Title: Golden blood
Subtitle: Dreams
Author: Lady Snowblossom
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Kai/Rei
Note: I've been on vacation, so that's why this is late.
Hong Kong, 2008
Tying the loop around his neck, he climbed on top of the stump and looking toward the castle, whispered, "Goodbye, my love." and jumped.
Gasping, Rei sat up on the rickety bed and felt his throat, the noose had seemed so real that he half expected to find it still wrapped around his neck. Dropping his hand, he swung his legs over the side of the sagging mattress and stumbled to the small pile of boxes, he used as a dresser. Still shivering from the dream, he snatched up a small tin pitcher and splashed some water into the small tin basin that served as his bathtub and dipping a cloth in the water, wiped his face cleaning away sweat and the last vestige of the dream.
"Shit." he whispered into the never quite silent room. Outside the filthy window, he could hear cats howling, dogs barking, men and women cursing each other, and babies screaming. He stumbled back to the bed, and eased down onto the finicky thing. Get on it wrong, and it would collapse, but he couldn't afford anything better. The money he earned working odd jobs, and giving an occasional blading lesson, didn't stretch to luxuries like a decent bed.
As he lay back on the pitifully thin pillow, he thought not for the first time of swallowing his pride and returning to the village. And like before, something rose up inside him and screamed in denial; a strange sense of something better pulled at him, and he sighed in defeat unable to ignore that persistent nagging.
"I just wish the dreams would stop, so I could get some real sleep." Rei whispered, for weeks now his sleep had been plagued by dreams of two faceless boys, a dream in which he seemed to play a dual role, participant and innocent bystander. One of the boys in his dreams had long black hair, and the other had two-toned hair, and how happy they were together, until tragic struck. Then, he'd watched with helpless horror as the black haired boy committed suicide. Tonight, though had been the first time, he had heard either boy say anything. 'I wonder if the dreams mean anything.' He thought, as he tried to relax enough to go back to sleep. Finally, exhaustion set in and he sank into a dreamless sleep for the rest of the night.
Moscow, 2008
Kai sat in the stands and watched as the world champion, Demolition Boys put on a rare public exhibition. At first, they had spun against each other and fought to a tie in each of the two matches, then they had took on a secondary team from the Abbey and had utter humiliated those boys. Now, their captain, Tala had announced that he would choose someone at random from the audience and take them on.
The crowd buzzed with excitement, as the lithe captain strolled up and down in front of the stands, as if he couldn't make up his mind; who to choose.
A tall man with dark hair came off the bench where the redhead's teammates sat, and yelled, "Pick someone, Tala! We don't have all day!" The lithe boy looked at him, and nodded. Looking back, he stared up into the stands, and pointed straight at Kai. "I chose you." He called.
The crowd roared, but Kai shook his head, "I decline." Tala climbed the steps leading to where Kai was sitting and smiled dangerously. "Why?" He purred, "I promise I won't crush you - too badly." Kai glared at the smirking youth. "I don't think you could beat me, I'd hate to embarrass you.
A light kindled in the sapphire eyes staring down at him. "If you think you're that good, then come and show me, Hiwatari." Tala smiled nastily at the stunned look on Kai's face, and turning skipped down the steps to the arena floor. Once on the ground, Tala announced to the crowd, "My chosen opponent is being shy, why don't you encourage him to come down here."
Now, that they had been asked to help, the crowd was only too happy to become involved. Roars of "Come on!" "Hey, kid! Get down there! "What's the matter, scared?" Laughter shook the crowd; they all began chanting, "Scared, scared."
Kai gritted his teeth and rose to his feet. The crowd burst into applause, as he made his way down to the smirking Tala. He jogged down the steps and stormed over to the beydish. Grinning, Tala murmured, as he passed Kai, "Nice of you to join me."
Kai glared and snapped, "How did you know my name!"
Tala stepped up to his side of the dish, "Hmm, now that's my secret. You'll have to beat me to find that out."
"With pleasure." Kai snarled, and whipped out his launcher and readied Dranzer.
"Damn it, Tala! What the hell were you thinking?" Boris roared, "I told you it was important that we get him to join us and you had to wipe the damn floor up with him!"
"Don't worry, he'll still join us." Tala said confidently, as he stood, waiting for Boris to calm down. "By beating him, I've shown him that he has a lot to learn and that he needs to be somewhere he can. Now, all I have to do is follow up on what I've done."
Boris came to a halt, intrigued by the confidence in the boy's voice. "Follow up, how?"
"You'll see, but I need a pass that will allow me to be away for a couple of days, and some money."
"Tala, why do you need to be away from the Abbey?" Bryan asked, from where he sat on the bench in front of his locker. Laughing sapphire eyes swung around and rested on his lover and Tala smirked. Bryan immediately leapt to his feet and snarled, "No way, Valkov! You are not screwing that, that . . ." Bryan couldn't think of a word bad enough.
Tala flowed over to his upset lover, and wrapped himself around the worked up falcon, he nipped at Bryan's ear and purred, "Now, love, I won't unless I have to, you know that. And think how much fun we can have, when I make it up to you. What would you like, strawberries and whip cream, or maybe the peacock feather and chains? Hmm." Bryan shivered, and just before Tala claimed his mouth, murmured, "Hmm, I'll let you know."
Boris glared at the pair, and stalked off, muttering, "Wish they'd wait until they're alone, before they do that." He slammed the door, and Bryan and Tala broke apart, dazed and grinning. "Did it, to him again." Bryan said, as he sat back down.
Tala sat beside him, "Not our problem. He could always find someone. Now, where were we?" He grinned wickedly, reaching for Bryan's zipper. Bryan groaned and began to kick off his boots.
Kai sat on the bridge staring down at the water. It had been two days, since his humiliating defeat at the hands of that red haired bastard. "Why can't I forget it?" He hissed, in disgust. He heard someone walking toward him, but he ignored it.
"Probably, because you can't stop dwelling on it." Kai stiffened at that voice, and when Tala's reflection appeared in the water at his shoulder, he swiftly rose and began to walk away.
'Wait! Where are you going?" Tala leaned against the railing of the bridge and stared at Kai's retreating figure. "Don't you want to know why I forced our match?"
"No." Kai would rather die, than admit that he did. "Really?" The soft purr grated on his nerves, "Not even if I told you that you'd be able to get back at your grandfather?" Kai stopped, and turned, "What did you say?"
The next second Tala found himself pinned against the railing with Kai's hands around his throat, and blazing crimson eyes boring into his own. "I said, what did you say?" The furious vampire shook his victim, like a terrier shaking a rat.
"Air." Tala gasped. Kai released him and putting his hand to his chest, the red head gulped down some air. "Man, you need to control that temper of yours," The irrepressible boy said glaring at Kai. "Now." He straightened up against the cold marble pressing into his back. "Let's start from scratch. My name is Tala Valkov, captain of the Demolition Boys, and you are Kai Hiwatari, Voltaire's grandson, and you've got a long- standing grudge against the old demon. Not that I blame you, I can't stand the old snake myself." He paused, but Kai merely stared at him. Tala sighed.
"Right, Your grandfather finances the Abbey, a training facility for Beybladers. He plans on taking over the world, using bitbeasts. My team and I are part of that plan. If you join up with us . . ."
"Become a Demolition Boy?" Kai interrupted. Tala shook his head, "To become a Demo Boy, you'd have to defeat one of us. And to be blunt, right now, with your skills, you couldn't beat the weakest member of the reserve team."
Kai bristled, "You beat them easily enough." Tala nodded, "You're right, but they were ordered to lose. We would have won anyway, but it would have been a lot harder than it was, if they had really tried."
Intrigued despite himself, Kai leaned against the railing, "Who ordered, them? My grandfather?"
"No, Boris, our coach. We wanted to attract your attention. And showing you the weakness of your skills seemed the best way."
Kai stared at the warm blood boy, "You know, I've killed people for less. I don't appreciate being made a fool of."
"Well, "Tala smirked, "I did consider seducing you." Kai snorted, but Tala didn't miss the interested gleam that flashed in those crimson eyes. Kai pulled Tala to him and pulled his head back and pressed his cold lips to the boy's jugular. "I might be interested, but first, I'd like a sample of what I 'd be getting." Tala shivered, as the cold skin worked its way up to his mouth, as Kai kissed him, the vampire covered Tala's body with his own, and began to explore the boy. As his hand slid over Tala's trapped member, Kai pulled his mouth from Tala's and purred, "Hmm, I like the sample. So, I think I'd like to see more."
Looking around he didn't see anyone, so he pulled Tala over his shoulder and sprinted away. Tala's last coherent thought for awhile was, "Sorry, Bry."
Hong Kong, 2008
Rei dragged himself into his room and dropped to the floor, utterly exhausted, he had spent the day helping to mend nets and cracking shellfish. His hands were raw and bleeding, and his head spun from the fumes he had inhaled. And he'd barely earned enough to pay the rent and buy some breakfast and dinner for the next two days. Lacking the energy to even crawl to his bed, he simply laid his head back against the wall, and went to sleep.
How long he slept, he didn't know, but when he woke he was lying on his bed, and a white square of paper was taped to the wall. He rose and stumbled to the wall and pulled the paper from the wall; and stared at it; it was a note and it read.
"Mr. Kon,
Mr. Stanley Dickenson, Head of the BBA, would like to see you at your earliest convenience, to discuss a matter that may be of great interest to you. He is planning to start a new Beyblade team and feels that you would be a valuable addition to the team.
You will find in your dresser a wallet containing some funds to help you buy some new clothes. If you accept Mr. Dickenson's offer, an account at the bank of your choice will be opened in your name and you will receive a monthly allowance, as does all bladers, who work directly for Mr. Dickenson. If not, you will be compensated for any lost income.
When you come for your meeting, simply bring this note with you, and you will be admitted to his office, at once.
We look forward to seeing you,
Wu, Shaiming, Office of Blader's Affairs."
Carrying the note, Rei went over to his dresser and search until he found a black leather wallet that was worth more than he had made for the last month. Mouth dry, he pulled it out and opened it. Inside he found nearly six hundred Chinese dollars. "They aren't kidding that I could use this!" he said, as he stared down at his tattered shirt and pants.
Carefully, he folded the note and put it inside the wallet, then he checked the door, and placed the wallet under his pillow, before getting into bed. Before drifting off, he made plans to get his new clothes in the morning and then he'd head straight for the BBA office, before they had time to change their minds. He certainly had nothing to lose.
Smiling, at this possible sign of changing fortune, he drifted off to sleep and slept soundly undisturbed by dreams of faceless boys.
Subtitle: Dreams
Author: Lady Snowblossom
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Kai/Rei
Note: I've been on vacation, so that's why this is late.
Hong Kong, 2008
Tying the loop around his neck, he climbed on top of the stump and looking toward the castle, whispered, "Goodbye, my love." and jumped.
Gasping, Rei sat up on the rickety bed and felt his throat, the noose had seemed so real that he half expected to find it still wrapped around his neck. Dropping his hand, he swung his legs over the side of the sagging mattress and stumbled to the small pile of boxes, he used as a dresser. Still shivering from the dream, he snatched up a small tin pitcher and splashed some water into the small tin basin that served as his bathtub and dipping a cloth in the water, wiped his face cleaning away sweat and the last vestige of the dream.
"Shit." he whispered into the never quite silent room. Outside the filthy window, he could hear cats howling, dogs barking, men and women cursing each other, and babies screaming. He stumbled back to the bed, and eased down onto the finicky thing. Get on it wrong, and it would collapse, but he couldn't afford anything better. The money he earned working odd jobs, and giving an occasional blading lesson, didn't stretch to luxuries like a decent bed.
As he lay back on the pitifully thin pillow, he thought not for the first time of swallowing his pride and returning to the village. And like before, something rose up inside him and screamed in denial; a strange sense of something better pulled at him, and he sighed in defeat unable to ignore that persistent nagging.
"I just wish the dreams would stop, so I could get some real sleep." Rei whispered, for weeks now his sleep had been plagued by dreams of two faceless boys, a dream in which he seemed to play a dual role, participant and innocent bystander. One of the boys in his dreams had long black hair, and the other had two-toned hair, and how happy they were together, until tragic struck. Then, he'd watched with helpless horror as the black haired boy committed suicide. Tonight, though had been the first time, he had heard either boy say anything. 'I wonder if the dreams mean anything.' He thought, as he tried to relax enough to go back to sleep. Finally, exhaustion set in and he sank into a dreamless sleep for the rest of the night.
Moscow, 2008
Kai sat in the stands and watched as the world champion, Demolition Boys put on a rare public exhibition. At first, they had spun against each other and fought to a tie in each of the two matches, then they had took on a secondary team from the Abbey and had utter humiliated those boys. Now, their captain, Tala had announced that he would choose someone at random from the audience and take them on.
The crowd buzzed with excitement, as the lithe captain strolled up and down in front of the stands, as if he couldn't make up his mind; who to choose.
A tall man with dark hair came off the bench where the redhead's teammates sat, and yelled, "Pick someone, Tala! We don't have all day!" The lithe boy looked at him, and nodded. Looking back, he stared up into the stands, and pointed straight at Kai. "I chose you." He called.
The crowd roared, but Kai shook his head, "I decline." Tala climbed the steps leading to where Kai was sitting and smiled dangerously. "Why?" He purred, "I promise I won't crush you - too badly." Kai glared at the smirking youth. "I don't think you could beat me, I'd hate to embarrass you.
A light kindled in the sapphire eyes staring down at him. "If you think you're that good, then come and show me, Hiwatari." Tala smiled nastily at the stunned look on Kai's face, and turning skipped down the steps to the arena floor. Once on the ground, Tala announced to the crowd, "My chosen opponent is being shy, why don't you encourage him to come down here."
Now, that they had been asked to help, the crowd was only too happy to become involved. Roars of "Come on!" "Hey, kid! Get down there! "What's the matter, scared?" Laughter shook the crowd; they all began chanting, "Scared, scared."
Kai gritted his teeth and rose to his feet. The crowd burst into applause, as he made his way down to the smirking Tala. He jogged down the steps and stormed over to the beydish. Grinning, Tala murmured, as he passed Kai, "Nice of you to join me."
Kai glared and snapped, "How did you know my name!"
Tala stepped up to his side of the dish, "Hmm, now that's my secret. You'll have to beat me to find that out."
"With pleasure." Kai snarled, and whipped out his launcher and readied Dranzer.
"Damn it, Tala! What the hell were you thinking?" Boris roared, "I told you it was important that we get him to join us and you had to wipe the damn floor up with him!"
"Don't worry, he'll still join us." Tala said confidently, as he stood, waiting for Boris to calm down. "By beating him, I've shown him that he has a lot to learn and that he needs to be somewhere he can. Now, all I have to do is follow up on what I've done."
Boris came to a halt, intrigued by the confidence in the boy's voice. "Follow up, how?"
"You'll see, but I need a pass that will allow me to be away for a couple of days, and some money."
"Tala, why do you need to be away from the Abbey?" Bryan asked, from where he sat on the bench in front of his locker. Laughing sapphire eyes swung around and rested on his lover and Tala smirked. Bryan immediately leapt to his feet and snarled, "No way, Valkov! You are not screwing that, that . . ." Bryan couldn't think of a word bad enough.
Tala flowed over to his upset lover, and wrapped himself around the worked up falcon, he nipped at Bryan's ear and purred, "Now, love, I won't unless I have to, you know that. And think how much fun we can have, when I make it up to you. What would you like, strawberries and whip cream, or maybe the peacock feather and chains? Hmm." Bryan shivered, and just before Tala claimed his mouth, murmured, "Hmm, I'll let you know."
Boris glared at the pair, and stalked off, muttering, "Wish they'd wait until they're alone, before they do that." He slammed the door, and Bryan and Tala broke apart, dazed and grinning. "Did it, to him again." Bryan said, as he sat back down.
Tala sat beside him, "Not our problem. He could always find someone. Now, where were we?" He grinned wickedly, reaching for Bryan's zipper. Bryan groaned and began to kick off his boots.
Kai sat on the bridge staring down at the water. It had been two days, since his humiliating defeat at the hands of that red haired bastard. "Why can't I forget it?" He hissed, in disgust. He heard someone walking toward him, but he ignored it.
"Probably, because you can't stop dwelling on it." Kai stiffened at that voice, and when Tala's reflection appeared in the water at his shoulder, he swiftly rose and began to walk away.
'Wait! Where are you going?" Tala leaned against the railing of the bridge and stared at Kai's retreating figure. "Don't you want to know why I forced our match?"
"No." Kai would rather die, than admit that he did. "Really?" The soft purr grated on his nerves, "Not even if I told you that you'd be able to get back at your grandfather?" Kai stopped, and turned, "What did you say?"
The next second Tala found himself pinned against the railing with Kai's hands around his throat, and blazing crimson eyes boring into his own. "I said, what did you say?" The furious vampire shook his victim, like a terrier shaking a rat.
"Air." Tala gasped. Kai released him and putting his hand to his chest, the red head gulped down some air. "Man, you need to control that temper of yours," The irrepressible boy said glaring at Kai. "Now." He straightened up against the cold marble pressing into his back. "Let's start from scratch. My name is Tala Valkov, captain of the Demolition Boys, and you are Kai Hiwatari, Voltaire's grandson, and you've got a long- standing grudge against the old demon. Not that I blame you, I can't stand the old snake myself." He paused, but Kai merely stared at him. Tala sighed.
"Right, Your grandfather finances the Abbey, a training facility for Beybladers. He plans on taking over the world, using bitbeasts. My team and I are part of that plan. If you join up with us . . ."
"Become a Demolition Boy?" Kai interrupted. Tala shook his head, "To become a Demo Boy, you'd have to defeat one of us. And to be blunt, right now, with your skills, you couldn't beat the weakest member of the reserve team."
Kai bristled, "You beat them easily enough." Tala nodded, "You're right, but they were ordered to lose. We would have won anyway, but it would have been a lot harder than it was, if they had really tried."
Intrigued despite himself, Kai leaned against the railing, "Who ordered, them? My grandfather?"
"No, Boris, our coach. We wanted to attract your attention. And showing you the weakness of your skills seemed the best way."
Kai stared at the warm blood boy, "You know, I've killed people for less. I don't appreciate being made a fool of."
"Well, "Tala smirked, "I did consider seducing you." Kai snorted, but Tala didn't miss the interested gleam that flashed in those crimson eyes. Kai pulled Tala to him and pulled his head back and pressed his cold lips to the boy's jugular. "I might be interested, but first, I'd like a sample of what I 'd be getting." Tala shivered, as the cold skin worked its way up to his mouth, as Kai kissed him, the vampire covered Tala's body with his own, and began to explore the boy. As his hand slid over Tala's trapped member, Kai pulled his mouth from Tala's and purred, "Hmm, I like the sample. So, I think I'd like to see more."
Looking around he didn't see anyone, so he pulled Tala over his shoulder and sprinted away. Tala's last coherent thought for awhile was, "Sorry, Bry."
Hong Kong, 2008
Rei dragged himself into his room and dropped to the floor, utterly exhausted, he had spent the day helping to mend nets and cracking shellfish. His hands were raw and bleeding, and his head spun from the fumes he had inhaled. And he'd barely earned enough to pay the rent and buy some breakfast and dinner for the next two days. Lacking the energy to even crawl to his bed, he simply laid his head back against the wall, and went to sleep.
How long he slept, he didn't know, but when he woke he was lying on his bed, and a white square of paper was taped to the wall. He rose and stumbled to the wall and pulled the paper from the wall; and stared at it; it was a note and it read.
"Mr. Kon,
Mr. Stanley Dickenson, Head of the BBA, would like to see you at your earliest convenience, to discuss a matter that may be of great interest to you. He is planning to start a new Beyblade team and feels that you would be a valuable addition to the team.
You will find in your dresser a wallet containing some funds to help you buy some new clothes. If you accept Mr. Dickenson's offer, an account at the bank of your choice will be opened in your name and you will receive a monthly allowance, as does all bladers, who work directly for Mr. Dickenson. If not, you will be compensated for any lost income.
When you come for your meeting, simply bring this note with you, and you will be admitted to his office, at once.
We look forward to seeing you,
Wu, Shaiming, Office of Blader's Affairs."
Carrying the note, Rei went over to his dresser and search until he found a black leather wallet that was worth more than he had made for the last month. Mouth dry, he pulled it out and opened it. Inside he found nearly six hundred Chinese dollars. "They aren't kidding that I could use this!" he said, as he stared down at his tattered shirt and pants.
Carefully, he folded the note and put it inside the wallet, then he checked the door, and placed the wallet under his pillow, before getting into bed. Before drifting off, he made plans to get his new clothes in the morning and then he'd head straight for the BBA office, before they had time to change their minds. He certainly had nothing to lose.
Smiling, at this possible sign of changing fortune, he drifted off to sleep and slept soundly undisturbed by dreams of faceless boys.