Don't read. this fic really has nothing to offer. I wrote it simply to deal with issues. and Kai is totally ooc here.

All the better

Rei winced. Kai was not doing too well. He was having a training match with Max, and Kai was struggling to just keep his blade in the dish and fight Draciel. Rei sighed. About a year ago Kai had hurt his knee rather badly. They had been training just normally, just finishing the warming up running, when there was a loud snap and Kai fell. His ACL had been completely severed and few other tendons had been sprained. And there were no clear reason why this had happened, it was just signed of as bad luck and probably an old injury. It had been operated, and everything seemed to have went fine but Kai wasn't okay. There was a flash, the blades had collided one last time and both were shot out of the ring. Max caught Draciel and smiled a little awkwardly

"That was a good match, thanks Kai. I learned a lot" he could hear the uncertainty in Max's voice, and by Kai's look, so could he. It wasn't a miracle that Max was a bit worried too, Kai used to wipe the floor with him earlier.

"Whatever." Kai mumbled and turned away and walked down from the dish and into the surrounding darkness. After dark was the only time Kai agreed to blade against anyone, and he figured it was to hide something. And finally he wanted to know what it was, despite how much Kai wanted to keep it a secret. So he smiled at Max and shook his head.

"You go inside already. I go check if I could do something about him". Max jumped down from the dished edge and in front of him.

"Is that wise? I mean, I don't think he will talk"

"I know. But no harm trying right? And isn't it that we bladebreakers never give up?" Max nodded and sighed

"You are right. And I hope you succeed. It's odd, but I miss the Kai we had" he felt his heart clench,

"I know what you mean.." he whispered. He missed that Kai too, and it hurt him to see Kai like this. He watched how Max walked towards the house and went indoors. He sighed again and looked into the darkness where Kai had disappeared. Then he started walking after the red eyed guy.

He found Kai in leaning on the yard's wooden fence.

"Hi" he called, as not to spook the other. Lucky him he had good eye sight, so he could easily see Kai there, now when his eyes had been accustomed to the lightness. And apparently the call had been unnecessary, since Kai didn't seem surprised at all.

"What now?" he was greeted back with a cold and empty voice.

"Nothing really. I just want to know what the heck is your problem?" the red eyes turned to look at him and the guy snorted

"Why? There is no use for you to know, and I don't feel like talking" he huffed and crossed hands over his chest.

"There is. I would know if I could help. And I want to see you feel better again". The red eyes narrowed and Kai pushed himself off from the fence. The glare he got was just as intensive and forceful as it used to be.

"You wanna help? Forget it, there is nothing you can do" there was a silence, and Kai probably thought he would leave it and go away. But he was determined to see this through, no matter what.

"Maybe there is. At least talking about problems could help" Kai snorted

"You can't seriously believe that crap?" he frowned

"Why not? Why couldn't I believe that? It works on me, so I don't think it's crap". There was another silence, and Kai shifted his weight a little. Then he flinched and took a hold on the fence.

"Kai, what's wrong?" he rushed to the Russian's side and took a hold of his forearm. Kai yanked it free and glared him, but there weren't anger in the eyes, there were sorrow in there.

"Let me be. It is none of your business"

"No, I am not letting you go this easily" he said and took a hold of Kai's hand again. This time Kai didn't fight him off.

"It's my leg" Kai said quietly. He didn't like the way Kai sounded defeated. But if it was the leg bothering, he should get Kai to sit somewhere. So he pulled Kai's hand a little, signaling him to follow. And Kai did. "You can let go. It passed already" he looked over his shoulder, but Kai wasn't facing him, looking to the side. He didn't really want to, but he still let go. But all the way to the bench that was close the dish, where audience could sit and watch matches, he kept looking over his shoulder and make sure Kai didn't fall down or be in pain. Once they reached the bench, he sat down and waited Kai to sit next to him. And the Russian did. But clearly not pleased with the situation.

"So, what's the matter with the leg?"

"Why is it so big deal to you?"

"Because the team needs you." he took a breath "Because I need you. I don't want to see you like this"

"You think I enjoy this? For crying out loud, the blondie can nearly beat me in blading." he nodded, but said nothing. He wanted Kai to continue on his own speed, to share what was on his mind, not to ask stuff and make him close up again. "But I can't help it. I have done all the doctors have told, followed the fitness program, but the knee still doesn't work. It keeps failing me, nearly buckling but not quite, just enough to throw me off balance and ruin my focus" he frowned emphatically

"That doesn't sound good. Have you visited a doctor about that?" there was bitter edge in Kai's voice

"And say what? 'sorry, but my operated leg sometimes doesn't feel good'? There is already a shortage of doctors. You think they would have any time or interest to look into a case with no urgency?" it took a while for him to come up with something to say. Surely, if you put it like that, it does sound stupid. But surely there is other ways to put it? But he couldn't come up with one right now, so he decided to approach from different angle

"Maybe you should give it more time. After all, you were allowed to start moving normally, to run and all, only half a year ago. You shouldn't push yourself too far" now Kai looked at him. The red eyes were burning, but this time, if it would be anyone else, he would say it looked like desperation and pain.

"Time? Rei, I can't even stand for longer than five minutes without the knee starting to hurt, or then it gets so stiff I can hardly move it." he gaped. He didn't know Kai had been suffering that much. Especially since Kai usually was on his feet, really standing or then leaning on something, but not often was he seen sitting. There was a tight line on Kai's face

"Maybe if you train it it will get better..?" he wasn't sure if it made any sense, but his mind didn't have time to think about it before the mouth let those words out. The anger rose in Kai, and the guy rushed up.

"Train how to stand? You hear how stupid that sounds like?" Kai tried to swirl around and walk away, but this time the knee really did give in and Kai fell. He rushed to help the guy stand, but Kai just pulled himself into a sitting position, back facing him. "Rei, I can't even stand. Do you know how helpless that makes me feel? How annoying it is? And if I don't concentrate enough, I can't walk. If the angle of my foot is slightly off, it twists the knee and then I stagger. " the pain in Kai's voice was clear, it sounded as if Kai's throat would be blogged, just like he would be close to tears.

"And even when I concentrate, which ain't really an issue, I am scared to run. Yes, I am scared Rei" the voice grew stronger, and Kai turned his head to glare him. It was hard to believe, he didn't see what was so scary. Surely it was bad to have all those problems, but still.

"Why?" he simply asked. Kai was silent and looked away again, starting to get up. He didn't stop the other, and neither could he offer help. He didn't know what to do or say. Once Kai was up, the red eyes looked at him calmly, locking every single emotion somewhere.

"Because it broke without any warning. So I keep waiting when it will break again. It would be different if it had been sore or anything before it snapped, but there was no indication of the incident. It just snapped while I run. And it's same with blading. If I put it all out, what will break this time? I try not to care, but it's the human's basic nature I am fighting against. The instinct that tries to keep us safe from harm." he nodded, he knew that. Sometimes when it was a tight battle, he needed to fight against it too, so he could reach the victory.

"But you can beat it. I know you can" there was a shadow of a smile on Kai's face.

"Yeah? Does it really look like I can?" with that, Kai started walking towards the house, obviously watching for the sore leg now that he knew to look for it. God, how much hardship and pain had Kai already endured in his life, with the grandfather he had had to live, and now his body was betraying him. Kai's life sure was anything but easy.

But what could he do to help? He could hardly imagine how Kai was feeling, what he was going through, so how could he offer any real help? He stayed outside, sitting on the bench and gazing at the sky, deep in thought.

it didn't really go as I had planned, but it is much harder to express things than I thought. sure, you can flame it. but I did warn you not to read, didn't I?
okay, whatever. one day, I might come back to that wouldn't be for me anymore, I got what I wanted. so, if you want to have more, you really should review, otherwise I will leave this as very odd one shot.