Beyblade Fan Fiction ❯ Not My Story ❯ Find ( Chapter 3 )

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Not My Story

Find
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"It's a totally new form of technology, the characters in this game are conscientious, the outcome of the game depends on how the person plays it. Each character reacts differently to the player depending on how far into the game it is, or how they approach them. This doesn't just rely on time keeping chips to then activate a different reactions; the characters are actually thinking and feeling."

There were a few moments silence before the room erupted into various whispers. The representative from KX stood, unfazed, as the members of the ERGI - The Euro-Russian Gaming Industry - turned their attention away from him and instead to each other, no doubt deciding how much they were going to offer for the software he had come to sell.

KX was a computer company that designed software for the gaming industry. It had a creditable public history and reputation, but was widely known in Russia for designing training programmes for both martial arts and the military, although, these were illegal and had been classed as terrorist programmes. The police, however, had yet to find a single programme that traced back to KX. The outcome of those trials had resulted in many a smug look on KX's part.

As many different offers were placed forward, a second man sporting a KX logo on his T-shirt staring taking down names. The amateurs, he mused. Such sheep. So greedy. When he and his colleague had finished noting down all the different companies that wanted to use their new software, they began to hand out the forms; all twenty pages of them, the last seven of which were small print. Then, satisfied that it had been a good day's work, they left, bright smiles on their faces and half a mind to go and buy themselves a new car; after all, they could afford it.

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Tala launched his blade, watching the sparks fly as it tore up the metal dish. An evasive manoeuvre here, an attack there, the usual. But this time when the smoke cleared, it was not the silver blade that was left spinning. Ian cheered.

"Well done, Spencer!" he called, clapping. It wasn't as if he was particularly fond of Spencer, or that he hated Tala, it was just a bit…satisfying…to see Tala lose.

Tala stared blankly at the dish. He had lost. A voice from behind him made him freeze.

"Tala, you lost…again," the voice sent shivers up his spine and he nodded mutely, collecting his blade. It wasn't his fault, he kept thinking about the stupid letter and the stupid body and the stupid way that he kept thinking about them and the thoughts wouldn't go away. Tala didn't even know what he was thinking, he just kept replaying them over in his head, not trying to work anything out just…letting them cloud his mind.

"TALA!" I sharp voice broke his bitter musings and he snapped his head up, seeing a dangerous glint in Boris' eye that had not been there before. Suddenly, the world froze around Tala. If…if I don't do this properly…he…he'll kill me too…The red-haired blader shook the fear from his body, and, realising that Bryan had launched his blade into the ring, Tala followed suite, and, with a new wave of fear pushing him harder and harder, within ten seconds the dish was ripped in two, Bryan's blade landed a hundred yards or so behind him. The other Demolition Boys groaned as they realised that Tala's losing streak was over.

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Tic

Toc

Tic

Toc

Drip

Drop

Drip

Tic

Toc

Drop

Tic

Drop

Toc

Drip

Drip…

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa agh!" Tala jumped out of bed and throw the clock at the tap in the corner. Stupid friggin' abbey! Why the HELL did they build a dripping tap in someone's bedroom? He prowled over to the window and looked outside, the pale moon was still high in the crisp, black sky and Tala knew that tonight would be another sleepless night. Stepping past a pile of clothes he opened the door with a sigh, instantly retreating back into the room to grab a jumper. And there's no central heating, either.

Halfway down the corridor that led to the kitchens, Tala's destination, the red-haired blader could see a sheet of light passing out from underneath one of the doors. That's funny, he thought. No one should be up at this hour…huh, tell that to yourself, wise guy. Tentatively gliding closer to the door, he could hear hushed voices inside, but they were too quiet to hear. He contemplated pushing the door open slightly, but that would not be a good idea. No, not a good idea at all. However, it would seem Tala was in luck, or not…depending on whether you regard overhearing people's conversations above not being found and dumped in the middle of Siberia. There was the sound of scraping chairs and footsteps starting towards the door. Tala panicked. Speeding off down the corridor he had just come through, Tala was faced with yet another obstacle, although this one was heading away from him; heading towards the front door.

The stiffened walk and cold demeanour of the figure gave his identity away, and Tala instantly froze as his mind ran awry with reasons for Boris being up at this time of night. Well, morning. The large entrance hall to the abbey provided Tala with enough shadow to keep himself hidden as he stole across the stone floor, his socked feet still feeling the cold that penetrated from it. But Boris stopped just as he opened the front door, and turned to walk into a room next to him. Tala was perplexed, but snuck forward enough to see that, once again, there was a car parked just outside the abbey. Peering more closely, he could also see that there was no driver; yet. His heart pounded and he knew that this was his chance. If he could get inside the car, then without a doubt he would be taken to wherever it was Boris was sneaking off too. I wonder if Voltaire knows about this…The thought was totally unprovoked, but as he wondered, the excitement in him rose, as did the fear. If Boris was sneaking off without Voltaire's permission, what did that mean? Worst of all, what would happen if he was caught with him?

The clicking of a door to his right was the thing that made his mind up for him, and twenty seconds later, Tala found himself squashed in the boot of the car. He was not best please when he heard a car door opening and he realised that Boris had gotten in the front and that he was squashed here unnecessarily.

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The ride was very uncomfortable; the ground was very uneven and Tala was sure that he was going to have lots of bruises in the morning. Even though he was securely shut in the boot, he could hear the wind howling around the car and tree branches scraping against it, sounding to Tala like someone chasing the car and trying to tear it to pieces. Suffice it to say, the strange noises and faint smell of petrol did nothing to calm his nerves, and when the car pulled to a stop, Tala felt his stomach lurch; if he didn't get out of here soon he was going to be sick.

After a few minutes waiting to ensure that he was alone, Tala pushed hard against the back of the seats and they fell forward. He scrambled into the back of the car and flung the door open, peering around it before venturing out. Standing up and shaking a little to rid himself of cramp and nausea, Tala was reminded of the last time he had been in such an enclosed space as that. He had been with another and faint flashbacks of hands rubbing his skin and lips pressed against his caused Tala to close his eyes and bite his lip, cursing himself for remembering that at such an inappropriate time. A grating sound jarred him from his memories and his eyes darted around, checking for intruders. Well, I guess I'm the intruder here.

After a rather industrious search of the small car park in which he found himself, Tala concluded that there was no one there. The owners of the few cars that were there wouldn't be leaving for quite a while - he had checked the expiry date on the parking tickets - so Tala knew that he was quite safe here. But…that's wasn't the point, was it? He wasn't meant to stay here, he was meant to be following Boris to find out what the other man was up to. Finding himself at the door he had seen on his search of the car park, he decided that he had come too far to simply just go home now.

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Whatever Tala had expected, it wasn't this. After making his way through the corridor - which was only one way and had nothing branching off it - he had come to a door, hearing no sound from it he had entered the room on the other side and had found himself in a viewing gallery, bordered off by a glass screen that looked down on a lab. On the right there were a set of stairs that led down there. No, this was not what he expected, although, Tala wasn't all too clear what he had been expecting to see, but he knew it was not this.

Hundreds of glass tubes stood in dozens of rows before him, all of them filled with a green liquid that Tala instantly recognised; had he himself not come from one of those tubes, once? Thinking back, Tala realised that it had been that substance he had seen on the window of the car the previous day. Not seeing anybody in the room below, the red-head descended the stairs and walked to the first row of tubes. Now he could see people in them, however, he noted that they all had the same faces, like they were clones. Shivering, he walked to the second row of tubes, and saw that the people in these had a different face to that of the first row, although they were still all the same. Tala frowned and went to the third row; here, all the people had the same face as those in the first row. Quickening his pace, Tala hurried past row after row and discovered that all alternate rows had the same faces. He also felt a sense of fear run through him, again. The second design of faces was the one that he had recognised on that body. Suddenly, it clicked, and Tala stumbled backward, clutching his stomach as if the air had been knocked out of him. Me, he thought, putting a hand to his mouth, not quite able to believe it.

"Me…the faces are…are…me…and..." Tala eyes widened in shock and he spun around, now acutely aware of the dull eyes that were watching him from the thousands of tubes. He knew they were not really watching him, but it was still the most unnerving thing he had ever felt. His breath caught in his throat. "The faces are me and…"

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It's hopeless, Kai thought, frowning and looking away from the beybattle going on in front of him. He had been very lenient with the team, allowing them a lie-in and a fairly casual day, but now he was beginning to regret being so nice. Tyson and Max were supposed to be battling each other, but all they seemed interested in doing was getting Dragoon and Draciel to mix together and send showers of multicoloured sparks and shimmers everywhere.

Beside him, Rei laughed as a particularly strong ribbon of purple light knocked Tyson over. As he glanced over at the Chinese blader, Kai felt a heat rush over him as he remembered last night's encounter. How he longed to lean over and kiss him again…I doubt Rei would appreciate me doing that in front of everybody else… A part of Kai found himself not caring, but the other part was strong enough to hold him back. All Kai needed was an excuse to be alone with Rei. He couldn't explain it, but he had lain awake for hours afterwards, the scent of the Chinese blader that lingered on his clothes driving him mad. Kai figured that no other human being had ever used as much self control has he had last night in trying not to go over to Rei's bed and…well, he hadn't. That was all that mattered. All Kai really wanted to know was just what the kiss had meant. Before it he didn't think he had ever thought about Rei that way, but when it happened, Kai knew that he had wanted it. Desperately, he had wanted it. And now he wanted to know what was going to happen. Was it just a one off? Or did Rei feel something for him? Kai wasn't sure quite what he felt towards his team mate, but he knew that whatever Rei wanted, he would try his best to give him. A strange twisting feeling in the pit of his stomach alerted him to the fact that whenever Rei was around, Kai felt utterly vulnerable. He knew that anything Rei asked him to do, he would do.

"Kai?" the voice broke his thoughts and Kai turned to see the object of his thoughts staring cautiously at him. "Are you alright?" Rei asked, putting an arm on Kai's, much like he had done before. Kai felt his barriers dropping away as the ice around his heart melted, the water drops bursting into flames as they fell. He smiled.

"I'm fine," he promised Rei, reaching out his arm and returning the gesture, squeezing Rei's arm slightly. Rei felt giddy. The look in Kai's eyes was so intense, so real, so strong, so…so…passionate? Rei didn't think he would ever see that emotion from Kai, but here it was, bright as day, and the neko-jin felt a shiver of delight run through him as he realised that the depth of the gaze was directed at him. Could it be that Kai…that Kai…was…Is Kai in love with me? The thought felt silly even before he thought it, and Rei removed his arm from Kai's, turning away, convinced that it had all been his imagination desperately wanting Kai to love him back. Once again, the kitten felt the sting of unrequited love flare through him, and he shut his eyes, a small breath escaping his lips at the pain clutching his heart.

Sensing a drastic change in his friend's emotions, Kai gently but firmly took Rei's hand and led him away from the other blade breakers. Once they were safely alone, Kai took the chance to look at Rei, and noted at once the sorrowful expression and aura that surrounded Rei.

"What's wrong?" he questioned, instantly wondering if he had said something wrong as Rei's eyes filled with tears.

"Kai," he started. "I…last night…please tell me what…if it…meant anything to you…" he tried not to look at Kai, his own words shaming him. Kai's reaction was unreadable for a second, and then his face softened and he reached out to put his arms around Rei. It was a bit awkward and Rei could tell that Kai hadn't hugged or comforted anyone for quite a while. However, he leant into the other boy, a few eager tears slipping from between his closed eyelids and falling down his cheeks. Then Kai spoke.

"It meant everything to me."

There were a few moments silence as the words sunk in and their eyes met. An understanding was passed between them, and then, a flurry of kisses, both gentle and passionate sealed their decree.

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"The faces are me and…"

"Kai."

The voice was enough to send Tala over the edge and he jumped round, his heart pounding in his chest and the blood gushing through his veins, striking a defensive pose. The Abbey trainer stood before him, a smirk evident on his lips.

"Well, hello Tala. I must say, I wasn't expecting to see you here."

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