Redbird
Cherry Rain: Peeps, it's a Rei/Mariah fic. Maybe I'll get the other guys to pair up, maybe not. That depends on how many reviews I get. *smirks* And story suggestions are welcome, but no shounen ai, please! And now on with the show.
Chapter One: Painful Shards of the Past
I'm cold, so hungry. Mama, please, come get me! I'm tired and I want to sleep, but it's so cold. Mama, please! I'm sorry if I behaved badly. I'll be good. Promise! Just don't leave me. Mama, I'm scared! Where are you! Please, Mama!
She burst awake in bed with a start, shivering, as cold as if she had truly experienced it again, her tears feeling warm as they traced a salty, glistening trail down her face. Again. why! She was pretty sure it had nothing to do with the fact that she was sleeping on a tree branch.
The girl was He Lei Feng. He was the name of her father, the father who had abandoned her and her mother all those years back, the one who had left them to fend for themselves or die. In the end, her mother had died to save her. Imprisoned her in a small cell to save her from the strange epidemic that had run its course through the back alleys of a small village in the middle of China.
Lei Feng. which meant Lightning Phoenix. Her mother had given her that name, wanting her to be as indestructible as the phoenix was. Swift as lightning. but she had failed her mother.
She had been caught and taken to an orphanage. But she wouldn't stay. No. Time and again, however, they caught her and brought her back forcibly, beating her into submission. Or so they thought.
One night, something finally happened. It was her thirteenth birthday. Following the craze for Beyblades that had hit her homeland, she received one for her birthday present. That was the night her bit beast came to her.
It too was like her. It was a phoenix as well, lightning made. It went by the name of Redbird. She had always been able to sense it, but it was reticent. It did not listen to her at first. Until something happened to change Redbird into her best friend.
She had made another getaway attempt. But she was caught, as usual, and in the process of lashing out at her, the old hag who ran the orphanage found her beyblade and tried to take it away.
Lei Feng could still remember her crazy actions that night. She honestly believed that she had gone temporarily insane.
"What's this!" the old hag said, pulling the blade out of her pocket. "Is this so very precious to you, my dear?" she cackled, showing teeth yellow and decayed. "I think you don't deserve it!"
Lei Feng didn't know why she cared so much. The Redbird obviously wasn't any friend of hers. Maybe it was the last straw, of losing something that was hers, that threw her into the frenzy.
Ignoring the whips from the lash, she struck out wildly, biting hard at the old woman's arm, smiling in satisfaction, as she tasted the bitter, metallic warmth of blood. She raised her bloodstained mouth and grinned.
The old lady was truly frightened, and had run away, shouting, "Demon! Demon!"
The blood all over her mouth was the last shred of proof, and before she knew it she had been flung out the main gate.
But Lei Feng smiled as she remembered. Redbird had finally come to trust and love her, seeing what she had done for the phoenix. Redbird was her only friend. Speaking of which, she'd had a strange encounter with an old man while she was fighting a couple of amateur bladers.
He'd smiled in approval at her technique, but that made Lei Feng even more wary. He had made her an offer, asking her to join a team, called the Bladebreakers. They were a world-class team, but she didn't feel like joining them. She had always been alone and wasn't about to warm to anyone.
She fingered the crimson hued beyblade, the streak of white also like hers. Her long black hair fell to her waist, but it had a strange silver streak through it. Her great-grandmother had prematurely white hair, and Lei Feng supposed that that was where she had acquired it from. Black eyes were keen and alert, as they had to be for her to survive till sixteen.
Redbird gleamed back at her from its bit chip. "Redbird, should I consider the offer? I do need a place of sanctuary. I can't spend my life blading with amateurs in a park in Hong Kong. I've learnt enough languages by sneaking into the back of classrooms, so I probably can cope. I want a taste of big-time blading. And I'm not respecting you by leaving your potential untapped."
A flash and a soft gleam of warmth came. Redbird would respect her decision. "Then I'll go tomorrow."
That was the first chappie! Please review!
Cherry Rain: Peeps, it's a Rei/Mariah fic. Maybe I'll get the other guys to pair up, maybe not. That depends on how many reviews I get. *smirks* And story suggestions are welcome, but no shounen ai, please! And now on with the show.
Chapter One: Painful Shards of the Past
I'm cold, so hungry. Mama, please, come get me! I'm tired and I want to sleep, but it's so cold. Mama, please! I'm sorry if I behaved badly. I'll be good. Promise! Just don't leave me. Mama, I'm scared! Where are you! Please, Mama!
She burst awake in bed with a start, shivering, as cold as if she had truly experienced it again, her tears feeling warm as they traced a salty, glistening trail down her face. Again. why! She was pretty sure it had nothing to do with the fact that she was sleeping on a tree branch.
The girl was He Lei Feng. He was the name of her father, the father who had abandoned her and her mother all those years back, the one who had left them to fend for themselves or die. In the end, her mother had died to save her. Imprisoned her in a small cell to save her from the strange epidemic that had run its course through the back alleys of a small village in the middle of China.
Lei Feng. which meant Lightning Phoenix. Her mother had given her that name, wanting her to be as indestructible as the phoenix was. Swift as lightning. but she had failed her mother.
She had been caught and taken to an orphanage. But she wouldn't stay. No. Time and again, however, they caught her and brought her back forcibly, beating her into submission. Or so they thought.
One night, something finally happened. It was her thirteenth birthday. Following the craze for Beyblades that had hit her homeland, she received one for her birthday present. That was the night her bit beast came to her.
It too was like her. It was a phoenix as well, lightning made. It went by the name of Redbird. She had always been able to sense it, but it was reticent. It did not listen to her at first. Until something happened to change Redbird into her best friend.
She had made another getaway attempt. But she was caught, as usual, and in the process of lashing out at her, the old hag who ran the orphanage found her beyblade and tried to take it away.
Lei Feng could still remember her crazy actions that night. She honestly believed that she had gone temporarily insane.
"What's this!" the old hag said, pulling the blade out of her pocket. "Is this so very precious to you, my dear?" she cackled, showing teeth yellow and decayed. "I think you don't deserve it!"
Lei Feng didn't know why she cared so much. The Redbird obviously wasn't any friend of hers. Maybe it was the last straw, of losing something that was hers, that threw her into the frenzy.
Ignoring the whips from the lash, she struck out wildly, biting hard at the old woman's arm, smiling in satisfaction, as she tasted the bitter, metallic warmth of blood. She raised her bloodstained mouth and grinned.
The old lady was truly frightened, and had run away, shouting, "Demon! Demon!"
The blood all over her mouth was the last shred of proof, and before she knew it she had been flung out the main gate.
But Lei Feng smiled as she remembered. Redbird had finally come to trust and love her, seeing what she had done for the phoenix. Redbird was her only friend. Speaking of which, she'd had a strange encounter with an old man while she was fighting a couple of amateur bladers.
He'd smiled in approval at her technique, but that made Lei Feng even more wary. He had made her an offer, asking her to join a team, called the Bladebreakers. They were a world-class team, but she didn't feel like joining them. She had always been alone and wasn't about to warm to anyone.
She fingered the crimson hued beyblade, the streak of white also like hers. Her long black hair fell to her waist, but it had a strange silver streak through it. Her great-grandmother had prematurely white hair, and Lei Feng supposed that that was where she had acquired it from. Black eyes were keen and alert, as they had to be for her to survive till sixteen.
Redbird gleamed back at her from its bit chip. "Redbird, should I consider the offer? I do need a place of sanctuary. I can't spend my life blading with amateurs in a park in Hong Kong. I've learnt enough languages by sneaking into the back of classrooms, so I probably can cope. I want a taste of big-time blading. And I'm not respecting you by leaving your potential untapped."
A flash and a soft gleam of warmth came. Redbird would respect her decision. "Then I'll go tomorrow."
That was the first chappie! Please review!