Wahey, new fic! This first bit of it's been playing merry hell with me, I just couldn't seem to get Kai the way I wanted him. Ah well, he's fixed now, so you can all enjoy the first chapter. I don't know what people were expecting when I said this was a fic about Kai, Rei and a health spa, but the plot is basically that Rei works in a health spa, and Kai goes there for treatment after an accident. Of course, no fic from me would be complete without a little bit of angst, but that's in the later chapters. NOTE: The characters may seem a bit OOC, but consider that ten years have passed and they've grown up now (they're both 26), they have jobs and they hang around with different people- they've changed a lot. Heh, somehow Rei just seemed to fit being in the care industry...and of course Kai's well suited to being a hard-nosed businessman...

Anyway, on with the first chapter!

Rei stepped out of the lift, straightening his tabard before walking out into the reception. The tabard was new and fiercely starched, bright white to show that he was the senior practitioner of the health farm. They called it a health farm, but it was slightly more than that: rich people from all over the world came to the Shengyo Spa in China to recover from illnesses and injuries and to get over addictions to drugs as well as all the usual things they did in a health farm.

"Morning Mr. Kon. There's a new patient being flown in from Russia today." Said the receptionist, a lively woman of around thirty-five with long blonde hair. Rei nodded and fiddled with the hem of the tabard. "What're they coming for?"

"Leg injury. Name not supplied. Male, twenty-six...your age, actually." Rei sighed.

"I hate 'name not supplied' ones. They're usually mafia bosses..."

It was a surprise for him then, when the doors of the Spa opened about half an hour later and a man was brought in in a wheelchair. A man with spiky slate grey hair. A man with harsh blue triangles tattooed on his face...a man who he knew very well... He went over and introduced himself, wanting to be sure that it was actually who he thought it was.

The man was sleeping, so Rei invited the three burly men with him to bring him to the elevator, so that he could be taken to his room. He assumed the men would leave, but they followed their charge into the elevator. "I'm sorry, but only guests are allowed on the upper floors. They're supposed to be private rooms." The men didn't move. "You'll have to wait downstairs-"

"We go with him." One of the men said harshly. Rei almost cried.

"I'm sorry, I can't allow you to go up to the other floors."

"We go with him." Repeated the man. He, like the others, was dressed all in black, was tall and muscled, and made Rei feel like a midget.

"The upper floors are for guests only, could you please get out of the lift!" At his angered shout, the man in the chair woke up.

"Fedya, what is going on?"

"It's a long time since I've heard that voice, Kai..." Instantly Rei was pinned against the wall with a gun at his temple. "This is a health spa, not a military base, and strictly we don't allow guns indoors." The hands pressing him down tightened. "Kai? I'm not mistaken, am I? It is you?"

"Fedya, Gaver, get off him."

"B-But Mr. Hiwatari-"

"I said get off him. Go and do something useful, for a change..." The three men reluctantly left and Kai turned his gaze to Rei. "I didn't think I would see you again after that last championship..."

"Well I hardly expected you to turn up here with half the Russian mafia!" Kai folded his arms.

"Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to push the button?" Rei sniffed.

"I'll stand here as long as I like. In case you hadn't noticed, you're under -my- care. You're talking to a senior practitioner, so unless you want your whole experience here to be painful, don't order me around!" Kai looked unabashed.

"Should I call Fedya back?"

Rei ignored him and stabbed the button angrily. Kai had changed...or was it he himself who had changed? "Only mafiosos come here with bodyguards."

"Then I'm glad I don't fit the stereotype." Rei flicked his hair back as the lift door opened- at work he was obliged to leave it down because of appearance- and pulled the wheelchair out. Kai closed his eyes, but Rei wasn't having that. "As you can see, there are a lot of other guests here. You're only one of them, so I suggest you don't let the three bears down there go running around waving guns or you can kiss your physio goodbye."

"Duly noted, nurse Rei." Kai muttered.

"It's Mr. Kon to you, and I'm not a nurse. I'm a physiotherapist, a psychotherapist, a psychologist, a herbalist and a lot more besides. If you want to make this difficult for yourself, keep acting the way you are now. I've heard it's not that bad, living on bread, water and celery for your entire stay..."

"You can't do that!"

"Watch me. See, you came at just the right time, Kai. They've just given me jurisdiction over all treatments. And that includes yours." Kai was silent for a while as Rei messed with the lock of a door.

"You've changed."

"It's been ten years, Kai. Of course I've changed." Rei finally got the door open and it stayed open, allowing Rei to push Kai inside. Without any warning whatsoever, he picked Kai up and put him down on the bed. "Right, let's have a look at your leg." Rei rolled up the leg of the trousers that had bandages poking out of the bottom. "What did you actually do to it?"

"I crashed my car. My knee ended up stuck in part of the frame." Kai said, turning his face away. Rei sighed and nodded understandingly, then began to strip Kai of the thick bandages.

"If it hurts, just say so."

"It hurts."

"Hm? Just now, or for a while?"

"It's been hurting since I did it." Rei sighed and finished removing the bandages. Kai's leg was a mass of scarring tissue, the evidence of stitches visible to Rei's keen eyes. "Would you mind taking your trousers off? And your sock?" Kai shook his head and undid his fly, wriggling out of his trousers enough for Rei to be able to pull them off. When he'd folded the trousers and put them on the chair next to the bed he returned to Kai, taking off the sock before laying gentle hands over the Russian's leg. He ran his hands up and down, feeling the broken and scarred skin beneath. Kai closed his eyes again.

"Kai?"

"Mm?"

"Are you tired? If you'd prefer to sleep now, I can start your treatments tomorrow..."

"I'm fine."

"Okay. So how about your knee? Can you move it?"

"Not very well." Rei's hands moved up to the knee and bent it minutely. Kai winced. "It hurts..." Rei massaged the skin gently and Kai sighed.

"So what have you been doing for the last ten years, Kai?" Rei asked, trying to distract Kai from his probing fingers.

"Business. Shares. Stuff like that."

"Hm." Rei moved round to the back of the knee and Kai cried out. "There? Is that where it hurts the most?" Kai nodded, biting his lip. "Okay." Rei moved higher. "There?"

"No."

"So is it just that one place behind your knee?"

"Yeah." Rei looked into Kai's face properly for the first time. He was a bit more thin-faced than before, but he looked almost exactly the same now as he had all those years ago when they'd been teenagers... "You know, Kai...I recognized you as soon as I saw you. You haven't changed at all."

"Hm. I would have recognized you if your hair wasn't down. You never used to have it down all the time. What changed?" Rei smiled.

"I would rather -not- have it down. It gets in the way, but my manager expects me to keep a certain appearance." Rei finished checking Kai's leg and drew back. "Well, from now, you have a few decisions to make, but for a businessman it shouldn't be hard. You can choose to keep me as your...well, to use your words, 'nurse', or you could choose someone else- if you'd feel more comfortable with a woman, or...someone else."

"I'd prefer to trust someone I know is worthy of it."

"Thank you. You can have a maid, if you want one-"

"I don't."

"You'll have to do something about your bodyguards."

"They can stay and be pampered for a while. Give them a lobotomy or something, they all need one." Rei laughed.

"I'll let Mei-Lin look after them. I'm sure she'll...enjoy it."

"Mei-Lin?"

"She's awful- she'll have them under her boot in five seconds flat!" Rei allowed himself a small smirk before continuing. "You can eat in the dining room, or your own room."

"You know I detest mindless small talk."

"You really haven't changed, have you?" Kai shrugged and looked around the room. "Kai?" Kai looked back at him. "Kai...is there anything wrong?"

"No." Kai's voice was suddenly cold. Rei hesitated, then sat down beside him for a second.

"Kai, you can tell me anything, you know."

"There's nothing wrong." Rei nodded, not believing him. Kai read the expression and sighed. "Still can't accept that silence doesn't mean that I'm about to turn suicidal?" Rei sniffed, choosing to ignore that comment.

"Well, it's twelve o clock now...I have some focus work to do at one...then I'll have my lunch break, and this afternoon was set out for getting to know you...but I already know you...well, partially. If you want to start physio early, I'll move Diego into the second suite..." Kai looked at Rei with something approaching admiration.

"Even if you say I haven't changed...you have." He reached out and touched Rei's cheek. Rei leaned forwards into the touch, bringing up his own hand to lay over Kai's. "I missed you. I don't think I realised how much until now."

"Kai..."

"What time do you finish lunch?"

"Two." Rei swallowed. "Kai, I..." Kai's hand moved down onto his shoulder, then his chest. "I have to go." He stood up abruptly and walked to the door. "If you want anything before I come back, press the blue button by your bed. Someone'll come and see to you."

"Mr Hiwatari, you flatter me!"

"It's not flattery, it's honesty. You're very pretty." Rei knocked then walked in to find Mei-Lin unpacking Kai's case. Kai hadn't actually moved since Rei had left, but he was now holding a mug of what looked to be coffee, and was joking lightly with the usually harsh Chinese woman. "Mr. Hiwatari, are you ready for your physio?"

"Oh...Mr. Kon...yes. I suppose I'll have to leave talking to you till later, Miss Maeshi." Mei-Lin smiled sweetly and took his coffee mug.

"I'll look forward to seeing you around the spa, Mr. Hiwatari."

"Please, call me Kai."

Mei-Lin giggled and left, leaving Rei standing leaning against the wall, looking unimpressed. "You turned into a charismatic bastard while I wasn't watching."

"Charismatic? Thanks."

"Oh, I see you've got over your first ten second jitters."

"You've gotten sarcastic since I last saw you. Now is the physio happening, or are we going to make comments about each other's psyche for the rest of the day?" Rei smiled mysteriously.

"Oh no. The physio's still happening. Only Diego has a paralyzed patient, so I'm afraid the only room free is the pool. Do you have trunks, or are you going in your boxers?"

"The pool?" Kai repeated, incredulous.

"Mm-hm. Don't worry, it's a small pool. More a sort of big bath than a pool."

"Fine then. I didn't think I'd need trunks. Boxers it is."

Well, there you go. Hope you all enjoyed it, it was quite fun to write...there'll be about five chapters total, and there WILL be a happy ending, no matter how it may seem at times...

Next Chapter: Will be quite short. Sorry! Anyway, in the next chapter, Kai is annoying, and Rei gets a bit angry.