When Kai walked back into the room he was paler than usual. It had taken a couple of hours to copy the data, mostly due to the fact that he had taken the liberty to look at some of it. He felt sick; he paused just standing by the door to his room. His crimson eyes were glazed over, still caught up in what he had seen. It wasn't that he hadn't seen it before, he had lived it. But the video footage still brought up memories that he would rather not think about.
"Was it bad?"
Kai didn't have to look up to know that the voice belonged to Rage. The gang had apparently been watching TV, now was the interval. She leaned over the back of the sofa, her chin propped up on her hands. She stared at him, seeming worried.
Kai nodded, not trusting himself to speak. His eyes remained unfocused as his grip tightened on the laptop he carried in one hand. He didn't appear to notice the concerned gazes he was receiving, although Kenny's concern seemed directed at Dizzi rather than Kai.
"Can you use it?"
Kai hesitated before nodding again, his eyes refocused themselves as he noticed what he was carrying. Without a word he handed the laptop back to Kenny. Then he turned to Rage, with an effort to hide the negative emotions swirling on his features. He didn't want to make her any more worried than she already was.
"What are you watching?" he asked casually changing the subject. There hadn't been any time for watching television at the abbey, so Kai had no idea what Rage's reaction to it would be.
Rage's face lit up as he had hoped it would, all the upsetting thoughts seemed to have been forgotten for the moment. Kai had nearly forgotten the enthusiasm she had showed as a child when introduced to new things. It looked like that hadn't changed.
"We're watching a mov…ie" Rage pronounced the word as if she had never heard it before.
"An' it's got these wizards an' witches in it, an' its really, really cool. An' it's called Harry Potter, an' there's books of it too. An' Ray said that he has all of the books, an' he said that I could read every single one of them."
Kai raised an eyebrow at her questionily when she at last paused for breath. While it was nice to see her happy for the moment at least. She still seemed a little too hyper for the current situation.
"Has Max been feeding you sweets?" Kai asked suspiciously, causing the named blond to blush slightly.
"Chocolate" Rage confirmed with a smile. "It doesn't taste like anything I've eaten before, but I like it!"
Max grinned sheepishly at Kai, from the blonde's position to the left of Rage on the sofa. He looked very afraid that Kai might not approve of him giving chocolate to his mysterious friend. Then the film came back on causing both the sofa's occupants to turn around to watch it. Tyson did the same from his position on a very comfortable looking armchair. Kenny was across the room tending to Dizzi.
As Kai stood there watching Rage finally acting more or less how she should be acting for the first time in years. The corners of his mouth twitched upwards slightly in what might be considered a smile. He hoped more than anything that this peace would last.
Ray walked quietly over to him, with a knowing look. He stood himself next to Kai as the team captain watched his rescued friend proudly.
"Its nice to see her happy" Ray said in a casual tone.
"It is" agreed Kai, his guard down enough not to just offer his usual 'hmph'.
"It seems like she's been through a lot," continued Ray, secretly wanting to get answers from his silent friend.
"She has" was the blader's distracted answer.
Both boys froze into silence as Rage turned around to catch them in an angry glare. She raised a finger to her lips and hushed them; apparently their talking had been interrupting the movie.
With a suppressed grin, Ray sat down in a spare armchair to watch the film. After a moment of hesitation, Kai made his way to sit down next to Rage on the sofa. Watching television wasn't his thing, but he wanted to stay close to Rage. Partly to protect her and keep an eye on her wounds, and partly just because being around her made him feel a little more relaxed. She was the one person he was absolutely one hundred percent sure he could trust.
Growing up with a friend forged deep bonds between each other. Growing up with a friend in a place like the abbey meant that the bond went even deeper. Because at the abbey you had to constantly place your life in the other person's hands every day. You had to trust each other, to rely on each other. Kai felt himself instinctively reverting back to that old system, to rely on her, as he knew she was relying on him.
Flashback
"What do you think Kay? Is it poisoned?"
The three five year olds sat in a circle facing each other. In front of each of them was a metal plate on which was a small hunk of bread and what might have been mushy peas. They were in a small windowless cell with two ragged beds on either side of the room. It was night, a bare light bulb hung from the damp ceiling glaring illumination into the murky room.
The children themselves looked half starved; their torn clothes seemed baggy for their small frames. Dark shadows under their eyes indicated lack of sleep, after this meal they would get to bed immediately to catch as much rest as they could before morning came again. White bandages could be seen through the tears in their clothing.
Kay sniffed the air lightly before answering. Her coal black hair contrasted harshly with her pale face, making her seem almost mythical.
"Mine's not poisoned, neither is yours Tala. Its only Kai's they've poisoned again."
The small red head pushed his plate closer to the middle of the group as he contemplated the answer. He broke off a bit of his bread and handed it wordlessly to Kai as he started eating the remaining food on his plate, still deep in thought.
"How come they always poison my food?" Kai asked, chewing on the stale bread. He dipped it in some of Tala's mushy peas in hopes to moisten it enough to eat.
"I don't know" Kay said, handing him a piece of her bread as well. Her blue green eyes flashed uncertainly as she tried to guess at whatever motives the adults at the abbey had. She absent-mindedly touched her cheek as she wondered what motives had been behind the deep cut her father had placed there. He had got mad, and he had been holding a knife. It could have been worse though, much worse.
"Can I stay here tonight?" she said in a small voice.
Both boys nodded their approval. Kai swallowed his last dry mouthful of food. He took a small drink from the jug of water they all shared before asking a question.
"Will Bathos notice?" the small boy seemed too grown up for his years, as he stared, concerned for her with serious crimson eyes.
Kay shook her head from side to side solemnly. "Nope, he's gone out drinking again tonight."
Kai was about to say something more when the light bulb went out. Leaving only the light filtering from beneath the door.
"Lights out!" came a booming voice from the hallway.
The boys scrambled for their beds, least they be discovered out of bed. Kay crawled underneath Kai's bed, to wait for the guard to pass.
End Flashback
"Rage, I'm not a pillow!" Kai argued as Rage laid herself leisurely out across the sofa. Her legs were rested on Max, who didn't seem to mind, and her head was rested comfortably on Kai's chest.
"You are now," Rage stated firmly, not removing her gaze from the television. She appeared perfectly contented just lying there.
"How do you figure that?" Kai asked, giving a halfhearted attempt to move. Only to discover that she had him pinned down pretty good. He couldn't move his left arm at all. The others held back laughs on seeing his predicament.
"Well" she said bringing her right hand in front of her face as if using her fingers to calculate something. "I figure I have how many broken ribs?"
"Five" Kai said grimly, having a feeling where this was going.
"Well, I figure I have five broken ribs. Which defiantly means that you have to be assigned to pillow duty at least until I get better." Rage nodded satisfied, reviewing her calculations.
"Why don't you just use a real pillow?" Kai questioned moodily.
Rage tilted back her head to look up at his eyes. "And give up the chance to annoy you?" she asked with a slight smile. "Never."
At this Max promptly burst out laughing, unable to hold it in any longer. Tyson joined in, and so did Ray causing both the pinned teen and the pinner teen to look up in surprise. It was at that moment that the ending credits of the movie rolled on the television screen, but no one was really paying any attention to it anymore.
"What's so funny?" Both of them asked looking confused. Kai actually seemed a little uncertain and wary in his not knowing what situation he was in.
"Your acting like…like a couple" Tyson spluttered out between laughter.
Kai recovered his emotionless mask immediately. He fixed Tyson in a cold glare, which caused the hysterical blader's laughter to diminish almost at once. Rage however remained confused.
"A couple?" she repeated, tilting her head questioningly.
"You know, like a girlfriend and boyfriend?" Max explained with a smile.
"You do know what a girlfriend and a boyfriend is, don't you?" Ray asked, kneeling down to turn off the television.
Rage sat up stiffly, a wince was the only clue as to the amount of pain she was feeling. Kai eyed her, worried as she clenched her teeth. Closing her eyes to wait for the pain to subside at least a little.
"What can I say?" she shrugged the pain hidden again from her face. "Abbey education sucks."
"How do you do that?" Kenny asked out of the blue. No one had even noticed him approach, well, Kai might of but his impassive face was giving away nothing.
"Do what?" Rage said raising her eyebrows.
"We heard how much you are hurt from the doctor" Kenny elaborated. "Yet for the last few hours you've barley show any evidence for pain at all."
"I'm just good at hiding my pain, it's second nature for me. Same as Kai is good at hiding his emotions. He taught me a bit of his trait and I taught him a bit of mine as well. We had to learn something from the abbey, didn't we?" Rage said, sounding bitter.
"I'm tired, I'm gonna get ready for bed." Rage said before walking in the direction of the bathroom.
"She's right" Ray confirmed, getting up from his place on the floor. "It's late, we should all be getting some sleep. It's the last match of the tournament tomorrow, we've got to win it if we want to advance."
The rest of the team nodded sleepily and made their way to get ready for bed as well.
Five minutes later, Kai was sitting in the window of the lounge room. He was waiting for Rage to come out from the bathroom. She had to change her bandages as well, so he was settled down comfortably for a long wait. He wore a pair of dark navy pyjamas that matched the colour of the back of his hair.
He was staring out of the window at the starlit sky. Usually the pinpoints of light against the pitch-black background gave him some comfort in their beauty. But something had been nagging at him ever since he had seen Bathos again that afternoon. He turned around when he heard the bathroom door open, struggling to keep his worry from his face.
Rage gave a small smile in greeting as she walked over to him. She was wearing a pair of orange pyjamas that she'd borrowed from Max. She was about the blonde's size, so it fitted her perfectly. She held a half wrapped roll of bandage to her left arm.
"Can you?" she asked sheepishly. "I managed the others but I can't use both hands to tie up this one."
Kai nodded, quickly and expertly bandaging the arm. Practice made perfect is what everyone said, and he'd had a hell of a lot of practice. He didn't even bat an eyelid when he caught a glimpse of the damage he was bandaging over.
"Rage…" Kai started.
"No, I know that expression Kai." Rage looked out of the window, her eyes sad. "Something bad is going to happen, isn't it?" Her voice sounded defeated.
Kai lowered his gaze, "Dranzer's got a bad feeling," he admitted.
"Tasmine's got a bad feeling too, she has ever since after I escaped. This means that I'm not free of him, doesn't it." Rage stated grimly. They stood for a moment, just staring out of the window. Neither knowing what to say, before.
"Why?" Rage growled angrily.
Kai turned around, shock in his eyes as Rage hit the windowsill with all her strength.
"WHY!" she yelled louder this time as her fists came crashing down on the wood.
Before she could hit the windowsill again, Kai grabbed her wrists firmly in his hands.
"Stop it Rage, you'll hurt yourself." He ordered the girl. He loosened his grip on her as she raised her head to look at him. Although her eyes were dry of tears, he had rarely seen her look so hopeless and sad.
"Why can't I be just a normal child? I want to be able to watch television, to read books that I want to read. To eat pizza, to beyblade when I want to beyblade. I want to be able to smile, laugh and maybe someday I want to learn how to cry again. I want to be free of all of it, of the abbey, free of my father. Why did this have to happen to us?" she shouted, anger apparent in every word.
Kai stood there soaking up every word. Rage always tried to be so strong for everyone else. But everyone had a limit to how much they could take. Rage had passed hers.
The black haired girl stood shakily, her breathing laboured. "I don't want to be afraid anymore," she said quietly, avoiding his gaze as if ashamed at her outburst.
The once strong Kai hesitated awkwardly, not knowing what to do. Beybattles and other kinds of battles, both verbal and physical he could manage. But comforting a friend was harder. That required emotion, and Kai had gone through long years of hiding from the world that he possessed any. Still, this was his friend.
The teenaged boy stepped closer to the shivering girl. And with a last moment of hesitation, he gently pulled her into a hug.
Rage stopped shivering at once, startled. The last time Kai had actually hugged her himself, she had been five years old. Needless to say, she was more than a little surprised. But still comforted none the less, she calmed down, feeling safe.
Heads peeked out of their doors, having been disturbed by the noise. Kai saw the curious faces of his teammates watching him, and he glared at them. His arms were wrapped protectively around his friend. As his other friends sheepishly backed into their rooms, cowed by his fiery stare.
"It'll be ok" he assured her when they were once again alone. "I'm here, and as long as we stick together everything will turn out fine."
"Like in the abbey?" she asked stepping back from the hug. "We stuck together in the abbey."
"Yeah" he admitted. "But it'll be better now. I promise that I'll do anything and everything in my power to keep you safe. I promise." Kai said sincerely.
"You made a promise before. That promise got broken." Rage stated, her ocean eyes clouded with memories.
"Which is why I'm going to make sure that I keep this one." Kai said bravely. He cocked his head slightly, examining her.
"Do you trust me?" he asked, afraid that the answer wouldn't be the one he hoped for.
"I do" she assured him; they started to walk toward Kai and Ray's room where a third bed had been placed.
"I just wanted to make sure that you realised how hard this could be. I don't want you making a promise that you can't keep." She explained simply.
"I'll keep this promise," he said firmly, his crimson eyes burning with sincerity.
'I'll make sure I do' he thought as he opened the door to his and Ray's bedroom. Failure wasn't an option.
Kenny got up for a drink of water. He was the only one with a bedroom of his own, so he didn't have to worry as much about waking anyone. He probably wouldn't have minded sharing his room with Rage, but Kai had insisted that she stay close to him. Kai was acting really weird about that.
Then again, judging by both their injuries. Both of them had had a lot to be protected from; Kenny could hardly believe what he had seen in that check up room. He'd never even imagined that anyone could possess that many scars. He'd known Kai for around two years, and he'd never even guessed that he'd been hiding something like this.
And how he'd got those scars in the first place. Kenny didn't even want to think about that. And Kai's face when Kenny had poked his head out of his door to see what all the noise had been about. It had been like they were facing the end of the world and Kai didn't think that they'd live through what was coming. He shuddered, wondering what other secrets the cold teen could be hiding from them.
He drank deeply from his glass of water before placing the empty container in the bin.
Kenny cast a glance at the window on his way back to his room. He paused, shock over writing his features as he stepped closer to get a better look.
It wasn't the view that intrigued him. It was the windowsill, his mouth opened wide as he processed what he was seeing.
There was no windowsill.
Where it had been, there only a few remaining pieces of charred wood, jutting out from beneath the window. Finely powered ash littered the floor directly under the window. Along with splinters of burned wood. Even the window had cracked as if exposed to a great heat.
The windowsill had been completely burned away.
Ok, what do you think? I'm tempted not to update this until i have at least 8 reviews, you know, eight chapters eight reviews.
Anyhow, for this chapter you have to remember that although Rage and Kai have hugged before. Kai has never in this story so far hugged her, she has always hugged him.
I've also mentioned the promise again. Are you wondering what that promise was yet?
Please review.