Disclaimer: I own it… and then I woke up. So I don't own it. Damn!

Chapter 3: Bout time, huh? ((…Please don't be disappointed…)) ((OK. Exams are finally over so here's the next update. I'm sorry it took so long. The last month was majorly hectic!))

"Kai, he's still alive! We have to get him back to the village."

Kai looked at Tala and nodded, standing with Ray in his arms. "Why didn't he tell me?" He demanded as they rushed towards the village. No one answered him.

"Ray! Bring him this way!" an elderly man called. Kai did as he was told and entered the large hut (thing). He was told to place Ray on the bed. Then the man got to work.

They all watched as he removed Ray's top and saw the red mark that had formed over his chest. He felt Ray's ribs for a long time, checking each one carefully. When he was satisfied with that he moved his hands to Ray's pulse by his neck. He didn't move.

"Hmm," he said after a moment. "It appears Ray has an infection. Its quite serious but curable nonetheless." He looked at Kai. "It might be too late to help him. If you'd brought him here sooner I could've done something. I only found out from Mariah's grandmother this morning. Not to matter. I will try my best to help him."

"Why couldn't the doctors find anything wrong with him?" Ian asked. The man sighed.

"Neko-Jin infections are immune to those machines. We've been around longer than any normal human and so our bodies have evolved further. I will explain it all later."

"So…" Kai said softly. "You can help him?"

The man stared at Kai for a long moment before smiling. "Yes. You…love him, don't you? That is good. Ray will need you by his side during the procedure."

"Of course. I wouldn't be able to leave him even if I wanted to." To make his point he grabbed Ray's hand and held it tightly. Everyone stood in silence as they took this in. Tala smiled Bryan.

"OK. My name is Tulanti. I've known Ray all his life so you…can trust me."

"We do," Spencer said, surprising everyone. He frowned at them. "What?"

Tulanti hid a smile and turned to a small table behind him. On it were different green branches of plants and some unfamiliar flowers. He picked up a bright yellow flower and pulled off several petals. He then placed the petals in a brown bowl and showed it to the boys.

"This is the Flower of Time. When used properly it can complete wonders!" He took the bowl and a small bottle and emptied the bottle's contents into the bowl. They all noticed the somewhat thick liquid was black.

"What's that?" Ian asked, voicing their curiosity. Tulanti nodded in understanding.

"It does not have a name. It's my own concoction and it's never let me down before." He took a long wooden block that was rounded on one side and started to mix the petals and the liquid together, binding them thoroughly. (A/N: Do you have any idea how difficult this is?) After several quiet moments he lowered the block onto the table and showed them how the liquid and the petals had smoothed out. "This will heal Ray from the inside out. But," he looked at Ray and then at Kai. "You will have to awaken him. This won't work unless he takes it willingly."

Kai seemed uncertain but he knelt down and stroked the unconscious teen's cheek, though he still held onto his hand tightly. "Ray," he called softly. "Ray, I need you to wake up. Just for a short while. Then you can go back to sleep. Please, Ray. Wake up…"

Ray's eyes remained closed but his mouth opened slowly and a soft sound met their strained ears. Kai smiled.

"Come on, Ray. You need to…swallow something. It will help you. And it will take away the pain. You have to trust me."

They all watched as Ray's limp hand moved and returned Kai's hold. "I…trust…you," Ray managed to get out weakly. Kai laughed softly.

"Thank you." He put his free hand under Ray's shoulders and lifted him to sit. Ray made a protesting sound but other than that he remained silent. The others all watched quietly. Tulanti gave Kai the bowl and Kai placed it against Ray's lips. "It might taste weird but it will help you."

Ray managed a simple nod and Kai tilted the bowl slightly. The now dark brown liquid poured into Ray's mouth and he coughed.

"Ray," Kai said quickly. "Just swallow it. I know it tastes bad but you have to swallow it." Ray coughed again before they all saw him swallow. It was a slow matter but eventually the bowl was empty. Kai lowered Ray to lie again and then he stood up. They all looked at Tulanti.

"Now what?" Bryan asked impatiently. Tala shot him a small glare.

"We have to wait," Tulanti told them all. "Ray's body still has to accept and absorb the Flower of Time. It will take a few days but Ray will no longer be in physical pain and he will rest peacefully."

"Then…?"

"Hopefully Ray will heal. I can't say for sure. I do not wish to jinx anything. But we must all have faith."

Kai leaned down and kissed Ray's forehead. Ray turned his head towards Kai and let out a weary sigh. Then the room was filled with sighs of relief.

Tulanti was studying Tala with a raised brow. Tala narrowed his eyes.

"What?"

"May I ask why you are wearing my granddaughter's dress?"

Tala's eyes widened and he looked down at himself. "Oh damn!"

The others all laughed while he glared at them.

Kai was sitting on a stool that stood at the side of Ray's bed. He was leaning back against the wall, his eyes closed and his breathing low and even.

He vaguely felt a hand on his knee but decided to ignore it. He was too tired to really care. But when the hand trailed up his thigh he couldn't help but snap his eyes open and sit up straight. It was then that he saw Ray smiling at him from the bed.

"Ray! You're awake…"

Ray winked and laughed softly. "You bet. And…" he trailed off, causing Kai to lean forward. When Kai was close enough he moved his hand to the back of Kai's head and kissed him full on the mouth. Kai smiled to himself and deepened the kiss.

"I'm hungry," Ray whispered when Kai pulled back.

"I don't doubt that for one second," Kai said laughing. "What would you like?"

Ray turned his head to look around and he frowned. "Where…?"

"You're still at the village, Ray. I don't know if you remember but three days ago you passed out and Tulanti gave you something called the Flower of Time along with some other stuff."

"Three days?" Ray asked in disbelief. He coughed twice and sat up. He winced. "Ow. I think I'll sleep standing up from now on. All this lying can't be good for me."

Kai stood up and moved to the door. "I'm going to get you something to eat. Stay here."

Ray narrowed his eyes. "And where, dear lover of mine, do you think I will disappear to? I think my legs are going to fall off," he added softly and heard Kai laugh as he disappeared out the room. Ray smiled and moved back to sit against the pillows.

"It's about time," he heard Tala say and looked up at the redhead that had entered the room.

"What do you mean by that?" Ray asked. Tala moved the stool and sat on it.

"We've been waiting for three days for you to wake up. Now don't get me wrong, China is nice and all. But there's really nothing here for us to do!"

Ray laughed. "I'm sorry. If I'd known I was keeping you here I would've woken sooner. But I'm strangely glad you're still here. Tell me," he said after a short pause, "did I say anything while I was…out?"

"Nope. Unfortunately not. We were hoping you would but I guess your mouth just always stays shut!"

Ray snorted and they both laughed.

"Oh finally!" Bryan declared. He was followed into the room by Ian and Spencer who both remained silent. "We all thought you were going to stay in lala-land for ever!"

"Oh brother. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Kai said as he entered with a bowl of soup and a plate of some buttered bread slices (A/N: Yeah, yeah. I know. It's nothing special. But since Ray is the only decent cook the food is unimaginative). "We're just glad you're feeling better." he paused. "You are feeling better, right?"

"Definitely! You say Tulanti helped me? How bizarre…"

"Why do you say that?" Ian asked.

"I always thought he hated me. When I was younger I used to play in his garden and I destroyed most of his research flowers. He wasn't too pleased…"

"I guess he forgave you, then."

Ray smiled at Kai and eagerly took the bowl of nice, hot chicken and vegetable soup. (A/N: hee hee). He started to eat it, trying to hold himself back from just swallowing the whole lot in one go. When he lifted his head he saw them all watching him. "Uh…you're making me nervous." He laughed softly.

Tala stood up. "We need to call Mr. Dickenson." He shooed his team out the room but before he himself could leave Ray called him.

"Tala! Come here for a second, will you?"

Tala complied warily. "Yes?"

"Have you told him yet?"

Tala gave Kai a long look before smiling at Ray. "Nope. And I'm not going to. Its easier this way."

Ray pouted teasingly. "But you have to tell him. Please! He…likes you, you know."

"Right. Get better, Ray. You'll need to be in top condition for the next tournament. I'm going to wipe the floor with you."

"Hey!" Kai warned with his best glare. "Get going! Or you'll find yourself on the floor."

Ray laughed as Tala retreated. Kai sat on the bed and stroked back a stray lock of the ever-silky raven hair. Ray's laugh died instantly and he met Kai's gaze.

"I'm sorry Kai. I should've told you…but I thought- "

"Ssh. It doesn't matter. I'm just glad you're okay. …You scared me."

Ray lowered his gaze. "I scared myself too." Then he smiled at Kai. "But I trusted you, right?"

"Yes. Now eat. And then rest."

"Yes Master. Whatever you say Master," Ray joked. He grabbed a slice of bread and studied it for a long time. Kai frowned.

"What is it?"

"I don't know." He looked at Kai. "For some reason…I can't stand the thought of eating this. Weird, huh?"

"Yeah." Kai took the bread and put it on the plate with the other slices. He then took the plate from Ray and sat down on the stool. "The soup okay?"

"Yes! The soup is great." To prove his point Ray brought the bowl to his mouth and tilted some of the soup into his mouth. Then he smiled at Kai, cheeks full. He swallowed, coughed once and sighed. "Yummy… Want some?"

"Uh, no thanks. I've already eaten." He paused. "You look tired."

Ray finished off the rest of the soup and nodded slowly. "I am. Three days obviously wasn't enough." He stifled a yawn and blushed when Kai took the bowl from his hands.

"Sleep, then. When you wake up we'll go for a walk to the hill. How does that sound?"

"Sounds…good…" Ray managed before he yawned. He moved to lie back down again and shifted onto his side. He reached out to grab Kai's hand. "Will you stay here until I fall asleep?"

"Of course." Kai lifted the hand to his mouth and kissed it lovingly. "Close your eyes," he instructed softly. Ray smiled and did as he was told. Less than a minute later he was unconscious to the world. Kai released his hand and stood up to go outside.

Halfway to the tree that stood in the center of the village he was met by Tala.

"He seems better," Tala said. Kai nodded.

"He is. He couldn't do much before he was given the Flower of Time. I'm sure by tomorrow he'll be back to normal."

"With some mild side effects," Tulanti said as he sidled up to them. "He's been rather ill for a long time. It will take several days before he is completely well enough to do most activities. You will need to keep an eye on him."

Kai sighed. "Yeah. That's fine. I'll take him back to my place. No one will bother us there."

"That's fine. Just make sure he relaxes. His body was severely drained."

Kai only nodded and sat down on the bench under the tree. Tala sat next to him and noticed the look of apprehension on Kai's face. 'He'll be fine, Kai. Don't worry… He hasn't come this far for nothing…'