Disclaimer: Owns Beyblade he does not.

Warnings: for basic warnings, see chapter one, please. Additional warnings for this chapter: icky things, violence, mentions of murder and corpses, hurting phoenixes, mentions of drugs and poisonings.

Xxx xXx xxX

Tala was the first of the three to wake up. It was light outside again, and he realized they had slept the whole night like this. Looking to his side, he saw Kai's sleeping face on the pillow right next to him, and a slender honey coloured arm resting around his waist. Sitting up as quietly as he could, he saw Rei sleeping behind his boss' back, nuzzling his hair and looking very content. He also realized that both he and Rei were still in their suits, and that the bluenette's wounds had bled slightly through the bandages. He could see dark stains on the side of his chest. But he looked so calm now. So serene. So... soft and human. And still he knew what this man had done just the day before. What deliberate cruelty he was capable of. How did this happen to him? What kind of an upbringing did he have that would make that happy innocent boy into such a monster?

But he refused to ponder on it now. It was useless, really. All it did was make him sad, and make Kai angry with him. He wanted to ask him so many things, he wanted to find out if this was a mask, and in that case, who the person hiding behind it really was. Or if this was the real him, how could he live like this? How could he live this lonely existence, so full of danger, violence, fear and paranoia? But he simply didn't dare to. At least not so soon. And besides, Kai himself had made no efforts to find out what had happened to the redhead since they were separated all those years ago.

Rei moved a bit, and then two golden orbs cracked open to squint around the room, and eventually settle on the redhead. He then smiled and carefully sat up too, making sure not to disturb Kai, and yawned.

"Morning, Tala," he said softly. "Get a good night's sleep?" Tala nodded shyly.

"I just...wasn't really prepared for sleeping next to him a whole night like this. I was just going to take a nap, and then leave him alone. Do you think he will be angry with me now?"

Rei smiled warmly and affectionate, running his fingers through the dual blue hair of the sleeping figure.

"See, he's not so bad to sleep next to," he said. "I always feel so safe next to him, and he's so warm, don't you think?"

"Yeah... I guess..."

"Sweetie, don't worry. He won't be angry with you. Did he ask you to stay?"

"Yeah."

"Then there you go. If he says stay, he means the whole night. Thank you for doing it. It means a lot more than you think to be allowed to be near him when he sleeps. If he doesn't feel comfortable with you, he won't sleep this heavily. Actually, he won't sleep at all."

"So... he trusts me?"

"I think he's learning to. Kai has so many layers to him, that it takes some time to peel them all off so you can see the real him. The good person he is under this harshness."

"You sound so... what's the word... loving when you speak of him. I'm sorry, but I can't understand it."

"You will in time, Red. I promise you that you will."

Tala nodded slowly, and then flinched slightly when Kai moved a bit and two red orbs opened to look at him, and then over his shoulder at Rei. He sat up carefully and looked at them once again.

"What time is it?" he asked. Rei checked the alarm clock on his side of the bed.

"9:48."

Kai grunted.

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"Honey," Rei smiled. "Both me and Tala only just woke up ourselves. And besides, you were shot yesterday, remember? Your body needs rest after something like that."

"Hn." He carefully touched his side and drew a sharp breath when he felt the wound under his fingers. "Rei, go get some new bandages." The neko nodded and got out of bed. Tala remained where he was – nervous like always around the blue-haired man. Kai looked at him, and Tala was surprised to see how alert his gaze were despite him just having woken up after sleeping for almost a day.

"You ok?" Kai asked him. Tala bit his lip, trying to think of an answer that wouldn't make him angry.

"Yeah... I- I'm doing fine." Kai looked very closely at him.

"No. You don't look fine." He reached out a hand and touched Tala's cheek. The redhead failed to keep himself from flinching slightly at the contact. Kai didn't seem to care, though. Maybe he was used to that reaction. "That was your first time seeing someone get killed, wasn't it?"

Tala started shaking, and nodded.

"Y-yeah. I've never... not even back home..." He felt the waterworks building up and bit his lip hard in an attempt to stop it. Kai stroked his cheek in a surprisingly gentle and soothing manner.

"I'm sorry I took away that innocence from you."

"What... what do you mean? I'm not innocent. I'm an adult. I've lived on the streets my whole life." Kai just looked at him, and then stood up, albeit rather unsteadily.

"In comparison to all of us living in this house, Tala, you were innocent. We deal with death everyday. I've lost count on how many people I have seen losing their lives. You hadn't. You were innocent."

"...o-oh."

"Go take a shower and get changed. Rei will start the teaching after breakfast."

"W-what are you gonna do?"

"I'm gonna dispose of some leftovers from yesterday's incident."

Tala's eyes widened.

"Y-you mean like...burying the bodies?"

Kai sighed.

"I'm not gonna bury any bodies. I have people to do that for me. No, I'm gonna take care of getting rid of all the information on their trip here. I don't want his idiotic brats of friends to come looking for them. It'll just irritate me and lead to me having to take care of them too."

"..o-oh."

"Now go get ready."

"O-ok."

Tala hurried out of the bedroom to get clean. Kai watched his back disappear out into the apartment. Then Rei came back into the room with new bandages and a bright smile. Kai looked at him with an arched brow and then attempted to remove his tank top. It was harder than usual, and he found himself strangely dizzy.

"Aw, honey!" Rei protested and stopped his hands. "Don't move around like that. It'll just strain your wounds."

"I can handle it, Rei." He shook his head, trying to make the world stop spinning.

"No, just please let me do it for you."

Kai sighed, but surrendered to the neko's skilled and careful hands. It was really no point in arguing with Rei when he had gone into caring mode, and Kai really didn't have the energy for even attempting it at that moment. He didn't let it show, but he was in a great deal of pain and apart from the dizziness, his body felt heavy with tiredness – so it was actually kinda nice to have someone care for you. Rei managed to remove the hindering garment without causing too much pain. The removing of the bandage was another thing, though. The compresses had gotten stuck in the wound, and he had to gently pry them off – casting nervous and concerned glances at Kai while doing so. The blue-haired man frowned slightly and hissed at one point, but other than that he just endured it, and Rei was thankful for that. Kai could take a lot of pain before he would let it truly show, and he knew that when things had to get done, there was no point in bitching around and just prolong it. When the wound was revealed, Rei's frown turned worried. It didn't look good. The area was red and swollen, and it was starting to ooze.

"Kai," he said, still looking at the wound.

"Hn?"

"I'm gonna call Doc."

"Why?" Kai looked at the wound, and then snarled. "Fuck."

"We gotta call him and let him treat this before it gets infected."

"More infected."

"I'll just go call him right away." He got up from where he had been kneeling to get a good look. "Just sit down and don't touch it!"

"I know how to treat a wound, Rei," Kai sighed.

"I know you do," Rei said and kissed him. "But please, just be careful."

With that, he exited the room to call the doctor. Kai getting ill from an infection was not what they needed right now. And if he got sick, he would get very sick. That was one of Kai's eternal problems. He hardly ever got sick – but when he did, he did so with a vengeance.

In the kitchen, Rei ran in to Tala, whom had gotten lost on his way to the bathroom. The redhead noticed his worried look, and frowned.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked. Rei threw him a quick and not at all genuine smile of reassurance.

"No biggie! Kai's wound's just looking a little bad. Gonna call the doc so he can just have a quick look at it. Don't worry."

"Bad? You mean like an...infla... in- infection?"

"Don't worry, love," Rei said and stroked his cheek. "Kai's been through worse than this. It's just a minor inconvenience."

"Incon...veni..."

"Inconvenience. It means it's something that's just getting a bit in the way of things."

"O-oh."

"What's the matter, by the way? Weren't you supposed to treat yourself to a nice bath?"

"I... I kinda got lost." Rei smiled and hugged him.

"Down the hall from here, first room to the left from your room. It might not have a jacuzzi, but it's got one hell of a bathtub anyhow."

"Thanks," Tala said with relief that it was Rei who found him and not Kai. That would have been embarrassing beyond words. He headed off down the hall towards the elusive bathroom, body tired but mind going 100mph. He was feeling so small and lost – not at all like himself. Tala Ivanov was usually dominant, cocky, sarcastic, untameable, quirky and a real joker. Now, he felt like he had lost himself somewhere along the way. Was it the drug still being a bitch? It had to be. Normally he would be himself no matter what the world threw his way. He had never been this... ridiculously wimpy. Yeah, sure Kai and his friends scared the shit out of him, but he usually didn't let something like that get in the way. He just needed to get used to this change, and then they would see the real Tala – the one who didn't submit. Like at all. Satisfied with his decision, he managed to locate the bathroom after having gotten clean clothes out. Walking back to his room in a towel when Rei Kon was in the same apartment was really out of the question. He didn't want any more weird comments and 'ooooh's to come shooting his way.

It didn't take long for the water to heat up, and Tala positively melted under the stream and the soap smelled wonderful – relaxing his muscles and easing his mind. Rei had told him that he could shower and bathe for as long as he wanted. Hell, everyone else did it so why shouldn't he? Tala was very grateful for that now.

Yesterday's incident had left him feeling somehow... soiled, despite the fact that he hadn't even been in the same room as the people being shot. But just seeing it happen and then see all that blood and that ghostly pale face on the man who used to be a tiny midget of a boy who relied on him; it had soiled him. Kai had been right. Tala had been innocent before that moment. Before he realized what kind of damage a .357 calibre bullet from a Desert Eagle could do if it was fired at close range at a person's head. Seeing brain tissue and blood splattered on the floor and still running from the back of a dead man's head was something nothing in his life could ever have prepared him for.

And the look on Bryan's face when he fired... Damn. Completely cold, like he was just whacking a fly. And then the fear on the other Americans' faces when they realized in how big a danger they were. He realized he had no idea what had happened to them. They had made the run towards the medical wing before they had been fully dealt with. With a shudder, he guessed they were just as dead as their boss by now. He was especially wondering about the guy's little brother – what was his name – Kyle? Was he still alive? The young man had seemed so lost, so innocent in comparison to everyone else in that room. Was Kai cruel enough to kill him? Or was it perhaps more cruel to keep him alive with the knowledge what they had already done to his brother?

Tala pondered his situation for a while, and then came to the conclusion that he might not like what went on in the lives of the people he now lived with, but he had to grow some kind of thick hide and just think 'better them than me'. He would have to become one of these people if he was ever going to survive. If he remained soft and empathic, he would either break down or get killed. And probably really soon and really messy.

It went against everything he believed in, but necessity has no law – and he had to, in order to survive. He hadn't fought for his life everyday on the streets of Moscow to die so soon. He had too much he wanted to do, to see, to feel. Real love, for instance. He wanted to find a person who could make him complete. He wanted someone to share his heart and him to share his. And, of course, he wanted to experience real mind-blowing sex. Still being a virgin at twenty-seven was just not ok. Well, he had had sex, but that was with girls when he was in his mid-teens, and he had quickly realized that he didn't swing that way. But he had never been that intimate with a man in his whole life. The guys he had known back at home (no, in Moscow. This was his home now) had been super gorgeous, but loaded with STD's and apart from that rather filthy and smelly, just like him.

All the guys here looked really hot too, and he realized with no small amount of panic that the one he most often got that butterfly feeling in his stomach from, was Kai himself. The blue-haired man was pretty much everything Tala looked for in a guy. He was slender but muscular, had a gorgeous face, wonderfully messy hair, beautiful slender hands and a lopsided kind of smile. He also smelled really nice, he admitted after sleeping next to him for a total of 18 odd hours.

Of course, Rei was hot as well, and so was Bryan. But their leader was really in a league of his own. And that was just plain and simply dangerous. If he would fall for him, he would have even less of a chance to stand up for himself, and Kai walked all over the weak people. Besides, Kai didn't care about him, no matter what Rei wanted to make it seem like. He was way too cold for that. Hadn't he admitted straight out that he bought Tala with the purpose of using him as a toy? Sure, he was being rather nice and caring unless Tala pushed one of his many buttons, but still... He groaned in frustration. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't figure the blue-haired man out! He wanted to just put him into the evil monster grouping, but he had too many sides to him for that to work. Now Tala was in a lack of knowledge of what the hell to make of this turn of his life.

Xxx xXx xxX

"Seriously, dr Kitsune," Kai snapped at the man. "Weren't you the one who would never allow a wound to get infected?" He jerked away from the man's prying glove clad fingers. "I don't know how you got through med school, but you need to go back and re-take the wound care part."

"Now now," the doctor calmly replied. "Don't be that way, Katsurou-sama. I've been caring for you your whole life. You know as well as I do that I am quite capable of doing my job." He carefully cleaned the goo off and took a closer look. "I am glad that Rei-kun saw it immediately. Treating it will not be any trouble. Unless, of course, you don't take it easy and slowly for the duration of the healing. You know what happens when you go out and work like you usually do with an irritated wound. Crawling around in mud or getting in gunfights is out of the question. Am I making myself clear, Katsurou-sama?"

"Yeah, whatever," the bluenette muttered. "But I don't crawl around in mud everyday."

"You did when you were younger. I remember Takeshi-sama being almost hysterical at you every other day. Remember how many times you had to see me because you had gotten dirt in a wound – or, for that matter, just managed to open a new one."

"No one pursuits you through mud, doc. If you look like me, they sure as hell don't expect it, so it's an easy way to get your ass out of trouble."

"If you say so. Now, I will come by once a day and change the bandages. I will also get you some antibiotics to take. Please, try to do as I say and let me do my job. It will heal nicely as long as you don't irritate it."

"Hn."

The doctor nodded and left, satisfied with having gotten his charge to do as he was told. Though his father could be stubborn, Kai beat him bigtime. He had never in his life met a young person as pigheaded as him. Now, he knew Kai was very good at wound care himself, but he was also a very active person – always on the front line when his family got in trouble. He refused to become one of those cowardly oyabuns that just sat in the HQ behind an army of bodyguards and not knowing shit about the situation outside. A very commendable resolve, but at times also very inconvenient. Getting Kai to take it easy wile mending things such as broken bones or stab wounds tended to be a lot easier said than actually done.

Kai sank back down on the bed and sighed. He was if possible even more tired now – and dr Kitsune's poking around in his wound had hurt more than he let on. Rei looked at him worriedly and came to sit next to him, slender hand stroking his thigh.

"Kai, honey," he said. "You ok? And don't lie to me if you're not!"

The bluenette sighed and lay down, running a palm over his face.

"I'm really tired," he admitted. "And the wound hurts like a fucking bitch. It's throbbing like hell." He snarled. "I fucking hate when this happens. Goddamned Americans! Even their fucking bullets are filthy."

Rei stroked his cheek and leaned in to place a tender kiss on his lips. Then he frowned.

"You're getting a fever. You should stay up here for a few days. I can handle the everyday business so you can get some rest."

"I can-"

Rei put his finger over his mouth.

"I know you can take care of yourself, but you also know I'm quite capable to run the business for a few days. All big decisions will still be yours to make – but I'll handle the rest. We've done it before, Katsurou-chan. Please, for once, just do as I ask. It worries me when you're sick like this."

Again, Kai sighed. As much as he hated (and refused) to admit it; when Rei used his full name in that tone, he just couldn't bitch with him. The neko was important to him, and he knew he had a point. Rei Kon had been raised to be his assistant. It had been that way all throughout their lives. He was as sharp a leader and businessman as Kai himself, and so he was more than capable of running the big family for a while. But still, Kai hated when he had to be still and rest. It made him feel weak. Though, for once, he was going to listen to his body. And his body screamed 'let me fucking rest, you son of a bitch!'.

"Hn. I'll try to stay here and chill. But I want you to run all big decisions by me."

Rei positively beamed. Getting Kai to admit he needed rest was a very rare event, and it stroked his pride to be the one who got him to do it.

"Thank you, love," he smiled softly. "Why don't you go out in the living room and watch tv or something. Then you don't have to be left out. I thought I'd sit down in the reading corner with Red and start teaching him English. I think I'll wait with the Japanese a bit. Just the basic words for now."

"Do as you want. As long as he learns the stuff he needs to. Call Bryan and Spencer and get them up here as well. Listening to you sexually harassing Tala will just get on my nerves if I don't have something to distract me."

"I am not sexually harassing him!" Rei protested indignantly.

"Yes, Rei. You are. You harass everyone. It's just the way you are."

"I prefer to see it as pepping and showing appreciation for other people's beauty."

"Uh-huh."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Rei."

"What?"

"Shut up."

The blacknette pouted.

"You're a meanie!"

"And you're a slut." He got on his feet and dragged Rei with him. "Come on. You need to find Tala so you can get started. I'm gonna start reading that new Lukyanenko book you found for me. Been a while since I read anything Russian."

"And still you own about three hundred books in Russian."

"Otō-san taught me that books are never a waste of money."

They came out into the living room and Kai approached three shelves, out of about twenty, where he kept the books written in his native tongue. He also owned books in English, Japanese, French, Italian, Latin and German. After rummaging around for a while, he found the book he was looking for and took seat in one of the huge armchairs by the floor to ceiling windows. Within a few minutes, he was completely engrossed in the story playing out on the pages before him. Rei looked at him and smiled while shaking his head. The blue-haired man was an exceptionally fast reader, and he would probably be through that one by tomorrow morning – unless his fever got worse.

((Oh well. If he falls asleep in the chair, it's no biggie. They're cosy enough, and Spencer can always carry him back to bed if needed.))

Xxx xXx xxX

Tala let out a content sigh when he had gotten dressed and felt somewhat fresh again. After so many years on the streets and not being able to wash more than maybe once every fourteen days – sometimes not even once a month – made showering such a luxury. He revelled in the realization that he had free access to the shower whenever he felt like it. During the shower, he had formed his resolve. He was going to act polite and respectful, but still be himself as much as he could get away with. He also meant to speak to Kai about working off his supposed debt. The thought of being a possession made his mind was roar in outrage. He would do what was necessary to clear it and be his own self. He was still not sure if staying in Tokyo would be the best for him afterwards – but, if he was to be completely honest with himself, going back on the streets wasn't all that appealing. However, that was a hurdle he would deal with when he got there. All he wanted was to be free to do what he wanted, and not what a short, evil blue-haired man with some sort of God-complex wanted him to do. He winced. That wasn't really fair.

Kai had been treating him well so far – minus the little incidents when Tala managed to push the wrong buttons. The younger man had become an even more complicated man than he had been when they were little. And he hadn't exactly been a picture-book back then either. Now, 48 hours in his house wasn't much to go by, but it seemed as if when Tala thought he might have figured him out – Kai revealed a new side of himself.

He walked out into the kitchen, and thankfully found the neko in the midst of making breakfast. And it was by far the biggest breakfast the redhead had ever seen. Bacon. Eggs. Pancakes. Three kinds of bread. Sausages. Coffee. Tea. All the spreads you could ever want. And sweets. Tala stopped and just stared at it until Rei realized he was there. Stopping his happy crooning, he turned to catch the surprised Russian in a hug.

"Hey there, darling!" he greeted. "Feeling all better?"

Tala nodded.

"Yeah. I haven't felt this clean in years. Uhm, why are you making all this food for breakfast? Will there be people coming?"

"This?" Rei looked at the amounts of food occupying most of the large kitchen counter. "Nah. It's just gonna be you, me, Kai and Bryan and Spencer. Ian's taking care of the trash."

"The trash?"

"The corpses."

"Oh. Right. Why did I even ask?"

Tala groaned and rubbed his eyes. Rei stroked his back compassionately, and then seemed to notice something for the first time.

"Hey, you're taller than me!" Then he flashed his signature perverted grin. "That's sooo sexy!"

"Uhm, ok." He broke loose as discretely as he could. "Should you really say things like that anywhere near Kai? Won't he be angry?"

"Maybe. But he's so hot when he's angry!"

The honey gold eyes sparkled and his smile was a bit too perverted for Tala's taste, and he moved a bit further away. The omelette saved him.

"Rei." The neko was still spacing out and drooling. "Rei! Your kitchen is on fire."

"Wha-? Oh!"

The breakfast was nothing less than a work of edible art when Rei had finished working his magic. As if on cue, the front door was unlocked and opened. Loud Russian voices signalled the arrival of Bryan and Spencer – bickering as usual. When they arrived in the kitchen, they immediately claimed their chairs and watched the blacknette put all the food on the huge table.

"Mornin', Rei, Tala," Spencer said and yawned. "Where's Kai?"

"In the living room. He's fallen asleep in one of the armchairs," Rei calmly replied. "His wound is getting infected and he's really tired and in need of rest. He's gonna be staying up here until the shit clears off."

"It's that bad, huh?" Bryan inquired as he helped himself to some pancakes.

"Hn." Rei sighed. "He's not happy about it. The Doc will come by to change the dressings and all that once a day – but it'll be our task to keep him still and take care of the fucking fever he's developing."

"Ok," the lilac-haired man said. "Then we'll make sure he chills for a while. We've done it before. Should we go get him? He hates to eat breakfast on his own."

"Hn. Just wake him up carefully. The wound is really painful – and as usual he's refusing the painkillers. Stubborn, proud man!"

The other two Russians smirked, and then Spencer got on his feet to go collect his boss.

Xxx xXx xxX

/"Kai, run!"

Tala grabbed his hand and rushed through the alleys – the sound of heavy footfalls echoing behind them. They ran as fast as their feet could carry them, trying not to trip on the slippery, ice covered streets. But the men pursuing them were gaining on them quickly – and no wonder. They had been chasing the two boys since early morning, and both Tala and Kai were running out of energy rather fast.

"Stop! Both of you!" they heard a voice call behind them.

It was the man who had spoken to them during their morning scavenging. He wanted to take the small bluenette with him, but said little bluenette and his best friend did not want that to happen. The man wanted to separate them, and they refused to let that happen. During these months, they had become almost like Siamese twins – they went nowhere without each other. And, really, they had no other person in the world to care for them either. And now this man came and wanted to take Kai away, because some foreigner wanted a Russian child and Kai fit the criteria. But Kai didn't want to go anywhere – and certainly not if Tala wasn't going there as well!

They had tried to argue, but they were just five and seven, after all, and when the man had tried to grab the small blue-haired boy, the whole situation erupted. Kai may be small, but he could fight – and he fought dirty. He had sunken his sharp teeth right into the man's hand until it bled, and then kicked his shin as hard as he could – giving them time to start running.

"Tala! Left here!" Kai panted, and they turned into another alleyway – only just wide enough for both of them – and came out in another, bigger one. Both of them had been running a lot, and they knew better than to run in a straight line when chased. But four hours of running and dodging all attention was really taking its toll. Their lungs burned like fire, and their breath came in short wheezing pants. Their muscles were starting to cramp, and the sweat covering them made them freeze even more in the cold weather.

They were trying to make it back to their hide out, where they knew no one would find them. But these men behind them weren't making it easy. They had managed to block every single short cut the boys knew, forcing them further and further away from safety. And then, the thing that mustn't happen, happened. They tripped, and fell face first into the dirty snow. Before they even got to their feet, the men had caught up with them and yanked them up.

"Stop it!" the scary man snarled. "Are you stupid? Don't you want a home, and a family?"

Kai spat in his face, earning a slap across his cheek.

"Tala is my family! Get your filthy fucking paws off of me!"

"You're coming with me, boy. Japan is a good place, and your new parents will treat you like a prince!"

"I don't even freaking know what Japan is! And I don't want any parents! I have Tala! Tala is my family, and I'm not going anywhere unless he comes with me! Understand that, you fucking retard?"

"That's not up to you to decide, you little punk!"

Kai growled and lunged at him, all teeth and sharp little nails – catching the man off guard and managed to cause some serious damage. Tala was fighting off two of the other men right next to him – yelling insults at them so fast it was a wonder his mouth could keep up with him. The situation took a turn for the worse, when one of the adults suddenly had a knife and tried to use it to neutralize the redhead. Kai saw it, and managed to get in the way. The sharp blade opened up a long gash in his velvety little boy-cheek – blood pouring from it. The shock of feeling it, caused him to drop to his knees and place a hand over the wound. He looked up just in time to see one of the mean men hit Tala in the back of the head, causing him to pass out in the snow. Then he was grabbed, and carried off – kicking and screaming and crying.

"Tala!" he screamed. "No, let me go! I can't leave him! I can't leave Tala! Tala! Let me go! Tala!"

They turned a corner, and the last thing he saw of his best friend and only family was the explosion of red hair looking like blood against the white snow – blue eyes closed and bruises starting to form all over his finely chiselled face. One of his slender arms seemed even in unconsciousness to reach after him.

"Talaaa!"/

With a muffled cry, Kai sat straight up, and almost fell out of the chair. His pulse was racing and he was gasping for breath. One of his hands had flown up and grabbed the cross, and he realized he was clutching it so tight the metal was digging into his flesh. He was covered in cold sweat, his entire body was shaking, and the wound was hurting really badly.

He heard heavy footsteps coming closer, but couldn't focus on them right now. But when he tried to stand up, his knees gave in and he almost fell to the floor – but someone caught him in mid air.

"Whoa, easy there, Kai," Spencer said and helped him regain his balance. "You gotta stand up slowly, or you'll pass out. You got a fever, remember?"

"I'm fine," Kai managed to say. "Just a bit dizzy."

"Ya gotta be careful. A fever from a wound aint to mess with."

"I know that, Spence. What do you want, anyway? Is breakfast ready?"

"Yup. Rei wanted me to get you. He's outdone himself again with the food. Red looked a bit intimidated – but then again, maybe he hasn't seen this much food for breakfast in his whole life."

"I'm sure he hasn't. Try not to bitch with him about it."

"I won't, but I'll tell Bry and Ian to keep their mouths shut as well."

"Good."

They entered the kitchen, and Kai bit his lip. As he carefully sat down next to Tala (and making the redhead feel nervous yet again), he asked;

"About Ian. Has he taken care of the trash?"

"Yup," Bryan said and helped himself to some sausages.

"Where'd he throw them?"

"Half a mile out of the harbour. There's a strong current going through there. They'll just move further and further out to sea. So no worries."

"And you made sure they won't just come floating up again?"

"Yup."

"Good."

He accepted the plate Rei had prepared for him, and quietly began to eat. Breakfast at the top of the Hiwatari Tower was never a very loud affair. Rei was really the only one who was very talkative in the mornings. The Russians preferred the first meal of the day to be a quiet event. That's not saying they didn't speak at all, but it was mainly variations of the phrase 'this is good stuff, Rei'.

As soon as they were finished, Rei got to his feet.

"Alright, hotties! Just leave the plates and everything and I'll take care of it. I don't want any more silverware in the walls!"

He shooed the four Russian males out of the kitchen, and Spencer helped his friend and boss sit down in the armchair again. Kai picked up the book he had dropped when he fell asleep, and made it clear that he did not to be disturbed while reading. Spencer and Bryan, being quite used to his quirks, just turned on the tv and put a movie on and slouched down in each corner of the huge couch. Tala didn't know what to do at first, but he didn't have time to ponder, because Rei came bouncing in, along with a note pad, a pen and eraser and what appeared to be school books on English spelling and grammar.

"Here, love," the neko smiled and signed for him to sit down in an armchair on the other side of the window from where Kai was, and he himself sat down in the one next to it and put the books down on the small table. "Ok, so. How much do you know about spelling? Can you, for instance, spell your name?"

Tala frowned and blushed slightly. Rei obviously realized that it had sounded a lot more insulting than he had intended, and he put his hand on the redhead's.

"I didn't mean it like that, darling. I just wanted to know where to start. Maybe we should just be methodical and do it from the beginning, ne?" Tala looked a bit embarrassed, and he smiled. "Hey, if I could teach those two blockheads on the couch Japanese, I am sure that teaching you English will be child's play."

"Ok," Tala sighed, trying to hold on to his resolve to stop being a wuss. "Let's get started then."

"Great. Now, this is the Latin Alphabet."

Kai watched and listened to them as the hours passed – seemingly busy with his book. Tala was a quick learner, but that wasn't a surprise. When they were children, the redhead had always understood things much faster than he had, and had he just gotten some schooling, Kai was dead certain Tala would have landed a good and well-paid job by now. It was good to see, also, that the redhead made his best efforts to actually learn what Rei could teach him. But he would have been surprised if it had been any other way. Tala had always hated to be a burden, to be seen as weak by anyone. He could remember so many times when Tala had gotten himself in trouble by fighting guys bigger than himself rather than being pushed around by them. He wondered how much of that raw, untamed spirit there was left in the man who used to be a scrawny and quirky carrot top of a boy. He had seen a little bit, but the old Tala was untameable. He was like a wolf, possible to become close to, but impossible to break and keep as a pet.

((I need to test him. If he is as wild as he used to be, he'll be perfect on the team. But if he's become a softy, I just need him to clear the debt and then I'll send him back to Russia and just make sure he gets a good job and a place to stay. Softies don't live long here, and I don't want him to get caught in deeper shit than he can handle. Yeah, I'll definitely have to test him a bit. As soon as this shit clears off. God, I'm dizzy again...))

He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead – facial colour fading to a snowy white. This gesture did not go unnoticed by the four other men in the room. Rei put the books down and went over to him – placing one hand on his cheek. It was damp, and the soft skin was burning hot.

"Are you alright, honey?" he asked worriedly. "You're pale as a sheet, and you're practically burning up."

Kai gave a tired, dismissive wave.

"I'm fine. Just a bit dizzy. Get on with the teaching, I'll be fine."

Rei wasn't convinced at all, and signed to Bryan to go fetch some anti-febrile. But when the lilac-haired man returned, Kai had already drifted off into a restless feverish slumber – mumbling incoherent words and frowning deeply.

"Here ya go, Ka-" Bryan said but stopped when he noticed that his boss wasn't conscious enough to hear him. He sighed and put the pills down on the small table next to the chair and touched his forehead. "Fucking hell," he said. "I gotta call Ian and ask if he can find the bullet and let me have a look at it. Seriously, Kai has never gotten sick like this by a freaking bullet before. Not shitting once!"

"Yeah," Spencer said slowly. "Now that you say it... He's gotten infections before, but never from a bullet wound. Somethin's fishy here, guys."

Rei frowned again, and got to his feet to touch the pale and burning skin of his friend once more.

"Spencer," he said. "Go call Ian and have him find that bullet. It's most likely buried in the wall, but he's gonna search every inch of that room until he finds it if it's not." The bulky blonde nodded and pulled out his cell phone from his pocket. The neko turned to Bryan. "Bry, please help me get him to bed." Bryan nodded and picked him up, and as they made their way to his huge bedroom, Rei signed for Tala to come along as well. The redhead warily did so, and when Bryan had placed the sleeping man on the bed, surprisingly gently for being Bryan, Rei spoke.

"Ok, Bry. I need you and Spence to keep up appearances now. If someone asks how Kai is, just tell them he's fine but cranky and that I'm battling him to get him to stay home. Do not under any circumstances let anyone know how sick he is."

"Yeah, I know the drill, Kitten," Bryan said and stretched his back. "I'll be out in the living room. When Ian comes with the bullet, I'll check it out and see if I can find what they did to it to cause this shit."

"You think they...poisoned it?" Tala asked in horror. Bryan looked seriously at him and nodded.

"There's a great likelihood of it, Red. Those fuckers will do anything to cause the necessary damage. But I won't know until I've taken a look at that fucking bullet."

With that, he left the room, and Rei sat down on his knees on the bed and began to carefully rid Kai of the tank top he had on. Tala hurried to make himself useful, and together they got him safely under the covers and made sure the pillows supported him just right. At least for a moment or two – then Kai was once again moving and muttering, hissing when he strained the wound in any way.

"Tala, honey," Rei said as he adjusted the covers a bit. "I'm gonna need your help on this one."

"Ok?" Tala said with an arched brow. "What can I do?"

"I'm gonna be busy taking care of all our businesses for a while now, so I won't be able to be up here all days. I need you to help me care for him. You won't have to do much. Just help keep his temperature down, give him the anti febrile when he's supposed to take them and make sure he gets enough food, fluids and rest. Oh, and keep him company. He may seem rather 'fuck off and leave me alone', but he hates to be alone when he's sick."

Tala frowned, not at all sure that this was a good idea.

"Uhm, Bryan and Spencer said something about him being really nasty when he's sick. And he doesn't seem to like having me around all too much. Should I really..."

"Aww, honey!" Rei objected and put a finger over his lips. "You'll do fine, I promise! Kai likes you! He's just got some problems showing it right now. Please, just help me with this. I need to be able to focus on business and know he's taken care of. I mustn't in any way show that I'm worried. The entire family will be upset and unfocused if they find out he's sick."

Tala sighed, understanding he was right. This really didn't look too good, and even if Tala didn't trust Kai's good intentions, he was worried. He was far from an expert, but even he could see that this could be very serious if they didn't treat it right. He nodded.

"Alright, I'll do what I can." He looked hesitant for a moment. "I won't have to change bandages all all that, do I?"

"Nope," Rei assured him. "Doc will come by and do that for you. Don't worry about that. Now, could you stay with him while I make dinner?"

"Uhm, sure."

"Thanks, darling! Don't worry, we'll just take care of your lessons in the evenings."

Rei bounced out of the room, leaving Tala looking rather indecisive by the bed. Finally, he mentally kicked himself and growled to stop looking like a chicken that had lost his mummy. After managing to turn on the tv and finding a channel that showed programs in English, he sat down on the bed – seeing that it might be a better idea, than for him to sit in one of the chairs in the room if Kai got worse, or fell out of bed or something. The bluenette was twisting and turning in restless feverish sleep, muttering incoherent words in what seemed to be Russian every now and then. He reached out a hand and placed it on Kai's forehead. Not only was is burning hot, it was damp from sweat as well, and the usually pale skin had an unhealthy reddish pink shade to it – showing clearly that he was in the grasp of one mean fever.

After about two hours of watching Oprah, and to his own surprise finding that he rather liked the show, Bryan came sauntering in to see how things were going. He slouched down on the bed as well and fixed his greyish eyes on the screen as well. The were quiet for a while before Bryan asked;

"Has he been sleepin' the whole time?"

"Yeah," Tala replied. "But he keeps moving around, so I don't think he's having it all too good right now."

"Ian found the bullet."

"Had they done something to it?" Worry made its way into the redhead's voice. Bryan nodded grimly.

"Yeah. He took a look at the other bullets in the gun as well – we kept it, you know – and they had tampered with every single one."

"What had they done? Can it be cured?"

"From what I could see by the quick examination, they had dipped the bullets in a mix of venom from several plants and animals – conium, for instance. All of them are toxic on their own, but I've encountered this poison before. It's called a wolf bite. They mix the substances together in a light enough dose so it won't kill the person in an instance. The combination causes the wound to get infected, and the person to become very very sick – with fevers, fever dreams, fatigue, dizziness, blurry vision, loss of appetite, vomiting... It's nasty, quite simply. It's the infection that's fatal, not the poison in itself."

"Can we cure it?"

"Yeah, but it will take a while. I've called a guy I know, an expert on toxins, and he's sent for the antidote. For now, all we can really do is to keep the wound as clean as possible and make sure he takes the antibiotics regularly. I called Doc and he's gonna switch to a stronger type. I aint gonna lie, Red. He can die from this. But, knowing him, he will fight for his life until his very last breath. He aint gonna give up that easily, and as I said; the antidote has been sent for. It'll clear his body of the toxins."

"How?" Tala was almost as pale as Kai now. This information was beyond terrifying – it was unimaginable and just... monstrous.

"It'll force the poison out of his body. It's not pretty, and it takes one hell of a toll on his body – but it will clear him of every last little drop. Good thing about the wolf bite, though. You can only get poisoned by it once." He scratched his neck. "Dunno how it works, exactly – but the important thing is that it does."

"You mean like a withdrawal?"

"Yeah, that's a good way to describe it, Red! It does look like a withdrawal from some nasty shit, and I guess it is in a way. You know anything about those things?"

"Withdrawals?" Tala sighed and scratched his neck. "Yeah, I do. I've lived on the streets my whole life, Bryan. I've seen people coming off more drugs than I thought even existed – and I've come off drugs myself. It's not nice to look at, and it's definitely not nice to be suffering through."

Bryan looked closely at him.

"You don't look like the junkie type, Tal," he said. "Ya can't have been using for that long? How did ya manage to quit?"

"I started when I was maybe sixteen, lasted till I was about twenty-three. Life on the streets is hard. And sometimes you just need to shut it all out for a while. The drugs came in handy then. It was my way of coping being on my own. Sappy as it may sound, had I had Kai with me still, I don't think I would've taken anything. I was alone, Bryan, and that is the hardest way. Because there, like here I guess, you can't trust anyone. Everyone around you are backstabbing motherfuckers who're just waiting to cash in on what little you own. You get by so much easier if you got someone with you. But you're seldom let into new cliques, and you can't always trust them then either."

"Yup, that's the way it is around here as well. You need to know someone at the top of the food chain if you're gonna be taken in at all. You're lucky, though. You know the leader, the oyabun. Aint a single fucker that'll bitch with you here. Word'll spread that you're with us, and they'll leave you alone." Then he looked closer at the redhead again, a lilac brow arched. "How old are ya? You don't look a lot older than Kai. Maybe about my age. Younger than Spencer anyway."

"I'm twenty-seven, as far as I know," Tala said and fought back a blush. "I know I'm two years older than Kai."

"Kai's twenty-five. I'm turning twenty-seven in a few weeks. Spencer's twenty-eight. Ian's a few months younger than me."

"Ok. Then I'm twenty-seven." He sighed. "To keep track on your age aint that easy coming from my kind of life. You're too busy surviving. Besides, I can't even remember my parents. I've been out there all my life, as I said. A few rounds in foster care and all that, but I always ended up where I came from after a while."

Bryan put a large hand on his shoulder and nodded towards Kai's sleeping form.

"Ya know, Kai's still as wild as he was when he came here too. He's never forgotten what it was like out there – and he despises his mother as much for trying to spoil him rotten as for being a general cunt." He shuddered and sighed. "Pray you'll never have to meet the bitch. Just because she married an oyabun, she thinks she's the Empress of the fucking world. She treats everyone like shit, and then gets pissed when no one even bothers to act polite. Kai shoved her out to a house in Kyoto, on the other side of town from his favourite one, where she can play court without bothering anyone. Christmases tend to be a pain in the fucking ass. That's the one time a year she comes here without being sent for – and goddamn, what a motherfucking drama queen she is. And she sets Kai off every time – last Christmas to the point of me having to wrestle him to the floor so he wouldn't shoot her."

"He was going to shoot his mother?" Tala cried. "What the fucking hell?"

"She aint his mother, Red. She's the cunt of all cunts, and she wanted Kai just because he looked so unlike anyone else. He was a trophy, nothing else. She's never treated him good – especially not when he got older and didn't even bother to pretend he liked her. Takeshi-sama really had a hard time trying to keep them away from each others throats. He and Kai and Kensei stuck together, and he taught Kai how to run a family like this when Kai was still just a kid. Irina hated it. She wanted Kai to be a good boy, go to some fancy ass university and become someone great – but still run the family, just for the status in it. Kai actually has a master's degree in art history, but running the family is what he wants to do."

"But how can he do that? I don't fucking understand! How can he be so fucking cold?"

"He has to be, Red. Think on it. Ya really think a softy would be able to run this kind of business? He'd be dead within a week. Yeah, sure, Kai is the most dangerous man you'll ever meet, but he's not made of ice. He'll go to hell and back for those close to him, he just doesn't show it around people. He can't. If he shows the slightest fucking sign of weakness or give a single hint that someone is close to him, they'll have the upper hand on him. Kai's on the top, but staying there is hard, Red."

"You all keep saying that. Sorry, but I can't see it."

"Well, you'll figure him out eventually. He-"

They were interrupted by the sound of the front door slamming open and a high pitched arrogant female voice filling the air – as well as Rei's pissed off protests. Steps approached the bedroom and that door was also slammed open, revealing a tall and slender woman with gorgeous ice blonde hair and a pair of piercing green eyes – wearing clothes that must have cost more than Tala's new wardrobe.

"Kuznetsov, where's that ungrateful brat I call a son? I'm gonna have a word with him, and give him a piece of my mind. Cutting my allowance like I was some servant! Where the hell is he?"

Xxx xXx xxX

Uh-oh! Enter the bitch!

And I still feel so bad for putting poor, clueless Tala through all this - but it'll be worth it in the end. Just hang in there!