Rimnerel: If I tell you all it was Tyson's fault for us not updating
sooner, would anyone believe me?
Nakoruru: Don't you think it's mean that we're blaming Tyson for not updating.
Tyson: I swear if you tell them that, I'm not helping you out ever again.
Tala: Tell them that Rim! If it means that he'll never work on projects again!
Tyson (glares at Tala): Shut up!
Rimnerel: Um...okay, while those two are fighting, I'll just like to say thanks to Dark-Mage-Quisits, russle, B.Tiamat Atardecer, and The-Dark-Fire- Elf for all their reviews. Now let's get on with this story before some people kill themselves here.
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Tala was on his back, staring at the ceiling of his room in the abbey. Unfortunately he had to share it with the other Demolition Boys, which gave him no real solitude. When he got back that evening and returned to the room after dinner, they bombarded him with questions on where he went. It took nearly thirty minutes to fend off their curiosity about what he was doing.
Turning his azure eyes to the window, Tala wondered whether or not the Bladebreakers would be able to get through to Kenny's wayward soul. After discovering the reports about Kenny's incident, Tala realized that the young man must be filled with more than just pain. If he didn't have repressed anger and grief over the situation, then it was likely that it had numbed him to the point of not caring anymore.
'I'm sure that I didn't help things out at all with kissing him, but I couldn't help it. Those beautiful sad lost eyes kept pulling at my heart, asking me for help. Hell...he probably wants to kill me for treating him like a helpless creature.' Tala thought amusingly.
But to Tala, the boy did seem helpless. After so many years of abuse, he stopped reaching out for someone to help him. Or to him he thought he stopped reaching out. When in fact, Tala could still see the outstretched fingertips trying to break to the surface. The desperate eyes that continued to silently cry out for someone to see him. To understand his pain and maybe help him soothed it.
'Great...now I'm attached to him. I suppose...he's the first person that's made me feel so fucking mirthful. I know this isn't going to work between us, but...I can always try.' He needed someone to fall back on Tala doubted that Kenny had any strong ties to any member on the Bladebreakers squad. So...maybe...it could work out after all. Meanwhile, as Tala thinks out things, a certain someone that occupied Tala's thoughts sat in his hospital bed wide awake.
Kenny looked out the window at the night sky the room would be quiet if not for Tyson's snoring. When he awoke, he found his blue haired teammate by his bedside, asleep, but there. He would have expected Tala to be there...for some strange reason. Since that afternoon when he finally came out of his coma, and finding Tala there, Kenny started thinking of a lot of things.
One being those closest to him, the Bladebreakers, Mr. Dickenson, his aunt, and uncle and all those bladers he met since joining the squad. On the top of things that he thought about was Tala, the young Russian captain of a rival team. For some reason, he couldn't get the red head's words out of his head. I was starting to wonder if it was worth it killing himself to escape the memories of his past.
Since he went under, how had the others been affected by it? What did they say about it? Did they cry, or scold him while he slept? Did they try to find out why he did it, or accept the fact that he wanted to die? If they didn't care so much, why would they have saved him in the first place? If he didn't trust them so much, why did they continue to be by his bedside? It was exactly like his aunt and uncle.
Not matter how quiet he was about things they continued to be at his bedside. Just like Tyson was doing now. Though...they didn't snore like the blue haired teen did. But just the fact that he was there, just near by, it calmed Kenny. Was it because he cared that much about Kenny? Was that why his aunt and uncle stayed by his bedside that time too? Just right after his father tried to kill him, was that why when he woke up, they were there? Because they cared too much to leave him be alone to deal with the pain of continuing to live?
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{Flashback}
Kenny was well aware of the little sounds and feelings that surrounded him while he floated just above consciousness for a moment. A coldness that flowed into his veins from something that was attached to both his arms, it tingled some. There were things pricking him in his arms, legs, and somewhere else he couldn't pinpoint, probably connected to the coldness going through him. There was the noise of a soft rhythmic beeping.
The wheeze of something else, he wondered if it had to do with the strange thing up his nose and in his mouth. It tickled as the air came in, vibrating slightly. He was aware of a dull ache in his chest, reminding him of what happened. Which was also when his eyes fluttered open against his will. The bright light blinded him, the young boy squinting until his eyes became accustom to the light.
Scanning the room, he found several machines that hooked up to him. A bag of red stuff and a clear bag hung on each side of the bed. Tubes linked to the parts that dripped, which led to the ends that were taped into his arms. Focusing his eyes away from the machines that were more than likely keeping him alive, he found that the three people in the room had yet to notice he was awake.
He quietly studied his aunt Dawn, almost the exact replica of his mother Carolyn Nagase. Only his aunt was four years younger than his mother. He didn't know her very well he grew up seeing her very little, if at all for months. While he stayed in the Chuo district of Japan, his aunt and uncle lived in Sendai, an impossible amount of distance between them...at least to him it seemed that way. At the thought of why he was laying there, he whimpered softly, the pain immediately returning.
"Kenny?" his aunt turned to stare at him hope filling her eyes when she found him awake. His eyes cast away from them as the tears slipped free. The woman rushed to his bedside, taking hold of his hand. "Kenny, are you okay, can you talk? How do you feel? Say something to me please to let me know that you're all right."
"Dawn, give him some space," his uncle remarked coming up to the bedside with the doctor. "He just woke up, let him get his bearings."
"I know, but I'm so happy he's finally awake," Mrs. Shinoda cried.
"Son," the doctor said. "Do you know how lucky you are to have survived through such tough odds? You may not know this, but you almost left us twice. Once coming into the hospital and another time while you were still unconscious. The angels must be watching over you carefully."
Kenny moved his mouth, but no words came out. In fact, it was painful to even do that little action. His aunt moved closer to hear what he was saying, but he was sure she couldn't hear him. He didn't think anyone could hear his silent words as they told him to speak up. 'Why? Why did you save me? Why did you let me live? Why do you care what happens to me? Why? Tell me why.'
"Kenny, you have to speak up, we can't hear you, baby," his aunt whispered, as tears rolled down her cheeks. She gave his hand a little squeeze, a smile on her face. "I'm so glad that you're alive. While you were sleep, your uncle and I decided to adopt you. Since we don't have any kids of our own, we can give you all the attention you need. You don't have to ever worry about anything. We'll be your parents from now on, and we will live together here. We've already set everything up, now you just get better so we can heal you."
Kenny strained a little more to make his words be heard, but no matter what, they couldn't understand him. His aunt gave him a kiss on the head as she let go his hand. He closed his eyes that little exercise tiring him out. He felt a hand brush aside his hair as he fell back into darkness. He still didn't understand why they thought this was what he wanted. It wasn't, he wanted to be with his mother, to finally be able to rest. He did what was needed, so why wasn't he finally given peace. What did God want from him?
{Flashback ends}
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'I still don't understand now. But...I think that I'm starting to see why, at least for my aunt and uncle. They wanted me to live because they thought that's what I needed. I was never able to tell them what I really wanted. They would have kept making me go to that psychiatrist.' Kenny thought as he watched Tyson turn in his restless sleep, muttering something incoherent. 'But I don't understand about you Tyson.'
Was it the same thing as with his relatives? Was it because he thought Kenny wanted to live? That the suicide was a grand mistake he should never make again. Tala told him that Tyson, Rei, Max, and Kai cared about him and would be pained if he were to die. For some reason, Kenny couldn't picture it so much. They had each other, they didn't need him for much except analyzing the attacks of their opponents, modifying their blades, and information.
They didn't need him to talk to when they had something on their mind. They didn't want to confide in him about something they did, whether it's good or bad. Or confess about who they had a crush on. He was the fifth wheel on the Bladebreakers team who was only useful when they went into battle. He was only a novice blader that was made clear when he went up against Kai in the preliminaries during the regional championship in Japan.
He didn't have good people skills like Rei or Max. People never just flocked to him like Tyson, nor did people look to him for leadership like Kai. During his elementary years in school, he never made one friend. Fearful that they would know what happened to him and never come near him again for fear his father's wraith would come down on them too. He submerged himself in books, then eventually knowledge itself, which was only then that he was sought out.
But they were never his friends, just people that wanted his knowledge. They always left when they had no more use for him. 'But...' Kenny felt tears well up in his eyes, remembering Tyson. At first he only thought that Tyson wanted only what he knew like everyone else, until...
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{Flashback}
"Hey Chief! Chief, wait up!"
Kenny turned around to find Tyson running up to him. He wondered what the male wanted now. They were done with everything Tyson needed to know. What more did he want? "Is there something wrong, Tyson?"
"Nah, why would you say that? I just thought that I could walk you home, I mean, it's almost dark and all," Tyson indicated to the dusky setting the sky had already taken. "I don't want anything happening to my friends."
"Friends...? We're...friends?" Tyson had to be the first person that has ever said that to him. He looked up at the grinning blue haired teen that was walking him down the street as the lights to the streetlights came on.
"Yeah, what else would we be?" Tyson beamed. "You helped me out with things. I'm grateful I mean it. I don't think I could have beat Carlos without you. And I'm sure that I will be able to beat Kai with your help, if you help me out."
So, that was it. He needed all the information he could gather on Kai and his blade so he could beat him. Then he would claim to have never been friends with Kenny. "I don't know Tyson."
"Ah come on Chief," Tyson whined. "I know that if you train me, then I can do it. I mean, if you don't want to, that's cool, you'll still be my friend and we can still hang out."
"You...really want to be...my friend?" Kenny blinked. He had never heard this come from anyone before. Why would Tyson want to spend his time with Kenny? It didn't make sense, not when he had tons of people that liked him and were better than Kenny.
"Of course! It wouldn't be right for me to ask you for help if you weren't my friend. That would be taking advantage of you. I noticed how everyone treated you in school, I don't like it, and I understand if you don't trust me. But...I really want us to be best friends. You stick by my side and I stick by yours. What do you say?" Tyson gave the teen a huge grin that struck Kenny to the core.
For the first time in a very long time, he smiled a genuine smile. "I guess...I'm stuck with you then."
"Yep! That's right!" Tyson beamed. "From this moment on, you're my best friend. We'll be inseparable."
{Flashback ends}
--------------
"We were supposed to be inseparable...I don't know how genuine you were about it, but I had a feeling we could never be. There was a part of me that wanted to reach out to you, but I knew if I did, I could expose myself to something that would be too painful to try to close," Kenny sighed. "And then Max came into the picture, you just...forgot me."
"I didn't," came a voice in the dimly lit room. Kenny nearly jumped, finding Tyson wake and looking at him from where he was located in the chair.
"I thought you were..." Kenny began.
"I could feel your eyes on me...I woke up while you were in thought. I didn't mean to startle you," Tyson apologized. "Were you thinking about when we first met?"
"That obvious?" Kenny stated.
"I'm sorry," Tyson said sitting up in his chair. Kenny was shocked to find his eyes red, as if he had been crying since the time Kenny went under. "I'm sorry if it seemed that I didn't pay any attention to you. So much happened, but if you think about it, I never let you leave. You've stayed with me since I first started things. I kept my promise. As for Max, sure I may have paid attention to him, but he was a rival too. You've always been my best friend through thick and thin."
"I don't feel like it," Kenny said. "You had no idea...no matter what, you never realized how much I loved you. You were the first person that gave any thought to me. But you never saw it, you looked at Kai and I just gave you up."
"Chief...I'm sorry I never noticed. You never gave any indication," Tyson said. Lowering his eyes, he felt them mist up. "Am I the reason you did...this? I'm sorry if I am. I would never just ignore your feelings on purpose. If I had noticed I would..."
"You weren't the reason for this. This is...has nothing to do with you or the others. It goes back a long ways before we met," Kenny said.
There was silence momentarily before Tyson looked up at Kenny, his wide, dark blue eyes curious. "Does it have to do with your mother dying when you were younger?"
Kenny was only half expecting that much. He remembered waking up to hear Tyson and Tala talking about his mother and Tyson going to tell the others about that little piece of information. "My mother did die, but she wasn't the reason that I tried to commit suicide. I'm sure that the doctors noticed it when I was admitted, they probably just didn't tell you right then."
"Tell us...tell us what?" Tyson frowned.
"You really want to know, come here," Kenny said. He watched Tyson get up from his chair and walk over to the bed. Kenny turned his wrists into the light for Tyson to see. Looking up, he saw the shock in his eyes. "They didn't tell you that before, I tried to kill myself. That was about three years ago. But my aunt saved me. And now you've done the same thing. I want you all to know that no matter your efforts, I'm going to do it again."
"Don't say that Kenny," Tyson said, looking away, tears falling from his already red eyes. "Don't tell me that! I don't want to wake up one morning to find you dead!"
"Why do you care so much?" Kenny questioned.
"Why do you think I care? Why everyone is worried about you? Do you know that Kai broke down because he didn't see the signs? This has pained all of us deeply. We care about you. You're not just a teammate, you're our friend and even if you don't know it, we all have a bond that will support us if we only reach out for it," Tyson said, his voice cracking as he stared at Kenny.
This wasn't the shy teen he first befriended. Was this the real Kenny? The one that no one saw underneath those shy, and often quiet smiles and worrisome nature. Was this the real Kenny that looked out at them from behind that mask? This numbing person that lost his smile long ago, that only mimicked others now. Tyson realized that seeing the real Kenny for the first time pained his soul to the core.
"A bond? I don't sense it. Or see it, or feel it connecting me. I can't reach out to anyone anymore. I lost that ability a long time ago Tyson. You want to know why I tried to commit suicide again. I'll tell you. Because I'm not happy, the only way I can be is by ending my miserable life. I have spent so much time in the darkness I've grown accustomed to it. The darkness allows me to be at ease from the pain that is embedded in me for an eternity," Kenny said quietly.
"Nothing can be as bad as you claim!" Tyson shouted. Kenny pulled the hospital sheet up to his waist before pulling his hospital gown up. In the glow of the light, Tyson was slapped into a reality he never knew existed. Even as he opened his mouth to ask about the long jagged scar that ran down Kenny's chest, he found that the words stuck to the back of his throat.
"And you say that it's not as bad as you claim, Tyson."
--------------
When the door was opened, Judy found a woman that remarkably resembled Kenny right down to the blue of her eyes. This was his aunt? She looked more like she could be his mother, rather than his aunt. The woman gave Judy, Mr. Dickenson, and Bruce a curious stare as she looked from one to the other before resting her eyes on Judy again.
"May I help you?"
"Are you by chance, Dawn Shinoda?" Judy inquired.
"Yes...I am. What's the matter?" Her expression changed from curious to worried.
"We...we need to ask you something very important about your nephew, Kenny," Bruce said.
"Kenny? How did you know that he was my nephew? Who are you people?"
"Don't worry. Let me introduce myself," Judy said. "I'm Judy Tate, your nephew is on the same team as my son, Max. This is Mr. Stanley Dickenson he's the owner of the team that your son is on. And my other acquaintance is Bruce Granger, his son Tyson is also on the same team as Kenny," Judy remarked.
"I remember those two boys. They were the first friends that Kenny ever brought home to meet his uncle and I. I was so happy that he finally made some friends. It's very nice to meet you. Why don't you come inside and take a seat?"
"We currently don't have much time for that," Bruce said. "We came to inform you about Kenny. He...tried to commit suicide a few days ago. We thought that maybe you could help us with any information that might let us get through to him when he wakes up."
"We know about the reports and about the scar. But...we need to know the whole story, please tell us everything you can. Our boys are scared too death and we want to give them solace," Judy said.
"Kenny...no...not again..." Mrs. Shinoda said, leaning against the door. "I thought he was better...he seemed so normal..."
"It seems not. Please, tell us everything that might be able to help us. Our boys have a right to know the truth to try to get through to him."
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Rimnerel: Yeah! Another chapter completed!
Nakoruru: What was up with last chapter? I know I wasn't here, but did it have to suck that bad?
Rimnerel: Onii-chan!!
Nakoruru: Okay, okay sorry. It didn't suck that bad, it had good points. Which brings us to our next point. The next chapter should be out by the beginning of next week. So tell us what you think of this.
Nakoruru: Don't you think it's mean that we're blaming Tyson for not updating.
Tyson: I swear if you tell them that, I'm not helping you out ever again.
Tala: Tell them that Rim! If it means that he'll never work on projects again!
Tyson (glares at Tala): Shut up!
Rimnerel: Um...okay, while those two are fighting, I'll just like to say thanks to Dark-Mage-Quisits, russle, B.Tiamat Atardecer, and The-Dark-Fire- Elf for all their reviews. Now let's get on with this story before some people kill themselves here.
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Tala was on his back, staring at the ceiling of his room in the abbey. Unfortunately he had to share it with the other Demolition Boys, which gave him no real solitude. When he got back that evening and returned to the room after dinner, they bombarded him with questions on where he went. It took nearly thirty minutes to fend off their curiosity about what he was doing.
Turning his azure eyes to the window, Tala wondered whether or not the Bladebreakers would be able to get through to Kenny's wayward soul. After discovering the reports about Kenny's incident, Tala realized that the young man must be filled with more than just pain. If he didn't have repressed anger and grief over the situation, then it was likely that it had numbed him to the point of not caring anymore.
'I'm sure that I didn't help things out at all with kissing him, but I couldn't help it. Those beautiful sad lost eyes kept pulling at my heart, asking me for help. Hell...he probably wants to kill me for treating him like a helpless creature.' Tala thought amusingly.
But to Tala, the boy did seem helpless. After so many years of abuse, he stopped reaching out for someone to help him. Or to him he thought he stopped reaching out. When in fact, Tala could still see the outstretched fingertips trying to break to the surface. The desperate eyes that continued to silently cry out for someone to see him. To understand his pain and maybe help him soothed it.
'Great...now I'm attached to him. I suppose...he's the first person that's made me feel so fucking mirthful. I know this isn't going to work between us, but...I can always try.' He needed someone to fall back on Tala doubted that Kenny had any strong ties to any member on the Bladebreakers squad. So...maybe...it could work out after all. Meanwhile, as Tala thinks out things, a certain someone that occupied Tala's thoughts sat in his hospital bed wide awake.
Kenny looked out the window at the night sky the room would be quiet if not for Tyson's snoring. When he awoke, he found his blue haired teammate by his bedside, asleep, but there. He would have expected Tala to be there...for some strange reason. Since that afternoon when he finally came out of his coma, and finding Tala there, Kenny started thinking of a lot of things.
One being those closest to him, the Bladebreakers, Mr. Dickenson, his aunt, and uncle and all those bladers he met since joining the squad. On the top of things that he thought about was Tala, the young Russian captain of a rival team. For some reason, he couldn't get the red head's words out of his head. I was starting to wonder if it was worth it killing himself to escape the memories of his past.
Since he went under, how had the others been affected by it? What did they say about it? Did they cry, or scold him while he slept? Did they try to find out why he did it, or accept the fact that he wanted to die? If they didn't care so much, why would they have saved him in the first place? If he didn't trust them so much, why did they continue to be by his bedside? It was exactly like his aunt and uncle.
Not matter how quiet he was about things they continued to be at his bedside. Just like Tyson was doing now. Though...they didn't snore like the blue haired teen did. But just the fact that he was there, just near by, it calmed Kenny. Was it because he cared that much about Kenny? Was that why his aunt and uncle stayed by his bedside that time too? Just right after his father tried to kill him, was that why when he woke up, they were there? Because they cared too much to leave him be alone to deal with the pain of continuing to live?
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{Flashback}
Kenny was well aware of the little sounds and feelings that surrounded him while he floated just above consciousness for a moment. A coldness that flowed into his veins from something that was attached to both his arms, it tingled some. There were things pricking him in his arms, legs, and somewhere else he couldn't pinpoint, probably connected to the coldness going through him. There was the noise of a soft rhythmic beeping.
The wheeze of something else, he wondered if it had to do with the strange thing up his nose and in his mouth. It tickled as the air came in, vibrating slightly. He was aware of a dull ache in his chest, reminding him of what happened. Which was also when his eyes fluttered open against his will. The bright light blinded him, the young boy squinting until his eyes became accustom to the light.
Scanning the room, he found several machines that hooked up to him. A bag of red stuff and a clear bag hung on each side of the bed. Tubes linked to the parts that dripped, which led to the ends that were taped into his arms. Focusing his eyes away from the machines that were more than likely keeping him alive, he found that the three people in the room had yet to notice he was awake.
He quietly studied his aunt Dawn, almost the exact replica of his mother Carolyn Nagase. Only his aunt was four years younger than his mother. He didn't know her very well he grew up seeing her very little, if at all for months. While he stayed in the Chuo district of Japan, his aunt and uncle lived in Sendai, an impossible amount of distance between them...at least to him it seemed that way. At the thought of why he was laying there, he whimpered softly, the pain immediately returning.
"Kenny?" his aunt turned to stare at him hope filling her eyes when she found him awake. His eyes cast away from them as the tears slipped free. The woman rushed to his bedside, taking hold of his hand. "Kenny, are you okay, can you talk? How do you feel? Say something to me please to let me know that you're all right."
"Dawn, give him some space," his uncle remarked coming up to the bedside with the doctor. "He just woke up, let him get his bearings."
"I know, but I'm so happy he's finally awake," Mrs. Shinoda cried.
"Son," the doctor said. "Do you know how lucky you are to have survived through such tough odds? You may not know this, but you almost left us twice. Once coming into the hospital and another time while you were still unconscious. The angels must be watching over you carefully."
Kenny moved his mouth, but no words came out. In fact, it was painful to even do that little action. His aunt moved closer to hear what he was saying, but he was sure she couldn't hear him. He didn't think anyone could hear his silent words as they told him to speak up. 'Why? Why did you save me? Why did you let me live? Why do you care what happens to me? Why? Tell me why.'
"Kenny, you have to speak up, we can't hear you, baby," his aunt whispered, as tears rolled down her cheeks. She gave his hand a little squeeze, a smile on her face. "I'm so glad that you're alive. While you were sleep, your uncle and I decided to adopt you. Since we don't have any kids of our own, we can give you all the attention you need. You don't have to ever worry about anything. We'll be your parents from now on, and we will live together here. We've already set everything up, now you just get better so we can heal you."
Kenny strained a little more to make his words be heard, but no matter what, they couldn't understand him. His aunt gave him a kiss on the head as she let go his hand. He closed his eyes that little exercise tiring him out. He felt a hand brush aside his hair as he fell back into darkness. He still didn't understand why they thought this was what he wanted. It wasn't, he wanted to be with his mother, to finally be able to rest. He did what was needed, so why wasn't he finally given peace. What did God want from him?
{Flashback ends}
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'I still don't understand now. But...I think that I'm starting to see why, at least for my aunt and uncle. They wanted me to live because they thought that's what I needed. I was never able to tell them what I really wanted. They would have kept making me go to that psychiatrist.' Kenny thought as he watched Tyson turn in his restless sleep, muttering something incoherent. 'But I don't understand about you Tyson.'
Was it the same thing as with his relatives? Was it because he thought Kenny wanted to live? That the suicide was a grand mistake he should never make again. Tala told him that Tyson, Rei, Max, and Kai cared about him and would be pained if he were to die. For some reason, Kenny couldn't picture it so much. They had each other, they didn't need him for much except analyzing the attacks of their opponents, modifying their blades, and information.
They didn't need him to talk to when they had something on their mind. They didn't want to confide in him about something they did, whether it's good or bad. Or confess about who they had a crush on. He was the fifth wheel on the Bladebreakers team who was only useful when they went into battle. He was only a novice blader that was made clear when he went up against Kai in the preliminaries during the regional championship in Japan.
He didn't have good people skills like Rei or Max. People never just flocked to him like Tyson, nor did people look to him for leadership like Kai. During his elementary years in school, he never made one friend. Fearful that they would know what happened to him and never come near him again for fear his father's wraith would come down on them too. He submerged himself in books, then eventually knowledge itself, which was only then that he was sought out.
But they were never his friends, just people that wanted his knowledge. They always left when they had no more use for him. 'But...' Kenny felt tears well up in his eyes, remembering Tyson. At first he only thought that Tyson wanted only what he knew like everyone else, until...
--------------
{Flashback}
"Hey Chief! Chief, wait up!"
Kenny turned around to find Tyson running up to him. He wondered what the male wanted now. They were done with everything Tyson needed to know. What more did he want? "Is there something wrong, Tyson?"
"Nah, why would you say that? I just thought that I could walk you home, I mean, it's almost dark and all," Tyson indicated to the dusky setting the sky had already taken. "I don't want anything happening to my friends."
"Friends...? We're...friends?" Tyson had to be the first person that has ever said that to him. He looked up at the grinning blue haired teen that was walking him down the street as the lights to the streetlights came on.
"Yeah, what else would we be?" Tyson beamed. "You helped me out with things. I'm grateful I mean it. I don't think I could have beat Carlos without you. And I'm sure that I will be able to beat Kai with your help, if you help me out."
So, that was it. He needed all the information he could gather on Kai and his blade so he could beat him. Then he would claim to have never been friends with Kenny. "I don't know Tyson."
"Ah come on Chief," Tyson whined. "I know that if you train me, then I can do it. I mean, if you don't want to, that's cool, you'll still be my friend and we can still hang out."
"You...really want to be...my friend?" Kenny blinked. He had never heard this come from anyone before. Why would Tyson want to spend his time with Kenny? It didn't make sense, not when he had tons of people that liked him and were better than Kenny.
"Of course! It wouldn't be right for me to ask you for help if you weren't my friend. That would be taking advantage of you. I noticed how everyone treated you in school, I don't like it, and I understand if you don't trust me. But...I really want us to be best friends. You stick by my side and I stick by yours. What do you say?" Tyson gave the teen a huge grin that struck Kenny to the core.
For the first time in a very long time, he smiled a genuine smile. "I guess...I'm stuck with you then."
"Yep! That's right!" Tyson beamed. "From this moment on, you're my best friend. We'll be inseparable."
{Flashback ends}
--------------
"We were supposed to be inseparable...I don't know how genuine you were about it, but I had a feeling we could never be. There was a part of me that wanted to reach out to you, but I knew if I did, I could expose myself to something that would be too painful to try to close," Kenny sighed. "And then Max came into the picture, you just...forgot me."
"I didn't," came a voice in the dimly lit room. Kenny nearly jumped, finding Tyson wake and looking at him from where he was located in the chair.
"I thought you were..." Kenny began.
"I could feel your eyes on me...I woke up while you were in thought. I didn't mean to startle you," Tyson apologized. "Were you thinking about when we first met?"
"That obvious?" Kenny stated.
"I'm sorry," Tyson said sitting up in his chair. Kenny was shocked to find his eyes red, as if he had been crying since the time Kenny went under. "I'm sorry if it seemed that I didn't pay any attention to you. So much happened, but if you think about it, I never let you leave. You've stayed with me since I first started things. I kept my promise. As for Max, sure I may have paid attention to him, but he was a rival too. You've always been my best friend through thick and thin."
"I don't feel like it," Kenny said. "You had no idea...no matter what, you never realized how much I loved you. You were the first person that gave any thought to me. But you never saw it, you looked at Kai and I just gave you up."
"Chief...I'm sorry I never noticed. You never gave any indication," Tyson said. Lowering his eyes, he felt them mist up. "Am I the reason you did...this? I'm sorry if I am. I would never just ignore your feelings on purpose. If I had noticed I would..."
"You weren't the reason for this. This is...has nothing to do with you or the others. It goes back a long ways before we met," Kenny said.
There was silence momentarily before Tyson looked up at Kenny, his wide, dark blue eyes curious. "Does it have to do with your mother dying when you were younger?"
Kenny was only half expecting that much. He remembered waking up to hear Tyson and Tala talking about his mother and Tyson going to tell the others about that little piece of information. "My mother did die, but she wasn't the reason that I tried to commit suicide. I'm sure that the doctors noticed it when I was admitted, they probably just didn't tell you right then."
"Tell us...tell us what?" Tyson frowned.
"You really want to know, come here," Kenny said. He watched Tyson get up from his chair and walk over to the bed. Kenny turned his wrists into the light for Tyson to see. Looking up, he saw the shock in his eyes. "They didn't tell you that before, I tried to kill myself. That was about three years ago. But my aunt saved me. And now you've done the same thing. I want you all to know that no matter your efforts, I'm going to do it again."
"Don't say that Kenny," Tyson said, looking away, tears falling from his already red eyes. "Don't tell me that! I don't want to wake up one morning to find you dead!"
"Why do you care so much?" Kenny questioned.
"Why do you think I care? Why everyone is worried about you? Do you know that Kai broke down because he didn't see the signs? This has pained all of us deeply. We care about you. You're not just a teammate, you're our friend and even if you don't know it, we all have a bond that will support us if we only reach out for it," Tyson said, his voice cracking as he stared at Kenny.
This wasn't the shy teen he first befriended. Was this the real Kenny? The one that no one saw underneath those shy, and often quiet smiles and worrisome nature. Was this the real Kenny that looked out at them from behind that mask? This numbing person that lost his smile long ago, that only mimicked others now. Tyson realized that seeing the real Kenny for the first time pained his soul to the core.
"A bond? I don't sense it. Or see it, or feel it connecting me. I can't reach out to anyone anymore. I lost that ability a long time ago Tyson. You want to know why I tried to commit suicide again. I'll tell you. Because I'm not happy, the only way I can be is by ending my miserable life. I have spent so much time in the darkness I've grown accustomed to it. The darkness allows me to be at ease from the pain that is embedded in me for an eternity," Kenny said quietly.
"Nothing can be as bad as you claim!" Tyson shouted. Kenny pulled the hospital sheet up to his waist before pulling his hospital gown up. In the glow of the light, Tyson was slapped into a reality he never knew existed. Even as he opened his mouth to ask about the long jagged scar that ran down Kenny's chest, he found that the words stuck to the back of his throat.
"And you say that it's not as bad as you claim, Tyson."
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When the door was opened, Judy found a woman that remarkably resembled Kenny right down to the blue of her eyes. This was his aunt? She looked more like she could be his mother, rather than his aunt. The woman gave Judy, Mr. Dickenson, and Bruce a curious stare as she looked from one to the other before resting her eyes on Judy again.
"May I help you?"
"Are you by chance, Dawn Shinoda?" Judy inquired.
"Yes...I am. What's the matter?" Her expression changed from curious to worried.
"We...we need to ask you something very important about your nephew, Kenny," Bruce said.
"Kenny? How did you know that he was my nephew? Who are you people?"
"Don't worry. Let me introduce myself," Judy said. "I'm Judy Tate, your nephew is on the same team as my son, Max. This is Mr. Stanley Dickenson he's the owner of the team that your son is on. And my other acquaintance is Bruce Granger, his son Tyson is also on the same team as Kenny," Judy remarked.
"I remember those two boys. They were the first friends that Kenny ever brought home to meet his uncle and I. I was so happy that he finally made some friends. It's very nice to meet you. Why don't you come inside and take a seat?"
"We currently don't have much time for that," Bruce said. "We came to inform you about Kenny. He...tried to commit suicide a few days ago. We thought that maybe you could help us with any information that might let us get through to him when he wakes up."
"We know about the reports and about the scar. But...we need to know the whole story, please tell us everything you can. Our boys are scared too death and we want to give them solace," Judy said.
"Kenny...no...not again..." Mrs. Shinoda said, leaning against the door. "I thought he was better...he seemed so normal..."
"It seems not. Please, tell us everything that might be able to help us. Our boys have a right to know the truth to try to get through to him."
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Rimnerel: Yeah! Another chapter completed!
Nakoruru: What was up with last chapter? I know I wasn't here, but did it have to suck that bad?
Rimnerel: Onii-chan!!
Nakoruru: Okay, okay sorry. It didn't suck that bad, it had good points. Which brings us to our next point. The next chapter should be out by the beginning of next week. So tell us what you think of this.