Kai considers himself an expert at reading people. It wasn't so much opinion as a fact; he was good at working out what people were feeling. A statement. A truth. An experiment that was almost a game: observation and conclusion; deciphering each layer of emotion to pass over his teammates' faces, finding the trigger. That was the most interesting (and difficult) part, getting inside their heads - discovering what drove them to anger, lit up the smiles on their faces, cut them deep where they would never ever knowingly allow someone to peek.

But like all puzzles, some were easier than others. Always the simplest were what Kai liked to call, 'action – reaction' cases. A common example:

Observation(s): Upturned noses. Slight pallid quality to skin, even Rei. Faint gagging noises. Loss of appetite, nausea.

Emotion(s) distinguished: Disgust.

Cause(s): Tyson's table manners.

Easy-peasy. And no fun at all.

Kai savours a challenge. Something he had to reason out, something that wasn't so completely obvious. While he can admit occasionally his three youngest teammates provide him with some sport, the reason is usually nothing he has any problems guessing if he gives it a little time and thought. They are, after all, almost disappointingly normal, which widely narrows down the scope of emotional stimuli. When he finds the time to analyse these trends he suspects that the cause of his boredom with them is that he knows too much. Tyson and Max have always been disarmingly open, to the point of discomfort at times. As for the Chief, Kai is pretty certain that he has nothing to hide in any case.

The only person left, the only person he knows that regularly leaves him bewildered and bereft of any answer is Rei. Rei, who never seems to do what Kai expects, never plays along, always keeps him guessing. What's worse is Kai is never entirely sure Rei isn't doing it deliberately. Not to be malicious, because of all the things Kai knows about Rei (which, when he looks back on it, isn't actually all that much) the most obvious is that he hates to cause people pain. Venom and spite just aren't in his nature, for which Kai is eternally grateful. Therefore he can only conclude that either Rei has guessed about Kai's little game or he is an intensely private person. Kai presumes the latter is the case. He has enough confidence in his own abilities and takes enough stock in his own privacy to think it highly unlikely that Rei is on to him.

Above all else that Kai knows about himself, he knows he is no social butterfly. He never will be. And with the grand sum of what he refers to as relationships (as opposed to what he considers his acquaintances, of which he does not have many more) being not even in double figures, he does not have a great deal of experience with people. As such, he has nothing to compare Rei to but himself.

There are differences. Blindingly obvious, glaring differences, like how Rei somehow has the patience of a Saint, while his own temper is hotter and fiercer than the fiery pits of hell. Still, even through all that separates them, Kai still keeps finding things they have in common. And it scares the shit out of him. He's not supposed to find someone like Rei, someone who he can relate to, who's so like him, and at the same time so not like him in all the right ways.

Sometimes Kai looks at Rei, and grudgingly he can feel something almost akin to respect spark inside him. And he thinks maybe, just maybe, Rei would understand.

Author's notes:

I am not particularly proud of this piece. I don't really like the style, and I am not keen on drabble-style fics like this on the whole. However, as I have decided to upload it anyway (I wanted to upload something by the end of the weekend) I hope you enjoy it.

Carinya