Winter’s Salvation – Chapter One

I hated it.

I hated my family.

My father got drunk everytime he came home and my mother was determined to make my life hell. I was useless, ungrateful and I had to work harder, get the grades, buck up my attitude, get a job, do the housework.

I was ugly, lazy – I felt insignificant and unloved.

Then I met them.

The Bladebreakers.

My friends.

If angels existed they were them… or maybe I exaggerate.

Tyson, the pig of the group. We argue, we fight, we shout at each other but he is the caring one. The good times far outweigh the bad and I can happily say I’ve improved his eating habits.

Rei, the calm and laid back member and the one with the most common sense. His patience has calmed me down plenty of times and I’m truly grateful for that and the advice he gives.

Kenny, the brains for Tyson’s brawn. Not that I’m saying Tyson’s stupid or anything…

Wait a minute – yes I am.

Anyway, Kenny, the smart one with his computer which I’ve failed to operate on many an occasion.

Max, the hyper one but he has his head screwed on straight. Always up for a laugh and determined to help anyone who he thinks needs it.

Finally Kai, the strong, silent and bad mouthed jerk.

I use that term with affection. Honest!

Tyson always said he seemed to open up to me more than any of the others but Rei refined it saying he respected me.

I tried not to let my ego explode. Respect? It’s what I’ve always wanted along with love and care and these guys gave it to me.

Well. Platonic love. I’m not searching for a partner yet.

After our adventures together on that damned island I’ve never been happier. I gather my savings together when we returned and ran from ‘home’ – ran from my parents and my pain. I bought an apartment in Bay City – it’s small and cosy and I’ve made it my own.

However… the Bladebreakers don’t know I live alone. The never asked so I won’t tell them. They don’t need to know about my past.

xxxxx

It’s great to have everyone back together again. Kenny, the youngest of us all just turned 16 in September. November has slowly rolled around alone with another team-member’s birthday. He doesn’t know I know. Can you guess who?

I turned the page of my magazine, waiting patiently for the cake to cool so I could ice it. Once I’d finished it I put the completed cake safely in its box and went to get changed. I pulled on my coat and headed to the team’s practice at the dojo.

I glanced at my watch and slowed down slightly. It was only 12:15 and the practice was due to start at 1:30pm.

Wonder why I’m going early? Surprise parties don’t make themselves you know.

I arrived at the dojo fifteen minutes later, took off my shoes and set the box on the table at the far end. It was already laden with some of Rei’s specialities. I glanced around at the streamers and balloons – the boys had done a good job.

“Hey Hilary.” I smiled and turned to face Rei as he padded in quietly.

“You’ve been busy,” I remarked.

“We have. Tyson’s been making sure everything’s just right.”

I blinked. “Tyson?”

Rei chuckled. “He has a soft spot for Kai, you know that.”

I smiled and shook my head. “One of these days…” I sighed. Rei nodded.

“It’ll come out eventually. Then fate will decide.” Rei glanced at the cake box and reached out to open it. I slapped his hand away and glared.

“It’s a surprise,” I said. He pouted and I raised an eyebrow making him chuckle shrug.

“Whatever you say Hil. This is just a quiet bash isn’t it?”

I nodded. “Kai’s not the one for crowds.”

“He’s not one for celebrations or birthdays as I recall but we’re still doing this.”

“It’s not everyday you turn eighteen, Rei,” Max said as he came in, laying drinks on the table. He smiled in greeting at me and put a face of mock seriousness on. “Any ideas of what we’re going to do for some certain cat-person’s eighteenth…?”

Rei flushed and I laughed. Tyson came in at this point and laughed at Rei’s expression.

“Yeah, Rei, it won’t be long before you’re an adult.”

Max pretended to quiver. “Scawwy…” he said childishly. The two clowns clung to each other and looked at Rei with mock fear. The neko-jin was scowling but smiling despite himself.

“Knock it off.”

Max and Tyson were still sniggering when Kenny came in, Dizzi under his arm. “You guys really need to grow up,” Chief declared, pulling a chair out and sitting on it.

I glanced and my watch and grinned somewhat nervously. It was coming up for half past one so…

There was a knock at the front door and familiar sounds of Kai’s voice drifting along the corridor as he greeted Tyson’s grandfather.

“The other peeps are in the dojo, K-man,” the kendo master said to the captain.

“Hide!” I said to the others. They did so, Rei under the table with Max, hidden by the tablecloth – Tyson behind a tree in the corner and Kenny in the shadows. I stayed out in the open in front of the table – it wasn’t going to be a complete shock for him. I hoped.

The doorknob turned and Kai pulled it open, his eyes widening and mouth dropping open at the sight of the fully decorated dojo. His amethyst eyes flickered to the banner above my head which read Happy 18th Birthday Kai and then back down to me. I smiled.

“Happy Birthday, Kai,” I said.

Rei and Max came out silently while Kai was distracted. Max grinned at the captain and gave a mock salute and Rei walked up to him and grasped the Phoenix’s hand.

“Happy Birthday, friend.”

Kenny came out of the shadows and smiled. I saw Kai’s eyes flicker around the room, searching for the missing person. Tyson came out from behind the tree and smiled.

“Are you intentionally speechless, Kai or is it really shock?” the bluenette teased.

Kai cleared his throat twice before speaking. “I…” He coughed. “I don’t know what to say… how did you find out?”

Everyone turned to look at me and I smiled. “I have my sources.”

Kai raised an eyebrow. I raised one back and glanced over his shoulder at the new figure in the entrance.

“Kai I swear Japan’s dulled your edge. There’s only a handful of people that know your birthday – I should feel insulted that I’ve been so easily forgotten.”

Kai’s face cracked into a grin and he stared at a point above my head. “Tala,” he breathed, turning around.

The Russian chuckled deeply and grasped Kai’s hand in his own. “Happy Birthday, Kai.” He handed Kai a bottle and the dual-haired one snorted.

“I’ve only just reached the legal age and you’re trying to get me wasted already,” he said, waving the bottle on vodka in Tala’s face.

“Actually it was my idea,” said another voice. Bryan poked his head around the door and Kai smirked.

Bryan came in at Tyson’s invitation and he surprised us all when he pulled Kai into a rough hug. “You made it then, little brother,” he said. Kai gave the older man a playful punch.

“How did you guys get here anyway?” Tyson asked.

“Well…” Tala started. I cut him off quickly.

“Mr. Dickenson was kind enough to get them a flight,” I said.

Tala’s eyes widened in surprise at my lie but I glared at him in warning over Kai’s shoulder. He shut his mouth and gave a small nod in comprehension, playing along.

“That was nice of him,” Max said.

Tala’s throat tightened slightly. “It was.”

Kenny set Dizzi on with some music. The eight of us chatted and mingled for a good hour before Rei reminded us about the food. Bryan had apologised to Rei regarding the first World Championships the neko-jin went to and Rei brushed it off saying it wasn’t his fault. The two came to a truce and got on remarkably well.

The food slowly vanished leaving just my cake in the box. I went up to the table and opened the cardboard case, lifted the cake carefully out and laid in on the table.

“I could do the candles and order the singing,” I said loudly and everyone turned to look at me, “but somehow it felt a little out of place and I’d hate to hear you lot sing.”

Knowing chuckles came from Rei and Max who had both lived with Tyson’s shower songs. I sighed and continued. “But no birthday is complete without a cake so…” I stepped aside to reveal my masterpiece.

The icing was a deep blue to match Kai’s blade and the top was decorated as an exact copy of his Dranzer MS. I got a cake maker down the road to created icing duplicates of the bitchip and colours.

“You… did that?” Rei said. “It looks amazing!”

The cake didn’t last long. Tyson and Max started singing Happy Birthday but were silenced under Kai’s glare. Tala then whapped Kai upside the head and told him to stop being a grouch – at which Kai turned his glare onto his old friend who just glared back. Bryan sighed and rolled his eyes, poking the two in the ribs. Kai doubled over and Tala yelped.

“What was that for?” they said at the same time.

Bryan looked smug and said nothing. We all sat in a circle, a bowl of crisps in the middle and talked for a while until Max broke the conversations.

“Presents!” he said suddenly before bursting through the door. Rei chuckled and Kai blinked in surprise.

Max bounded back with a wrapped box and pushed it towards Kai. Kai seemed taken aback and blinked in shock before Tala poked him.

“You open it, dungbrains.”

Kai gave Tala a withering glare which Tala smiled sweetly at. Kai’s gloved hands flicked open the wrapping paper and open the box. His eyes widened.

Max grinned. “My mum sent it over. It’s tuned completely to you from your stats and state of the art.”

Kai picked up the new launcher and spun it around his finger. He grinned at Max. “Thank you.”

The blond smiled. “You’re welcome!”

Rei was next. “Mine has nothing to do with Beyblading, Kai,” he said, reaching into his inside pocket. He pushed a package along the floor and smiled as Kai lifted it in his hands. On opening it he pulled out a small knife in a intricate sheath.

More thanks was stuttered from Kai’s drying lips. If ever he had an emotional onslaught it was now! Kenny gave Kai a new attack ring saying the other one needed replacing. Tyson cleared his throat and reached into his back pocket.

“Now I don’t want you calling me a softie Kai…”

“Even though you are,” Kai interjected. Tyson ignored it and continued.

“…but I kept this over the years ever since you handed it over.” Tyson opened up his hand and Kai’s eyes widened.

It was a blade, the same blue as all of his others. I failed to realise the significance of it until Bryan spoke.

“That’s… Dranzer isn’t it? The blade you had before Black Dranzer.”

Kai nodded mutely and took the blade from Tyson’s hand, turning it in his fingers. “This is one old blade,” he said with a nervous chuckle. Tyson cocked his head and smiled. Silence fell until Tala broke it.

“We all got you a present too, Kai,” Tala said. “Although it’s more what’s rightfully yours than a present.” He reached for his rucksack in the corner and pulled out a leather bound album handing it to Kai.

“We… went to the Hiwatari Mansion in Gronzyi and… well it was a dump but we managed to recover this.”

Kai gently opened the front cover and gasped audibly.

“That’s… that’s me?” he said in disbelief.

I looked over his shoulder and gave a girly aw. “You’re so cute!”

There was a toddler Kai sitting on presumably his mother’s lap, his father sat next to her. Tala cleared his throat.

“There’s a more amusing thing at the back – Ian computer edited another photo we found and…”

He trailed off and coughed. Kai flicked to the back of the album and actually burst out laughing. The Bladebreakers froze temporarily, not used to hearing his laugh but none of them commented.

It was Voltaire but Ian had cleverly put him on a background with the Nazi Swastika behind him and a toothbrush moustache added. I snorted and Kai looked at me with a smile.

“Suits him,” Tyson commented. “Fascist bastard.”

Bryan smiled slightly and his eyes flicked to Rei. I mentally frowned in thought – was Bryan checking the neko-jin out?

Time rolled by quickly and the clock struck eleven. I stood up and cleared my throat. “I’d best get back…” I started.

“We’ll go with you,” Tala said. “Can’t have you walking home alone.”

I smiled. “Thanks, Tala,” I said.

Bryan shook hands with Rei as he turned to leave, giving Kai another brotherly hug as well. Tala did the same and I embraced Kai, pecking his cheek. “Don’t get too drunk,” I commanded. He snorted and Tyson grinned, slapping Kai on the back.

“Don’t worry Hil, he’ll be fine with us.”

“That’s what I’m worried about,” I drawled.

I pulled on my coat and walked between Tala and Bryan into the cold night air. Tala kept his curiosity reined until we turned down another street.

“Why don’t you want them knowing about you paying for our tickets?” he asked.

I hushed him. “Wait.” I opened the door to the apartment building and led them up the stairs. The door to my apartment swung open and I flicked on the lights. “There’s the bed and a futon, that’s all I’ve got.”

“You live alone?” Bryan asked.

I paused. “Yes.”

“Do the Bladebreakers know?” Tala. Always direct and straight to the point.

My silence was longer and my answer quieter. “No.” I pulled a bottle out of the cupboard and set the vodka on the table with three glasses. I’d gotten to know the Russian team quite well and they were good company. They were the nearest thing to Kai’s family and if Kai could trust them then so could I.

“You’ve got some explaining to do,” Tala said, sipping the vodka.

Bryan said nothing and I sighed. “Fine. But what I tell you stays within these four walls.”

“Done.”

I let out a long breath and set into my story. “I ran from home... no, let’s start from the beginning. I lived with my parents before I met the Bladebreakers. Then… you know about the island? With Team Psykick and all that jazz?”

Tala nodded. “Kai told us.”

I ran a hand through my hair. “Yeah, well, I ran from home when I returned from there. I’d had enough of my mother’s bitching, my father’s drunkenness and my life there.”

“And none of the Bladebreakers have asked about you? Where you live or anything?”

I knocked back the vodka and winced at the burning down my throat. “Rei’s asked but I’ve always had a convenient change of subject or domestic crisis to stop me answering. Tyson’s too dense, Kenny’s too absorbed in his computers, Max is too naive to think about bad life and Kai…” I shrugged. “He doesn’t seem bothered.”

“He would be if he knew,” Bryan said suddenly.

My eyes narrowed. “Don’t you bloody tell him. Don’t you dare!”

Tala grabbed my hand and held in his cool grip. “Then… what about Christmas? We Demolition Boys have always got together every year…” Tala’s eyes darted to Bryan and the Falcon nodded.

I shrugged. “What about it?”

Tala lifted my chin up so I looked directly at him. “You’re telling me you’ve spent the last two Christmas Days alone?”

Bryan slammed his glass down on the table. “Not even Kai spends his Christmases alone.”

“No. He doesn’t.”

I pulled out of Tala’s grip and turned away. “Since when did you care? It’s none of your business. Who’s taking the bed and who’s taking the futon?”

Tala opened his mouth to argue but Bryan held his hand up to halt any further comments. “Drop it, Tal. I’ll take the futon. Wolfie here has a sensitive back.”

Tala snarled. “Don’t call me that.”

I turned around a smirked. “Aw, poor ickle Wolf-cub’s getting angwy…” I teased, using a baby like voice.

I swear Tala had steam coming out of ears. “Don’t you start!”

I sighed and ushered them into the bedroom, shutting the door behind them. I pulled out a spare blanket from the cupboard and lay on the sofa, fluffing the pillows under my head. Russian conversation drifted through the door for a while until it faded to nothing. I sighed and let my eyes slide shut, slipping into peaceful slumber.

Xx POV Change xX

Tala slipped out of the bedroom to go into the kitchen for a glass of water. His mouth was usually dry after his nightmares but it couldn’t have been that bad that he made a sound – Bryan had slept through it for a start and the Falcon was quite a light-sleeper.

Tala paused in the living room and frowned. Hilary was curled on the sofa, her brown hair framing her round face. Tala’s expression softened and he knelt beside her silently to tuck the blanket around her tighter.

He’d always admired Hilary for putting up with Tyson and Daichi and she had earned Kai’s respect which wasn’t to be sneezed at. She was strong – that Tala knew too. He knew quite a lot. Last year the BBA Revolutions went to Russia for some exhibition matches and Hilary had visited the Blitzkrieg Boys in the Abbey, checking up on Ian since the stubborn midget wouldn’t go to the doctor’s. Ian had sprained his ankle when he slipped on some ice and Hilary had done a good job at mending it. Ian would certainly protest if he knew she’d been alone these last few years.

Tala went back to the bedroom with a final look at Hilary. He wasn’t going to let this girl stay alone any longer, no matter how strong she was.

xxxxx

Like? Hate? Shall I post chapter 2? No, Ffi, this won’t be angsty at all. Promise! Tal/Hil, TyKa and Bry/Rei eventually and if anyone else wants any other pairings (i.e. anything involving anyone other than Tala, Hilary, Tyson, Kai, Bryan and Rei) then leave it in your review. I’d like an idea for Max, Ian and possibly Kenny and if I can get the White Tigers in there somewhere that’d be great. Ideas and reviews please!