Authors note: Unfortunately I have gotten a cold, or whatever it is you say in english, which means that I don't have anything else to do but write. Strange how that shit always comes during vacation huh? Anyway, I hope you will like the chapter and for the record I have no idea wheater or not there is an age limit on porn in china. I just made a wild guess and if it is wrong, well, this is an AU after all;)

PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! Everything is appriciated!

Behind the wall of sleep

Chapter 10: Quest for fire

It was exactly 48 hours since my grandfather had decided to call me. 48 hours which I had spent brooding, forcing my team to train, and having sex. We had won the semi final the day before, and tomorrow we were scheduled to battle the white tigers at the top of the China tower, the final showdown. I was lying on my back, arms behind my head, with Maria on top of me. It felt good, and I was somewhat intrigued with the fact that she kept coming back, despite my obvious lack of friendliness to begin with. Had it not been for the sex I would have forced her to leave. Then again she had learned from the previous night, and to my relief there was no more childish giggling or girly squeaks. My grandfather had not said anything either, and thinking back I had decided that it would not have bothered me if he had. This was my life, and I had made myself a promise. I would follow my own rules, and according to them sex was a very important part of life, at least at the moment. Then again the phone call had made me somewhat confused. He had only asked me if I was okay, if I needed anything. Was this normal? I had no idea.

Breakfast the next morning was tense, nervous. Rey was cooking, and as per usual Tyson was stuffing his face, Kenny was typing on his lap top and Max was not eating at all, nervous probably. I was reading a fashion magazine, of all things. Vogue actually. Not that I knew much about fashion, or was very interested for that matter. It had merely been a coincidence. I had spotted it on the kitchen table that morning, arriving back from my customary run. For some strange reason I had decided to pick it up, and there it was, a picture, the picture! It filled one side, a girl in a black dress with red lips and curly dark brown hair, lying sprawled across a car. The girl did not interest me much; Maria had nicer breast anyway, but the car, the car! It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, with the exception of Dranzer of course, and I had been reading the same word over and over again for the last fifteen minutes. Ferrari. It had a very stylish vibe to it, classy. On the phone my grandfather had asked me if I needed anything. Need, to need something. That phrase could have a number of meanings. At this exact moment I did not care about that, I needed that car, and as with everything else I wanted, I was more or less certain that I'd have it.

"Kai? Why are you reading Vogue?" Max asked me, having forgotten his nerves. I did not look at him, most of my attention focused on the prospect of owning a Ferrari. "Whatever", I mumbled, deciding that I did not wish to talk to anyone at the moment. Tyson fidgeted uneasily at the other side of the table, stealing quick and undoubtedly worried glances at my concentrated expression. I ignored him of course, he was a jerk after all, but I did find his despair quite amusing. The magazine belonged to him, judging by the fact that he for some reason had decided to write his name on it. At first I could not understand why on earth Tyson would spend his money on Vogue. Normally the only magazine he would bother reading was Beyblade News or something related to the sport, and needless to say Vogue did not meet those demands. Then I remembered that one had to be 18 to by porn in China, and after skimming through the woman's underwear adds I concluded that they probably did the trick. Nasty Tyson, a shame he'd written his name on the cover, now I had some really nice shit to use against him.

With that I lowered the magazine a couple of inches, a vicious smirk evident in my eyes as I met Tyson's gaze. He swallowed heavily, trying to hide his uneasiness by grabbing yet another of Rey's pancakes. I continued to stare at him for a couple of seconds, feeling particularly devilish. Rey and Max looked sort of confused, staring from me to Tyson and back again. After one last dreamy look at the gleaming Ferrari Italia 458 I calmly handed the magazine to Tyson. "Thanks for the loan", I said, surprised at how innocent my voice sounded. Tyson looked offended, but did not say anything, he merely continued his meal. Max still looked somewhat confused, and Rey bit his lip, struggling not to laugh. I was pleased with myself and leaned back, yawning lazily. And at that exact moment I realized that I liked my new life. Despite the annoyance and frustration my team seemed to cause me almost constantly, I could not help but notice that I was never bored. No, I was….happy? Was that it? Happiness?

I had never really understood what that word meant, what happiness was. Then again I was awfully aware that up until now I had never really followed my own wishes. Perhaps that was the reason for my newfound love of life, that I actually did what I wanted for a change? I was not sure, but either way I did know that I was no longer indifferent. That had been the worst part of growing up in the Abby, the boredom and indifference that seemed to be the same every day, dragging you down and into depression. "You should eat more", Rey suddenly said, placing a waffle and a glass of juice in front of me. I sent him a penetrating gaze and raised an eyebrow at him, brutally drawn back to reality. What was this? Surely he did not really care did he? Did he? He abruptly turned around, before I had the time to say or do anything, and I was left staring at his back, noticing his unusually red ears. The look he'd given me a couple of days ago, when he disturbed me in the shower, came to mind, and I made a face. With a somewhat confused shrug I emptied my juice glass, stalking out of the kitchen. I was pretty certain that Rey was gay, and although this did not really bother me, I could not help but feel slightly uncomfortable. Was he onto me?

We entered the BBA buss about ten minutes later, and after making the others aware of the battle arrangements I found my spot at the back of the buss, brooding. I had decided that Max would start, then Tyson and in the end Rey would finish. Of course, I could have played myself. I probably should have, considering the fact that then we where at least guaranteed one win. As it was I was not sure how Max and Tyson would handle battling against Garry, Kevin or Maria, and as for Rey I had told him to play last because I was certain Lee would. The two of them needed that battle, and I could only hope Rey was the strongest. We needed to win this, we had too. Failing was not an option, not in my book. My grandfather's wishes considered I had no choice but ensuring that we won, and this worried me somewhat. I was used to standing alone, only responsible for myself and Dranzer. Leading this team was vastly different, and while I myself would not play I was forced to trust their abilities. I could change the lineup, of course I could, I was the team captain after all. But, there was something inside me that did not like that thought, that wanted to give them a chance, and so I did.

The first battle was Max versus Garry, and I already knew that this first round would go to the white tigers. Max seemed to have a bad day, and after the first 10 seconds it was clear that he was at a serious disadvantage. He lost the first battle, won the second, and in the third….Well, needless to say Garry crushed him in one brilliant flash of anger, and I found myself somewhat surprised that he had not gotten a heart attack in the process. Surely all that fat could not be good? "Sorry", Max mumbled, coming to stand before me as if he was going to the gallows. "Hn", was my only response, and he went to sit down beside Rey, desperate for comfort. "Pressure is on you Tyson", I said, my voice somewhat unpleasant, glancing briefly in his direction. "I know Kai, I know, and I won't disappoint", he said, the false bravado in his tone annoying me beyond imagination. Sometimes, correction; all the time, he acted unnecessarily dramatic, and I knew that if he did not stop doing it soon I would have to take serious action. "If you lose Tyson….." I did not complete the sentence; judging by the look he gave me he seemed to be aware of the consequences of failing.

He was up against Maria, and I suddenly felt very interested. For the sake of the team I hoped with all of me that Tyson would win, but deep down I wanted her to win. That had been perfect I decided, Max won, Tyson lost, Rey won. And then there was the question of why? Why would I rather see Tyson lose, instead of Max or Rey? What did I have against him? To be honest I was not sure, there was just something about him that made me angry. The way he talked, the way he looked, I was not sure what it was, it just made me angry and frustrated, and the fact that he had that power tended to make me even angrier. I watched closely as the battle went on, and despite myself I struggled not to smirk when Tyson lost the first round. Maria gave me a look afterwards, completely ignoring Tyson. It was that look, the sex look, and I stared innocently back, looking forward to the upcoming night. And that was when Kenny seemed to understand what was going on. Of course, being the one he is he did not keep silent about it. "Kai! Are you sleeping with the enemy?", he asked, shock written all over his face.

Tyson, having enough to worry about, was pretty much the only one who didn't hear, and in a matter of seconds I was being bombarded with questions. Naturally they had known for a while that I had a nightly visitor, but they had not known who this visitor was, until now. Great I reflected, we were due to leave the next morning, and now they found out. "She is hot", Max said, glancing shyly at me. I knew what he was getting at and I would have none of it. A death glare put an end to any advice he might have wanted, and instead I had to deal with Rey and Kenny. "How do you know her?" Rey asked me, his expression unreadable. "I don't know her", I responded, not really finding it strange that I had fucked her every night for over a week and new nothing but her name. And then things took a turn for the worse. "You are just using her aren't you?" He asked me, an accusing edge to his voice which I had never before experienced. Kind and soft spoken Rey was gone, replaced by a person I had not met before.

"You bastard", he sneered, eyes blazing. I lazily raised an eyebrow at him, deciding not to answer. "Rey, cool it!" Max exclaimed, struggling to restrain this new and strange Rey. There was a brief silence after this, before Rey crossed his arms and leaned back, stiffly scrutinizing the floor. Somewhere in the back of my mind I did realize that I had hurt him, although I did not really understand how. "I have to inform Mr. Dickinson", Kenny said, and with that I pushed all the complicated aspects of my new life away, concentrating on the match, not really knowing who I wanted to win….