Hillary started examining Kai as soon as she reached him, giving no thought to her surroundings. From the looks of his injury, the bullet had pierced his left chest, dangerously close to his heart.

Tyson was frozen in his place unable to process what exactly happened. Kenny was trying to reach out for an ambulance. Ray was searching for a First Aid Kit. The studio was completely empty by then. None of the audience, none of the studio workers had stayed back to help. She sat down next to Kai and began talking,

"Hey Kai, believe me or not, I'm a Junior Medical Assistant in training. I know you won't like this, but you'll have to let me help you." She said, her voice soothing and gentle. "I'm no fool Hil.. I know." Kai hissed back, his voice barely reaching her ears. Hillary further bent down to listen to him.

"Lie flat on the floor and stretch your hands and legs, Kai. I'll tear open your shirt. First, I'll examine your wound. Then, I'll inform you what I'll do next. Okay?" He slightly nodded and followed her instructions.

The shirt was way too elastic for Hillary to tear it with her bare hands. Just then Ray brought her a First-Aid Kit. She hastily opened it and took out the scissors. She started a conversation with him to keep him awake as she cut open his shirt. "Kai, you awake? "

"Hn.. "

For the first time in her life, she wasn't upset with his universal answer. "Continue taking deep breaths, Kai. You'll have to stay awake till the time we reach the hospital... it is for being on a safer side. Otherwise, you may enter a coma."

"Easier said than Done." he huffed. Hillary didn't know what to say to this. She struggled to find the right words. "I kno-underst.... That's why I'm here to help you." he didn't respond back.

She was thinking of keeping their conversation alive. She knew that under no circumstances, even life or death, would Kai open up about his personal life. She had to keep Kai's attention away from the pain and keep him conscious at the least until reaching the hospital. But how? She knew the answer, but was hesitant to try it out.

"I'm not able to connect with any of the nearby hospitals! My network is down. What shall we do?!" shrieked Kenny, highly frustrated at Dizzy's incompetence in times of crisis.

The beginnings of an idea formed in Hillary's mind. "Tyson!!" she called out urgently.
Her sudden scream jolted him back to reality. "Y-ye-yes Hil." he stammered, coming towards her.

"Take my phone from the purse there on the couch. Search for Suzie's number. Call her. She's the receptionist at a hospital downtown. She's always available online." He stared at her dumbfounded for a second and then ran to the couch. He staggered to pull the phone out of the purse and then tried to unlock the phone.

"What's the damn password Hil!" he shouted. She calmly answered back. "The Blade Breakers. Capital T, B and B without any spacing." He unlocked the phone with trembling hands and dialled her number.

While Tyson explained the situation to Suzie, Hillary turned her attention back to Kai.
"Where is Max?" Kai asked. True.. Hillary hadn't seen him since the day before yesterday. Kai continued, "I think I pushed him a little too hard... he might need help too."

"Yeah Kai, I-I'll...."

"I'm here Kai. Don't worry, I'm fine. It feels funny to say this, (smiles but it doesn't reach his eyes) but talk less and follow instructions for once.... " Kai lips formed the beginnings of a smirk, but his face contorted again due to pain. Max was trying hard to keep up a strong face but the guilt was slowly seeping into his thoughts.

Hillary applied pressure on the wound until she was sure that it wasn't bleeding as much as it was doing in the beginning. 

"You're really lucky Kai. The bullet hasn't pierced your heart. It has hit the bottom of your left lung. Though you're breathing rate is low, your pulse rate is normal. You haven't lost too much blood either which is...unusual, but good. I'll clean the wound and bandage it. I'm sure the ambulance will be there by then. Follow my instructions OBEDIENTLY and you'll live..." said Hillary, tentatively smiling.

"I noticed it too...." He whispered. Hillary shook her head in exasperation. Can't he leave his sarcasm even on the verge of possible death.

As though Kai was reading her thoughts, he started, "If something happens to me,-" Hillary interrupts him angrily. "Stop being so pessimistic Kai! I just said you'll live!!" Kai coughs, but continued. "Shut up and listen to me for once. IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO ME..... You'll make sure that Dranzer is hidden far away from me.  Before Voltaire reaches me."

"Kai!.... Why-what are you saying?"

"Promise me, Hilary."

"O-kay.. I-I promise." He relaxes a bit and again takes a raspy breath.

"A shame really, the anchor didn't ask me much about beyblading itself." Kai starts abruptly, staring into the ceiling. Hillary had never heard Kai voluntarily talk, or even talk so much for that matter before. Maybe the pain was finally having a toll on his brain. 

She continue talking. "Yeah Kai... The next time we'll make an arrangement for a Beyblading Theory Show with a quiz so you can tell us all about attack, speed, defense, strength and make The Show an utter flop!"

Kai tentatively laughs at this, "Yeah, (coughs) at least then, people won't force me to participate (takes a sharp breath) in such stupid things.." (takes a sharp breath)

"Continue taking longer breaths Kai." Hillary said, worried again.

"No--t abb-le t-ooh" (coughs) he gasps back. "I think you need breathing aids. The the-ambulance will be here in a moment now. Just hang in there." she said, and shouted across the studio, "Where's the ambulance Kenny?!! "

"He should have been here by now! Maybe stuck in the weekend traffic."

"Hate them!!" Tyson yelled in utter frustration.

Until then, Hillary hadn't noticed the purple lines forming on Kai's neck. That's when she realised that his lungs were filling up with blood due to the wound. He was choking on his own blood! That's the reason he wasn't bleeding out anymore, because he was bleeding internally!!

Her hands began trembling at the thought of what to do next. It was one of the top ten difficult things to do during the training. "Ty-Tyson! Pass me the gloves! Faster! We don't have much time!" She whispered-yelled.

Tyson passed it to her."What's wrong, Hil?" His voice wavered.

"He-he's choking on his own blood Ty.. I'll have to make a cut to release the blood and pressure in his lungs. Tyson, I really need you to do as I say now. Search for a blade named F-12 and open it. Pass it to me..... BUT DO NOT TOUCH IT WITH YOUR BARE HANDS... Use the other set of gloves." she instructed sternly.

As he searched for the blade, Hillary was calculating where to make the cut. The left lung was even more complicated than the right one as the heart and majority of the major veins were present there. When she finally decided, the feeling of being responsible for the situation they were all in was in was finally resurfacing... One wrong cut could end his life...

Hillary's hands were trembling so badly, Tyson was scared she would drop the sterile knife. Gently, he placed his hand on her shoulder, and tried a lighter tone. "Jeez Hilary, breath! None of us know what you are doing but we all trust you. Kai trusts you. I-I trust you. Stop blaming yourself for this situation.We-we can talk about it later. Do what you have to coz... Kai's life depends on it."

She slightly nods and closed her eyes, trying to take in big gulps of air, trying to calm her nerves. Hillary finally makes the cut towards the far left side of his chest. As she made the cut deeper, Kai, for the first time, cried out loudly in pain. Tears started streaming down his cheeks. It dawned on Hillary of how much pain Kai must be enduring until then, to have finally showed so much emotion, or in his words, weakness.

For some unknown reason, this thought welled up tears in Hillary's eyes too. She just couldn't digest the scene. "I'm sorry Kai." she whispered. Crimson blood started seeping out from the cut and Kai once again started taking longer breaths. His skin was so pale now that it could be mistaken for for the color of snow, clashing horribly against the the crimson blood.

Abandoning all thoughts of preservation, hesitation and worries of being judged, she started narrating her favourite story, completely unknown to her, a story Kai was very familiar with. "There was once this young girl named Anastasia..." whispering encouraging words every now and then to keep Kai awake as he further slipped into unconsciousness.

******

Hillary didn't notice when the Police or the Ambulance had come until two grown-up men came to take Kai on a strecher. But, even in his semi-conscience state, he was way more stubborn than Tyson! He refused to let go of her hand. So, she herself be steered away with Kai. Tyson volunteered to come with them while Ray, Max and Kenny were staying back to explain the incident to the Police .

As soon as Kai was in the ambulance, the hospital staff got to work. They attached numerous wires, a heart monitor, a blood drip and a glucose drip to his bare wrists and chest. He was given breathing aids which made talking difficult for Kai. But nonetheless, she completed her story. Kai didn't leave her hand the whole time. Even Tyson listened to her story which made her slightly squirm, but she could see that he could barely concentrate, talking most of the time with the hospital staff, answering their questions like the patient's name, age, blood group, etc. She had no idea on how he knew of it, but he seemed confident, so she didn't worry.

"You better live Mr. ImpossiblyPerfect!! I promise to have a decent conversation with you and settle our rift within a fortnight's time after your recovery..." said Tyson, as one of the staff announced that they would be at the hospital soon.

"I want a battle, Tyson. I will not accept it any other way." Kai answered, his voice steady,  but strained.

This remark once again ignited a glare contest. Even now, his gaze was hard, and quite frightening. If looks could kill, Tyson would be dead at least two times during our journey in the Ambulance.

Hillary intervened, "Cool down Kai. Take it easy. We'll be at the Hospital in two minutes."

His gaze softened as he directed his attention towards her. "Let's see how accurate you are..... One-Eighty, One-Seventy-Nine,.." Hillary laughs at his addiction to accuracy and joined the count down with him.
.
.
.
.
"Fifteen, Fourteen,Thirtee.... "

They felt the van come to a stop. They had reached their destination. "Quite accurate Hilary... Not bad."

She nods. Tyson spoke again, his gaze on the floor, "If you live today Kai... I-I promise you our battle. Official or unofficial, we will meet in an year from now."

"Official Tyson, Official. Next Year Finals. We will meet..." Kai sternly states as though predicting the future. Tyson nods, determination shining in his eyes. Kai finally leaves Hillary's hand as he is taken inside the hospital.

Hillary worriedly stares at Kai's retreating figure, her thoughts running at the speed of light. Tyson startled startles her by wrapping an arm around her shoulders, gently squeezing it. "Kai's stronger than you believe him to be Hil. I don't know much about his medical condition, but I know this for sure. Kai never backs down from keeping his side of the promise."

******

Max's POV

Max's mind was barely able to grasp exactly what was going on. His head was hurting like hell, as his vision unfocused a number of times. Who knew Hilary was a junior nurse in training! As she was tending to Kai's wounds, he heard his name being called by Kai. Apparently, he was worried about him even when he himself was bleeding to death. Max makes his way towards them and tries encouraging him.

"I'm here Kai. Don't worry, I'm fine. It feels funny to say this but talk less and follow Hil's instructions for the time being..." It actually felt funny to instruct Kai first of all and on top of that, to 'shut his mouth', however politely said.

If he hadn't been in such a situation, Max would have surely laughed out loud, he was a type of person who couldn't control their laughter. But the sudden feel of joy was overcome by the feeling of guilt. If it wasn't for me, Kai wouldn't have had to go through the pain of being shot. If I had been more careful, I could have saved my friends from this situation. If..

"Max! You have hurt yourself on the forehead. Let me help you!" Ray hissed, not to attract too much attention. That is when he realized the wound on his forehead and the blood trickling down his shirt turning it red at quite a dangerous rate. All he could do was nod. Ray grabbed a few bandages and led him to a quitter place.

They sat in silence as Ray bandaged his head. "You should be helping Kai... I-I'm fine. " Max insisted. "Please tell me if you think the same once you see yourself in the mirror! You are growing paler every minute and your head is leaking too much blood. By the way, where were you?"

"I was pushed backstage and fell behind the stage. It took me a few minutes to recover from the fall..."

"Hn"

"But still I'm serious Ray, you should be helping Kai! I'm not the one who got shot!"

"There's nothing for me to do there Max. Hilary is helping him as much as she can and all we can do is wait for the Ambulance." Ray explained

A few minutes passed until Ray shouted. "Max! What's wrong? Breath slowly... Do you need help? Are you finding any difficulty breathing?" this attracted Kenny's attention. Max tried answering but the words won't leave my mouth! He tried gesturing with his hands,  but his hands shook too much. The stress of fully understanding the severity of the situation was finally catching up with him. Kenny was the first one to recognise the signs.

Max vaguely remembered Kenny speaking. "He's having a panic attack Ray! The stress of the situation finally got the better of him. Try breathing slowly Maxy! Try to relax!"

Max did not like being helpless. He tried controlling himself but it was beyond his control. Ray shook him from his daze, before hugging him tightly. "Think positively Max. Nothing is going to happen to Kai. Everything will be back to normal. I promise. Fight it Max. You are surely stronger than this!"

True... I am stronger than this. I can't let myself get weak. My friends need me. It's a tough situation for them too.

My breathing finally gets back to normal in a few minutes. His friends relax a bit, a tired smile lining their faces. Ray offered Max a bottle of water. He gulps it down at once. He insists them to leave him and tend to other issues. He said he could manage from now on. They hesitantly leave him after thoroughly interrogating him. He may or may not have answered them honestly.

Max started observing the studio. He exactly remember the place from where the bullet sound came from. The third row's far corner. A searching for a few minutes, he finds a gun there. Just before touching it, he thinks otherwise. It may have the attackers fingerprints on them, which may help the police.

He started searching for more clues. To the corner in a dustbin, he finds two wigs. A brown haired plait and red curly hair wigs. Those must be the ones the attackers used to keep up a disguise. As Max continued his quest for clues, the police and the ambulance had arrived. He returns back to the main stage.

******

Words: 2773

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A/N: I really don't know much about the medical stuff written here. It is just based on my imagination and a few TV shows and movies I had seen over the years.