Hi again! I already finished writing this XD so I might as well upload the whole thing right?

Disclaimer: Don't own CFV or any of the characters except for Kai Ryo

Warnings: abuse and blood mention later

Read and review!

Chapter 2

Miwa was worried. It had been a week since he had last seen Kai. Even though he knew that Kai wasn't going to be in town, he couldn't help his concern, especially with how the brunet was acting before he left. Nevertheless, he still managed to write some decent notes in class for Kai to copy when he came back. It was the last period of the day. His mind was somewhere else when a harsh slam on the chalkboard caught his attention.

"Make sure you're here on Monday," the teacher said. "You will be having an in-class assignment that will be due at the end of the period. It is worth 5% of your final mark. You will not be able to retake this assignment so you had better make sure you show up on Monday." The entire class muttered in disapproval but they all understood just how important this assignment was. Miwa made a mental note to tell Kai about it later. The bell rang and the blond proceeded to pick up his belongings and rush out of the school and make his way to Card Capital. He spent the rest of the day there and was about to start his fifth match when his phone rang. Puzzled, he checked the caller ID. He was pleasantly surprised to find that it was Kai. He signalled to his opponent that he had to take the call and picked up.

"Hello?" he asked. There was an awkward pause on the other end and Miwa was about to ask again when he heard a faint,

"Miwa?" The blond didn't like the sound of that. Kai sounded weak and in pain. Kai never sounded like that. His concerns growing, Miwa asked the brunet about his reason for calling when Kai interrupted him. "Do you have last week's material?" he asked. Miwa sighed.

"Yeah, I've got it. I'll come over now." He was about the grab his bag and head over when Kai's panicked voice made him stop.

"No, it's ok. Just scan them or send pictures. Really, don't come, Miwa," Kai's voice all but begged. Miwa raised an eyebrow. That wasn't like Kai either. Nonetheless, he complied. After sending Kai all the pictures, he got a text from the brunet thanking him. Miwa responded back that it was no problem, and resumed his fight.

Kai sighed. Somehow, he was able to keep Miwa from going to his house. He rolled up his sleeves. Bruises littered his arms, dark and angry. Kai scowled and proceeded to grab some ointment from his medicine cabinet. He hissed when the cold lotion came into contact with his wounds but grit his teeth and bore it. He was already happy to be back home and not still in the hellhole he called his uncle's house. Jumping with a start, he realised his phone was buzzing. Finishing off with his lotion, he picked up his phone. It was a text from Miwa telling him about an important assignment on Monday that he apparently "absolutely couldn't miss". Kai sighed and shifted against the wall and subsequently winced as he brushed one of the bruises on his back. Today was Sunday; he doubted he would heal in time. In fact, this was the exact reason why his leave wasn't scheduled to end until the day after. But he wasn't willing to lose 5% of his mark either. He sighed. What was the worst that could happen if he went back?

The brunet found himself regretting his decision as he sat down in his seat for the last period of the day. His entire body was aching; he knew this was a bad idea. Miwa sat down in the seat next to him and grinned. Kai said nothing to the blond. The teacher walked in and began to explain the assignment. Thankfully, it wasn't anything too difficult; it was just an essay. Kai already knew a lot about the topic they were given and was finished with time to spare. He used the extra time to get some more sleep since he hadn't really gotten much in the past week. The bell snapped him out of his rest and he looked up dazedly to see Miwa smiling at him again. Kai grumbled but grabbed his school bag and started walking with Miwa.

"You did pretty well, didn't you, Kai?" Miwa asked his friend. He had seen how quickly the brunet had finished off that essay. It was as if he hadn't missed an entire week of school before writing. Kai simply grunted in response and mumbled something about how the topic was an easy one. Miwa laughed as the two started down the stairs. They had almost reached the bottom when they heard a frantic voice yell,

"Out of the way!" Another student rushed up the stairs with one more student at his heels. Miwa moved to the side, barely missing the two. Kai wasn't as lucky. He had moved to the side as well, but not fast enough. His shoulder was hit by the two boys and he lost his balance and fell down the rest of the steps, harshly landing on his back and banging his arm with a loud bang. Thankfully, there weren't a lot of steps left so Kai's injuries couldn't have been too bad. Or at least that's what Miwa thought.

Kai was lying on the ground, gritting his teeth in pain and clutching his upper arm. Miwa, albeit shocked, immediately ran to his best friend's side.

"Kai! Are you ok? Say something!" he panicked. The stairwell was empty now so Miwa didn't have any problems with how loud he was being. Kai took deep breaths and looked at Miwa. His eyes were glazed over with pain. He knew he shouldn't have come to school when he wasn't fully healed! The brunet could do nothing to stop the blond as he was propped up against the wall. He was too busy trying not to scream to notice Miwa rolling up his sleeves to take a look at the injury. When he finally realised what his best friend was doing, it was already too late to stop him from seeing.

Miwa gasped when he finished rolling up Kai's sleeve. It wasn't just the spot that Kai was clutching; his entire arm was covered in dark bruises. What could have made them? Miwa wasn't sure he wanted to know but one thing he did know was that his bad feeling had been right. Miwa gently tugged at the hand Kai was using to cover up his bicep, silently pleading him to let go and let Miwa see the full extent of the damage. Kai sucked in a breath and slowly let go, allowing his arm to fall limply to his side. Miwa continued rolling up the brunet's sleeve, only to grimace at the sight he was met with.

The spot that Kai had been shielding wasn't bruised any worse than the rest of his arm, which was better than nothing, but the sheer size of the bruise was what worried the blond. It was about the size of Miwa's fist and it definitely looked old which meant that Kai had been injured for a while and no one had noticed. Miwa frowned. Why hadn't he said something? Miwa finally let his hands fall to his sides and sat in front of his best friend. The two sat in silence, both not making eye contact with the other. After a few more tension filled minutes, Miwa finally spoke.

"Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you tell me that you were in pain?" the blond demanded, anguish in his tone. He watched as his friend looked away guiltily and rolled his sleeve back down, ashamed to be caught like this.

"It doesn't have anything to do with you," the injured boy responded. Miwa felt his anger rise. Carefully, he helped Kai stand and led him down the remaining stairs. Kai was about to leave for Card Capital when he felt a tug on his wrist pulling him in another direction.

"Miwa!" he exclaimed, his tone laced with surprise. The blond said nothing in return and continued to drag the brunet away from his destination. Kai grumbled but let himself be dragged away from an afternoon of cardfighting. He couldn't move around too much anyway, seeing as how the slightest movement could hurt him even more what with Miwa's iron grip on his wrist. The brunet was about to inquire about their destination when he recognised the path the two of them were taking. It was the way back to his house. He was about the protest when Miwa shot him a look that made him close his mouth. Oh how he regretted having previously invited the blond over to his house now.

Miwa grabbed the spare key under Kai's mat and entered the apartment. Kai made a mental note to change the location of his spare key. Miwa pointed to a spot in front of his bed.

"Sit," he ordered simply. Kai silently obeyed the command, knowing that crossing Miwa when he was like this was not something he wanted to do. He watched as Miwa briskly walked into his bathroom and rummaged through his medicine cabinet. He returned moments later with the ointment Kai had used yesterday as well as some bandages. He looked down at the brunet expectantly, as if Kai knew what he wanted. When the teal eyed boy gave him a look of confusion, the blond simply said,

"Strip." Kai's jaw dropped. Normally he was more composed than that but Miwa's sudden demand was so outrageous that he couldn't hide his astonishment. A dark red blush spread across his cheeks. Crossing his arms over his chest and scooting further from the blond, he couldn't manage anything other than a dumbfounded,

"What?" Miwa's expression didn't budge an inch as he repeated his command. This time, he explained why.

"I'm going treat your bruises. Now hurry up and take your shirt off." Kai's blush didn't fade and he stubbornly shook his head. Miwa placed the supplies on Kai's bed and sat down next to Kai and sighed. The obstinate brunet looked over to his upset friend and apologised in his mind. He couldn't let Miwa help him. His uncle would get to the blond and that was something Kai never wanted to happen. He would protect Miwa until the end.

Miwa frowned. He wasn't going to get anywhere like this. He looked the injured boy in the eye, silently pleading him to let the blond help him. Kai's teal eyes were vulnerable, more so than Miwa had ever seen. He saw the slightest bit of hesitance, showing him that his pleas with the brunet were indeed working; it just needed a bit more of a push. Miwa's hand found Kai's and gripped it gently.

"Please let me help you, Kai. You trust me, don't you?" The brunet stayed silent for a long time and it made Miwa wonder if Kai had indeed heard him. Just when he was about to ask again, Kai's free hand inched towards his school blazer and started to shrug it off. Delighted that Kai was finally letting him help, Miwa let go of the brunet's hand and recovered the medical supplies he had left on Kai's bed. Once the brunet was shirtless, Miwa could see the full extent of what the previous week had done to Kai.

Cliff hangy? Sorry! Well the next part is coming up in a few minutes so don't worry! (Not going to lie, I laughed pretty hard when I wrote Miwa saying "Strip" to Kai)