Hello all! Jeebz, I've been busy this last couple of days...first I got dog watch (looking after my step-uncle's MAD and SMELLY dog), and then yesterday I spent the day roaring around Northeast England on the back of a motorbike. As a result, I'm in a rather good mood! Thank you for reviewing, those of you that did. Here are the replies:
Little-Purple-Phoenix: Yeah, this is going to be one of the longer ones, so there's definitely more to come!
ducky76: I always try to!
CreativeChilde: Mental Kai...ah. I've never tried making someone insane before, it's quite interesting to write!
animeobsession: Nah, Rei isn't going to end up dead. And I have nothing at all against fangirly reviews...I just don't usually write them because I have a big mouth. A friend of mine once called me 'mouth on a stick'...seems appropriate really...
Askari Knight: I protest! I may kill them off, but I've never made them insane... Although yes, this fic is going to be riddled with angst, just like most of my longer stories are. My oneshots are usually nice, but if it has more than one chapter it's generally ansty. Thanks for not dismissing it straight off though.
lil-inu: You head sweller! Not that I'm complaining, it makes me feel better seeing as I have an annoying cold right now...
miriam906: glad you liked it!
LaSandwich: Nice name! And I'm sorry to say, I've already killed Rei. Multiple times. Although not in this fic. Ah well. Sorry and all, but I have a thing for killing off the characters, not always but quite often. Makes for good angst, you know?
Just that good: Nice use of the word eventually...it's going to take quite a few chapters for Kai to see sense, I'm afraid!
Ice Spirit: It's even creepier in this chapter...he zones, man, he zones!
Mewmew2: Yup, I have.
Lainyisme: I'm glad you like it!
beda: Here's the update. I'm very impatient so my updates never take very long!
ArcticalWolf: Poor little Tyson...he just got basically kicked out of the story until a few chapters hence. Now it's ALL about the KaiRei goodness. Oh yeah...
And now...THE CHAPTER!
"A mental asylum? They're keeping him in a -mental asylum-?" Rei looked at Mr. Dickenson with stark disbelief. The old man nodded, looking depressed.
"They said he has chronic anger-management problems, self-esteem issues, suicidal tendencies and a complex about his past. It seems the great Kai Hiwatari has fallen, I'm afraid. He keeps talking in Russian, and most of it's highly offensive. He hasn't taken well to the centre at all... He refuses to talk to anyone, so they can't analyse his problems, so they can't help him. He really has dug himself into a trap this time."
"Is he allowed visitors?"
"Not strictly, no. I suppose...I could make a few enquiries, if you really want to see him..."
And that was how Rei ended up sitting in a small, cosy room, with Kai sitting across from him, staring blankly. "Um. Hello, Kai."
"Dobre den."
"Hm?"
"Dobre. Den." Kai spat out the words, looking at Rei as if he were crazy. Feeling awkward, Rei looked down at the list of things Kai might say to him. Oh, there it was...dobre den...good afternoon. "Oh, right. Sorry. I...don't speak a lot of Russian. Tala gave me a list of things you might say, so...um. Well I'm a bit stuck, really. You can understand me okay, can't you?"
Kai nodded curtly, and tugged his blanket further around himself. He was sitting on the bed, back against the wall and knees bent before him, duvet obscuring most of his body from sight. His hair was a little messier than usual, and he obviously hadn't been allowed to put on his customary face paint, but he didn't look too bad...did he?
"So...um...are you okay?" Kai glared suddenly.
"Yebanat."
Rei consulted his list again, found nothing, so flipped to the next page, where Tala had written down every insult he could think of in Russian. Rei's eyes flicked over the various profanities until he found the one he was looking for. He frowned and looked up. "My mother's dead, Kai. That's a horrible thing to say."
Kai blinked a couple of times, then stared at the ceiling above Rei's head. "Kai?" No reaction. "Kai?" Nothing. "Kai!" Nada. "KAI!" Kai looked at him, startled, and shrank further back, looking scared.
"Prostite!" He whimpered. Rei thought for a moment that Kai had called him a prostitute, but when he looked...
"Kai, what are you sorry for? It's okay, don't be scared, I won't hurt you..."
Kai blinked at him again, then pulled the blanket up over his head. "Kai?" There was the sound of a sob and someone sniffing, so Rei went over to him and sat down beside him.
"Niet, dyadouska!"
"What's jadoushka?" Rei scanned his trusty list, and there, sitting right at the top: "Kai, no, your grandfather isn't here, it's okay, he can't hurt you, they've put him in prison, Kai." He said soothingly, pulling down the blankets and smiling softly. Kai shook with fear and pushed him away. Rei shook his head slowly. "No, Kai, I'm not going to hurt you. No-one's going to hurt you." Kai looked at him suspiciously, then twitched, glaring. Rei watched him nervously. "Kai?"
"Pizdobol!" Kai screeched, launching himself forwards, smashing his fist into Rei's cheek. Rei cried out from surprise more than pain, and fell backwards off the bed. Kai followed him down, yelling, punching him and scratching him without abandon. He gripped Kai's fists as they swung at him in turn, then got caught up in a haze of confusion as some men ran in and dragged Kai away. Kai started screaming, tearing at the people who were holding him in terror.
"No!" Rei managed to get out. "Don't hurt him! Let him go! He's scared!" He struggled upright and ran over to Kai, taking hold of his flailing hands. "Kai, calm down!" Kai burst into frustrated tears and stopped struggling. Rei let go of his hands and wrapped his arms around Kai's waist. Kai clutched at him, sobbing, and whispering something that sounded like 'Yabayus', over and over.
Devoid of his list, he turned to the three security guards as they gently let Kai down into his arms. "What's he saying?"
"He says he's scared." Kai drew in a choked breath and leaned against Rei as if he were the only thing keeping him upright.
"Etapazna..." Kai whispered.
"Hm?"
"He's saying that it isn't safe." Put in one of the guards. Rei sighed softly. Kai was so messed up inside...
Rei led the Russian slowly towards his bed and sat down with him, letting Kai cry into his shoulder, whispering over and over, "Yabayus, yabayus, yabayus."
"Kai, I know you're scared but I'm here. I'm here and I won't go away until you want me to, okay?"
"Stoyreadam..." Rei looked up and found that there was only one guard there, the one who'd translated Kai's desperate words before.
"He's asking you to stay with him."
"I will, Kai, I will..." Kai continued to cry, keeping up his constant mantra of 'I'm scared' and 'stay with me'. Rei pulled the distraught Russian onto his lap and held him tighter, whispering things in Kai's ear that he could only say in Chinese, babying, motherish sounds and half-words, designed to soothe when words cannot be relied upon. After a while, Kai's sobs lessened until he was just sitting in Rei's embrace, shivering and red-eyed. "There, shh, now lay down, and have a nap. Everyone feels better after they have a nap." But Kai refused, and clung to him again, making whimpering protests and noises of fear.
Rei hesitated, then lay down himself, pulling Kai with him. Kai snuggled up, burying his face in the crook of his neck, and soon fell asleep, fingers clenched in the fabric of Rei's tabard. The guard, who was young and seemed fit, gently prized Kai's fingers away and helped Rei up. "You know, no-one else has been able to provoke that kind of reaction in him. I think you might be getting somewhere. It might seem impossible, but we've had people like him before. If someone supports them, they can get better." He ran a hand through his short blonde hair. "I'm Jack, by the way."
"Rei. Um...thanks for translating for me."
"It's alright. My mother was Russian, she taught me. Seems Kai there's quite a bit like me, apart from the abusive grandfather..."
Rei sighed. "He just seems to think everything's going to hurt him..."
"Kai?" Rei walked into the room, looking around for Kai. The Russian was sitting on a beanbag on the floor, staring into nothingness. Rei sat down next to him and stared at the same spot, halfway between the bed and the barred window. "Can you see something I can't or are you just ignoring me?" Kai blinked once, then looked at Rei.
"Dobre den, Rei."
"I can't pronounce Russian very well, but Doberden to you too."
"Dob-ray."
"Hm?"
"Dob-ray den." Kai made a speaking motion and pointed at Rei. Rei looked at him strangely, then it clicked that Kai wanted him to repeat it. "Dob-ray." Repeated the Russian.
"Dob-ray."
"Den."
"Den."
Kai nodded, then looked up at the ceiling. It was strange; he seemed to calm down when Rei came, or when he knew Rei was coming. Otherwise, and with other people, he was uncontrollable. He seemed to know he was safe with Rei, even going so far as to be protective of Rei when other people came in. Rei put a hand on Kai's leg to attract his attention again, and smiled. "I brought you a present!"
Kai looked at him enquiringly. Rei had been every day of the six that had passed since the first, but he'd never brought anything with him before... "I asked the director and he said I could give it to you..." Rei opened his bag and pulled out a teddy bear, a soft, fluffy one with blue fur. Kai looked at it doubtfully, but when Rei pressed it into his arms he smiled. "Spaseeba."
"That means thank you, right?"
Kai nodded and made the bear nod as well. Rei laughed good-naturedly. It was nice seeing Kai acting like a child for once. "What's it called?" He asked, interested in hearing what Kai would name it.
"Lapushka."
"Hm?"
Kai measured a small distance in the air between his finger and thumb. "Um...tiny?"
"Niet."
"Small?"
"Niet."
"Little?"
"Da, da!" Kai took hold of the bear and pointed to it's tubby paw.
"Little paw?"
"Da. Lapushka."
"You could have just said it in English..." Kai shrugged. "Why won't you talk in English any more, Kai? Is it because..." Rei took a deep breath. "Is it because of your grandfather?" Kai's eyes widened and he stood up, backing away. "Kai, don't go. I just want to help, Kai. I don't want to upset you, or hurt you, but it can't be nice being in here all day. Maybe you could try talking to me. I promise, I won't laugh, and I won't make fun of you! Please just talk to me Kai...I want you to be okay..." Rei stood up and walked over to Kai, winding his arms around Kai's waist and leaning gently against his chest.
"I brought something else with me Kai, and I didn't tell the director, or anyone...I...I don't even know if it's a good idea, but..." Rei let go and picked up his bag again, reaching inside and taking out a bit of paper, Kai watched him warily, than as Rei showed him what was printed on the paper, he blanched, backing away further. A picture of his grandfather was staring out at him, pitiless eyes seeking his own, ready to take him and break him again, ready to-
With a ripping noise, Voltaire's face split into two halves, then into quarters, then into tinier and tinier pieces, until Rei let them scatter to the floor and stamped on them. "He's nothing." Kai swallowed, looking down at the pieces as if they still had the power to hurt him.
Next Chapter: Lapushka saves the day and Kai gets a splinter. Definitely more serious than it sounds...
The things Kai says are pretty much all translated in the text, except 'pizdobol' (you bastard liar) but if you get confused just stick it in a review or something. I'll say it now, and it's not coming up again- I don't speak Russian. All the Russian in this fic is either taken directly from a website or written phonetically from a sound clip so sorry if it's a bit off.
Okay, well, R&R please! It makes my day when people review, even when they flame 'cause then I can get a good laugh out of it!
And if anyone didn't get replied to at the top of this chapter, it's because the site won't let me see some of the newer reviews. I'll reply to the ones I missed for this chapter in the next chapter!