Smile For Me
- chapter 19 -

"Chief?"

Kenny's head shot up in surprise, and tears welled up in his eyes as he practically threw himself at the hospital bed where Tyson sat, awake and well. "Tyson! You're awake! I can't believe it, you're actually awake!" Rei and Max laughed at his reaction, but they themselves were the same just a few minutes ago.

Tyson grinned, happily patting his friends back as the chief continued to sob and whine loudly. "Yup, alive and kickin', Chief. A bit beat up, but you know me, I'll recover." He winked, and waited until Kenny finally de-attached himself from him. He looked around, and asked the question that has been plaguing his mind from the very first second he woke. "Where's Kai?"

"I found him." Kenny spoke abruptly, nodding at Rei and Max, who were both informed that Kai was missing. "I think he's back in his room next door, but I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Rei raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms. There was something troubling in how Kenny spoke that last sentence, and obviously, Rei didn't like it.

"Well... A particular thing that he said struck me." Kenny shrugged, adjusting his eyeglasses, aware of how heavy Tyson's stare was on him. "He said, 'This is where everything ends.'."

And in a blue blur, Tyson was up in his bed, and out the door, the wires attached on him abruptly cut off and they lay hanging absently. Kenny, Rei and Max, however, just stood there dumbfounded, but they didn't make a move to follow. They knew better.

Tyson slammed open Kai's door, and was relieved when he saw the boy lying on the bed, absent-mindedly staring at the ceiling. He grabbed his shirt where his heart was, and breathed heavily a few times before he stepped forward. He didn't know why, and it was foolish really, but he felt a bit shy about talking to Kai right now. What was there to be shy about? Even though they've only been together for a short period of time, they have already went through a lot. What was there to be shy about?

His cheeks turned crimson at that. Maybe it was because of his new revelation. At that time he went unconscious. I love you. But he shook his head, and looked straight, closing the door in the process as he walked near the bed, where Kai looked as if he didn't know there was someone else in the room. So when Tyson walked even closer, his eyes squinted, he bit his lip, and his hand twitched. There was something wrong.

And he looked at the transparent wire, the one who was supposedly injecting liquefied food and water, and his eyes widened as he found another liquid within it, a green one, and he watched as it spread, until the whole thing was now colored green. And in the bedside table was an injection halfway empty, with a tape around it with the words: "Not to be drank, inserted or injected."

And he knew exactly what had happened, and he panicked, running towards the bed, and screaming at Kai's face, although he didn't know what he was screaming about. He tore off the wire from Kai's skin, not caring if the other let out a surprised yelp, and Tyson cursed as he saw green liquid as well as blood oozing off from where the wire was attached.

"Tyson." Kai spoke, his voice rough and strained, as he tried to sit up with Tyson clutching his arm. "What the hell did you do?"

"I just saved your life, you asshole." Tyson mumbled under his breath, and for a moment, Kai paused and stopped breathing altogether as he watched the tears falling down the other's face. "Look here, damnit." Tyson let out a shaky breath. "I try to save your life from that Voltaire, and I practically die myself just to set you free, and when everything's finally finished, and we're safe, I see you here, lying in the bed, just waiting... just waiting, damnit, for death to take you. You tried to kill yourself, Kai! You tried to end your life, while I fuckingly, painstakingly tried to save it. Can't I at least get a thanks, damnit! And you dying is not a fucking thank you."

"You don't get it." Kai shook his head, his voice a mere whisper, but the straining was still there. He didn't protest when Tyson took his blanket, and began tending to his arm, and though he spoke softly, he knew the other heard him clearly. "You saved my life, Tyson. Thank you. I can't even begin to say just how much I'm grateful to you, just how much I owe you. You saved me because you knew that I was worth it. Nobody really saw me as that, so I was really happy, that I started fighting for myself too." He paused, not sure if he wanted to say the next part. He wanted to stay with Tyson forever, and if he lied now, he could, but he wouldn't be able to live with himself. "But right now, Tyson, my life's not worth it anymore. I killed Voltaire." He cringed inwardly when Tyson's whole body stiffened, and the tending to his arm stopped, yet he continued. "A life for a life. I killed Voltaire, and now, it's just right that I die as well."

And they stayed in that position for minutes, Kai sitting up with Tyson standing beside him, clutching his arm tightly. Nobody moved or spoke, until Kai tugged his arm back. "I'm sorry, Tyson." He went off the bed, nodding with respect as Tyson moved back without a single sound. Every image of happiness disappeared in his mind, every image of him and Tyson doing everything together was gone, and he knew that there was really nothing much left to live for, now that Tyson knew. He grabbed the injection, and raised it, but was surprised when something slapped his hand, sending the injection to the far side of the room, and was even more shocked as a patch of searing pain appeared in his lower jaw, and he fell back on the floor, with his back painfully shoved against the wall..

Tyson just punched him.

"Don't you just get it!" Tyson screamed, his tears falling again as he rubbed his fist after the punch. "I thought I made myself clear, damnit." He walked closer to Kai's form, kneeling to grab hold of the other's collar. "You are not going to die, and I'm not going to let you. You already died, Kai, back in those years that Voltaire was still using you. You said a life for a life. He killed you, and you killed him. Now you're even. The difference is that you're the only one who got reincarnated." He let out another shaky breath, and this time, looked in Kai's eyes unblinking. "I won't lose you, Kai, I swear I won't."

"Tyson." Kai reached out, his arm resting on Tyson's shoulder as his lips twitched up slightly, "Even if I live, you're going to hate me forever. I just did what my grandfather did to your mother. Why would you want to let me live?"

And that earned him a slap, and a shake by the collar, that he expected and accepted, but what happened next was beyond what he ever thought would happen.

Tyson kissed him.

Tyson kissed him hard and full on the lips, their teeth clashing once, and soon after, Kai found himself kissing back, their mouths resting again each other harshly, as if it was in the middle of that kiss was all their anger and stress. They bit and shoved, and sucked in that one kiss, until Tyson broke away, breathing heavily and crying, his tears falling and his body racking with sobs. He hugged Kai tightly, his face buried in the other's shirt as he screamed and mumbled incoherent words, but that didn't mean anything at all, because to him, all that mattered was Kai's own arms around him as well.

"I don't want you to die, Kai." Tyson cried, his voice slightly hitching, "I love you too much... I want to see you be with me, I want to see you happy with me, I want to see you cry with me, I want to see you smile for me... That's why..."

And Kai nodded and understood, and hugged him even tighter, burying his face in Tyson's locks, as he himself closed his eyes and cried.

Epilogue

"Hurry up, Tyson, we're going to be late!" Kai leaned absently against the door frame, looking out to the garden where Tyson's shrine of his mother was. It's been months since the Voltaire incident ended, and though no one really knows how Voltaire died, Kai knew that everything was finally done and over with. It was stated in his father and mother's will that if Voltaire was to die, the inheritance of the Hiwatari family would be placed down on him. Kai accepted with a whole heart, but chose to live in Tyson's dojo with the boy's grandfather, who was more than happy to accept him. He thought of selling the mansion, but thought of the maids and butlers who was still happy to work there, now that Voltaire was gone, so even though Kai didn't live there, he trusted the servants enough to keep the place clean and well.

It would only take a few years until Kai was legal enough to live in the Granger household fully, and until then, they could still manage to hide from the government, as Mr. Granger so loudly and drunkenly said so. So far, everything was normal. Tyson, Kai, Rei, Max and the Chief were all back in school, with Kiresu, Fukiko and Mirato happily scolding them when they forgot a homework. Sure, the incident was brought up once in a while, but that was life.

"Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" Tyson squeaked, jumping down the stairs with one foot as he tried to put a sock on the other. "I woke up late! Stupid alarm clock doesn't work! Sorry!" And he continued to apologize, until he finally looked at Kai's face, and stopped. He didn't know if his heart beat faster or stopped beating altogether, because Kai smiled that smile that made Tyson knew that everything that happened was all worth it in the end.

"S'alright. If we run, we can still manage to get to the school on time."

And so Tyson nodded in a dumbfounded way, as they walked to the front door of the dojo. "Hey, Kai."

"Hm?"

"Why are you so happy today?"

"Just because."

"Oh."

And that was it, their conversation ended just like that, and they walked to their school together, not minding the time at all, their hands clasped tightly, and with smiles on their faces.

- owari -

KK: Before I start, I want everyone to know what I'm very grateful to everyone who has read this story, and to those who have reviewed, because you certainly made this story worthwhile. I really had a fun time with this one, and I hope all of you enjoyed it as well. : 3 Seriously, you guys just don't know how happy I am just how far this fic has come. And though Smile For Me comes to an end, we all know that this isn't the end of the TyKa fandom. XD

Well, thank you, and let's meet again in another fic! My love to each and everyone of you! -hugs-