AN Sorry for the wait. This is part three of Fragments. It picks up where the previous part left off. It's from next part on that I want to try and delve into Kai's psyche a little more. I came up with this story when I was reading my material for the module on Psychology. I will have to reread some things, but please bear in mind that I am in no way an expert. I have no experience in any matters such as this and I don't presume to have either. Plus, I'm glad I don't.
The body on the bed twitched. Then turned. Turned back. Curled up. Stretched with a whimper. Kicked back the covers. Struggled with his dreamed attacker. Cried. Screamed. Fought. Tried to get away. Away from the dreamworld.
Tyson whimpered and curled in on himself. Was he like that? So frighteningly frightened? So helpless? With a strangled cry he leaped forward, unable to bear it any longer. He grabbed Kai's arm and shook him.
"Kai! Wake up! It's just a dream! A dream! Wake up!"
Fear leaped at his throat as Kai's struggles intensified, his body recognizing a solid assailant. Tyson reeled back to narrowly avoid a kick in the direction of his hip. Kai rolled back off the bed on the other side and curled up against the wall, arms around his knees, rocking and whimpering.
Tyson slowly walked around the bed and crouched down. Crimson eyes blinded by terror gazed at him. How could he break Kai free from the nightmare his mind was still trapped in? He was dreaming with his eyes open.
"Kai?"
The broken silence made the huddled figure flinch.
"Come on, Kai, I'm not gonna hurt you."
I'm not gonna hurt you, kid. Tyson recoiled from the memory. That probably wasn't the best thing to say.
"It's me, Tyson. Come on, Kai, snap out of it."
The only result his words booked, was Kai curling tighter in on himself. Though he kept his gaze up, always on guard.
Tyson slowly reached out his hand, palm up and fingers relaxed to appear as harmless as possible, all the while murmuring words of comfort.
It didn't work. Kai remain a coiled spring, growing more tense as Tyson's hand neared him. He had to explode at some point.
"NO! LEAVE!"
Tyson hand was slapped away violently.
"NO MORE!"
Rei would have backed away by now, Tyson realized, as would the other. But he knew anything was better than to be trapped in an unending nightmare, not knowing the difference between dream and reality. And any means of being woken would be forgiven once the nightmare was over. He'd rather try and get Kai out of it himself, than wait until the other did something drastic out of desperation.
He reached out again and this time caught the hand that flailed at him. Kai immediately pressed back tightly against the wall, wide eyes focused on the hand he was trying to return to himself. But Tyson refused to let go. The coiled spring of a human body in front of him needed to be returned to the real world. He slowly began to pull the other closer to him.
Kai dug his heels in but his bare feet didn't find grip in the carpet. Agonizingly slowly his body was pulled away from the wall, from the only protection from his assailant he thought he had. He was so pale with fear, his lips were turning blue.
Tyson was close to panicking, hyperventilating, with the sight his friend made. He looked like a terrified child. What had the Abbey done to him, that he shied from any human contact? With his free arm he reached and draped it around tense shoulders, giving him more leverage to reign the other in closer.
Kai was a tightly coiled spring against him, hands pressed against his chest, trying to push away. Tyson resolutely closed both arms gently around his captain's sinewy torso. Resting his cheek against that thick hair, he tried to keep his own body as relaxed and harmless-feeling as possible.
And then Kai went limp.
Shocked Tyson looked down. Had he fainted? No, his eyes were open, half opened, actually. Eyes staring emptily ahead of him. He had locked down his own mind, distanced himself from his own body as far as possible so as not to have to feel anything that might be done to it.
Tyson furiously blinked back tears and promised silent revenge on Boris and his minions, and most of all that bastard Voltaire who let his own grandson be reduced to this.
Slightly tightening his grip, he hid his face in damp, two-color hair and added his own salty tears to the moistness.
It was unfair. It was wrong to see the strong, invincible captain of their team so small and helpless. Hands pressed softly against pale skin and dark tank top, Tyson breathed in the scent of shampoo and Kai. He resolved then and there he would do anything to help his friend. He had to shake away that fear of human contact. Not all contact was bad, as Kai had proven himself only just yesterday.
Yes, Kai had been tense and uncomfortable at first. But he had relaxed.
Now, Tyson kept absolutely still. He didn't risk his position with the slightest twitch, though his legs, folded underneath him, began to cramp.
He didn't know how much time past. Ten minutes? Half an hour? He didn't care. He only cared that Kai, finally, finally, moved.
It was only small. His head moved a few inches left and right, his eyes blinking, until they focused on Tyson's shoulder close to him. His hand reached up hesitantly, carefully, to press against the fabric. Then shifted higher to touch a strand of hair spilling over his shoulder.
"Tyson?" A whisper.
"Yeah, it's me," Tyson murmured back.
"Not the Abbey?"
Tyson pulled the other a bit closer. "Never again, Kai. Never again, I promise."
With a sigh the captain rested his head against Tyson's shoulder. "Thank you for waking me. Did I hurt you?"
Tyson smiled, unseen to the other young man. Typically Kai, worried about his teammates first, rather than trying to get himself back to order. No, that wasn't entirely true. Kai did bring himself back to his own order. It just wasn't a healthy kind of order. "I'm fine, Kai. You just scared me, that's all. The shower not too rough on you?"
Kai moved back to look him straight in the eye. "How did you know...?" he faded confused.
The Japanese shrugged. "I tried to scrub his touch away as well. It only happened twice though. Need any burn salve?"
"'m Fine," Kai murmured absently. He remained seated upright on the floor, Tyson's arms still around him. The latter squeezed his shoulder a bit to catch his attention.
When crimson eyes had turned back on him, he said, "What now?"
Kai shrugged. "I get dressed." Suddenly his eyes widened. "Practice! What time is it?"
"Almost noon," Tyson answered with a quick glance at the bedside table.
"Damn! What will the others think!"
"That you have the flu," Tyson quickly said, remembering his words to Rei. At Kai's confused look, he continued, "Rei and I came here when you didn't show at the beach. I told him that you were probably sick, considering you had crawled back in bed after a shower. He bought it and left to tell the others. We'll have to set a new date for practice." He straightened. "Why don't you go take a quick shower and I'll pack some things for you?"
Kai froze halfway to getting to his feet. "Pack?" he said tonelessly.
"Yes," Tyson answered. "You don't think I'm going to look after a flu patient in an otherwise empty apartment? You're going to stay at the dojo."
Kai struggled to say something, seemingly doubting his thoughts on the matter. Eventually he his shoulders sagged in resignation. "Thank you," he murmured. He got up quickly and grabbed some clothes from his closet. Without looking back he strode to the bathroom.
Tyson looked around the room and found a small duffel stuffed underneath the bed. Moving to the dresser he searched the drawers for some clothes to take with them. Keeping one set separate for Kai to wear, he stuffed the bag with everything and headed for the livingroom, just as the shower was turned off.
Tyson reached into his pocket and drew out his cellphone. His home number had been on speed dial for three weeks, even though he hadn't left the house before now. Gramps picked up at the second ring.
"Tyson?" They had number recognition.
"Yeah, gramps, it's me. I'm at Kai's. He's got a flu-ish type of thing. Can you pick us up?"
"Sure," came the answer over the phone. "You okay?"
Tyson smiled, though his grandfather couldn't see that of course. "Yeah, I'm fine. Kai just didn't show at the beach like the others, so Rei and I went over to his apartment. Rei went back to tell Max and Kenny there'd be no practice."
"Okay, I'll come and pick you up then. Be there in fifteen."
"Thanks, gramps. See you then." They hang up.
A few minutes later Tyson heard bear feet crossing the hallway and entering the bedroom. It didn't take Kai long after that to appear in front of him.
It was a pleasant surprise to see the Russian blader had foregone his facepaint. Wearing just a pair of jeans and a sweater, he looked much different from his usual aloof self.
"Gramps is picking us up."
Kai sat down on the couch, his back pressed against the corner. "Good," he murmured.
Tyson observed his teamcaptain in silence. He supposed he owed it to the absence of the aggressive sharkfins normally painted on his cheeks for the difference in demeanor to be noticeable. Kai looked hunched up, despite his straight back, his squared shoulders. Defensive. A fear was in the setting of his face, carefully suppressed, but always lingering beneath the surface. Tyson didn't understand how he could have missed it all those years he had known Kai. When you knew what to look for, the signs of Kai's inner struggle were clear as day.
When you knew what to look for. When that same, or a similar inner struggle, had gone on within yourself.
The doorbell rang, and, even though it could only be grandpa Kinomiya, Kai almost-flinched.
And Tyson understood.
AN Working on part 4 as you read this. Be aware of angst. On a different matter, I'm not sure whether there will be any romance in this. I think Kai is incapable of that, at least for now. I'm gonna have to see how it goes. I'm really gonna give him a major mindbleep, poor sod. Up to reviewing, anyone?