A.N. Finally, after months of procrastinating about writing this, and a few more months procrastinating about posting this, it's finally here. I have accomplished my goal if writing at least one piece of fanfiction. At least I can say I tried (and failed miserably). I'd like to give a big thanks to my beta, Chai (gorachi chai), as well as Porticulis, Red (redex), Fyredra (Feirdra), and Juli (JuliTina) for giving constructive criticism and sticking with me through the process of screwing up BeyBlade. Thanks you guys!
Disclaimer: Common sense, coordination, and BeyBlade. All things I don't own/have.
Pixel Perfect
Sometimes in life it's the little things that matter. The things that most people generally ignore and dismiss as they continue on with their fast-paced lives. The things that everyone sees, but no one ever really notices. The things that fade into the background, eventually becoming white noise. Sometimes, in order to see the big picture, you need to focus on the small parts. Or in Kai Hiwatari's case, the pixels.
Kai wasn't exactly sure when it started, or even how it happened. It began innocently enough, being dismissed as "selectiveness". Over the months and following years, the "selectiveness" grew to "tendencies to be fussy". "Tendencies to be fussy" evolved to "over particularity" and it wasn't long before that was replaced by his "fastidious nature" which, in turn, shifted into downright bitchiness.
It was one of those things that he couldn't stop. It was a reflex, a habit; a way of life. Perhaps you could even say it was a talent. And what do people do with talents? They nurture them through hours of grueling practice and patience, which is exactly what Kai did.
In the beginning, it wasn't to show off so much as it for self-satisfaction. Kai really didn't care whether anyone was witness to his perfect peeling of a banana, or if anyone documented the way he expertly opened a door. Simply, he reveled in knowing that whatever he did was executed without a single flaw. People, he convinced himself, didn't appreciate the true delight of an unblemished action. In the beginning, that is.
Time passed and things changed as they always do, and suddenly, Kai found himself in the middle of a dissatisfactory, flawed, imperfect group of teenage boys. All so alike and yet so different from himself... Minus one.
At first, Kai's predicament turned out to be as bad, if not worse, than he had imagined it to be. There wasn't a single regard for perfection, or even basic manners. There was loud, rude, over-confident and overweight boy who relied almost solely on his friends. In less than a day, even seeing him open his mouth made Kai's eye twitch (which he perfected later on). Next came the bubbly, optimistic baby with an infatuation concerning teamwork just as unhealthy as the first's. If it was possible, being happy all the time was even worse than being an obnoxious pig. Which might even be better than a toddler with no eyes who kept on prattling on about how he, Kai Hiwatari, was technically not perfect.
Then there was Rei.
The thing that bothered Kai about Rei was that there was nothing blatantly flawed about him. There was nothing to complain about. Rei was actually bearable and it bothered him that he couldn't really find anything wrong with the other boy. As the thoughts of Rei being acceptable, or even nice, nagged his mind constantly, Kai began to be drawn closer to him.
Maybe it was the way Rei seemed to listen to people rather than jumping to conclusions, or perhaps it was how he seemed to bring out the best in everyone. And then there was his smile, the smile that never failed to grace his face when the sun danced into the room at daybreak. A smile you could just melt into. Rei didn't have to be absolutely perfect for Kai to love him, though it was perhaps even better that he was.
Questions, comments, concerns, flames, feel free to review or email me.
-Life Sucks, Get Used To It