I'm sitting here, in the dark, working on chapter seven. It's cause my
light began to leak some kind of liquid and I can't be bothered trying to
fix it. It may be because I kinda just accidentally flooded the upstairs
bathroom... twice. But I've been sick since Sunday and there's no way I'm
going to take care of a sick house, too (wonderful timing too... just at
the start of the Christmas break...).
Another Word for Strength
Chapter 4: Sweet Revenge
***
When Max returned, Mr. Dickenson wasn't far behind.
"The ambulance is on the way." He told them, but Takao and Kenny weren't listening. Takao was trying to gently shake Rei back into consciousness.
"Come on, Rei." He exclaimed. "What visits?"
"What's Takao talking about?" Max asked. Kenny looked up at him.
"When you left Rei woke up for a second and whispered 'He knows of our visits'. Then he passed out again." Kenny explained. Rei was beginning to come around again.
"T-Takao?" he whispered gruffly. "Where am I?"
"You're just outside of the hotel." Takao spoke up. "The ambulance is coming. What visits were you talking about?" Rei tried to sit up and winced as a sharp pain shot through his chest. He ignored it and graciously accepted his friends help.
"I've been meeting with Kai in secret." He told them. Everyone but Mr. Dickenson was shocked. "It wasn't any big deal, we would just talk about general things. But Kai told me his grandfather didn't like him being on our team or even being friends with us. I guess he must have found out about me meeting with him and didn't like it too much."
"Kai's grandfather did this to you?" Kenny asked in disbelief.
"Indirectly, yes."
"He hired someone to do this to you?" Rei nodded.
"Actually, I was attacked by a couple of people."
They heard the ambulance pull up to the hotel and two men jumped out. They cleared everyone back and put Rei onto a stretcher. While everyone stayed back, Rei motioned Mr. Dickenson to come closer.
"Kai's in trouble." He whispered softly so only the two of them could hear. "His grandfather has been beating him. He's blackmailing Kai into battling for the Demolition Boys. Kai made me promise not to tell the Bladebreakers about this, but I need to know how I am supposed to help him, when I can't even help myself." He gestured to his own battered body. Mr. Dickenson smiled patted his shoulder reassuringly.
"Don't worry about Kai anymore." He replied gently. "I am sure I can think of something to get him back safely." Rei smiled back, gratefully and closed his eyes. Mr. Dickenson moved out of the way and let Rei be loaded onto the ambulance.
"So, would you guys like a ride to the hospital?" he asked, turning to Takao, Max and Kenny as the ambulance drove off. They hadn't heard anything of their conversation.
"Sure."
***
"What were you two talking about?" Takao asked ten minutes later. They had changed quickly and were almost at the hospital.
"Oh, nothing." Mr. Dickenson replied.
"You know something about this don't you?" Kenny added. "You know more about what's going on between Rei and Kai than we do."
"True, but what Rei told me was to be kept between him and me. His little secret could get all three of you in the hospital if you found out. You wouldn't want that to happen, would you?"
"Of course not!" Max exclaimed. "But we don't want to let Rei face this alone."
"I'm sure you can give him your support without having to know his secret." Mr. Dickenson said, ending the discussion. They had already arrived at the hospital.
***
They all walked into the hospital and waited for a nurse's attention at the reception desk.
"Yes, may I help you?" a rather plump nurse asked, sitting down in front of a computer.
"We're here to see Kon Rei." Mr. Dickenson spoke up. "Can we have the number of his room?"
"Are you family?"
"No, but we are his team mates and we're as close as brothers." Takao butted in.
"I see." The nurse looked Takao up and down, frowning disapprovingly. "He's in room 127, down the hall on your right. The doctor is just examining him and will be done in a few minutes."
"Thanks." Mr. Dickenson replied, the boys had left when she said Rei's room number. They looked into the room to see a brunette looking over Rei one last time.
"How is he?" Max asked.
"He'll be fine." She smiled at them. "He's got a couple of major gashes down his back and in his sides, probably made by keys, and two cracked ribs. His left shoulder is very bruised, but I think he'll be able to blade in the tournament in a couple of days. You can check him out tomorrow morning."
"How did you know he was a blader?" Kenny asked.
"He refused to let me take off his bit-beast. It was tied to a string around his neck." She replied, motioning to Rei. He was fast asleep on the bed, chest bare except for a long bandage wrapped around his ribs. From around his neck hung Dranzer's bit.
"Dranzer?!" Takao exclaimed. "But that's Kai's bit-beast."
"Well, whoever it belongs to it's very special to him. He kept telling me to let him keep Dranzer. He was very stubborn about that one bit. Said something about it being left in his possession by a close friend."
"Kai? A close friend of anybody?" Takao burst out laughing, despite the seriousness of the situation. He stopped after a moment and looked at everyone's disapproving face.
"Lighten up, would ya?" He grumbled to himself and frowned. The doctor cleared her throat.
"I'll be outside if you need me." She excused herself and left them to visit with Rei. The boys took a seat on either side of Rei's bed and stared at his sleeping form. They watched in silence as Rei's hands curled tightly around the bit that hung from his neck.
"I bet Kai was responsible for this." Takao grumbled. "I bet he set Rei up for this."
"Takao!" Kenny and Max cried at the same time.
"How could you think that Kai would do something like this to one of us?" Max argued back. "You should know that he wouldn't hurt us." Kenny nodded in agreement.
"That may be so," Takao crossed his arms in front of his chest and glared back. "But we believed he wouldn't turn his back on his team mates and we thought he could be trusted to stay with our team, not turn on us at the first opportunity he gets." Takao had a point. None of them had thought Kai would turn on them in Beyblading. "So, if he can turn on us once, he can sure as hell do it twice." Max and Kenny hung their heads in defeat. They knew Takao was right. Then Kenny had an idea.
"But this happened to Rei, too, and it all turned out to be nothing but a misunderstanding."
** "Yeah but he didn't turn on his team before they entered a tournament. He left them to learn more about Beyblading. You saw Kai's face in their first match. He's only in it for power. Screw those of us who befriended him and counted on him." Kenny sighed. Takao was being stubborn and nothing could change his mind except pure hard evidence.
"Kai." Rei mumbled in his sleep, unaware of the boys' conversation. Takao grimaced, knowing that Rei was much more attached to the traitor than the rest of the team.
***
The next morning Kai was woken very painfully.
"Good morning, Kai!" Tala's cheerful voice shattered what ever Kai had had of sleep and caused his head to jerk slightly with the searing pain of a headache. Kai groaned and rolled over, hoping Tala would leave before Kai found the strength to murder him. No such luck.
"Wake up sleepyhead!" he walked into the room and tore open all of Kai's blinds, making Kai's head hurt that much more. He seemed too cheerful for someone who hated anything and everything to do with Kai.
'What the hell is he doing in here anyways?' Kai thought suddenly and opened his eyes. "What the hell are you so happy about?" he growled and tried futilely to sit up. Every muscle in his body hurt and he could swear that he had at least five broken ribs and he was wondering why he couldn't feel his legs. His sheets were soaked in blood and his face was decorated with newly torn skin. His grandfather had been right about his punishment being ten times worse than before.
"Oh, nothing, it's just that I heard about what happened to your little friend." Kai's eyes widened at the mention of Rei.
"What do you know about Rei?" he demanded. Tala laughed.
"Well I heard that he was checked into the hospital." Tala told Kai, enjoying the look of all the blood leave Kai's face. "Yeah, I also heard that he was really battered up. He could barely stay awake and he had to be taken in on a stretcher. There was blood everywhere." One of the most enjoyable things for Tala telling this story was that every shred of it was true. He didn't have to stretch any of it. He kept going. "I went to the hospital because I knew you wanted to know how he was and the nurse gave me the list of injuries." He pulled out a sheet of paper and waved it in front of Kai's face. Kai snarled and snatched the paper from Tala. Without glancing at the sheet he stood up shakily and shoved Tala towards the door.
"Get out of my room." He cried viciously and slammed the door in Tala's smirking face. For once, Tala didn't mind having Kai shut a door in his face, he felt that it was worth every splinter to be the 'Bearer of Bad News' and be able to see the anger and pain on his face. This was the best kind of revenge he could have, and it just happened to fall into his lap. He laughed heartily and rubbed his sore nose, walking back to his room.
***
Kai collapsed to his bed and looked over the sheet of Rei's injuries.
-three cracked ribs -six broken ribs -right arm fractured -bruised shoulder bone -several inch deep gashes along the back, chest, stomach and face
Kai was shocked. He couldn't believe the amount of suffering Rei had gone through. He crumpled up the paper and threw it as hard as he could at the door. He pulled himself up from his bed and walked shakily to the door and latched it shut, before letting loose a glass-shattering wail of pain. He hadn't felt so helpless and vulnerable since his parents were killed. He knew that this was the first time in ten years that he had cried like this.
He collapsed to the floor and began to rock back and forth, curling into a tight ball. He couldn't believe what he had just allowed to happen to the one he was supposed to love.
'If you had really loved him you wouldn't have let this happen to him.' A voice sneered at him in his head. 'Your own stupidity let him get hurt. This is your fault.'
"THIS IS YOUR FAULT!!" A voice echoed his thoughts. "I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY, KAI!!! IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU THAT REI ENDED UP IN THE HOSPITAL!" Kai stood up and unlocked his door to find Takao standing at the abbey gates, screaming his head off. Takao saw Kai at the door.
"I know Rei doesn't blame you but I sure as hell do!" he continued to yell. "Whatever you told Rei and what ever you were talking about is what put him in the hospital."
"Don't you think I know that already?" Kai yelled back, walking shakily towards the gates, ignoring the people who were beginning to stare. He was thankful that Boris and his Grandfather weren't around to hear this. They were at the stadium, plotting ways to bend the rules to their advantage. "I know I'm hurting him, but he was the only one who bothered to offer me help in the first place. He's the only one who cared enough to listen!"
"And look where it got him!" Takao retorted.
"I didn't think this would happen. I never wanted Rei to be hurt." Kai pleaded with Takao.
"Or maybe you just didn't care that you would hurt him. Rei's too blinded by his love for you that he doesn't see what you're doing to him." Takao would have continued but Kai had come close enough for him to fully see the extent of damage he himself had gone through. He gasped loudly.
Kai tried to walk closer to Takao but he finally lost all of his strength and fell to the ground.
"Kai!" Takao exclaimed, his anger forgotten. The bluenette was breathing heavily but he picked himself carefully off the ground and turned away from Takao.
"Don't come here trying to blame me for Rei's pain." He whispered, only loud enough for Takao to hear. "It's just a waste of time since I already know. You can do nothing more to make me feel guiltier or more sorry for what I've done to him." He began to stumble and stagger his way back to his room.
"Rest assured that it will never happen again. Rei will never see me again unless it is in the beystadium." He fell into his room and slammed the door shut. Takao was too taken aback by Kai's appearance and the things he had said to him. His eyes were still wide and his jaw seemed permanently fixed open. He couldn't believe that Kai looked so battered and beaten, in both body and spirit. Apparently the news of Rei's hospitalization had shaken him up terribly and he looked truly distraught at the thought that he had hurt Rei.
'Maybe I was wrong about him.' Takao thought to himself as he began to walk away. 'He actually took responsibility for it, and I would have thought he'd ignore me.' Then his thoughts began to turn to the state Kai had been in. his shirt was torn in three different places and stained with blood, his triangles were smeared with red and he could swear that he had seen previous gashes lining his face. His jeans were torn as well, and they too were matted with blood. Takao thought he'd never seen Kai in so much pain, but he seemed to just shrug it off. Takao knew that if he was in Kai's position he'd be rolling on the floor crying for days.
'Who did this to you, Kai?' he wondered, walking back to the hotel.
***
"Thanks, you guys, for bringing me back to the hotel." Rei smiled as Max helped Rei onto his bed. They tossed him a couple of pillows to lean back on and sat down. They had just brought Rei back from the hospital and had been told to let Rei get plenty of rest and he would be fine to battle in their next match which was tomorrow.
"It's really no prob." Max winked at their friend. "You're our friend and we'd do anything for you. You should know that by now." He laughed cheerfully. His energetic mood had been restored.
"Hey, where's Takao?" Rei asked.
"We don't know." Kenny answered. "He just told us he had something to take care of and he'd be back soon."
"Knowing him, he found an all you can eat buffet table and is hogging down all the food he can get his hands on." Max laughed. Rei smiled.
Suddenly Takao burst into the room, followed by Mariah and Lee. He smiled as happily as he could muster at Rei and dragged Max and Kenny from Rei's bedside.
"Hey! What's the big deal?" Max asked surprised.
"Well, I just wanted to let Rei's old friends spend the day with him." He replied, nodding to Lee and Mariah, who were taking Max and Kenny's places on the bed. "I think they can keep an eye on Rei and make sure he doesn't do anything too exhausting. Plus I have something to talk to you guys about." He whispered the last part as they left the room.
***
Rei shifted himself to find a comfortable spot and smiled at his friends.
"Thanks for visiting." He mumbled graciously. "I guess I haven't seen you around much."
"It's nothing, Rei." Mariah smiled back and moved closer. Lee only rolled his eyes.
"Since you guys are my best friends, can I tell you something?" Rei asked, somewhat awkwardly. Lee cocked an eyebrow at his friend and nodded.
"Well you see... I'm kind of in love with someone." He blushed as Mariah moved closer to him and began to grin.
"Yes... " she prompted. Lee began to smirk. Both of their actions were beginning to seem strange to Rei.
"Well you see... " Rei began again. "This person that I like is very close to me." Mariah began to grin like an idiot and inched closer.
"I-I'm in l-lo-love w-with..." he stuttered, Mariah inching closer still.
"I'minlovewithKai!" He exclaimed as one word, waiting for the disappointment to appear in Mariah's eyes. Apparently, Lee was waiting for the same thing.
"I KNEW IT!" she cried triumphantly and jumped from the bed, only to begin dancing around the room. "You finally admitted it!" she cheered in a sing- song voice. Lee's eyes became wide and he turned to Rei.
"You knew?" Rei asked Mariah.
"Of course!" she exclaimed. "It was so obvious."
"Yeah, it was only a matter of time before you admitted it out loud." Lee backed her up. He was just getting over the shock of Mariah's little dance. He had fully expected her to get angry or depressed, anything but cheer.
"I thought you liked Rei." He said to her.
"Me too." Rei admitted.
"Nope." She giggled. "I like someone else."
"Who?" Rei asked. She smiled broadly at Rei and looked back and forth from the two boys whose attention she held undivided. She winked at Lee and sat down on the bed.
"He's a friend." She answered deceptively, still grinning from ear to ear. Lee looked at her strangely, not knowing what the wink meant, before turning his attention back to Rei.
"Takao told us what happened to you." He said, draining the room of the previous announcement's euphoria. "How are you?"
"I'm fine." Rei answered. "I'm much too stubborn to be seriously hurt."
"If that wasn't serious then I don't know what is." Mariah muttered under her breath.
"I'm fine!" Rei repeated. "I didn't break anything."
"Yet." Countered Lee. "Just because we wanted you to admit you liked Kai, doesn't mean he's good for you."
"It's not his fault I got hurt." Rei stood up for his friend. "He's probably hurt worse than me."
"That won't be too good." Mariah muttered. She had a habit of muttering things you didn't want to hear.
"Why isn't that good?" Rei asked curiously.
"Well, the Demolition Boys have a match today." She exclaimed as if that was common knowledge. Rei's eyes went wide.
"Help me get ready." He demanded.
"Why?" asked Lee densely.
"Because I'm going to that match." He stated.
"Are you crazy?" Mariah chided him. "There's no way you're going there in your condition."
"What condition?" Rei argued. "I just have a bunch of cuts and bruises. I'm going to go tomorrow anyways and I need to at least get out and moving before my match. It's not like I'm going to be Blading today. I'm just going to watch." He was right. He couldn't go to a match after an injury without at least doing something. He couldn't just lie in bed and expect to be at his best the next day.
"No." Mariah said. "The doctor said you need to rest."
"But What could I possibly do watching a match that would involve strenuous activity? Walking? I'd have to do that to get anywhere I need to go. I'd just be sitting there doing nothing."
"No, and that's final." Lee said, crossing his arms stubbornly in front of his chest.
***
"You guys are the best!" exclaimed Rei looping both arms around his friends' shoulders. Lee rolled his eyes and Mariah sighed. They were sitting in the front row of the stadium and the Demolition Boys were about to come out to start their match.
"Don't mention it." Lee groaned.
"How'd he talk us into this?" Mariah asked leaning over to talk to Lee.
"How does he always talk us into stuff? If you can answer that one then you have your answer." Rei smiled craftily. He had always been able to persuade his best friends into doing things they didn't want to do. Mariah sat back in her chair and sighed again. They never knew how he did it.
Out of the corner of his eyes Rei spotted Boris making his way into the arena. He leaned forward to see Kai. Next came Tala followed by Bryan and Spencer. Kai was no where to be seen. Rei sighed and sat back in his chair when Kai came stumbling into the arena.
"Hurry up, baka." Tala called, but Kai ignored him. He stumbled and limped his way over to the bench from which Rei had a perfect view of the damage done to him.
"Wow." Mariah gasped. "I didn't realize that he was so badly beat up."
"You weren't kidding when you said he'd be worse than you." Lee whispered.
Rei wasn't paying attention to them. His full attention was locked on his love. 'How could someone do this to their own flesh and blood?' he wondered to himself, watching as Kai shifted in his seat and wince as he put pressure on the wrong bruise.
The first two matches were won easily by Tala and Bryan and it seemed as if Spencer was going to be called up next when Rei was jarred back to reality by the announcer's voice.
"Next up from the Demolition Boys is Hiwatari Kai."
"He's going to fight?" Lee growled. "That's despicable."
"How can they make him fight?" Mariah added. "Don't they see how much pain he's in? It's inhuman."
"Exactly." Rei whispered. They both turned to him, shocked. "They don't care if he's hurt. They want a win." They turned their attention back to the match. Kai still hadn't moved from his seat and he didn't look like he was ever going to. They watched as Boris walked over to Kai and yell at him.
"Don't make me force you to get in there." He snarled. Kai didn't even act like he heard him. "Fine we'll do it your way." He grabbed Kai by the scarf around his neck, ignoring Kai's yelps of pain, and threw him with all his might into the arena. Kai flew a good few feet and landed in a heap beside the dish. He screamed as he landed on all the wrong spots. The entire crowd gasped and began muttering and it took everything Mariah and Lee had to keep Rei from leaping into the arena and attacking Boris.
Kai lay still for a few moments, which began to scare Rei, before he slowly picked himself up as if nothing had happened. He stood shakily for a few seconds before he readied his launcher. Rei noticed that Kai's hands and arms adorned bloody bandages and were shaking like leaves in the wind.
"Three."
"Two."
"One! Let it RIP!"
Rei watched anxiously as Kai launched Black Dranzer into the dish. It took a few minutes for the black blade to catch it's bearings but once it had steadied it's rotation it was a matter of seconds before the opposing blade was knocked out of the dish. Black Dranzer leapt back into Kai's hand. Kai nodded grimly before his eyes rolled back into his head and his weak knees gave in. He collapsed to the floor in a dead faint.
"KAI!" Rei shouted, but no one noticed his cry. The crowd had begun to empty out of the stadium, muttering disapprovingly and didn't notice Rei's distress. Only Lee and Mariah were there to notice. Rei once again tried to leap over the railing, but his friends' hands held him back.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Lee hissed into his ear. "You saw what that bastard did to Kai. What do you think he'll do to you?" Rei backed down slightly, but kept his golden eyes fixed on Kai. He watched Kai's body like a hawk.
Tala stepped up to Kai's body and noticed that he was still awake, but in a terrible amount of pain. He laughed.
"Maybe you should listen next time Hiwatari-sama tells you not to do something." He exclaimed loud enough for Rei, Lee and Mariah to hear. He laughed again and picked Kai up by the arm. He began to drag Kai back to Boris who took Kai from there.
Kai winced at the transfer. He looked up and straight into the worry filled amber eyes of Rei. He noticed that Rei looked badly hurt but was healing fine. He sighed inwardly in relief. He also couldn't help but notice how his face was contorted into a mix of fury and hatred, and for a moment he wondered if it was directed at him. But then he noticed that Lee and Mariah were straining to hold him back and he caught some of their words.
"You can't help him Rei!" Mariah screamed. The boy ignored her. He didn't want to let Kai go back with those monsters.
"Let him go!" He screamed after Boris. Kai was comforted to know that Rei was willing to risk everything to free him. He tried to regain his cold emotionless expression and looked into Rei's eyes one last time.
"Rei." He mouthed before finally allowing himself to pass out from over exertion.
***
Back at the abbey, Kai had woken up a few times and each time was the same. He would wake whispering Rei's name and then cursing himself.
"I can't let him get hurt anymore." He whispered to himself. "I won't let him get hurt anymore. Not because of me. Not anymore." He began to become drowsy again and he lay back down to fall into yet another restless, dreamless sleep.
***
Rei, on the other hand, had other things on his mind than sleep. He was back at the hotel and Lee and Mariah had returned to the hotel they were staying at, promising to say hi to Kevin and Gary for him. He was sitting on his bed and listening Takao tell everyone the 'game plan' for the tournament for the next day.
"I saw Kai today." He interrupted Takao.
"Huh?" Max shook the sleep from his eyes. Nobody ever paid attention to Takao's speeches. "Where?"
"He had a match." He answered. Suddenly he had all eyes on him. Takao had told Kenny and Max about what state Kai was in and they couldn't imagine how he could possibly be able to blade. "He looked so horrible. He had cuts and bruises everywhere and his arms were bandaged." His voice began to break.
"We know." Takao said softly, hanging his head. "I saw him this morning."
"Oh."
"They didn't make him battle, did they?" asked Max, trying to take all the attention from Takao.
"Yeah, they did." Rei replied. "He wouldn't get up at first, but Boris walked up to him and yelled something to him before grabbing him by the scarf and throwing him into the arena like a toy. I heard him yelp in pain when he was lifted up, but when he was tossed..." he trailed off. He didn't want to relive it.
"Hey, it's ok." Takao tried to comfort Rei. "You and I both know that Kai can survive anything." His opinion of Kai had changed when he saw Kai's battered form collapse in front of him.
"Then he pulled himself up from the ground." Rei continued. "His hands were shaking so badly when he launched Black Dranzer. He won, and then collapsed. Boris dragged him out of the stadium." He left out Tala's conversation with Kai. He wouldn't go against his word to Kai.
"I wonder if it's possible that since his grandfather hurt Rei, maybe he did that to Kai too." Max exclaimed.
"I doubt that." Rei replied quickly. "Who would hurt their own flesh and blood?" He repeated his thoughts from earlier that day. This seemed to convince them. "Only a monster would do something that horrible." Takao answered, sullenly. 'Only a monster.' Rei agreed silently.
"I'm worn out from today and I need a good night's rest." Rei excused himself from the conversation. "I'm going to go to sleep now." The guys agreed to get some sleep and they walked over to their own beds. Rei rolled to his side and stared blankly at the empty bed beside him. Kai's bed. He knew their relationship would be strained more than ever now.
'Please let Kai be okay.' He thought to anyone who would listen. 'I need him to be okay in order for me to be okay.' He drifted off to sleep, his hand going unconsciously to the bit that hung from his neck.
~Finis
Just in case anyone's wondering, each chapter is more or less one day. That's why this chapter was so long. And I won't be posting another chapter for a while so that I can get a lot of things done (like the eighth chapter and my own original story which probably won't be posted on FF.N and presents still to make and I HAVE NO TIME!!)
Coming up: Chapter 5: Koneko NOKIER
A/N: if you can figure out what this title means then I will give you an honourable mention in the next chapter!
Another Word for Strength
Chapter 4: Sweet Revenge
***
When Max returned, Mr. Dickenson wasn't far behind.
"The ambulance is on the way." He told them, but Takao and Kenny weren't listening. Takao was trying to gently shake Rei back into consciousness.
"Come on, Rei." He exclaimed. "What visits?"
"What's Takao talking about?" Max asked. Kenny looked up at him.
"When you left Rei woke up for a second and whispered 'He knows of our visits'. Then he passed out again." Kenny explained. Rei was beginning to come around again.
"T-Takao?" he whispered gruffly. "Where am I?"
"You're just outside of the hotel." Takao spoke up. "The ambulance is coming. What visits were you talking about?" Rei tried to sit up and winced as a sharp pain shot through his chest. He ignored it and graciously accepted his friends help.
"I've been meeting with Kai in secret." He told them. Everyone but Mr. Dickenson was shocked. "It wasn't any big deal, we would just talk about general things. But Kai told me his grandfather didn't like him being on our team or even being friends with us. I guess he must have found out about me meeting with him and didn't like it too much."
"Kai's grandfather did this to you?" Kenny asked in disbelief.
"Indirectly, yes."
"He hired someone to do this to you?" Rei nodded.
"Actually, I was attacked by a couple of people."
They heard the ambulance pull up to the hotel and two men jumped out. They cleared everyone back and put Rei onto a stretcher. While everyone stayed back, Rei motioned Mr. Dickenson to come closer.
"Kai's in trouble." He whispered softly so only the two of them could hear. "His grandfather has been beating him. He's blackmailing Kai into battling for the Demolition Boys. Kai made me promise not to tell the Bladebreakers about this, but I need to know how I am supposed to help him, when I can't even help myself." He gestured to his own battered body. Mr. Dickenson smiled patted his shoulder reassuringly.
"Don't worry about Kai anymore." He replied gently. "I am sure I can think of something to get him back safely." Rei smiled back, gratefully and closed his eyes. Mr. Dickenson moved out of the way and let Rei be loaded onto the ambulance.
"So, would you guys like a ride to the hospital?" he asked, turning to Takao, Max and Kenny as the ambulance drove off. They hadn't heard anything of their conversation.
"Sure."
***
"What were you two talking about?" Takao asked ten minutes later. They had changed quickly and were almost at the hospital.
"Oh, nothing." Mr. Dickenson replied.
"You know something about this don't you?" Kenny added. "You know more about what's going on between Rei and Kai than we do."
"True, but what Rei told me was to be kept between him and me. His little secret could get all three of you in the hospital if you found out. You wouldn't want that to happen, would you?"
"Of course not!" Max exclaimed. "But we don't want to let Rei face this alone."
"I'm sure you can give him your support without having to know his secret." Mr. Dickenson said, ending the discussion. They had already arrived at the hospital.
***
They all walked into the hospital and waited for a nurse's attention at the reception desk.
"Yes, may I help you?" a rather plump nurse asked, sitting down in front of a computer.
"We're here to see Kon Rei." Mr. Dickenson spoke up. "Can we have the number of his room?"
"Are you family?"
"No, but we are his team mates and we're as close as brothers." Takao butted in.
"I see." The nurse looked Takao up and down, frowning disapprovingly. "He's in room 127, down the hall on your right. The doctor is just examining him and will be done in a few minutes."
"Thanks." Mr. Dickenson replied, the boys had left when she said Rei's room number. They looked into the room to see a brunette looking over Rei one last time.
"How is he?" Max asked.
"He'll be fine." She smiled at them. "He's got a couple of major gashes down his back and in his sides, probably made by keys, and two cracked ribs. His left shoulder is very bruised, but I think he'll be able to blade in the tournament in a couple of days. You can check him out tomorrow morning."
"How did you know he was a blader?" Kenny asked.
"He refused to let me take off his bit-beast. It was tied to a string around his neck." She replied, motioning to Rei. He was fast asleep on the bed, chest bare except for a long bandage wrapped around his ribs. From around his neck hung Dranzer's bit.
"Dranzer?!" Takao exclaimed. "But that's Kai's bit-beast."
"Well, whoever it belongs to it's very special to him. He kept telling me to let him keep Dranzer. He was very stubborn about that one bit. Said something about it being left in his possession by a close friend."
"Kai? A close friend of anybody?" Takao burst out laughing, despite the seriousness of the situation. He stopped after a moment and looked at everyone's disapproving face.
"Lighten up, would ya?" He grumbled to himself and frowned. The doctor cleared her throat.
"I'll be outside if you need me." She excused herself and left them to visit with Rei. The boys took a seat on either side of Rei's bed and stared at his sleeping form. They watched in silence as Rei's hands curled tightly around the bit that hung from his neck.
"I bet Kai was responsible for this." Takao grumbled. "I bet he set Rei up for this."
"Takao!" Kenny and Max cried at the same time.
"How could you think that Kai would do something like this to one of us?" Max argued back. "You should know that he wouldn't hurt us." Kenny nodded in agreement.
"That may be so," Takao crossed his arms in front of his chest and glared back. "But we believed he wouldn't turn his back on his team mates and we thought he could be trusted to stay with our team, not turn on us at the first opportunity he gets." Takao had a point. None of them had thought Kai would turn on them in Beyblading. "So, if he can turn on us once, he can sure as hell do it twice." Max and Kenny hung their heads in defeat. They knew Takao was right. Then Kenny had an idea.
"But this happened to Rei, too, and it all turned out to be nothing but a misunderstanding."
** "Yeah but he didn't turn on his team before they entered a tournament. He left them to learn more about Beyblading. You saw Kai's face in their first match. He's only in it for power. Screw those of us who befriended him and counted on him." Kenny sighed. Takao was being stubborn and nothing could change his mind except pure hard evidence.
"Kai." Rei mumbled in his sleep, unaware of the boys' conversation. Takao grimaced, knowing that Rei was much more attached to the traitor than the rest of the team.
***
The next morning Kai was woken very painfully.
"Good morning, Kai!" Tala's cheerful voice shattered what ever Kai had had of sleep and caused his head to jerk slightly with the searing pain of a headache. Kai groaned and rolled over, hoping Tala would leave before Kai found the strength to murder him. No such luck.
"Wake up sleepyhead!" he walked into the room and tore open all of Kai's blinds, making Kai's head hurt that much more. He seemed too cheerful for someone who hated anything and everything to do with Kai.
'What the hell is he doing in here anyways?' Kai thought suddenly and opened his eyes. "What the hell are you so happy about?" he growled and tried futilely to sit up. Every muscle in his body hurt and he could swear that he had at least five broken ribs and he was wondering why he couldn't feel his legs. His sheets were soaked in blood and his face was decorated with newly torn skin. His grandfather had been right about his punishment being ten times worse than before.
"Oh, nothing, it's just that I heard about what happened to your little friend." Kai's eyes widened at the mention of Rei.
"What do you know about Rei?" he demanded. Tala laughed.
"Well I heard that he was checked into the hospital." Tala told Kai, enjoying the look of all the blood leave Kai's face. "Yeah, I also heard that he was really battered up. He could barely stay awake and he had to be taken in on a stretcher. There was blood everywhere." One of the most enjoyable things for Tala telling this story was that every shred of it was true. He didn't have to stretch any of it. He kept going. "I went to the hospital because I knew you wanted to know how he was and the nurse gave me the list of injuries." He pulled out a sheet of paper and waved it in front of Kai's face. Kai snarled and snatched the paper from Tala. Without glancing at the sheet he stood up shakily and shoved Tala towards the door.
"Get out of my room." He cried viciously and slammed the door in Tala's smirking face. For once, Tala didn't mind having Kai shut a door in his face, he felt that it was worth every splinter to be the 'Bearer of Bad News' and be able to see the anger and pain on his face. This was the best kind of revenge he could have, and it just happened to fall into his lap. He laughed heartily and rubbed his sore nose, walking back to his room.
***
Kai collapsed to his bed and looked over the sheet of Rei's injuries.
-three cracked ribs -six broken ribs -right arm fractured -bruised shoulder bone -several inch deep gashes along the back, chest, stomach and face
Kai was shocked. He couldn't believe the amount of suffering Rei had gone through. He crumpled up the paper and threw it as hard as he could at the door. He pulled himself up from his bed and walked shakily to the door and latched it shut, before letting loose a glass-shattering wail of pain. He hadn't felt so helpless and vulnerable since his parents were killed. He knew that this was the first time in ten years that he had cried like this.
He collapsed to the floor and began to rock back and forth, curling into a tight ball. He couldn't believe what he had just allowed to happen to the one he was supposed to love.
'If you had really loved him you wouldn't have let this happen to him.' A voice sneered at him in his head. 'Your own stupidity let him get hurt. This is your fault.'
"THIS IS YOUR FAULT!!" A voice echoed his thoughts. "I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY, KAI!!! IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU THAT REI ENDED UP IN THE HOSPITAL!" Kai stood up and unlocked his door to find Takao standing at the abbey gates, screaming his head off. Takao saw Kai at the door.
"I know Rei doesn't blame you but I sure as hell do!" he continued to yell. "Whatever you told Rei and what ever you were talking about is what put him in the hospital."
"Don't you think I know that already?" Kai yelled back, walking shakily towards the gates, ignoring the people who were beginning to stare. He was thankful that Boris and his Grandfather weren't around to hear this. They were at the stadium, plotting ways to bend the rules to their advantage. "I know I'm hurting him, but he was the only one who bothered to offer me help in the first place. He's the only one who cared enough to listen!"
"And look where it got him!" Takao retorted.
"I didn't think this would happen. I never wanted Rei to be hurt." Kai pleaded with Takao.
"Or maybe you just didn't care that you would hurt him. Rei's too blinded by his love for you that he doesn't see what you're doing to him." Takao would have continued but Kai had come close enough for him to fully see the extent of damage he himself had gone through. He gasped loudly.
Kai tried to walk closer to Takao but he finally lost all of his strength and fell to the ground.
"Kai!" Takao exclaimed, his anger forgotten. The bluenette was breathing heavily but he picked himself carefully off the ground and turned away from Takao.
"Don't come here trying to blame me for Rei's pain." He whispered, only loud enough for Takao to hear. "It's just a waste of time since I already know. You can do nothing more to make me feel guiltier or more sorry for what I've done to him." He began to stumble and stagger his way back to his room.
"Rest assured that it will never happen again. Rei will never see me again unless it is in the beystadium." He fell into his room and slammed the door shut. Takao was too taken aback by Kai's appearance and the things he had said to him. His eyes were still wide and his jaw seemed permanently fixed open. He couldn't believe that Kai looked so battered and beaten, in both body and spirit. Apparently the news of Rei's hospitalization had shaken him up terribly and he looked truly distraught at the thought that he had hurt Rei.
'Maybe I was wrong about him.' Takao thought to himself as he began to walk away. 'He actually took responsibility for it, and I would have thought he'd ignore me.' Then his thoughts began to turn to the state Kai had been in. his shirt was torn in three different places and stained with blood, his triangles were smeared with red and he could swear that he had seen previous gashes lining his face. His jeans were torn as well, and they too were matted with blood. Takao thought he'd never seen Kai in so much pain, but he seemed to just shrug it off. Takao knew that if he was in Kai's position he'd be rolling on the floor crying for days.
'Who did this to you, Kai?' he wondered, walking back to the hotel.
***
"Thanks, you guys, for bringing me back to the hotel." Rei smiled as Max helped Rei onto his bed. They tossed him a couple of pillows to lean back on and sat down. They had just brought Rei back from the hospital and had been told to let Rei get plenty of rest and he would be fine to battle in their next match which was tomorrow.
"It's really no prob." Max winked at their friend. "You're our friend and we'd do anything for you. You should know that by now." He laughed cheerfully. His energetic mood had been restored.
"Hey, where's Takao?" Rei asked.
"We don't know." Kenny answered. "He just told us he had something to take care of and he'd be back soon."
"Knowing him, he found an all you can eat buffet table and is hogging down all the food he can get his hands on." Max laughed. Rei smiled.
Suddenly Takao burst into the room, followed by Mariah and Lee. He smiled as happily as he could muster at Rei and dragged Max and Kenny from Rei's bedside.
"Hey! What's the big deal?" Max asked surprised.
"Well, I just wanted to let Rei's old friends spend the day with him." He replied, nodding to Lee and Mariah, who were taking Max and Kenny's places on the bed. "I think they can keep an eye on Rei and make sure he doesn't do anything too exhausting. Plus I have something to talk to you guys about." He whispered the last part as they left the room.
***
Rei shifted himself to find a comfortable spot and smiled at his friends.
"Thanks for visiting." He mumbled graciously. "I guess I haven't seen you around much."
"It's nothing, Rei." Mariah smiled back and moved closer. Lee only rolled his eyes.
"Since you guys are my best friends, can I tell you something?" Rei asked, somewhat awkwardly. Lee cocked an eyebrow at his friend and nodded.
"Well you see... I'm kind of in love with someone." He blushed as Mariah moved closer to him and began to grin.
"Yes... " she prompted. Lee began to smirk. Both of their actions were beginning to seem strange to Rei.
"Well you see... " Rei began again. "This person that I like is very close to me." Mariah began to grin like an idiot and inched closer.
"I-I'm in l-lo-love w-with..." he stuttered, Mariah inching closer still.
"I'minlovewithKai!" He exclaimed as one word, waiting for the disappointment to appear in Mariah's eyes. Apparently, Lee was waiting for the same thing.
"I KNEW IT!" she cried triumphantly and jumped from the bed, only to begin dancing around the room. "You finally admitted it!" she cheered in a sing- song voice. Lee's eyes became wide and he turned to Rei.
"You knew?" Rei asked Mariah.
"Of course!" she exclaimed. "It was so obvious."
"Yeah, it was only a matter of time before you admitted it out loud." Lee backed her up. He was just getting over the shock of Mariah's little dance. He had fully expected her to get angry or depressed, anything but cheer.
"I thought you liked Rei." He said to her.
"Me too." Rei admitted.
"Nope." She giggled. "I like someone else."
"Who?" Rei asked. She smiled broadly at Rei and looked back and forth from the two boys whose attention she held undivided. She winked at Lee and sat down on the bed.
"He's a friend." She answered deceptively, still grinning from ear to ear. Lee looked at her strangely, not knowing what the wink meant, before turning his attention back to Rei.
"Takao told us what happened to you." He said, draining the room of the previous announcement's euphoria. "How are you?"
"I'm fine." Rei answered. "I'm much too stubborn to be seriously hurt."
"If that wasn't serious then I don't know what is." Mariah muttered under her breath.
"I'm fine!" Rei repeated. "I didn't break anything."
"Yet." Countered Lee. "Just because we wanted you to admit you liked Kai, doesn't mean he's good for you."
"It's not his fault I got hurt." Rei stood up for his friend. "He's probably hurt worse than me."
"That won't be too good." Mariah muttered. She had a habit of muttering things you didn't want to hear.
"Why isn't that good?" Rei asked curiously.
"Well, the Demolition Boys have a match today." She exclaimed as if that was common knowledge. Rei's eyes went wide.
"Help me get ready." He demanded.
"Why?" asked Lee densely.
"Because I'm going to that match." He stated.
"Are you crazy?" Mariah chided him. "There's no way you're going there in your condition."
"What condition?" Rei argued. "I just have a bunch of cuts and bruises. I'm going to go tomorrow anyways and I need to at least get out and moving before my match. It's not like I'm going to be Blading today. I'm just going to watch." He was right. He couldn't go to a match after an injury without at least doing something. He couldn't just lie in bed and expect to be at his best the next day.
"No." Mariah said. "The doctor said you need to rest."
"But What could I possibly do watching a match that would involve strenuous activity? Walking? I'd have to do that to get anywhere I need to go. I'd just be sitting there doing nothing."
"No, and that's final." Lee said, crossing his arms stubbornly in front of his chest.
***
"You guys are the best!" exclaimed Rei looping both arms around his friends' shoulders. Lee rolled his eyes and Mariah sighed. They were sitting in the front row of the stadium and the Demolition Boys were about to come out to start their match.
"Don't mention it." Lee groaned.
"How'd he talk us into this?" Mariah asked leaning over to talk to Lee.
"How does he always talk us into stuff? If you can answer that one then you have your answer." Rei smiled craftily. He had always been able to persuade his best friends into doing things they didn't want to do. Mariah sat back in her chair and sighed again. They never knew how he did it.
Out of the corner of his eyes Rei spotted Boris making his way into the arena. He leaned forward to see Kai. Next came Tala followed by Bryan and Spencer. Kai was no where to be seen. Rei sighed and sat back in his chair when Kai came stumbling into the arena.
"Hurry up, baka." Tala called, but Kai ignored him. He stumbled and limped his way over to the bench from which Rei had a perfect view of the damage done to him.
"Wow." Mariah gasped. "I didn't realize that he was so badly beat up."
"You weren't kidding when you said he'd be worse than you." Lee whispered.
Rei wasn't paying attention to them. His full attention was locked on his love. 'How could someone do this to their own flesh and blood?' he wondered to himself, watching as Kai shifted in his seat and wince as he put pressure on the wrong bruise.
The first two matches were won easily by Tala and Bryan and it seemed as if Spencer was going to be called up next when Rei was jarred back to reality by the announcer's voice.
"Next up from the Demolition Boys is Hiwatari Kai."
"He's going to fight?" Lee growled. "That's despicable."
"How can they make him fight?" Mariah added. "Don't they see how much pain he's in? It's inhuman."
"Exactly." Rei whispered. They both turned to him, shocked. "They don't care if he's hurt. They want a win." They turned their attention back to the match. Kai still hadn't moved from his seat and he didn't look like he was ever going to. They watched as Boris walked over to Kai and yell at him.
"Don't make me force you to get in there." He snarled. Kai didn't even act like he heard him. "Fine we'll do it your way." He grabbed Kai by the scarf around his neck, ignoring Kai's yelps of pain, and threw him with all his might into the arena. Kai flew a good few feet and landed in a heap beside the dish. He screamed as he landed on all the wrong spots. The entire crowd gasped and began muttering and it took everything Mariah and Lee had to keep Rei from leaping into the arena and attacking Boris.
Kai lay still for a few moments, which began to scare Rei, before he slowly picked himself up as if nothing had happened. He stood shakily for a few seconds before he readied his launcher. Rei noticed that Kai's hands and arms adorned bloody bandages and were shaking like leaves in the wind.
"Three."
"Two."
"One! Let it RIP!"
Rei watched anxiously as Kai launched Black Dranzer into the dish. It took a few minutes for the black blade to catch it's bearings but once it had steadied it's rotation it was a matter of seconds before the opposing blade was knocked out of the dish. Black Dranzer leapt back into Kai's hand. Kai nodded grimly before his eyes rolled back into his head and his weak knees gave in. He collapsed to the floor in a dead faint.
"KAI!" Rei shouted, but no one noticed his cry. The crowd had begun to empty out of the stadium, muttering disapprovingly and didn't notice Rei's distress. Only Lee and Mariah were there to notice. Rei once again tried to leap over the railing, but his friends' hands held him back.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Lee hissed into his ear. "You saw what that bastard did to Kai. What do you think he'll do to you?" Rei backed down slightly, but kept his golden eyes fixed on Kai. He watched Kai's body like a hawk.
Tala stepped up to Kai's body and noticed that he was still awake, but in a terrible amount of pain. He laughed.
"Maybe you should listen next time Hiwatari-sama tells you not to do something." He exclaimed loud enough for Rei, Lee and Mariah to hear. He laughed again and picked Kai up by the arm. He began to drag Kai back to Boris who took Kai from there.
Kai winced at the transfer. He looked up and straight into the worry filled amber eyes of Rei. He noticed that Rei looked badly hurt but was healing fine. He sighed inwardly in relief. He also couldn't help but notice how his face was contorted into a mix of fury and hatred, and for a moment he wondered if it was directed at him. But then he noticed that Lee and Mariah were straining to hold him back and he caught some of their words.
"You can't help him Rei!" Mariah screamed. The boy ignored her. He didn't want to let Kai go back with those monsters.
"Let him go!" He screamed after Boris. Kai was comforted to know that Rei was willing to risk everything to free him. He tried to regain his cold emotionless expression and looked into Rei's eyes one last time.
"Rei." He mouthed before finally allowing himself to pass out from over exertion.
***
Back at the abbey, Kai had woken up a few times and each time was the same. He would wake whispering Rei's name and then cursing himself.
"I can't let him get hurt anymore." He whispered to himself. "I won't let him get hurt anymore. Not because of me. Not anymore." He began to become drowsy again and he lay back down to fall into yet another restless, dreamless sleep.
***
Rei, on the other hand, had other things on his mind than sleep. He was back at the hotel and Lee and Mariah had returned to the hotel they were staying at, promising to say hi to Kevin and Gary for him. He was sitting on his bed and listening Takao tell everyone the 'game plan' for the tournament for the next day.
"I saw Kai today." He interrupted Takao.
"Huh?" Max shook the sleep from his eyes. Nobody ever paid attention to Takao's speeches. "Where?"
"He had a match." He answered. Suddenly he had all eyes on him. Takao had told Kenny and Max about what state Kai was in and they couldn't imagine how he could possibly be able to blade. "He looked so horrible. He had cuts and bruises everywhere and his arms were bandaged." His voice began to break.
"We know." Takao said softly, hanging his head. "I saw him this morning."
"Oh."
"They didn't make him battle, did they?" asked Max, trying to take all the attention from Takao.
"Yeah, they did." Rei replied. "He wouldn't get up at first, but Boris walked up to him and yelled something to him before grabbing him by the scarf and throwing him into the arena like a toy. I heard him yelp in pain when he was lifted up, but when he was tossed..." he trailed off. He didn't want to relive it.
"Hey, it's ok." Takao tried to comfort Rei. "You and I both know that Kai can survive anything." His opinion of Kai had changed when he saw Kai's battered form collapse in front of him.
"Then he pulled himself up from the ground." Rei continued. "His hands were shaking so badly when he launched Black Dranzer. He won, and then collapsed. Boris dragged him out of the stadium." He left out Tala's conversation with Kai. He wouldn't go against his word to Kai.
"I wonder if it's possible that since his grandfather hurt Rei, maybe he did that to Kai too." Max exclaimed.
"I doubt that." Rei replied quickly. "Who would hurt their own flesh and blood?" He repeated his thoughts from earlier that day. This seemed to convince them. "Only a monster would do something that horrible." Takao answered, sullenly. 'Only a monster.' Rei agreed silently.
"I'm worn out from today and I need a good night's rest." Rei excused himself from the conversation. "I'm going to go to sleep now." The guys agreed to get some sleep and they walked over to their own beds. Rei rolled to his side and stared blankly at the empty bed beside him. Kai's bed. He knew their relationship would be strained more than ever now.
'Please let Kai be okay.' He thought to anyone who would listen. 'I need him to be okay in order for me to be okay.' He drifted off to sleep, his hand going unconsciously to the bit that hung from his neck.
~Finis
Just in case anyone's wondering, each chapter is more or less one day. That's why this chapter was so long. And I won't be posting another chapter for a while so that I can get a lot of things done (like the eighth chapter and my own original story which probably won't be posted on FF.N and presents still to make and I HAVE NO TIME!!)
Coming up: Chapter 5: Koneko NOKIER
A/N: if you can figure out what this title means then I will give you an honourable mention in the next chapter!