A Beyblade Fic
By Sakin-chan
Disclaimer: No. I don't own Beyblade or anything that has anything that has anything to do with Beyblade except for the plot of my story.
A/N: Enjoy!
Chapter Three: 'Caramel-girl'
Rei woke up the next morning with a killer migraine. He had been awake all night, and had only gone to sleep when his neighbor Sogura's cock crowed at dawn. As a result, he was in a horrible mood. He felt cranky and mean, and not to mention, terribly, terribly jealous.
(Goddamn Lee, and his #%¤&!£§ money. Can't leave me alone for two seconds. Always has to bug me and try to ruin my life, and everybody else's!) he thought, slamming the pot on the table, and causing everyone to jump. He filled his cup (unknowingly) with yesterday's coffee, and his bad mood became worse when he downed the whole cup.
"AAAAGH! Cough; Hack; GAG! GODDAMMIT!"
"What's his problem?" Kai asked Riku, who shrugged.
He had come to like her (despite himself) when he got to know her better. She was smart, in his opinion. Unbeknownst to him though, our Riku had a MAJOR crush on Kai, and proclaimed her love to her girlfriends every evening;
"He is SO hot! I seen him without a shirt, and… whoa! That's all I'm gonna say!" (This is an utter LIE; he was wearing a T-shirt, and snoring, at the time she says she 'saw' him.)
(Whole group faints in complete Kai-appreciation.)
Rei's mother heard him shouting, and bopped him over the head for his bad manners.
"Have some shame, Rei! Don't behave so badly in front of our visitors." She frowned at him. A muscle in his jaw twitched, and Rei had to fight to keep his temper from taking a bite out of his mom. He mumbled something under his breath, and stalked out of the house. Kai looked at the two women, and the rest of the team, and sighed.
"I'll go talk to him, Mrs.Kon; see what's wrong," he announced, and left after Rei.
Kai caught up with him halfway through the little village square.
"Someone CLEARLY woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. What's your problem?" he asked the other boy casually. Rei glared at him, and sighed.
"NOTHING'S my 'problem'." he scowled.
Kai looked at him out of the corner of his eye. There really was something wrong. Kai had an idea it had something to do with a certain white-haired girl. "Whatever you say." Kai shrugged, and was silent.
Rei suddenly began humming the tune to 'Caramel-girl'. It was an old song she'd taught him. Everywhere he looked, there were reminders of his and Gaia's childhood together. It wasn't fair; it wasn't right! He was the one who should be with her, not Lee. He sighed.
(…Anyone but Lee.)
Anyway, the song went something like this:
"Caramel-girl, oh Caramel-girl,
Your skin reminds me of
CHOC-OH-LATE whirl!
If I have too much,
It makes me wanna HURL!
But you're so sweet,
You're a real PEARL…
I can't resist
My CARAMEL-GIRL!"
After the last note, he ground his teeth, and snarled : "I HATE CARAMEL."
Riku was worried about her brother. What could have made him so angry? She'd decided to go and ask the last person he was with before his foul mood had descended, and that person was Gaia. Riku remembered how happy he had been when he arrived yesterday, and how miserable he'd looked in comparison today. Gaia must have done something!
[Knock, knock!]
"YEAH, WHA-! Oh, hi, Riku." Gaia stood in front of the door, blocking the way in. Riku looked at her, worried all of a sudden. Gaia's eyes were red, and her usually neat self was gone; her hair was disheveled and all over the place; her clothes had tears and cuts in them, and were stained with what looked like coffee; and her face wore a tired expression. Gaia sighed, and leaned on the door.
"What are you doing here?"
"I came to talk to you about-" Riku was interrupted by a loud noise; something crashed down inside the house, making a commotion. Gaia turned around, and ran into the house, Riku following closely on her heels. Gaia went into the kitchen, and Riku heard a blood-curdling scream, and crashed in through the door after her, scared. When she saw what had happened, Riku sank down on the floor, and swallowed hard.
Gaia's grandfather was lying on the floor, unconscious. Gaia was running around, trying to find a First-aid kit, forgetting that they didn't have one. When she remembered, she ran out of the house, screaming for help.
"Gaia! Wait!" Riku called after her, but Gaia couldn't hear her. She had to get to Mai Li fast. She was the only one who could help them, the only one. She'd been there when Grandpa had a seizure last time, and… Gaia couldn't let him die, she couldn't! If she did, then she would HAVE to marry Lee. And she wouldn't have the heart to disobey him. Not if it was his DEATH-WISH.
Gaia was running down an alleyway when she heard people coming in the opposite direction. As she got closer to where the alley met the main-road, she recognized the two boys.
(Rei! And his friend, too! Thank GOD!) she thought, feeling a pang right between her stomach and her ribcage. She tried to run faster; every second was vital for her grandfather's survival.
Rei saw Gaia running towards them down an alley at the speed of LIGHT, practically, and felt instantly cheered up, but at the same time, his stomach turned with jealousy at the thought of her impending wedding with Lee. He noticed how messed-up she looked, and hoped it wasn't serious.
Gaia reached the two boys, and crashed into Rei, who promptly caught her in his arms. Rei felt her struggling for breath, and her heart drumming in her chest; she was shaking. Why? Gaia clung on for dear life, gulping air into her lungs, trying to calm her racing heart so that she could tell them.
And then suddenly she became aware. She opened her eyes, and realized that she was IN HIS ARMS. In Rei's arms. And it felt weird… good-weird…! This was definitely not the Rei she remembered – he had grown up into a good-looking… perhaps even beautiful… young man. And she?
Well, she was just Gaia. Nothing special at all.
She could feel his strong arms enveloping her in a warm hug, making her skin tingle – she could feel his own heart-beat. Did she imagine it, or was it slightly quicker than normal?
She felt his muscled body pressing against hers, her breasts pressed against his chest, and blushed, painfully aware that he was now a young man and she was a… well, a woman. Her skin tingled where it made contact with his skin, and she felt his hand gently brushing the small of her back. The bear-hugs they used to share were something they couldn't do now, because they were too old, too adult. Not without risking parental wrath.
And then realized she was all sweaty from her run. Oh, how she must reek! She stiffened in even more painful shame, wondering how she could have fallen so hard.
But still… Still he had held her like he was concerned, as if she were precious to him. Gaia felt her spine weakening along with her legs, and a strange feeling was sown, beginning to grow in between her stomach and chest.
He held her tight for a second, just the smallest second, so he could savor the memory later and breathed in her smell. Earthy-sweet, like a forest-flower, and a little sweaty. Then he pushed her away from him, to her surprise. He couldn't stand her being close for more than a little while.
Kai looked at the pair and sighed, shaking his head. They were so perfect for each other, those two, but they were both too blind to realize it. He felt angry with Rei for pushing her away, and resolved to talk to the stupid fool about it later. But for now, other things needed seeing to.
"What's wrong, Gaia?" Kai asked her. She looked at him, and stammered.
"I-I didn't… I… it… it wasn't m-my fault… he fell in the k-k-kitchen, and m-maybe he hit his head, o-or something… I don't know…" she babbled, while Rei tried to calm her down.
"Just tell us what happened. Are you okay? …Did someone try to hurt you?" he asked her, holding her shoulders to steady her. The girl took a deep breath, and calmed down.
"Grandpa… he's unconscious. I… he… I dunno what happened, but he's not waking up. I left him with Riku…" she gasped. "Riku! I need to get a doctor! Oh, Rei, will he die? Will grandpa DIE?!"
Rei calmed her, and assured her nothing like that would happen.
"Your Grandpa will be fine. Just have a little faith in him." He smiled at her, and Gaia smiled back weakly.
Kai saw the desperation in her eyes, and how comforted she was by Rei proposing to go to someone named Mai Li for her, and swallowed a lump in his throat. He looked away, ignoring the weird feeling in his stomach. He felt a hand slapping his shoulder, and glanced at Ray.
"Take care of her for me, Kai," Rei said to him, and ran off, 'tail' flying. Kai watched him turn the corner, then looked at Gaia. She was staring after Rei, a wistful look on her face.
"You like him, don't you?" he asked her bluntly. Gaia looked at him, surprised.
"N-No," she stuttered, blushing.
"I know it's not my business or anything, but Rei's my buddy, and… I want to know." Kai said, and looked at her. Gaia brushed her silvery hair back behind her ear, and sighed, seeing Kai wasn't going to be fooled.
"Rei told me you were smart," she said, and began walking back to her house, feeling better now that she knew Rei was here,
"…but he didn't tell me HOW smart."
Kai shrugged.
"Yeah, I guess like him." She ran her hand through her fringe just the way Rei did, which made Kai feel a little creeped out, and grinned.
Kai gave his trademark "Hmph", and kept up with her, thinking about whether he should tell her how Rei felt about her. If he did, Rei would hate Kai forever. He would feel betrayed. Kai decided he had better keep his mouth shut.
"Have you ever felt fear?" she asked him suddenly. He was surprised.
"Why?"
"You know when you're alone at night, right after you've had a horrible nightmare, and you're all cold and stuff?" she glanced at Kai's eyes, trying to fathom what went on behind that gray wall, seeing if he knew what she meant. Kai had to acknowledge (at least to himself) that he understood all too well what she was talking about.
"And then you think, 'Oh, I wish someone was here to keep me company', but then you look, and there isn't anybody there…" she ran her fingers through her hair again, and sighed, opening the gate to her yard for him.
"Well, I've found my someone, and that's Rei. He… I know he'll be there for me if I ever have a nightmare, and will keep me company when I'm alone at night."
She looked at Kai; a long, curious look… and then she walked in.
Kai watched her go inside the house, and thought about what she had said. It made sense to him.
"Hmph," he said to himself,
"She loves him."
Mai Li turned out to be a fast runner: nearly faster than Rei. As they raced through the alleys and backways of his hometown, he thought of how Gaia was doing. She had been really shaken up, almost as much as the time when she had lost her parents. He grimaced.
(I hope she's okay. I wouldn't want her to…) he thought, wondering what it was he wouldn't want her to do. Somehow, he wasn't able to answer that question for himself.
"…I said, do you know what happened?"
Rei blinked; Mai Li had been talking to him. He looked at her, and shook his head.
"Gaia said he had had some kinda seizure. She said he fell in the kitchen." He frowned, thinking about Gaia. If she did something stupid…
(That's stupid,) he scolded himself;
(I left Kai with her. She'll be fine in his hands.)
Mai Li glanced at the cat-boy running next to her, and sighed. He reminded her so much of… but never mind. He was dead; there was no point in bringing it up now. Mai had felt a NASTY shock when she had opened the door – she had thought it was Han come back from the grave!
Let me tell you a little about Mai Li. She was a 17 year-old girl with long black hair, pale white skin, and wide green eyes. Mai was the local wise-woman (albeit young, but her mother and grandmother used to be wisewomen too, before they died.)
A female Li always lived either alone, or with other female Li's, in a hut on the outskirts of town. Mai thought it was terribly lonely, as a Li wasn't allowed to have a lover, or friend, living with her in, or nearby her hut.
Then she met Han one rainy day, and he saved her from falling into the old well. She was grateful, and was always as nice as possible to him, when once he told her that he would never speak to her again if she kept acting like a complete doll around him. They'd had a fight, but they both came around, and Han gave her a box of rice-candy as a present, then ate it himself. Ever since then, they had been great friends, and they gradually fell in love with each other.
She remembered he had confessed to her first about his feelings – humans, he used to say, have to tell the truth, and honor their feelings, because they are what make us different from animals. He used to spout these things at any possible moment, to anyone who might be standing nearby, but sometimes, there was wisdom in his random sayings. Not that he was stupid; far from it, he just joked around a lot. Mai remembered his solemn face, and his serious manner, when he told her what she had been dreaming about for so long; that he really did love her; and his face when she confessed too. He looked like he'd won the lottery!
Mai used to sneak out to meet him in the nearby forest at their favorite spot: beneath an old cherry-tree. Han used to have longish, messy dark-blue hair in a pigtail, as he hated combing it, and laughing amber eyes. His face always wore a ridiculously happy grin (except when he was dangerously angry with someone – then he looked SCARY), and, compared to him, Mai was like a soggy blanket. Han always used to say she was way too serious, and she used to frown at him, smiling even when she didn't want to. He always made her feel happy. Han was taller than her by about half a head, and was well-built, on account of his father, making him work in their farm all day. At night, when they could both steal away from their duties, they used to meet at the old tree, and spend the whole night together, and only return at dawn.
But 2 years after she'd first met him, on her sixteenth birthday, he fell suddenly ill, and never recovered. She had tried all she could to keep Han alive; but her cures had failed, and the doctor didn't know what had happened, so he had died in extreme pain. Mai had been present at his death, and had been standing next to his bed and holding his hand, when she'd heard him breathe his last breath. The death-rattle. She remembered he had called HER name – "Mai". His mother had kicked her out of their house after he died, cursing Mai and blaming her for Han's death.
It had hurt so much.
That day, Mai had thought she would die, and yet here she was, still alive. She still carried his memory inside her like a razor she'd swallowed, cutting into her and causing her horrible pain. She held herself responsible for his death, and for every cure of hers that had failed afterwards. That was why, at the age of 17, she walked around with a chip on her shoulder the size of a house, and she always wore dark clothes.
Nevertheless, people often came to her for a cure, as the nearest doctor lived 5 miles away, and no one in Rei's village had cars, or the money to buy them. Besides, travelling around in rural China in an automobile was practically SUICIDE, as the roads were NOT man's best friend. Mai was slim, and was slightly shorter than, say, Kai.
She wore a workers outfit of a gray pair of cotton-trousers, and a light, brown shirt tied closed with a black scarf around her middle. She'd tied her hair up in a bun, but she never wore any make-up or perfume. She thought it stupid to use artificial methods to attract attention from men – indeed, she thought attracting men was an amazingly dumb idea.
Her face usually had a serious frown on it, which hid her natural beauty quite well. All the boys in the village stayed far away from her, as she was known to pour buckets of freezing water on any and all males who came to her door and were under the age of twenty-five.
Anyway, when they reached the house, Gaia rushed out and gave her a quick hug, and led her inside. Rei followed them, and saw the old man had gotten a pillow under his head, and Riku was covering him with a duvet. The old man, whom everyone feared… to see him reduced to a quivering infant, was a sorry thing indeed, in Rei's opinion. Gaia sat next to him, and held his hand, and Kai was nowhere to be found. Mai Li went down on her knees, and checked the old man's pulse, and looked in his eyes. Ray saw her stiffen; then she quickly got up and left the room.
Then she stuck her head back in, and beckoned to him.
"Yea-!"
Mai yanked him away from the door, finger on her lips, and they tiptoed out to the garden. Rei instantly had a feeling it was BAD news.
"What's up?"
"It's Grandpa… I…" she looked at her feet, and bit her lip. "He's…" she swallowed, and was quiet.
"He's what?" Rei hissed, grabbing the older girl's arms tightly, willing it to be something, ANYTHING, other than bad news. Mai wrestled loose, creeped out by how much Rei's eyes looked the same as Han's when he used to be angry.
"Bluntly?" she turned away, and glanced at him over her shoulder, readying herself for delivering the terrible blow. This was the part she hated most about her job.
"The old man's already gone. Sorry."
Rei gasped. "No… that's-" he was lost for words.
What was he going to tell Gaia?
"D'you want me to tell her?" Mai asked him, and he glanced up at her.
Rei shook his head.
"No. Thank you, but I can handle it myself."
Mai watched him go inside, and sighed in relief. Then she felt guilty.
Then she remembered Han.
Kai was sitting outside, away from it all. Just the way he liked it. He couldn't stand all that emotion in one place; it made him think, and he didn't want that.
(There's no point in me getting emotional along with everybody else.) he thought, sitting in the little corner behind the garden-shed in Gaia's yard.
He thought about his own Grandfather, and their relationship.
(I wish we didn't hate each other so much. I don't understand why the old coot is so hung up on taking over the world. What could be so fun about controlling everything? Thank god the whole Biovolt-thing didn't work out. I still can't believe he wanted to USE me like that…)
Kai sighed. (Oh well. I guess that's the way the cookie crumbles.)
He stared at the gray, broken wall, with the occasional flower blossoming in the cracks. It reminded him of his own life. Gray and ugly, but with the occasional spark of light. Kai smiled at his own metaphor. It made sense.
He suddenly heard something rustling behind him. His smile quickly slid off his face, and he got up to investigate. As he went around the far corner of the shed, he saw a figure turned away from him. As he got closer, he saw it was a girl with really long black hair.
(That's… not Riku,) he thought, because he knew he'd left her inside with the old man and Gaia.
Suddenly, the girl turned – and Kai found himself face to face with a girl his own age, with green eyes and a sad expression on her face. Kai saw the wet streaks that ran down her face, and realized, with a slightly weird feeling in his stomach, that she had been crying. He also realized that she was very pretty. His stomach went even weirder than before, and he swallowed hard to try and cure it.
"W-what's…" he tried again; something was lodged in his throat, and he found it harder than usual to say something.
"What's wrong?"
She looked at him, a curious expression on her face, and sighed. "I…" she gulped, trying to blink back tears.
Kai couldn't help himself. He put a hand on her shoulder, and then another.
(What am I doing?!) he thought suddenly;
(I don't even know her!)
"It's nothing." Something inside her shut itself off; she backed away, and pushed his hands off her. But Kai wasn't going to give up that easily. He tried just one more time.
"Why were you crying?" he asked her as kindly as he could. The girl gazed at him, giving him a strange look.
"It's just… the old man, the girl's grandfather, he… he's-" she said hesitatingly, when Kai interrupted her.
"-He's going to die, right?" he asked her gravely.
"Then you're Mai Li?"
Mai frowned at him. "How'd you-" she stopped, and sighed, her shoulders sagging. Kai thought that it couldn't be just the old man that was bugging her; she looked awfully sad for some reason. Maybe she was reminded of something she didn't want to think about, or remember.
"Since you know my name, you might as well tell me yours, eh?" she said suddenly, the sadness quickly stown away for later. Kai, surprised, smiled shyly, and looked down at his feet.
"MY name? …Just …Kai." He felt flattered that she wanted to know his name.
(Small Part Of Brain: "What's GOING ON here? Why is she MESSING with my HEAD?! AAARRGH!!!")
Min raised her eyebrow, and gave him a crooked smile. "Just-Kai?" she said, amused.
"Er… no, it's KAI."
"IT'S-JUST-KAI?" she said, laughing now. "Nice!"
"NO! My name is Kai!" he said, irritated.
Who did this girl think she was?
"That's more like it. Mai and Kai!"
"………?"
She smiled at him again, and Kai felt his face transform into a FURNACE.
The girl moved away a few steps in what he could only describe as a 'saunter', then looked back at him, and smiled. Kai felt his stomach acting up again, and smiled back nervously. What was she doing to him?
"Thanks, Kai. I guess I'll… see you around, then."
Kai watched her walk away, and went after her, to ask her what she meant, but when he turned the corner she'd gone around, he saw she'd 'disappeared'.
Kai was left standing and staring at an old, broken bucket, puzzled. He frowned, and blinked.
"Who was THAT?" he said softly, and smiled an embarrassed smile. He rubbed his neck.
"Talk about making a fool of yourself!"
Rei went inside, and saw Gaia still crouched on the floor. He went and sat down next to her, and she glanced at him.
"He's getting better, isn't he?" she asked Rei, who glanced at her grandpa, and grimaced. "I'm afraid not, Gaia." She looked shocked. Rei had to tell her, he couldn't just let her be so deluded about it. Her grandfather was dying.
"I've been talking to Mai-san about your grandpa, and…" he swallowed, and realized he wasn't ready to deliver such terrible news to someone.
(How does Mai do it?!) he thought, impressed.
"And…?" Gaia felt her hopes rising; surely it must be good news if Ray was going to tell her! He'd always brought her nothing but glad tidings.
Rei looked around the room; there was no one there except the old man, Riku, and Gaia and himself. He found himself wishing he could simply disappear like Kai did when he was faced with a difficult decision. He got up, and asked Riku to go outside.
"But-"
"-Please, Riku-chan. I need to tell her something concerning her grandpa. Trust me; you don't want to be around when this happens." Riku gave him an angry look, and strode off to look for Kai, or any of the rest of the Bladebreakers.
Now he had her on her own, there was no excuse not to spit it out straightaway.
(Gaia, don't hate me for this, but…) he thought, mentally preparing himself. He sat down opposite her, and took her hands.
(…I've got to tell you something which might ruin the rest of your life.)
He decided to do it quick and blunt.
"Gaia, Mai told me that your Grandpa is very ill. He's dying. I mean, he's going to die. And there's nothing we can do for him. I'm sorry." He repeated his apology again, to try and show her that he really didn't want to tell her this, that if there was a way of helping her grandpa…
"I'm so sorry."
Gaia just blinked. It was like she had turned to stone. This was not happening. She couldn't have heard right. Grandpa was NOT dying. Rei was lying. He must be lying, and maybe it was all some kinda terrible joke, and any second now, Grandpa would jump up and scream: "YOU CRYBABY! WE GOTCHA!" Maybe…
(No,) said a small, but truthful voice in her mind.
(No… You're just making up one excuse after another, refusing to see the simple truth. Since when did Rei lie? Can't you see the look on his face? Grandpa is DYING. There is nothing we can do about it. He will die, and you will be left all alone. Face it, Gaia! The old man, your last family, is dying! And when he dies, since you don't work, you'll be easy prey for Lee and old Hitoru, and your home will become demolished, and you will lose your life to Lee, and become his wife.
There is no hope.)
"NO!" Gaia cried, and got up. She looked at Rei as if she had never seen him before.
"No, you're LYING!" she bent and grabbed hold of his shirt. "You have to be lying!" Rei got up, and took her hands.
"I'm not. It's the truth."
Gaia felt RAGE building up inside her; she felt helpless, unable to do anything about anything. She remembered another time she had felt like this. When her parents died.
Suddenly, she had a flashback: a picture began to unfold in her mind. She saw a woman and a man… the woman had white hair, and a wide smile… "We'll be right there sweetheart!" she heard the woman say… they appeared to be in a car… a man looked back at her from the driver-seat… he grinned at her… he had dark-brown eyes, and… chocolate-brown skin… the woman was lighter… the radio was on, and a song was playing… "'Your skin reminds me of CHOC-OH-LATE whirl…'" …the woman bent forwards through the gap between the two seats… Gaia felt something pulling at her neck… the woman was adjusting something she was wearing… she looked into Gaia's eyes, and said:
"Mommy loves you, Gaia!"
The man chimed in:
"And don't forget your old man! He loves you, too. My Caramel-girl…" He turned around and looked at her… and smiled.
"Gaia…"
Suddenly, something gray filled the front-window… she heard a thundering whooshing sound…
"Gaia…?"
Gaia felt something slamming into her… her breath was knocked out of her… what was happening…?!
"Gaia…!"
Pain… like the universe had caved in on her… she couldn't breathe… the pain… she couldn't breathe!
"GAIA!"
She gasped, and normality rushed back. Gaia blinked; what the hell had just happened? She looked up and saw Rei bending over her. He heaved a relieved sigh.
"What happened? You suddenly fell, and I thought you…"
Gaia sat up, and scratched her head. Her mind was full of noise, and the memory of two people that may have been her… parents.
Right before the world had been torn apart.
"I think I just blacked-out." She looked at her grandpa, and said:
"If only this was a dream, too."
"What?"
"Oh, nothing."
Sen Mori passed away 4 o'clock that morning, 5th July, the third day of Rei's stay in China. Ray and Gaia had stayed awake, sitting together in complete silence, Rei's mom bringing over food at several points during that long night. Kai, Max, Tyson and Kenny, not to mention the Kon's and Mai Li, came to give Gaia their condolences, and to help with the funeral proceedings.
It had been the longest and the most agonizing day of her entire life (that she could remember).
Mori-san had been moved from the kitchen to his bedroom by Rei's Pa, and the old man had stayed in a coma the whole time until, and including, his death. When he died, he had simply stopped breathing, and they had only noticed when she had touched his hand, and it had been stiff and cold. Gaia had fainted, and Rei had to call for his dad to wake her up.
Her grandpa had died without saying a single word to her.
Not even goodbye.
A/N: And so, her grandpa has "shuffled off this mortal coil." (Hamlet)
I wasn't kidding when I said this was going to be a tragedy.