Familiar

"I still can't believe he hasn't shown up yet." Max complained quietly, glancing out the window again.

"Don't worry, Maxie. Dogs are smart; he'll show up eventually." Ray comforted, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder and guiding him away from the window.

"I hope so..."

"But it has been two weeks," Tyson began hesitantly, "you tried putting an ad in the paper, right?"

Max nodded, frowning, "Of course; it was the first thing I did."

"It'll be okay then, Max."

The blonde huffed and rested his head on the coffee table. They'd been sitting around his house for countless hours and still there was no news of his lost dog. Ray was trying to be as comforting as possible, Tyson was trying to take Max's mind off it with food and Kai was just sitting silently in the farthest corner of the room. The doorbell rang suddenly though, startling him out of his dark and gloomy thoughts.

"I'll be right back..." Max mumbled, running out of the room, hope suddenly sparking that someone had found his best friend. He got to the front door, and going against everything he'd been taught, he opened the front door without checking who it was.

The blue orbs that came to rest on the slender form of a young woman who'd rang the bell. Max knew her only briefly as she was living with her husband and kids in the same street only two houses away from him and therefore he was sincerely surprised to see her there.

"Excuse me. Max Tate?" she asked with a smile on her lips and he blinked, nodding.

"A few boys had dropped a package at my place just a moment ago. I think they confused the address." She said mentioning down to her feet with her hand. Indeed a medium-sized paper box was standing on the ground with his name written on it.

He thanked the woman for bringing it over and apologized for the trouble caused, saying his good-bye while wondering who the package might be from. Bending down he picked it up, it wasn't all that heavy and he briefly heard something roll inside it with a crunching noise of an object against probably a plastic-bag-like surface. No addresses on it even though it was packed up professionally almost in a post office manner but they couldn't have delivered it, could they? Without proper address or a postal stamp and just a simple name...

Closing the door he placed the package down onto the counter in the kitchen, fumbling for the scissors from one of the drawers. Having found what he wanted he carefully opened the box up, clapping the top paper flaps to the sides and blinking once more; indeed seeing something wrapped up into opaquely plastic film. Whatever it was it was soft and slightly plush as he took it into his hands and observed it, trying to figure out where to start to unwrap it, whatever it was. It might be a plush toy but somehow it was too heavy for that and it felt like there was some fluid at the bottom of the bag-like foil construction – had that something leaked? Frowning he got both curious and anxious finally growing tired of trying to find a start to the unwrapping and simply gripping the scissors to cut a hole into it. The foil was definitely wrapped around whatever it was in quite an amount of layers so he wrinkled his nose in dissatisfaction but continued his doing until he'd come across... fur? Was it a glimpse of fur he saw there?

Heart starting to pace up in unpleasant agitation he hesitated a moment before tugging at the foil again and suddenly having it loosen up and sail downwards around his wrists releasing the fluid it held inside which was a tainted crimson. Cold crimson creeping down the foil and over his partly covered wrists and arms before his eyes realized what exactly it was that he was holding right there in his hands... A second in which he heard his heartbeat shut out in his ears and the world grew silent before exploding with a horrific chilliness the next second.

Thus Kai was the first to have jerked up to his feet hearing a heart wrenching, terrified scream echo throughout the house followed by a thump noise of something falling down and then another one. Dashing towards the kitchen he felt downright scared having recognized the voice immediately and awfully unsettled by that desperate scream. The moment he came to a harsh halt in the kitchen he felt his blood freeze right in his veins as his eyes swayed to the horrific picture. Right there, lying on the floor was a dog's head and the first second his mind even failed to realize it was a very real head that had belonged to a very real dog. It was probably due to the terror its appearance had stirred up in his chest; it was lacking ears as well as eyes, fur stuck to brownish fringes by dried up blood which also had trickled its way out of the now empty eyeholes, seeming like horrific, brownish trails of tears. The muzzle was wide open but lacking any teeth and the blood oozing from the neckline that wasn't connected to any body anymore was building up a crimson pool on the floor.

The first thud he had heard had been the one as Max dropped the horrid ...object... in his hands before screaming his horror out. The second one had been caused by the drummer himself for as he stumbled a step away from the head on the floor he had fallen down, landing on his backside and was now frantically crawling away from the terrifying picture in front of him until his back hit the wall, wide blue orbs staring in sheer panic ahead of himself and his mouth opened slightly in the silent scream of mind and heart, breathing stuck in his chest and sending his head spinning slightly with the lack of air but his awareness was too shocked to command his lungs to take in a desperately needed breath again.

Shaking his head Kai pried his horror-underlined gaze away from the blood-chilling picture jerking from the spot to rush to his friend's side and crouched down in front of the frozen form, resolutely shielding the vision of the younger with his body to no longer allow him to stare at the picture behind the his back.

"Max." He spoke the name out firmly, placing both his hands onto the pallid, cold cheeks of his teammate. "Max. Maxie, look at me." his voice was strained as he lifted the boy's face upwards to force his eyes to lock with his own, suppressing his own fright and the feelings his heart was tearing up with at the desolated, blank look in the blue orbs.

Nevertheless upon looking into Kai's anxiety stained brown eyes flaming with concern and worry Max finally came to his senses, loudly inhaling a deep, shuddering gasp and abruptly starting to tremble all over, blinking every so often at the tears springing from his eyes so quickly and plentifully they flooded and clouded his vision completely for some time. He couldn't understand a word, seeing Kai's lips moving but not hearing anything as if deaf, absolutely and wholly lost in a sea of shock and dread.

"Kai, what hap- Oh my God!" Ray's voice behind him caused Kai to flinch harshly, his strained body numbed over. Trying to suppress the immense worry and fear for his friend as he briefly glanced around to take in the shocked expression of his fellow teammate who had paled instantly upon seeing that mess. But he was far more unsettled as Max's eyes, which were aimlessly darting around the room, caught a glimpse of the horrid image despite the attempt of the elder to screen it. He cussed in Russian, hearing a broken whimper escape the pallid lips of the younger boy. "Ray, cover it up with something, please..." his voice was petrified but still firm, snapping the addressed person out of the stupor he had fallen into.

Harshly turning around the second-eldest ripped a random jacket from the hook nearby and threw it over the mutilated head, then stumbling backwards and slumping against the wall with an stunned expression and angst in his eyes.

"Max. Max, hey. Hey, it's alright." Turning the head of his friend towards him again Kai tried to transmit all assurance and gentleness he could muster into his gaze, his thumbs steadily but uselessly wiping the pearling tears away time and time again almost automatically, the soft, paled skin so very cold under his fingertips.

Snapping back to his senses, the youngest finally heard the smooth voice of the elder underlined with a tremor, penetrate his numb mind and he sobbed loudly and suddenly, drawing his knees closer to his body in still a subconscious attempt to stir away from what he knew was right there in the room.

"That's him, Kai..." he whispered frantically, voice barely audible and distorted by the heavy trembling of the body that transferred into his soft voice. "That's my dog..." he choked on a sob, the salty taste of tears burning down his throat, feeling the arms of the elder go around him, carefully tugging him away from the wall and pressing him to the stronger body who closed his eyes in sorrowful misery, lips trembling as he pressed them to the temple of the other. "How could someone do this...? Why...?" he whimpered helplessly, clawing his fingers into the material on the elder's back and sniffling, gasping for air while shaking his head dumbly in disbelief, pain and shock.

"I don't know why, Max... I don't know, I wish I did..." was the breathed out whisper in reply, a shaky sigh leaving Kai's lips.

"That's inhuman... he never hurt anyone!!... he didn't deserve..." Max's voice gave out, dissolving into helpless, quiet crying again and he felt Kai stir, slowly rising to his feet and gently tugging him up with him.

"It's better if you lay down for a while..." the elder wasn't feeling capable of raising his voice above a whisper as well but stoically keeping the calm, firm notes to it to help his friend to cope with the shock. Just as he was about to guide him out of the kitchen, Tyson showed up in the room. He'd been feeling ill all day from snaking on so much food, he'd probably been in the bathroom at the beginning of all this.

"I heard screaming... What happened?" he asked taking in the image of his teammates who seemed to be beside themselves somehow and his gaze came to rest on Ray's slumped form leaning against the wall before swaying a bit down to the floor. His brows furrowed as he detected something lying on the ground, covered up with a jacket. Stepping to the object he bent down, reaching his hand out.

"Don't, Ty..." Ray managed to warn quietly and wearily, still affected by the horrific image and thus going unheard. The lithe fingers of the other gripped the material, lifting it up a bit and first he noticed the fine line of blood snaking its way towards his feet before his eyes fell upon what was hidden beneath the material.

"Oh sh-" he breathed out, jerking his hand away and straightening up to stumble backwards and away from what he'd seen, the back of his waist bumping into the edge of the counter and causing him to halt and the paper box standing on it to tilt over and fall to the ground. "What the hell..." breathing quickly he briefly closed his eyes trying to shake the chilling fright off. Placing his palm flat onto his forehead he moved it up to glide it over his blonde hair before his trembling fingers reached into the pocket for his cell phone.

Kai said nothing, simply turning around again and leading his friend to the bathroom, switching the water on in there. Bending down over the sink the youngest repeatedly splashed the constantly cooling down fluid into his face, washing away the tears and the blood sticking to his hands and wrists. The blood of a creature he had held so very dear to him for so many years... He swallowed hard and for a moment simply concentrated on the quiet splattering sound and the cold sensation on his skin as well as the tender strokes of Kai's hand over his back. Switching the water off again and drying his face he let Kai lead him to the bedroom, powerlessly stumbling along with eyes held close, soon hearing the slight creak as the bedroom door was pushed open.

The eldest guided him to the bed and down onto it, briefly leaving him alone and allowing Ray to come inside and take his place in comforting their youngest team member. As Ray stepped to the bed again he found the younger lying curled up on his side, sobbing again and lying unmoving. Suppressing a sigh he lay down behind him, gently encircling the slim waist and tugging him backwards a bit, and propping himself up on his elbow to get hold of the blanket and tug it up a bit. He pulled the boy to him even further, gently massaging the boy's scalp and whispering soft quiet words in hope of silencing those heavy and uncontrollable cries.

Even as hour after hour passed he knew Max was crying despite that he now had gone completely silent; Ray could simply feel it with every occasional, ever so slight tremble going through the lithe body in his hold causing him to tighten his grip time and time again to assure him that he was right there with him the whole time, right there by his side. He wouldn't be leaving him alone, not now and not ever and together, they would manage to get over this trauma.

Tyson had joined them after a while, aiding Ray in trying to calm Max down. He wasn't quite sure how he was able to do that, since Tyson himself had still been shaken up by what he'd seen.

Outside their room low voices could be heard. Kai had called the police and they had spent a good amount of time explaining to the man what had happened while the policemen cleaned up the bloody mess on the kitchen floor. Fan excess was what the specialist stated without many doubts, having come across such cases during his long-time career. There were fair chances to catch the guys if they checked the neighborhood.

Once things were done outside, Kai went into the bedroom to check on the other three. He sat in the corner of the room in an armchair, watching Max most of all as he began to drift off to sleep. By the first moment of availability, Tyson got up and Ray began to follow. Kai looked up at them questioningly, "We have to get home." Ray whispered.

"Grandpa needs to meet someone tonight. He wants us home before he leaves." Tyson explained in a murmur. The blank stare in Kai's eyes signified that he didn't know what they were meaning to accomplish by telling him this. "Can you keep an eye on him? His dad should be home soon so…?"

"Yeah…I can stay a while longer." Kai assured them in a quiet tone.

"Let us know how he is, okay?" Ray asked, Kai nodded back in reply and the they said their whispered goodbyes before Ray and Tyson let themselves out of the house.

There's the kind of support you ask for, the kind of support you don't ask for, and the kind of support that just shows up. Kai crawled onto the bed, sitting beside Max's resting form before tugging the blankets higher up the little boy's shoulder. Those tears were still streaming at a quick pace, despite the closed eyes and pure unconsciousness. It was only a matter of time before the boy woke up and then things would just get worse again.

A few minutes later the door swung open and Kai jumped up and off the bed. It was Max's father and he immediately and gently pushed the man back outside the bedroom door. "I met Tyson and Ray; they told me what happened." He stated urgently. "How is he?"

"Sleeping; he freaked out."

"Understandably." The older man mumbled, running a hand through his hair quickly and looking around, "Where's the…?"

"With the police." Kai answered offhandedly. He took a quick peak into the bedroom to make sure the youngest was still asleep, "Let him sleep," he advised quietly, closing the door quietly behind him, "he's going to take things far worse later once the shock wears off."

"Thanks for all your help here, Kai. I'm sure he appreciates it."

Kai shrugged; he was just doing what he thought any friend would do. He walked in the direction of the front door, still looking back at the older man, "He has my number in case he needs anything. I'll call in the morning."

--Two Days Later--

For two days Kai had called Max's place every three or four hours, Each time, his dad was the one that answered the phone, saying that Max was still in his room and didn't want to talk to anyone just yet. By that second day, Kai had long given up on giving Max his time alone. He knocked hard on the bedroom door to make sure he heard him, opening the door and walking over to him where he lay in bed, "Time to get up." He ordered him, shaking the boy mildly and earning a quiet groaning. "Get up, Max." he tried again, the boy just pushing himself further under the blankets. "Come on Max, I'll turn the bed on its side if it'll get you out of bed and you know I can do it."

Max sat up, tossing the sheets off himself and staring up at Kai with red puffy eyes, "What do you want, Kai?" he asked, hoarsely.

Before he knew it Kai was tossing clean clothes at him, "Get changed; we're going out." He watched as Max just continued to wipe all the sleep out of his eyes and just huffed, dragging the boy back out of bed and pushing him in the direction of the bathroom, "Change; now! I seriously have permission from your dad to drag you around this afternoon."

Max groaned even louder, having been pushed into the bathroom and the door closing behind him. He took a quick shower and changed, stepping outside and Kai having taken him by his arm again and pulling him out the front door. "Where are we going, Kai? I can't handle training right now."

"Just keep walking." Kai grumbled quietly, still pushing his friend down the street.

"Can we at least slow down? I'm getting dizzy…" He sat down on a short wall, dubbing over and wiping his eyes. They were still red from days of crying and suddenly being exposed to the sunlight after days in darkness didn't make him feel any better. "Where are we going anyway?"

"You'll see." Kai replied with a sigh. "Are you alright?"

"No," Max replied bluntly, still pouting. "Thanks for asking though." He added softly as he stood back up, "Let's get this day over with please."

Kai continued to lead the boy through a series of blocks. He'd originally planned to take a taxi to their destination but figured that Max needed to walk more and that the fresh air would do him some good. They finally arrived to their destination, not that Max had noticed as he had been staring at the ground. "We're here." He pointed out to the younger boy.

The blonde stared up at where he had been brought, the sign saying 'Animal Shelter'. He turned to Kai hurriedly, "Why are we here Kai?" to some extent there was just some anger mixed in with his pain. Did Kai really think that pushing Max into a place filled with dogs was going to make things any better for him.

Kai smirked, maybe Max thought that he was trying to torture him or something. "I called a friend of mine who works here. They take in dogs off the streets and those that are healthy are house trained for people to take in. You can go in there and choose any one you want."

"No way, Kai." Max whispered dumbly. He wasn't sure if he was taken aback by Kai's kindness or by the fact that he wanted to do what Kai said but had to hold himself back. "What if someone does that again…?"

"We won't let that happen." The Russian said with determination, "I won't let that happen." Again he turned the boy around and in the direction of the door and pressing his hand firmly into the boy's back, "Now go. I'll wait for you out there."

"Why aren't you coming in?"

Kai smirked and leant back against the wall beside the door, "Because dogs look at you with those sweet begging eyes and not even my heart can resist that." Max laughed at him and Kai was ready to shift the focus off himself, "Now get in there; just tell them I sent you."

Max disappeared; he was hesitant but at the same time there was an excited rush about the way he reacted. The Russian wasn't much of a patient person but he chose to sit and wait as patiently as possible for the sake of his grieving friend. Kai waited for him for about half an hour and finally Max showed up, running out, carrying a little blonde puppy in his arms as he beamed happily. "Look Kai, isn't he cute?" he asked happily as he pet the little creature.

Kai smiled, though mostly at the teenager who was finally happy again and he replied, "Yeah, adorable," in a hushed tone.

"Thanks for this, Kai." The blonde said appreciatively, smiling at his older teammate.

The Russian smiled back briefly and began walking, Max following close behind. "Now are you happy I dragged you out of your room?" The blonde just laughed at that question and they continued to walk to Tyson's place, mostly in silence aside from Max's laughs every time the sweet brown-eyed puppy licked his fingers or nuzzled into his hand.

When they got to the Dojo Kai went and sat in silence on the porch while Tyson and Ray acquainted themselves with Max's new pet and Max explained the kind deed that Kai had done for him. The three enjoyed the hyper and sweet nature that the blonde puppy seemingly had with the blonde teenager, all amused by the puppies little stunts and rolling in the grass. After some time had passed Ray and Tyson went to sit down at the edge of the porch, watching Max sitting in the grass not too far from them and still playing happily with his new best friend.

"That was really sweet of you to do that for him, Kai." Ray pointed out suddenly, looking back at the Russian who was sitting at the far back by the door. "When Max told us, I swear I couldn't believe it." He almost laughed.

"A sight like that is traumatic." Kai commented with a heavy exhale, "It would've destroyed Max…He's just too…innocent to have been able to handle it."

Tyson scoffed, turning back to look at Max, "You're just trying to deny that you're really a softie."

"Maybe that too." Kai allowed himself to whisper quietly.

"So why don't you get a dog, Kai?" Ray asked with a laugh.

"Have you seen Kai's house?" Tyson asked hurriedly, "It's filled with cats! It just proves my point that he's going to die alone in a dingy dark house filled with cats."

Kai groaned loudly at the remark, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at such a statement but Ray looked back at him and grinned, "Ahh don't listen to him Kai. I'll come to visit, I promise."

"That's all he needs," Tyson laughed, "another cat." Before he knew it though Kai's foot came in contact with his back, pushing him right off the porch and into the grass. Within a moment the blonde puppy, who had probably yet to be named through all the excitement, ran up to Tyson; licking the boy's face as he turned over to get himself off the grass. "Get off…" Tyson whined, pushing himself away. The dog growled through the teary brown eyes, literally looking like a kicked puppy just before it bit Tyson's ankle.

"That's a good dog." Kai mumbled, refusing to give in to laughing as the tiny animal chased the boy around the plot of land.

A/N: Quite an angsty oneshot, this one was. For the majority of it at least. The whole point of this really was to go against animal cruelty. I know someone who's dog was mutilated that way, and my own cat was poisoned with rat poison when I was at about ten. This just pretty much tells you to report animal owners who are clearly abusive; don't let it get to the point where they do something like this to someone's pet. I hope some lesson came out of this at least and I tried to make the ending as good as possible. Hope some people liked it; please leave a review and give feedback.