Beyblade Burst Oneshots

Oh, You Poor Thing

Along the trail of the river, where there lies the grassy banks and sandy valleys, a soft orange and red hue spreads across the gray, concrete sidewalk, held up high so it peers across the still waters. Save for the chirping and lapping of waves in the breeze, only rhythmic footsteps could be heard hitting the pavement, where beads of sweat drop and sizzle on the ground.

At one moment, the steps cease, and a harsh collision with the concrete washes over, stifled with heavy deep breathes that whimper with every inhale. Still, with the dragging of feet, the steps continue, only this time they hit harder and harsher against the ground, pounding into existence.

With that, they continue, stomping on the ground until all rhythm is lost, and the clumsy, uneven running devolve into sporadic, desperate jogging, arms flailing lazily on each side, taken up completely by puffs of air. Rushing and running to no end in sight, only the wind hitting against their ears to drown out their own gasping, and the numbness felt through each of his limbs. At this point, any aching that may have arose becomes nothing more than a background noise, to where the only pulsing that can be felt is that of his own heartbeat, thick in every sense.

It couldn't be kept up forever though, because eventually the ache in his legs caught up to him, giving out in a instant.

His hands are too numb and shaky to be put out in front of him, so his body collapses face first onto the concrete. The dull ache that came from all over becomes a heavy scream in his head at this resting position, rendering everything useless. White hair covers his eyes, lying slick and sticky to the dripping sweat on his forehead, and getting into his mouth with every heavy breath he gasps out, ignoring the ache as he does so.

Through the strands of hair, he could barely make out the blurry outline of the white, blinding circle near the horizon, giving out a red golden hue. Across its maroon sky, specks of black floats across it, and in the far ends, orange and green puffs sway in the breeze. The cool pavement is rough against his cheek, and up close, every tiny ridge and bump of the worn concrete stick out, with specks of dust to color it. At this time, even the color gray looked beautiful, swirled in purple, red and orange.

He took in deep, slow breaths, and closed his eyes, if only for a moment, savoring the empty loud static that came with every breeze of wind. Every inhale brought in cool, dry air, numbing the dull ache that still laid heavy in his chest. His eyes fluttered open and shut, lazy to open each time, until eventually they gave out, leaving him in a world of silence and nothing.

He longer felt the pain in his body.

~

The first thing that Shu noticed when he came to was that it was no longer sunset. The sky was pitch black, with only a few specks of white to cover it. The air wasn't chilled, but freezing and digging deep into his bone. In addition, everything was hurting, from the tips of his fingers to the worn feet below his legs. The pavement was still rough and touching his cheek, but this time there was something else too, something warm and wet lapping across it.

In the darkness, he could make out the vague figure of a small fluffy being stood in front of him, its big glossy eyes standing out against everything else.

He went to murmur something when he got overwhelmed by a pain tickling his throat, causing a violent cough attack that vibrated across his entire body. The fluffy creature shot away, and stared at him as his entire body shook with cough after cough, his eyes prickling with tears. As it died down, Shu opened his eyes again, which were even blurrier than before, and began to sit up, holding a hand down to push himself up. The fluffy creature, which he can now recognize as a dog, is wagging its tail and staring curiously at him, with those same glossy big eyes.

He rubbed his eyes, blinking away the pool that had settled, and looked around.

There was no one else here, only the dog, who was cocking its head back at him. Shu grabbed his sides, which were filled with untouchable pain, and tried to steady himself to stand up. It was in vain though, because he fell right back down, smashing his knees against the concrete. He hissed, grabbing his knee up to his chest while the fluffy dog rubbed itself again his side.

In the silent dark night, Shu suddenly heard distant footsteps. He looked up, and saw a figure running over with a hand waving over their head. The dog still stuck by Shu side, but it did perk up a little at the sound. "Mercy! Mercy, where the hell did you run off too?"
While unsure of how dangerous this mystery figure could be, Shu didn't move, not that he could anyways.

As it got closer, the figure stopped, only a distance away from where Shu was sat. He tried to focus on the blurry sculpture of the person. They had a large gray hoodie that covered their head and eyes, with baggy pants that tucked into their chunky boots. Shu held his breath, unsure of what to expect, and put his arm in front of him in a defensive position, at least pretending that could do something. The dog wagged his tail and ran towards the hooded person, and began rubbing itself again their legs.

However, they didn't seem to pay the dog any mind, and instead only stared at Shu, who still sat on the ground with a single arm up for support, the one that hurt the least. He heard them whisper something before getting closer and reaching a hand out. "Oh dear.." He heard them say.

Shu tried to speak, but once again, he wasn't able to get a sound out before a violent cough shook across his body. The painful throb in his throat was still there, itching at every shift. He felt something grab his shoulders and tap his back. "Hey, hey, are you okay? Why are you out here so late? Do your parents know you're here?"

Shu didn't answer any of those questions, he only coughed even more while additional tears prickled his eyes on the already dried pool underneath his lashes. His chest and sides hurt like crazy.

They sat there for a bit until Shu was able to calm down. He looks beside him at the hooded person sat on the pavement, still holding his shoulders. To his surprise, it was an older lady, maybe in her 40s, with dark hair that tied back and curved down eyes. Her face was scrunched up in worry.

"Oh god, you must be freezing, look at that, oh dear..." She put her hand in her pocket and fished out a phone, turning on the bright screen.

"Sweetie, do you know your parents number?" Shu looked away from the blinding screen and shook his head.

"Oh god, here, let me help you up." She grabbed his hands and pulled him up gently. He steadied his legs, but it was no use, as they collapse beneath him. The lady grabbed him before he could fall completely.

"Here, let me help you. Oh you poor thing, you must be exhausted." Her words were blurred, barely able to enter his ears from the static that surrounded it. It slurred together, so all he could understand where the sounds coming out of it. He opened his eyes, and saw that he was much higher, that his feet were actually on the pavement. Not that he could feel them anyways. Her next words came out empty, and he had to blink to register it seconds later.

"Sleeping out here in the cold, and barely able to move, poor thing, poor thing." They came out in a whisper. The ground below them was moving, their feet were moving, steps clicking on the pavement, with tinier ones followed by paws. In the realm of nothingness, these sounds stood out, the murmuring of the lady and the steps that clicked the ground, tap by tap. "God, his parents must be home sick with worry. Police station. Yes, police station first thing in the morning. Poor thing needs sleep, oh dear, you must be exhausted poor poor thing." Her rambling came in smooth and slow, like a hand stroking a cheek before it went to sleep, giving out its warm nostalgic comfort. It rumbled above static, until it became the only thing that existed, just their steps and the jumbled words, no static anywhere.

In his pitch black vision, Shu couldn't tell how many times he blinked, if any, in the time it took for hot, warm air to hit his skin and face, for the utter darkness to turn bright, like lights that were just turned on, for his feet to go from moving on rigid gray concrete to smooth wooden planks and his hands and face to feel soft thick bed sheets.

He didn't know, nor did it concern him, because when he felt a hand rubbed on his forehead, and a small kiss pressed against it, it was like he was no longer anywhere at all. Just in the same, quiet dark room, he was a child, tucked in for sleep.