Two chapters, one day. Sorry these things are short but I couldn't get it longer without combining chapters that had no connection.

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Tyson fell back onto a large soft bed with a happy sound. Max jumped onto the bed, landing knees-first next to his friend. Kenny sat down in a plush chair and watched the two in mild amusement. Even Ray couldn't help the smile that formed on his lips.

Everyone seemed to be in a good mood. Sure, they (Tyson) had nearly put the hotel restaurant out of business via excessive overeating. Sure, they (Tyson) had nauseated the other patrons by drowning their meals with condiments. Sure, they (Tyson, Kenny and Max) had frightened a few people by taking a short joyride in one of the laundry carts. And sure, maybe they (Kenny) had angered a few staffers by proceeding to vomit all over the laundry after said joyride.

But they hadn't been kicked out because the staffers' hearts had swelled at the sight of the lovely children.

And their wallets had swelled proportionately to the size of their hearts after Kai had proceeded to pay them off.

'Team Captain,' huh?

Little brats…

Ray left the bedroom and went to the living room. He found Kai sitting on the windowsill staring out into the night sky. The Chinese teen took a seat close to the window and retrieved a small book from within his coat. They sat there in a comfortable silence (if one drowned out the sounds coming from the other room) for several minutes.

"Need something?" the bluenette asked, eyes shifting to look in the other's general direction without turning his head. Ray smirked into the book he was reading.

"I've been meaning to ask you. Are you actually Japanese?" Kai rolled his eyes and returned his attention to the city's landscape.

"Who knows." He stated absently. Ray also rolled his eyes in response, turning back to his book. Kai frowned slightly at his reflection.

'Who knows.' He thought. Kai sighed softly and rubbed the back of his neck underneath the ever present scarf. It ached.

Back in the other room, things had finally settled down. Tyson was sitting near the TV, watching it on mute (he couldn't understand what they we saying anyway). Max lay on his stomach on the bed, also watching the TV. As for Kenny, the little genius was attempting to look up information on their opponents, the current world champions: The Demolition Boys.

There wasn't much information on the team, which was to be expected, he supposed. All teams kept their own trade secrets.

But he couldn't even get a picture!

"Got anything yet?" Kenny started. He was only slightly surprised to look up and see Tyson staring him directly in the eye. The brunette turned away and bit his lip.

"Nope, nothing. These guys have got their info locked down." He said with a sigh, closing his cherished laptop. Max frowned slightly, his gaze still on the television set.

"Not that I have any doubts regardless, but I don't like going into match completely blind." He said. Tyson groaned softly as he turned back to the show.

"Don't even talk like that. I wouldn't put it past the 'ice king' back there to make us train blindfolded." He grumbled. Both Max and Kenny smiled slightly at that.

"Sounds like fun." The blond chirped. Tyson gasped in horror and spun around to gape at the teen he had once considered his friend.

"You wouldn't!"

Max simply gave him a noncommittal laugh.

~…No light will touch your face again…~

Pressure?

Crimson eyes opened to the feeling of nimble fingers trailing gently along his features. Tilting his head to side, he was met with a child with hair that matched his eyes and eyes that matched his hair. He himself was naked from head to toe. Allowing his eyes to rake down the other's form, he saw that the child was dressed in a sleeveless white jumpsuit with a short sleeved black shirt underneath.

He stared at the boy for a long moment, saying nothing, before sitting up and looking about the room. His eyes landed on and followed the form of a middle-aged man as he walked over to the two children.

The man reached out and took the red-head by the hair, lifting him a few inches of the ground. "Kai, this is Tala. It is his job to take care of you; at least it will be when he learns. Got it?" Kai blinked, and nodded slowly as he turned to back at his new 'caretaker' who was wincing under the man's grasp.

Kai's eyes narrowed as he stared into those blue orbs that had begun to fill with tears. Kai tilted his head in mild curiosity. He took a mental picture of Tala and ran it against other images in his memory. 'That expression…that expression…Pain?' Kai blinked slowly and reached his hand out, taking hold of the man's wrist and forcefully breaking his grip on Tala's hair.

Tala stared up at him in surprise. Uncertainty flashed over his features before allowing a small smile to creep onto his face. Kai watched him blankly before mimicking the expression instinctively. 'Happiness…'

Ambrose watched them in annoyance, a soft growl escaping him. Red eyes shifted to stare at the scientist at the sound. Ambrose was tense, twitching slightly and glaring at them. Kai's eyes narrowed, getting on his knees, his body becoming tense and alert.

"A threat?" he stated more than asked. Ambrose started and froze at those words. 'He doesn't know who I am…' he thought. The man gulped slowly, slightly chilled when Kai's eyes flicked to his throat.

"I created you." He growled out, trying to appear calm. Kai continued to stare at him. He had no memory of such a thing.

"Unconfirmed. A threat to my caretaker is a threat to my existence." The child murmured in monotone. Ambrose clenched his fingers into fists and turned away, leaving the room in annoyance. Kai's posture relaxed some and he turned to look at Tala. Tala looked at him then turned away.

"Thank you." He whispered.

'Thank you…' Kai mouthed to himself. "You are welcome." He said aloud.

xxx

Ambrose entered the room next door with a scowl on his face. This room contained a two way mirror that the occupants had used to watch the above exchange.

"Anger, happiness, possessiveness; the processing time needs work, but it seems to me like J-9 is beginning to show signs of human emotions. A success, yes?" Boris said.

Voltaire's eyes narrowed, smirking calmly. He chuckled, "Yes, a success. Breaking him will be so much more…pleasant if he has emotions to worsen the ache." Turning to the violet haired man who stood in the back of the room, he smiled, "Tala of course, will be yours, as we agreed. Just make sure that he does his part as planned, understand?"

The scientist's eyes shifted to the other man then back to Voltaire. "You're giving Tala to him? I thought that since I would be the one training him that I –"

"I am giving you the honor of taking part in his academics. Boris is giving …social conditioning. One must take precedence over the other. You'll get one of your own…" Voltaire stated, literally waving off the other's concern. He turned his head to face the children in the room. "Just not that one…" he murmured, a smirk creeping across his face, "that one is a gift to a dear friend."

Boris stared through the window as well, a craving smile on his face, "I couldn't dream of a better gift." As if on cue, both boys looked up at the mirror and, despite seeing only their own reflections in return, knew that this was the beginning of the end.


Also, for the sake of simplicity, I will be referring to the Demolition Boys by name. In this fic universe, all of them (not just Kai) were to be referred to by letter-number that corresponds with their position on the team as Ambrose did. Their 'Canon' names are actually code names given later on. But because I love you guys, I will normally use the names when referring to them, unless otherwise stated.

Kai – J-9

Tala – J-1

Bryan – J-3

Spencer – J-5

Ian – J-7

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