Howdy all, I hope you all enjoy this next chapter of my lovely fan fic. You get to find out who was following Tyson in this.

Chapter Three

Rei sighed softly.

It had been almost three days since he'd started travelling with Kai and the northern tribal man had barely said two words to him since meeting up. I know silence is golden, but this is beyond ridiculous. Rei glanced over at his travelling partner, about to speak and break the heavy silence, when something up ahead caught his eye.

"What's that?" he murmured and ran ahead slightly to find out just what it was on the side of the road that had captured his attention.

What he saw made him gasp.

"Kai!" The crimson eyes rolled in exasperation and he walked over to where Rei was kneeling down beside the comatose bloody body of a traditional swordsman. Rei looked up at him with worry in his eyes. "He's alive."

"And ...?"

"We have to help him!"

"Why?" Rei was shocked by the cold answer.

"Because it's the decent thing to do!" Rei glared at him slightly before turning back to the unconscious man before him and trying to help him up on his shoulders.

Kai shook his head disgustedly. He didn't know what he as doing. "Here." Kai easily lifted the body and carried him in his arms. "How far is the nearest town?"

"About a mile down the road."

Kai didn't answer, he simply started walking down the road, the burden in his arms not seeming as much of a burden to him. Rei stared after him in amazement. The blue-haired tribesman seemed to blow hot and cold, to extremes. It was more like ice and fire. Just when Rei finally had him figured out, he goes and does something like this, completely throwing him.

Rei shook his head and followed after him. I guess that only goes to show I'm too quick to judge.

*~*~*

As he came to, Tyson realised there were two people near him, arguing over his head.

"Kai, we can't just leave him here like this."

"Why not? He'll be safe. Look, I'll leave money and make sure he's taken care of. I'm sure he'll be fine. No major damage was done and he's a fighter, an experienced one by the calluses on his hands and the notches on his hilt and scabbard. He'll be able to come out of this just fine."

"It's not like we have to be at Wrighton by a certain time."

Tyson heard someone snort in annoyance and he could almost see the satisfied smirk on the other person's face. His mind cleared a bit and he realised he had to go there too. He had to find something at Wrighton.

The body on the bed stirred a bit and caught the attention of the two glaring travelers. Rei quickly bent down to attend worriedly to the waking wanderer while Kai sniffed and crossed his arms, leaning against the wall in a pose Rei was heartily sick of.

"... food ..." Rei heard the wounded man mumble and he grinned as weary eyes opened to reveal dark blue eyes.

"Hey there," Tyson saw golden eyes and a mass of raven hair and s bright welcoming smile. "Glad you're awake."

"Where am I?" Tyson's voice was barely a whisper.

"An inn at Fensville. We found you beside the road, beaten up."

"Oh." Tyson leaned back into his pillow actually taking notice of the stings and aches he could feel in his body. "We?" he asked with a slight frown.

Rei smiled apologetically. "Sorry, my name's Rei. That's Kai."

Tyson looked over at where Rei pointed and saw another man standing against the wall his arms folded across his chest and his eyes closed. "Looks like a fun guy," Tyson muttered.

"We didn't have to help you. I didn't even want to."

"Oh and you think me being left for dead after an attack is something I wanted to happen." Tyson glowered half-heartedly at Kai. "You're just lucky I don't have enough strength to deal with you right now."

"Like I should be worried about an attack from you," Kai sneered.

"You obviously have no idea who I am."

"Who are you?' Rei asked gently, breaking up the argument.

Tyson made one last dark glance in Kai's direction before turning back to Rei. "My name's Tyson. I'm a mercenary, one of the best you'll ever meet."

"If you're so great why were you lying on the side of the road."

"Kai!" Rei glared at the other man. "That's enough. What is your problem?"

"I saw your sword Kinomiya." Kai spat on the ground a wild look in his eyes. "I wish I'd left you there to die like the filthy worthless rat you are."

Tyson narrowed his eyes. "Strong words for a barbarian. Don't think I don't know who you are either, Hiwatari, I recognise your marks. I don't know what's more shameful, me falling prey to an ambush or having you save me afterwards."

"Don't expect it again, for you won't be seeing me again." Kai moved quickly over to the door despite Rei's protest and walked out of the room. Rei sighed as he heard the door slam loudly.

"Traitorous scumbag," Tyson growled, startling Rei.

"What's up with you two? You just met didn't you?"

"Yeah, but I know who he is. Kai Hiwatari, next leader of the Hiwatari tribe. My clan used to be allied with them, they were one of the few respected tribes of the north when his father had ruled."

"What happened?"

"They betrayed us. My parents were staying with them when I was very young. They were killed and the clan moved in on my family's land and tried to slaughter us in our sleep. My grandfather, my brother and myself were some of the few to escape the sacking and burning of our home."

Rei looked stricken. "Impossible, Kai doesn't seem that bad."

Tyson didn't even seem to hear him, though he answered the comment. "I really don't want to get to know if he's a nice guy, because I don't really care."

"He would have been but a child himself. You can't blame everything that happened on him."

"I don't. I blame his tribe and being associated with it in my eyes is a more heinous crime than treason. The only consolation I take in my clan's mortal suffering is that their leaders were killed by my father before the attack."

"Your father killed Kai's parents?" Tyson nodded and Rei looked confused. "How do you know what happened?"

"My father's mortally wounded manservant escaped to bring us warning of the attack, carrying my father's bloodied sword. My grandfather later told me that before he died, he said, 'Dead, all dead.' He was one of father's trusted servants, he would have been present at all the meetings. The sword was only further proof."

Rei looked upon the wounded man sadly. "I'm sorry to drag up such old and painful memories."

Tyson shook hi head then winced as the room began to spin with the action. "No, I suppose with him around it would have come out eventually." Tyson sighed and looked over at the anxious neko-jin. "So, Rei. What brings you here? Shouldn't you be south?"

Rei smiled and shook his head. "I left my clan to travel some time ago."

"Really? That's rather unusual."

"I know, but I felt I had to. Things weren't the best back home."

"No, I imagine not with all the wars and feuds. Perhaps it was the best thing to leave. What clan?"

"White Tiger."

Tyson's eyes widened and he whistled sharply. "Wow. I'm surprised they let you leave."

"I know, but something had happened that I couldn't accept." That was all Rei would say on the matter and Tyson nodded, accepting this. "Anyway, Kai mentioned something about your sword."

Tyson smiled benevolently. "My Dragoon. It's the symbol of my clan. The Dragon, our patron."

Rei's eyes widened. "The Dragon Swordsman!" He laughed in astonishment. "This is a double surprise. You may not realise it, but you actually saved my life once."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I was being held in prison for a crime I didn't commit. You managed to catch the guy who actually did the crime. I would have been hung."

Tyson laughed. "Then I am especially glad to have done it, considering you saved my life yourself later." Tyson frowned slightly. "It's rather curious that we were all brought here together, having some sort of connection to each other."

Rei frowned thinking this over. Tyson's right. It is rather curious, but could it be simple coincidence?

*~*~*

Kai was about to throw the last item of clothing back in his bag when he felt a cold shudder go through him.

"No way," he breathed looking over at the item on the bed.

The Dragoon blade, an ancient and powerful weapon. Only four similar to it existed. They were similar in reference only. To each blade there was manifested a power that could be wielded and exploited properly only by one person. Few others were able to touch them.

Kai was one of the few, being Fire himself. But Dragoon was not for him, it was Air. He placed his hand over the top of the blade and let his powers seek something out.

"The heavens must be jesting with me," he glared at the blade. "I must ally myself with the wretched son of Kinomiya?" The blade offered no answer but Kai continued to glare. "He is Air. I need him."

Kai growled and smashed a fist against a wall.

"Damn this!" He was about to pack again when darkness completely overtook him. He wasn't unconscious, it was a vision.

Two boys were trapped in an old run-down barn, hiding in the lofts. They both clutched blades tightly to their chest, one, a brunette held a long thin ceremonial dagger. By his aura Kai could tell he was a magician, a powerful one, a Spirit Master like none seen for many years. The other was a timid though determined looking blonde boy. He held a short sword in his grip and looked like he knew only the basics of swordsmanship.

"Aether and Water," Kai breathed. He could feel the danger in their situation before his vision returned to normal and he was once again in the second room he'd booked at the inn.

"Damn," he muttered darkly before rushing into the next room.

The two of them looked surprised to see him. "Kai?" Rei inquired. "Are you okay?"

"No, I need to know what you were doing when you were attacked."

Tyson glared at the fierce man before him. "Why do you care?"

"It could mean the difference between life and death for two innocents." Tyson looked a bit stunned but he nodded.

"I was sent to retrieve a noble boy who'd run away from home. Master Max Mizuhara."

"What do you recall of your attackers, did they say anything at all?"

Tyson frowned, trying to remember anything. "It was strange. At first I thought they were after the reward for the Mizuhara son, but there was something about them that set my instincts off. They seemed darker in their aura and countenance than most mercenaries did. When I was blacking out as well, there was something that seemed to make no sense to me but was very important to them that the leader said."

"What was it?" Kai asked eagerly.

"I think he said something about how the wolf would be pleased to be rid of the air and that the water would soon be gone. Because of it the falcon wouldn't kill them."

To most people this would have sounded like nonsense, but Kai and Rei stared at Tyson in shock. Rei had gone pale, while Kai was simply staring at him in a trance.

"Damn, they're trying to get rid of us," Kai muttered, then he puzzled over the rest of the meaning of the cryptic comment.

Rei shook his head and got up and backed away so quickly that his chair fell over with a loud clatter, drawing attention to him. "No, no, you're not suggesting we mess with these guys are you Kai? Do you have any idea what Wolf and Falcon would do to you?"

Kai looked at him sharply. "What are you talking about Rei?"

"Wolf and Falcon, they're emissaries for a new underworld leader, they kill without remorse, they torture innocents for fun!" Rei was starting to get hysterical. "You didn't see them, how they smiled, how they laughed." Rei started to shake and he clutched his arms around him. "They have eyes everywhere and if you don't comply you're dead. How you die depends on you." Kai frowned at this and made a move towards Rei but stopped, realising what an absurd thing he was doing. Rei simply stood where he was and stared in horror at Kai and Tyson.

Tyson looked a bit sick himself. "These people are after Max?"

Kai nodded, his attention drawn back from the distraught Rei. "I think so. What does he look like?"

"He's blond, rather handsome, but still with a look of innocence to him. He has light blue eyes, about fifteen."

Kai nodded. "I think they are then. Did he have a blade with him? An ornate short sword?"

Tyson nodded. "That must have been how it disappeared. Max's mother was in possession of the Draciel blade. It had been passed down in her family. Max must have taken it when he left."

"Damn." Kai muttered. "I have to go find him. He's in serious danger. Rei," the neko-jin looked up at the mention of his name, slightly calmer now that he wasn't talking about Wolf and Falcon. "Wait here with Kinomiya. I should be back within a few days. If not ... I'll be back within a week." Kai walked out of the room again.

"Confident, isn't he?" Tyson grinned and Rei laughed at him, claming down a bit more as the jovial man tried to lighten the mood. "He'd just better not steal my reward money."

AN: I hope you're all slightly confused and eager for the next chapter. I'm so loving writing Kai's character for this fic. Wait till you see the next chapter, you'll understand why.

Until then. Laters.