Review Answers:

Maiden Warrior: Hehe, you'll see a lot more later on. Thanks! Glad to see you waited!

Eclairia: Yep. I hate cliffhangers but being a writer changed that. Probably won't update for awhile just to keep up the suspense. I'll keep myself busy making more chapters for this story and others. I can't help it! Kai just seems like a fitting character for it. I wanted to add the genre Horror, Hurt\Comfort, and Tragedy, but since I couldn't do that... No, I have never gotten pranked to my memory... I think. I asked myself this the whole day: why did I suddenly get happy for no real reason at all? Anyways, thanks! And I missed the fandom too!

Candyfreak12: Unfortunately yes. To me, his character calls for pain. Thanks! I liked how it usually happened in Animes so I decided to put it into words. I have about three ideas about what could happen next. Yeah, uh, no happy moments are coming to my head.

AN: After answering the Reviews, it came to my mind that maybe I should have given a warning this story is not the whole Kai-gets-hurt-and-Miwa-helps-him thing. Mostly anyway. It may be very sad and not have a happy ending sufficient enough to make everyone happy. I may change my mind if I can, but so far no. So...

WARNING: This story may be depressing and end with a sad ending!

There, now enjoy this maybe-or-maybe-not-sad story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Cardfight! Vanguard.

A Living Lie

Chapter 3: Dead

"Oka-chan! Oka-chan!"

A little boy ran up to his mom and hugged her legs, grinning up at her.

"What is it? I'm busy right now." The woman harshly pushed him away. "Why don't you play with your classmates?"

The boy's grin vanished, replaced by a hurt look. "But, Oka-chan, I wanted to play with you," he mumbled quietly, looking down.

"Do I look like a child to you?! Why can't you play with someone your age instead of bothering me?! I don't have time for you!"

The boy felt his eyes water but didn't make a sound as his mother continued to yell at him. His shaking hands gripped at his pants, holding back his urge to cry. Was it wrong? For a child to want his parent to play with him?

He never found the answer. It only got worse when his father came home.

The boy with brown, spiky hair stood by the doorway, wishing he wasn't there. Wishing he didn't have to hide when his parents spoke about him. His grip tightened on the door. Were all parents like this? It never seemed so.

He tensed when he heard his parents say more things about him. Was there something wrong with him? Maybe he really was in the wrong. Why else would his parents be so angry?

The child wondered if he could ever be what his parents wanted him to be. He slowly moved away from the door and headed for his room, hearing one last thing before he left.

"He's a nuisance! He's got no business being here!"

His head hurt.

Not the feeling where you feel so tired you can't think. It was pounding. He swore he could literally feel hot needles piercing his head. And something –his stomach– felt like it was poisoned.

The thought was ridiculous, but his mind was just too hazy to think up something reasonable. To him, poison sounded perfectly reasonable. His stomach was burning and aching. There was this weird feeling in his stomach that made him want to vomit out whatever he had eaten.

That brought a question to mind: What did he eat? No, when did he eat? Awareness was far from his body, as he absently questioned things he unconsciously noticed and felt. He hadn't eaten. His memory was fuzzy, but he knew the feeling of sleepiness and exhaustion of skipping meals after meals. Although, he felt even weaker.

His eyelids might as well have been closed with what little they were open. Nothing registered in his mind. He didn't even realize he was questioning his current situation.

He just felt...tired. Hungry…

And so empty.

My head...hurts… Why? What...happened…? Did I fall down? Why do I feel...weird?

Realizing his pained head wouldn't give all the answers in a second, he left his wondering and wished for a distraction. All these feelings at once were overwhelming. At this moment, a distraction would be a wonderful help.

As if answering his wish, he heard a sound. At first, he could not tell whether it belonged to a boy or a girl; the voice was too slurred to understand. However, after a few moments, he was able to figure out one thing: He knew this voice.

Kai finally took notice to the nauseous feeling in his stomach coming from a swirling blue he had been seeing.

"W-what..." Was that his voice? It sounded so weak and dead. He would have pondered more on why his head was hurting, but the curiosity of why his best friend looked so concerned and serious was far greater.

"K-Kai-kun! H-he's up, Miwa-kun!"

The brown-haired teen felt something click. "Miwa…"

"Kai! How are you feeling?" The blond's voice was so serious, so different from Kai was use to.

Kai blinked, unsure of what exactly he was blinking at. What happened? He really couldn't think. Why did he feel so lightheaded? As he pondered this, he turned his head and stared out the window.

Remembering the question, he mused, how am I feeling?

The numbness had subsided some time ago. Now, he became aware of the bandages around his head. The clothes he was wearing felt very loose. And the bed felt different.

Bed? The drowsiness slowly started to leave Kai's eyes as he started to recall everything. That's right. He no longer slept on that childish-looking bed; he now had an apartment with plain rooms that held no importance at all. But Miwa didn't know that and even if he did, there was still no way Miwa knew exactly where he lived. Even if his best friend had somehow found out, why would he bring Aichi?

Kai maintained that the pain in his head was what kept him from noticing that he was in a hospital. The realization surprised the brunet, so he tried to sit up.

Miwa, however, stopped him from getting up, though his hand was unnecessary because Kai's body was already swaying. The brunet vaguely saw Aichi waving his hands around in some attempt to stop his movements.

"You have to lay down," Miwa said with a frown, helping the brunet do just that. The blond sighed softly. "The doctor said the blood loss and lack of food will leave you feeling tired and lightheaded for a while." Miwa narrowed his eyes when uttering the word.

"...Blood loss?" Kai repeated in slurred voice, ignoring or not noticing the indicator of being underweight.

"Don't you remember? You had a concussion," Miwa stated, again sounding concerned. He exchanged a worried look with Aichi before his eyes grew darker, as if he recalled something. "You fainted near a car crash, Kai."

Kai tensed when the memories came flooding back. He remembered the color red and loud sounds. The feeling of fear lingered in his mind. And his parents.

"What happened to them?" Even though he asked, Kai had a feeling of dread in his stomach.

They're not my parents!

"Kai-kun.." Aichi wondered if maybe he was overreacting. He liked that idea better than hearing the Kagero user's voice shake.

Miwa was surprised by the urgency in Kai's voice. He responded numbly. "They... died a few hours ago."

Kai fingered the bandages on his forehead as he tried to absorb it all. On the outside he looked to be at least holding back his shock, but the inside was something else. Why did that happen? Right after he left? Why did they die?

They don't care and neither do I.

Was he supposed to feel sad? Or was he supposed to cry? Kai wasn't sure what to feel. The only thing he felt right now was confusion. And the shock of what happened.

"Kai-kun!"

"Kai, I told you not to get- Kai?!" Miwa had to react quickly in order to stop the swaying brunet from falling off the bed in an awkward position. He was surprised to see Kai shaking and pale. "Kai! What's the matter?!"

Kai's eyes were wide, his mouth constantly moving to form words but only managed slurred sounds. His mind vaguely registered the two people beside him, yelling something incoherent. But he could still hear it.

The screaming.

The sick feeling of throwing up.

New voices beside him.

The blood.

Bright. Red. Blood.

And nothing.

AN: Nice to know I got this up as well. Hope you enjoyed it. I honestly need to figure out where I'm going with this. I'm open to any suggestions.

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