Hello! :)

Nice to meet you! My name is Gladys and this is... my very first story written in English! And my first story for the original Beyblade. So please, go easy on me, will you? I REALLY tried to keep Kai and Rei In Character, hope it's alright.

Also, I would really appreciate any help or comment on my English writing. English isn't my native language so it's natural I could make a mistake here and there... Tried my best with this oneshot but, oh well, stupidity happens. Just please, without flames. I really want to improve my English writting skills to write more stories and oneshots. I'm here to LEARN.

Enjoy :)

Let me help you

In spite of being wounded, Kai was fast as always. The rest of the gang didn't managed to reach the house while the captain of Bladebreaker's team was already inside, or it seemed that way. Rei have spotted the opened entrance to the Tyson's dojo, so that would mean someone did come inside and didn't even bothered to lock the door. 'That's something Kai would do, alright', Rei thought to himself. 'I hope he's fine... or hanging in there at least'.

During his way back, Rei couldn't stop thinking about Kai and what he did. He couldn't believe Kai stoped him from battling that invisible beyblade and then went to challenge this strange guy all by himself, like he stood up to a fight in his place. Why did Kai said one thing but did something completely opposite? It was just too difficult for Rei to understand. He needed to hear Kai's explanation. But first things first – he couldn't just leave Kai all alone, not while he was wounded and had his Dranzer beaten up that badly.

That's why he rushed into the dojo, grabbed some bandages, painkillers and other medical equipment and went on his journey through the house to find Kai.

Rei was very lucky. He found Kai rather quickly in the garden where the captain preffered to spend his free time. He was sitting under the tree with his eyes closed, holding his left upper arm with a grimace of pain on his face. He clearly wasn't in his high spirits. 'Thank Goddness the night is warm, otherwise he could just freeze out here and we wouldn't know about it!', Rei thought, feeling more worried than before.

"Kai?", he started gently, not willing to scare the Russian boy. "Hey, Kai, you hear me?"

Kai didn't replied, didn't even budged on the sound of his name. Rei considered that as a pretty bad sign. He quickly approached the captain and kneeled in front of him. Kai's torn clothes, slightly bleeding wounds and long scratches looked worse at a close range.

"Kai? Speak to me!", Rei raised his voice but there was still no answer. "Fine then, if you're not going to talk to me, then I suppose I can help you with these wounds without your permission!"

Rei reached his hand to the other boy left forearm. All of a sudden, he heared some angry growling. Then, in a blink of an eye, Kai dodged Rei's hand, stood up and jumped away towards the pond in the center of the garden.

"I... do not need... your help...", Kai managed to spit out with anger.

Rei stared at him in amazement. How the heck Kai could move so fast with his wounds still hurting him? That was incredible and Rei, as a martial arts amateur, couldn't help but admire him for that. On the other hand, he notice something really strange. Usually silent and calm, Kai seemed to act diffrently. He almost looked like a wounded animal. With that angry stare, clenched teeth and intimidating attitude, he resembled his Dranzer more than anything. He was bold, he was frightening, he was just as his element – a raging fire unleashed.

However, Rei wasn't going to give up.

Not yet.

"Kai! Stop acting like a maniac! I'm trying to help!", Rei said firmly. "Do you really think these wounds would heal so easily? You could at least let me clean them!"

"I said... I don't need help", Kai gasped out while panting.

"Oh, come on!", Rei yelled, slightly annoyed by the other's bevahior. "Quit being a Russian prima donna and get on over here, Hiwatari! I'm not going to repeat twice! It's for your own good so I'll do it, whether you like it or not!"

At first, Rei realised he probably said too much. Kai looked at his teammate hatefully as if he wanted to punch him in a face. His right hand stirred a little like the captain stopped himself from changing it into a fist. 'Maybe calling him a Russian prima donna wasn't the best idea ever...', Rei thought with a little worry. He started to wondering if he should run from angry and now insulted Russian blader but...

Kai suddenly lost his fighting attitude. He just let out a simple groan of pain and fell on his knees without warning.

"Kai!"

Rei couldn't hold it any longer. He rushed to Kai, placed the borrowed medical stuff nearby and began to work.

Almost an hour have past before Rei cleaned and dressed all of Kai's wounds and scratches. Most of them wasn't that deep or painfull at all, but the one on the left upper arm was bleeding badly – no wonders why the Russian was holding it so tightly. Kai was consciouss during the actions, he sometimes let out a few groans and even one strange noise, which sounded like a Russian swear word for Rei. But Rei couldn't care less about what Kai was thinking at that time. He had to do this no matter what before Bladebreaker's captain would feel well enough to beat the crap out of him for just because he dared to try and helped him.

Fortunately, Rei's fears didn't come true. After finishing the job, he gathered all the medical equipment in one place and helped Kai to sit down under his favourite tree. It was weird to see Kai, one of the best bladers in the entire world, being forced to use someone's grip in order to stand still, with all those bandages and band-aids on. Rei really, really felt sorry for him but he didn't say that out loud. He was pretty sure that Kai would treat this kind of statement as an insult too.

All this time, both of bladers remained silent. None of them said a word, they were sitting next too each other, thinking. Rei's work was done, but he couldn't leave just like that. He knew Kai wasn't in shape for a little chit-chat, however he couldn't resist not to ask.

"Kai?"

Kai, sitting there with his eyes closed, let out a simple "Hn" to show that he's listening.

"Why did you do that?", Rei asked.

"Did what?"

"Why did you go and fight this guy and his invisible bit-beast?", Rei explained.

Kai finally opened his eyes and sighed.

"Because if I didn't go, you would go instead"

Rei's astonishment was high above the edge. How could Kai know?

"W-what to you mean?"

Kai lifted himself a little and leaned agaist the tree so he could see Rei better.

"Don't act like an idiot. You and I both know, what I meant", Kai said.

It was Rei's turn to sign now. Should've expect that. He could never understand the way of Kai's thinking. Sometimes he knew what people wanted to say or do before they even approched him. 'Maybe he really is psychic?', Rei wondered to himself with amusement.

"Well, you're right, Kai.", he admitted, smiling softly. "I was going to do the same thing as you did. Just sneak out of the dojo while everyone was asleep and fight this guy on my own..."

"And then he would tear you and your Drigger into shreds", Kai finished Rei's sentence with confidence. "That's why I had to go instead. You wouldn't make it"

Rei suddenly took a hint of what Kai was trying to say.

"You mean you went to fight the invisible bit-beast which could cut through anything, created a hole in the ground and made a pretty bad mess in the whole city simply because you wanted to... protect me?", Rei asked.

Kai didn't replied. He noded his head and turn his look away from Rei's face.

"You, Tyson and Max", he clarified quietly. "My friends..."

Rei couldn't find enough words to describe how he felt. In his wildest dreams he would never expect the Russian blader to drag himself to such a horrible shape in order to protect his teammates! He may not look like it, but the boy sitting next to him, Kai Hiwatari, was the best friend to have on the entire world. And he, Rei Kon, was honored to be one of the few people on earth who deserved to be called his friend, that's for sure.

Suddenly, he felt a little ashamed of being so rude earlier... and calling Kai a Russian prima donna.

"Thanks, Kai", Rei said gratefully, pating Kai's shoulder. "We could all do the same to you, you can always count on us. And, um... I'm sorry I was a little rough before, but you wouldn't listen if I wasn't acting like that... I definitely shouldn't call you a Russian prima donna either. Anyway, next time, please, let me help you... without anger and jumping-away-like-a-monkey thingy, okay?"

Kai noded his head.

"I make no promises... But I'll try", he aswered.

Rei smiled softly. He couldn't want more. It was Kai, though. He was glad he achieved that much. He was hoping he won't get a punch in a face as soon as Kai recover, because that would probably hurt. A lot. Kai knew that Rei knew that Kai certainly knew how to punch.

"Good. I'll be going now. If you need anything, I'll be in the kitchen"

Rei stood up, grabbed the rest of the medical equipment and started to make his way towards the dojo. He managed to walk three steps ahead when he heard Kai's voice.

"Rei?"

"Yeah?", he turned back, waitting for a respond.

Kai was looking at him with a dare in his eyes, smirking.

"As soon as Dranzer's fixed, I'll pay you back for that Russian prima donna you called me"

Rei laughed unwillingly. Some things just not going to change.

Kai was definitely one of those.