Next chapter, coming right up!

Disclaimer: Same as always, don't own them.

Warnings: abuse and blood mention later

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Last time:

"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.

Chapter 3

Fading bruises marred the boy's naturally pale skin. Open cuts littered his torso. There was also one particularly long gash across Kai's stomach area that made Miwa absolutely beside himself with anger. Who did this to his best friend? Miwa looked up from Kai's wounds to find the brunet looking away embarrassedly. There was no doubt in Miwa's mind that if he hadn't forced his way into Kai's apartment, Kai would have never breathed a word about his injuries and the blond would have never known. His ever-present cheerful smile was long gone and had been replaced with a grim frown as he started treating the wounds. Kai tensed upon initial contact with Miwa's hand but eventually started to relax and let the blond help him in his time of need.

"Why didn't you bandage your cuts?" Miwa asked.

"If you saw the bandages you would've suspected something," Kai mumbled in response. Miwa furrowed his brow.

"Of course I would have! And you shouldn't have hid it from me!" he exclaimed, hurt that his best friend didn't trust him. The secretive brunet flinched at the hurt laced in Miwa's tone and looked away sheepishly. He just couldn't tell Miwa.

Miwa finally finished bandaging Kai's torso and moved on to his arms. As he was wrapping his left arm, Miwa gently asked,

"Who did this to you?" He had been expecting Kai to ignore the question completely, so he was surprised when the brunet jumped with a start and began to deny that anyone had hurt him. The blond's anger grew. He had had enough.

"Don't give me that!" he screamed, effectively surprising the other. "Don't tell me someone didn't hurt you when they obviously did! Aren't we friends? Why won't you tell me?!" he demanded, on the brink of tears. He watched the other boy carefully as his mouth opened and closed, wanting to say something to answer the blond but finding nothing. Miwa scowled and continued to dress the wound. He moved on to Kai's other arm. When he was finished, he collected the supplies and made his way to the bathroom. He had only taken about five steps when he heard a quiet,

"Thank you, Miwa." The blond's grin finally returned as he proceeded into the bathroom. When the boy came out, he found his host leaning against his bed, fast asleep. Miwa chuckled and carefully lifted the brunet into his bed and pulling the covers over him. Miwa sent a quick text to his mom saying that he was staying over at Kai's house for the night before grabbing Kai's spare futon and letting his own gray eyes fall shut.

Miwa woke up the next morning to the smell of toast and fried eggs. He rubbed his eyes tiredly and sat up from his futon. He looked up to find Kai sitting at his table, calmly sipping his coffee. The brunet cast a brief glance in his direction before turning back to his coffee and saying good morning. The blond yawned and returned the greeting. He made his way into Kai's bathroom and found that the brunet had set out a toothbrush for him. Miwa called out his thanks and began to brush his teeth. When he was finished, he exited the bathroom only to find Kai staring silently at a letter in his hands. He was about to ask about it when he noticed that something wasn't right. Kai's hands were shaking and his eyes were wide. Just what was in that letter?

Kai couldn't believe it. His uncle wanted him to "visit" every three months now instead of four. This was insane! He could already barely manage three hell-like experiences each year and now he was supposed to handle four? He was snapped out of his daze when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Kai flinched violently and hugged the letter close to his chest, afraid that the person behind him had seen what was written. His panicked teal eyes were met with confused gray ones.

"Kai?" he asked gently, careful not to frighten the brunet any more than he already was. Kai took a deep breath and let the tension leave his body.

"It's nothing, Miwa. Sorry if I worried you," he said quickly. There was no way he could let Miwa see the letter. The cheerful blond was already suspicious and Kai couldn't risk him finding out. He wanted the blond's smile to stay on his face. He hated it when Miwa was unhappy. It didn't suit the younger. Said boy furrowed his brow and hugged the other, surprising him.

"Fine, Kai," he whispered, not wanting to make his friend any more on edge than he already was. "Just know that I'm here whenever you need me." Kai nodded stiffly, still too shocked from Miwa's warm embrace to do much else. When Miwa finally released him, Kai was still frozen stiff. Miwa laughed while Kai blushed dark red. The two began their breakfast, or rather Miwa began his breakfast since Kai only wanted coffee. Thanking the brunet for breakfast, the blond stood up and walked himself to the door.

"See you later, Kai," he said as he closed the door behind him. Kai made a small wave and turned back to his coffee. He sighed and began to write a letter back to his uncle signalling his acceptance.

Two months later, Kai was in Card Capital fighting against Aichi. The Link Joker incident had ended. Kai still felt guilty, but Aichi made him feel a little better. He wanted to make up for his mistake. It would be tough, but he definitely wanted to atone for his sin. As he rode his new Dragonic Overlord, his mind couldn't help but realise that date. It had been three months since the last time he had visited his uncle. Was the last letter just a hoax? While he was lost in his thoughts, he ended up misplaying and losing the fight. He frowned. That was not how he imagined losing a fight.

"That was a nice fight, Kai-kun," Aichi said as he cleaned up his cards. Kai nodded and congratulated the Miyaji captain on his win. The bluenet smiled and looked back down at his cards, a frown tugging at his lips. Kai noticed this and thought it strange.

"What's wrong, Aichi?" he asked. Aichi looked back up and met Kai's gaze.

"What's bothering you, Kai-kun?" he asked, concern lacing his tone. Kai took a step back. Was he really that obvious? "I can tell that you're distracted. Your playing was off and you made mistakes you normally wouldn't have. What's wrong?" Kai chewed his lip.

"Nothing is wrong, Aichi," he assured. The boy shot him a skeptical look and out of the corner of his eye, Kai noticed Miwa give him one as well. Nonetheless, the bluenet pursued the topic no further and left the shop. Kai gathered his cards and left as well, accompanied by Miwa. The blond tried to question his friend again about his mental health which the brunet adamantly insisted was fine. Miwa eventually gave up and bid Kai farewell, turning to walk home. Kai walked back to his apartment and picked up his mail on the way up. Sure enough, true to his fears, one of the letters in the pile was from his uncle. Reaching his apartment door, he opened it and went inside, opening his uncle's letter at the same time. It was the same as the first letter he had gotten, demanding his presence at the man's house. Kai frowned and leafed through the other letters. When he found nothing of importance, he sent a quick text to Miwa saying he was going to be away again and began to pack.

Kai walked up to the house he had been in front of just a few months ago. Oh how he dreaded the next week. He couldn't disobey though, no matter how much he longed to. Arriving at the front doorstep, he hesitantly rang the door bell. When no one answered, Kai hoped that he could get away for another few hours and enjoy himself before being subjected to hell on earth. His hopes were short lived as he heard footsteps from behind the door. It was opened to reveal Kai's uncle, dressed lazily and appearing not half awake. Kai cringed. The man smelled strongly of beer. Before the thought that this visit would be worse than the last could form in his mind, he was dragged into the house.

Not much to say about this one... Next one it coming up!