If only (English) PG, Beyblade (Idea 2) T/M

kirjoittaja DimaStorm 27.01.09 5:52

Title: If only
Author: Dima
Genre: Drama
Fandom: Beyblade
Disclaimer: I don't own them. Only Angel and Sun-Mae
Summary: A child who never fit in either.
A/N: Idea no. 2, Tala and Mariah.
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Heart-shaped face, slanted eyes with ice blue irises and slit, feline-like pupils, rather sharp tipped ears and bright red hair, accompanied by agility. She was Angel Valkov, a 4-year-old with bright spirit and a death glare that she so clearly inherited from her father, Tala. She was playing with other kids in the Shandong village, leaping from tree to tree. The other kids left as she made a gravity defying leap.

Angel sat down to the sandbox, sad. She felt like an outsider in the rural village. Why? Because she was not wholly Chinese, not even fully a neko-jin. Her mother sat down on the wooden edge of the sandbox.

“Angel, honey? What’s wrong?”

“Why me no fit in?”

She looked her mother, who fit in to her home village as well as White Tiger Hills main village. She was Chinese, she was also a neko-jin: sharp-tipped ears, slitting, golden eyes, feline fangs and the same remarkable agility what Angel herself had. Biggest differences were her mother’s bright pink hair and tanned skin.

“You just got to know them. It takes time sometimes to make friends. Don’t worry, sweetheart.” She took a picture out of her pocket, smoothing it. Angle took it and looked it.

She knew right away, this was her father. Bright red hair, ice-blue eyes, heart-shaped face, he was thin as he was standing next to her mother.

“Your dad never fit in. And under that cold shell everyone else saw, he was warm-hearted. He would have loved you. He did love you from the moment he heard I was expecting you. And Ray gives you just as much love as he would have.”

Ray Kon was Mariah’s childhood friend, who was the only one from the village she grew up, who accepted her relationship with Tala. Her brother Lee had refused to live with Mariah, so she was have to move to the neighbouring village, as she wanted to stay out of big cities.

Angel hugged her mother, asking if she could keep the picture. Mariah just smiled and waved to Ray who was coming down the hill from work. Angel dashed away from her mother and practically glomped Ray, who fell on his butt, laughing and with a four-year-girl sitting on his chest.

“Hey, Angel. Did you miss me?”

“Uh-huh. A lot. Was me papa nice?”

Ray blinked at Angel’s question. She glanced at Mariah, who just shrugged and pointed the picture the girl was holding. He took it and looked the picture. Why something so beautiful had to end so suddenly?

“Yes he was. He would have loved you so much. As do I.”

“Whewe papa now?” was the question they both had feared.

“Your papa has gone there”, Ray answered, pointing the sky and the first stars as the sun was setting soon and the north sky had the first stars there.

“If papa wuwed me, why did he go?”

He was out of words. But then again, if the looks didn’t give it away, her sharp head did that she truly was Tala’s child. Tala was sharp-witted, always a step ahead of everyone else but Brooklyn and Kai. Kai was just too complicated to understand, as Ray as his friend noticed and Brooklyn had been a prodigy. Angel might be a four-year-old, but she had the wits of a ten-year-old, maybe even older.

Lee, Mariah’s older brother was sure, that a child of a neko-jin and psycho with cyberware in him, she would at least be retarded. Only if the Black Lion’s avatar could see her.

“He was hurt. He was hurt and he forced to leave…” Both Ray and Angel turned towards Mariah. She was still sitting on the edge of the sandbox.

(Flashback)

Ray ended the phone call with Kai.

“Tala… he tried to kill himself…” Ray looked sadly at Mariah, who was like in shock. First, she had yelled at him, which was nothing new to the Russian. But when she had taken off, left Tala’s apartment and not returning for four months had made Tala collapse physically. It was that time Mariah had noticed she was pregnant. But she didn’t return. Not until she was clearly showing.

She came to Tala, who was sick again. But it wasn’t anything normal. He indeed had cyberparts in him, which now that he was dealing with inner turmoil, were malfunctioning. He knew the part inside which was causing it. Mariah saw the hint of hope, the last living sparkle in Tala’s eyes, when he realized Mariah was expecting. But she had slapped his hand away, breaking something inside of the weak Russian. The last light died along her words. He’ll never see his child. And he didn’t. Two days later he stabbed himself to the chest, where the part was, breaking it, easing his pain.

He would have bled to death, hadn’t his more and less loyal friend Bryan Kuznetsov seen Mariah leave again and finally gotten worried. He will never be able to forget what he saw. One day later, Mariah, already in different country and visiting Ray in Hong Kong, got the information that Tala had been submitted to hospital under critical condition. Just before she made it there, Tala had found the amazing strength to get up and disappear.

Only the high senses similar to a cat she partially was allowed her to detect her. He had fled to the roof, letting the cold finish him off. He was half-dead when Mariah, Ray and Bryan finally reached him. Mariah begged him to forgive her mistake, but it was all too late. Tala died in her arms and she developed a deep depression in her remorse.

Considering everything she went through, it was miracle that Angel was born healthy and strong.

(End flashback)

Ray got up and took Angel with him. He could see the child was full of questions, but they could wait. For now. They left for their small house, typical Chinese house with rice paper walls.

“Papa was huwt? How?”

“Enough of questions now, dear. Enough for today. Time to go to dinner, bath and bed.”

Ray and Mariah weren’t married or engaged, not even lovers. They were friends. Angel wished siblings, like every kid, but she somehow knew she was not going to get them. Not even half sisters or brothers.

She was off to her room in a flash when Ray set him down. Mariah came to stand behind him.

“Raymond? Thank you. I don’t know what I would have done without you and Bryan.”

“This is the least I can do for you. I never knew Tala well, but I saw past his shell. He was ripped apart brutally, from the very start.”

“And I cut the last string. I still keep waking up during nights when I see his hurt eyes or hear him blaming me.”

Unbeknownst to them, Angel was only behind the corner, listening them with tears streaming down her face. She sneaked back to her room, packing the few belongings she had and opened the window.

‘Mama, you huwt papa…’ She quietly slipped out of the window and disappeared to the darkening night.

Five minutes later Mariah had the feeling something was wrong. She ran past Ray and hurried to Angel’s room, which was empty. The eerie silence wasn’t broken by birds of anything.

“Angel? Where are you? Angel?”

Ray heard her and dashed around the house to search the girl. Nothing. He reached Mariah, who was hysteric.

“Oh the gods, Ray! She’s gone! I betrayed him! I promised to look after her! She must have heard us! She heard me! We need to go looking for her!”

“Mariah, calm down. That is not going to solve anything. Think! Think like she does. Where would you go? Where would you go if you were a four-year-old, confused and smart little girl? You stay here, in case she returns and I go to ask the neighbours. When they know, she will be found. She has five minute head start. That is not much. She’s just a child.”

“But she’s Tala’s child.”

“Mariah, go and make some tea for yourself and calm down. I’ll be back.” With those words, he quickly hugged Mariah and left, running all the way.

Ray reached the neighbour closest and explained the situation. She was an elderly lady, who was very fond of Ray, almost like his aunt or something.

“I will take Angel in if I see her. Don’t worry Ray. Go and inform the rest now.”

“I will. Thank you Sun-Mae.”

Meanwhile in totally different direction, Angel tripped to a branch fallen to the ground. She dusted herself off and kept going. Where she was headed from Shandong? Towards White Tiger Hills village. Towards danger.

She was small but not afraid of the dark and the bats flying around. She took a sturdy stick and actually killed the bat for getting too close. Her pupils weren’t slitted anymore; they were wide so she could see in dark. She hurried up, picking up speed and still staying silent. When she ran, was like a wolf had been running beside her. The spirit of her father and his bit beast.

When the real wolf howled, she froze to her tracks.

Ray had informed the whole village within one hour and he returned home. Mariah was sitting on the couch, shaking.

“Anything yet?”

“No. Nobody has seen her.”

“I hate this situation… Why I had to be such a fool four years ago?”

“You didn’t know the biggest desire Tala had. It was just because he wasn’t big fan of telling things of himself. Even things that simple. It wasn’t your fault.”

Angel backed up against the tree. She usually wasn’t scared, but the wolf confronting her was huge. It almost towered over her. She raised her stick slowly and swiftly slammed it against the predator’s head. A big mistake, as it made the wolf angry and it backed away a little before lunging at her. Her eyes started shining ice blue.

Before she had time to do anything, the wolf fell down and whined as an arrow had pierced the large paw. Her eyes still shone and the wolf bowed its head. It might not have been an arctic wolf, but it still recognized the protégé of Great White Tiger, Mountain Cat and The White Arctic Wolf from the tundra. The wolf snapped the arrow in half and limped away and Angel’s eyes ceased shining.

“Kids shouldn’t be out here at night time. Where are your parents?”

She turned around to face a young man with long black hair and a bow. He had golden eyes, just like her mother. His face reminded her of a lion.

The man was Lee Wong, Mariah’s older brother and Angel’s uncle. He lifted the girl to his arms and carried her to his hut. There, in the dim light, he finally realized who she was.

“You’re their daughter… You’re Mariah and that freak’s brat. And now that bitch lost her daughter. I should have let you die.”

“Mama huwt papa. Me angwy.”

”You are still small. How an earth did you get this far?”

“I wan.”

“You ran?” Lee was baffled. The girl was lean and she had long limbs for a four-year-old. Her eyes were slowly slitting again until turning to something normal.

A knock on his door made them both turn around.

“Yes?”

The door opened to reveal distraught Mariah and Ray, who looked beyond relieved when he saw Angel. Lee just gaped like a fish.

“Angel. I’m so sorry. I never realized what I did. Please don’t do that ever again”, Mariah ranted as she scooped up her daughter to a hug. Ray just sighed until he glared Lee.

“How did she end up here?”

“I found her from the woods, confronted by a wolf.”

“Wolf she truly is. Come on, Angel. Do you want to go home?”

The child glared his uncle until buried her face to her mother’s neck. Lee looked outside briefly.

“Wait. The wolf might have the pack there and then even Beyblades won’t help you. Stay here for the night. I got few extra beds; I’ll make them in no time.” They all were quite taken aback by Lee’s sudden change of attitude, but they were have to agree. Why Lee was doing this? They had no idea, but they left with the sunrise.

“Thank you, brother.”

Lee met Angel’s eyes, and the look in them made him shiver. They were full of ice and he knew the child was suffering. But he knew she would be happy one day. He couldn’t hate her because he had hated her father. She didn’t deserve his hate.