LV: *still hiding from the people throwing stuff* Okay, here's the next chapter!
Aya: Don't worry, peeps! Things'll get better… in the last chapter. Oo;
CL: You're not a lot of help, are you?
Aya: ^^ Nope!
Tsunami Wave~ Oo; Is that a good idea…? {Cloud: *twitch* I will NOT listen to that pathetic song, human. I'd sooner eat a Deku, and trust me, they aren't the best entrées…} {Hazel: O_o; *gulps and inches away*}
Mugs~ {Raccoon: O_O! HELP! *runs away*} :D You're not cute no more, are ya Rikki? {Raccoon: XO Quit mocking me! Evil woman!}
Rumi-Chan~ {Raccoon: O____O HELLLLLLLLP! *runs even faster* I don't wanna be a shiska'coon!} XD No one likes you, do they?
Hikari Yamasa~ Actually, I've been waiting a while to write that chapter, as it's one of my favorites, so I got it done pretty quick. This one's fun, too. But… Oo; Don't kill me.
PinkDevil~ Three words: So do you! ^~ Here's the next chapter… and don't kill me. Oo;
Fire Mage~ {Raccoon: ;.; What did I do? I just needed to clean my food…} :D Too bad for you. *glares at Aya as LV quickly takes the plushie* HAH! Mine! (Aya: Yeah, well, who needs your silly plushies! I got my own!) Oo; It takes her till now to figure that out!?
Darkspider~ *can't hold in laughter anymore and collapses* XD No one likes poor little you~~! {Raccoon: Rub it in, why don't cha! I didn't know it was an intimate moment!}
kawaii-kirei~ O_o; I'm writing. And don't worry. There's a BIT of fluff in this chapter. …But don't kill me. Oo;
Ashleigh~ *picks herself up* ¬¬; Geez, you people are impatient! But here it is. … And don't kill me. Oo;
LV: Reviewers get a pack of everlasting bubblegum. Trust me, you'll need it to keep you entertained while I get the next chapter up.
Disclaimer: I might not own Beyblade or the characters in it, but I do own Niyt, Shade, Hazel, Satu, Sen, Flit, Cloud, Joe, Neia, and a little thing I call hope. *bows*
Notes: Same as every chapter. I've just been forgetting to put them in. Oo;
Bruised and Broken
~
It had been two days since the near-kiss incident.
In that time, neither Kai nor Tyson dared to look at the other, afraid of what they'd see.
Both were afraid of the consequences. Both feared what would happen if they saw rejection and disgust in each other's eyes.
They couldn't face each other.
And it was driving Niyt up the wall.
//Come on, Tyson! You can't stay quiet forever!//
/I-I-I can't t-t-to h-him, either. I d-d-d-don't want to be r-r-rejected…/
//For the love of Din, Tyson, you have to stop having a nervous reaction every time I bring him up! This isn't like you at all!//
Tyson's hand stopped where it was, hovering above an apple. /I-I-I can't. H-h-h-he means t-too much to me…/
//You do know that apples hold the symbolism of love, right?//
/Niyt… GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!!/
//Geez, I get the picture… No need to shout, y'know…// With that, the blue fairy took off in a huff, leaving the blue-haired boy to watch him pitifully before he let himself collapse to his knees, sobbing silently.
Niyt looked back ruefully at his heartbroken charge before anger went through him. Oh, if only that stupid raccoon didn't interfere…!
He sighed. There was nothing he could do now.
"I hope the others are coming up with a good plan…" He grumbled as he saw Kai wander about with no real destination, a brooding look in his crimson gaze, "These two are driving me nuts…"
~
"Let me get this straight: you can't think of ANYTHING!?!"
The four winced, "No…"
Niyt slapped his forehead and let his hand cover his face, "Sweet Farore, nothing at all!? There's four of you, shouldn't it be EASIER?!" Hazel gave him a look.
"Listen, we've done all we could think of! What happened the other night would've worked, if the raccoon hadn't butt in! We've run on empty!"
Sen nodded, "Yeah, the only other option would be to kidnap Tyson or something, but I'm the one Kai only recognizes as annoying and Tyson's pissed at me for grabbing you in the first place."
"An' we can' 'urt 'em, 'cause Aya's gonna go ballistic if we do…" Shade mumbled from her spot, "'Sides, I'm too tired from watchin' for Cloud ta take th' job…"
"Plus what's left are two fairies and a Deku. And those aren't very intimidating," Satu sighed, "Oh, if only we could think of something effective…"
Hazel copied her sigh, "What would Aya do in a situation like this?"
"She'd whoop your sorry rear ends for givin' up so easy."
"Yeah, she prob…bab…ly… FLIT!?!"
The dawn-tinted fairy smiled, "That's the name; don't wear it out!"
Niyt's eyes tripled in size as he backed away. He wasn't ready to face her yet.
"Wh-what are you doin' here?!" Satu gaped. She sighed.
"Aya said you guys needed help, since her charge is still preventing her from leaving, though I can't leave my charge alone for too long. She gets panicky," She looked at Niyt, "Hello again, Niyt. Still haven't learned to keep your mouth shut, I see." He blushed as he closed his gaping mouth, still wide with shock.
"…"
"Great, now he's acting like Kai…" Hazel grumbled. He received a glare in response, "Okay, now that's getting kinda scary…"
"So…" Shade said, looking idly at the new fairy, "Ya 'ave a plan?"
Flit rubbed her chin in thought, "Well, sorta… It's a bit complicated, but--"
A scream shot through the air, interrupting her.
A very familiar scream.
"Tyson! Kai!" Niyt panicked as he shot back towards camp. The others followed worriedly.
They hoped they weren't too late.
~
Kai held his injured side gently as he glared at the elk that had, out of nowhere, charged at the two boys. Niyt was nowhere to be seen, and whether that was a good thing or a bad one, he wasn't sure.
And personally, he didn't care.
"Kai, you idiot! Get out of there!" Tyson shouted from his uncomfortable position where Kai had quite forcibly shoved him up a tree.
Literally.
Tyson was breaking off branches to throw at the elk, but it seemed more interested in taking its anxiety out on the boy stuck to the ground.
Kai attempted to jump out of the way of another charge, but a sharp blast of pain in his side caused him to get hit by the antlers again, throwing him to the ground, convulsing. Tyson cried out.
"'Oy, Trophy-Head, take me instead!"
As expected, it had no effect.
"Yeah, well I don't like you, either!"
He yanked at his foot again, the reason he couldn't get out of the tree. It had gotten stuck between two fairly thick branches, and he couldn't move it at all. It didn't really hurt; it was just…stuck.
Which was pretty embarrassing for him.
The elk was panicked beyond control. It now assumed everything a threat. A dangerous position for Kai, as he now couldn't move at all because the pain was so intense. It continued to rear and beat down on Kai's body with its hooves. It wouldn't stop until the threat was gone.
Tyson only could watch in horror. If there was only some way he could calm it down… An idea suddenly clicked. His ocarina!
"I'm not sure if this'll work," He said to himself, removing the rounded instrument from his pockets, "but it's sure worth a try…!"
He began to play.
His every emotion, his every thought went through the mystical clay flute, coming out as music. His fear, his begging and pleading, his very heart and soul were expressed as never before.
The melody was no longer friendly and innocent.
It was now heartrending and sorrowful.
The mournful melody caused the animal to stop, ears erect. It looked towards Tyson as it understood the song's hidden text.
-Please…Don't hurt him anymore…
I beg of you, let him be!
What has scared you so…?-
\The One in the Shadows, young one.\
Tyson blinked. Did the elk just…?
\Yes. Your song has moved me, and my frightful spirit is at rest. There has been One in the Shadows for the past seven moonrises and six sunrises. It is a fell beast with nothing but cruel revenge on its mind. Be wary. I can sense it has killed in the past; it will not hesitate to kill again.\
The elk walked off calmly, giving Tyson one last glance before bounding into the trees. Tyson gaped. Few have ever reached such a level of understanding in a creature, much less a wild one.
Music really is the universal language.
Niyt sped right to where Tyson was, bursting with worry.
"Are you all right? What happened? Why'd you scream? Where's Kai? Why are you in a tree? How--"
"Okay, Niyt, I get the picture!" He snapped as he gave his foot one last tug.
The extra momentum caused it to slide right out and make him fall out of the tree with a thud.
He hauled himself to his feet, barely giving himself time to regain a vague sense of balance before rushing over to where Kai's prone form lay. He fell to his knees and gasped at the state he was in.
His clothes were torn and dirty from the dust kicked up, scratches and bruises appearing in the tears. He looked to be in terrible pain. Several ribs seemed to be cracked and he was slipping into unconsciousness.
Tyson let out a small cry as a single tear rolled down his face, another memory filling his mind…
~Kinomiya family Dojo, eight years ago…
It was the night of his sixth birthday, but Tyson didn't feel like celebrating at all. Why should he? He had just lost his mother a few months prior, and just the other day his Aunt Cheres had taken his sister to her home far away. The West… Indians? Something along that line. He'd ask later.
Either way, he was lonely. He never felt more alone in his entire young existence than he did in that moment.
"Hello there, kiddo."
He jumped and looked around for whatever, or whoever, spoke. He saw a dark blue orb of light with crystalline wings. Tyson blinked. It couldn't be a fairy…
…Could it?
It, or he, laughed, "Yep, I'm a fairy, Tyson. Or more precisely, YOUR fairy. I'm here to protect and guide you from this day forth." Tyson's eyes widened hopefully.
"Does that mean… you can make Mama come back? Or at least Kas?" The fairy's wings drooped.
"I'm sorry, Tyson. I wish I could. If I was there when it happened, then it'd be a completely different story. Sure, I'd be tired and not be able to use my magic until a day passed, but I'd be able to do it." Tyson's eyes fell to the floor.
"Oh."
To change the topic, he said, "My name's Niyt. And you know I already know yours, Tyson."
A faint smile crept onto his small boy's face, "You know what, Niyt?"
"What?"
"You have to be the best birthday present ever."
"…Thanks. I guess?"
~Back to present time…again…
The memory, or more specifically, Niyt's words about being able to save his mother had he been there, echoed through his mind as another idea formed.
"Niyt, get over here!"
On command, the dark blue fairy flew over, wondering what Tyson was so uptight about. He took one look at Kai and shrieked.
"SWEET WORDS OF NAYRU, TYSON!! WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO HIM!?!?!"
Tyson ignored the outburst, "Niyt, will you heal him?"
"Whaaa!?" He looked at Tyson like he had grown a second head, "Tyson, you know I can't do that! What if you get hurt? You're my top priority, not Kai!"
"If Kai doesn't get healed, Niyt, he'll die! I can't let that happen!"
"But Tyso--"
"You once said you'd do anything for me, Niyt," He said solemnly, "This is your chance to prove it." He looked at Tyson and saw the worry, the fear…
The innocent belief that Niyt would pull through. The pain of having to lose someone close to him again. The ever-burning courage within his eyes dwindling.
He had made up his mind.
"I hope you realize you'd better not get in trouble, Tyson. 'Cause you know healing spells take a lot outta me."
Niyt let loose a swirl of sparkling dark blue dust, all of it settling on Kai's battered body. He began to feel woozy but fought back; he had a job to finish. With one final twirl, the last of the healing dust fell upon the boy before he started to glow.
An ancient tongue filled the air as it began to resonate around Kai, pulsating softly. Tyson watched in amazement as the wounds and bruises vanished before his very eyes, leaving no mark of ever existing.
Then, as soon as it began, the healing ended, as slivers of crimson peered through heavily lidded eyes.
"Ughn…"
"Kai!"
The red-eyed boy had barely any time to register what just happened as he was suddenly tackled by his blue-haired companion.
"T-Tyson…?"
"Kai, oh, thank the Gods you're okay!" Tyson sobbed into his shirt, clutching onto him like a lifeline. Kai blushed slightly before awkwardly rubbing the boy's back in an effort to soothe him, just as he had a few days ago.
Had it really been only a week in these woods? It seemed like so much more. So much had happened to the two of them. He smirked as he began to nuzzle into Tyson's hair, which somehow held a natural scent of exotic spices and lavender, even after all this time in the wild. To his pleasant surprise, he felt Tyson hug himself closer to him as he rested his head on his now-healed chest.
"Kai?" He heard him whisper.
"Hm?"
"Never do something that stupid again."
"I promise," He breathed softly, reluctantly pulling himself away from Tyson. He cupped the boy's chin in his hand, "But now, I think we have something left unfinished."
Tyson blinked in confusion before realization came and flushed his cheeks pink.
Kai pulled him closer so that they were once again only a breath's width away, "I don't think a raccoon's gonna be stupid enough to pull something like that again." [1]
However, a sadistic snarl, followed by a familiar bone-chilling howl came from behind them as a large, dark, almost black lupine like creature with eyes the color of cold blood and a thick, ugly scar running along its left brow to the tip of its nose stepped out of the shadows. Tyson's eyes widened in both fear and recognition.
"Yes, BOY," It snarled, revealing a vicious set of blood-stained teeth, "I'm back. And NO ONE steals from Cloud and gets away with it…"
~End Chapter.
LV: Oo; Man, that's evil, givin' them a cliffhanger like that.
Aya: I know. XD
CL: *glares accusingly at her* I thought you said the sappiness was over!
Aya: Correction: We said the sappy chapter was over, not the sap.
CL: ¬¬* I severely dislike the both of you.
LV: ^^ I know.
Hazel: Oo; Well, Cloud's finally made his appearance, and man, is he ugly!
Cloud: *snarls again* Care to try me, Deku?
Hazel: O_o; N-n-no th-thank you. ^^; *coughs* And Tyson and Kai generally know they like each other now. But what does the Wolfos have in store for Tyson? Will Kai be able to protect him? *blinks* And where the heck did Satu, Shade, Sen, Flit, and myself disappear to? You'll just have to wait until the next chapter of…
Tyson/Max/Rei/Kenny/Dizzi: *pops in* "Forever and Always"! *diappears*
Kai: Hn. *follows them*
LV: *blinks* Okay… that was weird.
[1]: XD You better believe it!
