Secrets Better Left Untold (A Beyblade Fanfic)

~Recollections~

Ok folks! This story contains incredibly annoying Bitbeasts, a certain degree of soul-merging, some fair amount of angst and violence towards the end, but no yaoi. (be warned!) Also, there are some scenes set in the spirit realm (Can we call it AU? I'm confused).

 Okay, I need to tell you something here:

Time's POV means that it is a third-person view on incidents in the shared past of Kai and another person.

No one's POV means that it is a third-person view on present time incidents.

The character's POV are first-person accounts.

Tell me if it's confusing, okay?

***Time's POV***

They had told her not to cross the spiked fence going around the fort. They had ordered her not to. But she crossed it anyway. She had to know what was there on the other side of that giant fence, in that frozen wasteland.

She had disobeyed direct orders.

And now here she was, staring daggers at the other person. "You threw me." She stated in a matter-of-fact way, peering at him through her hair. "Why did you throw me?" She demanded, trying to push away the wet hair clinging to her face. The boy crinkled his nose, "I didn't 'throw' you, you slipped."

"Don't lie." A tiny finger stabbed pointedly towards the accused, "I saw you launch your beyblade at me. I tried to get out of its way and fell into that lake."

"That means you accidentally slipped."

"No, I didn't."

"Did."

"Didn't!"

"Did!"

"You threw me into the lake!" She knew that her choice of words was wrong... but hell! Who cared? The one being accused folded his arms and glared at the accuser. The accuser glared back.

The culprit finally broke eye contact and threw up his arms in defeat, "Fine! It was a dumb prank anyway. Why were you flailing about in the lake, huh? Don't you know how to swim?"

"I can swim."

The boy smirked, "Then?"

"My arm's not working."

"Oh. Let me see." The boy bent down to take a closer look, "Which one?" The younger child pointed towards her left arm, which was noticeably swollen and red. The boy poked it, making her yelp and bite her lip in pain. "It's broken," He mumbled. "How did this," he indicated the swollen part, "happen?" The child kept quiet. She never told anyone if she ever got hurt. If she did, they would look up the activity which caused it and then make her do it a hundred more times, to help her get 'strong'. She had learned it the hard way.

She eyed the older boy warily.

In absence of an answer, he simply shrugged and started collecting some twigs and small branches. She quietly studied him. She had never seen him before. Maybe he was from that place her parents - no, the doctors were always talking and shouting about...

The boy looked around for a while, then sighed and took off his white scarf. He tore the scarf into long strips, then used the strips and the twigs to make some sort of a crude arm support.

"But, your scarf..."the wide-eyed child tried to object.

" Snagged on a few branches and tore," The boy replied, helping her injured arm into the arm support.

The child chewed on her bottom lip, thinking. She finally looked up.

"That's not a very good excuse."

"I know."

The child stood up unsteadily, "Where's your bey?"

"Huh?"

"The beyblade you launched at me."

"Oh." The boy looked towards the lake, "It must have sunk to the bottom by now. Never mind. It was a practice bey anyway. Forget about it." The child glanced in his direction, then started walking towards the lake,

" I'll go get it."

" Huh? But, your arm's broken."

"I can manage, I think."

"You THINK? I had to literally haul you out of the lake. That bey doesn't even have a Bitbeast in it."

"Not the bey's fault."

"But, you can't even swim an inch with that arm of yours!"

" I can use my legs."

" What are you, a mermaid? Why are you trying to kill yourself over a practice bey?"

"A blader has no right to abandon his own bey," she replied, looking straight into his eyes, "Even if it's a practice one."

There was no reply as she trudged down to the lake. Just as she reached the edge, she felt a gentle hold on her shoulders.

"Do you really think so?" his voice was eerily quiet. She hadn't even heard him come.

"Of course!" she was surprised. Wasn't that every blader's rule? The gentle hold on her shoulders grew firmer. "Come on." He pushed her away from the ice-cold lake. "Walk with me."

"No," she tried to turn, "I need to go back." She kicked at his legs, making him lose his balance and fall down.

"Wait." He clutched her sore left wrist. She hissed. He let go with a silent apology and took something out of his pocket, "Stop trying to jump into the lake, okay? I have my bey with me, see?" The child looked at the bey, its metallic artwork glinting in the sun. She raised her eyebrows. "I brought it back when I pulled you out of the lake," the boy explained, his expression neutral.

"That's good," the child brushed the snow off her clothes and turned away," Shows that you aren't as careless as you look." She began to walk away.

" Kai."

"Huh?" She turned back.

"The name's Kai. What's your name, kid?"

The child looked at the older boy, then mumbled,"A-Ayuri."

"Can't hear ya."

"A-Y-U-R-I. Ayuri."

"EH?" Kai looked as if he had hit a brick wall, face first.

"Got a problem?"

"No... I thought you are a guy." Kai looked, well, embarrassed.

She smirked, "Shows your level of intelligence."

Kai made a face at her. She shrugged nonchalantly, "Catch you again sometime."

The snow crunched under her boots as she walked away.