Beyblade Fan Fiction ❯ The Chosen ❯ Chapter Ten: Descending into Madness ( Chapter 11 )

The Chosen

Chapter Ten: Descending into Madness

Author: Kameko-chan

Warnings: Yaoi

Pairings: Kai/Ray, Tala/OC, hints of Max/Tyson

Notes: This fic's getting so DARK!! Where did this come from? Anyways, this chapter's pretty much devoid of humor (at least, it's SUPPOSED to be devoid of humor) and is kinda dark... and the first half's written in a bit of a different style than usual, I needed a change. The whole chapter's a bit of a change, actually, but it should be only temporary ^_^

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Pull, spin, slice, drip.

Tiny cuts cover his body, the fresh ones and deeper ones still ooze blood.

Pull, spin, slice, drip.

I should have stopped them. I shouldn't have let them do it.

He picks his Beyblade off the ground. He hooks it onto the launcher, barely noticing the blood staining his hands. His hands are already so tainted with his family's blood that his own drowns in the crimson sea.

Pull.

I wanted it so badly... And they wanted me to have it so much.

A fine spray of his blood flies off the blade, falling softly like mist to the ground and tinting the dirt red. It has already become a rich rust, he's been repeating the pattern for so long now.

Spin.

They killed themselves so that I could have a better life. They killed themselves for me.

The glorified top hits a stone and flies back towards him. It hits him squarely in the jaw this time, coating itself in his blood once more.

Slice.

And I didn't stop them. I am as guilty as if I'd held the knife myself, my hands just as bloodstained.

Tears mingle with the ruby liquid flowing freely from his wounds, leaving crimson stains down his cheeks. The salty trails lick the wounds on his face, making them burn, and he revels in it, embraces the sweet pain and adds to the mental tally on his soul. Perhaps, he believes, if he suffers as much pain as he inflicted, his soul would finally be free.

Drip.

Their suffering was my fault.

He collapses to the ground, body finally spent. His breathing is labored, and his skin feels as though it's on fire. At the same time, he is soaked and shivering, the morning rainstorm still leaving its mark. He feels as though he might die and he doesn't care in the slightest.

He studies his Beyblade for a moment. It is both his doom and his salvation, both sin and penance. It is keeping him alive even as it is killing him. He's told himself this for years, forced himself to believe. But today he has found no solace in his blade, no release, no redemption. All he has found is pain, and the small comfort pain brings to him.

An eye for an eye, after all.

Hacking coughs rack his body, and darkness overtakes his vision. He falls forward, blade still clutched in one hand. He is going to die and he knows it, wants it, hungers for it.

And then he hears them.

He hears voices calling him, so far away it seems, so terribly, terribly faint, and so familiar. And he comes to a revelation.

No.

Finally, he understands.

It's them. They're keeping me alive. Not this thing. Not a spinning top. Not the thing my family killed themselves over.

Them.

One thought crosses his mind before the darkness can take him, breaks through the barrier he's constructed, the façade that has fooled even him, and shatters it into a thousand tiny shards.

I don't want to die.

He slips quietly out of consciousness, and hopes against hope that he'll wake.

***

"Tala!" The boy's head flopped around like a rag doll as Kai shook his shoulders in an effort to rouse him. "Tala, please, wake up!" He shook the redhead's shoulders harder. "Tala, you bastard, wake up!" Tears gathered in the corners of his eyes, but whether they were of anger or sorrow, one couldn't tell.

Kai could distantly feel Ray gently remove his hands from Tala's shoulders. He felt like he was dreaming, everything felt so unreal. How could this happen? Sure, Tala had been unstable in the past, but Kai had thought the other boy had gotten better. Especially since the re-appearance of Elaina, Tala had seemed so happy, so vibrant and alive. What could have drove him to this? What had sent him back into the depression that had threatened to consume him a few short years ago?

The haze enveloping Kai's brain cleared enough for him to notice that Ray had gone and got the others. How long had he been sitting there, staring at his half-dead friend's body? It had seemed like only seconds, and at the same time felt like forever. He'd never told him, but Tala had become like a brother to Kai, the only person he could talk to about the past, the abbey, and Boris. Their shared experiences in Russia bound them together. If Tala could go over the edge like this... Kai could do the same, just as easily. He knew, in his soul, that he already clung to the edge by a hair; only pure willpower had kept him from following Tala's dark descent into madness the last time.

Kai shuddered involuntarily, and it wasn't because of the chilly morning air.

Ray watched all this, feeling rather helpless. Tentatively, he put an arm around Kai's shoulder in a feeble effort to comfort the other boy. Kai didn't say a word, just leaned into the cat-like teen, grateful for the warmth. He watched with deadened eyes as Max and Tyson carted Tala back into the house, Elaina following close behind, Adri leaning against a tree and watching with her cool, disinterested gaze.

Adri.

He didn't know how he knew, but he knew. And before he could stop himself, he'd stalked over to the tree and grabbed the girl by the front of her robes.

"What the FUCK did you say to him?" Kai's crimson eyes flashed bright red. Rage threatened to consume him, he could feel his control on his powers slipping, but he didn't care. All he could think about was that this... this... fucking whore had done something to Tala. And just as Tala had embraced his pain earlier, Kai welcomed the rage, let the powerful emotion course through is veins and do away with all restraint. A hand found it's way to Adri's slender neck, and the girl soon found herself unable to breathe, let alone speak. Her eyes widened in terror as she felt the hand at her throat grow hotter and hotter, as if it were aflame from within. Kai didn't seem to notice her arms as they flailed helplessly at her sides, and if he did, he didn't give a damn. Bloodlust sang in his ears.

A light hand touched his shoulder, and it was like cool water running through him now, calming the fire he'd let burn out of control. The world came sharply back into focus in an instant. Shocked at his sudden loss of control, he let go of the girl gasping beneath his ever-tightening grip. The calming hand now wretched him backwards, apparently not trusting his sudden change in attitude. All this happened in a few fluid seconds, each event barely registering in Kai's mind.

"Kai, what the hell were you doing?" Elaina looked at her brother, the worry in her eyes betraying the hard edge to her voice.

Kai breathed in shakily, still trying to regain control of himself. "I don't know," he managed to reply softly. "I couldn't control myself..."

"So it's begun then, has it?" And familiar voice emerged from the trees, followed by a figure that the Bladebreakers had almost forgotten. "I thought we had more time than this."

Adri glared at the green-haired boy. "About time you finally showed up, Oliver. Where's your sister?"

TBC

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See? Dark and crazy!! It's scaring even me...

Anyways, I'm thinking of boosting the rating to R, `cause I'm getting the feeling it could achieve that before the end. I'll keep it as is for now, since I'm terrible with ratings, but if at some point you think it's gotten into `R' territory, let me know, okay? Wouldn't want to get banned or some such shit...

;_; I'm so mean to Tala!! *huggles Tala plushie* I'm soooorrry!!!!

*officially labels fic `Plot bunny gone wild'*

Oh, and note to Shadow Blade Anime-addict, should you be reading this, here's what I say to your suggestion of less Ray/Kai...

Phhhhhhhhhhfffffffft!!!!!

And they're both gay. Absolute flamers. *snickers at double entendre*

And once again, thank you to all my lovely reviewers! *blows kisses*

That is all.