Like A Shooting Star

Destroy it

Wine eyes burned again..

"TYSON!"

My close ones get angry, others get angry,
The beloved shouldn't be angry…

Dreams break, promises break,

The heart shouldn't break…

If He gets angry, even God can get angry,

But the bond doesn't get broken…

Sacrificed on you, O Lord,

I am all lost,

My broken friendship, just get me that….

Tyson. His teammate who held out his hand in Lake Baikal to save him and never stopped urging Kai to grab it even though Kai knew that as a traitor, he deserved to just die.

His comrade who never stopped believing in him even when Kai couldn't trust him to win important matches in the first World Championship back then, and later when even Kai himself fell short more than once.

That champion who coaxed him into joining his Christmas gathering with their other friends. Kai remembered himself choosing to spend the holiday inside his mansion, no parties, no friends with him, just him and the ordinary night that would soon pass as he slept.

"Are you kidding? What on earth are you talking about? You're missing half of your life, and you're not going to miss it any further tonight, even if I have to drag you all the way across the town to make sure of that!"

Make sure of that… In any ordinary circumstances, Kai would have been able to turn Tyson down. But something about his teammate—and what he said that sounded vaguely familiar—sparked a feeling of challenge inside the older teen. An internal challenge, he didn't understand what. So that night, he was subjected to an event of gifts, evergreen lining the edges of the dojo, sparkling lights, a big tastefully decorated Christmas tree, laughter… Strange pangs raided him, like he felt… deprived. Nearly tortured, he almost left the dojo without a word, but Tyson caught him and forced him to stay, too determined to make Kai taste his first experience of Christmas with the team.

Crazy was the word to describe that night, Kai thought. Or more correctly, Tyson, among other people, made that word happen in every moment possible. The guy was fooling around when he made Max take candid shots of everyone. But since the term never existed in Kai's system, Takao tried sneaking a Santa hat on Kai's head. The sudden flash of light made Kai aware of Tyson behind him, and he actually strangled him, making the poor guy vow to burn that part of the film before the pictures were developed. Kai never knew that Max even caught this particular unusual act on film until it was too late. He knew he should be annoyed.

Yet somehow, he… quite enjoyed it. Another memory came.

"Deck the halls with boughs of holly," Tyson gleefully sang, goofing around with a plastic ocarina in a completely out-of-tune play. "'Tis the season to be jolly—" Torturous notes falling out of place, everyone covered his ears in horror. "Don we now our gay apparel, Fa la, fa la la la laaaaaaa...!"

Hiromi pretended to whack him in the head. "Tyson, you're such a hopeless nut!"

Laughter roused in result, and said hopeless musician just grinned.

Though Kai didn't know why, just watching Tyson grin in that state made him feel like… smiling. Despite the navy-haired teen being completely ridiculous, there was a certain kind of aura and energy emanating from him, something that could light up the darkest of moods. A part of the lone teen wanted to thank his host, and Kai felt… strangely happier that night.

Tyson resurrected the lifeless child buried within the recesses of Kai's guarded being.

And Kai saw that child lying in the cold empty grave just before him.

Now he was hardened once more, strong like before. No tears to weaken him. Nothing, no one, would ever be able to make him feel pain. Just like the past days while everyone else mourned. To hell with everyone else for saying that he should grieve. Takao had committed a great offense against him, no tears reserved for a fool.

Who did Tyson think he was?

Let a golden boy like him to be born,

In every family, in every house of Nippon,

This is my hope, this is my language,

One day, I've to leave everything, just because of a ravage…

The fire in him was starting to blaze already, screaming through his skin. Soon his clothes would burn, soon the snow would melt.

"Now this is the festive mood of the year! Let's party!"

He couldn't stop it anymore, tears slowly forming and falling from his hardened eyes, so few.

Hillary looked at him through her red-streaked ones. "Kai," she said softly, opening her arms in invitation.

"I don't need that," he snapped, spitting the words to the ground.

"Kai…"

"I said, I don't need that!" he yelled at her, muscular body visibly trembling underneath the layer of his dark warm clothes. "What I need is to see Granger breathing!" Breath going ragged, he rushed to the grave, heated color slashing across his cheeks. "You idiot! You're damn alive and you know it, you bastard!" He kicked the gravestone in rage, and with force kicked again. And again. And again.

Hillary gasped. "Kai!"

"I loathe you! You're so weak, you know that, Granger!" Kai lost control of his breathing, hyperventilation gasping out of his livid body, the need to strike someone, something, anything rousing his senses to full awareness. "Does it take one stupid trip to kill an ass like you? Tell me!" Hard hands balled themselves into enraged fists, pounding the gray stone, a crack forming along the side. He wanted more of that crack, he decided, centering his punches on it at first, blood pouring from his knuckles as it has hit the stone mercilessly, still raining fists all over the stone. Hillary's wreath was reduced to a shattered, useless ring of green, and without mercy was ripped off its place by him, Hillary's pleas and wails for him to stop just dimmed sounds from far away.

Destroy it, destroy it, destroy it…!

This pain, this inflammation,
Can't be taken, they're beyond toleration,
Hands are burning, like holding fire,
Angels, come and free me from this ire,
Which will spring from the repressed grief,
Otherwise, let it make an outburst, let it leave