Beyblade Fan Fiction ❯ A Caged Wolf ❯ chapter two ( Chapter 2 )

Thanks for your reviews, they really help me… here's the next chapter, hope you guys like it!!

Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Tala woke and saw that it was well into the afternoon. The sky had turned a deep shade of pink with the setting sun. He sat up in the bed and looked around the room. There was no one else. He let his mind wonder for a bit and remembered what had happened. He had fallen asleep in Rei's room.

 

He got off of the bed and was surprised to find himself devoid of his boots and outer clothes. `Must have been the Neko-jin.' He thought, and was pleased to see that his clothes lay on the chair, folded neatly.

 

He dressed himself quickly, as soon as he stepped out of the room, he was hit with the wonderful aroma of Chinese food. And sounds of the TV, mixed with the loud and brash sound of Tyson talking.

 

He walked silently towards the living room, where he was sure everyone else was. Not that he was in the mood of joining them, especially since Kai wasn't there, but he had wanted to get something to eat. The small portion of spaghetti he had for lunch was not nearly enough to satisfy his hunger.

 

He entered the living room without anyone noticing, it surprised him that Kai was there as well, helping Rei with things in the kitchen. Kenny was typing almost madly on his laptop, and the other two were arguing over what to watch on TV.

 

He walked towards the kitchen where Kai and Rei worked, and entered with a nod of acknowledgment from Kai. Rei turned and smiled at him cheerfully.

 

“Are you feeling better, Tala?” He asked, and his smile grew when he got a nod in response, “I was just about to send Kai to get you, we're going to have dinner soon.”

 

“I'm much better, thank you,” Tala replied in his usual voice, “Is there anything I can help you with?”

 

“No, it's fine,” Rei said, turning to turn off the fire under one of the large pot, glad that Tala had offered his help, “I'm almost down here. Why don't help Kai set up the table?”

 

He nodded and looked at Kai, expecting the bluenette to know what to do, but Kai simply looked back at him with a blank stare of his own. It seemed that neither of them knew what to do.

 

“Rei…” Kai called out gently, not wanting to startle the Neko-jin, who was now taste-testing the soup that he had just finished making.

 

“Rei turned at the sound of his name, and smiled knowingly, “The plates are in there,” He said, pointing to a cupboard beside him, “And the cutlery is in there.” He pointed to another drawer.

 

“REI!” A loud voice called out from the living room, “CAN WE EAT YET? I'M GOING TO STARVE TO DEATH!”

 

“In a minute, Tyson!” Rei called, and tried to life the big pot of soup off the stove. He failed to notice Tala behind him, carrying a stack of plates with his back to Rei.

 

A loud crash startled Kai, who was presently in the dining room. He rushed into the kitchen and found Rei and Tala both on the floor, a set of broken dishes were beside them, and a large pot over over-turned beside Rei, who let out a pained hiss. Kai noticed the scorching liquid that was once in the pot had spilled all over Rei's arm, and both teens seemed to have multiple cuts along their arms from the broken sharks of the plates.

 

He walked over to the two and decided to check over Rei first, who seemed to have gotten the worst of the injuries.

 

“Rei?” He called out, his hand stretched out to touch the other boy's shoulder, “Move your hand away from your arm so I can see how bad it is.”

 

Rei complied without any protest. Not that Kai was expecting any. He also didn't expect to see how bad the burn was on the other's arm.

 

“TYSON!” He bellowed, calling the others so they can come and help.

 

“Is dinner ready? Man, I'm so hungry I could probably eat a horse… no make that ten horses!” Tyson said as he strode into the kitchen. He froze immediately at seeing Rei (Who had stood up now with the help of Kai) and let out a hiss. His eyes narrowed and his glare was immediately directed to a certain redhead. His eyes narrowed even further (If that was possible) upon seeing that Tala, too, had cuts along his arm, though not nearly as serious as Rei. His mind jumped to the worst conclusion.

 

“YOU MURDERER!” He screamed at the top of his longs, almost in hysteria, successfully startling Max and Chief, who were just coming in. A gasp could be heard from both boys. “LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO REI! HE WAS SO NICE TO YOU AND LET YOU SLEEP IN HIS BED AND LOOK WHAT YOU DID! YOU TRIED TO KILL HIM!”

 

Tala's eyes widened slightly at being accused and narrowed after.

 

“Tala,” Kai said, after shushing Rei before the Neko-jin could speak, “Take Rei into the living room…Chief, bandage them up… Max, go with Kenny, but don't cause any more trouble. Tyson… we need to talk, outside, now.”

 

Rei sent a mild glare towards Tyson, and a concerned look to Kai, who gave him a reassuring look. Rei cradled his arm gingerly and followed the others in to the living room.

 

“Kai,” He said as he turned back at the door, “He means well…”

 

Kai nodded and took Tyson's arm, walking out of the room.

 

Rei walked into the living room and sat down beside Tala, who was already having his wounds checked over by Kenny. Max kneeled in front of Rei, holding a bottle of antiseptic and a roll of bandages.

 

“Do you want me to do it for you? Or would you prefer to do it yourself?” Max asked, smiling at the Chinese.

 

“It's fine, Max, I'm sure I can do this by myself.” Rei said, not really trusting the blonde with such a task. Sure, he was a great friend and a great teammate, and very helpful when it came to some things, but Rei doubted the boy's ability to take care of something like this.

 

He tried to maneuver the bottle of antiseptic so that he wouldn't hurt his arms, but found that he couldn't quite accomplish that and let out a small groan of pain and frustration. Apparently on one but Tala heard him, The redhead glanced his way with an unreadable face, to which Rei returned with a tiny smile of his own, and went back to trying (and failing) to bandage his arm.

 

“Max,” Rei called the blonde after about then minutes. He still haven't managed to bandage himself properly, but there was something else that bothered him and needed to be taken care of, “Go and see what Kai and Tyson are doing. If they are still not down talking, let them be… but if either of them looks, even a little bit, agitated, tell Kai I need to speak with him and that it's a matter of life and death.”

 

“Oh… sure thing, Rei,” Max said and walked towards the door, “Are you sure you don't want me to help you with your arm?” He turned back and asked.

 

“No, I'm fine, you go ahead.” Rei said, and looked at Tala. Chief had done a wonderful job on his arm and returned to his room mumbling something about more data to be analyzed. “Tala, are you alright? Does your arm hurt a lot?”

 

“I'm fine,” Tala side courtly, but his empty stomach rumbled, “Albeit a little hungry.”

 

“Oh…I'm sorry for interrupting dinner,” Rei said, frowning, “The food has probably all burned by now… I hope someone remembered to turn off the oven…” He trailed off and started to walk towards the kitchen.

 

“You're still hurt,” Tala pointed out, as no one else was going to do so. Rei stopped in his tracks, “And your arm still isn't bandaged…Kai will throw a fit.”

 

“What?” Rei said, looking like he was in a bit of a daze, “Oh…that…I'm sure it's fine.”

 

“Do you…” Tala coughed, looking rather uncomfortable, “Do you want me to help you?”

 

Rei started, not really knowing what to say to the wolf, “If it's not too much trouble… I suppose…”

 

It was at this moment that Kai walked into the room, and walked straight over to Rei, a scared looking Max stood at the door, unsure of whether to go in.

 

“You wanted to talk to me?” Kai asked, his eyes still blazing, but his voice gentle, “What is it?”

 

“I… was wondering if you would be staying for dinner…seeing as how you didn't stay for lunch…” Rei said, fidgeting with the sleeves of his top.

 

Kai scowled and let out a slight frustrated growl, “You said it was a matter of life death.”

 

“It is…” Rei said, smiling meekly, “I fear that if you stay out there too long… Tyson would have dead…”

 

Kai let a smirk come onto his face, and sighed, “I think he got my point…haven't yelled at him this loud since…before the world championships…” He mumbled.

 

“Kai…” Rei sighed, giving his captain a grin, “You shouldn't be so hard on him all the time…he means well…”

 

“Your arm isn't bandaged…” Kai said, ignoring Rei's comment and frowning, “Where were you going before I came in?”

 

“Oh…well… I think I forgot to turn off the oven…” Rei mumbled, suddenly finding the hotel floor very interesting, “and Tala was just about to bandage my arm for me.”

 

“Do it, I'll go and take care of the mess in the kitchen.” Kai said, walking towards the kitchen, “MAX!” He shouted, “Get Tyson and tell him we're eating now, ask him to come!”

 

Rei sat down beside Tala, and held out his arm for the redhead. Tala took his arm gently, careful not to agitate the wounds anymore. And went through the process of cleaning and bandaging the wound (I don't really know first-aid… so I will not embarrass myself by attempting to write this part in details…)

 

By the time they were done, Kai was finished with whatever he was doing and had came back to the living room.

 

“I don't think you should be using that arm anymore… at least not for a while,” Tala said monotonously, cleaning up the first-aid things he had spread on the coffee table.

 

“I'll keep that in mind,” Rei said, smiling at the other teen, “Thanks.”

 

Tala nodded and returned the first-aid box to the bathroom, leaving Rei and Kai alone for the moment.

 

“Are you sure your arm is ok?” Kai asked, concerned, “Do you want me to have another look at it?”

 

“Don't worry so much, Kai…” Rei said, smiling, “Tala did a wonderful job bandaging my arm, it's fine now.”

 

“Yes, he's great at that…” Kai said, looking at the distance, “He used to do that for me when we were in the abbey…” He trailed off, sounding rather pained at the memory.

 

“Kai…” Rei moved closer towards the boy that he deemed as his brother. His uninjured arm wrapped around Kai's shoulder in comfort. Kai was used to his, Rei had done the same to comfort him when he had just came from the abbey. He leaned in to the embrace, and felt better knowing that there was someone there for him. “Thanks, Rei,” He mumbled, closing his eyes. The mere presence of the Neko-jin comforted him.

 

“It's no problem,” Rei whispered.

 

“Thanks for taking of Tala as well… I think he's in even worse shape than I was when I came back,” Kai said, his head resting on Rei's shoulder, “I hate not being able to help him.”

 

“It's alright,” Rei assured him, “I'll be there for him…I think he's already opening up to me a bit now…”

 

Soft steps alerted them of someone else approaching. Rei loosened his hold on Kai and Kai sat up, blinking a few times and saw Tala sit across from the two of them.

 

“I'm sorry to interrupt, Tala said in the same emotionless voice.

 

“You weren't,” Kai said in the same voice that Tala used, “I called for pizza.”

 

Tala nodded and looked towards the door, “Someone's coming.”

 

Before either of them could say anything to reply, the door opened and Tyson walked in, Max following him, they both looked pretty calm now.

 

“Okay, where's the food?” Tyson yelled as he came in, rubbing his stomach, “I think I'm going to starve to death soon.”

 

“Would you get Kenny? I think he's in his room. The food will be here shortly,” Rei said, and grinned when the doorbell rang, “There is it.”

 

They all settled into the dinning room, the dinner had been quiet and uneventful. Rei had a bit trouble with his food since he couldn't really use his arm, and Kai had ended up feeding him, which brought snickers from Tyson and Max, but both were silenced quickly by a glare from Kai. Towards the end of the dinner, Kai had made the two promises they would do the dishes, without breaking any, and the rest retired to their own activities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tala woke and saw that it was well into the afternoon. The sky had turned a deep shade of pink with the setting sun. He sat up in the bed and looked around the room. There was no one else. He let his mind wonder for a bit and remembered what had happened. He had fallen asleep in Rei's room.

 

He got off of the bed and was surprised to find himself devoid of his boots and outer clothes. `Must have been the Neko-jin.' He thought, and was pleased to see that his clothes lay on the chair, folded neatly.

 

He dressed himself quickly, as soon as he stepped out of the room, he was hit with the wonderful aroma of Chinese food. And sounds of the TV, mixed with the loud and brash sound of Tyson talking.

 

He walked silently towards the living room, where he was sure everyone else was. Not that he was in the mood of joining them, especially since Kai wasn't there, but he had wanted to get something to eat. The small portion of spaghetti he had for lunch was not nearly enough to satisfy his hunger.

 

He entered the living room without anyone noticing, it surprised him that Kai was there as well, helping Rei with things in the kitchen. Kenny was typing almost madly on his laptop, and the other two were arguing over what to watch on TV.

 

He walked towards the kitchen where Kai and Rei worked, and entered with a nod of acknowledgment from Kai. Rei turned and smiled at him cheerfully.

 

“Are you feeling better, Tala?” He asked, and his smile grew when he got a nod in response, “I was just about to send Kai to get you, we're going to have dinner soon.”

 

“I'm much better, thank you,” Tala replied in his usual voice, “Is there anything I can help you with?”

 

“No, it's fine,” Rei said, turning to turn off the fire under one of the large pot, glad that Tala had offered his help, “I'm almost down here. Why don't help Kai set up the table?”

 

He nodded and looked at Kai, expecting the bluenette to know what to do, but Kai simply looked back at him with a blank stare of his own. It seemed that neither of them knew what to do.

 

“Rei…” Kai called out gently, not wanting to startle the Neko-jin, who was now taste-testing the soup that he had just finished making.

 

“Rei turned at the sound of his name, and smiled knowingly, “The plates are in there,” He said, pointing to a cupboard beside him, “And the cutlery is in there.” He pointed to another drawer.

 

“REI!” A loud voice called out from the living room, “CAN WE EAT YET? I'M GOING TO STARVE TO DEATH!”

 

“In a minute, Tyson!” Rei called, and tried to life the big pot of soup off the stove. He failed to notice Tala behind him, carrying a stack of plates with his back to Rei.

 

A loud crash startled Kai, who was presently in the dining room. He rushed into the kitchen and found Rei and Tala both on the floor, a set of broken dishes were beside them, and a large pot over over-turned beside Rei, who let out a pained hiss. Kai noticed the scorching liquid that was once in the pot had spilled all over Rei's arm, and both teens seemed to have multiple cuts along their arms from the broken sharks of the plates.

 

He walked over to the two and decided to check over Rei first, who seemed to have gotten the worst of the injuries.

 

“Rei?” He called out, his hand stretched out to touch the other boy's shoulder, “Move your hand away from your arm so I can see how bad it is.”

 

Rei complied without any protest. Not that Kai was expecting any. He also didn't expect to see how bad the burn was on the other's arm.

 

“TYSON!” He bellowed, calling the others so they can come and help.

 

“Is dinner ready? Man, I'm so hungry I could probably eat a horse… no make that ten horses!” Tyson said as he strode into the kitchen. He froze immediately at seeing Rei (Who had stood up now with the help of Kai) and let out a hiss. His eyes narrowed and his glare was immediately directed to a certain redhead. His eyes narrowed even further (If that was possible) upon seeing that Tala, too, had cuts along his arm, though not nearly as serious as Rei. His mind jumped to the worst conclusion.

 

“YOU MURDERER!” He screamed at the top of his longs, almost in hysteria, successfully startling Max and Chief, who were just coming in. A gasp could be heard from both boys. “LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO REI! HE WAS SO NICE TO YOU AND LET YOU SLEEP IN HIS BED AND LOOK WHAT YOU DID! YOU TRIED TO KILL HIM!”

 

Tala's eyes widened slightly at being accused and narrowed after.

 

“Tala,” Kai said, after shushing Rei before the Neko-jin could speak, “Take Rei into the living room…Chief, bandage them up… Max, go with Kenny, but don't cause any more trouble. Tyson… we need to talk, outside, now.”

 

Rei sent a mild glare towards Tyson, and a concerned look to Kai, who gave him a reassuring look. Rei cradled his arm gingerly and followed the others in to the living room.

 

“Kai,” He said as he turned back at the door, “He means well…”

 

Kai nodded and took Tyson's arm, walking out of the room.

 

Rei walked into the living room and sat down beside Tala, who was already having his wounds checked over by Kenny. Max kneeled in front of Rei, holding a bottle of antiseptic and a roll of bandages.

 

“Do you want me to do it for you? Or would you prefer to do it yourself?” Max asked, smiling at the Chinese.

 

“It's fine, Max, I'm sure I can do this by myself.” Rei said, not really trusting the blonde with such a task. Sure, he was a great friend and a great teammate, and very helpful when it came to some things, but Rei doubted the boy's ability to take care of something like this.

 

He tried to maneuver the bottle of antiseptic so that he wouldn't hurt his arms, but found that he couldn't quite accomplish that and let out a small groan of pain and frustration. Apparently on one but Tala heard him, The redhead glanced his way with an unreadable face, to which Rei returned with a tiny smile of his own, and went back to trying (and failing) to bandage his arm.

 

“Max,” Rei called the blonde after about then minutes. He still haven't managed to bandage himself properly, but there was something else that bothered him and needed to be taken care of, “Go and see what Kai and Tyson are doing. If they are still not down talking, let them be… but if either of them looks, even a little bit, agitated, tell Kai I need to speak with him and that it's a matter of life and death.”

 

“Oh… sure thing, Rei,” Max said and walked towards the door, “Are you sure you don't want me to help you with your arm?” He turned back and asked.

 

“No, I'm fine, you go ahead.” Rei said, and looked at Tala. Chief had done a wonderful job on his arm and returned to his room mumbling something about more data to be analyzed. “Tala, are you alright? Does your arm hurt a lot?”

 

“I'm fine,” Tala side courtly, but his empty stomach rumbled, “Albeit a little hungry.”

 

“Oh…I'm sorry for interrupting dinner,” Rei said, frowning, “The food has probably all burned by now… I hope someone remembered to turn off the oven…” He trailed off and started to walk towards the kitchen.

 

“You're still hurt,” Tala pointed out, as no one else was going to do so. Rei stopped in his tracks, “And your arm still isn't bandaged…Kai will throw a fit.”

 

“What?” Rei said, looking like he was in a bit of a daze, “Oh…that…I'm sure it's fine.”

 

“Do you…” Tala coughed, looking rather uncomfortable, “Do you want me to help you?”

 

Rei started, not really knowing what to say to the wolf, “If it's not too much trouble… I suppose…”

 

It was at this moment that Kai walked into the room, and walked straight over to Rei, a scared looking Max stood at the door, unsure of whether to go in.

 

“You wanted to talk to me?” Kai asked, his eyes still blazing, but his voice gentle, “What is it?”

 

“I… was wondering if you would be staying for dinner…seeing as how you didn't stay for lunch…” Rei said, fidgeting with the sleeves of his top.

 

Kai scowled and let out a slight frustrated growl, “You said it was a matter of life death.”

 

“It is…” Rei said, smiling meekly, “I fear that if you stay out there too long… Tyson would have dead…”

 

Kai let a smirk come onto his face, and sighed, “I think he got my point…haven't yelled at him this loud since…before the world championships…” He mumbled.

 

“Kai…” Rei sighed, giving his captain a grin, “You shouldn't be so hard on him all the time…he means well…”

 

“Your arm isn't bandaged…” Kai said, ignoring Rei's comment and frowning, “Where were you going before I came in?”

 

“Oh…well… I think I forgot to turn off the oven…” Rei mumbled, suddenly finding the hotel floor very interesting, “and Tala was just about to bandage my arm for me.”

 

“Do it, I'll go and take care of the mess in the kitchen.” Kai said, walking towards the kitchen, “MAX!” He shouted, “Get Tyson and tell him we're eating now, ask him to come!”

 

Rei sat down beside Tala, and held out his arm for the redhead. Tala took his arm gently, careful not to agitate the wounds anymore. And went through the process of cleaning and bandaging the wound (I don't really know first-aid… so I will not embarrass myself by attempting to write this part in details…)

 

By the time they were done, Kai was finished with whatever he was doing and had came back to the living room.

 

“I don't think you should be using that arm anymore… at least not for a while,” Tala said monotonously, cleaning up the first-aid things he had spread on the coffee table.

 

“I'll keep that in mind,” Rei said, smiling at the other teen, “Thanks.”

 

Tala nodded and returned the first-aid box to the bathroom, leaving Rei and Kai alone for the moment.

 

“Are you sure your arm is ok?” Kai asked, concerned, “Do you want me to have another look at it?”

 

“Don't worry so much, Kai…” Rei said, smiling, “Tala did a wonderful job bandaging my arm, it's fine now.”

 

“Yes, he's great at that…” Kai said, looking at the distance, “He used to do that for me when we were in the abbey…” He trailed off, sounding rather pained at the memory.

 

“Kai…” Rei moved closer towards the boy that he deemed as his brother. His uninjured arm wrapped around Kai's shoulder in comfort. Kai was used to his, Rei had done the same to comfort him when he had just came from the abbey. He leaned in to the embrace, and felt better knowing that there was someone there for him. “Thanks, Rei,” He mumbled, closing his eyes. The mere presence of the Neko-jin comforted him.

 

“It's no problem,” Rei whispered.

 

“Thanks for taking of Tala as well… I think he's in even worse shape than I was when I came back,” Kai said, his head resting on Rei's shoulder, “I hate not being able to help him.”

 

“It's alright,” Rei assured him, “I'll be there for him…I think he's already opening up to me a bit now…”

 

Soft steps alerted them of someone else approaching. Rei loosened his hold on Kai and Kai sat up, blinking a few times and saw Tala sit across from the two of them.

 

“I'm sorry to interrupt, Tala said in the same emotionless voice.

 

“You weren't,” Kai said in the same voice that Tala used, “I called for pizza.”

 

Tala nodded and looked towards the door, “Someone's coming.”

 

Before either of them could say anything to reply, the door opened and Tyson walked in, Max following him, they both looked pretty calm now.

 

“Okay, where's the food?” Tyson yelled as he came in, rubbing his stomach, “I think I'm going to starve to death soon.”

 

“Would you get Kenny? I think he's in his room. The food will be here shortly,” Rei said, and grinned when the doorbell rang, “There is it.”

 

They all settled into the dinning room, the dinner had been quiet and uneventful. Rei had a bit trouble with his food since he couldn't really use his arm, and Kai had ended up feeding him, which brought snickers from Tyson and Max, but both were silenced quickly by a glare from Kai. Towards the end of the dinner, Kai had made the two promises they would do the dishes, without breaking any, and the rest retired to their own activities.

 

 

 

So… What do you think? I hope you guys like this…

And I can't stress this point too much… but Kai and Rei are NOT a couple… at least not in this fic…. I might make one about them…but later…

So any a how… please review!!