A/N – Wow, thanks guys! I've always said I wouldn't be picky about reviews, one is all I ever need to keep a story going. I know how annoying it is to want a story to continue when the author is demanding five or ten reviews. Anyway, enough. Responses at the end, title is from Mother by... guess who? If you guessed Tori Amos then you get a cookie.
And oh my, deities forgive, I forgot a disclaimer. Because I'm sure you all think I own the show I've seen oh so few times. Note the heavy use of bolding to show my blatant disregard for these silly things. Still...

Disclaimer: As stated before, I do not own, nor presume to pretend to own, Kai, Tala, or any of the characters from the anime TV show Beyblade. Hell, I don't even know who does, but I do know that it isn't me. Thank you. That will be all. Onward ho!




China


Poison Me Against The Moon

The hand skimmed the rough brick of the worn-down buildings, eyes looking out for shards of glass that hadn't been stolen by opportunistic thieves. Kai hummed softly under his breath, head down and dark red eyes on cautious alert. His knife, handle smooth and flat on the bottom, gave him a sense of almost protection.

His posture reflected a life of anxiety, a weary acceptance of living under a veil of thought. Always thinking, considering, questioning, wondering. Never letting his emotions take control of it all, knowing that his 'instincts' had been honed by years of practise and training and weren't really instinctive at all.

The sounds of a pack of humans made Kai's head snap up and a grimace appear upon his face. He paused in his light, fleeting steps and considered his options.

1 - Run away. It was for cowards, certainly, but it would definitely make Dmitri happy if he ever heard the story of his brother's late night prowl. And it would mean Kai getting out alive for sure. On the other hand... it was for cowards and there was no way in hell Kai was a coward. Plus, it wasn't as though he was going to volunteer the story to Dmitri anyway. Therefore, on to option 2.

2 - Fighting. It didn't seem like the smartest idea, but it would allow Kai to keep his dignity and his pride, two very important things to the young boy. Two things that he relied on in tough times. He was also an excellent fighter, no bragging – just a stating of the facts. He'd been trained among the best of them at a school know as the Abbey. No way he couldn't take down at least two of them before their numbers overwhelmed him. Hmmm... option 3.

3 - Keep at a fairly even pace, a little faster than normal, and get the hell out. It would mean running away, but not in the usual sense. More like, moving steadily along, pretending he didn't even notice the others. He'd have to be quiet, but if he were lucky he wouldn't have to be silent because the punks in the streets didn't usually care about stealth. And anyway, Abbey? Stealth? Yeah, exactly. They'd had questionable methods of training, but Kai couldn't deny that he'd learned many a useful skill there.

So really, the best option was the one he employed as he focused his hearing upon the out-of-place sounds. He moved at a quick but quiet pace; unafraid, but wary and waiting. He didn't want to bring any trouble upon him but he also wasn't about to run away from it. Anyway, you couldn't show fear around them. They fed upon it.

His hand scraped against the bricks harder, forcibly feeling the texture beneath callused fingertips. The voices grew until he could hear individual words and sentences and despite himself, Kai felt the tiniest prick of dread in his stomach. The last thing he needed was a confrontation. The slight distraction from his stoic focus meant he stepped with a crunch on a pile of glass cubes in front of a jagged-edged window. Kai froze in the dead silence.

Crap.

His head turned slowly towards where he'd last heard the psychotics. His hand itched as he convulsively loosened and tightened his grip on his knife handle. Slowing his breath, Kai felt around with his other foot and when it ended up on solid ground he gently and slowly shifted his weight, waiting with anticipation for the inevitable noise it would make with the letting up of his foot. He expected that was what the gang was waiting for, and prepared himself for their strike.

He wasn't disappointed.

He heard the attack before it hit his face, heard the displacement of the air around him before the arm came flying high and with abandon since they still weren't sure of his height, weight, or other useful variables in a fight. They were testing him. And Kai just wasn't one to displease.

Shifting his total weight to the one foot not lodged in glass cubes, Kai used the other leg to aim a kick at his attacker's vulnerable midsection. It hit with a satisfying, heavy grunt and an expelling of air. A smirk lit up Kai's face as he used his opposite arm, knife handle facing outword, to uppercut his opponent causing the face to pull away from him.

An attack from behind sent Kai sprawling into the person he'd just knocked to the ground and caused his knife to skitter away, unused. Said person quickly recovered from their surprise and wrestled Kai to the ground, grabbing him by his spiky hair and slamming his head down again and again.

Feeling sick and dizzy, Kai kicked out desperately, hoping to hit something and cease the painful attack on his head. He was met with resistance and his head fell back weakly as the hands lost their grasp before he got his arms free from the bulk of the person and clawed at their eyes. When they pulled back with a yelp, Kai pushed them off and rose quickly and unsteadily to his feet.

Arms out in front in a protective stance, Kai tried to get his bearings. The light of the moon wasn't enough to fully make out the people, but it did help even with his blurry sight and throbbing head. He could tell numbers, barely and not with much accuracy, as they surrounded him. He guessed there were about ten to fifteen, a large blur of light and dark hair, venomous eyes, and powerful limbs. He couldn't see any females, only heavyset males. Things didn't look good.

And fuck, did his head ever hurt.

He never even noticed when two of the vermin flew at him. One from behind going low, for his knees, and one from the front diving for his waist. Unfortunately there was little Kai could do, and he landed painfully with a human atop him and another under his legs. It was an awkward position, and one that proved very unlucky as the one under his legs rolled out. Suddenly there were two very heavy, very solid bodies cutting off his air supply and circulation. Suddenly he was wishing he had run.

"Hey! Hey, get off him!"

A familiar voice broke through the wild jeers and taunting of the crowd and one of the bodies on top of him, the one nearest his head, was barking commands and fidgeting uncomfortably. Kai had a moment to wonder why they would be uncomfortable when he was the one whose sight was getting suspiciously grey and muddy. He also realized that he recognized the voice on top of him, male and cocky as it was. Unfortunately, he couldn't focus enough to recognize the person.

The noises were getting dimmer now, but Kai was pretty sure that had nothing to do with people moving away or their consideration for his throbbing head. Actually, he was pretty sure it had something to do with the fact that neither of the two solid weights above him had moved an inch and his lungs couldn't expand to get enough oxygen.

He could still hear the friendly voice, and felt relief blossom in his chest as he surrendered to the sudden bout of panic brought on by a lack of air. He convulsed involuntarily in a last-ditch attempt to remove the mass from his chest, but his head was throbbing and his eyes were watering and his senses had abandoned him.

His last thought was of the fact that he had had a knife and he was pretty damn sure he could feel the steel blade inside his lower back, handle digging into the ground.




A/N –
I know, I know, no Tala. I promise he's coming though, either next chapter or the one after. I still have to explain a few more things before you can just waltz around in my little made-up world. Which reminds me, I forgot to put the funky little AU symbol last time (man do I ever love the freedom those two little initials give me) so here it is now. This is AU, which means I can do whatever I want and you can't say a thing. Na na na. /childish rant.

As for reviewers! I love you! You guys rock my socks! Blushes

Lefty – Holy cow you're excitable. I love you so much for that. And yay, a new story, one that's not a one-shot for once, heh. And yeah, one of my favourite phrases, you can just picture caked on dirt so vividly :P Thanks!

Mikazuki Senshi – Aww thanks, I'd been searching for plot bunnies and lo and behold one came and found me. I'm glad you liked my OC, I needed a name that sounded somewhat feasible as a Russian so I watched the Olympics to find one. I'm a dork. I'll have to check out your stories, I doubt they're crap! Thanks a lot!

Reiven – I can't wait for when Kai meets Tala either :P I keep wanting to jump ahead because I've got the meeting in my mind but I have to wait for it. And you'll have to wait with me. I've definitely read some of your stories, they're great! Thanks!