Okay, I am so sorry for the delay in this chapter. Please forgive me! *offers roses and chocolates as consolation* Also … I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH! Not only have I breached the 200 mark (my first fic to do so) but also in the last four chapters alone, I got 111 reviews! Seriously, you guys are the greatest. I'm really, REALLY, sorry for the delay then, and I promise to make it up to you in the next chapter with something citrusy. *big grin*
But you have no idea how hard it was to write this chapter, I was literally sitting here going "No! I can't, I can't do this! You can't make me! NO!!!" Of course you'll have to read to find out why I was distressed enough in this chapter to cry while writing it.
(enough suspense for you? ;D)
Anyways, hope you enjoy chapter fourteen.
Three is a Dangerous Number
"Damn!"
Kai raced out of the bathroom at Rei's yell to see the raven-haired boy glaring at the window. He looked over at Kai, his glare softening somewhat. "I forgot to tell everyone about …"
Kai nodded. It's okay. Maybe we should do it all in private anyway."
Rei grinned. "We? You're going to be there with me?"
"Of course, just because you're feeling a bit more chipper about all this, doesn't mean I'll leave you on your own to tell everyone." Kai grabbed Rei in a tight embrace. "What kind of boyfriend would I be then?"
Rei smiled and kissed him gently. "Not one I'd like to have. I like you just the way you are, so stay that way."
"Of course." The two leaned in for a long kiss, but were distracted by a loud insistent knocking on the hotel room door.
Kai growled and released Rei, knowing that the other three were already in bed, Tyson was probably already asleep. Kenny opened the door to their room and rubbed his eyes blearily, looking over at Kai questioningly.
"Go back to bed Kenny, I'll get this." Kenny nodded and closed the door again, yawning widely.
Kai unlocked then opened the door immediately, glaring darkly at whomever was knocking at this time of night.
It wasn't the hotel staff.
It wasn't a messenger from Mr. Dickinson.
It wasn't an emergency of any kind.
So Kai growled ferally at the reporters lining the hallway of the hotel at midnight after the huge match.
"Get lost," he said before they could ask any questions. He tried to slam the door in their faces, but a reporter stuck their foot in and shoved a microphone in his face.
"Mr. Hiwatari, please, one question. Is what happened at the match today between yourself and Mr. Kon just a one-off spur of the moment thing?"
Another joined the first as Kai looked at them in shock. "What about the others? Are there any more insidious relationships going on in the team?"
"Did you all not hear me the first time? Go away! It's midnight and my team and I need to sleep."
This caused the huge mass of reporters to surge forwards and start to shout out their various questions. People started looking out in annoyance from their own suites and glared as they saw Kai fending off the reporters. He glared right back then turned to the reporters.
"Look, to schedule a conference you have to go through certain channels and ask for an appropriate time and location. If you persist with this harassment, I will have to call authorities."
A few of the reporters talked this over between themselves, the smarter ones that were rather nervous of Kai, but still many more continued to bombard him with questions.
"What the hell is going on?" Kai looked over his shoulder to see Kenny, Max and Tyson standing behind him, the latter yawning and glaring darkly. Kai looked back at the reporters and growled.
"All right, that's it. Kenny, call Mr. Dickinson right now."
Kenny nodded and moved away. Many of the reporters didn't seem to have heard exactly what he said. In fact, some were reaching into the room and throwing questions at Tyson and Max as well. Max stared at them wide eyed and shrunk back, hiding behind Kai. Tyson was blinking slowly, trying to wake himself up then, in a disturbing imitation of Kai, he too growled at the reporters asking if he and Max were in a similar relationship to Rei and Kai.
"They're asking about that?" Tyson asked incredulously. "That's none of their business."
Kai shrugged. "I glared at them and it didn't work."
Tyson gaped. "Your glare had no effect? Wow, they must be really worked up about that kiss."
Kai groaned, running his hands frustratedly through his hair.
Suddenly the reporters surged forward again at the sight of the last Bladebreaker appearing.
Rei looked around curiously, though the slight glint in his eyes told the others he was as annoyed as they were. "I see now what all the noise was and the delay." Kai nodded, still trying to close the door on the reporters. "So what do they want?"
"What do you think?" Kai asked sarcastically.
Rei grinned. "Let me handle this, I have a perfect plan."
"Oh no," Kai groaned. Most of Rei's ideas these days had to do with humiliation concerning him in some way. "Please make is as painless as possible."
Rei grinned. "Oh, I'm sure it will be quite the opposite." He approached the door, clearing his throat and stepping forward. "Excuse me, but you interrupted something very important I was in the middle of."
The reporters ignored him and bombarded him with more questions, which Rei ignored and finally he held up his hand and yelled, very loudly.
"Shut up!" The reporters did so, rather shocked that Rei, the supposed calm one on the Bladebreakers could loose his temper. "Fine, listen carefully." Rei grabbed Kai by the front of his shirt. "Kai." He released his confused boyfriend and pointed to himself. "Me." Without warning, he jumped at Kai and furiously attacked his mouth with his own, to which Kai responded very eagerly, kissing back with as much force and passion.
They could tell by the sudden silence from the obnoxious reporters and the intakes of breath and stifled giggles from Tyson and Max that their desired effect had been reached. Kai broke off, staring wantonly at Rei. Rei returned the look before turning to the reporters.
"Questions answered. Now, if you don't mind, Kai and I have other things to attend to." Rei closed the door on them, the reporters too stunned to move. He turned to Kai and grinned. "There, that was easy."
"You do realise that's going o be in all the papers and television reports tomorrow," Max told them with a giggle.
"I know." Rei grinned. "But at least they're gone now. Kai, be a dear and make sure they stay away, I've got to go have a shower." He yawned slightly and licked his lips, leering at Kai. "Don't be too long now."
Kai stared after him until the door closed. The other three in he room looked stunned at this and stared at Kai, who was blushing slightly. He glared at them. "What the hell are you looking at? You should be getting some sleep, unless you want extra training tomorrow."
"Like you'll be getting any sleep tonight," Tyson murmured as he passed, sending a grin in Kai's direction. Max blushed and giggled more as he ran into their room, while Kenny just shook his head muttering, "It's too late to be thinking about that sort of thing."
Kai waited until everyone had left before opening the door cautiously. He sighed in relief seeing the reporters had mostly gone. There were a few left who called out to him, but he made his way to the elevator and waited, arms folded across his chest, his stony expression in place. His mind was not occupied with the frightful things the reporters thought though. Quite the opposite in fact.
Okay, I'll have a talk with the manager and make sure that we are not to be disturbed, then I make sure that all the doors are locked securely, then I can be with Rei.
He got into the elevator, stepping out of the way of another person, not really taking any notice of them, his thoughts completely occupied with Rei. He pressed the button and went to the lobby, calling for the manager. There were still a few reporters here also, but Kai walked right past them and went straight to the front desk. After talking with the manager, he walked back to the elevators and waited, any reporters who approached him were taken away by security, much to his delight.
Once again the doors opened and he went back to his room. Another of the reporters tried to talk to him again, but Kai pushed him away and opened the door to the team's suite, locking the door behind him.
He could hear the sound of the shower running and he grinned. He made sure that the doors and windows were locked and checked up on the other three, who were starting to drift back off to sleep and went into his own room, accidentally leaving the door open slightly. He grinned seeing the clothes left on the bed. He stripped off his shirt and pants after taking off his gloves and scarf.
"Rei?" He smiled, opening the door to the bathroom then gasped. "Rei!" He ran over quickly to the other boy lying in a puddle of blood, eyes closed. "No, you didn't please no," Kai sobbed, looking for where Rei was bleeding from.
His wrists were scarred from the previous attempt, but untouched now. Kai breathed heavily and frowned slightly then looked at his hand holding Rei's hair, feeling a wetness.
"What ...?" He looked down and Rei groaned.
"Kai ... her."
"What?" Kai quickly spun around in time to see a flash of metal just before there was a sharp pain in his shoulder. He cried out as the dagger was pulled out of his arm and he grabbed at it, the crimson liquid dripping between his fingers in gushes. Kai looked up through his haze of pain.
Mariah stood grinning down at them, a bloody knife in hand. The same knife she threatened Rei with before.
"You," Kai gasped then flinched as he moved slightly. More blood continued to gush from his deep wound. He was starting to loose all feeling in his arm. "Why?"
"You can't have him, Rei's mine."
"Bitch," Kai spat, maneuvering himself so he was in front of the dazed Rei still lying on the floor. He cried out suddenly in pain again and took his eyes off Mariah for an instant.
That's when she struck again. Her dagger flashed silver again before it turned red once it emerged from Kai's torso. Kai gasped again, blood pouring from his mouth. He clutched his still movable hand to his abdomen.
"Damn, I missed," Mariah muttered.
"Mariah, please, no." Rei was crying, holding out a hand to her pleadingly. He struggled to sit up and move over to his beloved. "Please, don't."
Mariah glared at him. "I have to Rei. He's keeping you from me."
"I don't love you!"
Mariah's eyes flashed dangerously. "You do! You have to! Now I'll take this horrid complication out of your life so we can finally be together as we were meant to." She raised the dagger again.
Rei panicked. "No! Kai! Stop!"
Mariah grinned evilly. "Too late." As if in slow motion, the dagger started to descend, then suddenly the door burst open and Max, Kenny and Tyson stood in the doorway.
Their eyes widened seeing the scene. Kai bloody and close to unconscious on the floor before an injured and hysterical Rei with Mariah grinning evilly down at them a bloody dagger in her hand. It didn't take a genius to figure out what had been going on.
"Stop!" Tyson and Max both went after Mariah, tackling her to the ground, the dagger slipping out of her grasp and sliding to the wall. Kenny ran immediately to the two injured boys, checking Kai as soon as he saw that Rei was still conscious.
"He's lost a lot of blood and he's still loosing it," Kenny panicked slightly.
"Some's mine. I have a head gash," Rei informed him. "But we have to stop the bleeding!"
Max and Tyson were still occupied by Mariah who was hissing and squirming underneath them. She yelled and cursed them, trying to punch and scratch at them. They couldn't let her go lest she try for the dagger again and continue with her plans.
Kenny ran to the bedroom and grabbed the sheets from the bed. He ripped off a strip and shoved it up against Kai's stomach wound. "We have to apply pressure. Can you keep a hold of that Rei?" Rei nodded and placed his hands over Kai's wound, the blood soaking through the white sheets almost immediately.
"Oh gods," Rei moaned, tears streaming down his cheeks. He was still weak and his hands shook. "Kenny, call someone."
"Right." Kenny ran to the front room and started dialing the manager to get the ambulance and police. He ran back and quickly ripped off another strip of the bedsheet and placed it atop the first that Rei was holding. "You're doing a great job Rei, they're on their way, just hold on." Kenny encouraged the distraught and possibly concussed boy as he tended to Kai's less serious, though still deep shoulder wound.
Tyson and Max had managed to get Mariah to stop struggling, though she still tried futilely.
"Kenny," Rei's voce was small and hesitant. "Aren't stomach wounds fatal?"
"I don't know. We have to have faith in Kai."
Rei nodded, still shaking slightly, but he kept a constant pressure on the wound, the thought that this was all for Kai running through his head and keeping him awake and focused.
Finally they could hear the sounds of sirens. Kenny grinned, relieved and ran to open the locked front door when they stopped outside the building. "In here," he called out seeing the emergency officers coming out of the elevator. They ran in after the boy and quickly ran to where Rei and Kai were situated on the bathroom floor.
"Here son, we'll take it from here," one woman smiled reassuringly at him, placing her own hands over the wound.
Rei nodded. "Kenny said to put pressure on it. Kenny knows what to do."
"Of course. It was very brave of you to help him like this. You may have saved his life."
Rei smiled and nodded, moving away slightly as more people came into the room, all helping Kai. One came over to him but he refused to let the emergency person help him until he was sure they'd seen to Kai.
Policemen entered and Kenny pointed over to where Tyson and Max lay on top of the struggling Mariah. "Where's the weapon?" one asked and Max pointed to the dagger lying on the floor against one wall.
"When we tackled her it flew over there," he told them.
"What exactly happened?"
By this time, the ambulance officers had Kai stabilized and on a stretcher ready to take out. Rei was having his head looked at, but when he saw they were taking Kai away, he panicked.
"No! I have to stay with him!"
"You can ride with him in the ambulance, that way we can have a good look at you too." The first emergency officer smiled at him and Rei nodded, reassure that Kai wasn't going anywhere without him.
The policeman looked back at Max and Tyson as they got off Mariah, who was apprehended by two more policemen and taken out of the room, hissing and snarling, trying to escape and get back to Kai to finish the job, with her nails if need be.
Tyson looked away, shuddering slightly. "We don't know everything. When we came in, Mariah was standing over Rei and Kai with a bloody knife. I just acted, I guess Max did too, and we tackle her to the ground."
The policeman nodded. "What made you come into the room in the firs place, did you hear noises of the struggle?"
Max blushed slightly. "Actually, we could hear a few things, but we didn't go in. We thought Rei and Kai were ..." He trailed off and blushed slightly.
Tyson blushed too then looked at the officer. "They were involved," he said simply.
The officer nodded, writing it down. "So you thought they were all right?"
Max nodded. "Until Rei yelled out something, I think it was 'I don't love you'. We thought he and Kai were fighting and thought it might be best if we intervened. Then we heard another scream from Rei and ran in. We didn't expect Mariah to be there."
The officer nodded again. "Thank you. Ill need a statement from your other teammates, though I'll have to visit Mr. Hiwatari and Mr. Kon in the hospital at another time."
Max and Tyson nodded and the officer moved away to talk to Kenny. They looked at each other and sighed.
"This has been a tough night," Max said.
"Yeah. I never would have though it."
Max hesitated before looking at Tyson worriedly and asking. "Do you think Kai will be all right?"
"I don't know Maxie, but I hope so."
* * *
Rei sat huddled up in one of the hard plastic chairs in Kai's room.
He'd refused to be parted from the boy, except for when he went in for surgery. Since he came back, Rei hadn't left the unconscious boy's bedside. It was visiting hours now, but seeing as Rei was a patient, they'd let him stay in the same room, since whenever someone tried to move him, he went hysterical.
A tear slipped down his cheek and Rei buried his face in his arms and hugged his knees tighter to his chest.
"Kai," he whispered brokenly.
There was a knock at the door and Rei looked up to see Lee and Michael standing there. His old friend took one look at the distraught boy and ran to him, capturing him in a huge embrace. Rei broke down completely, hanging onto Lee as though he was his only link to safety.
"Gods Rei, I'm so sorry. I should have known."
"No, I should have told you." Rei sniffed, calming slightly. "I was going to at the celebrations, but I forgot, I was just so happy and enjoying myself too much."
Lee released him and looked at him closely. "How long had it gone on?"
"A while. Mariah came to me one time when I was still injured and took advantage of me." Lee hissed, his eyes wide. "I should have told you. I almost tried to kill myself from the shame, but Kai stopped me. I lied when I said I accidentally cut myself with a razor."
Lee started to cry then, tears of distress running down his cheeks. "Oh Rei." He grabbed the boy in another hug. "Please don't ever do that, don't keep something like that from me."
"I won't. Just please don't leave yet. I can't be alone."
Lee nodded and Michael moved into the room. "Don't worry," the American boy assured him with a gentle smile. "We'll stay with you for as long as you need."
Rei smiled gratefully. "Thank you."
"Do you want something to eat? Chocolate maybe?"
Rei grinned and nodded. "Thanks Michael." The redhead nodded and went out of the room, knowing that the two neko-jins would need some time alone.
Lee sighed and sat down beside Rei, keeping his hand on the younger boy's arm, stroking him lightly, gently, reassuring him that there was someone here with him. Rei smiled contentedly and leaned his head on Lee's shoulder, slowly drifting to a light sleep.
Michael entered the room again and sighed sadly seeing the distress on his lover's face. He placed the chocolate on the table and sat down beside Lee, taking his hand in his own. Lee smiled at him and continued to stroke Rei's hair gently, feeling tears drip from Rei's eyes onto his skin as he slept.
* * *
Tyson sighed as he left the room.
The three of them had stayed for as long as they could, but visiting hours were over and they had to leave Rei and Kai alone.
"Do you think they'll be okay?" Max asked, looking close to crying.
Tyson wrapped an arm around the blond boy's shoulder and smile reassuringly. "Of course, this is Rei and Kai we're talking about here. Rei's already doing fine and Kai should wake up any time now."
"I hope you're right," Max whispered.
Kenny was silent then he looked over at the two others with him and informed them, "Mr. Dickinson has organised a meeting for all the teams to explain what happened. Apparently there has been a lot going on that we don't know about."
"Yeah," Tyson looked contemplative. "Rei was acting a bit odd. He's not one to be so clingy, even with Kai and him being together like that."
Kenny nodded. "Well, anyone who can make it is to be there, so we should be on our way."
The three of them took one last look back at the closed door hiding the other two injured members of their team then made their way out of the hospital to meet with the other four top teams in beyblading.
* * *
Rei crawled up onto Kai's bed once the nurse had finished, knowing that he could stay there until another nurse came to check up on them at midnight.
He touched the soft pale cheeks of his love and listened to his slow shallow breathing. A tear rolled down his cheek and fell upon Kai's face, making the boy stir slightly then settle down again.
Rei continued to stare at the beautiful face of his sleeping beloved.
"I'm sorry Kai," he whispered in a choked voice. "It shouldn't have happened like this. I wish I'd been stronger for you. I promised I would be strong, but I failed and you're hurt." Rei sobbed, the tears clouding his vision and he blinked rapidly to clear his view of Kai's face. "I never wanted to hurt you, I just wanted to love you."
"Rei ..." Rei looked down in astonishment to see Kai's eye slowly open, revealing thin slivers of scarlet. "You are strong," he breathed. "You kept your promise."
"Oh Kai," Rei clung to him and sobbed. "I'm so sorry, I don't want you to be hurt."
"It's a risk I was willing to take to be with you." Kai smiled up at him and lifted his hand to Rei's face, wincing slightly with the strain. "I love you, I always will."
"Kai." Rei smiled gently and leaned down to place a soft kiss on his beloved phoenix's lips. Everything would be all right for them, they would just have to be strong for each other.
AN: *sobs* this fic will unfortunately be coming to an end in the next chapter. *sound of lots of crying* See? Now you know why I was so sad! This was so hard to write because I don't want to let it go. You can't take this away from me, it's can't be finished! No! *more sobs*
Okay, I'm done, enough theatrics. The last chapter (the epilogue) should be out soon, unless I get another case of separation anxiety.
Until then, Laters.
