Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade.

A/N: Dear all,

Sorry to keep you waiting so long. I think I've drafted this cahpter two or three times and then re-wrote it another two times? Haha.

A big thank you to Keiichi5ever, Yami Yue07 and especially to cutetyhil, kaidatinuchan and Yuliya89 for their kind words. I've stepped out of my comfort zone with thie genre, so you commetns men the world to me. Thank you for all the support, everyone!

A Promise Is a Promise

Chapter 3

Routine

Days had passed and Tyson had made it a routine to stop by the hospital after school. Usually, Tala would be there as well. In a non-spoken mutual agreement, they stuck to harmless topics ever since that day when the rest of the Blitzkrieg Boys had shown up.

It was a Saturday, so today Tyson was accompanied by Kenny and Hilary as he walked into Kai's room. Everything still looked the same way it had when Tyson had first set foot in here. Only Kai's bruises and scratches had healed, making Kai look even paler now that he had been before. His skin was ghostly white. So white, Tala had started to call Kai 'snow-white'. Tyson was sure Kai would greatly appreciate the new nickname when he came around. Tala was so going to regret the day those words had left his mouth…

When they entered, said Redhead was already there. He was sitting in his usual chair on the right side of the bed, his feet resting on Kai's mattress, reading.

Tala had been spending as much time by Kai's side as Tyson had. At first, Tyson thought Tala had just come up here to escape from his room. He was always complaining about his new roomie occupying the only TV in the room. Also, Tala seemed to enjoy giving the nurses a good scare when they discovered his bed was empty once again. He was a sadist alright. Tala's condition had been improving constantly though and he was now allowed to take walks about the hospital and the grounds. Yet Tala always came up here. And he had never turned on the TV once. So Tyson figured that those were all excuses made to cover up the fact that Tala actually cared.

Obviously, Tyson never mentioned any of his thoughts to the Redhead. He'd deny it anyways. Instead, Tyson was glad to have someone around who cared as much for Kai and kept an eye on things while he was in school.

"Hey Tala!" Tyson called out.

"Hi guys," Tala replied and put down his book as they walked up to him.

Tyson flopped down onto the seat on the other side of Kai's bed, while Kenny and Hilary pulled up two chairs from the small table in the corner of the room.

"What's up?" Tyson asked.

"Nothing much, just reading this new sci-fi-book. I read the summary to Kai. He hasn't said anything, but I think he hated it."

Hilary cleared her voice and said, "Well it's a good thing I that brought something else to read to Kai then."

She started to rummage through her gigantic purse. Tyson wondered why girls always had to carry around a purse this big. He could go on vacation for a whole week with a purse that size. Daichi for a moth even – but then again, Daichi was a special case! Still, girls couldn't possibly need this much stuff for a single day! What could possibly be in there? On second thought, he'd rather not know. If Tyson had learned one thing the past weeks, it was that it was better not to know certain things. This was one of these things.

"Oh really? That's great," Tyson then said. "Tala here mentioned something about Kai being interested in literature."

"I did?" Tala asked.

"Yeah you did!"

"Huh, I have no memory of it. Well, anyways, it's true! He likes to read a lot. Turned our training center into a damn library, that Kai!"

"Err, yeah... um, what kind of book did you bring, Hilary? I hope it's not all lovey-dovey?"

"Don't be silly, of course it's not." Hilary pulled a large, hard cover book out of her bag and proudly said, "Tadaaa!"

Tyson jaws dropped. As did Tala's. Kenny just straightened his glasses and clutched Dizzy closer to his chest.

"A college prep book? The heck, Hil? We don't even know if he wants to go to college."

"This is too crazy for me, I'm outta here," Tala said and stood. "See you around."

"Um, 'kay, see ya buddy."

"Good bye Tala," Kenny piped.

Tala nodded at them and left, with only a slight limp to his walk now.

"Tsk," Hilary said and opened her book. "So Kai, let's read you something that is going to keep your brain going, shall we?"

Listening to Hilary read had the same effect as listening to one of his teacher's talk: Within seconds Tyson was lost in thoughts.

He thought how great it was to see so many people care for Kai. It wasn't only Tala and him, no! Max and Ray had stopped by before they'd returned home and they kept asking about Kai's condition at least any other day. Sadly, there wasn't much Tyson could tell them. He kept asking the doctors, but their answer was always the same: condition critical, but for now stable. The rest of the Blitzkrieg Boys' team had also shown up, which Tyson hadn't been expecting at all. Now that he thought about it again, why wouldn't they visit Kai? After all, they had been his teammates, too. They just didn't show affection much. Actually, they didn't show it at all.

Kenny and Hilary also tried to come as much as possible, but they had always been far more ambitious than Tyson in regards of school and they were quite busy catching up with their classes. Kai was one lucky guy to have so many people care for him. Tyson would make sure to tell Kai about all his visitors once he woke. And if that didn't trigger a real emotional reaction from Kai, he wouldn't know what would.

If Kai would wake up…

A cold feeling spread throughout Tyson's body. No, he couldn't think that way. When Kai would wake up! There was still plenty of time for him to recover. He wasn't going to give up hope. It was too soon. Kai could still fight his way back. He had to. After all he'd promised they'd battle again!

But what if…

Tyson abruptly jumped up from his chair, which earned him surprised looks from Hilary and Kenny.

"Um, sorry, I gotta step out for a second," he murmured and hurried from the room.

When Tyson returned half an hours later he found Kenny alone by Kai's side.

"Huh? Where did Hilary go, Chief?"

"She's meeting a couple girls from school. They want to go see that new movie."

Tyson sighed.

"Oh thank heavens, so I don't have to listen to any more College Prep. I mean, honestly... what's up with that?"

"You know Hilary, she only means well."

"Haaa, I know, I know..." Tyson leaned back in his chair. "So Chief, what have you been working on these days?"

"Oh! Well, you're going to love this - and I'm sure Kai will, too! You see, me and Dizzy have developed a new, even lighter metal material for your Beyblades that allows the Blades to spin at greater speed. It will also make the change of direction much easier. It's great for offense-style Beybladers like you and Kai."

Kenny fumbled around his pockets and produced an attack ring that he carefully placed in Kai's still hand.

"This one is especially designed for a new Drazer, Kai. Feel how light it is!"

Tyson snatched the ring from Kai's hand. He couldn't help it; he'd always been the curious kind.

"Oh wow, Chief, this is amazing! I can't wait to test drive one of these! Hey, Kai, buddy, hurry and wake up so we can battle! You owe me a battle, remember?"

Tyson put the attack ring back into Kai's hand.

"So, what else can you tell me about these new parts, Chief?" he asked and leaned back in his chair.

Later in the afternoon, when Kenny had already gone home, Tala returned.

"Oh good, they're gone."

"Don't be so rude. They only mean well."

"Uh, yeah, so Kai can listen to Hilary read from that boring-ass book, but luckily I'm not in a coma anymore, so I can get the hell outta here. Speaking of which, I'm being discharged tomorrow."

"Really? That's great, Tala. Where are you going to stay?"

"Mr. D. has helped me get an apartment nearby. It's nothing much, but it'll do for now."

"So you'll keep having an eye on him while I'm in school, right?"

"That's the idea."

"Tala, how long-…"

Tyson stopped mid-sentence and bit his lower lip. How long until Kai wakes up. He didn't dare finish his question. He didn't want to have Tala tell him that Kai might never…

Tyson slightly shook his head. He had to stop having such negative thoughts. He needed to stay optimistic, especially around Kai. Who knew, maybe Kai could feel his energy?

When Tyson looked back at Tala, for a moment he saw the same sadness he felt in Tala's eyes. The same sadness he tried to hide deep down in his heart.

"I don't know, Tyson. I don't know."

When Tyson came home that night his grandfather was sitting in the outer corridor with a cup of tea.

"Hey yo, Tyson, come here homeboy," Gramps called.

Tyson walked over to his grandfather and sat down beside him. Gramps offered him a cup of tea, which Tyson accepted with a nod.

"Listen, ma man," Gramps then said. "I've been thinking: you've been spending an awful lot of time in that hospital."

"Gramps, Kai needs his friends around. He needs me!"

"Don't ya think ya might be overdoin' it a bit, T-man? You've been there every single day."

When Tyson was about to protest, Gramps raised a hand to keep him from doing so and continued, "I don't want ya to forget that there's a chance that Kai won't make it. You can't forget about your life outside da hospital, Tyson."

Tyson forcefully sat down his cup, causing the tea to spill on the wooden floor.

"Kai is not going to die!" he said furiously.

"I know he's a good friend of yours, but ye can't ignore the facts, homeboy."

"Well, thanks for your concern Gramps, but I'm fine," Tyson said and got to his feet. "And Kai will be, too, with my support. You'll see."

He turned his back on Gramps and stomped off to his room, where he shut the door with a bang. He threw himself on his bed.

Tyson knew Gramps only meant well and that he was really spending all his free-time in the hospital. Heck, he knew all the nurses by name and could recite the daily schedule without thinking twice about it! But Tyson couldn't help it. He couldn't bear the thought of leaving Kai there by himself, couldn't bear the thought of not having given Kai's recovery all the support he could have.

Kai was just too important to him. Tyson's didn't know when he'd started to care so much about his grumpy former team captain, but it was a fact he did. More than he would have ever thought on that day he'd met Kai, down by the river.

Tyson couldn't imagine a life without him and he didn't want to either. He needed Kai in his life! And that was why he would keep going to that hospital day after day!

So the next day, Tyson ignored Gramps cross looks and made his way to the hospital again. Shortly after he'd taken his usual place, Tala strolled in.

"I've been discharged!" he grinned.

"Well congratulations. You hear that Kai? Tala's free to go. Now hurry and wake up, so you can get out of here as well!"

"Nah, I bet he secretly likes it here – finally some peace and quiet. If only you wouldn't visit so often, Tyson," Tala smirked.

Tyson was just about to tell Tala about his talk with Gramps the night before when it happened. It was a moment Tyson would not be able to forget as long as he lived:

It was that moment, when the machines attached to Kai started to shrill and flash alarmingly.

A/N: Uh-oh, cliffhanger. ;) I'll try to hurry with the next chapter so I don't keep you on your tenterhooks for too long.

I'd love to hear what you thought about this chapter!

Take care, guys. :)

NoEarlyBird