It's amazing how much faster I update when I'm supposed to be doing something else, isn't it? Here's the next installment.


Risk number 4 - the biggest of all (Part 2)

The match had been won easily, which was surprising considering the distraction Kai's abrupt appearance had proved to be - more so than if he had not been there at all, and their minds were free to run away with themselves, inventing scenarios. Suddenly, the team was faced with a very real problem, worse than they had been willing to imagine. But Kai was refusing to acknowledge that anything had happened at all, glaring silently through their celebratory meal of pizza, pointedly ignoring Tyson and Max's not-so-subtle attempts to get him to open up. Rei didn't even bother when Kai was in this type of mood, and actually, he was still smarting from their last conversation, although he would never admit it. The Chief sat quietly, occasionally wincing when he felt that one of the others had gone too far and Kai would snap, but that moment never came. The meal ended without incident, with each of them excusing themselves to their respective rooms.

This is it, thought Rei, pushing the door open to the room he and Kai were sharing. He was greeted, not with a look of anger, or of disdainful dismissal, but with an expression he had never seen on Kai's face before. Fear, pain and worry intermingled with a sort of vulnerability.

"Sit down, Rei, I'm going to tell you everything."

"Not before I sort out your wounds." Rei declared, despite his burning curiosity. Was he finally going to get all the answers to his questions? He dug around in his suitcase and found a small travel first aid kit.

"Take off your shirt."

"I'm fine," said Kai automatically in a monotone, as he sat on his bed. The accompanying wince completely undermined his statement, and Rei raised an eyebrow at him.

"Take it off," he commanded, marvelling at the power he managed to summon into his voice, even though his legs were shaking at the idea of confronting his captain. To his surprise, Kai complied, and Rei couldn't stifle the sharp intake of breath at what he saw.

Kai's torso and back was covered in long, thin, bleeding lines. He looked like he had been whipped. The rest of his skin was covered in purplish bruises, obviously incredibly fresh. Rei silently got to work on dressing the wounds, then folded Kai's shirt, handing him a clean one, and sat down on the bed next to him.

Not knowing what to do, he put his hand on his friend's shoulder and waited for him to speak.

Kai opened his mouth, then shut it again, as no words came out. He pulled the shirt over his head, stalling for time, before finally gesturing to a mess of electronics and black plastic casing, which Rei hadn't noticed before, resting on his pillow.

"I guess I'll start with that. Biovolt's been spying on us, Rei, the whole time we've been in England. That used to be a hidden camera, and there's one in the training room, too. That's why I was being so secretive the other day, I knew about the one there, but I had no idea…" he trailed off, looking angry with himself.

"How did you know?" asked Rei, wide-eyed.

"I looked for it, the first morning we were here, while you were still asleep. I kind of had a feeling that something wasn't quite right, from when we received the invitation, really. I couldn't put my finger on it, but it was there. A new tournament, but with none of the usual teams invited? Not even the Majestics, and it's their home turf! And it happened to turn up just as Boris was released from prison. Convenient, eh?" He snorted derisively.

"BORIS?" Whipping his head round to look at Kai in shock, Rei suddenly felt a surge of pity for his friend. How could he have kept that so quiet, without support or comfort? Especially considering how badly his memories from the Abbey affected him.

Kai nodded and clenched his fists. Rei couldn't help but notice his knuckles turning white. What could he do, or say, in the face of this revelation? Words were empty, pointless.

After a short, internal battle, Kai continued his story.

"Yesterday… that phone call… Boris' henchmen were requesting my presence at a 'meeting'. If I didn't go, they were threatening to take you. Rei, I had to!" Kai's eyes were fierce, as if daring Rei to tell him he shouldn't have gone.

"They'd found out about our friendship through that camera, they said. I couldn't let it happen again." He closed his eyes as though in pain and ran his fingers through his hair distractedly.

"What?" Rei asked gently.

"I've had friends taken before. Well, one. Then I stopped letting people close. I never thought…"

He stopped short as Rei slipped his arm carefully around his shoulders and said "Don't worry. I won't let them separate us."

Kai smiled grimly. "You don't understand. You don't know what they're capable of."

"I can guess, looking at what they did to you."

"This is nothing," Kai insisted, "But anyway, the meeting. As I said, the whole tournament is a farce. The first team were planted by Biovolt – that's why they were so easy to beat. The second team was bribed to lose, with quite a lot of money, I gather. Boris badly wants us to win, but his problem is that he couldn't bribe the team we are up against in the finals to lose. The meeting was an excuse for his henchmen to give us a warning about what happens if we fail."

Questions were churning in Rei's mind. Which to ask first? There were so many things he needed to know. He finally settled on what he felt to be the most pressing issue – Kai's welfare.

"That doesn't explain how you got in this state," he stated, with a slightly stern air. "What did you miss out?"

Kai's fists clenched tighter, and immediately Rei regretted asking. What had happened was obviously too painful, the wounds literally too fresh, for him to confide in him.

He suddenly became aware that Kai had begun to speak in a low voice.

"That was… my punishment for what we did to Boris. We put him in prison, and he didn't like it. God knows how he got out, but now he has… the restraining order won't last long. He'll find a way around it."

Rei felt as if icy hands had just gripped his heart. It was their fault – his and the other Bladebreakers' – as much as Kai's. Yet Kai was the only one punished, and so cruelly, too.

"Boris takes delight in torturing me. He wants to see me crack, like I did when I was younger." stated Kai, as if in reply to Rei's thoughts, "He likes the challenge."

The younger boy shuddered involuntarily at the cold, resigned delivery of the last revelation. He was beginning to see why Kai was the way he was. The only way to survive the abbey was to build up walls and trust no one. He turned frightened eyes to Kai.

"Why does he want us to win the tournament? He has a plan, doesn't he?"

"I don't know," sighed Kai in frustration, "And I really don't know what to do, except to win at all costs. We'll be better off facing this plan than the punishment of failure. We'll all be punished this time. I couldn't let that happen to you, Rei, and the others. I may be used to it, but you aren't."

They lapsed into an uneasy silence, each preoccupied with their own troubled thoughts. Rei tried his hardest to think of some clever plan, some easy way out, anything. Try as he might, he wasn't struck with any plan at all, and it was clear that Kai wasn't having any luck, either.

Finally, Kai stood up.

"Go to bed," he commanded in his best team captain's voice, and added, before Rei could protest, "Let me worry about this."

"No way!" cried Rei, rising also. "You're not alone this time, however many times you were in the past. We'll get through this together, you'll see!"

He was aware he sounded incredibly clichéd, but he found he didn't really care. He just needed Kai to understand. Impulsively, he hugged him gently, trying to convey his friendship through that one simple gesture.

Surprisingly, Kai wasn't pushing him away, despite the discomfort of his injuries. He looked quite taken aback, his eyes wide, but then he gave a genuine smile.

"Thanks, Rei."

Mission accomplished.


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SapphyTheElf