Hilary noticed his gaze on her hand and hastily released her grasp, her cheeks colouring a faint red. "Sorry," she mumbled ruefully.

"Hn." Kai closed his eye.

There was an awkward pause, then the brunette spoke. "It's good you won against Brooklyn, despite your injuries - you've really inspired us. Your victory will be spurring Tyson on when he battles later on today. Because of you, we're back on track and if Tyson wins we'll tie with BEGA." She smiled. "You've given us another chance. Thank you for coming back to the team and to me." Her blush became a darker shade and she stared hard at the white bed cover, as if regretting saying the last statement.

"Don't mention it." Kai raised a silver eyebrow at her embarrassment. She did not usually act like this around him nor was she this nervous. It must be all the shock, worry and relief of my return and finding me unconscious catching up with her, he decided. It's understandable.

Hilary saw his inquiring look and elaborated. "I'm glad you returned to the team because…it wasn't the same without you there. Everything felt incomplete. It was going downhill; I almost thought we'd have to forfeit against BEGA and you'd never come back," she explained. "Up until that point, I believed in you and had done even back at the World Championships. With things as they were I couldn't help but start having doubts - but then I met Sakura and Alexis again after two years."

"Their situations were similar to mine; they had also been at the point of giving up on their missing guys. We restored one another's faith though and good things happened for me. I hope it's the same for them. But…" She gripped the bed sheet so hard her knuckles turned white and her arms shook, her ruby eyes shadowed by her brown fringe. "Who says you won't leave again? I missed you so much…I won't be able to handle another time. So please, for me…promise that you'll stay."

Silence fell. Hilary's shoulders trembled, her breaths sharp and hitched, moisture speckling the white bed cover. Kai stared at her wordlessly. He had never seen her this upset; his absence had caused her far more pain than he had realised.

"Y'know…there were times I blamed myself for not stopping you." Hilary's voice was a shaking, breathy whisper that was almost inaudible. "I'd noticed in the World Championship preliminaries when you were battling that something wasn't right. You weren't your normal self…you seemed to be stalling, waiting for your opponent to knock your Beyblade out of the arena. I thought you'd lost the drive to win and didn't want to be there - a short time later I found out that I'd been right. You had left by then, probably early in the morning before we set off for the training centre. It was too late…you were gone and there was nothing I could do about it."

Her gaze snapped upward to meet his, her ruby eyes flaring with anguish and anger. "You left at the crack of dawn without so much as a goodbye so nobody would notice, isn't that so? You did it because you knew I would look for you like I did last year! It was because of me, wasn't it?" she demanded.

Kai made no response. He did not deny it.

She took his silence as confirmation. "I knew it. I should have asked you about your behaviour when I had the chance - but I didn't. If I had…all the stress Kenny, Tyson and I went through would not have happened. I should have sought you out after the World Championships too to get you back but I didn't! There's so many things I could…should…have done and…I failed to do any of them!" She covered her face with the sheet, more tears soaking the white linen. "I've failed myself and you…"

"You're wrong."

"But - "

"No!" Kai cut in sharply.

Hilary raised her head to stare at him, shocked.

His amethyst eyes flashed with self-reproach, guilt and anger. "It's my fault! I didn't know it'd hurt you this much. I'm sorry." He heaved a weary sigh, dragging a bandaged hand through his scruffy silver hair. "I've failed you. You've been there so many times and what did I do? I left at the World Championships and betrayed you and the others when BEGA appeared. I don't know how you guys accepted me back, let alone looked me in the eye."

"Kai…" Hilary could not believe it. He felt ashamed at what he had done and even apologised. To her no less. She placed a hand on top of his. "We took you back because that's what friends do. They forgive each other. The others care about you too much to just leave you by yourself…and I do too." She blushed, giving him a watery smile. "We need you, Kai. We wouldn't be anything without you…I wouldn't be anything without you. After all, you were the one who gave me a chance and accepted me into the Bladebreakers."

"Hn." He returned her grin with one of his faint, small smiles. "That's right."

"I'm glad you're back." Her smile faded slightly and she fixed him with an intent ruby gaze. "I just want you to promise me something - that you'll never leave like that again."

Kai held her serious stare. "I won't," he replied solemnly. "I swear."

"Good," approved Hilary, wiping away some stray tears. "Thank you, Kai. That means a lot to me."

"Hn." He closed his eye. His smile became clearer. "You're welcome."

Sakura and Alexis, who had arrived at the hospital after handing Dranzer to Kenny and letting the team know what had happened, exchanged smiles as they stood in the doorway watching the scene unfold. Hilary had got her feelings about Kai out in the open, he had apologised, been forgiven and now everything was okay again between them. With guilt and sadness set aside, they were sure she would soon get a chance to confess to him.