Enjoy!

CHAPTER 29

Don't say a word while we danced with the devil
You brought the fire to a world so cold
We're out of time on the highway to never
Hold on, hold on

Duke Dumont

On the next Saturday, Kai I'm-attempting-to-be-an-idealist Hiwatari, took Tyson to his office in New York to impress him with technology. Slick move.

He guided the boy to the Innovation Chamber where they were creating a new visual effects prototype with the aim of incorporating holograms and illusions into games to trick the audience and make them want to join in the fun. Cheap tactics but that was how marketing always worked. The advertisement of a product never showcased reality. It boasted what the people wanted to hear the most. Cure for wrinkles, 99.99 percent annihilation of germs…

People don't buy unless you start claiming a product can do the impossible. If you make it sound believable enough, your product was a guaranteed success. Blading power depended on the wielder. Blades could only be built to move smoothly and not break easily, they couldn't be built to turn you into Tyson Granger all of a sudden.

The Tyson Granger was in the room right now and he looked appropriately curious about the tall boards in front of him, placed at two feet intervals. "What are they?" he asked, his voice echoing.

"You'll find out soon," Kai nudged him inside the rows of boards, following him with a remote he'd brought from his office in hand.

"Spooky" remarked Tyson, swiveling his head this way and that. Never one to stand still. "Why are there so many? It's kinda dark in here..." He kept up the commentary till Kai pressed one of the buttons on the remote and the boards lit up. Stark white. "Fuck! My eyes!" Tyson covered his eyes with his palm.

"Your eyes are fine, Granger." Kai pried his palms away from his eyelids and urged him to look around him. And Tyson did.

The boards were screens that moved and traversed the room. Once they were switched on, they disappeared and you were teleported to a different place. Right now, they were standing amidst a garden of wisteria flowers. "Wow" Tyson exclaimed, his irises reflecting the colour of the wisteria around him. "Wow" His mouth made a perfect 'O' as he took in his captivating surroundings.

It was more than obvious that Tyson was impressed, yet Kai couldn't help but ask. "What do you think?"

"Amazing" Was all he was capable of at the moment. "How did you make this?"

"I didn't make it," explained Kai. "The R&D team did."

"Tell them they're doing god's work and give them a raise. Jeeeeez."

"You're always telling me to give people raises."

Tyson looked at him. "Well, you can afford to and the people I've mentioned deserve a raise so I don't see why not." He shrugged.

Yet he was still at an arm's length. Nowhere near Kai. And he was hoping for a "you're amazing, Kai-sama!" with a passionate kiss from Tyson. Goddamn it. Mission failure. He flexed his jaw. "Right. I approved and funded the project though."

Fuck. He was fishing for compliments.

Tyson wasn't even listening. "Can I touch these…?" he was saying, one hand raised to pluck a petal off of a flower. Kai darted to swat his arm away.

"Don't touch the screens. Not yet. The system is still under development. You could get shocked." Tyson looked crestfallen.

"Make them touchable too. I was hoping to feel something squishy."

"Yeah, no. They're definitely not squishy." He dragged him away from the screen. "Just look. Don't touch."

"Look, don't touch," he heaved an exaggerated laugh. "Like you, back when we were 13 and 14."

"What? I never said that."

"You never said that? Well then you definitely practiced that!" Tyson got all animated. "I remember how you would literally get pissed and super angry like a hissy cat throwing a fit when I accidentally happened to brush against you or something like that. You were all like "Granger, get your filthy self away from my pristine ass. Don't get your germs all over me, you disgusting rat! Moles smell better than you do!" whenever I touched you." Kai stared in amused bafflement. He didn't know whether to laugh or defend himself against Tyson's poor impersonation. There was no way he'd said all those things to him. Especially not the "moles smell better than you do" part. Kai was pretty sure he'd always appreciated how Tyson managed to smell pleasant no matter how sweaty he got.

"You can't act for shit, Granger," commented Kai. "And you have poor memory."

"You have amnesia!" Tyson pulled at the lobe of Kai's ears. He had to free them using complex finger techniques because Tyson could be a crab when he wanted to.

"What are you? Five?" Kai asked him when his ears were safe again. Tyson made a very disappointed face at him.

"I was trying to kiss you, ya know?"

"You were?" Kai asked surprised. He'd like kisses, yes. He stepped closer yet Tyson stayed pouting at him, giving him the stink eye.

And so Kai leaned at the waist, crossing the one and a half foot distance with his upper body and glancing up so the top of his head was level with Tyson's chin. If somebody had walked in right then, Kai would have died from embarrassment. But the risk was worth it when the show forced a smile from Tyson and made him cup Kai's face and bent down to kiss him fondly.

Kai drowned in utter bliss for two minutes and forty seven seconds. The mission was a success after all.

FLASHBACK

Clad in racy stockings and seductive lingerie that outlined and accentuated their curves, they stood as Kai openly stared. He felt his heart beat pick up against his will as they came closer. From this proximity he could see that their chest was flat. Not a girl. They couldn't have been a girl anyway. Not with that height. Without heels he must have been as tall as him, but with those extra six inches, he towered above him. Ethereal and unattainable.

A blondie with bangs.

He was unable to make out his face since it was covered by a decorated veil, jewels in a line crossing from one ear to the other. The host circled him with slow steady steps, the clack of heels echoing loudly in the scented bedroom. Kai exhaled. Found his brain again.

Eyes like that of an incubus, he halted his infuriating pacing to look at Kai. "I can't tell if you're a man or a woman or something else entirely," drawled Kai.

One corner of the blood red lips hidden under the curtain of tiny jewels curled up in amusement. "Would you like me to change?" the host asked in a husky voice that was too deep to belong to a female, but not enough to be coined masculine. His voice carried through the air with a fragile quality, making Kai want to lean forward to hear it better.

"I'd like you to dress in something less...," Kai's gaze rolled up and down his form. "Extravagant"

"Something simple? Would a robe do?" Why was it that even though the host was being polite, Kai felt as though he was being mocked?

"Yes please," answered Kai.

"Give me two minutes," the host excused himself, disappearing through another door in the room that led to what he presumed to be a bathroom. In the precious few moments he had alone, Kai strategized a plan to make the evening turn out in his favour. Something on King. Something on this establishment because it was the easiest one on the list of companies under King's control that could be put out of business. It looked fishy as hell so far. Now he just needed proof. How could he get the host to talk?

Think

The next minute, the bathroom door opened and Kai was taken aback for the second time that night. If Kai had thought men couldn't possibly get any prettier than Tyson Granger, he was proven wrong. The boy who stood in front of him now was ethereal enough to stand in a league all of his own. We'll provide you with the best we have to offer, he recalled the registrar woman's words.

"What's your name?"

"Alex"

"That's a very dull name for a host of a club such as this one."

"It is. And that's the whole idea. To appear as someone you would come across in your daily life." Alex was only a foot away from him now. "Someone you normally wouldn't have a chance with. I'm that fantasy you've had about the prettiest boy you've ever seen, come to life."

"I see you're well aware of your worth."

"I am."

The host was breathtakingly beautiful up close. And while Kai would use the same adjective to describe Tyson's looks, his boyfriend was much more masculine. Alex on the other hand, didn't have a single feature on his face or his body that alluded to him being male, except for his voice and the dead flat chest. Tall and skinny without the appearance of an anorexia patient, he could have easily been a model. And a top one. What was he doing in a skeezy club like this? "You're beautiful," noted Kai in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Thank you," Alex tucked his chin so that he could bat his long black lashes at him. He raised a perfectly manicured nail and touched Kai's jaw with it. "And I'm completely yours for the night."

Kai couldn't help but smirk. May be if Kai didn't know Tyson. May be If he could get his dick up with someone who wasn't Tyson. May be he would've taken this person to bed, but under different circumstances. "You're very beautiful," he said again, "Alex."

And Alex took this as a positive sign to get things going. "You can do whatever you want with me as long as it's within the rules."

Kai wasn't listening. "So beautiful you could've worked for a model agency instead of a cheap Gentlemen's club."

Alex's easy disposition changed immediately. Shoulders becoming stiff and rigid. Gaze growing a touch wary. Kai continued before he could say anything else. "How much do they pay you for offering up your body every single day?"

The host took his hand off of Kai and a step back. "That is confidential information and none of your business, Mr. Hiwatari."

"No, really, how much do they pay you?" Kai took a step forward, sensing that he was finally onto something. "Do they pay you at all?"

Alex stood his ground. "You're not allowed to seek for this type of information in these rooms and if you persist I have no option but to call security on you and have you thrown out on your ass," he warned, showing signs of actual emotions at last. A bit of vitriol leaking through the stone cold professionalism.

Bolstering Kai's confidence in the illegality of the club. May be he wouldn't have to make multiple visits after all. He could crack open Alex and get him to spill most of the secrets. "Are hosts allowed to threaten guests?"

"Tch-"

"Regardless, you've just confirmed my suspicions. They're not paying you enough for your services and are keeping you here under a contract you have no way of buying out of."

"Aren't you one to jump to hasty conclusions? What makes you think I'm not here out of my own will?"

"Nobody who looks like you would settle for working at a gentlemen's club with measly wages. You would try to sell up."

Alex crossed his arms, staying silent for a beat. "Who do you think you are?"

"Who do you think I am?" Kai asked her in return.

"I think you are a little boy who doesn't know where not to stick his nose and is too proud for his own good," Alex replied through gritted teeth.

Kai didn't let the comment faze him. "I can help you."

"I don't want your help!" shouted Alex. "I don't care how powerful you think you are, there is no way you can get me out of here and neither do I want to," he hissed before turning his back on him.

"So you're still lying to yourself," remarked Kai.

Alex twitched, the light pink robe he was wearing falling off one shoulder to reveal flawless skin. The conversation was getting to him. The things Kai was saying was clearly affecting him. If he pushed a little more…

"King has brought nothing but misery onto my family. I will make him pay no matter who stands in my way. Either you help me by offering whatever dirt you have on him and get handsomely rewarded and escape from this hellhole or I go ahead and tear this building down without your help and put you out on the streets without a penny to your name."

"Not a penny to my name? Well aren't you ridiculously conceited? Does it really matter though? It's like you said earlier, I have my face," he sat down on a plush, overly stuffed chair.

"But do you have the connections? Without the proper connections, you're going to end up somewhere only slightly better than here. May be a strip club."

"Honey, working at a strip club is far better than being gunned down like a dog," he scoffed.

Kai slipped his hands into his pockets. "If you agree to help me, I will make sure you are not harmed in any way. I will provide you with ample protection."

At that, he started laughing. A dry humourless laugh. "You have no idea who you are playing with, Kai Hiwatari. You are too young and naïve. You have not known just how cruel men can be. And Alistair King was always more than a man. You, with your mere 19 years of experience is no match for a skilled and ruthless veteran like King. Mess with him and you will join your family in heaven."

Kai felt the blood in his veins go cold. And Alex noticed the sudden shift in his mood. He sat up straighter, canted his head to the side. "What is it?" he asked at Kai's stricken silence.

It took him a moment to find his voice but Kai eventually managed to ask, "how do you know my family is dead?"

Alex seemed to go still as a rock for a fraction of a second before recovering quickly. "I've done my research. I look up all of my clients before opening my legs for them," he answered nonchalantly, but he wasn't meeting his eyes.

Kai lowered himself down on the fluffy rouge mattress that was probably saturated with bodily fluids and covered up with heavy perfume. He inhaled once deeply. "But all of my family's data and records were removed from public websites and domains two years ago. I personally oversaw the wipe."

Alex froze up, face growing ashen pale beneath the thin layer of makeup. Kai's breathing became shallow as his heartbeat picked up. What a fate that he came across someone who knew something about his past after all these years in the most unexpected of places? "How do you know?" Kai repeated, eager to find out.

But Alex seemed to have completely withdrawn. He got up to his feet, ready to bolt. Kai leapt up too, determined to block his path and keep him from leaving. "Please," he begged in desperation. "Any knowledge of my family is important to me. Tell me what you know and I will let you go."

The host's eyes flashed. "You don't need to let me do anything." He strode in the direction of the door leading to the hallway. Kai wedged himself between Alex and the door, stopping him with a strong hand on his thin wrist. "Get out of my way or I will scream and make sure you are never allowed inside this club again." The warning ran like alarms in Kai's ears.

He unwrapped his hand off Alex's. "What if I file a complaint against you?" Kai asked after. "Claim you wouldn't put out and ran away? Who do you think they would believe? The guy who is paying them fifty thousand for a night or the host who can easily be replaced?"

Fear and anger warred in his glitter-lined eyes. He appeared to hesitate. His upper lip curled. "What do you wanna know? What do you think I know?" he demanded, almost shouting.

"Any information you have on my family is precious to me. Tell me and I will not complain against you. Help me avenge them by telling me everything you know about King and I will keep the word I gave you earlier."

Alex stared, fury blazing in his eyes. Kai gave him time to consider his offer. And as seconds turned to minutes, Kai realized that the host standing before him had more to him than what met the eye.

END OF FLASHBACK

o - o - o - o - o

"Has Falborg come back to you yet?" Tala asked without lifting his head from the what he was doing. Shining his shoes. Bryan was by the tall windows of the large training room, watching the unusual drizzle pattering on the street outside.

"Yes," he replied without the proper enthusiasm, earning an intrigued glance from Tala.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Bryan shook his head.

"There has to be some reason why you're ironically upset over the return of your bitbeast," he remarked, dusting off the tiny black remnants of the sponge he'd used to polish with from the shoe. Then rose to his feet. "Tell me, Bry. What's the use of keeping secrets from me when I'm going to find out everything eventually?"

"It's…not a secret." Bryan sighed. "I don't know, Tala. Things just feel very different from how they were before."

"What do you mean?" Tala joined him near the glass.

"I mean I don't feel the same excitement I felt before while blading anymore. My chest simply feels hollow when I'm in front of a dish. It's just not the same anymore."

Tala considered him shrewdly. "Well, do you remember what made it exciting before?"

Bryan appeared hesitant. "Uh…n-no?"

""No?" You're asking me?" Prompted Tala, in that vicious way he always did when he sensed someone's weakness.

The hesitant expression morphed into one of fear. "I don't-"

"What, Bryan?" Tala crossed the space between them. "What is it?" he hissed.

Bryan tried to retreat further into himself. Tala pushed and prodded till Bryan finally broke and cried out. "I- I don't feel the same without Tyson and Kai playing the game as well!"

Tala looked stunned. Outraged. "You fucking-" He blinked rapidly as Bryan attempted to disappear from the room. "Tyson and Kai-" Tala gulped, not knowing how to deal with the emotions smothering his lungs. "Y-you wan tthem- you complete waste of space!"

He proceeded to shout at him. Flinging all kinds of insults he could think of at Bryan because that was the only way he could maintain his sanity. Bryan had put into words what Tala had been afraid to even think. Curse you, Bryan, for being such a fucking wimp!

o - o - o - o - o

FLASHBACK

"I used to work for King as a," Alex smiled bitterly, "a maid in one of his estates in Shinjuku before moving here." He poured himself a glass of wine on the end table next to the couch. Took a sip. "I must have been around ten. The estate was quite big and King, whenever he was around was very messy and even when he was not around, he had three large dogs. Hounds. There was a lot of work and it would keep me very late some days. He was there on a month-long business trip when it happened. And I was looking to quit for a better paying job. But one day, while I was cleaning his home office, he barged in there with a couple of other men – one of them very haggard looking. King seemed beside himself that night. He created a whole commotion. I remember him doing a lot of screaming before he noticed me in the corner and ordered me out."

Kai listened intently, perched on the edge of the bed. His back was ramrod straight.

Alex swished the wine around in the glass. "I was quite nosy back then. Some might call it the naive curiosity of a ten year old but I really had no business eavesdropping in on that conversation. Of the two men he'd brought home, one of them was a stranger I'd never seen before. He'd looked quite shaken up. And I found out that he was actually a witness." He glanced up to meet Kai's gaze.

"What witness?"

"I'm sure you believe that your grandmother's death was no accident. King had run her over with his car. But there was a man who'd seen it all when it happened. Someone other than King and one of his men. I overheard them arguing about killing the guy off and a gunshot soon after."

"Are you sure they killed him?" asked Kai.

"Pretty damn sure."

Shit. Kai sighed. Of course King had tied up all the loose ends. There was no way he could win this fight legally. To bring down someone like King, Kai had to start playing dirty.

"But the bizarreness of the situation had made me too slow to react. When the door suddenly opened, I was still there with a hand cupped around my ear. Like I said, I was planning to quit the job, but King knew it was too dangerous to let me walk away with the knowledge of a murder he'd committed. I told him I'd heard nothing. He said he believed me and was pleased with the work I was doing around his house and offered me another job that paid well. My naïve self signed that contract without thinking twice. I've been here since." Alex downed the rest of the wine. "Little did I know that signing that contract was equivalent to condemning myself to a life sentence." He put his head in his hands, balancing the wine precariously.

"How old are you?" inquired Kai.

"Twenty four" answered Alex, raising his head.

Fourteen years. He'd been doing this since he was only a child…

How many others had suffered the same fate?

Good lord, Kai had to save him. He had to save these people.

"What's your real name?"

"Taeyong" he said. "Kim Taeyong"

END OF FLASHBACK

He lay in the dark now, unable to thwart the distress he felt whenever he recalled his encounter with Taeyong. He'd only been a child. A child…

But Kai had been a child too when the bad things happened to him. Maybe that was why he felt so strongly for Taeyong. He was aware of the things they used to do to the little girls in the Abbey when he was there. Their screams would haunt his sleep all night long.

Kai tried to calm himself and got the attention of Tyson who was attempting to fall asleep on his chest. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing. I just can't sleep. Talk about something," he requested, hoping to be distracted long enough to doze off.

"Hmm I can't sleep either."

"Why is that?"

"I'm worried."

"About?"

"Black," said Tyson. "He hasn't shown up in a while."

Come to think of it…

"I haven't seen him in weeks," replied Kai. He wondered where Black had disappeared to all of a sudden. He couldn't track the guy. Tyson's JB contact had tried and come empty handed last time. So where was he? "I have a bad feeling about this for some reason."

Tyson's head popped up in the dark at that. "What? You have a bad feeling?" he asked in a scared tone. Kai flattened him back on his chest, squishing his face.

"If he doesn't show up within the next three days," Kai thought aloud. "I'm going to have to find somebody else to get in touch with Gabriela."

"Gabriela?"

"King's secretary."

"Oh that chick you went out with."

Kai frowned. "Yeah…"

Tyson made a sound like he was thinking. "I called Hiro yesterday."

Oh? Interesting. "Do tell"

Tyson smacked him. "To ask him if he'd be okay with me staying over at Mike's this summer."

"You're staying with me."

"Yes, but I haven't told him about us yet."

"Why?"

Tyson hesitated. "I will tell him soon." A laugh. "You know how he is."

Kai let the issue slide for now. Too tired to spark an argument with Tyson.

"Apparently, Leah kicked him out of their house and he's in some unknown town in the Midwest."

He probably sounded like an asshole for doing it but Kai burst out laughing. Not even bothering to restrain the guffaws in the otherwise quiet room. Tyson muttered curses at him. "You fucking…"

"In the Midwest?" Kai managed to ask after getting himself under control.

"Yes" Tyson ground out. "He never told me what he was doing there. Just that it was important and I was not to disturb him. He also said I could stay wherever I wanted."

Kai's instinct was to cackle like a hyena at anything Hiro related but this... This was plain rude. Tyson did not deserve all the assholes in his life, including Kai himself. He felt sorry for him. "May be he's dealing with PTSD," he suggested, trying to make light of the situation.

But Tyson was miffed. Beyond miffed. He was sad, upset, annoyed, frustrated. Kai could basically feel his frustration seeping into his own body. He hugged him closer. Smothering him with an embrace so he didn't have enough space to waste his energy on his dick of a brother. "Stooop" whined Tyson.

Kai refused to let up.

"Fine! I'll stop thinking of Hiro!."

"Good" Kai eased his hold on him.

Tyson relaxed. Lay his head down on Kai and walked his fingers up and down his torso. He nuzzled his cheek against his skin a couple of times, before moving up a bit and pressing a soft kiss on Kai's jaw. "I love you," he whispered in his ear like a promise. "I love you so much."

Kai drifted to sleep with a slight smile on his face.

o - o - o - o - o

"A bitbeast cannot be owned by five people," Gabriela heard King's voice through the door. She was about to knock and enter with a cup of tea for the guests but paused to listen when she heard him.

"It's a win-win situation. If he is not, then he'll be dead, if he is, he'll help me become the most powerful man on earth. Elicia, you need to stop doubting me." Gabriela frowned, trying to make sense out of his words. What was he talking about?

She had a feeling it had something to do with Kai. She quickly messaged Black the details of the conversation she'd heard before she forgot anything. Gabriela tucked the phone back into her strap and leaned toward the crack between the double doors to hear better. The security camera was positioned in such a way that the five inches from the entrance to King's office was shielded from view.

King's voice was the only one she heard speaking. Was he on the phone? There was another man in there with him. That one with the evil eyes. Yet he was silent. "Right, right. It's all going according to plan. He'll be in LA next week. The tournament is an obstacle but nothing more than a hitch along the way. Not to worry. Everything will turn out well…" He was definitely on the phone. She noted that she hadn't received an acknowledgment text back from Black yet. Gabriela was straining her ears to hear more as it felt like King was going further away from the door. He was probably going to walk out onto the balcony. Shit.

She was leaning when the door suddenly opened inward and she came face to face with the strange guy who had been visiting a lot lately. The creepy man with the devil eyes.

A/N: HIIIIIIIIIIIII! I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER. THANK YOU FOR READING. HAVE A NICE DAY. STAY SAFE. Your reviews are very heartwarming and I love reading them. AND YES, Blu and Black are the same person. Blu is his real name. Black is an alias he uses. Here's an old reminder: The real name of the Russian con in the story is Blu. In order to keep his identity hidden, he told Kai his name was Black. I've stopped using first person povs in the fic and so all the povs are in third person. So when in Kai's pov, he refers to the Russian as Black but in the Russian's pov, I use Blu.

I hope that cleared up your confusion.

I had fun writing this chapter. I will be back soon. I love you all. Leave a review. BYE BYE BYE...