Chapter 25

Kai and Ray walked back into the kitchen and resumed their positions they'd had before they'd seen the figure run past the door. Kai picked up the glass bottle that he'd left there before he'd left the room earlier and now he just continued staring at the ground. Ray stared on at Kai from where he sat at table again, in deep thought the whole time and trying to find the right words to say to get the right information out of his captain. "It takes someone really close to Tori…to know that much about what might happen next." He told Kai. It wasn't random curiosity that he wanted to know about Kai and Tori; it was just that he wanted to know how things where actually going with the two so that he'd know more about what was going on with his captain, the captain that made him worry all the time.

"We're friends." Kai stated simply, his gaze not moving from being fixed in a straight glance at the ground.

"No, Denzelle and Tori are friends. You and Tori are something more."

"And you've summed all this up, from what?"

"Instinct, I suppose." Ray tried.

"You're instinct is wrong." Kai said angrily. Although, deep down inside he was secretly cursing that someone else had found out about the on going secret relationship he had with the teenager trainer.

Ray smirked just slightly, raising an eyebrow at the other teenager in the room, "Is it really?" he asked.

"Yes." Kai answered coldly.

"No." Ray answered for him, a small smirk on his face.

"How would you know?" Kai asked bitterly.

"You and Tori must really think we're stupid, or else you were just over-confident when you thought you two were good enough to hide if from us."

"So even Tyson knows?" Kai asked, raising an eyebrow at the neko-jin at the other end of the room.

Ray winced just slightly and shook his head quickly, "He's having trouble keeping up." He replied, a bright smile on his face when he saw Kai smile just slightly at his answer. "So how close are you two?" he asked.

"How close is sharing a bed?" Kai asked him.

Ray's eyes widened immensely at Kai's question that was seen as an answer, "Very close."

"I guess it is." Kai commented. He sighed and took a sip of alcohol, wincing at the strong taste. "She didn't even say bye." He whispered to himself, Ray hearing him clearly though.

"Maybe she had a reason."

"There's no valid reason for just leaving someone like that."

"But maybe to her there is a reason."

Kai just groaned quietly and turned away from looking at Ray, muttering a quiet "Whatever." Under his breath.

"So how long?" Ray asked, changing the subject slightly.

"How long what?" Kai asked, turning his eyes back at the other boy.

"Have you two been…well, together?"

"I never really kept track actually. About four months I guess."

"That long?"

"Surprised we kept it a secret for so long?" Kai smirked.

"No. I'm just surprised it didn't take her long to get to you."

Kai shook his head just slightly, staring off at the ground again. "I fought her off for the first few months, trying to keep her from worrying and keeping her away from me so the more I fought her off at first, the quicker I stopped."

"That makes sense."

"Today…along with that letter you guys gave her…I left her a present. We'd seen it when we went shopping together to get something for Max and she seemed to have liked it." Kai's words grabbed Ray's attention quickly and neko-jin kept his eye's firm gaze on his captain as he listened to what he was saying. "I don't usually go shopping. Food I'd go to buy but I don't buy gifts and stuff like that."

"How's that a bad thing?" Ray asked. A lot of things about the teenager before him confused him regularly and he couldn't help the confusion and curiosity in his voice.

"I never said it was a bad thing…just different to what I'm used to. And now I think that maybe it's what made her leave."

"What did you give her?"

"A music box, she liked the tune it played."

Ray smiled slightly at Kai, finding Kai's caring side and consideration quite nice to finally see, "That's sweet." Kai didn't say anything else and Ray waited another minute in case Kai wanted to talk about something. He just watched on as Kai took another sip of vodka which indicated that Kai wasn't in a talking mood anymore. Ray stood up, slowly walking up to Kai, "Come on." He whispered, taking the glass bottle from Kai's slightly shaking hand. "You've had a rough day, you need rest." He told him in the same level.

"I can't." Kai whispered, although not fighting Ray off when he pulled him by his hand off the counter.

"Of course you can, right now you just choose not to."

Kai walked out into the hall, staring up at the stairs before he sighed, taking a deep breath and walking up to his bedroom, Ray following close behind. Ray checked in on Denzelle, seeing the girl fast asleep peacefully before he decided to go to Tyson's room where he could spend the night to get some rest of his own.

---Next Morning- With Tori---

Tori lay on her side on a white hospital bed, tear streaks painted on her pale cheeks as she kept her hands under he cheek that was on the pillow. Her head was bandaged up tightly and the splitting pain that came from it was almost too much to bare any longer but she was afraid to say so or scream out in pain because then she was afraid that more painkillers would be pumped into her and she didn't want that, her time of being like a lab rat was over.

Mr Dickinson, her guardian at the time just appeared in the doorway to her room, tears glistening in his eyes as he saw the young girl lying there, fragile and in pain. Tori caught the sight of the older man out of the corner of her eye and she turned her head to him, remaining on her side, no emotion being shown on her face. "Come to watch me whither away?" she asked him.

"Don't be silly, you're going to be fine, the doctors said so." Mr Dickinson told her, trying to force a small smile on his face as he walked up to the girl's side.

"I suppose they did. How are the others?" Tori stammered, she choked on her own tears again since they refused to stop every time she thought about the lot of them.

"I haven't spoken to them yet. I had to come to see you first." Mr Dickinson answered her. He placed a hand out and grabbed the thin hand that was lying so lifeless that the end of her fingers had almost turned blue from the cold and numbness. He squeezed it carefully, "Can I get you anything?" he asked her.

"You can go to the team…now." Tori whispered in reply.

"Tori don't keep this cold front. It doesn't suit you. If you're hurt than just say so or else you'll end up like Kai."

"You mean like how he used to be." Tori corrected quietly.

"Yes."

"You know what you have to say to them…so just go, you aren't needed here for the moment."

Needless to say, Mr Dickinson was disappointed at hearing those words from the girl, after all, all he was doing was looking after her and comforting her. He nodded anyway, doing as the girl asked as he intended on leaving. He leaned over her, giving her a careful kiss on the forehead, giving her hand a light squeeze before leaving the room in utter silence.

---With The Others---

The whole team had woken up early, mostly out of nerves, otherwise they would have just stayed in bed where they were away from the pain of the world. They all sat outside, talking to each other occasionally while they all kept a close eye out for Tori, all of them hoping to see her thin form walk in through the Dojo's gates. That didn't happen though, although some hope ran through them all when they saw Mr Dickinson there instead.

All the teenagers that had been on the porch ran towards the older man, worry and hope shining through all their eyes at the same time. "Mr Dickinson! Have you heard from Tori?"

"Yeah, she's been missing since last night." Denzelle told him.

Mr Dickinson closed his eyes for a second and sighed, "Sit down, boys."

The whole team was taken aback by his words while tears sprung to Denzelle eyes as she turned, walked back and sat down on the porch, wiping the dampness from her cheeks. The others all sat down beside her, Ray closest to her, pulling an arm around her for support since Kai was clearly too concerned about the Mistress than the girl that was crying. "What do you know?" Kai asked, sounding almost angry in a way.

"Tori's in the hospital."

"What?"

"Is she okay?"

Mr Dickinson nodded, "She's doing fine, she took the surgery to remove the tumour late last night. She'd changed her mind and doctors saw that it was urgent so they did it as soon as they could."

"She's alive and well then right?!" Kai asked hurriedly, still taking in the fact of what had just been said to him.

"She survived it…by a thread though." Mr Dickinson said hesitantly, turning his worried eyes away from Kai, knowing full well that the eldest teenager there would demand more and would recognize the older man's fear in what was going on.

"What do you mean by that?"

"And I thought Tori said there wasn't anything she could do to save herself."

"She wanted to protect us," Ray said suddenly before turning to Kai, "right Kai?"

Kai had his arms crossed when he turned to Ray and nodded in reply.

"So you knew?" Max asked hurriedly, eyes wide open.

Kai nodded again, being unable to say anything else to them.

"That's why you were so mad at her." Tyson reasoned out aloud, turning back to Mr Dickinson quickly after it sunk in. "What do you mean 'she survived by a thread' ?" he asked.

"Her heart stopped half way through the surgery. Originally she said that she wanted the surgery, on the condition that the music box she had was playing the whole time through, the doctors agreed to it for her sake but half way through they closed it and minutes later her heart stopped so they started it again and she was fine after but it was a close call."

"And she's going to be fine right?" Denzelle asked, muttering something for the first time.

"Physically and mentally yes, emotionally is the problem. She was told that her personality might change a bit after this and she's afraid of that…she doesn't want to change who she is."

"We better go see how she is." Max said quietly to the others around him.

"That's probably the worst part of this." Mr Dickinson said hesitantly.

"What do you mean?" Kai asked urgently, seeming cold and angry as always, not caring who it was that he was talking to.

"She doesn't want you guys to go see her while she's in the hospital." Mr Dickinson told them, earning himself shocked stares from all around.

"Why not?!" Tyson asked.

Kai interrupted, turning to Mr Dickinson and only him. "If it's about me not being comfortable in hospitals than she can just drop it, I don't mind and I can handle it."

Mr Dickinson sighed and placed a hand on Kai's shoulder, feeling the boy tense beneath his hand. "I don't think it's about that, Kai." He told him…carefully, probably knowing how hard it was for Kai to hear. "I think this time it's something Tori wants for herself."

"Who wants to be all alone in a hospital?" Ray asked almost confusedly.

"Tori does, so I guess we just have to leave her." Kai said, although to Ray, he could clearly tell that Kai was just putting on a brave front for everyone else. Kai was always like that, he could say he hated people but he would rather cover up his own feelings to help them and probably never deal with his own emotions.

"And what about me? I need to get back to my blade eventually." Denzelle told him urgently, standing up and running up to him, bowing her head slightly but raising her eyes at the older man.

"Calm down." Mr Dickinson took her hand gently, "She's got your blade. I'll take you to the hospital to see her soon enough."

"So she is just going to stay by herself till she leaves hospital?" Max asked sadly.

"It appears so. Although she said that once she's well enough to write she'll send you all a letter or an email."

"That's something at least." Tyson muttered.

"Kai are you alright to handle training again until she's back?" Mr Dickinson asked the oldest.

Kai nodded quickly, looking tough as always, as though nothing changed to him.

"I'll make sure you and Tori stay in contact, don't worry." Mr Dickinson told them before turning to Denzelle, "We can go." He told her. "Bye boys."

Mr Dickinson turned to leave, Denzelle following close behind him before a hand fell on her shoulder and she turned round to see the owner of the strong hand. Kai stood behind her, expressionless face there as always ut then he handed something out to her and she looked down at it. The phone card she'd given him was there in his hand, "Take it…so we can talk to her sometime." He whispered.

Denzelle smiled warmly at Kai, took the small material, clutched it in her hand and then gave Kai a tight hug, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, Kai." She whispered softly.

"I did nothing thanks-worthy, I treated you like dirt instead of helping you for all the times you helped me." Kai whispered back to her, pushing her away carefully.

Denzelle shook her head quickly, her bangs flying in front of her face. "No. If it weren't for you, I would have gone out searching for my Mistress last night and I could have gotten hurt but you stopped me so thank you."

"Just go and take care of her for me." Kai told her, trying a small smile on his face.

"Will do, Kai." Denzelle said happily before running off after Mr Dickinson.

Kai walked into the Dojo by himself, walking the stairs to his bedroom, closing the door behind him for some privacy away from everyone else, as far away from them as he could possibly get without leaving them out of someone's care, something he never really worried about. He lay back on his bed, in hopes to relax. It wasn't even mid-week yet and he was already getting stressed out.

Ray slowly opened the creaking door, stepping inside and closing the door quietly behind him before creeping over to Kai on the bed. He sat down beside Kai on the bed, looking down at his sleep-deprived and stressed out captain.

Kai opened his eyes and looked up at the team mate beside him but just ignored him and closed his eyes again, trying his best to block out the boy.

"That box Mr Dickinson told us about…it's the one you gave Tori, isn't it?" Ray asked quietly.

"She never had any others."

Ray nodded, taking in the answer, eyes on the ground at first. He slowly turned his eyes to look at Kai again, biting down on his lip for only a second before speaking again, always careful, something he'd been told to do from Max and Tori over the past few months. "You know…it's alright to show us that you're worried. We all are."

"Leave." Kai ordered coldly.

To Ray it seemed like not much about Kai had changed, he just remained his usual locked up self. Only now, the one person that made him feel a bit more human was far away from him, she could be further away but it didn't make things that much easier on Kai. The whole team weren't always forcing him to talk to them for their sakes but more for Kai's. They were happy as long as they knew that Kai was feeling better but knowing that they boy was miserable and they couldn't help him because he wouldn't let them made them feel terrible. "Come downstairs, you need to have breakfast." He pointed out to him.

"Later."

Some anger began to glow in Ray's golden eyes, "Don't be selfish, Kai. Think about Tori, she wouldn't want you to be doing this to yourself and if she found out about this it would only make things worse for her so stop this, get downstairs and get something to eat."

"I'm not being selfish." Kai told him angrily. "You don't know how this feels and you won't so just let me sort this out by myself."

"How do you expect us to do that?" Ray asked angrily.

"You did it for about four years, you figure it out!"

"We could never just forget about you, Kai. Even if it looked like we did."

Kai turned onto his side, his back facing Ray which frustrated the tiger more. "Just leave me alone." He called to the boy behind him.

Ray got up and walked over to the door, placing his hand on the doorknob, about to turn it before turning back to look at Kai, or more like his back. "Sometimes I don't know what you want from us, Kai." He told him clearly, waiting for an answer, he got none and left the room quietly.

---With Tori---

Tori lay on her side, sleeping soundly and painlessly. The doctors had seen her pain clearly after Mr Dickinson had left and added a bit more morphine to ease the pain she was feeling in her skull. Nurses where passing by Tori's room every five minutes to check on her, all of them being uneasy and on edge about the girl and the state she was currently in.

Denzelle was, at present, in her blade that was on her Mistress' bedside table near an empty tray of food and some wires that had been disconnected just before Tori had fallen asleep. Denzelle had been keeping an eye on her Mistress ever since she'd got there and wouldn't allow herself any rest as long as her Mistress was resting, in case something happened, that way she'd be the first to know. Although, now the bit-beast was growing tired. She'd been outside her blade since the afternoon of the day before and being deprived of her blade's power and safety for so long was tearing her down, and finally she was starting to feel the affects of it.

'Denzelle, get some rest, I'll be alright.'

'I'm not leaving you alone.'

'The nurses are looking out for me so don't worry, I wont be alone.'

'That's not the same. Why won't you let the team here?'

'Because this is something I want to do alone.'

'That makes no sense! It's unreasonable! You sound like Kai.'

'Don't be silly, it's not the same thing.'

Denzelle sighed, refusing to argue with her Mistress any longer as long as the two were both in their worst of states. 'It's your decision Mistress. I just hope you know what you're doing.'

'I do. Now get some rest.'

'Yes, Mistress.' Denzelle sighed harshly once again and disappeared from her Mistress' mind in order to find her usual comfort and regain her strength.

Tori opened her clear brown eyes, turning onto her back to look at the ceiling. Peacefully, she stared on at one particular point on the ceiling, being too much in deep thought that she didn't realize she'd been staring at the same place for so long. She wandered back to what Mr Dickinson had told her about the reaction of her team mates to the news. She didn't need to be told that they were unhappy about the news she'd made him give them. Kai most of all. He was probably trying to make a mental list of reasons why she'd want to be alone in a time like this but he was probably not getting very far either.

She just hated to imagine that he was there, turning back to everything she'd tried so hard to pull him away from. All the torment that used to be inside him, the little bit she'd gotten rid of was slowly building in him again. The irritation of being able to do nothing to help her, slowly turned into the self-loath that he'd been so used to ever since he was younger.

Life was a vicious cycle, a cycle that couldn't be broken, not easily at least. Kai was going through some of the worst things life had to offer, that much Tori knew. She didn't know what all those things where but for them to have such a strong controlling affect on him they must have all been bad and she clearly couldn't have chosen a worst time to take that surgery and trigger Kai's emotions anymore. She mentally nodded to herself, she just figured there wasn't much she could do about it at the moment so she thought she'd just deal with it as it came but she knew it wasn't going to be easy. Although, nothing the couple went through together or by themselves was easy to deal with.

---With Kai---

The Russian captain ran up the stairs to the apartment he shared with Tori, unlocking the door and stepping inside quietly. Everything in the apartment was just the way he'd left it before he had gone to the Dojo the day before. The only difference this time was that the bubbly girl he cared about so much wasn't there anymore, she was in a hospital room, on a dull white bed, bored and alone now.

Kai walked into Tori's bedroom and lay down on his side of the bed, resting his head back against the pillows before finding that he was more comfortable with his hands under his head for support as he looked around the room exhaustedly. He'd told the team that he was going to the apartment to get some things so that he could stay at the Dojo while Tori was away and it was true, he was there because he was getting his things but he wanted to go over some things in his mind in the meantime.

He just wanted to go over some memories he had of her. He didn't know why exactly but he supposed it was just one of those times where you wanted to look back on some things in life, like your friendships, your wins, your loses, everything that made you turn out the way you were for the better or the worst. Right now though he just wanted to concentrate on the girl, maybe some memories of her would make him feel better and not worse.

Sometimes he just couldn't help but worry. It just became natural to him, not when with Tori but even before that. You could tell he was always protective of his team mates, despite how long he could go on about hating them and their attiude towards training. He admitted to himself that they were different to him, they had their own opinions of things because their lifestyles where completely different to his and to how he grew up.

Their lifestyles where laid back and easy, maybe they did have some hard times in their childhood but at least they had time to be the kids they were meant to be at the time. Kai's life was completely different, his childhood had been cold and harsh, one filled with pain and difficulties everyday and if he were totally honest with himself he could say that he was one of those rare kids that grew up too fast for his own good. But what other choice did he have, he was young and scared of his mentor and all the adults around him so what other choice did he have than to live the way he was told to. It wasn't his fault, it never was but to him that was the only thing that wasn't his fault, everything else that went on was thought to be his fault and his alone.

After months of talks about that Tori had managed to convince him that it wasn't all his fault. Nothing that had happened to him was the consequence of being who he was, he had never done anything wrong, he was just a kid but people had treated him as more than that. It wasn't easy…living a life where you were always trying to be the best for someone else. If it were truly up to him, he wouldn't have done any of that. He hadn't cared about power and strength, it was just that he was raised to love it and seek it but it wasn't his fault for that, after all, he was forced into it.

The good thing that Tori did was bring some humour to all their conversations, even some of the most serious ones they had, even back when they hated each other. Even when she smiled at him in the morning while the others where having breakfast, she did it even though she knew that Kai wouldn't take any notice of her. Somehow she brought some good out of every conversation they had. On the other hand there where also many of those conversations that ended quite badly but Tori risked it, and she wasn't really afraid to which took a lot of guts.

---Flashback---

"So why do you think we fight all the time?" Tori asked.

"That's easy. It's because you interfere with my life." Kai answered simply, sitting back.

"I don't interfere, I just worry." Tori corrected, pouting slightly.

"You shouldn't."

"And why not?"

"Because everything is fine and I don't see what there is to worry about."

"Then why weren't you eating?" Tori asked, still not believing him.

Kai shrugged, "I just get full easily and the others don't know when or if I eat cause they wont be around." He answered.

"But why?"

"Cause I hate them trying to control how much I eat."

"Fair enough I guess." Tori said, a bit unsurely. "Did you ever check with a doctor about not being able to eat?" she asked.

"I don't need one."

"Well that's really up to you but if things get worse maybe you should consider going to one." Tori suggested caringly.

"I will, don't worry." Kai said with a light smirk.

"Ah but now you see, I know you're lying there." Tori pointed out, smiling.

"Was I that obvious?"

"Not really." Tori answered, 'I just did a little research.' She added in her mind.

"Well it doesn't matter. I don't need a doctor to tell me anything. They'll just tell me stuff I already know."

"That you're weird, insecure, annoying and cold?" Tori asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"So much for trying to get along." Kai muttered, pushing himself off the ground and starting to walk out of the room.

Tori shot up and grabbed his hand to keep him from walking away, "Hey, I was only joking and besides, if it were the truth, I wouldn't dare tell you to your face." She lied, making things up as she went along.

"Now that's where you're lying because you would dare to tell me to my face and it is the truth." Kai told her, pulling away from her.

"Maybe it is, then again I don't know you too well." Tori said, leaning back against the wall.

"And you probably never will." Kai whispered, walking past her.

"People want to know a little more about you, just talk to them and let them know."

---End Flashback---

Even when she was nicest to him, he just ignored her and it wasn't because he had a personal grudge against her, it was just because it all came naturally to him. You know, after years of practice at something, sometimes you don't realize how good you've gotten at it until you realize that you've been doing it naturally without any of those intentions. Even despite all that, there where times that Tori did things that naturally ticked him off and things that came far too naturally for any person for him to control and he couldn't help but be even a little bit frustrated at the auburn-haired girl.

---Flashback---

Hearing a quiet groan she looked past the beyblade and towards its owner, smiling when Kai looked up at her. He didn't say a word but tried to sit up, wincing slightly he gave up and lay back down. "What do you want?" he asked her, his voice raspy and if it weren't for her sitting so close she wouldn't have been able to hear him.

"Just to check on you. How are you feeling?" Tori asked, brushing a strand of hair away from his eyes.

"Fine." Kai answered simply.

"Oh a friend told me that there's some weird code to that but I'll save it for when you're in a good mood."

"How long have I been out?" Kai asked, wincing at the throbbing pain in his skull.

"A little more than an hour." Tori replied. Kai looked down at himself, seeing his gloves, shirt and jacket were off. Tori noticed the look and was quick to tell him, "We thought you were bleeding, so I told Ray to check." She explained.

"Where do you get off thinking you have the right to give him such an order?" Kai asked angrily.

"He was the only one in here, its not like I was looking or anything and I'd much rather have you feel uncomfortable for a few minutes than have you bleed out on Tyson's clean floors." Tori said, her tone serious despite the slight humour at the end.

"Well did you find anything?" Kai asked, it being a bit more of a rhetorical question.

"No." Tori answered.

"My point exactly." Kai said, trying to sit up again.

---End Flashback---

Then there where those 'lovely' times that she surprised him by doing things he never expected from her, and of course, in his mind, he used the term 'lovely' very very very lightly since after she surprised him there where almost always some unpleasant affects or emotions.

---Flashback---

"You aren't going to tell us what happened are you?" She asked him, moving off the chair to sit on his bed.

Kai didn't answer, just turned his head away from her and opened his eyes to stare out the window.

Tori smiled caringly, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, "It's alright." She told him.

Kai's eyes widened slightly, her words surprising him to the point that his head shot to look at her. Though it wasn't a smart move, his head began to hurt even more and he began to rub his temples, silently hoping the pain would stop. He heard Tori's faint voice say that she was going to go get him something for that, he felt the light weight on his bed move and heard his bedroom door quietly close behind Tori.

---End Flashback---

Those where good times though, he thought that the pain that he endured those times was worth it because it just brought the two teenagers closer together and neither of them had regretted being together. He smiled slightly. She'd sometimes sneaked him out of the Dojo when he wasn't feeling too well and the others had kept him in his room.

---Flashback---

He arrived down by the beach and from where he stood he could see Tori's thin silhouette by the water, dipping her feet into the cold water as she stared out where the moon reflected on the clear waters. He walked up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder, making her turn around in fright. Once seeing who it was she visibly calmed down and smiled sweetly, "Hey there!" she said happily. "How are you?" she asked when she didn't get a greeting.

"I'm fine. Why'd you call me here?" Kai asked, getting straight down to business apparently.

"Friendly gesture. I thought that maybe you'd want to get out of there for a while but I'm not really trusting you to go out by yourself."

"Really? What could I possibly do that's so bad?" Kai asked her, folding his arms across his chest.

"I wouldn't know, that's why I don't trust you." Tori said with a grin. "So anything you want to do?" she asked him.

Kai shrugged, walking ahead of her along the beach with nothing really to say to her.

"Let's just go for a drink then, that good?" Tori asked him, watching as Kai nodded in reply.

---End Flashback---

There where so many memories to choose from, when they were together it was like life was a whole story book and every day there was something new to look back on, some good and some bad. Alright so there where a lot of bad times to choose from, too many actually but that was a part of the relationship the two had together, they were constantly arguing with each other but that was how their relationship worked for them.

The team stayed out of arguments with Kai so they never got close enough to him, even if they were to risk an argument, half the time they just wouldn't and move on. But Tori took a lot of risks and was very straightforward with Kai, that's how the two got so close. Kai knew the team much longer than he knew Tori but for most of that time they were like outsiders to him but Tori, she became a part of his life because she was always up in his face about things. So basically the arguments where the most confrontation Kai got from anyone else there.

The two always had some fun times though, even just the little random conversations they had together about little topics.

---Flashback---

Kai stepped into the living room, raising an eyebrow, a little confused on seeing Tori lying on the sofa with his CDs scattered on the table. Tori noticed him in a second and smiled sheepishly at him, "Hey." She greeted. "I hope you don't mind…I saw your CDs here and couldn't help it…I wanted to see what you like I guess."

"It's not a problem." Kai shrugged, turning to leave the room.

"You have some really good stuff here," Tori flipped through the CD boxes before pilling them all up neatly. "Not my usual type of music but most of it sounds really good."

Kai turned and sat down beside her, "I never expected you to like any of it."

"Yeah well there's a lot of excellent music, you have great taste."

---End Flashback---

There really wasn't much more to say. The relationship they had together wasn't built on anything special and the relationship was far from perfect but they couldn't deny that they made each other happy. They at least gave each other something they couldn't find in other people, they got the care that they couldn't get from the others, they got the attention that they both needed and they both got the understanding they needed to keep holding on. But no one had said anything about their relationship being perfect, especially since the whole thing was built over their arguments and since the arguments is what got them together in the first place, and the thing that also helped them remain together because when they argued they realized that they needed each other or else, things where going to go on being the way they had been before they met and of all the things that the two could agree on, they agreed that things got better after they met each other, no matter how many more things got difficult.

Kai slowly pushed himself off the bed, wincing at the headache he got from all his thoughts. He got up and walked from room to room, putting together almost all his belongings to take back to the Dojo. As he did so the memories never stopped playing in his mind, like a permanent video playing over and over, a video he didn't quite mind seeing as the memories where almost all enjoyable ones. There where some that had been upsetting at the time but it was nice to look back on them and see how far they had all come. He even remembered the little things, like being called a great friend by Tori and being there for her when she was in the hospital to top up on her medication.

It was tough for the both of them so when thinking about how things worked that day Kai actually felt a bit proud of himself. He managed to remain calm for Tori's sake, despite being afraid of needles and hospitals. Tori was just as afraid of that kind of stuff, even though she had gotten used to it and wouldn't show her fear of them so when he was able to be there for her for once and be there when she expected him not to be made him feel like he had done something right for once.

Kai spent one more hour at the apartment before standing by the door, looking around the apartment in case he forgot anything before deciding to leave to get back to the Dojo. The walk back to the Dojo was a quiet one with no one to talk to and nothing really to think about aside from the silent cursing and praying that the pounding of his head would stop quickly. Kai arrived at the Dojo in little timing thanks to the lessened distractions and he quickly rushed up to his room where Max was waiting for him there.

The Russian ignored the blonde boy that sat on his bed and Kai just proceeded in putting some of his things out of the bag and into their places. Max sat on the bed for a while, his eyes following Kai as he watched the oldest boy walk from one side of the room to the other. "Kai…are you okay?" Max asked.

"I'm fine."

"You act like Tori not being here and not wanting us with her as though it means nothing to you."

"It's her decision."

"But that doesn't mean you have to be okay with it."

Kai didn't look back at the boy but his voice remained the same, cold, "I'm not but there's nothing I can do."

"But if it affects you, why don't you ever show it?"

"Do I have to?"

Max tried to find the right words to speak but found that he didn't really know how to go around the subject. Going on in his mind how he's still and kid and doesn't know how to deal with the situation properly. "I didn't say that…" He started carefully, "…It's just that you don't show us that you're bothered by it but you should."

Kai turned to Max, glaring down at him coldly, the words that passed his lips holding the same tone although feeling they'd falter at the sight of the upset Max but they didn't. "Don't you already know that I'm bothered by it?" he asked.

"Yeah, Kai but that's because we just know you too well but you keep holding it in and you can't do that."

"Why the hell not?!" Kai lashed out.

"Because you're going to hurt yourself this way." Max answered carefully, standing up to be a bit closer to Kai's level as to not be intimidated by the older boy's height.

Max was right and Kai knew it so he softened up and took a small step back so as not to scare the boy any longer. "I know." He whispered.

"And you can't possibly want that for yourself."

"I don't but there's nothing else." Kai walked over to the window and stared out, he couldn't look directly at Max, in fear that Max might see the bit of fear he had in him.

"You can let us help you." Max told him, walking up behind him. "You managed with Tori…you can with us too." He tried to convince.

Kai turned back to Max, nodding just slightly, "Thanks but I…"

"You can so come down stairs, get something to eat and talk to us for a while."

"About?"

"Well start about things that bother you…from any part of your life." Max smiled happily towards Kai, "Come on." He grabbed the older boy's hand and pulled him towards the door.

Kai stopped himself in his tracks but didn't let go of Max's hand. "What if they don't want me to?" he asked.

"Don't be stupid." Max told him, "They want you to open up as much as I want you to."

"I don't think I can."

"You'll never know till you try." Max laughed quietly, giving Kai a supportive smile before dragging his captain downstairs.

A:N: Alright so maybe that chapter was also another boring one but now I've got my Easter holidays so I should have time for more updates. Please tell me what you think of how things are going so far, I've estimated that there are about 5 more chapters till this fic is finished and I have a sequel planned but I don't know if I'll write it for sure yet since I have a lot of things to sort out in it. Otherwise, I have another 'interesting' fic in mind that maybe you'll all like but I suppose we'll wait and see right?

So please leave me a review and I will get working on next chapter of this. Happy holidays for all of you who has them! Thanks for reading!