Chapter 1
Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade. I don't own the characters. I do own plot.
Warnings: This story is a dark story so please be aware of it. Also OOC will happen as well as AU elements in some places. No pairings in this story.
)O(
It was a small village, nestled in the arms of a silent mountain and away from the advances of technology. Under the moonlight the village looked no more than a memory of a distant past, yet life breathed here, oblivious to the outside world as they slept. A sanctuary of peace where the people worked hard for an honest living and where everybody knew everybody else's name. It was a small friendly community that enjoyed the pleasures of a simple life.
It was the arrival of a shadow that haunted the place that night. It walked through the fields, unmindful of the crops growing there, and into the village. The shadow was very much out of place in the peace of this setting; it did not belong there. Yet it walked through the village with such purpose that it appeared as if it had lived there all it's life and it was to the centre of the village that it travelled. At the heart of the village stood a temple, a relic of the village's past. It was here that the shadow paused, sparing a moment to contemplate the ancient and holy structure.
Moving soundlessly the shadow entered the temple, finding its way through the dark without problem. It did not take long before it left the temple again, a cloth-wrapped item clutched to its side. The shadow left the village at a leisurely pace, turning around to look back as it passed the village boundaries. A thunderous crash was heard, followed by a quickly spreading inferno that consumed the temple and al the houses. The village was thrown into hell, leaving no survivors, just as it was meant to be.
The fate of this village was not an isolated one. Many a villages had suffered the presence of the same shadow, and had met the same fiery grave, and every time that shadow would watch impassively only to slip back into the night. No one would know the fate of this village, as very few even knew it existed, and this allowed the shadow phantom much freedom to travel and steal as it will. The destruction of these isolated villages were not its main goal however, it acted only as a stepping stone to much greater things.
)O(
The disappearance of Takao Kinomiya, otherwise known as Tyson Granger, was not really big news. Yes, perhaps he had been famed once, but people often disappeared, and his case was dealt with locally, not internationally. Thus it was that when Hiro returned to Japan, he did not know of his younger brother's fate. Grandpa had died not too long ago and had left his property and possessions to Hiro, as he was the eldest.
When there was no Tyson to greet him, nor any sign of another person besides his grandpa having lived here, Hiro got suspicious. It was by accident that he learned of his grandfather's death, not having any form of communication on him during his travels, and now this. There could be a hundred reasons for Tyson's absence; perhaps he was at a friend's house, on a holiday or trip. It was from the neighbours that he first got the feeling that something was horribly wrong, and he took time to research Tyson's last known movements.
In an old newspaper he found the article that turned his blood cold. It told of Tyson's disappearance, the investigations that followed and the eventual conclusion that Tyson was dead. The conclusion had no hard proof that he was dead, but neither could they prove that he was still amongst the living either. The article was printed two years ago, which was much like a physical blow to Hiro. He had not known, otherwise he would have certainly gone looking for his younger brother. Hiro was admittedly not very close to Tyson, but the brotherly instinct present in most, if not all, older brothers was always there. He only expressed it differently.
He sat back in the chair, thankful that the library was relatively empty. He wondered who else knew of this, if any of the other beybladers knew. Two names came to mind, Kenny and Hilary. They were supposed to live nearby and would most certainly know about Tyson's case. Tracking them down was somewhat harder, but what he found was that Kenny had been accepted into a top notch Computer Information Technology school, situated on the other side of Japan. Hilary had moved to another city with her parents, but was still close enough to have heard something at least.
Jotting down Hilary's address, Hiro left the library feeling troubled. Tyson had gained many enemies during the Beyblade Tournaments, Boris being the better known villain. Without Tyson in the picture, Boris would almost certainly be able to take control of the Beyblading world again, and if not him, then some other sly minded protagonist. Only Boris would be the obvious choice, so it would have been foolish to kidnap Tyson so soon after the tournament. Conclusions could be drawn another time, firstly he had to talk to Hilary.
)O(
It was late afternoon, the following day that Hiro came to Hilary's door. It had been three years since he saw her last, and when she opened the door, he could see that she had matured rather nicely. Exchanging greetings she let him in, asking if he would like a drink and to take a seat. They chatted politely for a few minutes until Hilary placed a cup of hot coffee in front of Hiro, on the table, warming her hands on her own mug.
They sat silently for a few minutes, Hilary seeming to have caught on earlier what the subject was about. Hiro would certainly not have come to see her for any other reason but for Tyson, and that was a sobering thought.
"When did you find out?" She asked softly, her eyes lowered to the table. There was a short pause as Hiro placed the mug on the table, turning his attention fully to the subject at hand.
"I have had suspicions since I returned to Japan only a week ago, but I only found out yesterday." He answered simply, his eyes watching her face intently.
Hilary nodded slightly, more to herself than to signify that she had heard. She let out a soft sigh and put down her mug. She put her hands in her lap, where her hands started to play with the hem of the blue jacket she wore. It was a nervous gesture, one that indicated the feelings of agitation. Hilary's face had also lost the cheer that had been there previous.
"Well round about two months after BEGA, Kenny started attending that new school and so moved away. All the other beybladers had returned home off course, so you can imagine how depressed Tyson got. Well about a month later my parents said we were moving, I had no choice off course but to go with them as well, but at least it wasn't too far. Tyson and I could keep contact and visit each other regularly. Still it didn't really improve Tyson's mood any. Tyson might not act like it but I guess he was uncomfortable wit the fact that I was the last of the Beybladers to go, though technically I wasn't a beyblader myself."
Hilary paused to take a sip of her cooling coffee. Truth be told, she kind of missed the rest of the team as well, and now with Tyson missing, it seemed all the more lonesome.
"It took us about a week to settle in here, so I couldn't really keep in contact with him until our phone lines were set up and all that. I phoned the Kinomiya residence as soon as I could and heard from your Grandfather that Tyson had gone missing that week. I turned the T.V on and sure enough, his disappearance was mentioned. Naturally I wanted to tell you guys, but well, I didn't have any of their details and so could not contact them. I did manage to tell Kenny, and perhaps he got word out to the old team, but I'm not sure. Kenny and I kind of fell out of touch soon after Tyson's disappearance."
Hiro sat looking at her with a frown, although she was sure that it wasn't directed at her. The coffee in her cup had long since cooled down, and she imagined that his did as well.
"Do you know anything about the investigation? What they found? Who they interviewed?"
Hilary thought back to two years ago. She had followed the investigation sure enough, not that there was much to it.
"Nobody had seen anything, no trail was left to follow. No ransom notes, no bodies, no strange telephone cards. Nothing. Either Tyson was kidnapped, or he ran away, there just wasn't much to go on. They interviewed and investigated Boris off course, but he came off clean. After about a year Tyson was declared dead, the case closed and unsolved."
That was apparently not what Hiro had wanted to hear, but Hilary could give him nothing else. They sat silently for a little while longer when Hilary took the cups to the kitchen. She cleaned up what little mess she made, lost in her own thoughts.
"What do you think happened to him?"
The question was one she had asked herself more than once, but she had long ago found her answer.
"I think he was kidnapped." She admitted.
"I know that Tyson could be irresponsible, but I don't think he would just leave like that and not tell anyone. Maybe for a little while yes, but it has been over two years since then, he should have let someone know, unless he couldn't."
"Do you think he's dead?"
She bit her lip at the question. Did she think he was dead?
"I…I don't know." She sighed heavily and turned to Hiro. She was struck by how similar Tyson and Hiro looked and how different they were in personality. She blinked back a tear. She had harboured a crush for the loud-mouthed boy for a long time, and when he disappeared, well, she was heart-broken to say the least.
She had moved on however and had a wonderful boyfriend, but secretly she still mourned for Tyson.
"I'm sorry, Hiro. There's nothing else I can tell you."
Hiro nodded.
"Thank you." He said politely and headed for the door.
Hilary followed and watched him from the doorway as he got into his car and drove off. Only then did she allow a small tear to escape. However, the past was the past and she had happiness now. She had learned to let go and though Hiro's visit was a bit of an emotional setback, she would get past it. She shut the door and returned to the kitchen where she prepared hot chocolate for herself. Perhaps there was an interesting show on T.V that would take her mind of Tyson.
)O(
Hiro's thoughts were far from settled. Hilary hadn't really given him any new information, so he wasn't any closer to finding Tyson. Perhaps he should let it rest, accept that Tyson is dead and move on, but nobody was really sure and he could not live with that uncertainty. Perhaps a visit with Kenny was in order, but what would the computer genius really be able to tell him? For all he knew, he could have been too late in any case, the likelihood of Tyson being dead by now was just too high.
So it was that Hiro continued his search for a couple of months before he had to admit to himself that he was chasing a dead man. He spent another couple of months tracking down the other BladeBreakers, as some were particularly hard to find, namely Kai. Perhaps they had been in contact with Tyson before or after his disappearance. It was unlikely that they would be of help, but then again, you never know.
)O(
A/N: Read and review.