Drabble 13: Love and War
Tyson's humming a merry tune as he cleans his blade.
Sitting by himself in the dojo. Enjoying listening to the sound of his own voice bouncing off the walls.
He sounds good, damn.
"Hm hm hm hm hm hm hm hm"
The door to the dojo suddenly slides open, revealing their captain.
What is this moody bastard doing here at this time of the day?
"What do you want?" Tyson asks after a minute of observation. Kai had walked in and started looking around for something immediately. He grimaces at the sight of Tyson. "Yeah, nice to see you too, buttcrack. Whaddya looking for?"
"I left my launcher here," he replies in a low amicable voice.
"You really did?" he asks surprised. What a silly thing to do. "Here, check in the box." Tyson scrambles toward the box he uses to store beyblades, parts and rings he finds laying around in the dojo in the evening after all the members have left. Sometimes Gramps cleans up after the guys. Today was one of those times.
Kai comes to stand next to him as Tyson opens the box, kneeling on the floor.
He finds the launcher.
"There it is," he exclaims, then takes it out and gives it to Kai. Tyson's eyes roll up his captain's form as he briefly checks his launcher for damage.
He glances at Tyson when he's done.
Tyson looks at him wondering if he'd say a thank you. Knowing him he's not hopeful.
And he doesn't surprise him.
The brief glance is all he gets.
Tyson purses his mouth and watches as Kai leaves.
He's eating an extremely sour candy, leaning against a tree.
He pulls off a piece from the stick and feels his facial muscles clench painfully in response.
He catches Kai walking by, on his way to train.
"Kai, you want a bite?" he offers.
His captain shoots him a disgusted look then carries on minding his own business.
Tyson goes to watch as he trains.
He's so focused. His attention never wavers. Not when there's a beyblade in front of him. He's just like him when it comes to that.
Tyson sucks on the last piece of the candy as Kai executes a particularly difficult move around the dish. He draws it out of his mouth with a pop to say, "wow". Elongated vowels and all that.
Kai calls his blade back to his palm. He casts one look at him before going to find Ray.
He's doing pushups. He's completed forty. Ten more left.
Come on, Tyson. Push, he tells himself.
He's out of his breath. His face is purple. Jeez, he's way out of shape.
Kai would tell him to cut back on food. How can he cut back on food? That's like asking him to give up breathing. Eating to his heart's content is vital to his existence.
He can hear Kai's well controlled breathing from a few feet away.
He's in the two hundreds range. He's still not sweating.
Pumping up and down like a machine.
He could say he envies him but he does not.
Kai achieves that through rigorous training and sticking to a harsh diet.
As you sow so shall you reap. Tyson does not wish to sow so depressingly.
Tyson completes his fiftieth rep and collapses on the ground.
Kai finishes his two hundred and fiftieth. He stops to go encourage his other teammates.
Kenny's dead like Tyson. Flat on his face. Max is about to drop. Ray is working hard.
"Ninety-nine," Kai counts beside his head. "Hundred. Good job," he says to Ray.
Tyson pulls himself up. "I did fifty."
"You can do better," Kai replies without looking at him, handing a towel to Ray.
They're good friends. Him and Ray. They get along. They can do pushups to a hundred.
"Kai, can you pass the chili?"
The chili travels over his captain's salad in his hand.
"Thank you" he says to him as he sets it down on the table next to him.
Tyson scoops a load of it onto his plate. "Yum" Looks tasty.
He eats loudly. Making lots of chewing and slurping noises.
Kai takes a deep breath. His fingers gripping the fork with unnecessary force.
"You'll bend the metal," Tyson sing-songs, noticing his discomfort. Basking in it.
His chair drags across the floor as he stands. Kai grabs his salad and walks away.
"You're forced to share a room with me?" They're voices carry down the hallway. "I'm forced to share a room with you! I can't stand your presence, Kai."
"You want to talk about who can't stand whose presence? Have you met yourself?"
"Of course I've met myself. I'm a great person. I'm a blast to be around."
"Says you and no one else."
"At least I have friends. What do you have? Cats? Like a lonely old lady who lives in a house at the end of the street that no one ever visits because she's grumpy and bitter."
Kai crushes the pillow in his hands. Tyson stands on the other side of the bed with his hands on his hips. Triumphant.
He watches him discard the pillow on the mattress and make his way around the bed, towards the door.
"Yeah, walk away! Walk away! That's how you deal with all of your problems in life."
Kai's steps halt before the door. He whirls around. "What the fuck do you know about my problems, Tyson?" he shouts at him, live rage in his eyes. "What the fuck do you know?" His arms shake at his sides.
Tyson pauses, taken aback for a moment by his sudden outburst. He bounces back quickly. "I know you're a deserter. You're a disloyal piece of shit who flees the moment someone starts to rely on him."
Kai slams him back against the wall. Covering his mouth with his hand. Shutting him up. "One more word," he breathes against his face, his eyes wild. "One more fucking word."
Tyson shakes with anger, hurt, betrayal. He shoves him. Kai pushes him back. Trying him to pin him to the wall. They grapple furiously to overpower one another.
Tyson attempts to force Kai's forearm away from his face. His fingers slip. His elbow rams into his teeth.
"Ow" Blood pours.
Tyson keens, curling a hand over his throbbing mouth.
"It's your lip." Kai tries to get a look at the wound.
Tyson moans in pain. Blood fills his mouth. He moves around Kai to go the bathroom.
He spits in the sink. Thick red saliva runs down the ceramic. He inspects his teeth. One of the upper front incisors is slightly crooked.
Fuck Kai.
"You go' my too'" he complains.
Kai comes into the bathroom. Takes a look at his mouth and curses. "Shit"
"'uck oo"