Title: Golden blood
Subtitle: The hunt for revenge begins
Author: Lady Snowblossom
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Kai/Rei
Note: A pair of derelicts looking for treasure frees Kai from his imprisonment. He visits his old home and finds Dranzer right where he hid her years ago. Most definitely AU, hence the date.
Disclaimer: I told you.
~*~
St. John Monastery, near Moscow, 2008
Two ragged dirty figures scratched in the dirt around a jumble of stones that was once a monastery wall; with a shovel they had stolen from a farmhouse before dawn. They hoped to find something that they could sell or barter in the next town; earning themselves food and shelter.
"Damn, but its' cold." One of the filthy creatures, it would be difficult to tell whether it was a man or a woman, under the layers of rotting rags and scraggly hair; lisped through its remaining teeth. It tried to warm its dirt-encrusted fingers by blowing on them; failing at that it tucked them into its armpits.
"Shut up, Peter and keep looking! There has to be something around here. Them monks hid their valuables in all kinds of places! Maybe, we'll get lucky!"
"Sure, we will, Kola, sure we will." Peter sneered, as he sat down on a small pile of stones and began throwing rocks at a nearby hole. He shivered in the rising wind and threw another rock. "This church hasn't been occupied in over two hundred years! And what makes you think that after all these years, there will be something for us to find!" He glared over at his companion, who straightened up from a crouch by the wall.
"If you are so sure we won't find anything! Why did you agree to come here and look?"
"Because, Borkloff, I'd rather freeze to death doing something; then freeze to death sitting under a damn tree!" Peter emphasized his disgust by throwing a larger rock into the hole.
"Clunk!"
The two men looked at each other and then they rushed to the hole and falling to their knees peered over the edge. A few yards below them they saw part of a box and a few links of chain.
Borkloff got to his feet and almost danced with glee. "What did I tell you? I'll bet you there's gold, maybe jewels in that box!" Visions of gold coins, and gems in many hues danced before his greedy eyes. He reached down and slapped Peter on the back. "Get up! I'll go get the shovel and we'll take turns at chipping away at the ground. It's gonna take some time to free enough of the box for us to see what we're dealing with!" With those words, invigorated by the thought of imminent wealth, Kola darted off to retrieved the shovel.
Peter slowly rose and stared down at the exposed wood and iron; something about it gave him the willies.
Borkloff ran back and dropped down into the crater. He began to scrape where he thought the top of the box was. Little by little; as the weak man chipped and cursed the top began to be expose and as it was; its rotten parts began to fall away.
~*~
Kai lay quietly listening. The sound of something striking his prison had awakened him. Over the years, he had heard animals and occasionally people pass overhead, but none had ever probed the earth under which he was buried. Several times, he had heard explosions nearby that had given him hope of escape; but that hope had faded: just as the hope that someone in his benighted family would defy Voltaire and free him had.
So he had slept and battled the hunger and the fear: with only the burning desire for revenge to keep him sane. As his coffin had aged, insects began to bore their way thorough and as disgusting as they were he had fed on them; waiting for the day he'd be free.
It looked like his wait was over.
~*~
Peter watched his companion with growing concern; Kola was working like a man possessed. All morning and now deep into the afternoon, the man had been working at the earth around the mysterious box. He had even refused to stop and share the last bit of food; either of them had – some moldy bread. He also ignored Peter's repeated concerns about the storm that the rapidly darkening clouds heralded.
Just as he thought, he was going to have to go down into the hole and drag Borkloff out, he heard the sound of Kola dropping something. He ran to the hole and peered down. Kola was standing with his hands on his hips looking down at the fully exposed upper half of a coffin.
Peter sank down and hit the ground; a wash of disappointment surged over him. He had half hoped that that fool Borkloff was right, and there really was some overlooked treasure to be found. Now, all his hopes lay dashed at the bottom of a dry crumbly hole.
"It's a coffin." He laughed bitterly. "It's a godforsaken coffin! So, much for your talk of treasure, Borkloff! We've wasted all day here, when we could have made the next town and maybe have found a shelter, where we could at least have gotten a hot meal!"
Leaving the shovel in the bottom of the hole, Kola clawed his way to the top. Sitting on the rim, he panted from his exertions and spat out some dirt into the godforsaken hole. Wiping his mouth on his sleeve, Borkloff ignored the ranting man and snapped. "Use your head! Why would anyone put chains around a simple coffin!" Rheumy gray eyes blazed dangerously, as he gave Peter no time to answer. "I'll tell you why! Because someone didn't want that coffin opened!"
Borkloff got to his feet and went to stand behind Peter. "Listen," There was a thread of desperation in his voice, "Sornov, there has to be valuables in there! Don't you want to be able to hold your head up in public again and be able to afford the things you once could?" He pushed at Peter's shoulders, urging the man forward.
"You know I do, "Peter retorted as he reluctantly began to slip over the edge of the crater. "I just don't feel right about this. What if we're wrong and it turns out there's a body in there." He said, as he picked up the shovel and braced his feet to begin.
"If it will make you feel any better, I'll tell you what we'll do." Kola growled, "If there is someone in that coffin. We'll just apologize for disturbing them and we rebury them!" He glared down at his companion. "Now will you hurry! There's a storm coming! I'll try to find us some shelter!" He got to his feet and hurried off toward what looked to be a room that still had part of three walls and its roof intact.
"I know there's a storm coming, I've been telling you that for most of the afternoon." Peter grumbled, as he reluctantly began to scrap away at the ground around the lower part of the coffin. As he cleared more, he noticed that the chain had rusted through in a couple of places, so getting the coffin open wasn't going to be a major problem.
He worked for some time before the first big fat drops of rain began to fall. Tossing the shovel out of the hole, Peter climbed up and looked around for Borkloff.
"Over here!" Borkloff waved from the shelter he had found. Sornov ran towards him. He reached the dubious shelter just as the storm let go. While he had been laboring in the crater, Kola had gathered wood from the nearby fallen trees and managed to build a small fire; shielding it from the wind with a small pile of stones. Peter slouched down as close to the warmth as he could get. Kola stared out at the rain, murmuring under his breath every once and awhile.
"Think we've got enough wood to last till morning?" Peter asked, as he drew his knees up and hugged them.
"If we keep the fire small it might." Borkloff answered without turning around. His eyes gleamed with a strange light. "Where's the shovel?"
"Left it by the hole. A night in the rain won't hurt it."
"Guess not. "Kola turned from the rain and walked over and slid down by Peter. "Why don't you get some sleep, I'll wake you when I get too tired to stay awake."
Too tired to argue, Peter nodded and leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. He never saw the twisted smile on his companion's lips.
~*~
Kai snarled as water seeped into his coffin. He hated getting wet, but for once the storm might actually be a piece of good luck. As old and rotten as his prison was it wouldn't stand up to a real storm and if whoever has been digging around his coffin has removed enough . . .
He began to rock back and forth, hoping to cause the rotten wood to burst.
~*~
Borkloff waited patiently for Peter to fall into a deep sleep. When his companion's chest began to rise and fall with even breaths; he rose from the wall and went over and picked up a large stone. Walking back over to the slumbering man, he hefted the stone and brought it down with all his strength on the top of Peter's head-crushing it.
"Now, why did you do that? It spoils the blood."
Borkloff whirled and faced a nightmare. His staring eyes took in the apparition that stood in front of him. It had ghost white skin with eyes that blazed with the fires of Hell. Long two-toned hair dripped water on the remains of clothes that had been fashionable in another century.
The demon began to walk toward him and he backed up until his back hit the wall. "W-w-who are you? W-w-what do you want?" Kola squeaked, as a thin hand with talon like nails gripped him by the front of the rags that served him as a coat.
His blood ran cold as an evil chuckle left the creatures' lips. "I am Kai Hiwatari and what I want is your life!"
He had time to scream once, before his head was wrenched to the side and a sharp pain centered itself in his neck. All thought of resistance faded, as he lost consciousness.
Kai growled as he drained the murderer: listening to the sound of his faltering heart. When the organ began to fail, he let go of the body and let it slump against the wall. "Say hello to your friend for me." Kai laughed and turned, leaving Borkloff to die on his own.
~*~
Dawn found him standing outside what was once his grandfather's mansion. Behind him, he left the shattered bodies of a newlywed couple, who had stopped to change a flat. The young man had been close to his height and weight, so he had donned the strange new clothes and dealt with their strange fastenings, as best as he could.
As he had rummaged thorough their possessions, he had found a newspaper and read it rapidly; absorbing everything it had to teach him. After taking the unfortunate couple's money, he had used the unnatural speed a vampire to make it to the mansion before the sun rose.
Now he stood staring at the empty, neglected buildings; thinking of the many times he had past through them, and of the last time had he had passed under the archway. Shaking off the memories, he raced to the door of the main house; broke down the door and went inside. The once elegant rooms were now empty shells, echoing with memories of better days.
Inches of gray and white dust covered every surface. Cobwebs heavy with decay hung like ripped bridal veils from the walls and windows. Broken glass littered the floor and crunched as he walked on it. He drifted from room to room, remembering. He peered out windows, but avoided the ones that overlooked the stable area. The memories of what he had done there were too painful to face.
Finally, he picked his way down shattered stone steps to the lower levels, where he had tended to spend his time. He had to see if his grandfather had found where he hid his treasures. Going to the far wall, he ducked under a small arch. Turning to face the arch, he felt along the edge of its seal until he came to a barely raised bump and pressed.
For what seemed like an eternity nothing happened, then slowly with a long terrible moan, an opening appeared in the wall beside him. He reached into his pocket and removed a small metal cylinder and opening it, he flicked the wheel until it caught fire. He had seen the woman lit a cigarette with the thing, and felt it might come in handy.
With the aid of the flickering light, he reached the remains of a torch, pulling it from its bracket; he lit it. The dry wood burst into flames. A grim smile crossed his lips, as he finished the journey down the dark corridor to an iron door.
He put the torch in an iron bracket by the door and grasping the handle exerted all his strength to force the door open. The door shuddered, groan, screeched, but it yielded to his determination and reluctantly inch by inch came open – revealing an orange light. He walked into the room and stared at the object on the only piece of furniture in the room – a heavy ebony wood table.
Kai reached out a finger and caressed the bit center of his ancient Beyblade.
The blade began to glow brighter. Kai withdrew his hand to shield his eyes, as the light intensified until it blazed brighter than the sun. From the depths of the blade, a Phoenix burst forth. As the light faded, Kai looked up at the magnificent creature that floated in the air before him. A soft smile curved his cold lips as the mighty firebird greeted him with a savage cry.
"Hello, Dranzer, it's been a long time."
Subtitle: The hunt for revenge begins
Author: Lady Snowblossom
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Kai/Rei
Note: A pair of derelicts looking for treasure frees Kai from his imprisonment. He visits his old home and finds Dranzer right where he hid her years ago. Most definitely AU, hence the date.
Disclaimer: I told you.
~*~
St. John Monastery, near Moscow, 2008
Two ragged dirty figures scratched in the dirt around a jumble of stones that was once a monastery wall; with a shovel they had stolen from a farmhouse before dawn. They hoped to find something that they could sell or barter in the next town; earning themselves food and shelter.
"Damn, but its' cold." One of the filthy creatures, it would be difficult to tell whether it was a man or a woman, under the layers of rotting rags and scraggly hair; lisped through its remaining teeth. It tried to warm its dirt-encrusted fingers by blowing on them; failing at that it tucked them into its armpits.
"Shut up, Peter and keep looking! There has to be something around here. Them monks hid their valuables in all kinds of places! Maybe, we'll get lucky!"
"Sure, we will, Kola, sure we will." Peter sneered, as he sat down on a small pile of stones and began throwing rocks at a nearby hole. He shivered in the rising wind and threw another rock. "This church hasn't been occupied in over two hundred years! And what makes you think that after all these years, there will be something for us to find!" He glared over at his companion, who straightened up from a crouch by the wall.
"If you are so sure we won't find anything! Why did you agree to come here and look?"
"Because, Borkloff, I'd rather freeze to death doing something; then freeze to death sitting under a damn tree!" Peter emphasized his disgust by throwing a larger rock into the hole.
"Clunk!"
The two men looked at each other and then they rushed to the hole and falling to their knees peered over the edge. A few yards below them they saw part of a box and a few links of chain.
Borkloff got to his feet and almost danced with glee. "What did I tell you? I'll bet you there's gold, maybe jewels in that box!" Visions of gold coins, and gems in many hues danced before his greedy eyes. He reached down and slapped Peter on the back. "Get up! I'll go get the shovel and we'll take turns at chipping away at the ground. It's gonna take some time to free enough of the box for us to see what we're dealing with!" With those words, invigorated by the thought of imminent wealth, Kola darted off to retrieved the shovel.
Peter slowly rose and stared down at the exposed wood and iron; something about it gave him the willies.
Borkloff ran back and dropped down into the crater. He began to scrape where he thought the top of the box was. Little by little; as the weak man chipped and cursed the top began to be expose and as it was; its rotten parts began to fall away.
~*~
Kai lay quietly listening. The sound of something striking his prison had awakened him. Over the years, he had heard animals and occasionally people pass overhead, but none had ever probed the earth under which he was buried. Several times, he had heard explosions nearby that had given him hope of escape; but that hope had faded: just as the hope that someone in his benighted family would defy Voltaire and free him had.
So he had slept and battled the hunger and the fear: with only the burning desire for revenge to keep him sane. As his coffin had aged, insects began to bore their way thorough and as disgusting as they were he had fed on them; waiting for the day he'd be free.
It looked like his wait was over.
~*~
Peter watched his companion with growing concern; Kola was working like a man possessed. All morning and now deep into the afternoon, the man had been working at the earth around the mysterious box. He had even refused to stop and share the last bit of food; either of them had – some moldy bread. He also ignored Peter's repeated concerns about the storm that the rapidly darkening clouds heralded.
Just as he thought, he was going to have to go down into the hole and drag Borkloff out, he heard the sound of Kola dropping something. He ran to the hole and peered down. Kola was standing with his hands on his hips looking down at the fully exposed upper half of a coffin.
Peter sank down and hit the ground; a wash of disappointment surged over him. He had half hoped that that fool Borkloff was right, and there really was some overlooked treasure to be found. Now, all his hopes lay dashed at the bottom of a dry crumbly hole.
"It's a coffin." He laughed bitterly. "It's a godforsaken coffin! So, much for your talk of treasure, Borkloff! We've wasted all day here, when we could have made the next town and maybe have found a shelter, where we could at least have gotten a hot meal!"
Leaving the shovel in the bottom of the hole, Kola clawed his way to the top. Sitting on the rim, he panted from his exertions and spat out some dirt into the godforsaken hole. Wiping his mouth on his sleeve, Borkloff ignored the ranting man and snapped. "Use your head! Why would anyone put chains around a simple coffin!" Rheumy gray eyes blazed dangerously, as he gave Peter no time to answer. "I'll tell you why! Because someone didn't want that coffin opened!"
Borkloff got to his feet and went to stand behind Peter. "Listen," There was a thread of desperation in his voice, "Sornov, there has to be valuables in there! Don't you want to be able to hold your head up in public again and be able to afford the things you once could?" He pushed at Peter's shoulders, urging the man forward.
"You know I do, "Peter retorted as he reluctantly began to slip over the edge of the crater. "I just don't feel right about this. What if we're wrong and it turns out there's a body in there." He said, as he picked up the shovel and braced his feet to begin.
"If it will make you feel any better, I'll tell you what we'll do." Kola growled, "If there is someone in that coffin. We'll just apologize for disturbing them and we rebury them!" He glared down at his companion. "Now will you hurry! There's a storm coming! I'll try to find us some shelter!" He got to his feet and hurried off toward what looked to be a room that still had part of three walls and its roof intact.
"I know there's a storm coming, I've been telling you that for most of the afternoon." Peter grumbled, as he reluctantly began to scrap away at the ground around the lower part of the coffin. As he cleared more, he noticed that the chain had rusted through in a couple of places, so getting the coffin open wasn't going to be a major problem.
He worked for some time before the first big fat drops of rain began to fall. Tossing the shovel out of the hole, Peter climbed up and looked around for Borkloff.
"Over here!" Borkloff waved from the shelter he had found. Sornov ran towards him. He reached the dubious shelter just as the storm let go. While he had been laboring in the crater, Kola had gathered wood from the nearby fallen trees and managed to build a small fire; shielding it from the wind with a small pile of stones. Peter slouched down as close to the warmth as he could get. Kola stared out at the rain, murmuring under his breath every once and awhile.
"Think we've got enough wood to last till morning?" Peter asked, as he drew his knees up and hugged them.
"If we keep the fire small it might." Borkloff answered without turning around. His eyes gleamed with a strange light. "Where's the shovel?"
"Left it by the hole. A night in the rain won't hurt it."
"Guess not. "Kola turned from the rain and walked over and slid down by Peter. "Why don't you get some sleep, I'll wake you when I get too tired to stay awake."
Too tired to argue, Peter nodded and leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes. He never saw the twisted smile on his companion's lips.
~*~
Kai snarled as water seeped into his coffin. He hated getting wet, but for once the storm might actually be a piece of good luck. As old and rotten as his prison was it wouldn't stand up to a real storm and if whoever has been digging around his coffin has removed enough . . .
He began to rock back and forth, hoping to cause the rotten wood to burst.
~*~
Borkloff waited patiently for Peter to fall into a deep sleep. When his companion's chest began to rise and fall with even breaths; he rose from the wall and went over and picked up a large stone. Walking back over to the slumbering man, he hefted the stone and brought it down with all his strength on the top of Peter's head-crushing it.
"Now, why did you do that? It spoils the blood."
Borkloff whirled and faced a nightmare. His staring eyes took in the apparition that stood in front of him. It had ghost white skin with eyes that blazed with the fires of Hell. Long two-toned hair dripped water on the remains of clothes that had been fashionable in another century.
The demon began to walk toward him and he backed up until his back hit the wall. "W-w-who are you? W-w-what do you want?" Kola squeaked, as a thin hand with talon like nails gripped him by the front of the rags that served him as a coat.
His blood ran cold as an evil chuckle left the creatures' lips. "I am Kai Hiwatari and what I want is your life!"
He had time to scream once, before his head was wrenched to the side and a sharp pain centered itself in his neck. All thought of resistance faded, as he lost consciousness.
Kai growled as he drained the murderer: listening to the sound of his faltering heart. When the organ began to fail, he let go of the body and let it slump against the wall. "Say hello to your friend for me." Kai laughed and turned, leaving Borkloff to die on his own.
~*~
Dawn found him standing outside what was once his grandfather's mansion. Behind him, he left the shattered bodies of a newlywed couple, who had stopped to change a flat. The young man had been close to his height and weight, so he had donned the strange new clothes and dealt with their strange fastenings, as best as he could.
As he had rummaged thorough their possessions, he had found a newspaper and read it rapidly; absorbing everything it had to teach him. After taking the unfortunate couple's money, he had used the unnatural speed a vampire to make it to the mansion before the sun rose.
Now he stood staring at the empty, neglected buildings; thinking of the many times he had past through them, and of the last time had he had passed under the archway. Shaking off the memories, he raced to the door of the main house; broke down the door and went inside. The once elegant rooms were now empty shells, echoing with memories of better days.
Inches of gray and white dust covered every surface. Cobwebs heavy with decay hung like ripped bridal veils from the walls and windows. Broken glass littered the floor and crunched as he walked on it. He drifted from room to room, remembering. He peered out windows, but avoided the ones that overlooked the stable area. The memories of what he had done there were too painful to face.
Finally, he picked his way down shattered stone steps to the lower levels, where he had tended to spend his time. He had to see if his grandfather had found where he hid his treasures. Going to the far wall, he ducked under a small arch. Turning to face the arch, he felt along the edge of its seal until he came to a barely raised bump and pressed.
For what seemed like an eternity nothing happened, then slowly with a long terrible moan, an opening appeared in the wall beside him. He reached into his pocket and removed a small metal cylinder and opening it, he flicked the wheel until it caught fire. He had seen the woman lit a cigarette with the thing, and felt it might come in handy.
With the aid of the flickering light, he reached the remains of a torch, pulling it from its bracket; he lit it. The dry wood burst into flames. A grim smile crossed his lips, as he finished the journey down the dark corridor to an iron door.
He put the torch in an iron bracket by the door and grasping the handle exerted all his strength to force the door open. The door shuddered, groan, screeched, but it yielded to his determination and reluctantly inch by inch came open – revealing an orange light. He walked into the room and stared at the object on the only piece of furniture in the room – a heavy ebony wood table.
Kai reached out a finger and caressed the bit center of his ancient Beyblade.
The blade began to glow brighter. Kai withdrew his hand to shield his eyes, as the light intensified until it blazed brighter than the sun. From the depths of the blade, a Phoenix burst forth. As the light faded, Kai looked up at the magnificent creature that floated in the air before him. A soft smile curved his cold lips as the mighty firebird greeted him with a savage cry.
"Hello, Dranzer, it's been a long time."