A Beyblade Fic
By Sakin-chan
A/N: This story happens between the first season of Beyblade and V-force. I've also changed MIN Li to MAI Li.
P.S.: Mai Li can understand Kai because in the Li family, girls are taught many languages so that they can heal people who are not Chinese, too. Mai, luckily, chose to learn Japanese and Korean. Yay! Good for Hiwatari!
Disclaimer: I wish. No, I do not own Beyblade, or the Neko-jin, or the Russian.
Chapter 5: 'Power of Goodbye'
(Last day of holidays, the boys are gathered in Rei's yard…)
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"So…" Tyson said, and looked around at his friends, feeling a little sad.
This was going to be the last day they'd spend together this holiday, and then they would all go to their individual homes. Back in Tokyo, he would see Kenny a lot… he'd feel lucky if he caught a glimpse of Kai; the older boy wasn't inclined to socialize, not even with an old team-mate. There was no chance of seeing Rei OR Max again until maybe the next summer holidays, because (Tyson shuddered at the thought) there would be SCHOOL to go to, and HOMEWORK to do. Ugh.
But then, he had to acknowledge that one day he had to learn something other than beyblading. Someday… he had to put Dragoon away, grow up and start earning a living like the rest of the human race. It was inevitable. He sighed, suddenly aware that his life, no, TIME, was passing by too quickly. No wonder adults wanted to be young again.
Max felt like they were all playing a game of 'Chicken': they were waiting to see who would mention that this was the second-last day they would spend together as a team for a long time, maybe for good.
Max watched everyone, and everyone was watching everybody else. Kai was fiddling with Dranzer, and surprisingly not glaring at anyone… just looking. Rei was staring at the house next door, and occasionally grinning at something only he could see. Kenny was typing on the computer, and looking up, and then typing away again. Tyson wore a sad expression on his face, and Max noticed that he was gripping Dragoon, like he was afraid he would lose it somehow. He sighed; today, HE would have to be the 'Chicken'.
"Okay, since the rest of you are acting like you haven't noticed, it looks like I'm going to have to TELL you-"
"No need, Max; we all know." Kai interrupted.
Rei tore himself away from his daydream, and looked a little sad too.
"Oh… yeah. Right."
"Today's the last-" Kenny began, but Tyson didn't want to let him say it;
"-What say we go get some grub at Fong's, and afterwards we can… uh…"
"Practice." Kai stated gruffly. Everyone looked at him, then they started laughing. Kai allowed himself a small smile, and added:
"The LAST practice we'll have together."
The other boys were surprised – did Kai just say 'together'? – but didn't let it show, because that would just push him away from them, which was the last thing they wanted on such a day as today. Ray looked around and smiled.
"So what're we waiting for?"
(At Fong's, the Bladebreakers as usual can't decide what to get, and poor Rei has to go back and forth to the counter, as he's the only one who can speak Chinese…)
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"Hey, Rei, tell him I want Mango, tell him I want Mango!"
[Sigh.] "Alright. Two Mangoes, and the rest Pineapple Surprise, right?"
"What's in the Pineapple Surprise, Rei?"
"I don't know. Probably pineapple and something else."
"Can't you ask him?"
"No, Kenny, that would be ruining the 'Surprise'."
"Change my order then."
"Sorry, no can do. It's already gone to Fong. If we change it now, he'll make us pay extra."
"Oh, stop whining, Kenny! Its not like he'll poison us, is it?"
[Looks of wonder all around]; (Would the owner really do that?)
"Is it?"
"Shut up, Tyson, don't put us off our drinks."
"ARGH! You are SO depressing, Kai, it's like having your own personal GRAVEYARD looming over your head!"
"You're the one talking about poison, not ME." [Smirks.] "Maybe you're getting paranoid in your old age."
"Well maybe YOU'RE-"
"STOP IT!" Rei smacks the table hard, and instantly regrets it.
The table is made of solid steel. He still continues, though;
"Are we supposed to spend the whole day listening to you two bickering? I swear, it's like you're an ancient old man and his wife. Get a grip. I've been coming here for YEARS. Why would Fong poison me now?"
Max nods his head vigorously, and Kenny still looks upset about his 'Surprise'.
"So can you guys just…" [Evil grin] "…kiss and make up?"
"WHAAAAAAT?!!!"
Kai looks faintly green, and Rei is laughing loudly.
"That's IT!" Tyson looks angry; he gets up, and points at Ray dramatically. "Rei; I challenge you…"
[Rei looks wary]
"…In a game of Rock, Paper and Scissors! If I lose, I pay for the drinks. If you lose, you apologize and pay for the drinks."
"Let's raise the stakes a bit. If YOU lose, then you have to say sorry to Kai, and…" Rei WAS going to say 'Do my chores for a week', but he remembered that he wasn't living in Tyson's house anymore.
"…And pay for the next round of drinks!"
"Rock, Paper… Scissors!" Both Rock.
"Rock, Paper… SCISSORS!" Tyson Paper, Ray Scissors. "YES!"
"Fine… the last round." Tyson swore, and his hand strayed to his pocket where he kept Dragoon.
(Give me some luck, old pal, or this will get real embarrassing for me.)
"ROCK,"
"…PAPER…"
"…SCISSORS!!!" They both got Scissors, but Max suddenly pushed in, and got Rock! He laughed at their downcast faces. "Nyahahahahaaa!"
"Aaaaw!"
"No fair, Maxie!"
"He-he, sorry fellas, but Rock beats Scissors EVERY time! And you both lost, so you both have to do what you wagered."
In the end, Rei and Tyson both paid for the drinks, and Tyson apologized to Kai, who looked surprised, and Rei apologized to Tyson just because he said he would.
(On the train to Hong Kong, early morning the next day…)
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Gaia sat next to Rei on the train. She'd insisted on coming this time around, because she wanted to say goodbye to his friends too, and to thank them for coming to her grandpa's funeral. Right now, all of the boys were asleep except Kenny – although nobody could tell with Kai. Gaia glanced at him, noticing there was something missing from his expression, something that had been there since the funeral, a sort of… glow. Gaia thought hard; no wait, she had seen it BEFORE the funeral too.
Suddenly, her mind said to her 'Mai Li'. But… she and Kai had not met; at least, not to Gaia's knowledge. She puzzled over this. What did the Healer have to do with this? Vaguely she remembered that there had been somebody close to her that had died in the village a few years ago, but that had been while Gaia was away in Hong Kong for holiday with her friend Kiera, and no one had said anything about it afterwards. She shook her head; she would think about it sometime later, when she had nothing better to do.
She looked at the sleeping boys, and couldn't help but smile. Max and Tyson were leaning against each other, and Tyson's mouth was slightly open; he was snoring softly. Max was smiling, and Gaia wondered what it was he was dreaming about. Definitely something nice! She sighed heavily. And then there was Rei. If the last time was anything to go by, he was NOT coming back anytime soon. He had actually said that he would be gone for a while, but she didn't know whether 'a while' in Rei-speak meant a week, a month, or even a year. Gaia was hoping it would only be for a few hours. Since she was not going to the airport with them, which was a fair ride from Hong Kong Central, she would just come back with a train.
She turned to look at him, leaning back on the chair, and smiled.
The way the sun shone through the window, the light falling on his face; how his raven hair flopped down over his eyes, shadowing them; Gaia felt like she was intoxicated, as she committed his image to her memory for later reference. As if she didn't already know his every move by heart. She smiled, feeling something moving in her chest.
(This person… this boy… cares about me more than anyone has ever cared about me in my whole life,) she thought, and ran her fingers down his cheek and over his lips, feeling a warm thrill in her stomach. She leant forward to kiss him. Suddenly, she found herself looking into two burning, amber eyes, and she gasped, not expecting him to be awake. He smiled groggily.
"Go ahead; I'm not stopping you."
But she was shocked out of the moment, and sulked, pulling his ear. "Couldn't you just have PRETENDED to be asleep?" she asked, and pursed her lips. "I'm pretending now," he said, squinting at her and snoring so horribly that she had to smile.
"Yeah, well its too late Romeo!"
Kai wasn't asleep. He was very, very awake. He got up, sick of listening to Rei and Gaia's ridiculously soppy talk. It churned his stomach. Kai wasn't jealous, not really. He simply didn't want to begin thinking about… ah, best stay off the subject altogether. He sat down in an empty car, and stretched out on the double-seat, feeling bone-tired and angry. If he hadn't… oh, why think about it? Nothing he did would ever change the stone-cold truth. It was over.
He looked up at the scenery passing by, and sighed, feeling a series of small pangs in-between his stomach and chest. Inevitably, his thoughts turned to yesterday, after he returned from Fong's.
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(Yesterday evening, on the outskirts of the village…)
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(I really should tell her the truth,) Kai thought, walking toward Mai Li's house; (She deserves to know.)
But he really didn't want to. He wanted to fool himself for a little while that it was alright – that he wasn't going anywhere. He chuckled at himself. Kai Hiwatari, the Big Fish in the small pond, wanted to fool himself for a girl. But not just any girl; Mai Li. He repeated her name again, like a mantra he used for luck. It gave him such a nice buzz to think about her, and… he blushed as he remembered how, last night when he was saying goodbye, they had nearly kissed. Nearly.
"AAARGH!" he suddenly cried, pulling at his hair in frustration; "Why only NEARLY?!"
Wait; why did he care so much about whether she kissed him or not?
Hey, since when did he care?
Oh, who was he kidding; he really… really liked her. Kai sighed. So many questions he wanted the answers to, so little time.
As he came to the crossroads, he wondered which to take. South-west, back to the village? Or North-east to Mai's house? Mai, or back to his friends? The truth, or the lie?
He sighed.
It would have to be the truth.
Mai Li was sitting with her feet in the cold stream, taking a break from the continuous laundry-duty she was on. She'd been washing her clothes since early morning, and hanging them all over the place. Her first bucket-full had dried, and now she had hung up the second bucket-full. She looked mournfully at the remaining pile, and sighed. There was too much to finish off today. She lay back on the grass, feet still in the water, and sighed, basking in the sun. Her thoughts went straightaway to a certain boy with gray walls in his eyes, and a confident stride. He was ALL that was missing from this almost perfect evening. In fact, she could imagine him standing above her, smiling, saying…
"WHAT do you think you're doing?"
Mai Li gasped, and quickly sat up, pulling her skirt down to cover her thighs; she hadn't heard him coming. She was painfully aware that she had not brushed her hair this morning, but had just tied it back with an old scarf with several holes in it. Mai hoped that he wouldn't notice, or care. It was terribly embarrassing.
"If you please, could you warn me next time before you pop up like that?" she said, trying to look cool, calm and collected. Kai sat down next to her. "It's nice to see you, too." His tone was sarcastic. Mai punched his arm playfully, and he shoved her back. "What were you doing?"
She shrugged. "Laundry-duty. All day long. I still have a pile to do, but I'm gonna do all that tomorrow. It's too late for it to dry, and I don't want to leave them out at night. They might get stolen again."
"Again?" Kai looked surprised; it had happened BEFORE?
"Last time, while Ma Li was around, the best clothes in my wardrobe were stolen, along with some chicken, sheep and rice." Mai saw the look on his face, and chuckled. "People are poor, Kai. They need to eat. Sometimes, they can be so desperate that they stoop to steal clothes from others to try and sell it on. The little they get can provide food for their families, until they need more, and then go to steal again for more money – it's a vicious circle."
She sighed, and shook her head.
"Ah, money. The Greatest Evil; apart from humans, of course. I imagine the ones who do it probably don't feel too happy about it, but… well, that's the way the cookie crumbles."
She smiled at Kai, who felt something in his stomach plummeting all the way down to Hades: never again would she smile like that at him. Because he wasn't going to be here.
"Hey, don't let me get all philosophical on you! If I start, I can ramble on for weeks."
She got up, and pulled him up, both her arms around one of his.
"How'd you find your way here, anyway?"
"I remembered. That's not important." He put his other hand on her hands, and looked into her eyes, serious.
"Mai, I have to tell you something." Her heart began hammering with anticipation; what could he want to tell her, that was so important? She tried not to think of the different possibilities, but couldn't stop a small smile lighting up her face.
When he saw her face, Kai swallowed hard. God, she thought he was going to give her some good news! The prospect of telling her he was going to vamoose shortly became a lot more intimidating now. What would he say? How could he break it to her?
"I… uh… I'm… leaving. It's the end of the holiday, and we're flying out tomorrow. I'm sorry." He looked at his feet, avoiding her eyes.
"…What?" she asked, feeling like she had been thrown off the highest clouds to the core of the planet. "When? Why?"
"I have to go home. I don't really want to, but I have to go. School." Kai thought about the big empty house back in Tokyo, and his grandpa.
"I really don't want to go. I'd rather stay here," he looked at her to emphasize his point,
"…With you."
Mai felt a jolt in-between her stomach and heart.
(With me,) she thought, (He'd rather stay with ME.)
"Do you have to go?"
"Can't you stay for just a little longer?"
"No."
She looked at him, noticing that he was just a little bit taller than her, so that she had to tilt her head and look up at him if she wanted to meet his eyes. Mai suddenly felt a little dizzy… the way his eyes just BURNED into her consciousness… She quickly sat down, and patted the earth next to her. Kai followed suit.
"So… today is the last day we get together, right?"
He smiled, and nodded. "What do you wanna do?"
Mai thought about it. "Tell me about yourself, Kai."
"Tell you about… what would you want to know about me?" He looked genuinely surprised. Min took his right hand, and played 'One Little Piggy' with his fingers. After a while, she looked up at him. "Everything."
So he told her. About how he grew up in his grandpa's 'care' in Moscow, and lived in Bolkov Abbey; about the inhuman experiments his grandfather used to perform on animals, to draw out their spirits from their bodies, making artificial Bitbeasts. And he told her about how Voltaire used him to get at his friends' bitbeasts, but then Max showed him that it was wrong. He told her everything he could remember about himself, and after he finished, he felt exhausted… and relieved. At least SOMEBODY really knew everything about him.
Well… more than most. He would never try to give away his darkest, most shameful secrets, not to anyone. They were his to hide until death.
Mai looked at him, for once lost for words. She was amazed. How could anyone have gone through all that, and still be so… strong? Min saw him in a totally different light, now. He wasn't just interesting, or surprisingly kind to her (considering the fact that he was terribly rude to people); he was brave, strong, and human. Mai smiled to herself. Kai had a definite weakness for power, and he WAS a compulsive perfectionist… but he was human, and thank GOD it wasn't anything worse. Mai had her own faults, too. For instance, she took things way too hard, and she didn't forgive or forget easily, if at all.
"Do you want to see Dranzer?" he asked her, and she smiled eagerly. "Sure!"
"Okay; stand back." Kai tried hard to send a message to Dranzer;
(If you're listening, please come out… let me show her.)
He launched his blade, and stared at it hard.
"That's a Beyblade?" she asked, amused.
"Dranzer!" Kai suddenly cried, and Mai gasped, astonished. A blinding red light shot out of the small blade, and flew up into the sky out of view. "W-what was that?!" she asked, quickly placing herself behind Kai. He turned around. "You saw that?" Mai nodded. He put an arm around her waist, and pulled her in front of him. "That… was Dranzer."
"EEEEEEYYYAAAAAAAAHHH!!!" A loud, frightening cry rang through the forest where Mai lived, and she felt her fear building up into panic. But Kai still held her close, and now he whispered in her ear:
"Don't be afraid. He won't hurt you. I promise."
The sound of his voice so close to her ear gave Mai the shivers. If he said that Dranzer wouldn't hurt her, then she believed him. She would trust him with her life. She didn't know when she had decided this, but she had a strong feeling that she would.
A gust of wind appeared out of nowhere, and Mai shut her eyes, and fought to keep her skirt from flying up Marilyn Monroe style. Soon, another gust of wind followed, and another, until it seemed to her that she was in the middle of a storm. And then it stopped. Mai looked up from where she had buried her face in Kai's chest, and looked at the clearing. She saw nothing! Mai blinked, wondering if she was hallucinating the whole thing. A basket dangling from a nearby tree told her she wasn't. But then… why couldn't she see anything?
"I can't see it."
"That's because you don't believe in him." Kai said matter-of-factly. She gave him a confused look. "I don't BELIEVE in him?"
"Yeah. To see him, you have to believe him. Don't think he's there – KNOW he's there. Ask him to show himself, and keep an open mind. Just… make sure you try to believe." He turned her around again, his arms still around her middle. Mai wondered how one could know one believed? She shook her head, trying to push away such thoughts.
(Dranzer, I know you're there. Let me see you, please. I'm not sure if I believe you exist, but I would like to see you,) she thought, squeezing her eyes shut and hoping with all her heart that she would see it – whatever 'it' was – when she opened them again.
Slowly she opened her eyes, and blinked. She looked up – and screamed! Right in front of her stood the BIGGEST bird she had ever seen in her entire life! It was sitting on its claws, but still towered above her at least 10 feet. Mai felt slightly faint. Either she had finally snapped, or this was really Dranzer! How could something SO BIG fit into something as small as a beyblade? She decided she didn't want to know.
Kai was happy. Mai could actually SEE Dranzer! Though she didn't seem too pleased about it; but that didn't matter, she would soon change her mind. What mattered was that she was able to see him.
"Hey, Mai; go pat his beak. Say hello!" Kai pushed her forwards. But she wheeled round and clung to him, shaking her head. "Noooo…"
"Come on; now you're just being stupid. He won't bite." That annoyed her. She'd show him she wasn't scared! After all, it was just a big, flaming phoenix-eagle-thing. Nothing to be scared about there, he-he!
Mai Li walked forward carefully, and extended a shaking hand towards Dranzer. It took a step forward, and flapped its wings, and hot air billowed around her. She felt terribly small compared to him, and looked back at Kai, who nodded reassuringly. She turned to Dranzer, and bowed, muttering a small "Hello." To her shock, it leant down, placing its beak at eye-level with Mai, who took a hasty step back. Dranzer cocked its head, and gave her a beady stare, like it knew what she was thinking.
("Do not be afraid,") she heard suddenly in her mind; ("I do not bite.") Mai frowned. Dranzer had the exact same mocking tone as Kai sometimes did in his voice, but he sounded almost… gentle. Mai stretched her hand forwards, no longer afraid. She expected her skin to fry off when she touched him, but his beak was solid, and cool. Not burning hot, but cool. Mai smiled, relieved. She could get used to this.
(Sometime later…)
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"Oh, Kai, please don't go!" It was late evening, and the sun was going down. Kai had been trying to go for the last hour, but Mai had always managed to get him to stay for just a little longer. But now he really had to go. "I'm sorry, Mai. I wish I could stay."
She shook her head. "No; if you go, I'll never see you again. Never."
"I… what do you want me to say?" he asked her miserably. Kai felt like he was being torn apart inside-out. Mai felt much the same way. He came up to her, and cupped her face in his hands, and memorized her image, as if it wasn't already burnt into his brain.
"Mai… you don't know… how much I'm going to miss you…"
"More than you can ever say." She stared into his eyes, and saw that the wall had momentarily crumbled. "I'm going to miss you too, Hiwatari." She pulled him closer, and their noses almost touched.
"Do you care about me, Kai? Do you really care?"
He blinked. Did he CARE about her?
"…Yes. I do."
She smiled, watching the last of The Great Wall in his eyes fall down and vanish. "Then you won't mind…" she whispered, and kissed him. Kai felt like he had been hit with several bolts of lightning, and he gasped, eyes wide. Mai pulled him closer, pressing her body against him, kissing him hard. She remembered Han, and felt a little guilt washing over her, but quickly forgot about it when Kai put his arms around her, touching the small of her back. They broke apart, both heaving a mutual sigh. Kai was really, REALLY regretting having to go home now. He looked at her, and hugged her tight, then let her go. He hastily kissed her, and began walking away. He hadn't taken four steps when he heard her calling him back. "Kai." He kept on walking.
"Kai! Wait!"
(Don't look back, don't look back, don't look back,) he thought, trying to block out the sound of her voice.
"KAI! Stop it! Don't pretend you can't hear me!" she shouted, angry. Min quickly began walking after him. Kai was several feet away.
"Kai! Listen to me, Kai!" Kai bit his tongue; it was so tempting to answer her, to say something back to stop her pain. To look back.
(Don't look back, Kai. Don't look back.)
"Kai, please stop!" She sounded out of breath, pained. It hurt him so much to do this, but if he turned around now, he would open his mouth and hurt her even more. So he walked straight ahead.
Soon he came to the crossroads. Four different paths, four different destinations. Southwest led back to Ray's, and away from Mai. Northeast was where he had come from. Who knew where southeast and northwest led to? He was about to take the path southwest when he heard a voice behind him. "Kai." He flinched, and swore silently. Mai was really making this more difficult than it already was. He didn't turn around.
"Kai, why are you running away?"
"I'm not running away."
"You are. If you won't stay, then at least say goodbye."
"I…"
"Kai. You're the best thing that's happened to me since… since Han died. And you're not even staying." She laughed, but there was no humor in her laughter. "Someone, somewhere has got to have something against me."
"Mai… I'm sorry."
"No, Kai. I'm sorry." She sounded so hurt, so terribly bitter that Kai could barely stop himself from turning around. He closed his eyes, and slowly began to head for the village.
"Kai, you bastard! I love you!"
Kai gasped, feeling like somebody had punched his stomach. His heart definitely skipped a beat or three, as his mind tried to digest what Min Li had said to him. Kai fought to stay standing; his legs were threatening to buckle under him. He finally turned around, his eyes blurring.
"…What did you say?"
"I love you, okay? …I love you." Her eyes were brimming with tears that streamed down her face. She looked downright miserable. Kai came over to her, and shook her hard. "You don't mean that."
"I do."
"You don't love me. It's not possible."
He was in total denial. Mai broke down. "WHY?!" she sobbed, beating his chest; "Why is it impossible?! Goddamn you, Hiwatari, I just said I love you! Get it into your stubborn skull! I love you!"
Mai was practically gasping for breath, and Kai held her tight, tasting the salt of his own tears in his mouth. Slowly, Kai removed her hold on him, until she stood alone. He apologized to her again, and gave her a short kiss. Something occurred to him, and he took off his white scarf, and tied it around her neck, just the way he wore it.
"It's all I can give you. I'm so sorry, Mai. And, little though it means now, I think I love you too."
With those last words, he disappeared down the path to the village.
"Kai!" Mai shouted, loud enough to wake the dead, "KAAAAI!"
It was over.
She fell to her knees and sobbed into his white scarf, feeling broken. Oh, why did he have to leave? Why did she have to fall for him? Why?!
"Kai, you bastard! Bastard!" she swore, and punched the earth, tired of always feeling pain. She sat back, and rocked herself backwards and forwards, muttering to herself. If anybody had seen her sitting like that in the middle of the crossroads, they'd think she had lost her mind.
And Mai felt dangerously close to it. She could still taste his kiss, feel his warm body against her own, smelt him in the scarf he had given her. She recalled the last thing he said to her.
'"Little though it means now, I think I love you, too."'
Mai stood up, heaving a sigh that should have belonged to a fifty-year old woman instead of a seventeen-year old girl. Then she took the path back to her home, the opposite of the one that Kai had taken from the crossroads.
(Come back, Kai. Don't leave me here…)
(Back to the present, in the train…)
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Kai felt tears gathering in his eyes, and turned to lie down on his stomach. His friends had been curious about where his scarf had gone, but hadn't asked, because he had been in a thundering mood. He silently cried, as Mai repeatedly came to his mind. It was so UNFAIR! For once in his life, he had found real happiness, real love; but it was all taken away in a split second. Oh, god, it was unfair, it was unfair! Why him? Why Mai? The image of the beautiful Chinese girl hovered before his eyes, and Kai couldn't shake it off, make it go away. What was he going to do now? It hurt him so much, right inside. He had let her get too close. Now he felt like someone had tried to gut him with a blunt fork. It really hurt him.
"Right inside," he whispered to himself, tasting salt.
"Goddamn it, Mai."
A/N: And the tragedy continues, spinning along its predetermined path, nearing its end, inevitably… no one can fight fate.