Tainted Blood
Chapter 5
by. SilverWolf-Ryuki
Note: Yey, it's my B-day today!! Thanks for all those people who reviewed - luv you all!!
From Last Chapter...
Kai, I have total faith in you boy. You are the chosen one, I now know. I will help you in any way I can. He is pure hearted, but he is chosen. He will be the one who discover what is truly behind the myth.
I know he will.
---
A certain Chinese teen opened one eye, to find a figure looming over him. The light of the morning gave the figure shadows in which made him look almost...demonic. Lee, who was still half asleep, saw the boy with his face covered in darkness. Rei's eyes did not help either; they almost glowed in the shadows. Not to mention his pointed teeth, it looked sharp and ready to sink into flesh.
The older Chinese boy's eyes widened as he gave a cry of fright and jumped up to a sitting position, causing Ray to tumble back onto his back.
"Ouch..." Rei mumbled as he rubbed his back. "What was that for?"
Lee blinked, shook his head and looked at Rei again. "Oh, it's you."
Mariah, who was gathering her stuff, laughed when she saw the comical clip. Lee glared at her younger sister. "How would you like it to wake up having someone with a black face and glowing eyes looming over you? Not to mention the fangs..." Lee grumbled. "It's not a good way to start off a day..."
"That's one of the reason I got him to wake you up." Mariah smiled with a mischievous twinkle in her eye. "He did that to me once, it scared the ghosts out of me. That one was an accident, though..."
"Oh, that's nice of you..." Lee said sarcastically as he slowly stood up.
"Yeah, wasn't it? My back is aching like crazy now..." Rei replied smartly to Lee's comment as he stood up himself, still rubbing his back.
"Sorry about that..." Lee bowed almost mockingly as he got his stuff to wash up. Just then, Kai came out of the bathroom.
"Did it work?" Kai asked as he put away his toothbrush and the other things he brought to the bathroom to wash up.
"Yeah," Mariah laughed. "It worked."
"I never expected it to...but since it did..." Kai shrugged. "Great way to wake up, huh... 'Vampire' over your bed and laughing pink haired sister nearby... Not to mention the embarrassment..." Kai said as he shortly summarized the morning for Lee.
Rei shrugged. "At least it wasn't Mariah who did it. That'd be a pink haired vampire..." Rei tapped his chin in thought. "Interesting..." Without realizing it, Mariah did the same as Rei as she also tapped her chin in thought. In unison, they burst into laughter as they imagined Dracula with pink locks cascading down his shoulders.
"I must say," Kai said as he sat down to gather his Beyblade stuff from his bag. "I kind of feel sorry for Lee."
Rei and Mariah smirked.
"I do too," Lee said, coming out of the washroom. "I should have seen that one coming..."
"But you didn't." Rei pointed out.
Kai cocked an eyebrow. "You don't do this...regularly...do you?" He asked slowly, partly dreading the results. "The tricks, I mean."
"Naw," Rei shook his head. "Once in a while, just for fun."
The blue haired teen silently sighed with relief. Another bunch of teens that act like Max and Tyson will drive him insane.
Tyson...
Kai closed his eyes as he remembered the events that he had almost forgot. He looked up at the other three. "So, when do we start our search?"
"After all four of you eat," A voice said from above. Kai looked up to see Dragonfang coming down his stairs. The old man had his long greenish hair tied up into a long braid. In his hands was a white blade, the Dragoon. The man slowly walked towards Kai. "But first..."
Dragonfang placed the blade in Kai's hands. Kai looked at him, confused. "Why are you giving me this?" He questioned as he looked at the blade. "Isn't this the prize of your whole village?"
"Yes..." The old man smiled sadly. "However, I am old, and my time will be soon. The village is already dead, so no one else would be able to accept it and pass it on. You, boy, have what it takes, for you control the Black Dranzer. Normal beings wouldn't be able to even touch it without being burnt and drained of energy. I believe...you will accomplish your mission. Dragoon will help you."
Kai closed his eyes. "Thank you."
---
The 4 teens were silent once again since they left the wreaked village and returned to the road.
"Rei, which way do we go now?" Kai asked, monotonously.
Rei pointed to his left. "East," He announced. "And it's not very far."
Mariah raised an eyebrow. "I thought you couldn't sense how far it is."
"I thought so too." Rei said to her as they headed towards East.
"Perhaps," Kai started. "...never mind."
Silence seems to be very popular between the 4 as they traveled through the forest. Kai frowned as he looked around. "Isn't this the way we came?"
Lee looked around as well, and for the first time, he realized, "Yeah."
Mariah looked at Rei. "Are you sure we aren't going the wrong way?"
"No, it's not the same. We take a left, instead of the way we came, which was going straight. There's supposed to be a two-way cross somewhere near." Rei said as he looked around. "It should be near now..."
Just as he said, the 4 came across a two-way road. Rei smirked boastfully as he went left, and the other 3 followed.
The new turn took them into a darker part of the forest. The unusual silence made the 4 uncomfortable. This part of the forest had no chirp of crickets. There were no squawks of bird and no feel of wind. No rustling of leaves, no splashing of puddles and drips of dew -nothing.
Kai looked around, his eyes narrowed. He growled as he took out his Black Dranzer and put it on his launcher. Then, he inserted his ripcord and held it cautiously. Lee glanced at the blue haired teen, puzzled.
"Why are you getting defensive? There's barely a bird around."
"You're right. There is nothing at all." Kai muttered. "That's why it feels so wrong...You three should prepare for an attack."
Lee shrugged as he paused momentarily to get his stuff, as did Mariah. Then, Rei froze; his pupils shrank into nothing more than a slit. He hissed as he lowered his head. "It disappeared..."
"What?" Mariah and Lee asked in unison.
"The 'signal'...it disappeared..." Rei repeated. "That means..."
Just then, a blade came crashing through the bushes nearby and straight at Rei, whose eyes widened, for he did not prepare. The Chinese boy closed his eyes and waited for the pain, but it didn't come. Instead, a sound indicated another blade struck against it. Rei opened his eyes to see a black blade that knocked it off course. It was Lee.
"Rei, launch before it comes again, it seems to want take you down first." Kai ordered. "It must have realized you can sense the sacred bit-beasts"
"R-Right," Rei quickly fumbled with his beyblade and launched it.
Then, the white and blue blade came back again. This time, it started to glow and a beast was released. It was a wolf-like being with blue on its back that looked like wings. It held a light blue aura and growled as it pawed the ground almost casually. Then, another movement in the bushes caused 4 heads – one pink, one blue, and two black – to turn to look. A tall teen with crimson hair stepped out. He had striking light blue eyes and a frown on.
"Wolborg, finish them off." The boy said with a cold voice. The beyblade slowly gained speed and it struck against Drigger, Galeon, and Galux, causing them to fly back into their owner's hands. Kai growled and got into launching position, for he has yet to launch his beyblade. His hands tightened around the launcher and he pulled the ripcord.
"Go, Black Dranzer!" Kai called as he started to glow dark purple himself. The black blade had a dark purple aura, just like Kai, and it started to pick up speed as it circled the white and blue blade called Wolborg. The glow increased until the shadow spread so far that it covered the 5 teens. Then, all the shadows were absorbed once again back into the Beyblade. Finally, a graceful black being flew out. It was a phoenix. It was Black Dranzer.
The phoenix screeched and circled the wolf, which was growling and ready to pounce. Black Dranzer then dove down to strike Wolborg, but the wolf dodged it with a smug growl. Then, to Wolborg's surprise, the phoenix disappeared, and the next thing it knew, pain shot up its back.
"Wolborg..." The unknown teen said in his monotonous voice. "Use Icy Blizzard."
The wolf responded, and the whole area's temperature dropped many degrees, causing Lee, Mariah, Kai and Rei to shiver at the sudden temperature change. Kai growled as ice started to form around the ground and Black Dranzer screeched as it slowly weakened of the cold.
Seeing that his opponent, Kai, was slightly weakened, the teen smirked. "Now,"
Suddenly, Wolborg picked up speed and it rammed against Black Dranzer. At the same time, Black Dranzer did the same. But Wolborg, with the upper hand, struck harder.
A black wall of smoke hid the two beyblades from the sight of the others. Tala smirked as he waited for the result of the battle, knowing it would be another victory for his bit-beast, it being sacred and all.
Clearly, he did not know the power of the Black Dranzer.
Slowly, the smoke cleared. The temperature rose again as the smoke revealed the results of the battle.
Tala's eyes widened.
Wolborg was down.
Black Dranzer stood tall.
Slowly, the light from the black blade faded and the blade jumped into the hands of Kai.
Kai, who stood in the midst of the smoke, let the smoggy air fly past him. His eyes were hidden by a thick coat of shadows, as was most of his face. Kai's two-toned locks danced with the wind as he kept his eyes on Tala.
The crimson haired blader was shocked. In his years of beyblading alongside Wolborg, he has never lost a match, until now. Who is this person? And how was he able to beat me without...breaking a sweat? The teen's crimson hair blew with the wind as he glared back at the blue haired teen. Tala's blue eyes darkened. "Who are you?" He growled. "Why were you able to beat me?"
Kai closed his eyes and reopened them and he raised his head slightly so his face was out of the shadows. "Why do you ask?"
Blue eyes narrowed angrily. "I ask because I want to know why."
Lee, Mariah and Rei watched the 2 as they continued to glare daggers at each other.
Kai smirked and pocketed his blade. He walked away from his glaring position and near the stranger. "Kai Hiwatari." He said. "I am owner of Black Dranzer, the sacred phoenix bit-beast. I was able to defeat you because...Black Dranzer is...another sacred bit-beast, like yours. It does outstrip your bit-beast in power, it's that or it could have been just luck, because the element Fire does beat Ice." Kai looked at Tala. "Your turn, who are you? I'd like to know my opponent."
"Tala," The crimson teen answered. "Ivanov, Tala."
"Well...we found one...but he's not it, is he?" Mariah sighed as she shook her head, pink hair flying around.
"No, he's the wolf." Rei announced.
"We kind of...figured that..." Lee scratched his head.
"Well...we ought to be leaving, I guess..." Kai sighed.
"Wait," Tala's sudden shout stopped the 4. "What exactly are you doing?"
An uncomfortable silence fell. Mariah, Lee, Kai and Rei glanced at each other, asking silent questions that weren't answered.
Kai sighed. "Since you are also a holder of a Sacred Bit-beast, I'll trust you will not fuss. Do you know the side effects of holding Black Dranzer's powers?"
Tala shook his head.
"Can't blame him, not many knew..." Mariah shrugged.
"Every first day of the cycle of full moons..." Kai looked down. "I transform into a...I guess you could say...beast. No one knows how I look like, because I am too fast to see properly and all pictures taken of me are blurred. I don't even know how I look, because...I can't remember anything most of the time. I choose a victim – the first person that comes to mind. I don't have to have seen them before. Then, I go out and I kill them. Most of the time, the victims are people I saw or knew, or hated."
Tala nodded slowly. "But that still doesn't explain what you are doing."
"The opposite of Black Dranzer is his brother, the Dranzer. Dranzer will cure my thirst for death and that will be one less danger for mankind, especially people I know."
"That boy there can sense the Sacred Bit-beasts, can't he?" Tala asked, pointing to Rei.
"Yeah," Kai nodded. "He is also the holder of the Tiger, which protects him and his people from being killed by me. If you were to come along, you would be protected as well, by your Wolf, the Wolborg."
"But of course, you probably aren't coming along." Kai continued, almost as if it were an afterthought. "Not many would."
"Actually, I'd like to come along." Tala said, surprising all 4. "I want to see the famous beast for myself. Plus...no one defeats me and goes out of my sight."
A sweat-drop formed on Mariah, Rei and Lee's temples. "Feisty one, I see..." Rei scratched his head.
"Before you decide to just...tag along, do you realize the danger involved in this trip?" Kai asked with an eyebrow raised.
"What are you going to do to stop me?" Tala asked back with an eyebrow raised as well.
Lee shrugged. "Not anything, really, but it's your call."
Kai looked down. That's another person I'm putting to danger. At least he has a Sacred Bit-beast to protect him.
"Where are we going to next, Rei?" Mariah asked the same question Kai was about to.
"We go straight forwards." Ray blinked. "Hmm, it seems these Sacred Bit-beasts are making it easier for us."
"It's probably just luck." Lee mumbled.
"Probably..." Mariah agreed.
Kai and Tala remained silent. They were lost in their own thoughts.
---
"Do you smell that?"
Tala suddenly said as he leaned his head back slightly, trying to smell the scent better.
"Smell what? What is it?" Rei asked, puzzled.
"It's..." Tala frowned, trying to identify the metallic scent.
"Blood," Kai finished for him. The familiar smell entered his nose. "It's fresh human blood."
Mariah and Lee cocked an eyebrow at the blue haired Kai, who ignored the looks given to him and ran towards the source of the scent. Kai entered a bushier area, as the scent grew stronger. Behind him were Tala, then Rei, Lee and Mariah. Kai suddenly stopped; he bent down and slowly parted the thick bushes of grass.
As the other 4 caught up, they looked down at the being lying in the grass. It was a teenage girl. Kai slowly leaned forwards and put a hand on the blood-covered neck of the girl. Kai frowned as the stickiness of the blood prevented him from getting a clear reading of the girl's pulse. Then, Kai put his hand over the girl's mouth and nose, and he let loose a breath he didn't know he was holding as he felt a tickle on his palm telling him that the girl was still breathing.
The blue haired teen slowly rose. "She's alive."
Mariah frowned. "Let's bring her to a source of water and wash up her cuts."
The others agreed, silently or with a gesture. Then, Lee froze. "Who's going to carry her?"
Uncomfortable silence fell between the guys. Mariah rolled her eyes. "Goodness sakes...I would, but I'm not sure I can get very far with her." Seeing the 'I don't know' looks on the guys' face, she sighed. "She's a girl, not a rabid animal that kills when it bites."
The silence did not leave.
"Thank you Lee, for bringing up the subject." The pink haired girl groaned. "Do you want to rock, paper, scissors for the responsibility? Or do you guys want to arm wrestle to see who's the strongest? Come on...seriously."
Kai looked down. Every second they waste may be a difference between life and death. Plus, he had killed many more people – nearly 80 more – than the rest. Sighing, he picked up the unconscious girl. "Where's the nearest water source?"
Tala walked ahead and motioned for the others to follow him.
"Trust him to know." Rei commented. "He must know this place like the back of his hands."
After a surprisingly short period of walking, they came across a stream. It was surrounded by thick grass. Being probably the only area in the forest that is without trees, it was as if the trees were plucked out of the ground, just in this area. The water from the stream was so clear that you could see each rock at the bottom. Kai found a patch of grass that was thicker than the rest. He sat the girl down and sat down beside her.
Mariah, on the other hand, dug through her bag. Moments later, she fished out an extra piece of cloth and gave it to Lee to dip with water. Then, she took out a bowl and a bag of dried herbs, and then she added some water with the dried plants and started to mix it in the bowl.
"Rei, do you have bandages?" Mariah called to him as she dug through her stuff. "I don't seem to have any."
Rei sat his bag down on the grass and dug through the contents of it. Then, he brought out a roll of white bandages. He threw it to Mariah, who caught it and made her way to where Kai and the girl were.
"How's she doing?" Mariah asked quietly. "Is she still alive?"
"Yeah," Kai replied.
Lee then joined the 2. He passed a damp cloth to Mariah, who started to dab at the blood on the girl.
Rei and Tala then joined the 3. Rei held a cup filled with water, where Mariah dipped her bloodied cloth.
"What happened to her?" Rei asked as he examined the girl's cuts closely. They were clean, as if someone used a knife on her. She also had bruises and gashes. The question was rhetorical, because he knew that none of the others knew what happened to the unknown girl.
Kai slowly stood up and walked over to the stream. He examined his black shirt, now stained with blood. He frowned as he remembered he left his luggage on the plane, the one that his grandfather's stupid workers flew away without his permission. He reached out his hand and let it dip in the clear, cool water. Small stains of blood on his hands dissolved it the water and floated away. He was slightly surprised when a small fish jumped out of the water and back in after a long period of stillness.
Reaching further, his hands hit a stone. He brought it up above the water and examined it. It was a dark blue color with squiggly stripes of lighter colors that one wouldn't expect on a stone. It was rubbed smooth by hitting other rocks in the water, but it had an edge on one side that was still pointed. Kai noticed a small speck of gold on its side as it reflected the light of the sun that appeared after they left Tala's area. Smiling at its uniqueness, Kai dropped it back into the water, causing a ripple.
He stayed like that for quite a while, enjoying the splash of water and the fresh air. Then, Rei came and sat beside him, in his hands, an old fashioned fishing rod. Basically, it was a stick with a string tied to it. On the string was a metal hook that Ray obviously brought from the village. The hook contained a small worm on it. Ray dropped it into the water.
"Are there any fishes in this water?" a voice said from behind both of them. Rei turned to find Lee there. He sat down beside Rei.
"Yeah," Kai nodded slowly. "There are a few small ones."
Lee sighed. "I better go with Tala to hunt, then." He jumped up and walked away and towards the crimson haired boy who was just about to leave.
Kai slowly stood up again; his knees gave a crack for sitting down for so long and standing up. Kai stretched, and he cracked his neck and back. He walked towards Mariah, who was sitting beside the girl.
"Is she ok?" Kai sat down once again, beside the girl.
Mariah sighed. "She's kind of beat, but she's OK."
The girl was in no doubt, better condition than before. Most of her blood was cleared up; most of her cuts were washed with water, rubbed with the herbal medicine and bandaged up.
"I wonder...what happened to her..." Mariah slowly said as she bandaged up another one of the girl's wounds.
"It must have been rough..." Kai mumbled as he kept his eyes on the girl. All of a sudden, he could have sworn that he saw her eyebrow twitch slightly, as if trying to open her eyes. Then, before he could identify what happened, the same look of nothingness returned on her pale face.
"Yeah," Mariah agreed softly. "I can't imagine going through that myself."
I can.
The blue haired teen closed his eyes and turned around so that his back was facing Mariah and the girl. He opened his eyes and looked up at the darkening sky and frowned. Slowly, he watched as the sky as it turned into a shade of pinkish blue.
I know how she feels...
I can imagine going through that...
I can.
TBC...
---
Ryuki: Well, that's it. Not a very cliffhanger ending, it's not even quite sad, but hey. I had to end it. Cheesy, corny, whatever. :) It's my birthday! -does a little dance-