Title: The Story of Love and Responsibility

Author: YaoiGoddessNekoJin

Rating: T

Warnings: Yaoi, Violence, Language, Implied Rape

Disclaimer: I don't own a thing. *runs off crying* hehe

A/N: Okay, so I decided to go ahead and post chapter two. Hehe.

Chapter II: The Day We Met

A woman with long, flowing, black hair stood at her window watching her son play with his pet tiger. Her son was now ten years-old and he had grown into quite a remarkable young man. His hair was also longer, just reaching past the small of his back. The woman smiled softly as she watched Rei using the tiger as a pillow. Drigger, his pet tiger, was just a cub. Rei had had Drigger's mother since he was two, but when she died, he took Drigger as his companion. As she was lost in her thought, Rei's mother failed to hear the soft clicks of the door opening and closing. It wasn't until she felt strong arms wrap around her waist that she realized someone was in the room with her.

"Hello my beautiful Wu. What'cha doing?" came the soft voice.

"Nothing. Just watching a handsome, young man with his tiger." she answered, a mischievous smirk coming to her lips.

"Ah, any need for me to be jealous?" he asked, looking out the window and smiling as well. Wu turned around in her husband's arms and smiled innocently up at him.

"Of course not. You're the only one for me." She made her point by standing on her tip toes and kissing him. When they parted, they smiled warmly and lovingly at each other. "Wo ai ni, Lan." she muttered.

"Wo ai ni, Wu." he replied before remembering something. "Oh, yes, a messenger from the Hiwatari castle came by. He said that the Hiwataris are requesting that we come to their kingdom for a formal dinner and for our sons to meet."

"When do they want us there?"

"Tonight."

"Well, I guess we'd better go get Rei in and into the bath if we're ever going to make it." she sighed. "I'll go get him. You go help the stable hands and driver get the horses and the carriage ready for the journey." Lan leaned in for a quick kiss and they both went their separate ways.

~x~x~x~

Rei was by a shimmering lake in the forest when he heard his mother calling him. He looked at Drigger, who was currently trying to catch a butterfly, and laughed as he rose to his feet. He headed towards the clearing that was his back yard with Drigger following suit.

Rei's mother watched, with a soft smile on her lips, as her son and his tiger came racing out of the forest toward her. Rei came to a skidding stop in front of his mother, pausing to catch his breath.

"You wanted to see me mother?" he inquired.

"Yes, I need you to run upstairs and take a bath."

"Huh? Why now?"

"We're going to the Hiwatari Kingdom. You get to meet your future husband tonight. So, get a bath and look your best." Wu gave a small chuckle at her son. He was so excited that it was terribly hard for him to keep it all in. "Well, hurry up!"

"Okay! Bye!" Within an instant, Rei was gone. Wu laughed to herself, but, deep down, she was worried. Knowing how Voltaire was, she was nervous that Kai may be just as cold and uncaring as his grandfather. She didn't want her son heartbroken by the fact that his finance couldn't care less about him, but she really had no choice.

~x~x~x~

Lan and Wu were standing outside their carriage, waiting for Rei. Suddenly, the castle door was thrown open and Rei came running out. Both looked their son up and down, eying what he had on. He was dressed in a long, traditional, gold kimono. It had a large, black dragon winding it's way up from the bottom, it's head ending at his chest. The kimono also had a black trim. He wore his hair in a long braid with his royal crown settled around his head. The crown was a simple, golden band that ran around his forehead. It was set with tiny diamonds, so tiny that it made the crown shimmer in the light as if it were covered in glitter. In short, he looked like an Asian angel.

"You look so handsome sweetie!" Wu exclaimed.

"Well, are you two ready?" Lan inquired.

"Yes!" they both announced in unison.

~x~x~x~

The ride to the Hiwatari Kingdom was quite a long one. Rei dozed off several times before they arrived at the castle. Rei had just woken up when he saw something large in the distance. It was a large, foreboding castle. The castle was huge and made of cinder block. The architecture was clearly Gothic and it had large, iron gates in the front. The castle's ledges were also home to several scary looking gargoyles. The appearance really intimidated and frightened Rei.

"T-that's not the Hiwatari castle is it?" Rei asked in a small, scared voice. 'Please don't let that be it.'

"It sure is." his mother replied, dashing his hopes.

"Oh..."

"Don't be scared, sweetie. It's not as bad as it looks." Wu tried, unsuccessfully, to cheer her son up.

Rei swallowed hard as he stared at the terrifying castle. Just knowing that he was going to have to enter it was enough to cause him to break out in a cold sweat. The large gates made an eerie creaking noise as they opened, granting passage to the long, evil looking driveway. He started wringing his hands nervously, anticipating the horror that was laying in wait behind the huge, wooden, double doors. As their carriage came to a stop, Rei's mouth went dry. His father and mother exited the carriage and he followed. As the trio were approaching the castle doors, they opened, a thin ray of light revealing a tall man with dark, purple hair. Rei felt uneasy around the man. He couldn't explain it, but, for some reason, he didn't like this man. Not one bit.

"This way, my master has been waiting." The man started walking up a large set of stairs in the dimly lit castle. The top of the stairs transformed into a long, dark corridor. Rei was extremely nervous about what would be found at the end of the terrifying stretch of house. He started fiddling with the hem of his sleeve and chewed his bottom lip in worry. Finally, they stopped in front of huge, double doors. As their guide opened the doors, they were met with a massive, dim room. The only light came from several candles that were placed in various areas throughout the chamber. The bad feeling Rei had earlier was amplified ten-fold when he stepped into the dark room. Behind a large desk at the far end of the room sat an old man. His hair was fairly long and gray. To the left of the desk sat a younger man, possibly the same age as Rei's own father, his light blue hair nearly reaching his shoulders. But, neither of those men captivated Rei's attention like the boy that was leaning up against the wall to the right of the desk. The boy looked to be a couple of years older than himself. He had his arms crossed and one leg crossed over the other. His hair was the most unusual color Rei had ever seen. The front was a slate gray and the back was a dark blue that vaguely reminded Rei of the ocean. His hair wasn't the only thing that captivated Rei, though. His eyes were mesmerizing, piercing crimson red in color. Also, Rei noticed that the boy's clothes were a bit unusual as well. The boy wore a tight fitting, crimson, sleeveless top. It showed off his well defined muscles, unusual for a boy so young. He also wore baggy, black pants with a red belt around his waist. The silver belt buckle that adorned the front of the belt had the image of a mighty phoenix engraved into it. Rei also noticed the black combat boots and black, fingerless gloves that reached the boy's elbows. However, he didn't see anything on the boy that told him of his status in the castle. Rei was sure he was someone important, seeing as he was dressed to nicely to be a mere servant. And, the way he held himself, uncaring yet regal. Another clue to his social standing were the blue fins that adorned each side of his face. It was considered bad etiquette to allow slaves or servants to wear anything like that on their faces. Rei was startled from his thoughts by a deep, gruff voice addressing them.

"Lord Kon, glad to see you again." Voltaire smirked evilly as he spoke.

"You too Lord Voltaire." Rei could tell that his father put on a fake smile when speaking to the old man.

"Well, shall we get down to business? Lord and Lady Kon, this is my son, Kai." the younger man spoke, gesturing to the young boy standing against the wall. Kai had been in his own little world and hadn't even realized that there were other people in the room until Lan addressed him.

"Well, Kai, it's nice to meet you. This is my son, Rei." Kai's eyes widened as Lan moved to the side to reveal the ethereal beauty that was standing there. Kai was amazed at how long and gorgeous his raven, black hair was. He even thought, Gods help him for even thinking the a-word, that the small blush that adorned the bridge of Rei's nose made him look absolutely adorable. Kai shivered slightly, he hated that word, but it was necessary to describe the way the raven haired beauty looked at the moment.

"Well," Wu began. "Why don't you and Kai run downstairs and get better acquainted. I'm sure all this technical stuff will bore you to tears." Wu smiled warmly at her son.

"Yes mother." Rei bowed slightly to the Hiwataris in the room and headed toward the door. He stopped, however, when he noticed that Kai wasn't following.

"Kai." Kenji said sternly.

"Hn." was Kai's only response before he walked to the door and shoved his way past Rei. He may have thought the boy was beautiful in a moment of weakness, but that didn't mean he had to play nice. Rei stood there blinking for a few seconds before he followed Kai.

~x~x~x~

Kai and Rei walked down the long staircase in silence. Billions of different thoughts were whirling around in his mind. Why was Kai so cold? Why was Kai so pushy? Why was Kai so hot? 'Woah, back up. Where did that come from?' Rei's mind was so busy trying to figure out the answers to his questions that he missed it when Kai stopped at the bottom of the stairs. He ran right into Kai's back with a soft 'oof.' Kai growled ferally, spinning on his heels, crimson eyes blazing.

"Oh...u-uh...s-sorry..." Rei stuttered out, intimidated by the deadly gleam in Kai's eyes. Kai spun back around and started walking off.

"W-where are you going?" Rei asked.

"Away." Kai snapped. Rei was taken aback by Kai's tone of voice. For such a quiet guy, he could really be loud. Rei scrambled after Kai. It wasn't his home and he didn't want to stumble into any place he wasn't welcome. Kai noticed, with annoyance, that Rei was following him. It wasn't that he enjoyed being mean to Rei or anything. He was just confused about the things this young, naive boy was making him feel for the first time in his life. He needed some time alone to sort through his thoughts. Everything his grandfather ever taught him clashed with these awakening feelings and plummeted his mind into turmoil. And, it was all caused by the very presence of this boy. Kai walked out to one of the many balconies of the house. He went to lean on the rail and stood there, facing the large garden below, in silence for a while. He could sense that Rei was still standing behind him. Unbeknownst to Kai, Rei was standing there, shifting nervously from one foot to the other. He had no idea what Kai would do next or what he was capable of. The silence was starting to get to Rei, it was almost deafening. They both stood there for what seemed like hours, but was actually only minutes. Finally, it was too much and Rei spoke.

"So...uh...I guess...uh...we're gonna...get married..." he stuttered nervously. Kai merely grunted at the stupid comment. Rei fidgeted for a moment before continuing to speak. "So, uh...what's your favorite color?" he tried.

"Are you acting or are you really just stupid?" Kai inquired gruffly, still facing towards the garden.

"W-what?" Rei spluttered. Kai just turned and walked back inside the house. He was going to the garden in hopes of losing the pest. Rei quickly followed, getting angrier by the second. "Excuse me! Hello? I'm talking to you here! What do you mean I'm stupid?" Kai just sighed and walked faster. He rounded a corner and went out the door to the garden. He went into a patch of trees and bushes to lose his pursuer. Suddenly, he heard a 'SPLASH' and all complaints from the cat-eyed boy were cut off. Kai turned around and couldn't hide a snicker of amusement at the sight before him. Rei had tripped and fallen, face first, into the fountain that was in the middle of the garden. His rear was sticking straight up in the air, head submerged in the water. He raised his head with a splutter, turning around and attempting to get out of the fountain. Instead, he ended up falling back into the fountain, only in a sitting position this time. Rei sat there, looking annoyed and oddly like a drowned rat, as he spit out a mouthful of water. Kai just stood where he was, snickering the entire time.

"You think this is funny, do you?" Rei asked, agitated.

"Hn. It just proves that you are stupid." At that, Rei huffed angrily.

"Just get over here and help me out." Rei demanded. Kai's feet began moving of their own accord and, before he knew it, he was standing in front of Rei, his hand out before him. Rei took the proffered hand and, with a devious glint in his eyes, pulled as hard as he could. Kai's eyes went wide with surprise as he fell into the fountain with a rather large splash. Rei started laughing hysterically as a soggy and glaring Kai resurfaced. His once rebellious hair hung limp with water and the blue markings ran down his cheeks in blue rivers. Kai soon found that Rei's laugh was highly contagious and, try as he might, he couldn't hold in the laughter that bubbled up from his own throat. It was the first time, since Kai could remember, that he had laughed this hard. It felt...good. When they both finally calmed down, they looked at each other and got lost in the other's eyes. One, deep depths of molten fire, and the other, luscious pools of warm, golden honey. As if in a trance, both their faces began moving, of their own accord, toward the other. Lips met and eyes closed in a sweet, gentle, first kiss. Suddenly, there was a call from inside, breaking both boys out of the powerful trance. They pulled, hastily, away from one another. Rei looked away blushing.

"S...sorry..." he apologized as he stood, water dripping from his clothes. Kai stood as well, walking quickly back inside as Rei followed a safe distance behind.

~x~x~x~

The evening was over and the Kons were traveling back to their lands. Rei glanced out the window, looking at the large, silver moon. He touched his lips and smiled softly.

~x~x~x~

Kai walked over to his window, the cool night air ruffling his hair. He gave the smallest of smiles and glanced at the moon. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

~x~x~x~

TBC...

A/N: R&R!