearing the air."
The Blitzkrieg Boys exchanged a look at that but decided not to comment.
"Hey! She's waking up!" Ian suddenly exclaimed.
Several pairs of eyes snapped towards the bed to see that indeed, Demetra seemed to be stirring. As one, three bodies surged towards the brunette, crowding around her bed as she released a faint groan. Tala and Kai both held back, each with a storm swirling across their features as Bryan and Spencer took a side each to help her sit up.
"Alright boys, step aside, step aside."
Parting to make room for the Doc, the Russians all watched anxiously as he stepped up between the three, leaning down a little to look into his patient's face.
"How do you feel young lady?"
"Like I want to kick someone's ass for kicking mine... " She muttered groggily. The boys chuckled at that, realizing that, to their relief, she was just fine.
"Then you'll have to kick your own for bein' so dumb!" Ian chided teasingly, though there was a slight hitch to his voice.
"Yea, you big dummy!" Bryan added. "This is your own fault ya know!"
"Some support team you guys are..." Demetra grumbled half-heartedly, making the boys chuckle.
Suddenly her brilliant silver eyes locked on a pair of polar blues, and her face instantly screwed up.
"I must be on my death bed if you're here." She said scathingly.
To her complete surprised shock, Tala merely stared at her for a minute before turning on his heel and making for the door.
"Don't worry about it your highness. I was just on my way out."
And with nothing more then that, the redhead indeed disappeared a moment later.
Blinking after him, Demetra couldn't help but wonder at the tortured look on his face, not to mention the fact that he had actually willingly left so quickly and easily, without so much as one taunting remark.
However, before she could ponder the fact too much, her attention was soon seized by the trio crowding her bed.
"You gave us a real scare, ya know." Spencer admonished with a frown.
"Yea! We should kick your ass, missy!" Bryan teased.
She listened to them fuss over her for a while until eventually the Doctor drove them out to deliver her tests and a check up. Once the boys had reluctantly left with well wishes and promises to return, he turned to Kai.
"You too, Mr Hiwatari. You may return once I am finished."
"I'm not going anywhere." Kai stated stubbornly, giving the Doc a serious look with crossed arms.
Turning back towards his patient, the man gave her a questioning look.
"Is that alright with you, Ms Nakamura?"
"I couldn't care less." She replied bluntly.
So, receiving permission for him to stay, Kai watched as the Doctor proceeded to do his thing. He knew he wasn't the only one impressed when the brunette didn't so much as flinch during the whole process, not even with the prick of the needle she received for the collection of her blood for tests.
Once the process was through, the doctor collected his things and got to his feet.
"Well, I'll leave you two then." He said politely. "But do not stay long Mr Hiwatari, she still needs her rest."
When they were alone at last, Kai stared at Demetra, and although she tried to hold his gaze, the intensity in his eyes eventually forced her to look away.
"If you're going to stay here, then say something." She told him, hoping her voice didn't betray her frazzled nerves.
Though he stared at her for another short while, eventually Kai did speak.
"What you did today was stubborn, stupid, and selfish, and it's a damn unfathomable miracle you're still alive."
Feeling a surge of annoyance and irritation at his admonishment, Demetra made a face before laying her head back against the wall and staring at the ceiling.
"If all you're going to do is lecture me then go make use of that perfectly good door."
"Shut up, Demetra." Kai spat angrily in response. "You know it's true and you know you need to hear it. And I know everyone else is only gonna coddle you, so that leaves it up to me."
Demetra turned her face away from him, but her expression was guilty, and she felt it.
She felt like she should apologize, but her pride got in the way as it usually did, so instead she let an uncomfortable silence settle between them. Not unexpectedly, Kai was the one to eventually break it again.
"You have any idea how much you scared the living hell out of everyone today?" He asked angrily, though this time there was a strange tone to his voice.
Demetra chewed her cheek, unsure how she was supposed to respond to that. She heard the rustle of his clothes, his footsteps, as Kai made his way over to her to sit beside her on the bed. A moment later, to her surprise, she felt him take her chin in his hand and gently turn her face back towards him. But the surprise she felt by his tender action was nothing compared to the surprise she felt at seeing the tortured look in his eyes.
"You have any idea how much you scared the hell out of me?" He whispered in a strained voice.
Feeling suddenly guiltier for some reason then she could ever remember, Demetra swallowed hard, unable to look away form him.
"I'm sorry, Kai..." She whispered back, no idea what else she was supposed to say to that either.
She watched a pained expression cross the blunette's face then, and her breath caught in her throat when Kai moved his hand to gently cup her face instead, his thumb delicately brushing her cheek.
"I've never been so damn terrified and so sick to my stomach in my life..." He whispered hoarsely, his voice heavy laden with emotions she could only guess at. When he spoke again, his voice was so quiet, Demetra had to strain to hear him. "I was so terrified I'd never get to see you again... that I'd missed my chance.."
"Chance for what...?' Demetra asked almost reflexively, feeling instantly incredibly dumb for it.
Something flickered across Kai's face then, but it was too quick for her to catch it, and after staring intently into her eyes for a few moments, he eventually answered her question.
"Missed my chance for one last fight..."
His response thoroughly confused her, but instead of clarifying, Kai slid his hand around to bury his fingers in Demetra's hair, to gently cup the back of her head. Entranced, she stared a little wide eyed as the blunette moved in, his eyes lidded heavily, as he hesitated for only the briefest second, before finally sealing her lips with a searing kiss.
Demetra gasped against the lips pressed so hotly to hers, and instantly her entire body froze. She knew she was supposed to do something, was supposed to react in some way. But as Kai's rose petal soft lips moved against her mouth, as they gently parted hers and sensually traced his tongue along the inside of her lip in a way that sent a shiver down the length of her, made her hair stand on end, all she could do was sit there, frozen in shell-shocked disbelief.
When finally Kai pulled slowly back form her, he stared into her eyes as he gave her a half-cocked grin, though there was a somewhat stung look in his eyes that made Demetra feel all the guiltier.
"I get that my timing might be totally off..." He teased half-heartedly. "But you don't have to act like it's the first time anyone's ever kissed you."
Swallowing hard, Demetra felt a wicked heat rise up her neck, and reflexively averted her eyes away from the blunette in embarrassment. Instantly, Kai's eyes widened as an expression of shocked horror took hold of his face.
"Oh God, Demetra!" He gasped as the realization struck him. "I'm sorry!"
Unable to say anything, Demetra chewed her cheek as she stared at the bedsheets.
Reaching a hand up, Kai buried it in his hair and sucked in a sharp breath.
"Damn it..." He muttered under his breath. "Really screwed that up, didn't I..?"
Still Demetra didn't say anything, and when Kai lifted his gaze to look at her under his lashes, he studied her for a long minute, studied the multiple emotions flickering across her face, before eventually frowning deeply.
"It's more then that though, isn't it?"
Looking out the corner of her eyes at him, Demetra's brows furrowed.
"What do you mean?" She asked in confusion.
Kai's eyes locked with hers and Demetra forced herself to hold his gaze this time.
"You're not nearly as upset that I stole your first kiss are you...?" He asked rhetorically. "You're mostly upset because you wish it was someone else."
Demetra's heart stopped at the accusation she'd never be able to admit to. But she didn't need to, because as Kai stared into her face, her expression gave him all the confirmation he needed.
"You wish it would have been Tala." Kai whispered somewhat bitterly, sounding like a harsh accusation.
Once more Demetra swallowed hard before averting her gaze again.
Her reaction leaving no room for denial or misunderstanding, Kai turned away from her and got up from the bed. He walked over to the window and stared out it, and this time the long, drawn out silence was stifling. But eventually, he broke it once more time.
"Do you know what he was doing in your room?" Kai asked in a deadpan tone.
Demetra snorted humourlessly.
"Probably trying to find a way to finish me off without getting caught." She replied bitterly.
Ignoring her ridiculous response, Kai answered his own question anyway.
"When I came in, he was already here, sitting on that chair by your bed... pouring his cold, black heart out and bawling like a baby."
Wide eyed, Demetra turned to stare at the back of Kai's head in disbelief, unable to believe what she was hearing. Not bothering to look back for her reaction, Kai continued without missing a beat.
"Hn. Gotta admit... Never knew the idiot was so smooth. If you'd have heard half the things he said, you'd probably think he was drunk." He released a short unamused snort then. "Hell, I wondered there for a bit myself..."
Kai released a heavy heart-sick sigh, then he was quiet for another few moments before seemingly forcing himself to trudge on.
"He was devastated when he got the news, you know... I've never seen him get that bent out of shape over anything since I've known him... especially over another person."
Completely shocked speechless now, Demetra continued to stare at the blunette for hour-long minutes, until eventually she found her voice. Her face screwing up, she forced her lips to part and expel something.
"Why are you telling me all this?" She demanded angrily.
Still not looking at her, Kai scoffed.
"Probably to try and make up for being a thief..." He teasingly replied half-heartedly. "Probably to get back at Tala for finally winning the war..."
He paused for another moment before continuing, much quieter this time.
"Maybe to get back at you for letting him win... Who knows."
Demetra's face screwed up with a mixture of confusion and irritated annoyance. What was all this talk about wars and battles anyway, and why did he make it seem like she was the cause of it?
Eventually, Kai finally turned away from the window, though he refused to look at her.
"Anyway. Glad you decided to stick around." He said in another deadpan tone. "Sweet dreams, Sleeping Beauty."
With that, Demetra followed the blunette with her gaze, watching him walk swiftly to the door until finally he had disappeared too.
When he was gone, Demetra turned her head forward and stared at the bedsheets again in a trance, while Kai's words played over and over in her head. A part of her refused to believe any of it, but in her heart, she felt a dangerous spark of hope beginning to alight.
Just when she was crying out in her head for a distraction, Demetra jumped in startled surprise when the door to her room suddenly burst open. Instantly recognizing the figure whom had just burst through it, a deep frown creased her face as a shard of ice dropped into her gut. Standing there staring at her with a wild and crazed expression, Breal's chest heaved violently. It was the first time she'd so much as set eyes on her brother since her blow up and his harsh accusation. She was sure he must still be furious with her for tarnishing their family name the way she had, and now she was certain he must be completely fed up with her all together.
Her entire body tensing with dread, Demetra watched with bated breath as her brother stalked swiftly towards her, fully anticipating his sharp rebuke for her sheer careless stupidity. But against everything she'd expected, a loud gasp tore from her lips when the blunette instead grabbed her and yanked her against him, squeezing her in a bone crushing hug the likes of which she'd never known he was capable.
Unable to breathe from both the physical inability, and the sheer shock of it, Demetra stared over her bother's shoulder with wide eyes. When finally she was able to move, Demetra bit her lip.
"I'm sorry..." She whispered breathlessly, once again left unable to decide what else she was supposed to say.
Though Breal's arms did loosen their hold ever so slightly, just enough so she could breathe, they slid further around her, almost cradling her to him like a father might when comforting his child from a particularly horrible nightmare.
"No... I'm sorry..." He choked in a strangled voice. "I'm so sorry, imouto..."
Her eyes instantly flooded at the sound of the honorific she normally hated, yet this time felt so good to her ears. Swallowing hard against the searing lump in her throat, Demetra's blurry eyes slid shut and her arms lifted to wrap around her brothers back. Burying her face in his shoulder, the two siblings silently clung to each other, neither either able or needing to say anything more then they already had.
After leaving Demetra's room behind, not wanting to run into anyone else, and unwilling to subject himself to the images and memories he knew returning to The Facility would bring, Tala decided to instead wander the streets of the village.
He wasn't sure how long he'd been out there, letting his mind get way ahead of him as it threatened to unhinge itself all over again replaying his mess of thoughts, but eventually Tala felt the sudden, jarring sensation of being grabbed, and before he knew what had happened, he found himself yanked into a darkened alcove between two buildings and slammed roughly against a wall.
The force of the collision knocked the wind out of him, and gasping for breath, it took him a moment to focus on the person whom had dragged him into the darkness. But when he was finally able to focus, his blood ran cold when he took in the look of the face glaring down at him.
"You wretched, worthless little shit! If I had it my way, I'd kill you right here and now!"
Looking up into Breal's crazed, savage expression, Tala felt a tremor of terror vibrate down his spine. He'd scarcely ever seen the blunette display much of any emotion; the man normally seemed like a cold, emotionless stone wall. But at that moment, Tala thought he looked like an absolute madman, and the sight positively terrified the hell out of him.
Scraping and scrounging up whatever courage and dignity he could gather, Tala did his best to give the blunette a defiant stare.
"Go ahead then!" He growled, cursing at the admittedly nervous tremor he heard in his own voice. "What the hell are you wanting for?!"
Breal's lips curled back in a savage snarl, and for a moment it looked like he was fighting some internal struggle. Finally, he replied, his fists clenching tighter in the redhead's shirt.
"Believe me you little demon! I'd love nothing more!" He snarled savagely. "Fortunately for you, I've got a promise to keep..."
For just the briefest of moments, Tala felt the tiniest spark of hope, and he knew it was painfully obvious on his face, because a smug look instantly captured Breal's.
"Not to her!" The blunette spat venomously. "Don't flatter yourself! You honestly think she'd shed a tear over your lifeless corpse?!"
Just as well the blunette had physically stabbed him, there was no way it could have possibly hurt any more. His thoughts once again clearly obvious to his attacker, Breal's sinister expression lighted with pure satisfaction. Leaning his face down until there was scarcely a space between then, Tala swallowed hard at the murderous look in the blunette's eyes.
"Here's the part where you profusely thank whatever God you believe in..." Breal seethed venomously. "Because if she died today, you'd already be in the arms of your maker!"
Yanking Tala off the wall, Breal gave him one more good, hard slam powerful enough to rattle his brain and make his head swim. Forcing himself to focus on the seething sapphire orbs boring straight through his soul, it took everything Tala had to hold that terrifying gaze.
"You ever hurt her again, ever touch her, and I swear to you; promise be damned, I'll snuff your pathetic excuse for a life out with my bare hands..."
Slamming him again one last time for good measure, Breal finally released Tala and whirled on his heel before disappearing in a swish of coattails.
Letting his head fall back against the wall with a harsh thump, Tala stared up at the sky as his heart threatened to beat itself into an attack. Right then, for the first time in his life, he found himself thanking whoever was listening, whomever might have actually been responsible, for him surviving every day he'd lived since meeting the Nakamura siblings.
The sound of flesh pounding leather was usually a comfort to him, but today, the harder and faster Tala's fists flew, the more forcefully the powerful thoughts and emotions hounded him.
It had been days since Demetra had been released, and on the surface, everything seemed to have gone back to normal. However, nothing felt normal to Tala. In fact, ever since the moment he'd gotten the scare of his life, every single minuscule thing since seemed to be hellbent on torturing the soul right out of his body.
No matter what he did, no matter how hard he tried not to think about it; in his minds eye all he could see was Demetra's beautiful, bruised form laying motionless in that bed, all he could hear were the combined unpleasantries they'd hurled at each other as of late. If that wasn't bad enough, he also had Breal's bone-chilling threat constantly burning at the forefront of his mind.
He thought about all the promises he'd made himself, all the promises he'd made her, and all that, combined with his official declaration of war against Kai, Tala found himself completely at a loss of where to go from here. Deep down, he wanted more than anything to go hunt her down, convince her to let him take her out on a real date. And when that was done, sweep her up and kiss her stupid, until she was just as maddeningly head over heels for him as he he'd become with her.
Truth be told, Breal's threat had scared the hell out of him for a day or so, and to be brutally honest, it still did. But that was about as long as it took Tala to realize that as terrified as he was of the blunette, he was so much more terrified of loosing Demetra - for real this time.
About the time when Tala was convinced his inner war would finally drive him completely over the edge, he received a distraction; albeit a very unwanted one.
"Spending an awful lot of time alone the last few days, Tala. What happened to that bloodbath you promised me?"
Clenching his teeth, Tala did his best to ignore the irritating voice that had disturbed his unhealthy solitude. Unfortunately, the voice wouldn't be ignored.
"Kinda hard to win a girl over when you don't even talk to her."
Still continuing to ignore the blunette, Tala's punches increased in ferocity, wishing very much at that moment that he could replace the bag with the face of his constant annoyance.
"Come on, Tal." Kai continued to goad him, clearly enjoying it. "Kinda hard to win a war too when you don't even put up a fight."
Finally having had enough, Tala drew back and drilled the bag with everything he had, sending it zipping across the ceiling on it's tracks until it struck the wall with an almighty bang. Whirling around, Tala fixed his eyes on the door, fully determined to ignore the irritating blunette. Unfortunately, Kai was determined not to be ignored.
"I guess it's just as well you walk away." Kai called to him on his way out. "Just like it's just as well you walk away from our fight. There's no chance of you winning her over now anyway, seeing as I've already taken her first kiss. And you know what they say about a girl's firsts don't you, Tala?"
Bringing up solid, Tala actually felt like he hit a physical brick wall, because instantly a wicked pain exploded through him; bursting first from his heart before blasting all the way through his extremities.
"You what?!" Tala snarled savagely.
As if to assure him he'd heard right, and clearly to rub a little extra salt in his wounds, Kai continued mercilessly.
"A girl never forgets her firsts."
Feeling something snap inside him, Tala's vision instantly went red, his lips drew back in a vicious snarl, and a surge of the most volatile and vicious rage he'd ever felt consumed him until it was all he could feel.
When Tala rounded on his tormentor, there was a supremely smug expression on Kai's face. But it instantly evaporated when Tala flew at him like a bolt of lightning. Before the blunette could blink, Tala was on him, and he only narrowly managed to avoid losing his head as Tala aimed a powerful punch at his face.
Eyes widening in stunned shock, Kai did his best to avoid getting hit, but it was a supreme effort not to let Tala land a punch. For all appearances, the redhead looked like a complete madman, and Kai was certain if his team Captain actually managed to land a punch, it'd probably put a hole straight through him.
Normally the two were fairly evenly matched, but just then, it was everything Kai could do to keep the redhead off him; he couldn't even defend himself, Tala was pushing back so fiercely.
For ages, the completely one sided fight raged on, and Kai was beginning to tire; admittedly the thought concerned him because he wasn't so sure he wanted to know what would happen if he slipped up, if Tala actually managed to snatch the opening he was so desperately fighting for. Looking into Tala's crazed eyes, a flicker of guilty regret tugged at Kai's heart, and for just a second, he wondered if, just maybe, he should have been a little gentler with the the delivery of his confession.
About that time, just when Kai was sure he would have to take the cowards way out; to tuck tail and run lest he finally fall victim to Tala's fists of fury, something in the corner of his eye made him glance to the side. Fortunately, the movement made Tala reflexively glance that way too, and Kai knew he finally had his chance - likely the only one he was going to get.
Drawing back his fist, Kai planted it with everything he had left into Tala's stomach, causing his opponent to stumble back with a grunt. Standing back, panting wildly and chests heaving, the two Russians glared daggers at each other. Then they simultaneously turned their heads and fixed their distraction with a very different look each - the cause of Tala's loss of upper hand and Kai's saviour.
"By all means, don't let me interrupt the cock fight." Demetra drawled, a hint of disgust in her tone.
Turning away from them, she moved across the room to set up her equipment to begin her own training, but the sound of Tala's disgusted snort gave her pause and made her look over her shoulder at him.
"That's my line." Tala seethed venomously. "Wouldn't want to get in the way of a good thing, would I? He's all yours, Lady Jezebel."
Demetra's face screwed up in a mixture of shock, anger and confusion, though she did her best to hide it behind a vicious scowl.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean, you jackass?!" She demanded angrily.
"I think you know damn well what it means!" Tala spat back, turning and making for the door. "And I think I was wrong about you, your highness. You're no princess. You're just a common floozy."
"Excuse me?!" Demetra replied with an almost shriek, eyes saucer wide.
"You heard me." Tala seethed back over his shoulder on his way out. "You've clearly made your bed. So sleep in it."
Completely at a loss for words, and feeling like a bomb had gone off inside her, all Demetra could to was stare with a combined storm of rage, confusion and heartbreak, her jaw unhinged and eyes a whirlwind of emotion, as Tala swept from the room like a tornado.
Back in the confines of his room, a mighty bang echoed through the place as Tala's fist connected with a savage rage with the wall. As he watched a spiderweb of cracks instantly span out from under his fist, felt an appropriate agonizing pain explode from his hand and shoot up his arm, he figured there was a good chance something under the flesh probably closely resembled the wall after that.
"Damn it!" He screamed wildly in his head, feeling more inside him at that moment then he'd ever felt in his life.
As Kai's taunting confession replayed over and over in his head, Tala felt it flaying his heart apart pice by bloody piece, until he was sure the tattered organ would stop beating any second.
In his mind all he could think about was how he was too late, how he'd missed his chance, how stupid he'd been. He thought back to that moment in the bar, when he'd had Demetra in his arms, when she'd gifted him such beautiful touches and reactions. He recalled thinking back then that her reactions to him had made it seem like she'd never known another touch before. He thought back to all their interactions, to all the moments they'd shared since he'd met her. He considered every single time she'd all but wordlessly confessed as much without ever actually having said it.
In todays day and age, at least in the world he'd grown up in, it was practically unheard of for a girl her age to have never known a man's touch, never mind never had a kiss; especially not a girl who looked like Demetra Nakamura. Any yet, she'd given him so many signs, had unknowingly hinted at it so many times. But like he always did, Tala had ignored it all, had refused to let himself believe such a wholly unbelievably beautiful truth - mostly out of the fear that it was just that; too unbelievably good to be true. Besides, even if he had realized it on time, there was no way she would have given anything so precious of herself to someone like him.
Then something struck him like a bolt of lightning.
But she had tried.
Tala was suddenly reminded, yet again, of a scene from the night of the festival, and it made his heart ache.
"If I tried to kiss you, would you let me?"
"That would be asking an awful lot, Mr. Ivanov..."
"I know..."
"I don't think you do..."
Tala felt his heart rent down the middle. She had all but told him back then; she'd basically spelled it out for him! And yet she had been willing to give herself to him, had been more then willing to give him something so precious without him having to beg for it. In fact, she'd tried to do so three full times, and something in Tala's gut told him if he hadn't walked away from her that night, if he hadn't left her in the cold as she'd so rightly accused him of, without a doubt she would have given him exactly what he'd craved so badly.
But it was too late now; he could have had that chance, could have accepted that precious gift she'd been all too willing to give him. Instead, he'd let his pride and stupidity get in the way yet again, and this time it had cost him something preciously irreplaceable, something this beautiful creature he'd been pinning over for so long could never be able to take back and give him a second time.
Clenching his teeth tightly, Tala drew back his fist and drilled the wall again with everything he had, and this time he definitively heard something crack. Unfortunately, the ache painfully squeezing his chest was much more dominant.
Letting his head fall forward against the wall with a thump, Tala squeezed his eyes shut and sunk to the floor, more then ready for this cursed day to end; if he was lucky, he'd wake up the next day and realize the past several days had all just been nothing but another one of his hellish nightmares.
A/N: Psych! Bet you thought this was the last chapter didn't ya! (Bet some of ya HOPED this was the last chapter, huh? -sweatdrop-), Heh, sorry! Again fortunately, or is that unfortunately, this is not the last chapter. In fact, there are um... perhaps 3-4 more. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel, I swear! lol. I promise Ive had the last few mapped out and in the works for QUITE some time. I cant promise they'll get out as quickly as the last two but I will do my utmost, I swear! Pray for me, wish me luck, hehe, every little bit of encouragement helps! Once again, hope you like so far and are excited for the next one! Til then, Love you and adieu!
