Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade. If I did, I'd have to suffer with Mariah's... "evil-ness" X.x
Claimer: I own (from this chapter):
Replies to reviews:
Lookintomyeyeswhatdoyousee: Yeah, you got the plot pretty much right. Actually...that's exactly right. I'm glad you like the story so much. I was meant to say last time go my f a n f i c t i o n . n e t account too but it didn't work. Anyway, I don't know how long this story will be...
SchoolBoredom: Thank-yoo for the review. Stop predicting the plot! :D
Whooptido-basil: Thanks. AHA! Watch out Josef! I love your pen name, by the way :D Reminds me of a British sitcom.
Other:
MidnightBallad: Here's another wonderful instalment! I still need info on Tala! :D Haha! Never mind. Enjoy!
P.S: Susi means 'wolf' in Finnish! Sadly, it reminds me of 'sushi'. Damn it...
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Hold my Hand
Chapter Six: Footprints in Snow
The Bladebreakers did not fuss too much about who was going to Russia and who wasn't. Tyson and Kenny immediately said that they would sit this one out, and it wasn't long before Max agreed also. Rei said that he was really looking forward to getting away from the dojo, so he agreed to go with Kai. And Hilary, being Hilary, didn't want to be excluded from anything important.
So, it looked like it would only be Kai, Rei and Hilary who went to Russia.
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The sun began to set over Japan, bathing the day in a deep orange glow. Kai sat on the porch of the dojo once again, listening to the breeze shift through the trees and watching dark clouds roll over the horizon. He still felt very tired after this whole ordeal –
Kai the noticed the sky darken, and the breeze picked up a little more. The sun seemed to vanish, and Kai watched as a dark shadow stretched across the dojo. Another storm was coming.
Five minutes later, it had struck, and rain poured off the roof of the dojo like a curtain of bright, glittering beads. Unusually bright, glittering beads...
Kai jumped to his feet as a grown woman stepped from the rain, hovering a few feet from the ground – Neblina. Sighing with relief, Kai stepped toward her.
'Hello, Kai.' Neblina said in her beautiful voice. 'I see you have decided to go find Susi. You are a very concerned young man after all.'
Kai did not nod. He just looked at Neblina's shining form, before asking, 'Why me?'
Neblina ceased to hover and landed on the ground softly. 'Sorry?'
'Why me? Why is Haine after me? Why are you trying to protect me?'
Raindrops fell down Neblina's large, feathery wings. A warm smile spread across her face. 'Haine is certainly from hell. I am a counterpart, a guardian of all who are stalked by Haine. You do not know it, but I have been trying to protect the children from the Saint Shields also. However, they did not believe in me as you do.' Her face became dark. 'As for Haine following you...I cannot answer that. Maybe it's because you have a past that is very rare, therefore you are more valuable to him.'
Kai could only stare at the rain as it fell. He felt defenceless, alone. His voice croaking, Kai asked, 'Why did Haine send me to the orphanage?'
Neblina's face was still dark. 'To get your soul, apparently, yet it did not work.'
'Thank God.' Kai muttered, before his eyes shot to Neblina. He went pink. 'Ah...sorry.'
Neblina laughed for the first time in a while. Kai didn't think he'd ever heard her laugh before. 'Do not worry.' Her body began to fade, and Neblina said as she vanished, 'Good luck, Kai. I'll be watching after you. Remember: Haine will do anything to get to you, even hurt your friends. So, watch out for them, too.'
Neblina was suddenly gone, only the rain curtain left in her wake. Nodding, Kai went inside to make an important phone call.
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The storm worsened overnight, and Kai sat up in bed, watching the lightening flash outside. His heart skipped a beat whenever the thunder sounded overhead – it seemed so very close.
Max and Tyson were lying awake in their beds too, trying to think of words that rhymed with orange. To Kai's great annoyance, they were doing it aloud, and he doubted if anyone else was asleep. Several times Kenny threw a sock at one of the duo, but Max and Tyson just kept on talking...
Kai felt very cold very quickly. Wrapping his covers around him, he flopped back down into the soft depths of his bed. This only made him feel colder, and his body began to shake, as if he were about to have a fit. Kai shouted in frustration and opened his eyes. There was nothing different about the dojo. But...it was very quiet. Tyson and Max had stopped talking, and the rain had ceased to fall.
Seeing as the storm had passed over, Kai decided to go for another walk, maybe just around the dojo's yard. Still fully dressed from the other day, Kai went over to the door and slid it open.
'What?!' Kai gaped, seeing the entire world covered in a thick blanket of snow. He gazed up at the sky – not a single cloud up there. Just a whole lot of blue and white stars above a towering cherry blossom tree.
Hang on, Kai thought. There isn't a cherry blossom tree in the yard.
'Where am I?' Kai demanded to no one, spinning around. Only the dojo was gone, and the door's frame stood in the middle of the snow. There was nothing left.
Kai let go of the door, but nothing happened. It just sat there, as if an invisible house were holding it up. Taking a deep breath, Kai stepped away from the door, imagining it to vanish. But there it stayed, and for that Kai was grateful.
Kai gazed around the snowy scene – it seemed to be a Chinese rock garden, and there was a large pond in the middle of the scene, in which a large, stone dragon sat. Cherry blossom trees sat everywhere, yet their petals were not only pink, but violet and periwinkle blue also. Around the edge of the scene was a brick wall. So, he was standing in the middle of a yard? A Chinese yard. Great.
Kai then noticed something at his feet. He bent down and picked it up, brushing snow from whatever it was. It was a Beyblade, made entirely out of clear blue ice – at least, its exterior was. The attack ring was a hard, cold metal: maybe iron or steel. Smack-bang in the middle of the Beyblade was a small, silver disk that displayed the picture of an icy blue wolf with its tail made from blue flames.
Last of all, Kai noticed the footprints that snaked past the Beyblade. Pocketing the chunk of ice, Kai followed the footprints to the edge of the pond, where someone sat with their back to him.
Kai held out the Beyblade. 'Hey. Is this yours?'
The person at the pond turned around – Kai instantly recognised who it was.
Kai was looking at himself.
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Hilary awoke during the middle of the night and yawned. The storm still lashed overhead – she was very glad that she was in the dojo. But then she felt the freezing cold and the rain spitting in her face. She noticed that someone had left the door open.
Getting to her feet, Hilary went over to the door, when she saw that Kai was outside. Her brow furrowing, Hilary shouted, 'Kai? What're you doing out –'
But then she saw who Kai was talking to: Ozuma. Wait, not Ozuma...the possessed Ozuma. Gasping loudly, Hilary flung herself out the door. And then, with a great scream, she tackled Kai to the ground amongst the mud.
Ozuma/Haine got to his feet and hissed, 'You cannot protect him forever, girl. No one can.'
Hilary gazed up at the impostor. 'Leave Kai alone! What's he ever done to you?'
Ozuma/Haine grinned before walking away. Hilary had half a mind to get up and stop him, but then she noticed Kai move. Hilary watched as he opened his eyes – he didn't seem to be focusing on anything, and just stared away into the rain.
'Kai, what happened...?' Hilary squeaked, before Kai pushed himself upright. He muttered, 'Never mind. I was...' Kai didn't finish his sentence. He just got to her feet and went inside. Hilary watched him go, breathing a deep sigh, before she noticed that Kai had left his Beyblade on the ground (A/N: This is what Kai saw as the icy Beyblade, just in case you want to know). She picked it up and went inside, hoping that more troubles like this very one would not occur when they went to Russia.
-End chapter VI-
MidnightBallad: Sorry that this chapter wasn't too long, but I'm just idea-less today. Oh! If you want to, go to my profile and have a look at some picture links I posted, because there's one of Susi there. The images are sketches and rather bad, but I'll post some coloured ones eventually.
Don't forget to review!