Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade.
Title: Waiting in the Wings
Chapter Title: Waiting for Answers
Rating: T
Categories: Romance/Drama
Summary: Mariam and Kai both want to be independent, not relying on someone else. Not relying on 'love'. When they meet, their opinions only grow stronger. But could there be love waiting in the fiery wings of Dranzer?
Feedback: Reviews! YUM! Flames? Why would you bother?
Status: Slow updates due to my lack of interest for Beyblade (I'm obsessed with InuYasha and Fullmetal Alchemist now )
Notes: Right ((deep breath)), I admit it. The last chapter was crap. Looking back now, I hate it. But if I go back, I'll probably just mess it up again. Let's just forget the tragedy that was last chapter, okay? ((sweatdrop)) Apart from the important bits—like Gou and the fact that they didn't kiss (not yet, anyway).

WAITING IN THE WINGS

Kai/Mariam
Mariam and Kai both want to be independent, not relying on someone else. Not relying on 'love'. When they meet, their opinions only grown stronger. But could there be love waiting in the fiery wings of Dranzer?

Flowerperson
© 2005

Part IX
Waiting for Answers

The ebony receiver fell from Mariam's hands and dangled on its grey, plastic cord that was spiralled. Kai picked up the phone, told Gou he would phone later (and explain) before putting it back in its appropriate slot, effectively hanging up. His change dropped to the flap, but he made no move to collect the money. After all, he did possess a fortune and did not intend on wasting it lavishly.

Instead he walked away, leaving Mariam to her shock.

So shocked that even mentally, she was speechless.

After asking the doctor if there had been any changes since she was absent, Mariam sat by Joseph's beside, his hand clasped between both of hers. His skin was cold; she hoped that her own body heat would warm him up.

"Joseph," she sighed as she hung her head in shame. "Please... I want—" she inhaled sharply, "I need you to wake up. Can't you hear me?" Mariam squeezed his hand, hoping to receive a response— an answer— but there was nothing.

"Apparently, when you are in a coma, you hear all that is going on around you." She turned sharply towards the door, where Kai was leaning against its frame. A smug expression was firmly planted on his face (the Russian was probably still relishing his victory— proving her wrong).

Mariam ignored him and looked back to her brother, still unconscious. Understanding the hint but not taking it, Kai remained in the room and continued to stare at the two siblings.

"Go away, Kai," Mariam finally voiced. He said nothing, and that irked her even more than trying to start an argument. What did he want? Why did he insist on stalking her? Why couldn't he just go back to being the Kai she knew— the one that wanted nothing to do with other's businesses? The one that didn't care.

Perhaps that was why he remained here. Kai wanted an apology.

"Fine," she hissed, not bothering to look at him, "I was wrong; you do care about someone. I'm... sorry." That was strange— the only person Mariam had ever apologised to without being sarcastic was Joseph and here she was... saying 'sorry' to Kai without a mocking tone. "Now," Mariam stood up (still clutching Joseph's hand with one of her own), "Will you pleasego away?"

Kai scowled, crossing his arms (as if gesturing that he was 'staying put'), "I didn't come here for an apology."

"Oh, whatever!" she waved her free hand dismissively, "I haven't got time to put up with your mind games. Why else would you come here? To gloat? To see me in pain? To see Joseph as a weak shell?" She scoffed, returning to her sitting position in the chair with her back to him.

She didn't want him to see her emerald eyes water.

"It's good that you're staying with him," Kai continued to talk, even though he knew that she probably wouldn't listen. He decided to test her; find out if she really was paying attention to him. "After all, he did almost kill you."

He witnessed her hand clutch onto Joseph's tightly. If he were conscious, he would probably protest.

"Have you even paid attention to your wounds? Ah yes, the doctor forced you to sit still whilst he re-stitched your cuts, didn't he? Have you even acknowledged them?" Silence. "Probably not. You're too focused on the one that did it to you."

Her other hand fisted by her side and she began to tremble ever so slightly. It was still not the reaction Kai desired. No, she was still trying to ignore him— the fool. She couldn't turn a blind eye to the truth any more.

"I wonder what made him turn to the drugs." Mariam tensed. The doctor had said that this reaction had almost definitely been because of some drug abuse. They were still identifying which substance had been used. "Sure, he was probably going through the teenage 'nobody-understands-me' phase. But I wonder why he decided to keep doing it, knowing that there was a possibility it could come to this. He obviously knew how much pain you would go through— why else would he keep it a secret? He knew that he was going to hurt you. He knew that there he might just kill y—"

"What do you want, Kai!" she had pushed the chair away from her and was now standing right in front of him, glaring into his mahogany eyes with her forest green ones. "Why do you keep on insulting me? How is it that you always manage to make me feel worse when I think that I've sunk to the lowest of the low?"

"Ma—"

"No!" she pushed his shoulders angrily, forcing him out into the corridor. People came out of neighbouring rooms to gawk but frankly— she wasn't even bothered. "I'm fed up of hearing you talk! I'm fed up of you!" she poked at his chest, "Just leave me Joseph and I alone! We don't need you! I don't need YOU!"

Acting on an instinct, Mariam's hand moved to slap him. Before it reached its desired location, however, Kai's own fingers had already wrapped around the wrist. He pulled her closer and held her other arm just above the elbow— effectively stopping her from attacking again.

"You really are that dumb, aren't you, Mariam?" Kai questioned, his brown eyes alight with the fire burning at him— the rage mirroring Mariam's. "You're such a... simpleton!" (For lack of a better word without cursing. He too had noticed the crowd slowly gathering.) "I'm trying to help you! I'm trying to make you see that you should stop blaming yourself!" He pointed towards the room where Joseph was still out cold, "Joseph's in there because he took a wrong path."

"I—"

"You should have been the one to show him the way, right?" Kai interjected then scoffed as he looked to the ceiling. "You're not always going to be behind him to show him the way. You're not always going to be urging him on." He looked back to her and saw that her eyes were already brimming with tears. "The whole point of being a teenager is to make your own mistakes! You can't keep on coddling him! What do you think that will accomplish? What will happen when you're not here to protect him?"

Mariam's eyes closed tightly she willed herself not to look at him. She wouldn't. She couldn't. Because deep down— deep, deep down— she knew that he was right. After all, Kai was always right.

And Mariam was always wrong.

When Kai noticed her eyes shut, his grip tightened. He seriously debated on shaking her— seeing if some sense would enter her brain. The Russian really did hate it when others were overcome with angst.

As her tears finally leaked out and slipped down her cheeks, Kai pushed away in disgust and dug his hands in his pant pockets. "I thought you were better than that, Mariam." He turned and glared at the people standing in his way. They hastily moved out of the way. I thought you were...

Different.

Kai's eyes travelled across the landscape in front of him. The top of the old BBA building (it was now owned by a sporting company that specialised in soccer) was a great place to come and think. He had done so since he was teenager and it seemed that the trend wasn't going to end anytime soon.

Strange— he spent a lot of his time thinking now. Nevertheless, he let his mind wander and evaluate the day so far.

The green hills in the park were nothing compared to her eyes.

He didn't know why it bothered him so much. He didn't understand why lately, his thoughts had been focused on her. These thoughts were slowly becoming familiar— an obsession. Kai had had an obsession before but he knew the precise reasons. He simply wanted to beat Tyson and until then, his thirst for victory would never be satiated.

And yet, when it came to Mariam... he wasn't quite sure what it was about her (or what she had done) to make him ponder on her so much. Also, he had never compared Tyson's appearance with a breath-taking landscape.

He had never cared when Tyson was in pain but instead (being the slight malevolent youth that he was) had revelled in his rival's angst. And now, when he saw Mariam suffering, it made him... Sad? Angry? Disgusted?

Was he upset that Mariam was emotionally hurting? Did he feel sorry for her?

Kai grunted and turned upwards towards the sky. This beyblade did not feel pity— especially for a former rival (although he had never faced her before a few weeks ago). The sun was setting now, turning the sky into a blend of oranges and reds. It reminded him of the Saint-Shield's uniform...

"Bah!" he scoffed as he looked away, glaring at the concrete floor beneath him. What could possibly be wrong with the stoic Russian? Maybe he had caught a disease— some sort of infection from Tyson and his unhygienic lifestyle. The blue-haired male probably did live in a sty; he sure acted like he did (although Hilary would hardly allow such mess).

"I don't need YOU!"

He wasn't even sure why those words had stung so terribly. Since when had words ever affected him in such a way? True, the nightmares and visions Brooklyn produced still had after-shocks on his lifestyle but the pain had been purely psychological (and slightly physical).

Mariam's words seemed to stab at his heart.

Kai's hand settled over his chest (slightly to the left), feeling for a heartbeat. Many thought of him as a cold man that did not possess the organ. By the beats he felt against his fingers, he had proved them wrong.

Just as he had done to Mariam. She claimed that he didn't care for anyone and he had corrected her. He cared for Gou— his son. Despite this, the kid probably was the only 'person' (he supposed Dranzer did not count) that Kai felt for. Gou's mother? The Russian refused to think of her.

A misconception of feelings. Wrong place, wrong time. A mistake. But Gou had been so perfect when he was born; it was blasphemous to think of him in such a way. And still, this nagging feeling poked at him, trying to get his attention. These strange sentiments he felt for Mariam— did he care for her?

With a sharp turn, Kai walked back into the main building. "Hn," he muttered, "As if."

Mariam stood there, completely dumbfound. Gradually, the crowd disappated, revealing Joseph's doctor. He adjusted his thick glasses, sighed and walked over to his patient's sister. Glancing at his clipboard one more time, he finally spoke. "Ms. Shield, we've discovered the cause of your brother's collapse."

Her eyes— previously unfocused— sharpened as she looked to the doctor. "And?"

He scratched his forehead nervously. "It was just as we expected... Mr Joseph Shield took a worrying amount of a drug commonly known as ecstasy, a very dangerous drug that has taken the lives of many people: teenagers and adults. I'm very sorry to say this, Ms. Shield. Your brother..."

"Yes?" the blue haired woman's breathing stopped, awaiting the answer.

"He's brain-damaged." (1)

Authoress' Notes

(1) — Yep, brain-damage is one of the affects of taking ecstasy. I researched a whole load of symptoms but whilst writing Part VI, I lost it all. Up until then, all the behaviour could be linked to drug abuse. I was going to do some really fancy after-effect but since I lost the research (and cannot find the website I used), I was stuck with 'brain-damage' (the only one I could remember).

I don't think this was my best chapter (I dislike the ending although I had a lot of fun writing the scenes before it) but other than that, I guess it's OK.

Then again, OK is never enough, huh? Oh well...

Flowerperson