AN: Yes, reviews! I am grateful. It would be nice if there are more, of
course.... *look around meaningfully* Thanks for all of your kind
encouragements. I love to hear your opinions.
Yep, Ray is a traitor all right. *nods firmly* If something like this happened for real, the entire nation of China would probably curse his name in disgust. But it's not real, so I get to have my fun and makes him the righteous hero. Muahahah! And yes, the location of this Asian tournament, the city of Nanjing, is purely for plot's sake. In the show... Well, in the show you can't go by the map because it doesn't match up with the sceneries. Those beautiful mountains depicted in the setting for the Asian tournament can be only found in certain places in China. I chose Nanjing because it is a very special city, and I know it well. Easier to write for me, hehe. And I promise there will be no serious romance in this story. *sweat drop* I know Mariah isn't particularly popular, but... I admit I am a mild Ray/Mariah fan. *duck at the sharp objects* There are hints of it; I can't lie. But I swear it's not that much.
Too much rambling already. So go on and enjoy the show!
PS: IMPORTANT (to me at least)! Anyone who plays Yu-gi-oh cards, I need GRAVITY BIND! Three of them. Willing to trade and/or buy. Email me if interested.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning was bleak, with a grey sky and grey light spilt across the city. Ray stood on the high stony cliff, leaning on the iron railing. Before him there was a hundred feet drop, and on the bottom of the cliff the water of the great Yangtze River broke upon the rocks. The Swallow's hill, this place was called, for it looked like wing of a swift swallow rising from the river.
It was still early morning, and no sightseeing visitors were there. The world was silent, save only the sweet music of lapsing waves and the occasional foghorns. Brown river gulls flew here and there, their wings spread out, riding the thermo. Ray sighed and closed his eyes. He was tired and worn. All night he had slept, but instead he walked, no, rather, fled, all the way across the city to this place where he was standing now. He needed to be far away from his team. He needed solitude. Again he sighed, and slowly sat down on the cold stony ground, and leaned back against the railing.
The morning wind cooled him a little, and the melody of the waves calmed him. Slowly Ray sorted out his jumbled thoughts. How did it come to this? It pained him to think, to ponder. Had he made the right decision when he joined the Blade Breakers. Had he made the right decision to become part of the Japanese team? He couldn't answer that. He was always confident that he did the right thing, but now he was no longer so certain. But all that is in vain now. Drigger had left him, and he could no longer blade for any team. It was a butchering cut that stopped short all problems and complications. And it was painful. With despair renewed Ray buried his head in his hands, trying futilely to banish his dark thoughts.
"Ray?" Suddenly he heard a tentative voice. He lifted his head and saw Mariah standing in front of him. She looked pale and worn, as tired as he was. Her red hair escaped the bound of the yellow ribbon a little, straying in the wind.
"Ray." She knelt down near him and said quietly, "I heard what happened from Kevin..." She stopped here and bit her lip uncertainly.
Ray turned to her, his eyes narrowed and he said sharply, "Why have you come then? To laugh at my misery? To tell me that a traitor like me deserves such a punishment."
Mariah looked startled, and she shrank back just a little. But she tried once again, "Ray, I know how you feel, and I just..."
"Go away." Ray interrupted curtly, "Don't goad me any farther."
The red-haired girl stood up abruptly, a dangerous glint in her gold eyes. "If this is the way you see it," She said, her face deathly pale, "Then I will say no more. Farewell, Kon, and good day."
"Mariah..." Ray gathered himself off the ground and took a hold of the girl's slender wrist, his voice softened, "Mariah."
"Let me go!" Mariah said angrily. "What more do you want? I trekked half of the city looking for you, in the middle of the night, and you threw all that right in my face. I am sorry I ever bothered..." Her golden eyes were now brimming with tears, glowing in the pale morning light.
"Don't cry, Mariah." Ray wrapped his arms about her and hugged her close, his voice no more than a whisper. "I am really sorry. I wasn't in my right mind. Please don't cry."
"How did it come to this?" Mariah leaned her head against Ray's chest, and clung to his arms like a frightened child. Her tears now running freely, and her voice was a torrent of misery. "Why are we like this now? Kevin hates you with venom, Lee is angry enough to kill you, and the entire country probably curses your name. I...I just don't know what to think anymore."
"I am sorry all this came between us." Ray hugged her even tighter in his arms, his voice sounded pained as well. "I never imagined it would be like this."
For a long time they didn't speak, but merely stood there, and the river gulls flew about them, stirring up the cold December air. "Mariah..." Ray murmured quietly, savouring the moment. But she suddenly stirred in his arms, and broke free of his grasp, stepping away from him. She stood there, arm's reach from him, and looked at him with her golden orbs still glimmering of tears and filled with sadness.
"Tell me, Ray, why did you join the Japanese team in the first place?" She asked, not harsh, but stern at least.
Ray looked distant, before he finally sighed and replied, "Some flashes of random inspirations, I don't know. I just thought it was a good idea at the time."
Mariah looked displeased, but she only said, "Not I, nor anyone can accept that so easily, Ray."
And with that the illusion of beauty was shattered. Everything was back at the starting point. A new ire was in Ray, and his golden eyes narrowed with irritation. Finally he said darkly, "It's not going to be a problem anymore, I assure you. I cannot blade for any team right now."
Mariah seemed to be taken aback. There was a spark in her golden eyes, and she said passionately, "You know that's not true, Ray. Think back to the time when we were little, Ray. You didn't have Drigger with you back then, and you were still the best blader of us all. There wasn't a single beyblader in our area that didn't stand in awe of your name! You have unbelievable skills, and you are the best strategist I have ever known. And you love beyblade, Ray. Are you going to let this one incident prevent you from the beyblade dish for the rest of your life?"
Ray looked uncertain and he did not speak. There was another long, tense silence. Suddenly Mariah said eagerly, "Come back to us, Ray. Come back to the Whiter Tigers."
"What?" Ray asked, shocked.
"I want you to be back on our team, Ray." Mariah said, her voice low but burning. "You have always been a part of us, and you should now too. You will be fighting for your own country." With a sweep of her hand she gestured towards the land about her. "You are a son of this land, Ray. Will you not represent her in this competition, along with us? Come back to us, Ray. And then everything will be how they are suppose to be."
Still Ray did not speak, and he was now turned with his back towards her, his eyes staring at the river flowing away in the distance. Patiently Mariah waited, a fire of anticipation and hope in her golden orbs.
Suddenly a new voice intruded. "So you are ditching us and going back to your old team, Ray? I don't believe you!" The voice sounded righteously angry, though somewhat comical with the gasps for air caught in between. With the sound Tyson emerged, his dark hair unkempt, checked only with his baseball cap. Following him was Max, who looked somewhat dusty and tired.
Despite his weariness Tyson rushed up to Ray, shaking his fist before the raven-haired youth heatedly. "Are you really just going to leave? How can you do this?"
"Tyson, don't mistake my meaning." Ray said calmly, though his brow furrowed somewhat, "I have not decided anything yet."
"What is there to decide!" Tyson shouted angrily. "We are your team, and your friends! And you are just going to throw all that away?"
Max added pleadingly, "Come on, Ray. Don't do this to us."
Ray lowered his head and said quietly, "Have you heard nothing Kevin said last night?"
"I have heard. But I don't understand it and I don't plan to either. I know one thing though. If you are going to let something that happened so long ago come between our friendship now, then you must be stupider than you look." Tyson said fiercely. "How about this, I will make you a deal. Battle me right now, and if you win, you can decide for yourself where you want to be, but if you lose, you come back with us right now."
Ray studied the angry boy before him carefully, and finally he said steadily, "If you believe that's the way to settle things, Tyson, you have got yourself a battle."
Both of them brought their launchers, and at the mark the two blades flew. They landed on the stony ground together, spinning and wavering in the now forceful river wind. Tyson did not hesitate. He ordered the attack immediately. Ray's white blade swiftly retreated, weaving in and out of the shadows of the many rocks about. It was almost like a hide-and-seek game.
Ray closed his eyes and concentrated. Without Drigger, he could not compete with Tyson in both strength and stamina, and his speed slackened as well. He must entirely rely on strategies. And it cannot be any strategy: it must be something shockingly new, an element that he had never used in all his past battles. His golden eyes snapped open, and again he watched the field carefully, calculating his moves.
And then he took his chance. The white blade shot out of the shadows, as an arrow released from the spring. It flew and sliced the hissing wind, before slamming into a piece of protruding rock that hangs over the ground.
"What?" Tyson shouted, shocked.
The white blade rebounded, before it slammed again, and one more time. Finally, there was a thunderous crashing sound as the rock broke and toppled, fell to the ground like a thousand meteors, raising a torrent of dusts. When the dust finally cleared, they saw Tyson's stormy grey beyblade had come to rest beside a piece of rubble, fortunately not damaged. Ray's blade, however, was still spinning on top of a rock, if somewhat wobbly.
"And the winner is Ray." Max announced, though his voice was not his normal cheery self.
Tyson seemed amazed and stunned. He was silent, and stared with wide eyes for a long while. Finally he bent down and picked up his blade, and he grinned at Ray. "Wow, that was a good one, Ray." He said, "Go on, make your decision. But I just want you to know that we really wanted you back, whether you have Drigger or not."
Ray smiled and said quietly, "I believe you, Tyson."
With that he turned towards Mariah and said steadily, "I have made my decision, Mariah, I will stay with the Blade Breakers."
The red-haired girl stared at him, her eyes widened with shock. Finally she said in a trembling voice, "What? Ray, why?"
"Because they are my friends, and they always stood by my side." He answered, there was not a thread of uncertainty remaining in his voice. "They deserve the same from me, Mariah. Please try to understand."
She sighed and turned her head a little, watching the rolling river beneath her. Finally she replied, "I can't say I understand you just now, Ray. But I promise I will try." She smiled at him, and there was a genuine sincerity in her eyes.
The moment would have been beautiful, but a deep voice suddenly interrupted. "Mariah." With that Lee emerged from the shadows. He glanced at Ray with pure disgust and contempt, before he gestured towards Mariah and said, "Why did you wander off on your own? Come, let's go back." Mutely Mariah followed him, and together they vanished down the barren cliff.
Ray watched them until at last his eyes could catch them no more. Then he turned back to his teammates and was welcomed with enthusiastic words and joyful laughter. Ray smiled as well. One day they will understand me, he thought silently, one day they will see what I can see.
Yep, Ray is a traitor all right. *nods firmly* If something like this happened for real, the entire nation of China would probably curse his name in disgust. But it's not real, so I get to have my fun and makes him the righteous hero. Muahahah! And yes, the location of this Asian tournament, the city of Nanjing, is purely for plot's sake. In the show... Well, in the show you can't go by the map because it doesn't match up with the sceneries. Those beautiful mountains depicted in the setting for the Asian tournament can be only found in certain places in China. I chose Nanjing because it is a very special city, and I know it well. Easier to write for me, hehe. And I promise there will be no serious romance in this story. *sweat drop* I know Mariah isn't particularly popular, but... I admit I am a mild Ray/Mariah fan. *duck at the sharp objects* There are hints of it; I can't lie. But I swear it's not that much.
Too much rambling already. So go on and enjoy the show!
PS: IMPORTANT (to me at least)! Anyone who plays Yu-gi-oh cards, I need GRAVITY BIND! Three of them. Willing to trade and/or buy. Email me if interested.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning was bleak, with a grey sky and grey light spilt across the city. Ray stood on the high stony cliff, leaning on the iron railing. Before him there was a hundred feet drop, and on the bottom of the cliff the water of the great Yangtze River broke upon the rocks. The Swallow's hill, this place was called, for it looked like wing of a swift swallow rising from the river.
It was still early morning, and no sightseeing visitors were there. The world was silent, save only the sweet music of lapsing waves and the occasional foghorns. Brown river gulls flew here and there, their wings spread out, riding the thermo. Ray sighed and closed his eyes. He was tired and worn. All night he had slept, but instead he walked, no, rather, fled, all the way across the city to this place where he was standing now. He needed to be far away from his team. He needed solitude. Again he sighed, and slowly sat down on the cold stony ground, and leaned back against the railing.
The morning wind cooled him a little, and the melody of the waves calmed him. Slowly Ray sorted out his jumbled thoughts. How did it come to this? It pained him to think, to ponder. Had he made the right decision when he joined the Blade Breakers. Had he made the right decision to become part of the Japanese team? He couldn't answer that. He was always confident that he did the right thing, but now he was no longer so certain. But all that is in vain now. Drigger had left him, and he could no longer blade for any team. It was a butchering cut that stopped short all problems and complications. And it was painful. With despair renewed Ray buried his head in his hands, trying futilely to banish his dark thoughts.
"Ray?" Suddenly he heard a tentative voice. He lifted his head and saw Mariah standing in front of him. She looked pale and worn, as tired as he was. Her red hair escaped the bound of the yellow ribbon a little, straying in the wind.
"Ray." She knelt down near him and said quietly, "I heard what happened from Kevin..." She stopped here and bit her lip uncertainly.
Ray turned to her, his eyes narrowed and he said sharply, "Why have you come then? To laugh at my misery? To tell me that a traitor like me deserves such a punishment."
Mariah looked startled, and she shrank back just a little. But she tried once again, "Ray, I know how you feel, and I just..."
"Go away." Ray interrupted curtly, "Don't goad me any farther."
The red-haired girl stood up abruptly, a dangerous glint in her gold eyes. "If this is the way you see it," She said, her face deathly pale, "Then I will say no more. Farewell, Kon, and good day."
"Mariah..." Ray gathered himself off the ground and took a hold of the girl's slender wrist, his voice softened, "Mariah."
"Let me go!" Mariah said angrily. "What more do you want? I trekked half of the city looking for you, in the middle of the night, and you threw all that right in my face. I am sorry I ever bothered..." Her golden eyes were now brimming with tears, glowing in the pale morning light.
"Don't cry, Mariah." Ray wrapped his arms about her and hugged her close, his voice no more than a whisper. "I am really sorry. I wasn't in my right mind. Please don't cry."
"How did it come to this?" Mariah leaned her head against Ray's chest, and clung to his arms like a frightened child. Her tears now running freely, and her voice was a torrent of misery. "Why are we like this now? Kevin hates you with venom, Lee is angry enough to kill you, and the entire country probably curses your name. I...I just don't know what to think anymore."
"I am sorry all this came between us." Ray hugged her even tighter in his arms, his voice sounded pained as well. "I never imagined it would be like this."
For a long time they didn't speak, but merely stood there, and the river gulls flew about them, stirring up the cold December air. "Mariah..." Ray murmured quietly, savouring the moment. But she suddenly stirred in his arms, and broke free of his grasp, stepping away from him. She stood there, arm's reach from him, and looked at him with her golden orbs still glimmering of tears and filled with sadness.
"Tell me, Ray, why did you join the Japanese team in the first place?" She asked, not harsh, but stern at least.
Ray looked distant, before he finally sighed and replied, "Some flashes of random inspirations, I don't know. I just thought it was a good idea at the time."
Mariah looked displeased, but she only said, "Not I, nor anyone can accept that so easily, Ray."
And with that the illusion of beauty was shattered. Everything was back at the starting point. A new ire was in Ray, and his golden eyes narrowed with irritation. Finally he said darkly, "It's not going to be a problem anymore, I assure you. I cannot blade for any team right now."
Mariah seemed to be taken aback. There was a spark in her golden eyes, and she said passionately, "You know that's not true, Ray. Think back to the time when we were little, Ray. You didn't have Drigger with you back then, and you were still the best blader of us all. There wasn't a single beyblader in our area that didn't stand in awe of your name! You have unbelievable skills, and you are the best strategist I have ever known. And you love beyblade, Ray. Are you going to let this one incident prevent you from the beyblade dish for the rest of your life?"
Ray looked uncertain and he did not speak. There was another long, tense silence. Suddenly Mariah said eagerly, "Come back to us, Ray. Come back to the Whiter Tigers."
"What?" Ray asked, shocked.
"I want you to be back on our team, Ray." Mariah said, her voice low but burning. "You have always been a part of us, and you should now too. You will be fighting for your own country." With a sweep of her hand she gestured towards the land about her. "You are a son of this land, Ray. Will you not represent her in this competition, along with us? Come back to us, Ray. And then everything will be how they are suppose to be."
Still Ray did not speak, and he was now turned with his back towards her, his eyes staring at the river flowing away in the distance. Patiently Mariah waited, a fire of anticipation and hope in her golden orbs.
Suddenly a new voice intruded. "So you are ditching us and going back to your old team, Ray? I don't believe you!" The voice sounded righteously angry, though somewhat comical with the gasps for air caught in between. With the sound Tyson emerged, his dark hair unkempt, checked only with his baseball cap. Following him was Max, who looked somewhat dusty and tired.
Despite his weariness Tyson rushed up to Ray, shaking his fist before the raven-haired youth heatedly. "Are you really just going to leave? How can you do this?"
"Tyson, don't mistake my meaning." Ray said calmly, though his brow furrowed somewhat, "I have not decided anything yet."
"What is there to decide!" Tyson shouted angrily. "We are your team, and your friends! And you are just going to throw all that away?"
Max added pleadingly, "Come on, Ray. Don't do this to us."
Ray lowered his head and said quietly, "Have you heard nothing Kevin said last night?"
"I have heard. But I don't understand it and I don't plan to either. I know one thing though. If you are going to let something that happened so long ago come between our friendship now, then you must be stupider than you look." Tyson said fiercely. "How about this, I will make you a deal. Battle me right now, and if you win, you can decide for yourself where you want to be, but if you lose, you come back with us right now."
Ray studied the angry boy before him carefully, and finally he said steadily, "If you believe that's the way to settle things, Tyson, you have got yourself a battle."
Both of them brought their launchers, and at the mark the two blades flew. They landed on the stony ground together, spinning and wavering in the now forceful river wind. Tyson did not hesitate. He ordered the attack immediately. Ray's white blade swiftly retreated, weaving in and out of the shadows of the many rocks about. It was almost like a hide-and-seek game.
Ray closed his eyes and concentrated. Without Drigger, he could not compete with Tyson in both strength and stamina, and his speed slackened as well. He must entirely rely on strategies. And it cannot be any strategy: it must be something shockingly new, an element that he had never used in all his past battles. His golden eyes snapped open, and again he watched the field carefully, calculating his moves.
And then he took his chance. The white blade shot out of the shadows, as an arrow released from the spring. It flew and sliced the hissing wind, before slamming into a piece of protruding rock that hangs over the ground.
"What?" Tyson shouted, shocked.
The white blade rebounded, before it slammed again, and one more time. Finally, there was a thunderous crashing sound as the rock broke and toppled, fell to the ground like a thousand meteors, raising a torrent of dusts. When the dust finally cleared, they saw Tyson's stormy grey beyblade had come to rest beside a piece of rubble, fortunately not damaged. Ray's blade, however, was still spinning on top of a rock, if somewhat wobbly.
"And the winner is Ray." Max announced, though his voice was not his normal cheery self.
Tyson seemed amazed and stunned. He was silent, and stared with wide eyes for a long while. Finally he bent down and picked up his blade, and he grinned at Ray. "Wow, that was a good one, Ray." He said, "Go on, make your decision. But I just want you to know that we really wanted you back, whether you have Drigger or not."
Ray smiled and said quietly, "I believe you, Tyson."
With that he turned towards Mariah and said steadily, "I have made my decision, Mariah, I will stay with the Blade Breakers."
The red-haired girl stared at him, her eyes widened with shock. Finally she said in a trembling voice, "What? Ray, why?"
"Because they are my friends, and they always stood by my side." He answered, there was not a thread of uncertainty remaining in his voice. "They deserve the same from me, Mariah. Please try to understand."
She sighed and turned her head a little, watching the rolling river beneath her. Finally she replied, "I can't say I understand you just now, Ray. But I promise I will try." She smiled at him, and there was a genuine sincerity in her eyes.
The moment would have been beautiful, but a deep voice suddenly interrupted. "Mariah." With that Lee emerged from the shadows. He glanced at Ray with pure disgust and contempt, before he gestured towards Mariah and said, "Why did you wander off on your own? Come, let's go back." Mutely Mariah followed him, and together they vanished down the barren cliff.
Ray watched them until at last his eyes could catch them no more. Then he turned back to his teammates and was welcomed with enthusiastic words and joyful laughter. Ray smiled as well. One day they will understand me, he thought silently, one day they will see what I can see.