Thank you to all who reviewed and I am very sorry that this took me so long to update, I don't have as much time to write as I once did, not to mention this was a frustrating chapter to write.
I know everyone's curious about Tala, but I have plans for all of my characters in future chapters, lots of drama and stuff, for that is rather enjoyable for me, and for you guys too I hope. ^_^ Still, I hope you guys like this chapter too.
Chapter Thirteen
There were four to a room, that was the best they could do. Lee had immediately proclaimed that he had to stay with Mariah, for her protection, which she growled darkly at. Dizzy wanted to stay with Kenny. She'd hardly left his side since becoming human, though she was becoming quite attached to Mariah as well. Kai didn't want Max and Tyson left alone in a room together, though he didn't particularly want to share, so Gary and Kevin stayed with them while he and Rei stayed in a smaller room nearby. The last choice was made my Mariah. Kai would have shrugged it off as her just being bossy as she appeared to be, but the sly look in his direction had him narrowing his eyes at her deviousness. It was not chance that left him and Rei alone in a room together.
Rei, of course, was oblivious to this, as were the others, though Dizzy shot them curious looks and Lee kept glancing between Kai and Mariah. What was really important though was that Rei still had no idea about Kai's feelings, which made saying with him less uncomfortable than it could have been, especially after the incidents in the forest with him.
"Hey Kai?"
Kai shook himself from his thoughts and glanced over at Rei standing in the doorway to their room, holding the small tiger cub as it dozed. "Yeah?"
"The others are thinking about doing things around town. Tyson, Max and Kenny are looking around with Gary and Kevin, but Lee and the girls stayed behind. I was wondering if you wanted to do anything."
Kai had to force back the thoughts that Rei was implying more with his question than he was and stared at the neko-jin curiously. "Did you have something in mind?"
Rei shifted nervously, but now that Kai had asked he couldn't avoid telling. "I was going to check out the word on the streets, see if things here are as bad as up North."
"Check out how?" Kai didn't like the evading looks Rei was sending his way.
"Just asking around, you know, boring stuff."
"Well if it's so boring then you won't mind some company then." A slight flash of fear and annoyance in Rei's eyes gave him away. Kai smirked, knowing he'd waned to go alone, but he wouldn't let anyone, least of all Rei, out on the streets alone. Not with everything that was happening.
"Sure," Rei sighed, his shoulders slumping slightly. He really had hoped that Kai had something else planned; he didn't want the other man knowing about how he wanted to 'scope things out'. Yet it was too late to do anything about that now.
He put the sleepy kitten on the bed. He raised his head slightly and yawned, sitting up on his front paws momentarily.
Rei chuckled. "Not today little one, it'll be just us. You keep sleeping." The kitten didn't seem to have a problem with that. He lay back down at Rei's words and started dozing again.
Rei smiled at the sight before turning to Kai. "Shall we then?" he asked weakly. Kai just nodded and left the room. Rei exhaled loudly and wondered again why he'd asked Kai to come along.
Heading out, Rei looked round curiously, staring at things that Kai often passed right by. It was as though he was seeing something Kai couldn't. He stopped by quickly and said a few words to a woman standing on a street corner. She murmured something back to Rei and he handed her a few coins, shaking his head slightly with a small smile. She glanced over at Kai and smirked. Kai wondered what had passed between the two.
"This way," Rei said, pulling him in a particular direction. "Just stay back when I say, I know what I'm doing I've walked the streets before. Don't do or say anything unless I say."
Kai glared. He was not used to being pushed around like this, but he decided to grit his teeth, knowing that arguing now would get them nowhere. "Fine," he muttered.
Rei winced, knowing what his tone meant, but his attention was soon directed to another source as he came upon the alleyway the whore told him about. Gesturing for Kai to follow him, he headed into the darkened laneway, looking around carefully for any sign of movement or life.
"So what do we have here?"
Kai glared and Rei almost jumped as a man moved forward from the walls, smirking at them.
"I'm looking for information," Rei said with a soft smile, moving towards the man, his hands held out in a non-threatening way, yet the Drigger blade stayed at his side. The man glanced at it once, his smile appearing to widen slightly.
"Information huh?"
"Yeah."
"You know it'll cost, and considering you're a stranger too, it'll cost more. Of course if it's the wrong sort of info to the wrong sort of person then you'll be decorating a ditch somewhere outside of town."
Kai growled softly at this, but Rei held up a hand, making him stop. "Ever go to Forshire?"
The man shrugged. "I have a few associates there, I haven't heard much from the town recently though."
Rei nodded. "You probably won't. New management. I was just curious if that same takeover had happened here."
The man froze. "You're from Forshire?"
"Was there for a few years."
"Know what happened to Old Rudy?"
Rei winced. "Dead. Was he headed here?"
"Maybe. I'd heard a few rumours from him, then nothing." The man suddenly looked suspicious. "Let's talk about the cost of your info now." He eyed Rei up and down with a smile that hid a lot. "I'll let you start the bidding, yet I still get last say on the price."
"Fine." Rei glanced quickly at Kai, looking a bit nervous. "First off, I want to know management situations southwards. There are people I'm looking to avoid."
"Now that's a big ask." The man grinned. "What are you willing to pay?"
Rei smirked and walked towards him, though his heart was pounding nervously. He could feel Kai's eyes on him. He could almost see the look of shock and disgust as he sidled up to the man, pressing firmly against him and whispering in his ear.
He definitely heard Kai growl just before he walked up and tugged him away, his arm staying wrapped around his waist possessively. Rei looked stunned for a moment before he frowned at Kai.
The man glared. "Something wrong?" he snapped at Kai.
Kai was about to answer when Rei glared at him fiercely and pulled away. He turned back to the man and shrugged. "A rookie, but a loyal one." Kai blinked at the brush off and Rei ignored him after that, thinking things over. He knew Kai would get in the way again if he tried his first offer again. So instead, he undid his top button to reach down his shirt. "How about a different offer then?" he suggested.
"Not sure how attractive it will be after the one you just set," the man grumbled, but when Rei pulled out a small parcel, his eyes widened and he reached for it almost instinctively.
Kai gaped. What in the hells was Rei doing with that?
"Close to four ounces, purest you can find. Worth quite a lot as you should know, even more so now, with the lack of traffic from the northern towns."
"You know quite a bit more than you let on," the man murmured, eyeing Rei cautiously still, his eyes narrowed even further. "With that on you, I should be more worried about who you'll say this all to."
"Just for me, and my traveling companions. It's also to ensure your silence. Once we're done, I never existed … we never existed." He glanced back at Kai again. "Do we have a deal?"
"What info?"
"What do you know about Falcon and Wolf and the prophet?"
The man's eyes widened. "No way in hells! They took Forshire?"
"And probably more."
"You've made quite dangerous enemies, my friend."
Rei shrugged. "So did they." Suddenly he didn't look so naïve and helpless. "The price?" he asked firmly.
The man glanced down at the packet in his hands, biting his lip as he nodded and took the proffered gift. "Those names are dangerous these days. There are already some here allied to them. I'm not."
"I figured as much when you mentioned Rudy."
The man shrugged. "I'm not one for revolutions, messy things, disrupting business, yet others aren't as stuck in this way as I am. Down south you shouldn't have too much problems, but you should still be discreet. Not sure which leaders have already gone over, but I know they have some high-ups in the underside with them. Wrighton's the place you have to look out for."
"Wrighton?" Rei tried to look nonchalant. "Why's that?"
"They took that before they even headed North. Been gone for a year or more now. Don't know why they wanted the North first, but it must have been some good reason." The man licked his lips and glanced at Kai. "Some things aren't meant for some ears though."
Rei's eyes widened as he realised what the man was talking about. "Head back a bit," he ordered Kai firmly. Kai was about to protest, but Rei's serious expression and his glare warned him away. He glanced darkly once at the other man before walking off out of hearing range. He felt his blood boil though as Rei pulled the man close so that nothing could be heard by anyone else. He watched as Rei's face grew paler and his expression grimmer. As the man leaned back and Rei whispered something frantically to him, Kai knew something was very wrong, yet he couldn't have cared less right now.
The man said something to Rei and Rei shook his head in disbelief before running a hand through his long fringe hanging out of his ponytail. He sighed and managed a small smile of gratitude for the man.
The man had other ideas however. Kai's eyes widened and he took a step forward as he grabbed Rei and pushed him against the wall, kissing him furiously and groping at him. What stopped Kai from running over there and putting a stop to everything was the way Rei was tugging at the other man's neck, pulling him closer.
They finally broke away, Rei grinning slyly and chuckling at the man as he said something. Kai turned away as Rei looked at him. Rei felt a huge pang of guilt as he saw Kai look away, a cold, hurt expression on his face, but he didn't push the guy away. He just smiled again and gently removed his arms from around his waist.
"Thanks for the info, and remember, I don't exist."
"Right, we had a deal." He eyed Rei up and down again. "Though I'm not quite sure it would have been as good as I could have gotten."
Rei smirked. "Well it's the best you're going to get from me." He pressed his hand to his lips and blew him a kiss. "Enjoy your gift," he called out over his shoulder.
Kai didn't glance at Rei as they started moving again, not trusting himself to say anything lest he blurt everything out. He hardly took any notice of the path they were taking, his emotions roiling.
He was startled however when Rei pulled him into another small side street and pushed him against a wall. Kai stared at him in astonishment, but before he could say anything, Rei put his hand behind his neck and pulled him close.
"I'd rather not have an argument and have people glance at us curiously," Rei hissed quietly, moving against him slightly, causing Kai's eyes to widen, "and the inn would be just as bad, so pretend like we're doing something else."
Kai gulped before he suddenly got a hold of himself and glared at Rei. "Argument?"
"What the hell did you think you were doing back there?" Rei whispered furiously, his other arm seeking out his waist and pulling him even closer to him. "You almost blew everything for me."
"What was I doing?" Kai flipped them around so that Rei was now against the wall. "What were you doing?"
"Getting information."
"Looked like you were getting something very different from information to me."
Rei blushed slightly and looked away momentarily. "Things are done differently in the underside."
"You were selling yourself."
Rei's eyes flashed dangerously and he growled, his sharp claws digging into Kai's skin, making him wince. "You make it sound like something it's not. I was getting something I needed. In return, I was offering something he wanted."
"Nothing is worth the price you were about to pay," Kai hissed furiously. "Your dignity and innocence is the most precious thing you have. And you would have given it up for …" Kai just shook his head slightly.
Rei waited a long time before he said anything. "I left those things behind many years ago Kai."
Kai looked startled and he would have pulled back, but Rei still had a tight grip on him. He licked his lips. "What? How …" He gulped. "I don't want to know."
Rei's eyes filled with tears as he saw the look on Kai's face. "Kai … don't …. Please don't say anything to Lee or the others."
"So now you think it's shameful," Kai almost spat.
"Stop being so self-righteous, the world isn't like that Kai, I'm not like that." Rei sighed. "I wish you hadn't come with me."
Kai felt as though ice had settled in his stomach with those simple words, yet Rei didn't seem to notice. He tried to pull away, but was startled when Kai drew them together in an embrace.
"I wish you could trust me with you," Kai whispered before he pulled away, looking sadly at Rei before he started walking away.
Rei blinked back tears and slammed his fist against the alley wall. "Damn it," he muttered. "Why do I feel so guilty? And why does he care so much about me?"
He glanced around once before following after Kai, his thoughts troubled and confused. Just what had really happened? Why was Kai so upset about everything? And why did he suddenly care so much?
And why in the name of the Powers do I feel like that argument was all staged just so I could feel him that close to me again?
*~*~*
No one really noticed the tension between the two as they walked through the inn's door because Tyson's excited babbling had captured everyone's attention. Rei and Kai tried to puzzle out exactly what he was going on about without saying anything, but it was just too difficult.
"All right Kinomiya, slow down and tell me exactly what has you so happy?" Kai glanced at Max with narrowed eyes and the two boys blushed.
"Kai!" Tyson protested, his face crimson.
Kai shrugged and took a seat in the common room. "Just a thought, it seemed the most likely possibility."
Max was still blushing furiously and the others were chuckling, but Tyson was glaring at Kai now.
"I was just telling everyone about the tournament I found out about."
"Tournament?" Rei asked curiously, sitting down as well, quite far away from Kai, as others noticed. But right now, what was going on with Kai and Rei was another situation to be dealt with later.
"Yeah, in Wrighton. That's just perfect isn't it?"
Rei paled. "Yeah, sure."
Tyson frowned. "You don't sound so thrilled."
"Well, I think when we get to Wrighton we should keep a low profile." Everyone was looking at Rei now.
"Why?" Max asked.
"Rei did some scouting," Kai informed them sharply. "And he was just about to tell us everything he knows."
Rei glared at Kai. "Not everything, just the important things."
"Why not everything?" Lee asked. "Don't you trust us?"
Rei shook his head. "It's not like that Lee, some things I learned, you can't know, no one can. It would be too risky. We have enough trouble to deal with without getting involved with the Underside."
Lee still looked a bit hurt, but Mariah placed a hand on his arm and shook her head. She looked back at Rei with a smile. "So what should we be worried about?"
"'We'?" Rei looked confused.
"We're coming with you," Kevin told him with a grin. Rei blinked at this and Kevin frowned. "You're not happy?"
"No, I'm just surprised," Rei admitted. "I'll be glad to have you along, as I'm sure the others will be too."
"So …?" Tyson prompted.
"Um, yeah. Apparently Wrighton is the southern stronghold for our enemies. It was taken over even before the North was touched. We're going to have a lot of trouble with this place, hence the reason why I think we should keep a low profile."
"Oh." Tyson looked disappointed. "I was looking forward to entering."
"Then enter under your own name," Kai suggested quietly. "Most people don't realise that Kinomiya Takao is 'Tyson the Dragon Swordsman'." He smirked. "It'll be interesting to see what sort of fighters they have in the South."
"Kai!" Rei was looking worried. "I really don't think it's a good idea. We could get found out."
"And entering a tournament would be the last thing they expect of us," Kai countered. "It's too public, they'll look at all the strangers exhibiting odd behaviour. Look at us, a group of fighters. If we don't enter everyone will see that as very odd. This is our way of getting into the town without a second glance."
Rei frowned, he still didn't like it, but Kai did have a point. "I guess." He sighed. "I suppose we should all enter then, to make things even more believable."
"Of course," Mariah said. Everyone looked at her and she pouted. "Like only you men should have the fun. I want to be in this too."
"It does sound like fun," Max admitted. "And I'll be able to see how good I really am compared to professionals." He grinned and looked over at Kenny. "What about you?"
Kenny shook his head. "I'm not a swordsman Max, you know that. I'll be your healer instead, that way I don't stick out either."
Tyson grinned. "Great! This is going to be such a fantastic trip. I can't wait to get to Wrighton now."
Kai smirked at him. "I'll be looking forward to facing off against you in the final round Kinomiya."
Tyson returned the look. "Same here Hiwatari, I wouldn't have things turn out any different."
Rei shared a look with Max and rolled his eyes.
This was going to be a disaster, he just knew it.
*~*~*
Kai was sitting on the bed he was to share with Rei just staring at his blade.
He'd observed the neko-jin throughout the rest of the day with mixed feelings. Everything was just so confusing now, finding out more about Rei, and then the situation in the alley afterwards. He knew what he felt now, it grew stronger everyday, but now he started to doubt everything.
He closed his eyes and concentrated hard. His blade glowed and suddenly Dranzer appeared before him. He smiled briefly and she flew straight to him, sensing his distress.
"Ah Dranzer," he breathed, ruffling her feathers slightly. He smiled as he felt her reassuring presence. "I'm glad I have you with me," he admitted. "I doubt I could have gotten as far on my own."
She pecked at his ear and he glared at her. "What was that for?" He raised an eyebrow at her response. "Self-confidence? I have self-confidence, doesn't mean I don't appreciate you being here too."
She nuzzled his cheek and perched on his shoulder.
It was a while before Kai broke the comfortable silence between them.
"Do you recall how once I was concerned about the bond between Earth and Fire?" he asked quietly, not looking at the phoenix on his shoulder staring at him in some concern. "You told me their relationship did not have to be passionate, or sexual in nature, just a bond that linked them together. I was so relieved by that." Kai looked away, trying to hide the emotions showing in his eyes. Dranzer moved closer to him, worried by his words and actions. He petted her again before falling silent.
He looked back over at her when she nudged him. He sighed before continuing.
"What if I said I wanted that now? A bond of passion and …" Kai blushed slightly, trailing off instead of finishing his thoughts. "I want to be with Rei," he said simply instead. "But I don't think that relationship is possible with him now. I doubt that he will feel the same for me. He still doesn't even recognize himself as a part of us."
Kai looked over as he felt something press down on the bed. It was Drigger. The kitten tilted his head slightly before padding over to Kai and sitting on his knee, purring softly in a reassuring manner. Kai smiled at him and picked him up. He lay down and placed the tiger on his chest, Dranzer roosting nearby.
"Don't worry though kitten," he whispered. "I won't give up on him."
Drigger purred in contentment and snuggled up to Kai. Kai smiled at the sight before closing his eyes and beginning to doze off himself.
Rei opened the door to the room cautiously some time later. Kai had come up to their room earlier, pleading fatigue. He'd stayed down talking with Lee and the others. Kai seemed like he needed to think a few things over in private. Rei knew how much privacy meant to Kai and gave it to him, despite how worried he felt. And guilty. He couldn't forget the guilt he felt, though he wondered why he felt so guilty.
He stopped as he saw the sight that greeted him on the bed.
Kai was lying on his side, facing the door, curled up slightly, the kitten lightly held in his grasp with Dranzer on his other side by the wall, looking rather comfortable. Kai looked so peaceful when he slept. Rei had caught himself watching the powerful man a few times.
Like now.
He shook himself slightly and continued into the room, closing the door firmly behind himself. He undressed and made his way over to the other side of the small room to the bed, trying his best not to disturb the other occupants as he slid under the blankets.
He faced Kai now and gulped slightly. He hadn't been this close to him since the incident in the ally earlier that day. He could still feel Kai's arms around his waist and his breath ghosting over his face. Then his embrace …
Rei looked away and lay on his back instead, still glancing over at the sleeping form beside him. He reached out and trailed his fingers down Kai's painted cheek.
"Kai," he breathed, his voice filled with longing and laced with sadness. He turned away onto his side, shuffling away from the leader slightly as he tried to gather his thoughts and fall into a restless sleep.
He didn't see the half-open green-gold eyes watching him sadly as he did so.
AN: Okay … just so you know, a bit of angst is necessary every now and then, plus this shall make the next few chapters all the more enjoyable to read. Seriously, I do have big plans for them all, especially in the next chapter. That's why this one was so hard to write, because the next few are like "THE CHAPTERS".
You all know what I mean, the good stuff where everything happens. ^_^ Hope that got you all happy and anticipated.
Hope you guys liked,
Until next time.