Tyson had locked himself in his room, wallowing in self-pity. He sat cross-legged on his bed, playing with Dragoon, chest burning from the fight with Kai.

Then came an unexpected sound—a scrape, a scuff, followed by a thump.

He snapped his head up, frowning. The noise seemed to come from outside his window.

Another scrape, another muffled curse.

Tyson shot to his feet and flung the window open, just in time to see his best friend wobbling dangerously on the tilted roof, arms wind-milling to keep his balance.

"Are you out of your mind!"

******

Max had officially lost his marbles, he realised as he stared at what he was about to do. Tyson had stormed out of the hall an hour ago, soon after Kai gave them all permission to interrupt his matches.

Max was still stuck on the fact of what Tyson had been up to in the last few months. Developing the skill to take hits for one's Bit-beast's to protect them? Tyson was beyond insanity!

When Grandpa Granger had realised that they'd had a fight, he gruffly demanded Tyson to come out of his room and make peace with his friends. When Ty didn't budge, he even threatened to break the door down if he wasn't out in a minute.

At last, Grandpa stomped out. "Fine! Stay there!"

"I can't afford to fix a door on top of everything else. But don't come complaining if there's no dinner left afterwards!" He warned, before enthusiastically inviting the rest of them to dinner.

Dinner was a simple affair, given Tyson's absence. Kai, Kenny and Ray left soon after dinner, but Max couldn't bring himself to join them.

He had instead climbed onto the terrace and was now slowly lowering himself onto the tilted roof sills near Tyson's bedroom window, his hands shooting out as soon as he landed.

Who on Earth had come up with the idea of tilted roofs? He huffed, despite knowing all about their perks. At the moment though, he chose to focus on all the poor souls who could have fallen to their deaths due to them.

Having taken only five steps in, Max had already slipped thrice. He was having a strong feeling that he would soon be joining the list of those unfortunate souls soon if he kept up with it.

Max was nearly at Ty's window when it snapped open suddenly, startling him to topple backward.

"Are you out of your mind?" Tyson yelled, grabbing hold of his T-shirt as he yanked him in. Both of them tumbled on to the floor in a messy heap.

Max lay on top of Tyson, breathing hard, "Kai does that all the time?" he blurted out the first thought on his mind, "He makes it sound so easy..." he further whined.

Tyson continued to stare at him, eyes wide. "What the hell were you thinking!"

Max sat up, dusting himself off. "I could ask you the same thing." he smirked.

Tyson rolled his eyes. "Don't start, Maxxie."

He didn't budge. "You can't just shut us out—"

"I know what they're going to say." Tyson looked away. "That I'm reckless. That I don't think. That I'll burn out before I even realise it. You think I don't know that already?" He clenched his fists, "Every time I see Dragoon in danger, I just move. I don't think—I can't. And maybe that makes me an idiot, but what am I supposed to do? Just stand there and watch him get crushed?"

The rawness in Tyson's voice silenced Max. He swallowed, feeling his own throat tighten. "Do you even realise how scared Kai is for you right now? He's terrified, Ty. He just won't say it out loud because he doesn't know how."

Tyson blinked, caught off guard. That was clearly not the discussion he had been expecting.

"You know what he did in there?" Max looked him in the eye. "He admitted he can't fix this alone. Kai, the one guy who would never ask anyone for help, he brought us all in because he finally understood what you were fighting him about. That some fights can't be won alone."

Tyson's breath stilled, looking at the whole situation in a new light. "You got through to him, Ty," Max said softly. "And now he's trying to get through to you. That's not him being cold... or bossy... or vindictive. What you've gotten yourself into is scary as hell. He's trying to protect you the only way he knows how, even if he sucks at showing it."

Tyson looked down, Dragoon's weight suddenly heavy in his palm. He wanted to argue, to say Kai didn't care much—but the truth was harder to shake.

After their fight in school, one thing was absolutely clear. Kai did care. He cared a lot. He just took a lot of measures to look like he doesn't.

Tyson sighed and leaned back against the window, shoulders slumping. "Doesn't mean I know how to stop anyway," he muttered, voice low but no longer sharp.

"You don't have to figure it out alone either, you know." He nudged Tyson's arm, steady.

Tyson didn't answer right away. But he didn't push Max away either—and for now, that was more than enough.

*****

The Granger Dojo was unusually quiet when the three of them stepped out. Grandpa Granger bid them good night, all the while muttering about how stubborn his grandson had grown.

When he'd asked them what the fight was about earlier, Ray was glad that Max had made it sound like just one of their usual skirmishes.

He didn't have the heart to tell the old man that his grandson was recklessly endangering his life. And from what Kai had described of Tyson's condition after Adam's match, reckless was putting it lightly.

Midway though, Kenny stopped short, adjusting his bag on his shoulder. "I'll head this way. See you guys tomorrow." He chirped out, waving them goodbye.

Ray had also been about to bid him goodbye when Kai shook his head. "We'll walk you home." he stated instead.

Ray looked at Kai curiously, but he had his A-game poker face on, betraying none of his thoughts. One of the only disadvantages of Kai being well rested was this, Ray realized suddenly. A tired Kai was more easy to read, more easy to predict. But Kai at his prime energy level was an engima.

Kenny blinked, surprised. "Uh—sure. Thanks."

And that was how they continued together, their steps steady and unhurried. It was a quiet walk, until Kenny started talking about Tyson. Neither of them could believe what had had really gotten himself into. Kenny was running him through all the ideas he planned on implementing in Tyson's training. Kai pitched in often, telling Kenny about how a specific technique had an impact on him or how it didn't.

By the time they reached Kenny's home, both of them came to a realisation that Kai had tried nearly every possible textbook solution he could think of.

"Dizzy and I will work this out tonight," Kenny promised, "Goodnight." he chirped, slipping inside.

They both bid their goodbyes and turned back, retracing their steps to the main road. Only then did Ray glance sideways at Kai, a small smile tugging at his mouth. "You know," Ray said, "You actually look good today."

Kai frowned, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what I said." Ray's tone was light, a little teasing. "It's been a long time since you looked like you'd actually slept." he offered as explanation.

Kai gave a quiet scoff, but didn't argue. They both knew that the truth sat close to the surface, even if Ray may not know the exact specifics. The night air was cool, carrying the distant chatter of the city. Their steps fell into an easy rhythm, quiet and companionable.

After a long pause, Kai finally spoke, his voice quieter than before. "About Mariah... I know she's important to you. But she's not part of our team. I couldn't risk another team member knowing what's going on on the inside."

Ray looked over at Kai, noticing how serious he was. "Of course, I understand that. And so would Mariah." He acknowledged quietly. "Hm." Kai said, and that was it.

*****

"You don't have to walk me home you know." Ray mentioned a few minutes later.

Kai smirked, "It's not walking you home if you're on the way to mine."

"Why do you have to be this secretive? It's not like I'd disturb you or anything."

"One can keep a secret. Two may try. Three, there's no chance." Kai stated, for with Ray only rolled his eyes.

"And even if I do think of telling someone, you'd be the last person on that list."

"What?" Ray spluttered. He had always assumed that he was the closest to Kai among all the blade breakers, so him saying that stung. But Kai only smirked, "I left you incharge for one day, and you could barely make Max and Tyson practice. You'll just blurt out my address the moment they start pressing you for it, bribing you with just the idea of a movie date with Mariah."

Ray's mouth opened, closed, then opened again, but no good comeback arrived. His ears burned as Kai's smirk lingered.

"You're insufferable sometimes, you know that?" Ray muttered.

"Only sometimes?" Kai quipped, hands tucked into his pockets as they turned into the narrow lane.

Ray shook his head, half-amused despite himself. He wanted to argue further, but theh were nearly at the floral studio. "Since you seem to be in such a good mood, I'll say it. The way you got back at Tyson today was just plain mean."

Kai raised his eyebrows, "And him pushing me at school was fair?"

"That's different."

"How so?"

Ray tried answering, but came up short. Kai continued, "He was the one who kept pestering me to share my problems with the team, Ray. He can't complain now that I started with him."

"Good to know that he was the biggest problem on your plate." Ray muttered.

Kai shook his head, "His was the second biggest, but at the moment, I can't do much about the first one either."

Kai didn't elaborate, and Ray didn't press. He was just glad that Kai was back to sleeping properly, and was opening up about at least a bit.

They reached the floral studio just as Mariah was tugging the shutters down. She paused, one hand on her hip, when she spotted Kai.

"Well, well," she said with a sly grin. "Didn't expect to see you walking people home Kai. That almost sounds... friendly."

"Don't get used to it."

"Of course not, that would completely ruin your playboy reputation."

Kai smirked, but looked a bit pained to be reminded of it "Playboy, huh? Two girls in three months, and one of them barely lasted a fortnight. Hardly a reputation to brag about."

Mariah laughed, leaning against the counter. "But what about the other two you kissed and dumped a week before that?"

Kai laughed, eyes slightly wide. "How do you even know that?"

"You walk amongst a thousand teens everyday Kai, do you really think anything this juicy could be kept hidden forever?"

Kai gave a nonchalant shrug, leaning against the railing. "Fair enough."

"Did you see that Ray, I actually one upped him!" She gasped, looking over at him.

Ray just shook his head, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Let's toast to this moment! It can hardly be forgotten. Wanna join us up for tea, Kai?" she asked, already taking Ray's hand and dragging him inside.

Kai's lips twitched, "I think I'll pass. I'll let you make up with him for the time lost today." he called out, making Ray go full red while Mariah just laughed out loud.

"Good night, Captain Sourpuss!" she called out, while he just waved back timidly from behind.

Ray watched until Kai's figure melted completely into the shadows before turning back. Mariah still had that sly grin on her face, though now it softened as she tilted her head at him.

"He definitely looked to be in a better mood than when I left earlier," she remarked. "What happened?"

Ray hesitated, weighing how much to share. "A bit of a problem came up," he said vaguely. "But I think we'll have it under control soon."

Mariah studied him for a moment, clearly catching the deliberate vagueness. But she didn't push. Instead, her lips curled mischievously as she leaned closer. "Fine. But you know..." her voice dropped, teasing, "you're ridiculously easy to fluster. It's too fun."

Ray sighed, already feeling the heat crawl up his neck. "I'm not—"

Before he could finish, Mariah's hand slipped to his collar, tugging him down as she pressed her lips to his. For a second, Ray froze—then he melted into it, his arms instinctively sliding around her waist. She gave a small squeak of surprise when he lifted her slightly off the ground.

Mariah grinned against his mouth, tugging at his shirt to pull him down even more. The kiss grew longer and slower—her warmth steadying him, his presence grounding her in return.

When they finally broke apart, both were breathless. Mariah rested her forehead against his shoulder, her grin softener. "See? Knew I could make you lose that responsible act of yours."

Ray chuckled quietly, still holding her close. "Maybe I don't mind losing it when it's you."

*****

Words: 2179

*****

A/N: hello guys! Sorry for the late update. Assignments poured in left right and centre and I couldn't even find the time to polish the draft I had written earlier.

What do you think of Kai now? Does this kind of explain Kai's hypocritical behavior? We'll shift back to Hill's case from the next chapter, I promise!

What about Tyson and Max's convo? It was very wholesome, don't you think? And Mariah and Ray's dynamic? What do you guys think of the whole Tyson situation??

Vote and comment guys!

Happy Reading!!