Hi everybody!

I am sooo sorry that I haven't updated in a long time! Really I am.

I had ...computer difficulties...and wasn't able to work on this story for a while, but I managed to pull all my fics off that computer (getting electrocuted along the way...lol!) and now I can work on them again!

Hopefully this doesn't suck too badly...I am out of practice.

Just to warn ya...it's boring, and I was going brain dead toward the middle of this chapter.

Oh well...

Thanks for all the great reviews last chapter! I'll get around to reading them someday

Enjoy if you can!
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Chapter 11 - An Unexpected Gift

Kai stuck his hands in the pockets of his new pants, feeling extremely comfortable and relaxed as memories from his life as a BladeBreaker came back to him.

But even though he appeared cool and collected on the outside, he was still at war with himself on the inside.

No matter what, he couldn't escape the fact that he had killed people in those underground fights, and that he had lost his Dranzer...the only reason he stayed alive.

His mind flashed back his last hour in the hospital earlier that morning, remembering the words of his doctor.

"Now Kai...don't forget...your body is shutting down, so take it extremely easy. If you over do it, there is no telling what would happen to you..."

Kai's gaze fell to the sidewalk below him through the dark glasses. He knew what would happen, and it was all his fault.

"Hey Kai?" Hilary's soothing voice drew his attention back upward. "What's wrong?"

The blue haired teen sighed slightly. "...nothing...just thinking..."

Hilary didn't buy it one bit, but decided she should leave it alone for the moment.

"You hungry? What am I saying...of course you are! Where do you want to eat?" She smiled, trying to cheer him up.

Kai shrugged his shoulders lifelessly. "How should I know..." He muttered.

"Hmph..." Hilary's face became disgruntled.

"Hey you two! In here!" Mr. Dickinson hollered from down the street.

He was motioning toward another large building, but this one had patio furniture out front.

"Oh! I love this place! Come on!" Hilary grabbed Kai's arm and rushed toward the restaurant.

Mr. Dickinson and the two teens were directed toward a table in the back of the restaurant.

"I've already took the liberty of ordering for us. They should be bringing out quite a few different plates, so I'm sure we'll all find something we will like." The elder explained.

Within five minutes, a couple waiters brought out an array of different dishes. Among the dishes was soup, chicken, spaghetti, and even sushi!

Hilary gasped at the plates of sushi, and immediately dove in.

Kai, however, picked a bowl of soup and some bread, and began eating slowly.

The blue haired teen was the first to get full, and pushed the bowl of soup toward the end of the table.

"All done?" Mr. Dickinson asked.

The teen nodded in reply, giving a faint smile to the elder.

"Oh my gosh!" Hilary suddenly cried out in pure delight.

Another plate was pushed in front of Kai.

"You've got to try these!" Hilary exclaimed, handing the older teen a pair of chopsticks.

Kai fiddled with them for a moment, before successfully picking out a piece of sushi and directing it toward his mouth.

"Well? How do you like it?" Hilary asked, swallowing her food.

"It's certainly very interesting..." Kai said, staring at the plate of inari and California rolls.

"Here! Try this one too!" The brunette offered a different plate to him.

Kai eyed it suspiciously. It looked like some kind of shrimp.

"...alright..."

Slowly, he aimed the chopsticks for it, and grabbed hold of it.

As he was bringing it toward his own plate, the shrimp slipped out from the chopstick's grip, and shot off the table and landed on the floor.

Hilary giggled softly, seeing Kai's well hidden embarrassment.

Suddenly, his face turned grim as a waiter walked by, carrying a platter of meals to another table.

"Oh no..."

The waiter stepped on the shrimp, his foot sliding out from under him as he crumbled to the floor.

The platter fell directly on top of him, soup, salad and various meats spilling out everywhere!

"What the hell happened?" Another waiter shouted, rushing over to help.

Mr. Dickinson turned toward Hilary and Kai, Hilary trying desperately to contain herself from bursting with laughter.

"Everyone full?"

"Hai!"

The group got out from their seats, paid at the front and left as fast as they could.

Once in the safety of Mr. Dickinson's black sedan, Hilary burst out into laughter.

"That was the funniest thing I've seen!"

After a moment, she heard Kai chuckled softly along with her.

She could tell the incident was probably embarrassing for him, but he still found it somewhat funny.

"Next time I'll use the fork!"

The sun had set by the time the black sedan pulled up next to Tyson's dojo.

Kai and Hilary emerged from the back with Mr. Dickinson, and walked through the trellis and into the darkened courtyard.

Hilary picked up her pace and opened the front door while Kai removed his sunglasses, the outside light no longer bothering him.

"Come on in!" She smiled.

Kai eyed her...something was up...and he knew it!

Taking the last step up onto the porch and through the doorway, the lights suddenly snapped on, causing Kai to groan in pain and cover his eyes slightly.

"Welcome back home Kai!" Tyson bounded out from behind a sofa, a big smile on his goofy face.

Both Rei and Max emerged from behind a chair, and gasped softly at the sight of their former captain.

Not only did he look three years older than they last saw him, but he looked incredibly drawn for someone his age.
His eyes were slightly red and sore, and his body scarred and thin from the years of abuse and malnutrition.

Kai caught their glance for a moment, but quickly turned away.

Rei was the first to step forward, extending his hand to his old friend.

The blue haired teen looked at it for a minute, then looked up at the Chinese teen's face, a genuine smile on his lips.

"Glad to have you back Kai!"

"Heh..." A smirk found its way on the older teen's face as he grabbed the outstretched hand, shaking gently.

"Alright! Now the whole team's back together!" Max bounded over.

"But..." Kai started, but stopped himself as he noticed Hilary approaching with her arms behind her back.

"Kai...we all pitched in and thought of something you might like, and we wanted to get it for you..."

With that, she revealed a small box, wrapped with colorful paper and shinny ribbons.

Kai blinked at it for a moment, not sure what to think just yet.

Looking back at Hilary, he saw she was blushing slightly, yet smiling brightly at him.

"It's a 'Welcome Home' present..." She explained.Kai finally returned her smile and took the gift from her outstretched hands.

Slowly, he began unwrapping it.

Finding the lid, he removed it only to be greeted with a mound of tissue paper.

Getting annoyed, he grabbed the paper and tossed it over his shoulder.

What he saw took him by complete surprise.
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Muahahaha! Yes...a horrible place to stop!
But I'm sure most of the people who read this will figure out what it is...I'm very predictable.

Sorry if this was boring...I tried to make it at least a little funny...
The next chapter might be boring as well, but then the action kicks in once again!

So then...

PLEASE REVIEW!

I'll try to update sooner next time!