Authors Note;; My chapters will normally be this size or bigger, so don't worry about really small chapters. Though I am going to do my best to stick with the personalities from the show, I will warn you now that Kai's personality is a little...off in this chapter, so I BEG you to keep reading, at least until the second chapter, so you can see that he isn't like that through the story (at least not right away). This is a story of friends who want to protect one another, and that friendship happens to turn into more...or does it?

Plotline;; This takes place just before the Finals in the first season. Kai no longer posseses Black Dranzer,and Mr. Dickenson has arranged for them to spend a weak 'relaxing' before the Russian Tounament. Kai, who allowed his body to be genetically manipulated by Boris in order to properly control Dark Danzer, is now regreting this decision. With the Blade Breakers he is unable to get the monthly 'Dose', usually administered to him by Boris, and he feels he wont be able to control the monster they've made him into. To make matters worse, Voltaire has ordered Boris to send the Demolition Boys after Kai, but when Rei is put smack in the middle of things because of Kai's weakness, how can they possibly defend themselves against the genetically enhanced member of the Demolation Boys in the upcoming Finals? (The only aloof thing is that the Finals are going to be 'put on hold' for about 2 months because of some renovations going on at the stadium, giving the Blade Breakers some vacation time in the wamer parts of Russia.

Enjoy!

Mass Disclaimer;; This goes for all chapters so I don't have to repeat myself - I Own only the Plot, nothing else. All characters are from Beyblades, witch I don't own, though I wish I did, or at least Kai... ^^

Chapter One - Sick

Eternal eclipse in the teeth of the risk,

The tongue is a twist in perpetual bliss ,

Forever midnight forever midnight...,

Gone again...

Though the eldest team member had been acting strange ever since leaving his Grandfather and revealing Biovolts plan to create the perfect beyblade warriors, Rei had noticed his absences becoming more frequent, and not only him, but Max, Kenny, and Hilary as well- Tyson had to be 'filled in' on the situation, and though he had shrugged it off at first as 'Kai just being himself', it soon became apparent even to him that something wasn't right.

Kai had broken routine almost every day in the last two weeks now. Tyson often got the pleasure of sleeping in because the Russian boy himself was either to exhausted to wake anyone, or nowhere to be Captain would often come home completely drained or battered in some way. For Rei in particular, it was unnerving. Of all the Bladebreakers, it was Kai who could always be relied on, Kai who always knew what to do. But with the teams Captain like this, it was all Rei could do to try and motivate the Team when he wasn't around, and Tyson took every chance he could to test him.

Unless Rei physically removed the Dragon from the bed, you could forget about getting the team up early for training,. To make matters worse, during meal times, the navy haired boy would insist on having Kai's share if the older teen went straight to bed, stating that ' Kai didn't deserve to eat if he was going to act like a jerk', and it was on one of these nights, that Tyson had fell on the last nerve of a certain raven haired boy.

"No, Your the jerk Tyson!" Golden eyes narrowed to slits as Rei stood up from his chair, the force enough to send it tumbling on to it's back. " Can't you you see what's happening to him?" Anger was clear in his tone, but there was something else that flashed through the Tigers furious gaze before he stormed away.

With a prompt 'Hmph!" Hilary pushed her chair away from the table and stood as well."Rei's right Tyson! Your being really immature about is really wrong with him, and he refuses to see a doctor."

"It's True, I asked him a couple of day ago if he was feeling okay- I found him out by the training dish in the yard exhausted. He said he'd overdone it training, and as soon as I mentioned a doctor he just sort of shrugged it off." Added Max, his usual smile now fleeting as concerned pressed into his features.

Tysons brows furrowed in irritation- why was everybody turning on him? "Look, you know Kai- he's way to proud to accept help from anyone, so the way I see it, we might as well not let his bad choices effect us. He doesn't have to run away every other day and do whatever he does. If he wants to go looking for trouble, then let him go!" It wasn't that Tyson wouldn't care if he thought there was reason to, but the way he saw it, Kai was just being stupid. The Phoenix didn't have to keep taking off all through out the day to put himself through whatever it was he was going through.

With a scoff Hilary left the table as well, and Max frowned at the french fries on his plate, suddenly not half as hungry as he'd been two minutes ago. Kenny, who had skipped dinner to update Tysons Blade was going to have a lot to catch up on when he came from the back room later.

Rei had gone straight to his room after his outburst with Tyson, and was currently strewn across his bed, knuckles white from the grip he had on his bed sheets. 'How could he be so uncaring? Especually after all he'd just told them? His Grandfather experimented on him!' The Chinese boy just couldn't understand Tysons ignorance.

Kai was far paler than usual, and his usually sharp, carmine gaze was now glazed and distant. Though he hadn't lost much weight, you could see the exhaustion weighing him down, and though his stoic exterior never faltered, everybody could see him growing weak, and they knew Kai hated it.

Rei saw it, if no one else did, the anger Kai felt with himself. He could see it in his Captains eyes every time somebody questioned his health, and he refused to give in, refused to help himself. Above all that was what bothered the Tiger, but despite the fact that his stubborn ass was killing himself, the raven haired youth just couldn't spite him for that.

He did pity Kai though. As much as he refused to let anyone close to him, there were times when Rei would catch him watching them where the beginnings of a smile were hiding on the edges of his mouth, or the rare moment when a flash of pride would shine in his eyes when a team member won a tough match. For all the little things he did that nobody really noticed, Rei couldn't help but want to help him in his time of need.

Flipping on to his side Rei stared at the wall his bed was set against, all to aware that on the other side, Kai had likely broken out into another fever in his own room. To make matters wose, The Finals against the Demolation Boys were coming up next month

With a sigh the Tiger got to his feet and went to the door, pausing only a moment to grab Driger off of his night stand before stepping into the carpeted had his own room right next door to his and Max's on the second floor, while Tyson, Kenney, and Hilary all had rooms on the main one. There was one down there for Max as well, but he was tired of waking up to Tysons god awful snoring in he next room.

Glancing around to make sure nobody would see him, he padded over to Kai's door.

He drew up to it silently, his cat like qualities giving him at least that advantage. He drew in a breath and held it, summoning utter silence. For quite a few second he heard nothing come from the room, but then, like thunder breaking, the sound of glass shattering sent Rei stumbling back. With eyes widened in surprise he drew up to the door once more, any intentions of remaining unnoticed gone as he knocked firmly on the door.

"Kai?" Silence. Panic started to blossom in the younger teens chest, and with a frown he called out once more."Kai are you-"

"I'm fine Kon." he called through the door. Though the words he spoke were the familiar, dismissive ones he normally would have used, there was something too soft about his voice, something unfamiliar in it's weakness.

"Are you sure?" Insisted Rei, a hand subconsciously placing itself on the door as if it would swing open at his touch and reveal Kai's problem. Nobody deserved what was happening to him, and if he could help, he would.

"Go to sleep." There, he could almost hear the faint touch of a smirk in the older boys words. "Good-night Kai." he said softly before going back to his room..

Kai didn't move from his place on the floor beside his bed, where the remains of a broken lamp lay scattered around him. He was pale, tired, and sore, and though his teammates concern was an impressive show of loyalty- and completely expected of Rei- Kai wasn't about to drag anyone into this mess. Damn his Grandfather. Damn Biovolt. He still had nightmares, but his nightmares were nothing compared to his reality.

What they had done to him would torment him forever, drawing off of his strength...and forcing him to draw off of others. That was the reason for all of his illness, all of his suffering. In the Abbey Kai had been administered his 'weekly dosage' by Boris, energy he needed to keep the the sane part of him in control, thus enabling him to use Black Dranzer to it's fullest potential.

Now that he no longer wished to protect Biovolt with the amazing new capabilities of his, he had no doubt that his Grandfather would mark him as a threat, and even less doubt that the ones sent to recover him would be The Demolation Boys. On top of this, Kai no longer had an energy source, and so his body was developing cravings

At least the DB's, however, wouldn't be seeing him until Finals, where they would no doubt try and pull something. Now that Kai could use this stength and give it to Dranzer, Tala and them would be in for one hell of a fight.

With a muffled groan he clenched his jaw, refusing to give into the pain that shot from his stomach up into his chest. He felt like he was going to be sick, but he knew better- nothing would come up even if he made his way to the bathroom, so he might as well save his strength. It was going to be a long night, and he wasn't looking forward to it. Ever since he'd left his grandfather behind he'd been without his regular doses, and it was now catching up to him.

He just couldn't keep a handle on it anymore.

Silence.

The entire hotel had gone completely silent, and Rei was finding it hard to bear. He had slept for only a few hours before suddenly awakening to his stomach protesting due to a lack of dinner. For a while he just lay there, trying to drift back off to sleep, but with thoughts of Kai and the tournement on his mind, it wouldn't come. Giving up he threw back his blanket and got out of was warm enough to have left his room to wander about without a shirt, but he wasn't keen on wandering around topless, so he quickly slipped a plain white undershirt and slid on some socks before leaving his room.

The cabin Mr Dickenson had placed them in for this little 'vacation' as he called it was small, but nice. The bedrooms were all big and came with their own bathroom, the kitchen was massive with an attached dining room, and there were two sitting rooms, along with one of the most stunning gardens Rei had ever seen. Located just on the edge of town and wilderness, it really was a beautiful place.

Rei yawned as he quietly slipped down the stairs, movements sluggish and eyes drooping as he slowly made his way to the fridge. Reaching out he pulled the door open before lazily looking inside. Just as he'd thought though- no left overs. Not surprising with Tyson around. With a soft growl he close the fridge and was about to head up stairs when he noticed that the front door was open. Though the saying goes 'Curiosity Got The Cat', Rei didn't seem hindered, and made his way to the screen door with interest. It was Kai.

"Kai..." called Rei softly. The wielder of the Phoenix Blade tensed visibly, and dropped his skull, his back turned to the raven haired boy. How had he not heard him coming up behind him? Kai stifled a growl as he stepped off the porch, refusing to look at his teammate."Go back to your room."

Rei frowned. Something wasn't right about this, he could sense it. Kai was acting strangely, and at three in the morning he wasn't about to let his teammate go wandering off when he clearly wasn't well. Pushing past the screen door, Rei jumped down the porch steps and headed around the side of the house after Kai. He found himself in the gardens, where the stone figures of various animals were painted white by the moons light. The garden was eerie in it's beauty at this hour, and though unnerved, he carried on, determined to find his Captain.

Sharp eyes didn't fail him, and after finding his way to the middle of the garden, where a single, massive tree stood, he paused. The tree was by far the biggest thing around, not just in it's length, but in the girth of the trunk as well. Easily four times as wide as him, it's gnarling roots leapt above the surface, and many of them were strong and large enough for Rei to have climbed on if he'd wanted to. What had really caught his attention however, was the subtle sound of fluttering material. Scarves. The white material was waving about in the shadows if the tree, and if it had not been for them Kai would have remained completely hidden in the shadows of the trees roots.

"There you are." said the raven haired boy with a smile as he stepped toward the crimson eyed teen." What are you doing out here-"

"Go Rei." Kai's voice was cold, dull.

Rei frowned, not used to the tone. Though Kai could be an ass sometimes, it wasn't often he took such a dark tone, especially not with him. It was no secret that, while he preferred to be alone, the blue haired boy preferred Rei's company to anyone else on the Bladebreakers team. Of course this acceptance consisted of little more than sharing rooms and comfortable silences.

"What? Why?" He asked, taking another step closer. Normally he wouldn't test Kai, but something was wrong...

"I said get away!" He snarled, backing up into the shadows even more. He was trying so hard not to submit, to refuse this manipulation of his will. Stinging pain was constant in his abdomen and chest, and, covered in sweat, Kai could tell his resolve was failing- the pull of Rei's aura and the sound of his blood pumping through to his heart was diving the Russian boy mad!

Rei was utterly shocked. The tone would have pained the boy if he hadn't been so completely concerned for his teammate."Don't do this..." said Rei softly, but stenly, but there was no one left to hear it.

Kai couldn't hear Rei anymore. His vision had gone red, and his mind was a blur of confused sound and images. Something feral had awoken in Kai, and the cool, and collected, though smug Captain Rei once knew was gone, and poor Rei had gotten too close.

With speed that shamed his own, shocking Rei, Kai was before him, a single hand grabbing the collar of his shirt. With a soft growl the assaulting teen slammed him up against the trunk of the ancient tree, his grip going from his teammates shirt to his throat. Slowly his grip began to tighten.

With Kai's eyes pointed down and his wild hair blocking his face, Rei could not see what was passing over his friends features. Confusion and anger bubbled inside the Chinese boy as he struggled to get out of Kai's chokehold, but his grip was like an iron shackle, and the younger boy was unable to slip away. Slowly he felt his air being cut off, and panic took hold of him.

"Kai..." Nothing.

"Please..." Nothing.

Rei was sure this was it, that his delusional Team mate was going to end him. If he'd been expecting it he might have had time to defend, but he trusted Kai, and hadn't expected this. Why had he not noticed something sooner? Why hadn't he persisted more? His friend was breaking, and he couldn't stop it.

"...I'm Sorry." The tightening stopped.

Rei could feel his strength ebbing away, and see his vision starting to bleed into itself. Just like that Kai's grip around Rei neck faltered, and the Tiger fell to the ground coughing. For a second Kai did nothing, but when Rei called out to him again, he seamed to hear him this time.

"Kai..."

His name was practically whimpered through a pained throat, and something seamed to shift in the boys mind. Slowly his eyes fell on Rei's, not hearing the shocked gasp the boy gave when he noticed Kai's eyes. Once a brilliant ruby, they were now a colorless black, as if the pupils had swallowed the pools. Kai wanted to kill him. Every single fiber of his genetically engineered body screamed at him to kill the boyat his feet, to drain it of it's life and use it for himself- every single fiber- except one. No matter what experiments his grandfather had done to him, Kai was still locked away in there somewhere, and he didn't want this.

With heavy breaths Kai fought to control himself, and slowly he stepped back. Rei, however, wasn't going to have it.

Determination was etched into his features, and Rei got to his feet and closed the space between him and Kai in two strides. When the older teen tried to draw away Rei grabbed him by the wrist, preventing his escape."Tell me what's happening to you." Once more there was that pleading tone, that desperation, and the animal inside was stirred by it. With a growl Kai's free arm wrapped around the other boys waist, pulling the Tiger close to him,their bodies pressing together in a way that caused 'Rei to blush in a horrified manner." K..Kai!" he protested, trying to squirm out of the grip of the stronger teen to no success.

Kai had yet to move, features hidden by his thick dual colored hair as he stood there holding the younger teen to him."Be quiet." He growled softly, the husky tone drawing forth hot breath that tickled Rei's neck and caused him to tense. Slowly Kai drew nearer to him, nose trailing along his jaw line. Rei was literally in shock. He couldn't move for some reason, and his heart was pounding in his chest at a painful rate. What was Kai doing, touching him like this? This wasn't right...

Eyes widened and slits narrowed as a soft kiss was left on his jaw, and then his neck. Electricity crackled in his very veins, and it was all he could do not to gasp at the trembling he couldn't help, and all the while Rei's hand still gripped the older teens wrist.

Kai was lost in a hail of thought. On one hand there was him, who was shocked and appalled by what he was doing to his teammate but unable to stop it, and on the other, the urges and instinct of his body were demanding more. It was all he could do to stop himself from killing Rei, but he just didn't have the strength to stop this too.

"Rei." he murmured into the frozen boys neck as he planted another kiss before letting his tongue run over the smooth flesh of his nape. He could feel Rei's pulse, could sense his delicious aura and smell the blood just beneath the skin his tongue ran across.

With a sharp intake of air Rei failed to stifled a soft, but very unexpected moan and the Tiger steadied himself in the only way he knew how- by grabbing on to the front of Kai's shirt." Stop." Commanded the black haired boy, but he went unheard. That single sound appealed to the monster, and Kai growled into his captives neck, arm tightening possesively around the Chinese boys waist.

Never before had Kai Hiwatari touched someone like this. He was both ashamed and enthralled by the mere possibility of it, but above all, was horrified of what would come after this, if his teammate survived. How would he ever explain this? Slowly he backed Rei up against the ancient tree, letting his now free hand tangle itself in the other boys hair. So soft...

Rei was still frozen, forced partly from shock, but mostly due to the effects of Kai's aura. It was part of his arsenal, this deadly allure, this paralyzation upon contact.

Kai could feel the boy in his grip shaking, but he couldn't stop himself. Slowly, another well placed kiss turned into a bite.

"Stop!" he screamed as fangs sunk into muscle, into vein. The spurt of hot blood that burst into Kai's mouth caused a very audible moan of relief, and Rei found himself stunned. Though he was angry, terrified even, as he was forced with his back to the tree, Kai's strong hands holding him close and teeth sunk into him, he did not feel dread. It stung, burned even, but in a way that made him want to sigh in satisfaction along with the grimace of pain on his face. What was wrong with him? Wat was wrong with Kai?

For about two minutes they stayed like that, Rei growing weaker as Kai coaxed his blood from him, in return dawing the enegy from Rei's aura, all the while betrayed by his senses witch were bewitched with pleasure.

Kai, now that he had blood in him, felt stronger, and he slowly pulled his teeth from his team mates neck. For a moment the stripe faced teen just stood there panting heavily, beaded in sweat, head still in the crook of Rei's neck with his lips hovering just above skin ."Rei..." he whispered softly, control slowly starting to ebb back into him. When he got no reply he slowly drew back only to find that the boy had passed out. Shit.

Carefully he pulled the boy toward him, away from the tree and against his chest. Rei was pale, but warm, and after checking his vitals Kai was convinced that, after a good rest, he'd be fine. Slowly he sunk to the ground with the boy in his arms, leaning against the tree for support. He was physically and mentally spent, and for a moment he rested his chin atop Rei's head, trying to gather enough strength to carry the boy back inside.

It was another fifteen minutes before Kai could find it in him to stand. With one arm under Reis knees and another cradling his head, the captain carried him from the gardens back into the house. Though his eyes were still heavy, Kai could feel his bodys' rejuvinated strength and knew that by tomorrow he'd be back to his usual self, but at what cost? With a frown he looked back down at the boy in his arms. He didn't understand why he was still alive.

Don't get him wrong- it wasn't as if Kai wanted him dead, but ever since he'd left Biovolt he'd get these urges once a month, urges to sink his teeth into something. He always resisted for as long as he could, but in the end something always snapped and he would give in. The people he fed off of normally were sucked dry- no, not normally, but always. Why, tonight, had it not been the same? Because it's rei. A voice whispered in his head. It was easy to give into his bloodlust with a stranger, but when it was somebody he'd spent so much time with...Had it been any of the Bladebreaker Kai would have fought just as hard against it as he had tonight, wouldn't he?

Then there was the most troubling aspect of it all, the part that still made him curse under his breath every time his cheeks flushed pink. He had kissed Rei, held him even. IT wasn't bad enough that he had bitten him, but he had to humiliate himself doing it too? A soft growl escaped the older boys lips as he stepped through the front door, kicking it shut behind him. It was almost 4:30 according to the clock in the kitchen that he passed, and so he made his way upstairs as quietly as possibly, smirking softly at the sound of Tysons snoring downstairs.

He wouldn't risk waking Max up, and so he carefully opened the door to his own room instead, slipping inside soundlessly. Without bothering to turn on the light he walked over to the bed and placed Rei down on it before grabbing the twisted blankets off the floor at his feet- it had fallen with him when he'd broken the lamp, whose shards still hadn't been cleaned. Shaking the blanket out, he then draped over the sleaping neko before going to work cleaning up the glass. Wouldn't want him to step on that in the morning. Taking a last look at the exhausted boy he couldn't help but sigh. "I owe you one Kon." he thought before slipping out of the room and making his way down to the couch, where he promptly passed out, all the while knowing that if Rei hadn't come...He would likely be dead.

Authors Note;; Well here's the first chapter, reviews will get more up faster!