Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade.

CHAPTER 35

It's so loud inside my head

With words that I should have said

And as I drown in my regrets

I can't take back the words I never said

Skylar Grey

NORMAL POV:

Kai's fingers hovered over the doorknob in hesitation. Nervousness thrummed through his veins. Tyson was in there, he could hear his laughter coming out of the room-a little dry but still full of warmth-along with the animated voices of his teammates and family dramatically exclaiming and acting out their earlier frustrations to amuse the Champ and occasionally questioning him about his current state of comfort.

Despite the happy vibes filtering out through the crack between the double doors to the ICU, Kai did not feel optimistic. He knew what he had experienced after taking on the Brazilian blader who left rows of shattered blades in his wake. It had been a week from hell for him and although there was no proof that it had been Kieran's doing and he still had no idea how he recovered so "miraculously", something told him that Tyson would probably sustain worse consequences; if what he'd already suffered wasn't bad enough.

"On further examination, we found tiny perforations in his skull and it looks like the venom had flown in and permanently damaged some of his cells and that could result in memory loss. A cluster of them were fried so probably a day's worth of memories. It's a good thing we were able to find the anti-venom in time otherwise he'd have been brain dead by now…", the doctor's unfeeling monotone drone echoed in Kai's head. How they were able to get their hands on a cure they'd labelled as "impossible to find in such a hurry" at the eleventh hour was something he couldn't justify in any other way than divine intervention.

But the doctor had said "probably a day's worth of memories", probably. What if that was not all he'd lost? What if he had changed? The shrieking ghosts of Tyson's screams rang loud in Kai's ears, he shook his head to make them go away. Would he still be the same or would his smile seem different? That would hurt but he wouldn't know unless he saw for himself. Taking a deep breath, he pushed open the metal frame and quietly slipped in.

"You were out for like fourteen hours!"

Sitting cross-legged on the bed, an IV hooked to his arm, ECGs sprinkled across his left chest, Tyson grinned at Max, teasing, "And was li'l Maxie skeered?"

"Oh he was more than just scared. He wet his pants." Hillary chimed in.

The cheery blonde, back to high sprits at the sight of his best friend laughing again, rolled his eyes and tried to look offended. "Ha ha, very funny."

"At the risk of sounding like a sissy, Ty, we were really worried about you. We thought you were gonna die," admitted Rei with a sheepish look on his face.

Tyson shook his head, a small grateful smile falling in place as he looked around at all the people in the room. "Nah, I really appreciate it, your concern that is." He remarked, sobering up, "It's good to know there are people who actually care about me." His voice took on a resentful tone, the edges of his mouth hardening at the image of the last incident he could recall. A burning blade hurtling through the air towards him.

His friends told him it was Kieran who had attacked him, during the battle he had fought but couldn't remember engaging in and even though it was hard to digest, since he had this memory of them hugging and promising to stay friends no matter what, he believed his teammates because…why would they lie about something like that? But at the same time, they were confusing him too. He thought he'd gotten pretty close to the grey-eyed "Samaritan" and their last conversation had been candid and intimate, so why would Kieran hurt him? Also, wasn't Kai the one who had launched Dranzer at him? Did he really escape the flames or was Kai responsible for his hospitalization? His memories were clashing with his friends' claims and now he had a headache.

Tyson scratched at one of the electrodes attached to his torso, almost peeling it off in the process, making Hiro swat his hand away and fix him an admonishing stare. He returned it with an annoyed one of his own and then shivered, "Why is it so cold in here? Why cant I wear a shirt?" Wrapping his arms around himself, he glanced around helplessly. The cold and the weight in his chest, causing him to shrink further.

"TYSON!" A man hurried in, panting and Tyson's eyes went as wide as saucers at the sight of his father. "DAD!" He scrambled to jump into his father's arms but Hiro restrained him, pinning his arms to his sides, Tyson struggled and Hiro snapped, "Sit still Tyson or you're going to kill yourself!". The youngest Granger gaped in shock but the stricken expression was soon replaced by a mile-long grin as his dad pulled him into a hug and showered kisses all over him, making him laugh. "Stop it, haha! Dad, I'm a big boy!"

"I was worried-so worried-my little baby", he spoke between kisses. Grabbing Tyson's grinning face in his palms, he asked, "How are you now? Are you alright, son?"

"Yeah, I'm great! And better than ever now that you're here. It's so nice to see you, dad, I missed you. I'm-I'm so happy!"

"Missed you too, Tyson." Hugging him one more time before straightening up and giving him a once-over, he said, "I couldn't stay there for a second longer once I heard the news. Who did this to you, son? We're going to make him pay. There is no way I'm letting this slide. I've been hearing these reports of this seemingly dangerous tournament and I wanted to do something about it all a long time ago but I've been so busy and because of my inaction, now my boy has suffered."

"No, dad. It's not your fault." Tyson reached up with a hand to comfort him but it had the reverse-effect when he noticed the IVs. Tyson let his arm drop when he saw the expression on his father's face; disbelief, pain, guilt and anger were all written clear on it.

"Don't be blamin' yourself, son. You had nothin' to do with it." Ryuu Granger assured him.

"Whoever's fault it might be, one thing is for sure, we're not letting this happen to anyone else." A sudden thought had him jerking around to ask Hiro, eyebrows raised, "Is Daichi here too?"

"Yeah, down the hall. Checked on him a while ago. He seems okay, just a little shook up."

"Right then" He turned to Tyson and laid a hand on his shoulder to squeeze it, "You sure you're alright?"

The Champ nodded confidently, "I'm great. A little cold though. Brrr.." His teeth chattered and he rubbed his hands up and down his arms for warmth. Kenny hefted himself off the bed from where he had been sprawling next to Tyson to get him the shirt the hospital provided. "Be careful with the wires."

"Thanks, buddy." Tyson accepted the light white clothing and proceeded to tug it on. He managed so far as to put a hand through before pausing to gawp at his father. "I'll be right back. I need to see your friend Daichi, 'kay?"

Wordlessly, he nodded. The three older Grangers made for the corridor and a nurse rushed in as soon as they stepped out. "I'm sorry but that's enough visiting for today. The patient needs to rest, I'm going to need you all to leave now."

"Okay. See you later, Ty." Rei and Hillary waved and headed out while Max and Kenny lingered for a second longer. "Take care. You have to rest, don't do anything stupid."

"Love you, Ty." Max hugged him and the nurse sprung into action. Prying him off, muttering something about "germs", she ushered him and Kenny out the door, shutting it behind all of them. Their protests could be heard and the nurse's stern warnings were getting louder and more threatening.

"I'll call the security if you do not back off right now, Sir."

"Security? What is wrong with you, lady?! We're just asking your permission to stay with our friend a little longer. He can rest-"

"I was wrong to let so many of you in at the same time. It was illegal, I cannot believe I did that and now you want me to break more rules?!"

"We'll watch him sleep! We wont disturb him, we promise! Five minutes! Just-"

"What are you doing? No! No, stand back. You cant do that! Security!"

The waves displayed on the monitor representing Tyson's heart rate spiked but he wasn't listening to the drama unfolding in the corridor, he sat staring dumbfounded at the figure that had been leaning against the far wall, hidden behind one of the huge equipment and a curtain in the room and was now slowly making his way towards the numb teenager. Kai.

He didn't know what to think or feel. Be happy he showed up or be mad that he tried to kill him? Unable to tear his gaze away but sensing the nervous excitement bubbling up in his stomach the way it always did at the sight of the phoenix blader, adding more incentive for the goosebumps spreading up his body, Tyson pulled the shirt up his right arm and fumbled with its collar to drape it across his shoulders.

"I can't believe they let so many people in to see you at once." Kai broke the silence, being the one to break the ice for the first time. Tyson was unsettled. He felt weak, vulnerable, propped up half-naked on the bed like a proper patient under the scrutinizing gaze of someone who never sought for medical assistance and he absolutely hated it. Smouldering purple orbs that somehow seemed to have gained in intensity weighed down upon him, locking him in place. There was no escape now.

Swallowing thickly, Tyson answered, "I'm okay. They're keeping me in here because they wanna monitor my heart rate for another twenty-four hours and to keep a close eye on my-" he paused when Kai sank down on the mattress next to him.

"Your what?"

"-my other organs, so I can have more than two visitors."

He reached for the pyjama collar again and Kai noted that he'd pulled its one sleeve over the IV wire and the tugging was causing the fluid bag to jiggle around in its hook and threaten to fall off. "Stop"

Tyson froze. "What?"

"Here", Kai got up, ran a hand down the tube flowing from the solution bag and when he reached the roller clamp, he moved it to the closed position to avoid spilling the fluid.

"What are you doing, Kai?" Tyson watched incredulously as Kai took his arm and gently pinched the injection set. "What are you doing, Kaai? Do you eve-" He sat in alarm as the slate-haired teen disconnected the tube from the needle and hung it on the other holder.

"Are you really trying to kill me?" Tyson asked him in an inquisitive whisper. "I'll stop blading if that's what you want. You don't have to go to such lengths. All you gotta do is ask and I'll stop. Please, spare my life?"

Kai levelled him a bored look, grabbed his shirt and drew it around him, helping him into it. "Oh" His chocolate brown eyes filled with joy as he happily slid into the other sleeve and let Kai do its buttons. Tyson smiled at him in return for the kind favour and Kai asked, "Feeling light-headed?"

He shook his head "no", too distracted by the feel of Kai's fingers lightly brushing his stomach as he worked on another button, to put it into words. Their eyes met and the room was suddenly a thousand degrees hotter. Kai gulped, unconsciously leaning in, splaying his fingers to press his palm against Tyson's smooth skin. Sighing, the world champion slightly fell forward.

And the ECG alarm went off.

The nurse barged in. "What the heck?"

A/N: There's only so many days a gal can go without proper sleep and peace. I don't even- I cant even- I am so damn sleepy, I'm just gonna hit the sack. I tried, I really did to make this chapter not sloppy. Anyways, thank you for reading and I promise to make the next chapter really good. Compensation and all. Thanks again, leave a review if you got time. :)