Warning : Strong language, violence & M/M
Disclaimer : I don't own Beyblade or any of the characters. The characters you do not recognise are mine and are not to be stolen/used in any story other than my own.
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Despite being in a warm, comfy bed right next to Rei's, Kai couldn't sleep. Tomorrow was the day that something would happen, he knew it. Glancing sideways at the peaceful neko-jin, he wished he could cuddle up to him and hold him close to protect him, just in case. Now that he knew the feelings he had for the cat were real, the blunette was not prepared to have to let go. All he wanted now was to be closer, much closer.
'He's so beautiful. The hair, the eyes, the slim, sleek figure… The wonderful personality.' Kai sighed. "You won't get hurt Rei. I promise." He muttered, then rolled onto his side and closed his eyes, trying to sleep.
"Get hurt?" He didn't know that the cat had been awake and had head him. Kai quickly but quietly turned and looked intently into the perplexed golden eyes.
"Go back to sleep Rei." He sighed, unknowingly casting a loving pout over the neko-jin; but apparently the younger teen noticed the subliminal feeling in the blunette's words.
"Kai…" He whispered, sighing deeply. "What do you mean 'get hurt'? How am I going to get hurt?"
"You aren't going to get hurt." The crimson eyes held sympathy for the boy, Rei would never get back to sleep now. 'He looks so worried… Scared, even.' Kai noted. He closed his eyes in thought, wishing he could think of something, anything, to stop the teen from looking so upset. The bad thoughts stopped suddenly as Kai felt a warmth curl up against him. Opening one eye, all he could see was black hair, so closed it again and gently wrapped an arm around the small waist of his cat. Upon doing this, Rei wriggled closer and slid his own arms around the larger, stronger body of the elder teen that lay beside him.
"Don't let me get hurt Kai." The boy whispered. "And don't let anyone hurt you either." The obvious fear in the cat's voice made Kai open his eyes and look down at the younger teen in his arms. Tears blurred the deep amber eyes and his lip quivered. The blunette immediately pulled the frightened boy into his arms and held him close, letting his eyes slip shut. He'd obviously lost someone before.
"I'll look after you. You heard what I said – You won't get hurt Rei. I promise." As the last word was spoken, Kai felt warm, soft lips press gently against his own and instinctively held his neko-jin tighter. Their kiss only lasted for a sweet second, but it was something that would stay with the blunette for the rest of his life. Cuddled up close, Kai leant back down toward Rei and pushed his lips onto those of the other teen. Rei responded by gripping his arms tightly around Kai's back and opening his mouth, granting the blunette 'access to all areas'. Said blunette pushed himself up so he was leaning over the younger boy, then slid his tongue through Rei's parted lips, making the neko breathe slightly heavier. Just as the kiss was deepening, an irate voice tore the two apart – Max.
"Could you not do that when there are other people in the room?" The little blond glared his hardest, which, to be fair, wasn't very threatening. From a bed the other side of Max's, a tired groan soon shut the blond up.
"Go back to sleep Max. Leave Rei and Kai to make out. It's none of our business if they thought we were asleep."
"You try sleeping next to this!"
"Fine." Came the unbothered reply. "Switch." The navy-haired teen crawled from his own bed to Max's, who edged away from the surprised couple to where Tyson had been sleeping. The blond hair was soon immersed in blankets, removing him from view. Tired brown eyes looked up at crimson and gold and smirked. "Who's to keep my best friend from finally showing his feelings to the guy of his dreams?" With a sly wink to his friend, Tyson lay his head down on the pillow and seemed to fall straight to sleep.
"Maybe we should just sleep now." Whispered the blushing cat. Kai smirked and nodded once, giving his love a last goodnight peck. They lay down together and cuddled, sighing simultaneously. "Goodnight Kai."
"Night Rei."
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Kai woke up, cold. He reached for his neko-jin, but he wasn't there… Nor either of the others. He sat bolt upright and his breath caught in his throat.
"FUCK!"
He leapt to his feet and his crimson eyes darted around him.
"This can't be happening! Not now! Not when I was finally happy!"
"Calm down Kai…" It was that voice again. That voice with no owner.
"Leave me alone!"
Kai ran. He didn't know where he was running to because to didn't know where he was. All that surrounded him was the wide expanse of green grass, a thick forest in the distance, and a couple of buildings… He stopped running. He knew where he was.
"Why am I here?"
The school. Kai didn't want to be at the school! He wanted to be curled up in a warm bed beside Rei.
"Rei!"
His breathing wouldn't slow down. How the hell would he get back to his cat from there? – 'How the fuck did I get here?' Useless thoughts whirred around his mind, making him feel dizzy, too dizzy. In a fit of desperation, Kai tried to call out to someone, anyone, but he could no longer find his voice. Falling to his knees he could feel panic rising through him, and before he could do anything about it, he leant forward and was sick, choking and spluttering through blood and tears… Blood?
"You did it yourself…" Kai again tried to scream for help as that voice rang out loud all around him, again to no avail. His wrist was cut and bleeding. He hadn't done that. He wouldn't do that to himself. He was cold, shivering and helpless. Just another scared teenager alone in the world. "Alone in the world with no one…" That voice!
"Leave me alone!" Kai whispered, crying inconsolably. He tried to stand up but his legs wouldn't work, he felt so sick.
"You are alone…" That teasing whisper seemed so loud. Kai covered his ears and shook his head, somehow thinking he could get rid of the voice. "Alone with no one… You live alone, you will die alone and nobody will mourn you."
"NO!" Kai suddenly found his voice and screamed as loud as he could. "You will not ruin my life! I will not die alone!"
"There's nobody here to save you Kai… Run." The blunette needed no further instruction. He climbed unsteadily to his feet and sprinted toward the school buildings, praying for someone to be there. Nearing the gates he could see the sky getting lighter. He wished it wasn't dark. He couldn't stand it anymore.
"Poor boy. Scared of the dark."
"Fucking leave me alone!" He ran faster, screaming in despondency, anguish ripping him apart. He was so close to the gates, so close. 'Nearly there… Nearly there…' Kai knew that he was running from something he could never be rid of, but he still just had to reach those gates. 'Just a little bit farther… Nearly there Kai. Come on.' Looking straight ahead and not at the floor, he tripped. He collided roughly with the damp ground, grazing his hands and face, knocking the wind from his lungs. He couldn't do it, he couldn't get back up. He couldn't carry on. 'You can do it Kai. You're nearly there…'
"You'll never make it." The eerie whisper snaked its ways through the teen's mind, thrashing all his optimistic thoughts. "You will die alone."
Kai dragged himself back onto his feet and tried to breathe. He made for the gates, racing away as fast as his battered legs and weary lungs would let him. Reaching out to open the gate, he fell, unable to cope with the tire any longer.
"So you give up… I knew you were weak, Kai Hiwatari." That was the last thing Kai heard before slipping away into an unconscious mess.
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"Kai?" He recognised that voice.
"Come on pal." That one too. Rei and Tyson. Rei… He groaned.
"Oh Kai you're awake!"
"What the hell happened to you?"
"Back off lads, let him breathe." That… No. It couldn't be… Could it? Moaning in pain, Kai opened one drained crimson eye, lacking it's usual sarcastic glimmer. Seeing the dark grey hair and the usually-cold grey eyes, today with a slight hint of care, the blunette let his other eye sidle open.
"Irika?" He was so confused. Especially when she smiled.
"Hey kid. Everyone's been frantic, we thought you'd gone back to your flat, the whole street was searching for you. The hotel manager said you'd left without a trace a couple of days ago… I honestly thought you'd done a runner." She smirked. Not her usual cold, heartless playing smirk, but a soft one. She had actually been worried. On hearing a quiet sniff from beside him, Kai turned his head toward the noise and realised that he was in a hospital bed. He smiled up at the exhausted-looking neko-jin that was sitting by his side, a seemingly equally as knackered younger blunette sitting behind, a reassuring hand on his friend's arm.
"Kai…" The cat reached out and touched Kai's face with two soft fingers, stroking. The slate-haired teen opened his arms and soon wrapped around, to his surprise, both Rei and Tyson.
"Man, we were so worried!" The latter cried out, squashing his elder slightly. Kai had to smile, he'd never had friends before. Now he had three people sitting around him, all happy to know he was okay. And the people of his whole street had done a search to find him – Though it was only a small road, that was something big to him.
"How… The school…" Kai remembered waking up on the school field, but he didn't understand how that was possible. He would have needed to get a train and a bus to get to his school from Rei's house…
"We don't know." Irika replied to his confusion with her own. "But that doesn't matter right now Kai… How're you feeling?"
"A bit crushed." The cuts and bruises across his torso suddenly heaved a sigh of relief as the two younger teens let go of their friend, looking slightly sheepish.
"Sorry…"
"Sorry man."
Smirking at his new-found friends, his first ever real friends, Kai answered. "I feel fine. A little tired, but I'm good." Rei and Tyson grinned happily at this, while Irika smiled contentedly. Looking from Rei to Tyson, then back again, a question struck the blunette. "Hey, where's Max?" A small squeak came from the corner of the room and the blond slowly walked over, looking very apologetic and upset.
"Hi Kai. I'm sorry for telling you off… I… I… Felt so b-bad when you w-were g-g-gone!" Max burst into tears and had to leave the room, leaving everyone else in a state of shock. Kai sighed, then chuckled. The other three looked at him in confusion.
"Telling me off?" Rei and Tyson laughed with Kai as Irika got to her feet.
"I'll leave you guys alone… Go and let the others know you're alright." She smiled, then her eyes turned cold and expressionless as she put up her well known front again. Kai smirked, he didn't realise she had a heart, but then… That's probably what people thought about him too. Tyson walked round the bed and took Irika's seat, then watched, smiling as his best friend was reunited with his love.
"Want some time alone together?" He asked. Although he was smiling, Kai could sense the slight rejection in the younger blunette's voice. The crimson eyed boy shook his head.
"You're my friend too, now." That settled everything. Kai took Rei's hand in one of his, and Tyson's hand in the other, so glad for the company he had. Both of the teens hugged him again, Rei holding him tightly while Tyson casually leant on the elder boy, not letting go of his hand. Kai kissed Rei's forehead, then absentmindedly leant over and kissed Tyson's too. It came as a surprise to both the blunettes, who laughed. Rei giggled at them, then closed his eyes, happy to have his love back. Kai closed his eyes too, he felt so peaceful. Sighing, he was just about to fall asleep when he it, just a whisper. A wonderful warmth flushed all the way through him.
"I love you Kai."
"I love you too Rei." He whispered back. Tyson gripped his hand tightly and was obviously squirming at the cuteness of his two friends. He couldn't keep it in any longer :
"I love you both!" Laughing once more before the three settled down, all leaning on each other, Kai was glad for Tyson being there too. He loved the guy, absolutely loved him. Not the same love he felt for Rei, but another new feeling that he'd never felt before – Tyson was a friend. A real friend. Everything was perfect.
"Love you too Ty." Kai smirked, then finally drifted off into a peaceful, happy sleep.
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