Kai's eyes went wide and he started to mumble about an insect flying in his eye, hayfever, a summer cold, and whatnot. "Kai... it's ok" Rei said gently "It doesn't make anyone think any less of you, it's alright to cry"
"Dammit Rei, I'm not crying!" he shouted, even though it was obvious he was. Rei sighed and offered the upset teenager some of the rapidly-cooling meal. "Do you want it, or am I gonna have to turn into Tyson and eat both our shares?"
Kai laughed in spite of himself and his usual apathy. "Oh all right Rei, I guess I could force some down"
They both sat in near-silence as they ate. When they'd finished, Kai broke the silence "Erm, Rei? I think I should apologise for the way I've been acting lately. To be honest I'm suprised you managed to put up with me. It's just... when Mr Dickenson told us that the team was from the abbey, it... well it brought up some unpleasant memories"
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Kai looked at Rei and thoughts went through his head 'Should I? Rei's always been a good friend to me, but if I told him he could feel sorry for me and I'd hate that!' he looked at Rei's soft, concerned yellow eyes and gave in 'But, it would be nice to let it all out, for once.'
"Rei, what I'm about to tell you you've gotta promise to tell no-one else, not even Mr Dickenson or the rest of our team. I just couldn't stand them all looking at me like a pitiful creature"
Although he was worried, Rei slowly nodded. 'What could be so bad that it brings Kai to tears?!'