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-sighs- Another shitty week. I hope everyone is doing better than I am at the moment. Anyway, yay, another chapter! After this chapter there will be a time skip X3 I know everyone is looking forward to that. Please enjoy!

Chapter 8:

The Essence of a True Papa

Sitting in the front passenger seat of Bruce's car, Kai can't help but fidget a little in his seat. His stitches in his stomach are starting to pull and itch, and really beginning to agitate him. And he can't seem to stop himself from glancing over his shoulder and the review mirror every second to glance at the sleep tot in the back seat, sitting secure in a specially brought baby seat.

"We're almost home, Kai," Bruce laughs from the driver's side, an understanding smile appearing on his face when he recalls the birth of his first son Hiro and how it took him three hours to get the baby seat in. He wanted to get it right so he's son would be safe and it brings a smile to his face when he sees that Kai is no different.

"Bloody traffic," Kai mutters under his breath at the string of cars before him and then pivots in his seat to look in the backseat once again. Yep, little Toshiro is still sleeping.

Kai breathes a sigh of relief as he turns back around, rubbing his forehead a little from frustration. He just wants to get his son home, into the sanctuary of the dojo. He knows he's being ridiculous, but he can't help but imagine the worst case scenario while on the road. What if there is an accident and Toshiro gets hurt?

He'll be fine, Kai keeps reminding himself.

Kai is going home today as well and he couldn't be happier to get out of the hospital, no offense to Tenzen, he's a great doctor and all, but he can't stand hospitals. He's been sitting in that hospital bed for a week already, with little Toshiro sleeping soundly in that plastic hospital crib by his side. He can't wait to get him home and into a real crib. He hopes the guys have placed it in his room like he asked.

He has about fifteen stitches in his stomach and he isn't allowed to do any strenuous activities for a while. At first Kai worried that he might not be able to lay Toshiro down to sleep in his cot, but Bruce made leverage for his wound. He bought a cot where he can fold down the side, making it easy for him to do what new parents do; handle their child as if they were made of glass.

"You can stop fidgeting now," Bruce says with a laugh as he pulls out the front of the dojo. "We're finally here."

Wasting no time, Kai quickly opens his door and removes himself from his seat. He hurries towards the back where Toshiro continues to sleep peacefully, blissfully unaware of his surroundings. Unbuckling him from his seat, Kai takes his tiny infant son into his arms and exits the car, feeling immense relief at having Toshiro in his arms. He feels like he can protect him here while he's holding him.

"Welcome home, Kai!" The others greet him as he walks in through the door. A smile appears on Kai's face when they start fussing over him and little Toshiro.

Yeah, he's home now. A place where he can raise Toshiro in safety.

"We've placed the crib in your room, Kai," Max announces as he leads the new parent to his room. "Just like you asked us to."

Stepping into the room, Kai breathes a silent sigh of relief when he sees the sturdy wooden crib sitting at the base of his bed, soft and fluffy blue and white blankets flows over the sides and a little yellow teddy sits in a corner, positioned to look over the little one. Walking over to the crib, Kai notes that the side is already down and the blankets are positioned perfectly around a small white pillow, ready for Toshiro to lay his head down and get some sleep.

Carefully, Kai lifts Toshiro off of his chest and with a hand supporting Toshiro's head, lays him down amongst the soft blankets, taking a light blue one and placing it over his son's tiny body. Ignoring the pull of his stitches, Kai leans forward and places a feather light kiss to his brow, Toshiro rewarding him with a yawn of contentment.

Locking the security gate in place as silently as he can, Kai turns around and immediately finds Max gazing at him with soft blue eyes, no doubt thinking about how cute Kai is with his son. A light blush adorns Kai's cheeks, but he tries to ignore it as he shoos Max out of the room, leaving the door ajar so he can hear his baby's cries when it's time for him to eat.

Lingering in the door way, Kai glances into the room, not wanting to be apart of his newborn son. He knows that he is just being silly again, but he can't help but let his maternal instincts take control.

Suddenly, Kai feels a hand land on his shoulder, pulling him out of his thoughts. He glances over his shoulder and finds himself looking into Max's blue eyes.

"Don't worry, Kai," he says in a hush tone so not to awake the sleeping child. "You'll make a great parent to Toshiro."

A smile appears on Kai's lips as he nods his head. "I'll certainly try."

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Ray watches from afar as Kai picks up the now six week old Toshiro up out of his crib and into his arms. He cuddles the little one as he walks out of his room and into the kitchen, reaching out an arm and grabbing a warm bottle of milk the table. He takes a seat on the fluffy couch in the lounge room and places Toshiro on his lap. With a hand on his back, Kai sets about feeding the little one, letting him drink from his bottle, but giving the little one time to breathe in between meals.

It's hard to believe that Kai is only 18 years-old. By the way he handles and takes care of Toshiro, you'd think he's raised a lot of kids. He's the perfect papa for little Toshie –as Max likes to call him.

The others seem to have really taken to the roles of Uncles and Aunties, Bruce and Gramps making awesome grandparents. Thankfully, though, no one has tried to tell Kai how he should raise his son. Every man and his dog has an opinion on how to raise a baby, but they seem to have left Kai alone. He isn't sure if it's because Kai seems to already know what he's doing, or they're afraid to tell him what to do in fear that might get a verbal lashing from that sharp and poisonous tongue of his.

No one other than those already involved know about Toshiro's existence and Kai prefers to keep it that way. He isn't ashamed of the little one, heavens no; he just doesn't want anyone prying into his private life.

Kai seems content, but Ray knows that there is this hurting inside of him. Hiro still hasn't been found and everyone has pretty much stopped looking. It's almost as if he doesn't want to be found. Ray has never mentioned that to Kai, but he gets the feeling that Kai feels that way as well.

Ray can't help but feel a sense of anger swell in his chest. A part of him is absolutely livid that Hiro would do something like this, sleep with Kai and then take off gallivanting around the world without so much as a peep from him. And to make it worst, Hiro has no idea that it's his fault Kai is now a single parent, raising their son without him. Ray is absolutely pissed off with Hiro.

But he also feels a sense of pity. Hiro doesn't know that he has a gorgeous little son to call his own and he doesn't realize that he has the most sought after blader on this planet waiting for him to come home. He's missing out on so much and he doesn't even know. Talk about ironic.

Life has never been easy for Kai; having a grandfather hell-bent of controlling the world of Beyblade, having lost his parents at an early age, forced into a place which can only be described as hell on earth, getting pregnant at seventeen despite being male and now becoming a single parent at eighteen years of age.

Yes, he's been through a lot, but not once does he complain. He takes it on the chin and carries on with life. During the course of his pregnancy, Kai did not have one thought of self pity; his thoughts were always about what he can do to make his son's life easier.

Ray has always admired Kai for his inner strength and passion, but he has grown to admire him even more now because of kindness and understanding. He's a leader, a teammate, a partner, and friend and now most importantly, a parent.

Kai is helping Ray to come to a decision of his own. His village back in China is demanding his return, to put aside his silly need to explore the world a little more and start a family with someone he loves only as his sister. Kai tells him –now speaking like a parent- that all he wishes for him to do is to do what he wants, not what others expect of him. He has reassured him that no matter what decision he makes, he will always have a family here in Japan.

He is, after all, one of Toshiro's uncles. And it's his duty to spoil the kid absolutely rotten.

Knowing all of that makes Ray's decision about his future all the more easier. He might never have a family of his own after this, but who knows what will happen in the future, right?

Turning his amber eyes towards Kai once again, Ray watches with a small smile as Kai pats Toshiro softly on the back a couple of times, earning a small burp from the little one. He then gathers him up into his arms and takes to his feet to walk into the bathroom where the changing table has been set up.

It's crucial for a baby to get a lot of sleep in the first six weeks on his life, limiting his waking time to approximately 40 to 50 minutes each time. Just enough time to give Toshiro a feed and a quick nappy change before placing back down to sleep.

Toshiro is a good baby, he hardy ever cries. Well, not that Ray is aware of. Unless Kai has some secret technique to stop him from crying, he's lucky to have such a quiet kid.

Stepping out of his hiding spot, Ray watches as Kai remerges from the bathroom, Toshiro sleeping soundly in his arms. A smile makes its way onto his lips as he watches Kai gently rock Toshiro in is arms for a moment before placing his gently in his crib, placing a light blanket over him. Making sure that he is safe and sound, Kai places a kiss to his brow before quietly leaving the room.

"Hey Kai," Ray greets as Kai gently closes the door behind him. "How's he doing?"

"He's been sleeping like a log," Kai replies, a small and grateful smile on his lips as he walks down the hallway and into the kitchen, wanting to keep as much noise away from Toshiro as possible. "Thank goodness, he was practically kept me awake all night last night."

"Ah," Ray smiles. "Restless?"

"I had to keep him in bed with me where I had to rock him back to sleep every time he started crying," Kai explains as he opens the fridge door. "Is it my turn to cook dinner tonight?" he asks, trying to remember the roistering of chores.

"You cooked last night," Ray replies, a feline smirk appearing on his lips when he realizes that Kai had forgotten, no doubt too busy fussing over Toshiro to recall. "It's my turn tonight."

A look of realization appears on Kai's face as he closes the fridge door. "That's right. Then it must be Tyson's turn to go shopping."

Ray silently nods his head and gazes at Kai for a moment, silently mulling over his thoughts. He then gives his head a quick shakes and focus at Kai with a sense of determination. "I've been thinking about what you said, Kai."

Kai tilts his head to the side in confusion for a moment before his eyes widen in realization. "Yes?"

"You're right," Ray says simply as he walks over to the kitchen utensil draw and pulls out the sharpest knife he can find. "You know, it's against my village's belief to cut your hair." He pulls his long hair over his shoulder and then slices the knife through his hair in one fluent movement, sending the long pony tail of black hair to the floor.

A gasp of surprise escapes Kai's lips and he covers his mouth with his hand as he stares at Ray with wide eyes. "You mean…?"

A neko smile makes its way onto Ray's lips as he gazes down at the lifeless pony tail. "I was getting tired of washing it, anyway," he shrugs as he places the knife in the sink to wash later.

"Ray…" Kai whispers, a sense of pride shimmering in his eyes. "Good for you. Do something you want for once."

Once again, Ray simply shrugs. "I thought I'd stick around here for a while. After all, you'll need help taking care of Toshiro."

Kai moves forward to give him a quick hug. "You'll be a great uncle to him, I know it."

Wah! Don't kill me for cutting your hair, Ray! –hides-

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