Chapter Eleven: Support System
In the stillness of their suite, lax breathing mixed with slight snoring was heard. The soft beams of the slowly rising sun gradually streamed in through the drapes of the windows and balcony door, giving a heavenly, dim glow to their part of the building.
Max rolled onto his stomach, as the dream he was currently having made his eyebrows twitch. One of his arms threw itself over Tyson's chest, pulling him close. Tyson grunted at the touch but his body soon relaxed, not sensing any immediate danger. You'd think the two were a married couple, the way they're laying.
In another bed, the one beside Tyson and Max, slept Kenny and Daichi who had their backs to each other. On the couch was Ray, who didn't look comfortable but he was still fast asleep. He lay with his legs straight, his ankles crossed, and one arm limply draped over his stomach, while the other buff one was cushioning his head like a pillow on the arm of it.
In the room somewhere near the sofa, in a corner, were Kai and Hilary. The two were curled up, with a shirtless Kai holding her protectively to him. The two looked serene, content. Hilary's fingers laced with his and he gripped hers lovingly, subconsciously reassuring her he was still there. That she wasn't dreaming, this was real, and she wouldn't wake up alone.
In the room at the very back was Gou, who looked to be dead to the world. He was on his stomach, arms splayed out and his face was scrunched in between the fluffy pillows. At first glance, he looked uncomfortable but he wasn't.
A vibrating noise abruptly filled his room. With a comedic snort, he instantly popped his head up like a Jack in the Box. In a fraction of a second, Gou figured out what it was and yanked the thing off the nearby nightstand. He was careful not to tug too hard on the charger it was still connected to though. Without thinking or giving a care, he pressed 'Answer' and put it to his ear.
"Hello?" His groggy, gravelly voice sounded worse than usual. He sounded irritated and that's because he was. Like so many nights prior, he didn't sleep too well.
"Hey, good morning," came a deep, kind of cheerful voice. This person sounded completely awake like they'd been up for hours.
"Dad?!" Gou nearly shouted, bolting upright, the phone coming unhooked from its charger.
"Shhh. How ya doin', champ?" Gou wiped his watery eyes and because of that couldn't respond. He heard a deep throated laugh on the other end.
"I see. I just called to say good luck. I'm not out of the woods yet, but I'm doing a bit better today. I don't know if it was Dranzer, if it was just the joy, or both but seeing you helped me tremendously,"
"Don't you think this is a dumb idea? What if someone hears you?" he finally said, his voice still a bit shaky from the shock.
"Then keep your voice down," the man whispered.
"Dad, can I ask you something?" Gou had gotten the hint.
"Sure, shoot,"
"Out of the three scars, how come only the one near the top is visible?"
"Sucky foundation. No matter how much I put on, the top one never covered up completely. Keep in mind; even the most confident man has insecurities of some kind. It wasn't until your mother that I learned not to let them bother me,"
"Oh, okay-" A set of knocks tapped on his door.
"Don't worry, you're doing fine," his father quickly assured.
"Thanks. Bye,"
"Bye," The click echoed in his ear, followed by that repetitive dial tone. There was another set of hard knocks. Gou plugged his phone back up and barked,
"I'm up, jeez!"
His door was opened and the teen saw a groggy Tyson standing in the doorway with his hand on his hip.
"Get in the shower and change into your new clothes," he tiredly said.
"Understood, sir,"
"Now that the meetings are over. Welcome one and all to the Beyblade World Championships," shouted DJ Jazzman into his handheld microphone while he stood on the stage.
A spinning globe appeared on the massive monitor behind him. For every country, their respective Home Team was shown.
"This year we're starting off in Russia and in weeks' time we'll be in Washington D.C. Where else we'll land is anybody's guess," he stated excitedly. The crowd roared enthusiastically in response.
"Now, onto what you all really came for, the Bladers!" He animatedly extended his arm to a curtained-off area at the back of the room. The curtain opened up and the Bladebreakers walked out, along with the Blitzkrieg Boys. After that, the other teams walked out. White Tiger X, F Dynasty, the former members of Barthez Battalion now known as the Storm Chasers, Team Psychic now with Zeo on the team, the PPB All Starz, Saint Shields, and the newly named, Blare which had the former bladers of the long-gone BEGA team on it.
"Let them hear how excited you are," bellowed Jazzman and the crowd cheered again.
"OK, Mr. World Champion, time to give your speech," he said, holding the mic out to Tyson. Tyson silently took it and cleared his throat. While walking further up onto the stage, he said,
"A speech? Nobody told me I had to make a lousy speech," He was irritated and, had of course, grumbled it without thinking. In truth someone had told him, he'd been emailed about it nearly six months ago. Being tired made his brain not want to work. Knowing everyone heard him and seeing what was about to transpire Hilary gasped and snatched the mic.
"What he meant to say is, 'Bring it on!' Woo!" She turned to Tyson and added through gritted teeth,
"I am so going to kill you."
Near the back, in the shadows, standing away from everyone was Gou. With a breathy groan, he dug his nails into his arms.
I see now why you often refer to him as a moron, he thought, one of his eyes twitching. I swear he's on par with our idiot.
Watching the scene unfold, Gou remembered something. It was back when he was around six-years-old and just starting to really meet his extended family. A recent reunion, Mr. Dickenson's idea, had brought on a party at the Hiwatari's residence and after that some "long overdue" introductions. Well, that's how Mr. D. put it. He recalled his father being exceptionally irritated about the forced gathering and complaining a lot.
"Dad, what's Uncle Tyson like? He's not like that boy Makoto is he?" he asked, sitting on their living room couch, a slew of his dad's old newspapers and magazines spread out on the coffee table in front of him. It had been a few days since said party and all the strangers had prompted Gou to ask questions. A severe storm was brewing and booming just outside their home but neither really paid attention to it.
"He is. He's a forgetful, brash, and arrogant moron," Kai finally said, briefly looking up from a large pile of job applications, employee salary and tax transcripts, as well as other company paperwork.
"You never disappoint do you, Tyson?" Ray said, his smile-laden voice bringing Gou back to reality. Yeah, he was ashamed, anyone could easily see behind that grin.
"Oh boy," Max said with an embarrassed sigh.
"On with what's left of the opening ceremonies," DJ awkwardly spoke into the mic, Hilary's hand still loosely gripping onto the end of it.
After the ceremonies, the tournaments' competitors were told to lounge in the massive, locker room-esque units in Building B until 11:30. Yes, building B was nothing but locker rooms and bathrooms.
On the map for the building, which every team had a few quality copies of, the locker rooms looked like a maze. Each area for the teams was separated by a set of stairs and a heavy, code secured door. The showers and dressing places in the rooms were marked off by long, thick red curtains.
It was currently 9:15, and Tyson was sitting on a bench in front of a long set of blue lockers, his fingers fumbling over the map and how the building was set up. He put a hand to his head and groaned. Looking ahead he saw Gou tugging on his black turtleneck. He didn't look too comfortable.
"Gou," the teenager turned to him, his fingertips slowly moving away from the thin cotton collar. "are you okay?" Right when the boy was about to respond, a knock cut him off. Seeing Kai get up to answer it, he hurriedly removed his face paint and tossed the damp cloth in the nearby bin.
"Tyson, some girl wants you and I'm not holding the door all day." Tyson looked up and saw Kai pointing to a beautiful blonde woman with his thumb. The champion sighed and got up, going over to the door.
"Hey, nice to meet you," he said, joyfully extending a hand to her. Kai shut the door, leaving the two in the hallway.
"Sorry about that, he's not the nicest person in the morning, or any time really. So, what's up?"
"My name is, Aurora. I've wanted to meet you for years. I'm glad I finally get to," She sounded shy, but the wind soldier got the feeling that she wasn't, that it was just nerves.
"Like, the princess from that children's chick flick Sleeping Beauty? Pretty,"
"Wanna go out on a date?"
Whoa, the nerves are gone, he thought, taken aback by her sudden, almost extreme, change.
"Uhh, how old are you, and where are your parents?"
"Not here and I'm in my second year of college. We're on vacation," the busty blonde said.
Oh boy. Must be Spring Break somewhere. Staying quiet, he continued to think. This was not how he thought he'd spend his free time.
"Convince me," he finally said, hands on his hips.
"What?"
"I'm on a schedule, a tight one. Convince me it's worth my time,"
"I can do that," she said playfully, a smirk appearing. Tyson smirked back, looking forward to where this was going.
This is gonna be fun, the dragon owner thought. In his own way, he'd always been the flirty type, ever since he'd turned fifteen. Nowhere near the likes of Enrique, but he still had his moments, no offense to the man.
"No way, you actually talked to him and over the phone too?!"
"Shhhhh, yes, I did," Gou said in a whisper, hoping the still sparsely freckled man would get the hint. Max just scratched his head. He was beside himself with confusion and couldn't wrap his head around it. How was that even possible, let alone logically plausible?
My brain hurts, he thought, a headache coming on. It was still way too early for this. Gou knew what he was thinking and groaned, he hated having to explain things so much and it seemed here lately that's all he'd been doing. Oh well, it couldn't be helped given the circumstances.
I swear when I get home I'm not talking for a month.
"I was given a phone before I left. A way older model that they said would be active here and no, no one else should have the same phone number as I do. They said they'd checked and manipulated the system here, or something like that. Same goes for dad when he called me,"
"I see, kind of," Max said, his head pounding a little less now.
It seems sound in theory; it's just a teensy bit odd. I wonder, which of us came up with that silly idea? he thought, a laugh trying to escape but he held it in.
"So what'd your dad say?" The two jumped at the voice and looked to see Kai standing in front of them. The usual blank expression on his chiseled features.
"Um, uh, I..."
"Who says we were talking about his dad?" Max said, trying to urge him away from the area the two were tucked in.
"Max, I'm not deaf. I have sonar for ears,"
'Kai, leave them alone," They looked to see Hilary rushing towards them.
"Oh, buzz off,"
"Quit being pushy. If Gou wants to tell you he will. Don't force him,"
"You know full well that I'm privy to any information surrounding this kid. I'm the reason he's here,"
"Just give him some time," she stated calmly. This shocked Gou, considering how fiery she was with everyone else. "and quit being entitled," she barked.
Never mind, I retract my last motion, the teen thought.
"Entitled?! Ha, that's rich. You're one to talk," Kai argued back. "Throwing a hissy fit if I don't get you anything or don't do what you want to do," If it were possible, Hilary's jaw would've most certainly hit the floor. Lord knows Max and Gou's certainly would've. They couldn't believe what was happening.
Seriously?! Here, now, of all places? Max thought, his left eye twitching.
"We're not talking about me. We're talking about you and how you treat the people around you. You're an-"
"Go on, say it. Say it loud and proud because I don't think they'll be able to hear you otherwise. I know I definitely can't when we talk on the phone. Two words, girl: speak up,"
In embarrassment, her gaze slowly drifted to the floor, then she looked at him again, her furious rubies brimming with warm liquid crystals. While the two unwilling spectators watched in disbelief, the older gentleman remained unfazed. To Gou, it was like he didn't care whether she cried or not. He could feel the ice around him. The near hostile indifference coming from his already permanently piercing stare was something Gou couldn't put into words. He felt like shaking and crying, ducking and running to the furthest corner of the room.
It's like he's a completely different person. Is this really how cruel dad was back then? he thought.
"You're an asshole," the kid heard her scream.
"And I'm damn well proud of it too," he screamed back. Kai stormed toward the door as he said,
"Since you know so much about the team and what we need. You can run it. See ya."
At that, he forcefully slammed it shut, causing the room to shake.
"Hilary? Come on, I'll take you out. We've got time," Massive tears flowed down her face and inaudible sobs erupted, making her shoulders shake uncontrollably.
"I'm going to go-"
"No, you are not, young man," Max said, cutting him off. He dug in his pocket and held out a map.
"You know Russian, right?" Max asked as Gou took the map.
"Well, yeah. I'm not fluent in it but I know enough to get around,"
"Good, you take her out. Go bond over stuff while I go find him,"
He looked away from the map and up at Max who was more than livid. He knew not to argue with an angry Max. In the past, in his timeline, he never got his way with him when he was mad. Uncle Max always won their disagreements and this situation was no different.
"Understood, sir,"
"Off ya go then. Call when you're on your way back," Max ordered.
"Yes, sir," Next thing he knew, the door was opened and left to shut itself.
Kai stomped down the long hallways, turning corners left and right until he made it outside. The already frigid temperature was rapidly dipping and he didn't care, he needed some air. Suddenly someone gripped the back of his collar and forcibly yanked him back inside. He was harshly slammed and pinned against the wall, feet barely off the floor.
"You're a sad excuse for a man you know that?"
"Hn,"
"She's ballin' her eyes out because of you. Was airing that laundry really necessary?"
"Max, unless you want to end up 6ft under, let go,"
"I'm not scared of you and you're going to listen to what I have to say," Kai raised and bent his legs. He harshly slammed his feet into the man. Thus, causing Max to fall back and double over on the floor.
"I said, 'let go,' didn't I?" he stated calmly.
"What you did was uncalled for and you know it," he said. Kai had kicked him hard enough to leave a nasty bruise and nearly knocked the wind out of him.
"I'd been holding that in. It was bound to come out some time or other,"
"Kai, you know what I mean," Max said, getting up.
"I clearly don't,"
"Then I'll spell it out for you, ya egotistical bastard! Never air your dirty laundry in public. If you don't want people to know you're dating then keep a lid on everything. Second, never ever argue in front of kids. It doesn't matter how old they are. If they're under the age of twenty-one, in my opinion, they're still a kid. If you're going to argue, go somewhere else," he stopped, seeing how colorless Kai's face was.
"In the heat of the moment you forgot Gou was there, didn't you? Don't try to deny it, it's all over your face. You're embarrassed," Kai straightened up, regaining his composure.
"He's a young man, I'm sure he can take it,"
"He's a child and I can speak from experience. It's painful to hear,"
"Kai, Max!" The two looked to see Ray sprinting toward them and skidding to a squeaky stop. "I'm so glad I found you,"
"What's going on,"
"Why?"
"Hilary just texted me. She said she's taking Gou to the emergency room. He collapsed and she can't get him to respond. Before that she said he'd complained of chest pains and hyperventilated. I'm on my way there now," Ray had been hanging out with his old team so he hadn't been around for a good chunk of the morning.
Within seconds, Kai charged past them at breakneck speed. The remaining two glanced at each other in bewilderment and hurriedly followed their leader.
As they ran down another hall and turned another corner, they saw DJ Jazzman talking to one of many tournament advisers, causing them to halt.
"There you are, we finished setting up early. We're going to start the first match in ten minutes. We need you three to sign the battle forms and compete,"
"Get Tyson, Daichi, and Kenny to do it. We're busy," Kai said calmly but something told DJ he was in a hurry to get somewhere.
"They're not here," DJ said, feeling awkward under the tension.
"What?!" the three men said.
"No, we can't find them,"
"They must've left with Hilary," Ray guessed.
"Kai, what do we do?" Max asked, knowing he had the final say in all this.
"We're not forfeiting, we'll compete," he finally said.
"Well, follow me then, gentlemen," DJ said, feeling more at ease.
"Everyone ready! As requested by the captains; this is a tag-team battle. Winners take-all in this sudden death match, moving on to the next round," He pointed down dramatically and added, "Now, on to today's dish,"
The square area of blue, split floors opened up and elevated a purple stand to reveal a massive, round dish covered in snow and ice. The land was barren, minus a few scarce trees and tiny patches of rock. Tucked away in a corner was a frozen lake. There was plenty of room to move around but nowhere to hide. This wasn't going to be easy.
"Main competitors, step up to the dish: Ray and Max of The Bladebreakers VS Raul and Julia of F. Dynasty. Alternates, Romero and Kai you may step in at anytime. Last blade standing, means that team will move up," He paused, giving the Bladers another second to prepare themselves, this was the first match of the tournament after all.
"Now, everybody ready. Let's count them in. Take your marks at 3, 2, 1... Go, shoot!"
The four blades hit the dish in a frenzy. Kai watched as the match intensified with every second. He traded glances with Romero and the two smirked. This was gonna be an interesting one. They watched as Ray and Raul's blades clashed and ground together. The heating metals sent literal sparks and shockwaves through the stadium, which made the temperature rise, as well as everyone's skin sting. Oh yeah, this was gonna be a close one.
"Everyone move aside! Code Blue," yelled an EMT as he rushed through the Emergency Room doors with a nurse from the hospital staff, a bed in between them. "I repeat, we have a Code Blue," he added. Hilary and Daichi weren't too far behind, having rode in the ambulance. Though the medics on board didn't really like it they completely understood, he was just a kid. The two watched as they took a bloody and blue lipped Gou farther down the hall, to a unit the two knew they couldn't go past. So, feeling defeated and at a loss on what to do next, they looked around and soon noticed a set of blue chairs.
"Chief's carefully filling out the paperwork, right?" Hilary asked, taking a seat in the hard plastic.
"Yeah, he should be done soon," Daichi said, taking the one next to her. At that, the clack of a clipboard was heard hitting the receptionist's desk and Kenny was seen taking a seat near them, a big pole separating the three.
"What did you put down?" Hilary asked, quickly standing up, her hands absentmindedly folding together at her chin. It was a childhood habit she'd never been able to break.
"Shhh," Kenny put a finger to his lips and pointed at the TV. The volume was low but they could still hear it. On it was the match and it looked like it was nearing its end.
"And the winner is, Max! The Bladebreakers move onto the next round. F Dynasty, you'll have another shot tomorrow," came DJ's voice. Hilary's brows knitted, confusion coating her babydoll like features. She glanced at her watch.
"It's not even near 10:30, why are they in a match?" she asked. Though it sounded like she was accusing or blaming someone.
"They must've finished setting up early and decided it was better than waiting around," Kenny interjected with a slight shrug. Hilary turned to look at him and saw Daichi nodding in agreement.
"This happens sometimes. It can't be helped. When they call for you, someone has to show up. It's better than forfeiting, right?" Daichi added. He grinned at her, hoping it would ease her frayed nerves. Hilary sighed, remembering that fact, and fell back on the chair. The top of it pressed painfully into her back but she didn't care.
"Oh yeah, how could I forget?" she let out, her body relaxing slightly.
"Hello, good afternoon," All turned to see an old man dressed in blue scrubs. It was clear he'd just come from somewhere but from what unit they didn't know. Maybe the surgical unit, but they could be wrong. Kenny peered down and noticed bloodstained purple gloves on his hands but hearing Hilary speak made him look up again.
"Are you, Gou's Doctor?"
"I am, miss, and he's in Recovery,"
"Recovery?!" Daichi bellowed.
"Yes, room 224. We had to put a breathing tube in his throat, but once he can breathe on his own we'll remove it," the doctor said.
"It's part of what you do during a Code Blue," Chief added. The others looked at the doctor and he nodded.
"Can we see him?" Hilary's frank and near frantic nature was nothing new to the doctor.
"Are you family? Those are the only ones who can see him at the moment,"
"Um, well, we, uh-" Kenny stammered.
"We're just friends. Hang on a second," Daichi dashed off to one of the adjacent bathrooms. Kenny wanted to follow him but didn't want to leave Hilary alone.
"May I see your paperwork for him?"
"Sure," Kenny got up and after getting it, handed the doctor the clipboard. Kenny and Hilary watched nervously as he went through it, reading each line carefully.
"Where are his parents?" the doctor finally asked, looking up from the clipboard. The "parents" section had been left blank, which he found very strange. The two looked at each other, one was in bewilderment while the other was apologetic. Hilary sighed sadly and said,
"I- I'm his mother, Doctor." Chief's jaw went slack and, if possible, would've fell off.
"Young lady, don't lie to me. You and I both know he looks and is too old to be your son,"
"I'm not, I was a young mother. He got his looks from his bastard father who abandoned me after getting what he wanted. Please, don't take him from me. His grandparents couldn't take it. They love him too much," Hilary saw no other choice but to make up a story.
"Ma'am, you're a decent actress but I've been around and th-"
"Hilary, there you are," Everyone turned and looked to see a tall, older man with graying black hair and dark mahogany eyes. He wore a white shirt, with a green sweater over it, and black khaki pants. Every article, minus his nice shoes, was slightly wrinkled and had obviously seen better days but he looked comfy. "I got a call to come here, is everything alright?" he added kindly.
"Who are you?" the doctor asked the man, calling him to attention. At this point, the doctor was anything but happy.
"Let's go where there's less traffic. I don't want to be in anyone's way," the man said coolly.
Tyson ran down the hospital's hallways with Kai, Max, and Ray hot on his heels. Once they reached the waiting area Kai pulled Tyson aside and shoved him into a nearby bathroom.
"Clean yourself up first," he scolded.
"What, are you jealous?"
"Tyson, you're way too happy. Calm down," Ray said, shaking his head while laughing.
"If you want people to ask questions about what happened to you, then by all means go ahead in," Max stated, trying not to laugh. Tyson, now red-faced, shut the door and once Kai heard the water running, he and the others sat next to Kenny and Daichi in some nearby seats.
This area of the hospital was huge and barren. It was far away from the front, full of nothing but chairs and two heavy doors on either side. This place was creepy and Kai didn't like it. The sooner he could get out of here, the better off he'd be.
Looking around, the phoenix wielder's eyes went wide at what he saw. Immediately a mix of anger and shock filled his features.
"Dad, what-?!" The man said, now standing and approaching them.
"Before you jump me I was told to come here,"
Kai scoffed, turned and sat back down, a freshly cleaned Tyson now joining them. Susumu Hiwatari shook his head and continued talking to the doctor.
"A young man named Daichi Sumergi called me and said that someone from the team was in the hospital. Right now, I work for Mr. Stanley Dickenson. He's the head, the CEO, of the BBA. I'm a researcher there and I'm also on the WBC committee," he paused, and after a bit added, "After that I called Mr. Dickenson and had him gather the documents that would explain Gou's situation. They should've been faxed to you but just incase, here's some hard copies," He handed the doctor the thin stack of papers and once the doctor looked over them he walked away saying,
"I'll be right back." Susumu watched him walk away and then turned his attention to the young men adjacent to him.
"Kai, you're his caretaker, so you had better have a valid explanation for this when you talk to Mr. Dickenson later,"
"Understood, sir." Kai's dad was about to say something else when a soft tap on his shoulder stopped him. Behind him stood a short and blonde, blue eyed nurse with a clipboard and pen in her beefy arms.
"He compared the papers. You're all set. You can see your friend now. Right this way," she joyfully spoke.
Outside of room 224, Hilary stood silently. Finding some courage, she took in a breath and went in. Upon opening the door, beeping sounds filled her ears. When her ruby eyes caught sight of a hooked up Gou her heart plummeted like a rock into her stomach.
It was astonishing just how much he still looked like a kid. The hospital had removed his clothes, which toned and trimmed his figure, making him appear more muscular than he actually was. The brown and tan hospital gown he was wearing showed how baby-faced he was and how much he still had to grow up.
"Hey, Gou. I know you're probably going to be mad at me for this later, but I snuck up here," The brunette sat in a nearby chair and softly smiled at him, firmly taking his hand in hers.
"Hang on, okay. Your support system is right here."
A few days have come and gone since Gou was put in the hospital. Once found by the nurse, and subsequently everyone else, Hilary was lectured by Mr. Hiwatari about sneaking off and kicked out via the doctor. That is unless someone was with her. No one else saw Gou that day. Because of her they were told to go home. Hilary cried herself to sleep that night, telling Kai in secret what she'd seen. Despite his efforts, her lover's encouraging words and soft kisses did little to soothe her.
Kai had apologized profusely for his behavior and the two made up properly, but not before sitting through a team intervention about how the couple treated each other.
Tyson did end up having to explain where he was when all this was going on, and oh boy was that an embarrassing conversation. After Kai's long talk with the man, Tyson was sent in and lectured heavily by Mr. Dickenson on the rules and told the dos and don'ts of a traveling gentleman.
It was now nearing the end of the Russian leg and everyone was gradually packing and gearing up for Germany. Northern Berlin, to be precise. Instead of staying at a tournament issued hotel, all competitors were welcomed to Robert's castle with open arms. Which was greatly appreciated by everyone. Due to being busy with family run companies of their own and other tasks, like finishing up their college degrees, the Majestics weren't able to compete this year and it was a bummer but it wasn't all bad.
While zipping up his black suitcase and putting some things from the bathroom into his trusty blue and white duffle bag, Tyson heard a knock at the door. Figuring it was a member of his team, he went out and just slid the card under the door. After he wordlessly resumed what he was doing.
"He's not awake yet, but the tube has been taken out. So that's a plus, I guess," came Max's voice, along with some footsteps and the clearing of his throat. "The doctor says his heart rate and blood pressure are still high. I'm not going to say anything, obviously, but I think it's the stress he's under." Tyson could tell by his voice that he'd been crying. Turning around, he saw that his thoughts were confirmed. Max's lips were still slightly quivering and his eyes were red and watery.
"Max, don't worry, he'll be okay," Looking out into the front room, they saw Kai standing a good distance from the door. In his eyes concern shown, making his straight face appear sad.
"Hey, you all packed?"
"Yeah, just have Gou's stuff left." At the mention of the boy a thought occurred.
"You should really go see him, Kai,"
"..."
"Just swallow your nerves and go, dude. You're the only one that hasn't gone. Even the other teams have went to visit him,"
"Tyson, I'm-"
"He needs you. He needs all of us, but most of all you,"
"..."
"Are you even listening to me?"
Tyson went out and roughly grabbed his collar. The fabric of Kai's shirt wrinkled immediately under his hold.
"Get off your high horse and go,"
"..."
"Well-" Kai roughly grabbed Tyson's wrists and harshly shoved him off, making him stagger back a few steps.
"I'm busy, Tyson. I haven't had time to drop by. Also, you ever hear of visiting hours? Or have you forgotten those apply to us too." On top of this tournament, his jobs, and running his company, Kai was in college to become an English and Literature teacher. To him, everyone needs more than one thing to fall back on in life. He barely had time to sleep, let alone drive nearly an hour to visit somebody. Hardly anyone knew this of course.
"Oh, don't you even go there. Are you serious? Make the time,"
Tyson watched as the taller man sat on the couch, some files strewn on the cherry wood coffee table. Kai looked at him, his orbs on the verge of glaring. Kai calmly put the files in his black computer bag, which was sitting at his feet, and closed it.
"Because of your 'cold shoulder' attitude you're not even a decent caretaker,"
"Tyson, low blow. He's been trying to leave since I got here." Max intervened.
All this fighting and lecturing was getting ridiculous. Kai strode over to the table near the door and picked up the keys for their rental car, sturdy bag in hand. He wordlessly opened the door and left, leaving it to shut on its own.
Tyson looked at Max, who was now seething. Once again, Tyson was rash and didn't think before he spoke. Upon realizing what he'd done, he fell back onto the couch.
Kai drove down the streets, careful to avoid the icy patches on the roads. He could hear the tires crunching as he made a turn onto another street. In due time, Kai pulled into the parking lot and squeaked to a stop. He sighed, leaning back into the seat. Would he be able to handle this?
"Here you are, sir. I'll come and get you when times up," said the same nurse from before. According to Tyson she was Gou's main nurse. She'd been the one keeping him up. From what he heard about her, he was elated that the boy had someone like her. For a nurse Kai thought she was pretty cool. Well that, and very good looking but those were two things he'd keep to himself. If Hilary found out he'd never hear the end of it. He loved her but she was annoyingly possessive.
"Thank you," he said. With that, she left and Kai shut the door. Once he shut the door, the noises of the outside world ceased and all that remained was the repetitive beepings of the heart monitor.
Approaching the bed, Kai finally saw him. He looked clean and like he'd been shifted regularly so that was nice to know. What he didn't like seeing were the tubes sticking in him. Granted there were only a few, but that was still a few too many for him. Kai looked at the machine and read it. No one knew it but he could read those machines quite well. He practically flopped down into the chair beside him.
"Damn, kid," he let out, feeling completely drained. He let his head fall back, the tips of his fingers lightly brushing and rubbing against his forehead.
Your heart rate and blood pressure really are high. Keep this up and you'll be asleep permanently. His thoughts lingered on that statement for a minute or two. A painful lump formed in his throat but he forced it back down. Why did this kid have to mean so much to him?
Glazed crimson eyes opened up to bright lights and gray ceiling tiles. The beeps of machines seemed to surround him. As well as something soft. It was against his back and around his head. His vision slowly became clear and by looking around he found out where he was.
Great, I'm in the hospital, Gou thought.
Hearing some rustling, Kai looked up from the magazine he was reading and saw Gou turning his head to look at him. In seconds a smile spread across Kai's face.
"Hey there, tough guy. Welcome back." It was the side of him Gou loved seeing. He tried to say something but ended up coughing instead. His throat hurt really bad. It felt like it was on fire. Like he hadn't had anything to drink for days.
"Gou, Gou?" In his line of sight, the teen saw Kai's fingers snapping and focused on them. From seemingly out of nowhere, he felt a sturdy, wide arm go under him and prop him up. At his lips was a thin straw inside a plastic cup.
"It's all yours, buddy," Kai eyed the boy without realizing it, his heart leaping at the fact he was finally awake. "I had the nurse bring this just incase." Gou took the straw into his mouth and guzzled it down. Sprite, not the best thing to have really, but right now he didn't care.
"Easy, not so fast, you'll puke." He heard Kai say at some point. For a moment, Gou could've swore he was at home being fussed over by his dad but the pangs and pricks of tiny needles in his right arm and hand told him otherwise.
"Thank you," he said. Kai slid away like silk and let the teen ease back down into the bed.
"No problem."
"Will you take the needles out? They really hurt," he asked after a moment.
"No can do, kid,"
"But-"
"I know they hurt, but the nurse has to do it. There's a certain way you have to take them out. If not done right there'll be blood everywhere." Feeling an odd fabric as he moved, Gou looked down and nearly had a heart attack.
"Where are my clothes at?" Kai nearly laughed at how frantic he was.
"You're too young to be worrying about your appearance this much. As far as I know, they're in the bathroom at the hotel, in a cabinet. Kenny said he wanted to make sure no one could go through your stuff. It's odd if you ask me. Seems to me like someone's hiding something." Gou stayed quiet but he wanted to say so bad that he wasn't hiding anything. Though he knew that wasn't true. At this point, as long as Kai remained unaware, he didn't care how big his web of lies got.
"When can I get out of here?"
"When you get the all-clear for take off."
"Wha-?"
"I'm going to go see the doctor. Let him know you're awake. I'll be back in a bit," Kai smiled softly and ruffled the boy's hair affectionately. "Don't worry, I'm not going to leave you alone here," he added. At that, the man left, the door latching shut on its own.
Within moments, Gou found himself feeling warm again, similar to what he'd felt when Kai had his arms around him, and he drifted back off to sleep. It was strange yet comfortable, familiar. It was nice, he felt like a baby being gently rocked by a soft embrace. Even being so far back in time, not yet nearing anyone's lives, Gou felt loved, treasured, and secure. This wasn't "home" but it was close-enough.
As Kai walked down the hallway, a soft, red glow exuded from the inside pocket of his jacket. With his mind so focused on finding Gou's doctor, he didn't notice it. Nor did he pay any attention to the tears streaming down his face.
Hearing the taps of tiny footsteps, Kai halted.
"Excuse me? I'm looking for someone, could you help me?" Kai turned around to see a young girl standing nearby. She was lanky and maybe around Gou's age. She had long, wavy dark purple hair and husky blue eyes that sat surrounded by satin smooth, light tan skin. She wore a long sleeved, cream colored dress, which went to her knees, with black boots. Kai looked directly at her and said,
"Depends, who am I helping?"
"Nice sarcasm," she said, a bit of playfulness coming through.
"Hn."
To Be Continued...
Credit to LittleAGranger for letting me use her OC. Thank you! Please R & R! Chapter 12 has some more sweet surprises for our boys. :) Oh, and Rainbow-Winged Pheonix, credit to you for an awesome idea. I hope it was to your liking. ;)