Eighteen
I'm talking to myself in public
Dodging glances on the train
And I know, I know they've all been talking about me
I can hear them whisper
And it makes me think there must be something wrong with me
Out of all the hours thinking
Somehow I've lost my mind
"Ray…" Kenny said bluntly as Ray returned from his walk. Ray looked down at him. He was still sour after the whole hitting incident.
"I'm sorry about how I reacted Kenny. I shouldn't have lashed out," Ray replied. "I was being totally irrational, and I was only thinking about what I'd want, not what Kai would want."
"I'm glad you finally see sense," Kenny said, getting to his feet, and small smile crept onto his face.
"We need to ask Kai what he wants, that's the only way to know for sure," Max stated. That was the only way. Even Ray knew that now.
"Have the doctors left him yet?" Ray asked.
"Oh yeah, they left a while ago," Tyson replied. "We were just waiting to see if you'd show first before we went to talk to him."
"Well I'm here now. Let's go." they all nodded and slowly walked in. Kai's breathing was heavy and slow. He was struggling, and the struggle was more evident now that it ever had been. It made Ray realise: Kai was human. He had weaknesses just like the rest of humanity, and he wasn't indestructible, as Kai had led them to believe he was. He knew Kai would be ashamed of himself, showing so much weakness before his team, but like Kai had a choice in the matter.
"Hey…Kai…" Tyson began slowly, to see if he'd get a response. Kai's gaze was fixed on the window.
"Why are you here?" a small reply escaped from Kai's lips. His voice was hoarse and barely audible above the bleeping noise of the life support machine.
"We came to see you Kai, to see how you are," Ray replied.
"Get out," came Kai's response, his voice gaining some volume. "Get out and leave me alone."
"No Kai. Now isn't the time for you to be alone."
"Get this through your thick head Ray: I want to be left alone. So take yourself and your pep squad out of here!!" Kai fumed, snapping his gaze from the window and straight into Ray's worried amber eyes.
"Kai you tried to kill yourself. We want to know why," Tyson replied on Ray's behalf, as Ray was taken aback by Kai's anger.
"Why do you think, loud mouth?!" Kai sneered. "I have zero and nothing else worth staying alive for. Like you people give a damn about me. You never did! If you cared, you'd get the hell out of my life!!"
"Kai of course we care about you!" Max's desperate response came. "It's because we care so much that we won't let you go if you want to fight! Are you going to let your father bring you down?!"
"He already has," Kai's voice quietened, and he seemed to calm down. "You idiots don't see it do you? I'm dying, and I have been since I lost my mother. A part of me never recovered from watching her die. I don't just hate Russia because of Biovolt: I hate it because it was here where my mother was buried!"
"I know, I saw her grave," Ray interjected, getting glares off of everyone, Kai included.
"Why did you…" Kai began, but as he struggled to breathe, he couldn't finish his sentence. Ray took a seat by Kai's side and handed him an oxygen mask.
"Because I needed to find a reason to let you go," Ray replied. "If you fight now Kai, that's all well and good for you, but if you fall now, at least you'll be back with her."
"Ray…" Kai tried to talk again, but found that sleep was starting to take him and he fell backwards gently onto the pillows.
"He's exhausted," Kenny noted.
"If Kai gives up now…Hideaki will gain global control with his army, won't he?" Max asked, examining the faces of his friends.
"He probably will," Ray replied. "But that's why we need Kai for one last job."
"What do you mean?" Tyson asked.
"We need Kai to stay alive long enough to lure Hideaki out of hiding and get him arrested before he stirs up trouble."
"How is Kai supposed to do that? He can barely even breathe let alone walk around!"
"We just need word to leak out to Hideaki that Kai survived the explosion at The Abbey and that'll be enough."
"You seem to be forgetting Boris…"
"Oh forget him. Without some high paying millionaire behind him, he's no threat to anyone."
"If you say so Ray…"
"But how are we supposed to get this information out to Hideaki?" Max asked.
"Any way we can," Ray replied. "We'll have to talk to Kai about this all first, to make sure he'll cooperate and accept that Hideaki will be paying him a visit sometime soon. If Kai decides that once Hideaki is behind bars that he just wants to die, then that's his choice. We can't try to influence what Kai's choice is."
"OK, you're crazy Ray," Tyson sighed. "What do we do when Hideaki actually gets here then? He's gonna wanna take a piece out of Kai, so how can we be sure Kai will be OK?"
"There's an emergency alarm button in every room right?"
"Right…"
"So when the opportune moment strikes, Kai hit's the button, about 10 of Russia's police officers storm in and arrest him. Then he's sentenced and put in prison."
"You make it sound easy…"
"It will be easy enough. It's just getting Hideaki here and getting Kai to cooperate that's gonna be the bitch."
"We need the cooperation of the Russian police as well Ray," Kenny added. Ray nodded.
"Yeah, but they won't be too hard to persuade. Hideaki has been in their bad books for a while now. And if they need persuasion, we just tell them about Aoi Hiwatari's murder."
"How will that help?" Max asked.
"Of course! Aoi Hiwatari was an important figurehead to the Russian people before she gave up on politics and settled down to start a family! She was a link between Russian and Japanese relations! The people loved her! So if the Feds find out she was murdered by Hideaki they'll want his head on a platter!" Kenny cried in realisation.
"Wow, she was that popular huh?" Tyson asked, slightly bemused by it all.
"It would seem so yeah. What would really help now is if Kai's grandparents were still alive," Ray replied, dropping into thought.
"What, you mean his mother's side?" Tyson asked.
"That's right."
"Why in the world would we want to or need to talk to them?!"
"They have no idea their daughter was murdered, and that their grandson's life hangs in the balance. An operation like this may need funding from somewhere at some stage, so that's where I'm hoping the Hiwataris will come in."
"How much free time do you have Ray?" Tyson asked, a resigned look on his face. "You think too much."
"Do you think Kai's grandparents will help us Ray?" Max asked.
"I hope so Max," Ray replied. "I really hope so."
~~***~~
Before long, the Bladebreakers found themselves in front of a small snowy cottage that was situated near the church where Kai's mother was buried. They were all bundled up in warm clothes, as it was well into the minus degrees outside.
"Well…go knock Ray!" Max nudged the neko forward and he slowly walked up the path and to the door. He knocked gently, hoping not to cause an avalanche, as a vast amount of snow seemed to linger just above Ray's head. After a short pause the door was opened by an elderly woman. She started speaking in Russian.
"I'm sorry ma'am…I don't understand you…" Ray said slowly.
"Katherine? Who's at the door?" a man's voice interjected. An elderly man arrived at the door, and he seemed more evidently Japanese to Ray. "Oh I'm sorry, my boy, my wife here doesn't speak much English anymore. After our daughter passed away all those years ago, she can't bring herself to even mutter a word of English."
"That's alright sir. My friends and I were just wondering if…your daughter's name was, by chance, Aoi Hiwatari?" Ray asked, slowly and cautiously. He didn't want to hurt of offend anyone, but it seemed that was just what he did. The elderly woman threw her hands to her face, started to scream in Russian, and ran back into the house.
"Yes…how in the world did you know?" the old man asked. The rest of the Bladebreakers made their way up the path and joined Ray.
"My name is Ray Kon, and these are my friends Max, Tyson and Kenny. We're the Bladebreakers," Ray introduced his friends to the man.
"I know who you boys are," the old man smiled. "You beat Voltaire's boys, right? Good on you too. I never liked that man. Far too callous."
"He raised your grandson."
"Grandson?" the old man seemed to have forgotten all about Kai, until the bustling footsteps of the old woman were heard as she charged to the door. Ray blinked in bemusement.
"This is him! This is our Kai!" the old woman said firmly in English, pointing out Kai's picture in a Russian newspaper after the Bladebreakers' victory at the Biovolt stadium.
"Oh yes! Kai! Now I remember!" the old man laughed. "It's quite amazing really, he's our only grandchild and I forgot about him! You boys must be his team mates! Come in, please!" even the old woman stepped aside and warmly welcomed the Bladebreakers into their home. It was very warm and inviting, and a roaring log fire was burning in the living room. They all took a seat, the Bladebreakers removing their hats and jackets.
"What brings you to our door?" the old woman asked, handing out hot chocolate to the boys, each accepting one graciously, even Tyson, for whom grace was not a natural instinct.
"It's about Kai," Ray began, sipping the drink slowly before placing it on the table in front of him. "He's…well…not in a good way right now."
"What do you mean?" the woman's smile seemed to ice over.
"He's been severely injured. He's not recovering as well as we'd hoped he would, and we're afraid he may die soon." the old woman started to scream to her husband in Russian again. She seemed distraught and incredibly upset.
"How did this happen?" the old man asked.
"Kai's father Hideaki. He's been abusing Kai for some time now, and Kai's body has taken all it can take," Ray replied.
"Oh no….not Hideaki…he's a gentleman!"
"He's no gentleman, sir. He murdered your daughter and he's now set on killing Kai."
"Hideaki…murdered my only daughter…" the old man was at a loss for words. The old woman was in tears, screaming her sorrows in Russian.
"He attacked her with a hammer and beat her until she was dead. That's what Kai told us. Kai was there, Kai saw it happen," Ray said, trying his best to be as sincere as he could.
"No wonder Kai seemed so subdued at her funeral…" the old man finally put all the pieces of the puzzle together. "After all these years we find out the man we let our daughter marry was her killer. And now he's going to kill our grandson. Well no more. We will not let Kai be hurt by this murderer!"
"Then help us," Ray pleaded. Silence befell the room. The old woman conferred briefly in Russian with her husband before the pair nodded in agreement.
~~***~~
"You did WHAT??!!!" Kai's voice was back, and it had lost none of its sharp anger. Kai was furious. "What were you morons THINKING??!!! If Hideaki comes here, he'll try to kill me!!!"
"We won't let that happen Kai, don't worry," Tyson tried to reassure his infuriated friend, but it was all in vain.
"You didn't even have the decency to warn me he was coming," Kai fumed in between gritted teeth.
"He's been spotted in town and he's heading this way," Ray said. "We have Russian police on standby in the hospital, and your grandparents are here too. They want to see your father go down for what he's done."
"Well I do too, but why in fuck do _I_ have to be the bait??!!" Kai yelled. The familiar sound of metal footsteps were heard on the ward. Kai's heart started to race, which was evident to all by the increasing speed of the bleeping noises from the life support machine.
"Kai calm down, we won't let him kill you," Kenny reassured Kai as they all made for the spare exit door. "We're watching your every move, so don't worry about it. We'll be in here and have him busted before he can even try a thing." and with that the Bladebreakers were gone. The metal footsteps grew louder, and no matter how hard Kai tried, he couldn't calm himself down. He was in sonic panic mode, and there was no way to shut that stupid machine up without putting a severe dent in his own life. Before Kai knew what to do, Hideaki was in the doorway.
"I thought you would have died in that explosion. But then again you _are_ my son…" Hideaki sneered, making his way over to Kai.
"What are you here for?" Kai asked, his heart rate spiking not just because he was terrified.
"To finish the job I started. To kill you," Hideaki smiled, pulling out a small vial from his pocket. "You don't have to worry about this Kai. It isn't heroin. It's a special poison I acquired in India a long time ago. I saved it especially for you. It will kill you slowly and painfully, and there is no antidote."
"Go ahead…do it!" Kai urged him. Hideaki looked into Kai's eyes briefly, and then did a double take.
'What?!' Hideaki thought, looking at Kai for longer. The more he looked into his son's eyes, the more he seemed to see Aoi standing in front of him. 'Great…my conscience is kicking in now!'
"Why are you waiting?! You want to kill me…why aren't you doing it?!!" Kai yelled, pushing him on further.
'Why am I hesitating?! This is what I've been waiting for!' it suddenly hit Hideaki. 'No…I never wanted this…this is what _my_ father wanted…all I ever wanted was a family…I changed, why did I change? I can't even remember anymore…'
"Why the hell are you just standing there like a goldfish?!" Kai growled.
"Kai…" Hideaki's gaze melted from an expression of anger to an expression of fear. He dropped the vial and it smashed on the floor. Hideaki fell to his knees. He couldn't do it. He'd done it once, he couldn't do it again. He couldn't kill her.
We face each other from different sides
The anger burns can't remember why
It's kinda crazy to cause such pain
Our foolish pride makes us hate this way
We watch our world fall apart
Tell me what good is winning when you lose your heart
SN: Super sorry to all who wanted me to update sooner. My lack of updating is due to three main reasons: 1. My internet connection has been being a bitch - 2. I've not been very well, and when I'm ill I can't write - 3. I've been getting homework thrown at me from every corner. I've been on an up and down yo-yo of depression, and its been awful. But I'm on the mend now, so updates should return to their normal cycle.
Opening paragraph is from Unwell by Matchbox Twenty, and the closing paragraph is from Brother My Brother by Blessid Union Of Souls. Don't flame me if you can help it. As I said I've been super depressed as of late, and it's just been my birthday. Won't tell you how old I am. Woo hoo…
If you DON'T want Kai to die, now is the time to say so! The story is ending within the next two updates after this one, so if you wanna change where the tide is heading, let me know. Any ideas of any kind will be more than welcome.