A/N: I've reorganised the chapters of Waking the Demon so they cut off at more logical points now (I hope). I'm sorry I didn't do this at the beginning but it really was just a teaser, so I wanted to tease you :P You don't need to re-read Chapter 1 to get what's going on, but Chapter 2 now starts with something that was half-way through it before - so definitely re-read this chapter!! Anyways, I hope you enjoy the new parts!!

Waking the Demon

Chapter 2

3rd Person POV

Kai paces restlessly around the living room as he waits for Bryan to answer his phone. "God dammit Bryan, answer your bloody phone!" He hears a click.

"Kai."

"Bryan! Why the fuck did you tell Rei about me and Brooklyn?! I know it was you who took those pictures!"

"Pictures? What pictures?" Bryan put on a mock-innocent tone, trying to rile Kai up.

Kai snarled. "Don't play dumb with me, Bryan: I know who, or I should say what, you are."

Bryan chuckled darkly. "Do you now?"

Kai growled again.

"Well, who or what I am is of no consequence. You asked why I told Rei: he deserved to know. You've been treating him like shit for weeks and everyone could see it except for him. Where is he?"

Kai sighed: he knew Bryan wouldn't like his answer. "I don't know. He ran out of the house about an hour ago. I tried to call his cell, but either he doesn't want to talk to me or he left his phone somewhere in the house."

There was silence on the other end of the line.

"Bryan? You still there?"

"…He's been gone for an hour, in the middle of a blizzard and it's taken you this long to call me?" Bryan's tone was ice. "Have you even started looking for him yet?!"

"Are you nuts? I'm not going out in a Russian blizzard!" Kai's tone was indignant.

There was another stony silence before Bryan spoke; and it sounded as though he'd channelled the blizzard outside into his voice. "And yet you will let Rei, the man you have claimed to love for the past two years, stay out there in nothing but sweat pants and a light jacket?!"

Kai shivered at his tone before he picked up on something. "How did you know he was only wearing sweat pants and a light jacket?"

There was a slight pause before Bryan answered, as if he was weighing his words, and even though Bryan couldn't see him, Kai narrowed his eyes: the falcon was hiding something.

"Because that's what he always changes into once he gets home. Not that he'll be calling your mansion home ever again, I'd imagine." Bryan sounded smug. "Now, you are going to go out and find Rei: immediately." It wasn't a question and there was no room for argument in his voice; but Kai still resisted.

"No, I'm not. Even if he is stupid enough to go out in the middle of a blizzard, I am not." He hung up the phone.

Bryan sighed and hung up as well. "Stupid Hiwatari; Rei deserves someone better than you."

Tala came over and hugged the falcon from behind, resting his head on Bryan's shoulder. "Kai's a bastard: forget about him. The important thing is finding the neko that's freezing to death."

Bryan turned around to embrace Tala back. "I'll find him, Tal, don't worry about that. I know exactly where he is." He winked at Tala before walking to the door, pulling on his heaviest floor-length coat, wrapping a scarf around his neck, pulling a beanie down over his ears, shoving his hands into gloves and pushing his feet into warm snow boots.

He turned back to Tala. "You better stay here love: you won't be able to handle the cold."

Tala didn't look happy about it but he nodded and kissed Bryan quickly anyway. "Be careful love, and bring Rei home safely."

Bryan nodded and walked out the door, heading into the white-out.

Rei POV

Cold.

That's all I can feel now. The freezing wind swirling flakes of snow down the alley and turning it into a wind tunnel of frost.

I've moved to huddle with my back against a dumpster, my knees to my chest and my arms tucked between them. I'm shivering so much my muscles are in agony, but I've ceased to notice. All I can concentrate on is the cold: the biting, freezing cold that gnaws at my flesh.

Suddenly there's a different sound besides the one of the wind howling: a harsh crunching, like an animal chomping through bone. At first I think it's my own bones finally giving way under the strain of the cold, but slowly I make out a hulking figure striding towards me. It stops less than two feet in front of me and spreads open its coat, shielding me from the wind. It's a blessed relief, but I've been out here a long time and can still feel the snow beneath and around me, clamouring to claim my body.

I realise abruptly that the figure is no longer inside the coat but is swiftly divesting itself of scarf, gloves, hat and boots…and the coat is still hanging there, like someone is still inside it.

I think the cold has addled your brain, Rei, because that's impossible.

I'm tempted to agree with myself.

The figure crouches in front of me, looks me in the eyes and speaks. "Rei? Rei?! For His sake, please don't be dead!"

Dead? I'm not dead. See I can still move…shit…I can't move! What the hell?! Help! Whoever the hell you are, help me!

Staring into my pleading eyes, the figure quickly puts his (the voice is too deep to be a woman's) hand on my head and starts to whisper in a language I have never heard before. Warmth floods through me and I gasp in a freezing lungful of air and jerk sideways. Luckily the stranger catches me before I can fall in the snow. He helps me to my feet and proceeds to dress me in the few items of clothing he had taken off earlier.

Once I'm wrapped safely in his hat, gloves, scarf and boots, he plucks his coat out of the air and drapes it around me.

"You're alright now Rei, you're alright," he continues to whisper reassurances as the wind buffets around us. I shiver again and vaguely wonder how he knows my name.

The stranger steps closer and goes to touch my head. I step back in fear. He frowns. "Rei? What's wrong?"

I open my mouth to speak: it comes out as a harsh croak. "Who are you?"

The frown deepens. "You don't know me?"

I shake my head. It doesn't occur to me to wonder how he can hear me above the wind; or how I can hear him for that matter.

The frown is wiped clear and the stranger steps back from me. "Do you want me to take you to your home?"

In a rush, all that has happened today floods back and I burst into fresh tears at Kai's betrayal, sink against the wall to my left and bury my face in my hands.

There's a soft pressure against the side of my head, a few whispered words and I black out.

Bryan POV

I catch Rei again before he can fall in the snow. I was worried when Rei had said he didn't know who I was, which was why I'd reminded him about Kai. That he had remembered had comforted me somewhat and had also provided the opportunity to knock him out. Not that I like to cause him pain, but it seemed the only way.

The blizzard continues to howl around us, but I hardly feel it, my body naturally keeping itself warm. I easily lift the small neko into my arms and hold him as close to my chest as possible to try and keep him warm.

Never fear, Kitten, I'll do everything in my power to make sure you'll be okay – and that's not an idle boast.

Rei POV

I wake up shivering and have to swiftly convince myself that the dream of a cold, dark place is only that: a dream. I look around, expecting to be in the bedroom back at Kai's; but the bed, the walls and the belongings are all unfamiliar.

I push back the blankets and as the cold air washes over me I gasp which turns into a coughing fit, forcing me to clutch at my chest as the coughs rack through me. Once it's over I curl into a ball and whimper, pulling the covers back up.

Man, I hate the cold: and I hate colds even worse.

My body mocks me by sneezing. Stupid body…

I notice a glass of water on the bedside table and gulp it down in relief. Once finished I snuggle back into the pillows and blankets and let sleep claim me.

I wake again to someone talking to me and I hear my name. I blink my eyes open and look into ice blue ones. I wince at the reminder of the cold but then focus and realise it's Tala.

"Tala? Where am I?" My voice scratches and rasps and makes me cough slightly.

Tala stares at me, astonished, but then smiles like the sun and throws himself at me, hugging me against the bed.

"Thank Him you're okay, Kitten," he sits up and looks down at me sternly, "and don't you ever scare us like that again!" He hugs me for the thousandth time that day and this time I wrap my arms around him in return; noticing for the first time the bandages around my knuckles.

Oh, yeah, I punched the wall didn't I…well that was smart of me...

Can you feel the sarcasm?

I feel something wet and turn to look at Tala, whose face is buried in my right shoulder.

"Tala? Are you alright?" My voice still scratches, but it isn't as bad as last time.

He looks up at me with a tear streaked face. "I'm just glad you're awake, Rei. You've been asleep for five days."

I stare at him in shock. Five days? I thought it was still the day they'd told me about Kai's affair…and at that thought, the floodgates open.

"Kai" I sniff, "oh, Kai how could you!…bastard!...I thought you loved me…what did I do wrong...?"

It's my turn to sob and cling to Tala as I cry and cry and he whispers soothing words, telling me that it's for the best that I get the tears out. Eventually I stop crying and just before I slip back into exhausted sleep I feel Tala press a kiss to my forehead and say "sleep tight, Kitten"; I agree wholeheartedly and drift off.

Tala POV

Once Rei's in an exhausted sleep I carefully slip out of his room and pad softly down the corridor until I reach the stairs. Normally I would laugh and slide down the banisters, but I don't trust myself right now, so I calmly walk down the two flights and along two more corridors until I come to the training room; the room furthest away from Rei and it's sound-proofed. Thank Him (1). I quietly shut the door and then with a howl of rage spin and slam a fist into the wall beside me. Woops, it went through the plaster. Oh well, Bryan can fix it later.

I stride to the chest in the corner that holds all the protective gear and throw stuff around until I find the black leather, fingerless gloves that have silver studs on the knuckles. I grin sadistically as I pull them on and fasten them.

I then stride to the other end of the room, loosening my shoulders as I go. I then take up stance and lay into the reinforced punching bag hanging from the ceiling, imaging it as Kai's face. The stupid bastard! Why the hell would he cheat on Rei?! Rei doted on him and for a while he doted back…obviously something must've changed…I wonder what? I know Kai's not an especially loyal person – I mean just look at the history of all the teams he's been on – but I really thought that he loved Rei and always would…gah! I want to know what changed!

I punch the bag harder.

I wonder if Brooklyn forced him into it? I know I told Rei that Kai went willingly, but do I really know that? Hmmm, Brooklyn doesn't have as much power as Bryan, but he might be capable of changing someone's thoughts…I'll ask Bry later.

I continue to punch, kick and generally beat the stuffing out of the punching bag until a knock sounds on the door and a voice floats through.

"Tala? Are you alright?"

It's Bryan. I know not only because I know his voice so well, but because he's the only one who could actually speak through a sound-proofed door and make himself heard.

I spin and give the bag one last power-charged back kick before the seams split and blocks of foam tumble out. I sigh. Someone's going to have to carry those down to the bin and they weigh about 5 kilos each: great.

I stride to the door and yank it open. I'm not completely calm even though I've been at the bag for about two hours.

Bryan takes one look at me, my gloves, the broken bag behind me and he immediately tenses. His look is sharp. "What's happened?"

I sigh and shake my head, looking at the ground. I really don't want to explain: it'll only make me mad again.

He takes hold of my chin and makes me look him in the eye. "What. Happened."

Then again, Bryan can be very persuasive. "Rei woke up."

Bryan's eyes widen in shock and surprise: obviously not what he'd expected.

I go on, "and he was fine until he remembered about Kai…Bryan it broke my heart to watch him fall to pieces over it: it was torture. He wept for an hour. He kept wondering how Kai could do something like this to him and asking what was it that he had done wrong. He's blaming himself Bryan!"

I take deep breath and try to control the urge to punch something again. I knew thinking about it would make me angry. I glance up at Bryan and take an involuntary half-step back in surprise. Apparently I'm not the only one who's angry...

Both Bryan's eyes are dark red with only a sliver of black in the middle and no white. He looks positively demonic. They swirl slightly too. I've never seen them this colour before and it scares me.

He looks over my head, his jaw and temple ticking, his fists clenched so tight it's a wonder that the bone hasn't popped through his skin. He looks like a bomb about to go off.

Against my better judgement, I lightly touch his arm and whisper "Bryan?"

Riiiip! Crash!!

...that was the sound of Bryan tearing off the door and throwing it out the window on the other side of the room…

Boom!

…and the door smashing on the concrete.

I guess the foam blocks will be easier to manage now…

Bryan POV

One look at Tala's shocked face and I come back up to earth. I sigh, get my eyes back under control and hold my arms out for him. He doesn't move: just looks at me warily.

I beckon encouragingly. "I'm fine now, Tal, I promise. It was just a momentary weakness." I grin lopsidedly.

He takes the few steps to stand in front of me and then wraps his arms around my waist. "Please don't scare me like that again Bryan...you really frightened me..." he snuggles my neck.

I bury my face in his hair and hold him to me tightly. "I'm sorry; I won't do it again. Just the thought of Rei..." my throat closes and I take a deep breath to calm myself "...I guess the little neko's one of my weak spots: kinda like you are." I hold him away a bit and smile crookedly.

He smiles back and nuzzles his head against my neck again. "Let's go check on him. We can clean this up later."

"Sounds good to me."

We climb the two flights of stairs to Rei's door. "Do you think we should wake him up?"

Rei POV

The next time I wake it's because I can hear Bryan and Tala arguing quietly in the hallway outside the room. As I slip out of bed I can tell that they've turned the heat up because I'm not shivering any more: finally. I creep over to eavesdrop through the door.

"...should wake him up!" Bryan hisses softly.

"He needs all the rest he can get, just leave him be!" Tala replies, equally annoyed and yet equally hushed.

"If we leave him too long he may never wake up! Do want that Tala? For him to never wake up?!"

There's silence and then Tala speaks so faintly I have to strain to hear. "If you knew anything about me, Bryan Kuznetsov, you wouldn't be able to ask that question."

And then silence.

"Tala, I didn't mean anything by that...I know you care about him, I do too; we just had this conversation...but please, please listen to me this once...please..."

There's a sigh and a muttered "alright we'll wake him up" before the handle twists and the door opens. They both walk through and look at me in surprise. I jump and stare back at them sheepishly.

Bryan recovers first. "Well I guess that argument was pointless since you're already awake." He tries for a grin but it looks a little strained.

Tala stares at me for a second, shocked, then lowers his gaze and blushes.

Huh?

I walk forward and lift Tala's chin, staring into ice. "Why are you blushing?" I frown in honest confusion.

Tala merely blushes harder, looks anywhere but down and mutters something under his breath.

"What?"

He sighs and looks back into my eyes, still red. "I said: because you're naked."

I start and look down. He's right. I blush brighter than the red-head's hair and jump back, covering myself with my hands. "Ahh, what happened to my clothes?" I edge back to the bed and clamber under the covers. I look between Bryan and Tala questioningly, trying to will my blush away, but I doubt it's working.

Bryan answers me with a frown, "They were beyond saving Rei."

Cue my world-famous kitty-eyes.

His face softens and he walks over and sits on the edge of the bed, stroking my hair out of my eyes. "You can borrow some of Tala's clothes until we go and get yours from Ka-" he stops dead at the pain in my eyes and I absently notice his fist tighten on the bed. "You don't have to come with us Rei; stay here and we'll go and get your stuff."

I'm extremely tempted to take him up on it, but I shake my head. "You don't know where everything is and I only want to make one trip. Thanks, but I'll come with you."

Bryan unclenches his jaw and is about to say something when Tala suddenly bounces up onto the bed next to me and grins. "Can I pick your clothes out, Kitten? Please?" I don't like the supposedly innocent look he has on his face, but it's either let him chose an outfit for me or walk around naked...I choose to smile back at him. "Of course Tala; go ahead. Just make sure it's something warm please."

He squeals in delight, hugs me (more like crushes me) and rushes out of the room. I sigh and drop my head in my hands.

Bryan chuckles, all tension forgotten. "You realise he's going to give you something atrocious, don't you?"

I smile softly. "Yeah, but it's better than walking around starkers."

Bryan laughs and ruffles my hair. "Do you want something to eat?"

My stomach growls right on cue. We laugh again. "Yeah, that'd be great Bry. Could I have potato bake? And caramel slice? And chocolate ice cream? Please?"

He nods.

"Thankyou!" I hug him before pushing him towards the door encouragingly.

"Don't mention it," he laughs and wanders out, closing the door gently behind him.

A/N: Do the like the new bits? I just love a demonic Bryan, don't you? ;) Also, I love cooking my own potato bake and then having home-made caramel slice for desert and maybe even chocolate ice cream as well if I'm feeling especially special :P Anywho, enough of food (even if it is delicious); reviews of all shapes and sizes are welcome and thanks heaps for reading!!