Wow, it seems you guys really wanted an epilogue, huh? You'll get to read it soon, but first…
Thank you so much for reading this story, and sticking around for all this time! And especially thanks for those breathtaking reviews – I seriously can't believe you like something I've written so much! (hugs you all tightly) And what makes me particularly proud is that someone who hasn't liked yaoi before actually enjoys my lil' story!
You have no idea of how precious you guys are. Because of you, having to retire seriously stinks. (sniffs)
Okay, before I'll go seriously mushy, let's get on! Here's the epilogue! Hope you'll enjoy!
Epilogue
Twelve years later.
The summery weather was almost painfully hot as amber eyes watched a five-years-old girl playing happily in a sea, her cat-like eyes shining with excitement. Her long hair – that held a strangest shade-mixture of dark blue and black – had gotten unruly as gentle wind caressed them.
Ray felt deeply reluctant to interrupt his daughter's play, but unfortunately there wasn't any more time for playing in a beach. " Jia, honey, we have to go!"
The girl's eyes filled with disappointment, a small pout came to her features. " Oh, dadda, do we really have to?"
Ray had hard time suppressing a laughter. " Yes, sweetie." Seeing the mournful look upon her face, he felt his heart melt. " Alright, alright, just one more minute. But no more, or we'll be late from the battle."
Giving an elated squeal, Jia carried on playing in the water under her father's watchful eyes. Just then someone wrapped a pair of arms around him. He gave a content purr when the arrival gently kissed his neck, then gave it a small bite, knowing full well that it drove him crazy. " You're spoiling her, you know?" a gentle voice murmured to him.
He snickered. " Yeah, I suppose I am. But it's hard to say 'no' to a cutie like her."
There was a small, deep laughter. " Seems like you have a lot in common, then."
He also laughed, a small blush sneaking up to his cheeks. " Kai!"
They both looked on as the girl started rushing towards them. " You know… We gave her a really suitable name", Kai stated softly.
" Yeah", Ray agreed. " 'Jia'. 'Beautiful'" (1)
Just then Jia had walked up to them. Kai gave his daughter's forehead a gentle kiss. " Hi honey. Did you have good day with dad?"
Jia nodded, smiling brightly. " Yeah, papa."
Kai also smiled as he gently picked Jia into his strong arms and lifted her to sit on his shoulders, causing her to squeal with delight. " That's good." A wide grin remained on his lips as he gently slipped his one hand into Ray's and felt a small squeeze. " Now… Let's go and see how your sister and brother will do."
In a deserted locker-room of local beyblade-stadium, a twelve-years-old girl with long, fire-red hair sat alone in a corner, eyes closed.
This was her own little tradition. Before every single bey-battle, she always sneaked away from her team-mates to have a moment to think alone. And this battle… was the biggest one she'd ever fought in.
" Tara?"
Her rich auburn eyes quickly snapped open to the familiar male-voice. As she turned her gaze, she met a pair of breathtaking, ice-blue eyes. " Hey Kian."
Not saying a word, her twin-brother took a seat beside her. Neither knew for how long they'd been sitting in silence before Kian finally spoke. " You're thinking about dad again, aren't you?"
Feeling a wave of pain flood through her, Tara gave a small nod, not willing to meet her brother's gaze. Her eyes seemed to be on fire. " It isn't fair! We… we never got the chance to meet him, to know him!" Suddenly, tears weren't far and she had to blink. " Why… Why did we have to lose him?" It was the same, formally unvoiced question that burned her mind before every single battle.
Giving a deep sigh, Kian ran a hand through his hair that was midnight-blue from top and silvery from bottom. Deep sadness could be seen in his ice-blue eyes. " I… I don't know", he confessed.
He could've sworn he heard a sniff. When he looked at his sister, her face was shadowed by her red locks. " Do you think he'd be proud of us?"
A small smile came to Kian's lips. " Yeah", he replied in a soft voice. " I'm sure of that."
Even though she would've never admitted it out loud, a huge weight shifted from Tara's chest. That question had been something that'd bothered her for as long as she'd been a blader. In fact, a part of the reason to why she always secluded herself before battles was that she wanted to think about her father. Sometimes, she could actually almost feel his presence, sense his spirit. Perhaps those brief, yet valuable moments were the reason why she always fought with such fire and enthusiasm.
" Tara." Kian's voice ripped her out of her thoughts. " This morning, papa gave me – us both, actually – something as a birthday-present. He would've wanted to give this to you in person, but you'd already headed for stadium." He searched through his pockets for a while, then handed the thing over to her and closed her fingers around it. " Perhaps it'll bring you luck."
Frowning, Tara opened her fist – and gasped. The thing was a breathtakingly beautiful, silvery pendant, a picture of mighty phoenix engraved on it. " Oh my gosh…"
" Open it", Kian told her.
She did as ordered, and tears immediately gathered into her eyes. Inside, there were two pictures. One of their family now; their papa, Ray, Jia and they. But the other represented their father, with that same familiar smirk upon his lips they also possessed.
It took for a long moment before she could speak. " I… I've got his hair", she murmured dazedly. Of course she'd seen tons of pictures of him before, but it wasn't until now that fact truly hit her. She looked into her brother's icy orbs. " And… you've got his eyes."
Smiling sadly, he nodded. " Yeah." Kian fished out his own pendant, which was decorated with a picture of a wolf. " I've got those same pictures."
For a longest time they sat in silence, both in their minds grieving the loss of something they'd never even had, something they wished they'd had a chance to know.
They woke up from their thoughts when a monotonous voice came from the speakers, announcing that their battle was about to begin. Smirk upon her face, Tara looked at her brother. " You may be my brother, but don't expect me to go easy on you."
Also smirking, Kian shook his head. " Never." So saying, he slowly got up, deciding to head towards his own locker-room. " Good luck, sis. May the best twin win."
Tara rolled her eyes. " Like there'd be any question of which one the that is."
Meanwhile, Kai, Ray and Jia were already at the stadium. Both smiled when seeing a punch of familiar people waiting for them. " The battle hasn't started yet, has it?" Kai asked.
Smile upon his face, Max looked at them and shook his head. " You made it just in time."
As the couple looked at the group of friends before them, they could only wonder what all years had pushed them through.
During the process of having their second child, Tyson and Hilary had been forced to do a lot of growing up and make difficult choices. Frustrated when there wasn't a single trace of the desperately wanted child after full year's trying, both of them had faced serious temptations. First, Hilary had grown close with Hiro as the man had came to town, sick with leukemia. With Tyson always away because of work, she'd spent even more time with Hiro, and her affection for him had became even stronger, until they'd shared a small, juicily forbidden kiss that'd almost driven them both crazy with quilt. What she didn't know was that elsewhere, Tyson had met a feisty fan-girl named Charlie, who'd momentarily enchanted him with her amazing… blading-curves. But surprisingly, it'd been Hiro who showed the couple who their hearts really belonged to. Two weeks before he died, he – sick and tired of seeing two people he cared about constantly at each other's throats – with Kai and Ray's aid locked Tyson and Hilary into a small room, announcing that they wouldn't get out before they'd talk things through. Nine months after that day, Joshua Granger saw daylight. The boy was now six.
Kenny and Emily hadn't had it too easy either. Getting annoyed with Emily working around the clock and having to be basically a single-parent, Kenny had befriended with a woman named Jeine he'd met on a playground. As Hannah and Jeine's daughter had also grown fond of each other, they had spent countless of hours talking. Kenny – being a oblivious, naïve scientist – hadn't seen the hungry looks she'd given him until it'd been too late. Emily had, naturally, walked right in at the exact moment Jeine had tried to kiss him. Making her own conclusions, she had packed her bags and headed for America, as Judy had offered her a job – and her ex-fiancé Michael (2) had revealed that he still had feelings for her. It had taken Kenny two weeks, but eventually he had realized that Emily really wasn't coming back, not unless he'd do something. Therefore – despite the huge fear of flying he'd developed due to some unfortunate events during their honeymoon – he'd flown all the way to America to fight over his wife. As a result, he'd gotten punched by Michael, and almost killed by Emily, but in the end she'd returned to Japan. But they'd known that things couldn't go back to what they'd been after all that'd happened: they both had to think about a lot things through before they'd be able to live under the same roof again. Currently, they were back on the 'dating-state' of their relationship, and considered moving together sometime soon. What Kenny didn't know was that Emily had a little secret; she was late – two months late. And two days back, a test of Kai's had confirmed that Hannah was indeed going to have a sibling. At the moment, Hilary had no idea of what to do about the situation.
Max and Oliver had also went through a big spin. As soon as media had gotten a hunch on their relationship, they'd started a merciless hunt. After all, what could've been juicier than an affair between two of the world's toughest businessmen? Therefore – and especially after Max had punched a cameraman who'd insulted Oliver – they'd fled and spent several years traveling around the world. But they hadn't exactly visited the traditional tourist-attractions: they'd gone to pretty much every monastery and temple they could find, trying to find some reason and peace into their lives that'd been turned upside down. In their search for peace and quiet, they'd even went as far as changing their looks to fool the press: Oliver now had slightly unruly, short, black hair (which Max considered extremely hot), and Max had an extremely long, silvery ponytail that fell a long way down his back (which Oliver considered very cute). As soon as the couple had finally been able to stop running and settled to Japan, Max had started to work in the orphanage Bryan, Spencer and Ian still held. And in there, he'd met a beautiful, one-month-old girl who'd completely captured his heart. For three months now, baby-Katja had been their legally adopted daughter.
But in fact, the biggest changes had happened to Kai and Ray themselves. First of all, Kai had eventually, really slowly, learned to return Ray's feelings with all the intensity the neko-jin deserved – although the process of getting to that point had almost driven them both crazy. And the twins hadn't made the rocky start of their relationship any easier; it had been hard for Kian and especially Tara to understand that this person – who wasn't even their father – was a part of their lives, especially when they knew everything about Tala. But gradually, they had finally learned to treat Ray as their 'third dad'. Now six years ago Kai and Ray had finally gotten married, and shortly after they had heard the news they'd thought wouldn't be possible: Kai was pregnant. The pregnancy definitely hadn't gone smoothly – it'd been even more dangerous to Kai than the first pregnancy – and afterwards they'd learned that Kai would never be able to have kids again. But they had Jia – plus the twins – and neither could've dreamed of more.
Unfortunately, it seemed that their kids had inherited their fondness of drama.
Despite the fact that Theo (who'd grown up to look scarily lot like Tyson) and Hannah (who had inherited Emily's orange hair and Kenny's rich mahogany eyes) were most of the time at each others' throats, the duo and the twins formed a tight, close square. And despite the fact that they were still rather young, it didn't take a genius to notice the sparks that flew between both Kian and Hannah, plus Tara and Theo. What made the situation even more explosive was that it also seemed that despite all the venom, insults and declarations of eternal hatred, something deeper was awakening between Theo and Hannah as well – they were almost terrifyingly lot like Tyson and Hilary, who'd also started off as fighting-partners. Their terrified parents could only wonder what would become of the tangle as the kids would inevitably grow up.
It was also easy to see who Joshua had gotten his brown hair and incredible stormy eyes from. For a long time now Kai had seen that the boy was very good friends with Jia, and noticed that they were exactly like he and Ray back in past. As a worried, overprotective papa, he was deeply troubled by the thought.
" Sorry, sorry, sorry, I got stuck into a mob!" Tyson's voice ripped Kai and Ray out of their thoughts. Turning their heads, they saw the flushed bluenette rushing towards them, panting heavily. " Am I… late?"
Hilary shook her head with a smile, and kissed Tyson when the man had walked up to them. " Right on time, aijou."
" Shouldn't we get going before we'll be really late?" Theo asked, sounding almost reluctant.
Hannah smirked. " It's still killing you that you're not the one fighting there, isn't it?" Her eyes gleamed with mischief. " That you lost against a girl."
Theo's brown eyes flashed. Hannah had definitely hit the nerve. " Well I didn't see you defeat Kian, either."
She gave a small growl. " It was almost a tie, smart-ass!"
Kenny gave a deep sigh, Tyson rolled his eyes. " Here we go again…", the bluenette huffed.
Seeming more than slightly annoyed, Hilary gave her older son – who'd opened his mouth to retort Hannah – a warning glare. " It would be a smart idea not to speak that thought out loud." She sighed, shaking her head. " And to think he's already fifteen…"
Emily's eyes were also as hard as steel when she looked at Hannah. " And you, young lady… Another insult, and you won't see your blade for the rest of the week. Understood?"
A flash could be seen in Hannah's eyes. " Yes, mama."
Kai felt the corners of his lips twitch with a smile. " Perhaps we should go", he stated, wrapping his other arm around Ray who was holding Jia, and took a look at his watch. " The match should start in five minutes." Truth to be told, he had hard time disguising his anxiousness and excitement.
As the others rushed ahead, Kai and Ray purposely lingered behind. Smile on his face, Kai looked at Jia – who'd despite all the noise caused by the crowd fallen asleep – then turned his head and kissed Ray's soft hair, burying his face into them.
A wide, utterly happy smile spread onto Ray's face.
Even though they'd been married for such a long time, Ray still sometimes felt insecure of Kai's feelings – probably because the beginning of their more romantic relationship had been such a long road. But these small, private moments of affection… simply blew away all hesitation.
Purring contently, he snuggled closer to Kai, closing his eyes. His smile widened when Kai's protective arm wrapped even more tightly around him.
At that moment, Ray could be sure that Tala's ghost wasn't there shadowing him – that to Kai, he was all that existed.
" This is the moment we've all been waiting for!" DJ Jazzman announced from his platform, eyes shining with almost childlike excitement. " Today, we will finally find out which one of the amazing twins wins World Championships – Tara from Fire Feathers, or Kian from Silver Hounds!"
" Oh my gosh, this is almost as exciting as the match of Theo's!" Hilary gasped, slightly widened brown eyes filled with enthusiasm.
" When am I going to get to blade?" Joshua whined, crossing his arms over his chest.
Tyson smiled. " When you're a little bit older, kiddo", he promised.
Hilary's eyes flashed. " A lot older", she clarified in a stiff voice. " Thirty, for example."
Smirking teasingly, Theo patted his brother's hair. " You'll have to do some growing up, squirt. Blading is big boys' game."
Joshua's eyes flashed with fury. " I'm already six, poop-head!"
Kai paid no attention to the conversation. All he could see were the two bladers – his children – approaching the bey-dish, with such looks of determination that it made his heart jolt.
He could recognize those looks. He'd had the same back when he'd been blading. He'd felt that same, searing passion.
From opposite sides of the dish, the two twins looked at each other with stern eyes. " I won't show any mercy", Tara announced, preparing her blue blade.
Preparing his own blade, Kian gave his sister a resolute look, eyes flashing unwavering determination. " Neither will I."
" Bladers ready? Three… Two… One… LET IT RIIIIIP!"
With that the blades were on their way, causing breathtaking showers of sparks as they immediately hunted contact. Audience gasped as the blades crushed together time after time, each more than once almost pushed off the dish by the brutal contact.
No one knew for how long the battle had continued when the bladers decided to summon their beasts. " Dranzer!" Tara screamed, auburn eyes burning furiously.
" Wolborg!" Kian called out, the look of his blue eyes stern and unwavering.
In the audience, Kai looked at his children and gave a small gasp, tears almost spilling as he was struck by memories he'd thought were far away in past.
The icy burning in Kian's eyes…
The way Tara's red hair moved in the wind the battle caused…
The all too familiar bit-beast of Kian's…
Tala…" Kai?" Ray's eyes were filled with worry. " You okay?"
At first, Kai thought about shaking his head, but then realized that it would've been a lie. Because first time since Tala's death… his soul wasn't filled with unbearable pain as he remembered his first love. Of course it still hurt – a part of him would always ache by the very thought of Tala's name – but … He didn't feel overpowering sorrow, rage, not even guilt anymore. Instead he felt this bittersweet happiness, almost gratitude.
A small, barely noticeable smile was on his lips as he looked at Ray and nodded. He squeezed the neko-jin's hand gently. " Yeah, I am." And finally, he meant it.
Below them, the battle raged on.
" Dranzer, fry him!" Tara hollered, eyes burning just like Kai's. " Let's get this match over with!"
Kian's eyes flashed as he looked at his sister. " Oh, not so fast, sis. This isn't over yet." He then looked at his bit-beast, entire essence radiating searing ice. " Wolborg, show her how a battle is finished! Put her into ice!"
The encounter that followed made the entire stadium shutter, and the audience screamed in horror, fearing that the whole place might go down. Fire and ice gave deafening, outraged screams of protests as they tangled together, forming a blinding light that filled the entire stadium.
At that moment, watching the twins, all Kai could do was smile. Even though he'd won many, many battles, gained more trophies than he could count, none of them had felt better than this.
No matter which one of the teenagers – his children – would win, a new chapter of beyblading-history would be written that day. And no other thought could've made him more proud.
It seemed to take for ages before the bladers could actually see again. What they found made them – along with the whole stadium – gasp. Both blades were still spinning, right on the opposite etches of the bey-dish, wobbling dangerously.
Soon, another one of them would fall.
As the twins looked at each other, both had grins upon their faces. " Kian… Thanks for a great match", Tara half-whispered. " It would seem you were a worthy opponent after all."
Kian's grin widened. " So were you, Tara. Thanks."
With those words voiced, another one of the blades stopped spinning and fell, making a clinking sound as it hit the floor.
For a long moment, heavy silence filled the stadium, as no one believed that such a match could actually have an ending. " We have a winner!" DJ Jazzman finally announced, sounding out of breath due to the intense battle.
Much, much later that day, after the celebration-part was over, Kai followed a willowy, curvy path, holding a single, fire-red rose in his slightly trembling hand.
He didn't know for how long his legs had been carrying him down the road he knew all too well, when he suddenly instinctively stopped, stood in front of a far too familiar tombstone. Shivers of grief ran down his spine.
Tala Anton Ivanov" I hope you saw our twins today, love", he whispered, a couple of tears escaping as old, painful scars were torn open. " They were amazing. I… I wish you could be here as well to tell them how proud you are, but…" He trailed off for a while. More tears were about to escape, but remained locked behind his eyelids. " Tala… I… I came to say thank you." A small, sad smile came to his lips. " You gave me the most precious things in the world, milyj. Even though you're gone, a part of you will always live on in Kian and Tara. When looking at them, I will always remember the one who taught me that there are feelings I don't have to fight against." Even though the smile remained, a single tear strayed to Kai's pale cheek. He didn't wipe it away; Tala deserved it, and a lot more. " Back when you… left… I… I was so lost. But… You were strong enough to guide me, to let me go, all those years ago, and now… I have to do the same thing. I… I can't hold you back any longer, it's not fair – for neither you or Ray. It doesn't mean that I would forget you, though – how could I ever? I will never stop missing you." He sighed. " But you should know… I really do love Ray as well, with all my heart, even though he could never replace you. So… I have to do this for you both." The smile on his lips quivered as the rose escaped from his grasp, gently floating to the dirt before the stone. " Goodbye, sweetheart. And thank you for showing me the way."
For a small while Kai stood there, almost like frozen, until he felt a hand land onto his shoulder. Turning his head, he smiled again when meeting Ray's gentle eyes. " Ready to go?"
He nodded and wrapped his other arm around Ray, pulling the neko-jin close. " Yeah. Let's go home."
And as they walked up to their car without saying a word, he didn't even once turn his head to look back on past.
From high up above, someone watched them with a smile upon his face.
Owari.
A/N: (Sits down, struck stunned.) I… I just can't believe this is really over… Wow…
Once again, thank you from the deepest bottom of my heart for reading this silly little story and all those amazing reviews! (HUGE hugs again) You should know, this story was only finished because of you guys.
(sigh) I'm terrible with saying byes, so without anything further… Adios, guys, and be nice! I may not be an author anymore, but I'll still be watching over you! (And please do keep reviewing!)
Sayonara! Arigatou!(Btw, sorry I didn't write in which twin won. I just thought you could imagine that it was your favorite who claimed the title.) (grins)
(Btw 2… Real Garland-look-alike I made of Max, heh.)
(1) Jia actually does mean 'beautiful' in Chinese.
(2) In case you're wondering… Yes, the Michael.