Bffimagine: I've got a splitting headache...

Kai: Ha! Now you know how I feel! Smiles triumphantly

Silence

Kai: Are you okay?

Trying to be Leader

Kai fist broke the glass in his hand, many splinters cutting into the skin, drawing blood that dripped onto the floor.

"Kai, please," Rei cried desperately, trying to make Kai open his hand so he could get all the fragments of glass out of the tissues.

"Tyson! You shouldn't have said anything. Kai tried his best!" Kenny failed to convince Tyson he was doing something wrong.

"So? He didn't try hard enough."

"Take that back Tyson! He didn't want this to..." Rei was cut off when Kai held his good hand out to silence them all. To all of their surprise, tears streamed freely from Kai's eyes. He muttered something under his breath, and left the room without another word uttered.

"You're a FAILURE Kai! You shouldn't have ever been leader in the first place!" Tyson's voice rang through the hall haunting Kai as he walked toward his room.

Once out of sight from the others, Kai loathingly glared at his right hand, which was bloody at the moment. He ripped out the pieces of glass, widening the wounds further until his hand was torn into shreds. Letting all the strength he had flood out of his body, he slumped against the door of his room and bowed his head. The silver part of his hair soaked up the blood it touched, while his tears made his hand sting.

'Tyson is right. I should've never been anointed leader.' Kai closed his eyes and sat in silence.

"You never should have said that Tyson! I know that it isn't true, and I know YOU know it isn't true. Why did you have to blow up at him like that? We're only alive to have this conversation because Kai risked his life to save us!" Rei was shouting at Tyson in pure rage, unfitted to his personality.

"It's his fault we got into that mess anyway!" Tyson yelled back, even though he knew he was on the losing side of this argument.

"I can't stand this. I'm going after Kai. I wouldn't blame him if he hated you about now." Rei's words stung Tyson deeply, but he shrugged it off as if it were nothing.

"Kai," Rei said softly, approaching his leader as if he was walking on eggshells.

The two-tone haired blader didn't respond.

Taking initiative, Rei carefully took Kai's injured hand and examined it carefully. To his surprise, all of the glass was gone. But as usual, Kai didn't take the shards out with care; this was evident because the wounds were much more severe than they would've been otherwise.

"I'm sorry I let you down Rei. Tell Tyson and the other's I'm sorry. Tell them I failed. I failed them as a friend, and as a leader," the low, monotone sound of Kai's voice whispered.

"You didn't let us down, and you know it." Rei lifted Kai's chin so his gaze was directly at him. The pain in the deep crimson orbs was immeasurable, bottled up and condensed into severity.

It was difficult for Rei to hold the gaze for a long time, the hurt he saw seemed to flow into his soul as well. He leaned forward and planted a soft kiss onto Kai's lips, pulling away reluctantly but satisfied.

Kai was slightly shocked and he could only watch dumbfounded when Rei walked away. He ran his fingers gently across his lips, wondering if it was real, what just happened ...

Crawling into his bed, Kai let his body shut down and rest. He fell asleep before his head hit the pillow...

"You," Kai muttered through gritted teeth. "What do you want with my team?"

"Who said anything about your TEAM? I'm only interested in YOU!" Boris replied.

"Then leave them out of this!" Kai could feel his blood boil.

"But that's what makes this so fun!" Twisted laughter emitted from Boris' lips.

"Fun? This is just a game to you, sick bastard! When I get out of this, I'll make sure you never see another day's dawn."

"Well, let me raise the stakes just a little bit more, what do you say? If you win against Tala in a beyblade match, then you can keep your friends alive and, say, hmm... you can have your freedom. If you lose... well, that is if you LIVE after you lose, I get to keep you, Dranzer, and kill your friends. Hmm?"

"What makes you think I want to take part in this little game of yours?"

"Oh," Boris smirked, "You won't exactly have a choice..."

Metal walls encased Kai and Boris in the room where they were standing. Tala walked in before the third wall closed, leaving only one wall glass so Kai could see the terrified expressions on his team mates faces and hear their pleas.

"But you're forgetting something Boris," Kai smirked back.

"What would that be?" Boris inquired smugly.

"A dish to blade in. Isn't that obvious?"

"Heh heh. Well, you might find this match very, ahem, different?" Boris smiled a twisted, evil smile. "You'll find out Kai. You're smart, more like a genius... you'll figure it out. Three, two, one, LET IT RIP!"

Tala and Kai immediately pulled the rip cords of their blades and started the match. Kai caught on to the objective of this particular beybattle; hit the blader until he either surrenders or dies.

Kai's vision was blurred from fatigue and bloodloss, pain pulsing in every bit of Kai's body. His flesh was torn into almost nothing. Blood covered his entirety. He couldn't see anything but the red liquid. It was all over him, the ground, walls, ceiling, and his opponent.

"I CAN'T TAKE IT ANY MORE!" Tala shrieked, passing out into the knee-deep pool of blood.

Boris gritted his teeth. "Looks like you can keep your life. And beyblade, and team mates. Now leave before I do kill you!"

"Ha. I suppose you aren't all you're cracked up to be Boris." Kai left without another word, walking away from the abbey with his team mates.

"Kai! Are you alright? You're practically covered in blood! You're hurt badly! We have to get you some medical help or you could die!" Kenny started to fret the moment Kai stepped out of the door.

"Leave me alone. I'll be fine." Contradicting these exact words, Kai collapsed. Rei lunged forward just in time to catch him as he fell.

"You guys get back to the hotel. I'm going to get Kai to a hospital." Rei took the role a leader now that Kai was down for the count.

"We should go with you Rei!" Max argued, but with one dark glare from Rei, he left with the others in a hurry.

Once the others had gone, Rei hugged Kai close. He held him tightly, muttering over and over again, "I love you Kai. You can pull through. I know you can."

Picking Kai up bridal style, Rei ran off toward the closest hospital.

(Two days after)

"I love you Rei. I do." Rei looked down at Kai in surprise. Kai had recovered serious injuries in forty-eight hours. He was a living miracle to the doctors.

"You heard me? I thought you were unconscious."

"Isn't it amazing what my ears can pick up?"

Rei smiled. "Let's get back to the hotel then."

(Back in the hotel)

"Took you long enough," Tyson spat as soon as Kai and Rei walked through the door. "You got us into a huge mess two days ago Kai. If you want to go out and try to kill yourself, go ahead. But don't get us caught up in the balance."

"I didn't TELL Boris to come after me! I didn't WANT him to get you guys into that mess. I actually TRIED to get you out of it!" Kai bellowed back.

"Shut up Tyson! Kai got us out of that mess. He risked his life!" Rei hollered, infuriated Tyson would say something so cruel.

Max stood up and poured Kai a glass of water. He handed it to him and whispered "Don't mind Tyson. He's just mad that you got us stuck in that room, wondering whether we'd live or not."

Kai fist broke the glass in his hand, many splinters cutting into the skin, drawing blood that dripped onto the floor.

"Kai, please," Rei cried desperately, trying to make Kai open his hand so he could get all the fragments of glass out of the tissues.

"Tyson! You shouldn't have said anything. Kai tried his best!" Kenny failed to convince Tyson he was doing something wrong.

"So? He didn't try hard enough."

'He's right. I could've gotten them out of the entire scenario if I just agreed to stay in the abbey. They wouldn't have had to suffer the pain of fear. It's my fault I failed them for my freedom. Their lives were more important. I AM a failure.'

"Take that back Tyson! He didn't want this to..." Rei was cut off when Kai held his good hand out to silence them all. To all of their surprise, tears streamed freely from Kai's eyes. He muttered something under his breath, and left the room without another word uttered.

"KAI! WAKE UP!" Rei yelled.

Kai woke with a start, cold sweat running down his fevered face. He felt sick. His head was spinning; his hand had started bleeding worse than it was before.

"Are you okay? You were holding your head and screaming in your sleep..."

"Just a nightmare. I'm okay. You can go back to bed. Thanks for waking me up."

Still thinking about his nightmarish recount of his 'failure', Kai tried to go back to sleep. He found it was virtually impossible.

Just as Kai was finally drifting to sleep, he noticed someone coming into the room he shared with Rei. Something glinted in the figure's hand, and seconds later, Kai felt all-too-familiar pain wrack every nerve in his body. His body was being slashed to shreds. But who would do this? Through all of his own blood, Kai noted dark blue hair...

bffimagine: My head hurts so much...

Kai: I hope you don't pass out before finishing the next chapter...